50

Continued

D^r Physic was the first person who used it, & has
found patients take it when every thing else was
rejected—I wish you to remember this.

Clams are tougher and harder than the oyster
and used mostly to give flavour to soup.
With respect to snails &c which are eaten
in some countries, I shall say little of them, but
they are used by cancer curers—They first
kill the snail with salt and water then put it
to phagadennik ulcers. I avoid the natural
history of all these you will perceive, and include
them under the general name of shell fish.
But these last are insects. D^r Cullen has
made no distinction between the lobster & crab.
But the lobster is much more tough & has less
oil than the crab. The crab being less dense &
tough is therefore easier of digestion. We have
a soft crab in the Chesapeake which is very good.
But the lobster is the most indigestable of all