Note 53-* — FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS,46-* AND OTHER SERVANTS

“The diversities of taste are so many and so considerable, that it seemeth strange to see the matter treated of both by philosophers and physicians with so much scantiness and defect: for the subject is not barren, but yieldeth much and pleasant variety, and doth also appear to be of great importance.”—From Dr. Grew’s Anat. of Plants, fol. 1682, p. 286. The Dr. enumerates sixteen simple tastes: however, it is difficult to define more than six.—1st. Bitter as wormwood. 2d. Sweet as sugar. 3d. Sour as vinegar. 4th. Salt as brine. 5th. Cold as ice. 6th. Hot as brandy. “Compound tastes, innumerable, may be formed by the combination of these simple tastes—as words are of letters.”—See also Phil. Trans. vol. xv. p. 1025.