According to Diodorus, the eggs of domestic birds were hatched by the use of artificial heat furnished by manure. Of the wild birds, the "sic sac," a small plover, was often mentioned. The river of Egypt was noted for the excellent quality of its fish (eaten both fresh and salted or dried), many varieties of which seem to have been peculiar to it. "The Israelites remembered with regret the fish which they did eat in Egypt freely." The kinds most highly regarded were the oxyrhynchus, lepidotus and lotus. The oxyrhynchus is now believed to have been the _mormyrus_ or the "mizdeh" of the Arabs. It has a smooth skin and a long nose, pointed downwards. In some districts it was held sacred to Athor. The lepidotus may have been the _salmo dentex_ or the binny (_Cyprinis lepidotus_). As its name implies, its body was covered with long scales. Its flesh was excellent. The lotus, sacred in the region of Latopolis, is supposed by De Pauw to be the _perca nilotica_. Other varieties much liked were: The oulti, to modern palates the best of all; the nefareh or Nile salmon, which occasionally attained the weight of one hundred pounds; the sagbosa, a kind of herring; a species of mullet, the shall, shilbeh byad, kilbel bahr, (the Nile dogfish) a species of carp, eels, and turtles of the soft-shelled variety. [Illustration: Roasting a goose over a fire of peculiar construction. (From a tomb at Thebes.)] Eels were, though, considered unwholesome in summer (Ibid.). Crocodiles were considered sacred in the neighborhood of Lake Moeris and of Thebes, but were eaten by the natives of the southern frontier. The many restrictions imposed by religion and custom on the diet of the early Egyptians subjected them to much ridicule from the inhabitants of contemporary nations, especially from the Greeks. Anaxandrides taunted them in his verses. The priests lived solely on oxen, geese, wine, bread and a few vegetables. Mutton, pork and fish were expressly forbidden them. They were also warned to abstain from beans, peas, lentils, onions, garlic and leeks. On fast days they ate only bread and drank only water. The people of the higher classes probably ate only two meals a day, as was the custom with the early Greeks and Romans. The breakfast was usually served at 10 or 11 a. m., and the dinner or supper in the evening. In the early ages, before men had acquired the art of smelting ore, many of the culinary utensils of the Egyptians were either of stone or earthenware. Knives were made of flint or stone, and were of two kinds, one broad and flat, the other narrow and pointed. The skins of the goat and gazelle were fashioned into vessels for the carrying of water, and pans, dishes and vases for kitchen purposes were made of a red ware--sometimes of a light or yellow tint, sometimes of a brilliant and polished appearance.