17439 ---- Skin, Inflammation of the 62 Skin, Inflammation of the (Herb Remedies) 412 Skinner's Dandruff Cure 485 Sleep 603 Sleeplessness 299 Sleeplessness (Herb Remedies} 426, 430, 439 Smallpox, Diagnosis of 4 Smallpox 201 Causes 201 Symptoms 201 Eruptions 201 Confluent Form 201 Varioloid 201 Treatment 202 Diet 202 Nursing 202 General Rule for Disinfection 203 Hands, Body, etc 203 Vaccination and Re-vaccination and its Prevention of Smallpox 203 A Good Time to be Vaccinated 203 Why Vaccinate? 203 Smallpox entirely prevented by re-vaccination 204 Who Should Be Vaccinated 204 Who Should Not Be Vaccinated 205 When Should a Person be Vaccinated? 205 Vaccination after Exposure to Smallpox 205 With what should one be vaccinated? 206 Where Vaccination Should Be Performed? 206 After Vaccination 206 Common Appearances after Vaccination 206 What to do during and after Vaccination? 207 Make a Record of your Vaccination? 207 Lives Saved from Smallpox in Michigan 207 Smith's Electric Oil 470 Smooth Tonsilitis, Diagnosis of 5 Snake Bites 377 Symptoms of a Snake Bite 378 Treatment 378 First thing to do 378 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 680 1. Simple Poultice for 680 2. Onions and Salt for 681 Snake Bite (Herb Remedies) 434 Soda (Medical Use) 669 Salt Water Bath, Tonic Action 630 Softening of the Brain 298 Soft Diet 644 Soothing Syrup, Overdose of 622 Sore Eyes (Rare Prescription) 470, 549 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Camphor and Breast Milk for 681 Sore Mouth, Canker 97 Sore Mouth, Canker (Herb Remedies) 410, 420, 442, 444 Sore Throat 21 Symptoms 21 Chronic 21 Prevention of the Chronic Kind 21 Prevention of the Acute Kind 21 Mothers' Remedies 21 1. Used for Years Successfully 21 2. Splendid Liniment for 22 3. Simple Gargle for 22 4. Home Made Salve for 22 5. Cold Packs Sure Cure for 22 6. Ointment for 22 7. Remedy from a Mother in Johnson City, Tenn 22 8. Gargle and Application for 23 9. Vinegar Gargle for 23 10. Alum and Vinegar for 23 11. Kerosene for 23 12. Remedy always at hand 23 13. Simple Remedy for 23 Physicians' Treatment for Sore Throat 23 1. Inhalation of Steam 23 2. Sulphur and Cream for 23 3. Good Old Mothers' Remedies 23 1. Physicians' Local Treatment 24 2. When the Attack is Mild 24 3. I like the following at the beginning 24 4. For Chronic Catarrh 24 5. Other Gargles 24 6. Snuff 24 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Mustard Plaster for 681 Sore Throat (Herb Remedies) 418, 420, 431, 434, 442 Sore Throat (Rare Prescription) 475 Sores or Ulcers 72 Sores or Ulcers (Herb Remedies) 410, 412, 413, 416, 431, 434, 447 Southern Cholera Cure 483 Spasms 542, 616 Spasms (Herb Remedies) 420, 432 Spasmodic Asthma 37 Spasm of the Glottis 26 Special Diseases 265 Spice Plaster 635 Spice Poultice 634 Spice Poultice from a Stanlyton, Va., Mother 634 [938 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] Spinal Cord, Injuries of 303 Causes 303 Symptoms 303 Treatment 303 Traumatism of the Cord 303 Symptoms 303 Recovery 304 Treatment, Immediate 304 Spinal Cord, Organic Diseases of 304 Spine, Concussion of the 303 Splinters 621 Splinter, to Extract 682 Splints 381 Spoiled Foods, Poison by 407 Sponge Bath 630 Spots, Liver 61 Spotted Fever, Diagnosis of 4 Sprains 383 Sprains (Herb Remedies) 410 Squint 356 Internal or Convergent Squint 356 External or Divergent Squint 356 Causes of Convergent (Internal) Squint 356 Treatment 356 External (Divergent Squint) 356 Squint, Operation for 664 Stab Wounds 303 Stammering 301 Mothers' Remedies 301 1. Easy Cure for 301 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Canadian Mother's Treatment for 681 Physicians' Treatment 301 Starch Bath 630 Starch and Laudanum 641 Starch Poultice 632 Steatoma 85 Sterilization 624 Sterilized Milk 593 Sterilizing, A Simple Method of 593 Stiff Neck 324 Stimulant (Herb Remedies) 433 Stings 379 Mothers' Remedies 379 1. Leaves of Geranium Good for Bee or Wasp 379 2. Simple Remedy for 379 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Old Tried Canadian Remedy for 681 2. From Nettles 681 Stings (Herb Remedies) 412, 443 Stomach, Bleeding from 107 Stomach, Cancer of the 106, 334 Stomach Headache 270 Stomach, Neuralgia of the 107 Stomach, Operation for 665 Stomach, Acute Inflammation of the 111 Stomach Trouble 103 Stomach Trouble (Herb Remedies) 439, 442, 443 Stomach, Diagnosis of Ulcer of the 5 Stomatitis Aphthous 97 Stomatitis, Gangrenous 99 Strabismus 356 Strychnine, Poison by 407 Stye 348 Causes 348 Symptoms 348 Course 348 Mothers' Remedies 348 1. Home Method to Kill 348 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Common Tea Leaves for 681 Treatment 349 Suffocated, Treatment of 397 Sugar, Kind to Use 578 Sulphuric Acid, Poison by 407 Sulphur (Medical Use) 670 Summer Complaint, Prepared Flour for 648 Sunburn 90 Mothers' Remedies 91 1. Lemon Juice and Vinegar for 91 2. Ammonia Water for 91 3. Relief from Pain and Smarting of 91 4. Preparation for 91 Physicians' Treatment 91 1. For Sunburn 91 2. For Sunburn 91 3. The following is a good combination 91 Sunstrokes 375 Symptoms 375 Prognosis 376 Mothers' Remedies 376 1. Quick Method to Relieve 376 Treatment 376 For Severe Cases 376 Medicine 376 Sunstrokes and Intoxicants (Chapter) 371 Superficial Felons 70 Suppurative Tonsilitis 190 Sweating, to Cause (Herb Remedies) 441, 443, 444 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 681 1. Sweating, to Cause 681 2. Another 682 Sweating, Excessive 75 Symptoms 75 Causes 75 Treatment 75 Application for the Local Treatment 75 White Oak Bark for 75 Sweating, Excessive (Herb Remedies) 426, 432, 434 Sweating, Foul 57 Symptoms 57 Mothers' Remedies 57 1. Alum Water for 57 2. Borax and Alcohol for 57 3. Simple Home Remedy for 57 Physicians' Treatment 57 1. Dressing Powders 57 2. Boric Acid, powdered, may also be used 57 3. Dusting Powder 57 4. One per cent Solution 58 Sweat, Lessened Secretion of 57 Sweats, Night 44 Swellings (Herb Remedies) 429, 443 Swelling of the Glottis 26 Symptoms 26 Sympathetic Inflammation of the Eye 334 Sympathetic Ophthalmia 354 Syphilis 415 Syphilis (Herb Remedies) 415, 429, 434, 435, 436, 438, 440 Syrup of Figs 485 Table 636 Taenia Saginata 48 Taenia Solium 48 Talipes 370 Tape Worm 48 Tape Worm (Rare Prescription) 483 Tapioca Jelly 652 Tartar Emetic, Poison by 407 Taste 307 Taste Buds 307 Taste Buds, Plate of 308 Teeth 563 Teething 560, 618 Tegumentary (Skin) Leprosy 238 Temperature (Fever) Under the Tongue, Arm-pit 642 Temperature of the Room 624 Tetanus 231 Tetter, Dry 63 [MEDICAL INDEX 939] Tetter, Humid 63 Things in the Ear 395 Things in the Nose 396 Thomas's Electric Oil 486 Thread Worm 46 Throat, Sore 21 Throat, Sore (Herb Remedies) 418, 420, 425, 431, 434, 437, 442, 444 Thrush 551 Thumb, Dislocation 380 Thyroid Gland, Diseases of 258 Symptoms 258 Treatment 258 Thyroiditis 258 Tic Doloureux 265 Tickling in Throat 25 Tinea Trichophytina 86 Tobacco, Poison by 407 Toe-Nail, Ingrowing 395 Tongue, The 642 Ulcers 643 High Fever 643 Dark Brown or Blackish Coating 643 Strawberry Tongue 643 Cankered Tongue 643 Cholera Infantum 643 Constipation 643 Biliousness 643 Tonic (Herb Remedies) 424, 425, 428, 432, 444, 445 Tonic, General (Rare Prescription) 475 Tonsilitis, Diagnosis of 5 Tonsilitis, Acute 187 Follicular, Inflammation of 187 Causes 187 Symptoms 187 Diagnosis Between Acute Tonsilitis and Diphtheria 188 Mothers' Remedies 188 1. Raw Onion for 188 2. Peppermint Oil good for 188 3. Borax Water for 188 4. Salt and Pepper with relieve 188 5. Peroxide of Hydrogen will cure 188 6. A Remedy Effective for 188 Physicians' Treatment for Tonsilitis 189 1. Home Treatment 189 2. Smartweed 189 3. Salt Pork for 189 4. Liniment 189 5. Internally 189 6. Hot Water 189 7. Thyme 189 8. Steaming with Compound Tincture of Benzoin 189 9. For the Pain 189 10. Medicines, Parke, Davis & Co., Anti-Tonsilitis Tablet No. 645 is very good 190 11. Aspirin 190 12. Dr. Hare of Philadelphia 190 Tonsilitis, Suppurative 190 Tonsils, Operation for 665 Tonsil, Pharyngeal 8 Toothache 119 Mothers' Remedies 119 1. Dry Salt and Alum for 119 2. Oil of Cloves quick relief for 119 3. Home Made Poultice for 119 4. Clove Oil and Chloroform 119 5. Sure Cure for 119 6. Salt and Alum Water for 119 7. Oil of Cinnamon for 119 8. Reliable Remedy for 119 9. From Decoyed Teeth 120 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 682 1. Benzoin for 82 2. Oil of Cinnamon for 682 Physicians' Treatment 121 Toothache (Herb Remedies) 418 Toothache (Rare Prescription) 483 Tooth Powders 120 Mothers' Tooth Powders 120 1. The Ashes of Burnt Grape Vine 120 2. Tooth Powder 120 3. Tooth Powder 120 4. Tooth Powder 120 5. Tooth Wash 120 6. Commonly Used 120 Torticollis 323 Tracheotomy and Intubation, Operation for 664 Traumatism of the Cord 303 Symptoms 303 Recovery 304 Treatment, Immediate 304 Tremens, Delirium 372 Trichiniasis 50 Modes of Infection 51 Symptoms 51 Physicians' Treatment 52 Tricuspid Stenosis (narrowing) 344 Recovery 344 Treatment: (a) While Compensated 344 (b) The Stage of Broken Compensation 344 Tricuspid (Valve) Insufficiency 344 Cause 344 Trifacial Neuralgia 265 Tub Bath (common) 631 Tuberculosis of the Lungs, Diagnosis of 5 Tuberculosis 211 Forms-The Lungs 211 Ordinary Consumption 211 1. Acute Miliary Tuberculosis 211 (a) Acute General Miliary Tuberculosis 211 (b) Pulmonary (Lung) Type 211 (c) Tubercular Meningitis 211 2. Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes (glands) 212 3. Tuberculous Pleurisy 212 4. Tuberculous Pericarditis 212 5. Tuberculous Peritonitis 212 6. Tuberculosis of the Larynx 212 7. Acute Pneumonia (Pulmonary Tuberculosis) or Galloping Consumption 212 8. Chronic Ulcerative Pulmonary Tuberculosis 212 9. Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis 212 10. Tuberculosis of the Alimentary Canal 212 11. Tuberculosis of the Brain 212 12. Tuberculosis of the Liver, Kidneys, Bladder, etc 212 13. Tuberculosis of Joints 212 Mesenteric Kind 212 Mothers' Remedies 212 1. Simple Home Method to Break Up 212 2. Physicians' Treatment 212 Physicians' Treatment for Consumption 213 Sanitary 213 Prevention of Tuberculosis 213 Second 213 Individual Prevention 213 General Measures 214 At Home 214 Diet-Treatment 214 Diet in Tuberculosis Furnished by a Hospital 214 May Take 214 Must Not Take 214 What every person should know about Tuberculosis, whether he has had the disease or not 214 Tuberculosis (Herb Remedies) 437 Tuberculosis Patients, How to Treat the Sputum from 627 Tuberculosis, Cervical 212 [940 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] Tuberculated Leprosy 238 Tubercular Meningitis 210 Tubercular Peritonitis 134 Tuberculous Tumors 297 Tumors 336 A Benign Tumor 336 A Malignant Tumor 336 Some Varieties 336 Malignant Sarcoma (Sarcomata) 336 Diagnosis 337 Treatment 337 Tumors (Herb Remedies) 412, 434, 447 Tumors of the Brain 296 Causes-Predisposing 296 Gumma 296 Tuberculous Tumors 297 Glioma 297 Sarcoma and Cancer 297 Symptoms 297 Treatment 297 For Headache 297 For Vomiting 297 Tumor of the Nose 19 Turpentine (Medical Use) 670 Turpentine and Mustard Stupes 635 Turpentine Stupes 634 Typhoid Fever, Diagnosis of 5 Typhoid Fever 195 Cause 195 Symptoms 196 Time 196 Incubation 196 First Week 196 Second Week 196 Third Week 196 Fourth Week 197 Special Symptoms and Variations 197 Walking Type 197 Digestive Symptoms 197 Diarrhea 107 Perforation of the Bowel 197 Treatment 197 Prevention 197 Sanitary Care 197 Sanitary Care of the Household Articles 198 Diet and Nursing in Typhoid Fever 198 Cold Sponging 199 The Bath 199 Medical Treatment 199 Management of the Convalescent 199 Typhus Fever 200 Symptoms 200 Eruptions 200 Fever 201 Treatment like Typhoid 200 Ulcers 72 Causes 72 Treatment 72 Chronic Ulcer 72 Mothers' Remedies 72 1. The Potato Lotion for 72 2. Chickweed Ointment for 72 3. Healing Ointment for 72 4. Excellent Salve for 72 5. An Old German Remedy for 72 6. An Antiseptic Wash for 72 7. Chickweed and Wood Sage Poultice for 73 8. Blood Root and Sweet Nitre for 73 9. A Good Combination for 73 10. A Four Ingredient Remedy for 73 11. Carrots will heal 73 12. A Remedy that Cures 73 13. Bread and Indian Meal for 13 Physicians' Treatment for Ulcers 73 Balsam of Peru is good for 74 A Salve 74 Poultice 74 Indolent Sluggish Ulcer 74 Poultice for 74 Ulcers (Herb Remedies) 410, 412, 413, 416, 431, 434, 447 Ulcer of the Cornea, Diagnosis of 5 Ulcer of the Cornea 351 Ulcer of the Stomach, Diagnosis of 5 Ulcer of the Stomach and Duodenum 106 Symptoms 106 Physicians' Treatment 106 1. Rest 106 2. Feed by the Rectum 106 Uraemia, Acute 156 Uraemia, Acute (Herb Remedies) 435 Uraemia, Chronic 156 Uraemia, Toxaemia 166 Urethritis 235 Urethritis (Herb Remedies) 415 Urinary Passage 164 Mothers' Remedies 164 1. Dandelion Root win clean 164 Urinary Passage (Herb Remedies) 411, 415, 432, 436, 443 Urine, Blood in the 156 Urine, Scalding (Herb Remedies) 440 Urticaria 89 Uterus, Cancer of the 334 Vaccination 208 Symptoms 208 Vagina, The 491 Vaginal Douche, for Cleansing the 641 Vagina, Inflammation of 496 Vaginismus 497 Vaginitis 496 Van Buskirk's Fragrant Sozodont 485 Vanilla Snow 648 Varicella 179 Varicose Veins 345 Predisposing Causes 346 Exciting Causes 346 Physicians' Treatment 346 Palliative 346 Varicose Veins (Herb Remedies) 410 Variola 201 Varix 345 Vaselin (Medical Use) 670 Venereal Diseases 494 Ventilation 623 Verucca 80 Vestibule, The 491 Vinegar (Medical Use) 673 Vomiting 115 Mothers' Remedies 115 1. Spice Poultice to Stop 115 2. Mustard Plaster to Stop 115 3. Parched Corn, Drink to Stop 115 4. Peppermint Application for 115 5. Mustard and Water for 115 6. Warm Water for 115 Physicians' Treatment 115 1. For Vomiting 115 2. For Nervous Vomiting 115 3. A Little Brandy 116 4. Oil of Cloves 116 5. Lime Water 116 6. Vinegar Fumes 116 7. Seidlitz Powder 116 8. Mustard Plaster 116 9. One-tenth drop of Ipecac 116 10. One-half drop of Fowler's Solution 116 Vomiting (Herb Remedies) 423, 433, 440 Vulva, Cysts of 406 Vulva, Inflammation of 491 Vulva, Itching of 495 Vulvitis 494 [MEDICAL INDEX 941] Warm Baths (90 to 100 F.) 630 Wart 89 Mothers' Remedies 89 1. An Application for 89 2. Match and Turpentine for 89 3. Muriate of Ammonia for 89 4. Turpentine for 89 5. Warts, to Remove 89 6. Milkweed Removes 89 7. For Warts 89 Warts (Herb Remedies) 413, 416 Watt's Anti-Rheumatic Pills 487 Weak Back 682 Mothers' Remedies (Unclassified) 682 1. Liniment for 682 2. Turpentine, and Sweet Oil for 682 Weaning 569 Wen 85 Treatment 85 Wet Cupping 635 Whites, The 510 White's Cough Syrup 487 White Swelling 236 Whitlow 69 Whole Wheat Bread 653 Whooping Cough, Diagnosis of 5 Whooping Cough 180 Symptoms 181 The First Stage 181 Spasmodic or Second Stage 181 Stage of the Decline 182 Complications 182 Diagnosis 182 Mortality 182 Mothers' Remedies 182 1. Chestnut Leaves for 182 2. Chestnut Leaves and Cream for 182 3. Mrs. Warren's 182 4. Raspberry Tincture for 182 Physicians' Treatment for Whooping Cough 183 Medical Treatment 183 1. Good Powder 183 2. Tincture of Aconite 183 3. The Best Treatment 183 Diet 183 Whooping Cough (Herb Remedies) 437, 439 Whooping Cough (Rare Prescription) 484 Wine of Antimony (Poison by) 407 Wind-pipe, Bleeding from 38 WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT 489 Abortion (Accidents of Pregnancy) 524 Causes 525 Causes--Due to the Father--Paternal 525 Foetal Causes 525 Symptoms 525 Threatened Abortion 526 Inevitable Abortion 526 Treatment--Preventive 526 Treatment of Threatened Abortion 526 Treatment of the Inevitable Abortion 527 Placenta Praevia 527 Treatment 527 Amenorrhea 505 Causes 505 Symptoms 505 Treatment 505 Bleeding after Delivery 540 Breast Broken, Abscess 538 Breasts, Care of 538 Breasts, Inflammation of 538 Abscess, Broken Breast 538 Treatment-Preventive 538 Mothers' Remedies for Sore Breasts 539 1. A Never Failing Remedy for 539 2. An Herb Treatment for 539 3. A Hot Poultice for 539 4. Fresh Hops for 539 5. A Poultice of Peach Leaves for 539 Mothers' Remedies for Sore Nipples 539 1. A Good Wash for 539 2. A Good Family Ointment for 539 Cervix, Diseases of 497 Tear of the Cervix (Laceration) 497 Causes 497 Symptoms, Immediate and Remote 497 Remote Symptoms 497 Treatment 498 Cervix, Inflammation of the 498 Cause 498 Symptoms 498 Treatment 498 Cervix, Tear of 497 Childbirth 494 Clitoris, The 491 Convulsions (Eclampsia) 542 Treatment 542 Criminal Abortion 494 Cystocele 514 Causes 514 Symptoms 514 Treatment 514 Diseases of Women, Causes of 493 Menstruation 494 Dress 494 Prevention of Conception 494 Criminal Abortion 494 Childbirth 494 Venereal Diseases 494 Dress 494 Dysmenorrhea 507 Eclampsia 542 Endometritis 498 Endometritis, Putrid 500 Symptoms 500 Treatment 500 Diet 500 Endometritis, Septic, Puerperal 499 Symptoms 499 Treatment 499 Fallopian Tubes, Diseases of 502 Fallopian Tubes, Inflammation of 502 Fibromata 501 Genital Organs, Female, Anatomy of 490 Glands of Bartholin, The 401 Hemorrhage, Post-Partum (Bleeding After Delivery) 540 Causes 540 Symptoms 540 Treatment 540 Pulse and Temperature 541 Treatment 541 Diet 542 Hymen, The 491 Labia Majora, The 490 Labia Minora, The 490 Labor 528 Premonitory Signs of Labor 528 Stages of Labor 529 The First Stage 529 Second Stage 529 Third Stage 530 Management of Labor 530 Preparation of the Bed 530 Preparation of the Patient 530 Examination of the Patient 531 Management of the Second Stage 532 Dr. Manton, of Detroit, Says: 532 Management of the Third Stage 534 The Child 534 Another Method 535 The Mother 535 Rest 537 After-Pains 537 [942 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] The Bladder 537 The Bowels 533 Leucorrhea (The Whites) 510 Causes 510 From a Torn Cervix 510 In Inflammation of the Canal of the Cervix 510 Inflammation of the Body of the Womb 510 If the Inflammation Is Caused by Gonorrhea 510 Symptoms 510 Mothers' Remedies 510 1. Slippery Elm for 510 2. Glycerin for 511 3. Common Tea for 511 4. Witch-Hazel for 511 5. White Oak Bark for 511 6. A Good Herb Remedy for 511 7. Common Vinegar for 511 8. An Easily Prepared Remedy for 511 9. Home-Made Suppositories for 511 10. A Good Home Remedy for 512 11. A New York Doctor's Remedy for 512 Physicians' Treatment 512 Local 512 1. One Ounce of White Oak Bark 512 2. Tannic Acid and Glycerin 512 3. Lloyd's Golden Seal 512 4. This Combination Gives Good Service 512 5. Witch-Hazel in Warm Water 512 6. Many other Simple Remedies 512 Lochia, The 540 Diet 540 Menorrhagia 505 Causes 505 Local Causes 505 Symptoms 506 Physicians' Treatment for Profuse Menstruation 506 1. An Easily Prepared Remedy for 506 2. In Young Girls 506 3. Blaud's Pills Will Do Well 506 4. If the Appetite Is Poor 506 5. Tincture of Nux Vomica 506 6. Golden Seal Root 506 7. Oil of Erigeron or Flea-bane 506 8. Oil of Cinnamon 506 9. Cranesbill (Geranium Maculatum) 507 Menopause (Change of Life) 513 Symptoms 513 Mothers' Remedies 513 1. A Useful Herb Remedy for 513 2. An Old Tried Remedy for 513 3. Good Advice From an Experienced Mother 513 Physicians' Treatment 513 Menstruation 494 Menstruation, Delayed 504 Causes 505 Mothers' Remedies, Obstruction of Monthly Flow 503 1. An Herb Remedy for 505 2. Smartweed for 505 Menstruation, Difficult 507 Causes 507 Symptoms 507 Mothers' Remedies for Painful Menstruation 507 1. A Good Tonic for 507 2. A Home Remedy for 507 Physicians' Treatment 507 1. For the Attack 507 2. If the Patient's Nervous System Is Run Down 508 3. Fluid Extract of Blue Cohosh 508 4. Tincture of Pulsatilla 503 5. Tincture of Cocculus 508 Menstruation, Premature 504 Treatment 504 Menstruation, Vicarious (In Place of) 505 Midwifery, or Obstetrics 515 Milk Leg 542 Symptoms 542 Treatment 543 Diet 543 Miscarriage 524 Mons Veneris 490 Obstetrics, or Midwifery 515 Small Bodies 515 The Embryo or Impregnated Egg 515 Development of the Different Months 515 First Month 515 Second Month 515 Third Month 515 Fourth Month 516 Fifth Month 516 Sixth Month 516 Seventh Month 516 Eighth Month 516 Ninth Month 516 Nausea and Vomiting 517 Breasts 517 Bladder 517 Abdominal Changes 518 Pigmentation 518 Quickening 518 The Blood 518 Nervous System 518 Constipation Is the Rule 518 The Foetal Heart-beat 518 Pelvic Signs 519 Duration of Pregnancy 519 How to Determine Date of Confinement 519 Position of the Womb 519 Twins 519 Sex 519 Diagnosis 519 Hygiene of Pregnancy 519 Clothing 520 Food 520 Bathing 520 The Bowels and Bladder 520 Exercise, Rest and Sleep 521 The Vagina 521 The Breasts and Nipples 521 Nervous System 521 Disorders of Pregnancy 521 Mothers' Remedies 522 1. A Great Aid for 522 2. Nausea of Pregnancy, Menthol and Sweet Oil for 522 3. Bouillon or Broth for 522 4. Indigestion and Heartburn 522 Teeth 523 Constipation 523 Difficult Breathing 523 Varicose Veins and Piles 523 Piles 523 Albumin in the Urine (Albuminuria) 524 Treatment 524 Organs of Generation, The Internal 491 Ovaries, The 493 Ovary, Diseases of 503 Ovaries, Inflammation of the 503 Causes 503 Symptoms 503 Treatment 503 Physicians' Treatment 503 Ovaries, Tumors of the 504 Symptoms 504 Treatment 504 Ovaritis 503 Pelvis, The 400 Placenta Praevia 527 Pregnancy, Accidents of 524 Premature Labor (Accidents of Pregnancy) 524 [MEDICAL INDEX 943] Prevention of Conception 494 Pruritis 495 Rectocele 514 Causes 514 Symptoms 514 Treatment 514 Salpingitis 502 Causes 502 Symptoms 502 The Symptoms of the Chronic Variety 502 Treatment of the Acute Kind 503 For the Chronic Variety 503 Vagina, The 491 Vagina, Inflammation of 496 Varieties 496 1. Catarrhal or Simple Form 496 2. Granular 496 3. Gonorrheal Form 496 4. Diphtheritic 497 5. Senile Type 497 Symptoms 497 Treatment (In Acute Cases) 497 In Chronic Cases 497 Vaginismus 497 Treatment 497 Vaginitis 496 Venereal Diseases 494 Vestibule, The 491 Vulva, Cyst of 496 Cause 496 Symptoms 496 Condition 496 Treatment 496 Vulva, Inflammation of the 494 Causes 494 Other Causes 494 In Infants 495 Symptoms and Condition of the Parts 495 Treatment 495 1. If There Is Much Pain 495 2. For Chronic Form 495 Vulva, Itching of the 495 Causes 495 Parts Irritable 495 Symptoms 495 Treatment 496 Local 496 Vulvitis 494 Whites, The 510 Womb, Cancer of the Body of 500 Treatment 500 Womb, Displacements 508 Causes 508 Symptoms 508 Treatment 509 Operations 509 Womb, Falling or Prolapse of 509 For the Incomplete Falling 509 For the Complete Falling 509 Mothers' Remedies 509 1. Unicorn Root for 509 2. A Fine Herb Combination for 509 3. A Physician's Treatment for 509 4. A Never-Failing Remedy for 510 5. White Oak Bark for 510 Womb, Fibroid Tumors of 501 1. Interstitial 501 2. Sub-Mucus (Under the Mucous Membrane) 501 3. Sub-Peritoneal 501 Causes 501 Symptoms 501 Mothers' Remedy 501 1. Common Wood Cactus for 501 Treatment 501 Symptoms Calling for an Operation 501 Womb, Inflammation of the Lining of the 498 Causes 498 Acute Variety 498 Gonorrheal Variety, Symptoms 498 Mothers' Remedy 499 1. A Good Tonic for 499 Physicians' Treatment 499 Womb, Malignant Diseases of 500 Causes 500 Symptoms 500 Treatment 500 Womb, Subinvolution 501 Causes 501 Symptoms 501 Results 502 Treatment 502 Womb, Bleeding from the (Herb Remedies) 412, 413, 423 Womb, Cancer of the Body of 500 Womb, Displacements of 508 Womb, Falling or Prolapse 509 Womb, Fibroid Tumors of 501 Womb Headache 271 Womb, Inflammation of the Lining of 498 Womb, Malignant Disease of 500 Womb, Subinvolution 501 Wool Sorters' Disease 230 Worms, Flesh 61 Worms, Pin 46 Worm, Round 44 Symptoms 45 Mothers' Remedies 45 1. Sage Tea for 45 2. Tansy Remedy for 45 3. Peach Leaf Tea for 45 Physicians' Treatment 45 1. Dr. Osler of Oxford, England, recommends as follows 45 2. Dr. Ritter's Santonin Remedy 45 3. Dr. Douglas, of Detroit, Michigan 46 4. The Following Is from Professor Stille 46 Worm, Round (Herb Remedies) 414, 432, 446 Worm, Tape 48 Symptoms 48 Treatment, Preventive 49 Mothers' Remedies 49 1. Pumpkin Seed Tea for 49 2. Another Good Remedy for 49 3. Ontario Mothers' Remedy for 49 4. Successful Remedy for Children or Adults 49 Physicians' Treatment 49 Preparing the Patient 49 Giving the Remedy and Receiving the Worm 49 1. Light Diet 50 2. Pelletierine Remedy for 50 3. Infusion and Emulsion for 50 4. An Old-Time Remedy for 50 Worm, Thread 46 Mothers' Remedies 46 1. Aloes Treatment for 46 2. Pink Root for 46 3. Quassia Chips for 47 4. Lime Water Injection for 47 5. Salt Water Remedy for 47 Physicians' Treatment 47 1. Santonin in Small Doses and Mild Purgative Like Rhubarb 47 2. Santonin for 47 3. Dr. Tooker of Chicago, Illinois 47 4. Dr. Tooker Gives Another Method 47 5. Another Remedy for 47 6. Spearmint Treatment for 47 7. Internal Treatment for 48 8. Tincture of Cina, to Accompany Injection 48 [944 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] Worm, Thread (Herb Remedies) 423, 432, 446 Wounds 621 Wounds, Punctured 393 Wounds, Rusty Nail 393 Wounds, Stab 392 Wounds, Torn 393 Wounds, Torn (Herb Remedies) 430, 434, 443 Writer's Cramp 292 Causes 292 Symptoms 292 Recovery 292 Physicians' Treatment 292 Wry Neck 324 Yeast Poultice 633 Yellow Fever 224 INDEX TO MANNERS AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS INCLUDING PAGES 683 TO 790 MANNERS' AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS 683 Afternoon Wear 768 Incongruity in Dress 768 Appropriate Dress for Women 768 Bachelor Hospitality 704 Bachelor and the Chaperon, The 764 Cheaper Ways of Entertaining 765 Bachelor's Chafing Dish, The 765 Village Society, In 766 Should He Offer His Arm? 766 The Outside of the Walk 766 Minor Matters of Men's Etiquette 766 Cards and Calls 766 Bad Habits 767 Car Fare Question, The 767 Balls, the Etiquette of 722 Calls, the Etiquette of 690 Time and Manner 690 Men's Demeanor 690 "Pour Prendre Conge" 691 Girls' Manners 691 First Calls 691 Calls After Wedding 740 Card, Calling, Etiquette 688 For Women 688 A General Rule 688 After Social Functions 688 After Absence 688 For Men 689 Letters of Introduction 689 At a Hotel 689 Styles in Cards 689 Uses of Names 689 Carriage Etiquette 777 Minor Items 778 Children's Parties 727 Games 727 Supper 727 Games for Older Children 727 Christening Ceremonies 747 Ceremony, The 747 Sponsors 748 Church Christenings 748 Church Etiquette 776 Friendly Advances 776 Demeanor 776 Civility in Public 778 Rude Tourists 778 Telephone Etiquette 779 Concerning Introductions 685 Women and Introductions 685 When Calling 685 General Introductions 686 Men and Introductions 686 A Few Things Not to Do 686 In Company 687 School Girls' Etiquette 687 Cook's Work, The 781 Should Understand Duties 781 Nurse, The 782 Debutante, The 721 A Grave Mistake 721 Her Dress 721 If Not a Belle 722 Decollette Gowns Are Worn When? 769 Wearing the Hat 769 Ornaments 769 Debutante's Dress, The 769 Dressing on Modest Allowance 770 Dinner, The Informal 700 Family Dinners 701 Requirements 701 Setting the Table 702 Dinners and Luncheons 698 Formal Dinners 698 Serving the Dinner 698 The Help Required 699 Precedence 700 Be Prompt 700 Dress for Elderly Women 770 Suitable, The 770 Duties of a Chaperon 771 Mothers as Chaperons 771 Chaperon's Lot Not Easy 771 Chaperon a Social Help 771 Chaperon of the Motherless Girl, The 772 Avoid Espionage 772 Girls and the Chaperon, The 772 Chaperon in Middle Class Society, The 772 Duties and Dress of Servants 779 Maid, The One 779 Instructing the Maid 780 Maid's Serving, the 780 Duties of Waitress and Cook 781 Engagements, Announcement of 729 How Disclosed 729 After the Announcement 730 Girl's Behavior, The 730 Length of Engagement 730 Breaking Off 731 Wedding Trousseau, The 731 Engagements, Concerning 728 Parental Wishes 728 Entertainments, At Small 723 Card Parties 724 At the Party 724 Etiquette for Children 726 First Lessons 726 Etiquette of Correspondence, The 755 Essentials, The 756 Letter Forms 756 Abbreviations 757 What Not to Do 757 Placing the Stamps 758 [ MANNERS AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS 945] When to Write 758 Care in Writing 758 Keeping Letters 759 Letters of Congratulation and Condolence 759 Etiquette of Dress, The 767 Garden Parties 723 Refreshments 723 Guests, What is Expected of the 712 Dress at Week-End Visits 712 Men's Wear 712 Guests, The Obligations of 715 About Being Thoughtful 715 Outside Acquaintance 716 Other Points to Observe 716 Concerning Departure 716 At Home Again 717 Hat, The Etiquette of the 761 Coachman's Salute, The 762 Hat, When to Raise the 762 At Other Times 762 Hat and Coat When Calling 763 Home Wedding, The 740 Correct Attire 740 After the Wedding 742 Wedding Gifts 742 What to Give 742 Acknowledgments 743 Wedding Decorations 743 Hospitality in the Home 708 Real Hospitality 703 Short Visits 709 The Unexpected Visit 709 The Inopportune Arrival 709 Visits that Save Expense 710 Hostess, The Duties of 713 The Visitors' Comfort 713 Preparing for Company 713 The Hostess's Invitations 714 The Visitor's Entertainments 714 Invitations 692 Invitations, Formulas for 692 Replies 693 Must Not Ask Invitations 694 Other Particulars 694 Informal Invitations 694 Afternoon Tea 695 The Verbal Invitation 695 Luncheons 703 Formal Luncheons 703 Minor Particulars 703 Large Luncheons 704 Manners for Men 760 Value of Courtesy 760 Manners of the Gentleman, The 760 Training, A Matter of 761 Politeness an Armor 761 Manners and Social Customs 683 Importance of Knowledge 684 A Matter of Habit 634 Men's Dress 767 Mourning Garments 751 Expense of Mourning, The 752 Mourning Wear 752 Period of Mourning, The 753 French Mourning 753 Mourning for Men 754 Duties of Friends, The 754 Mourning Etiquette 749 Funerals, Conduct of 749 Undertaker, The 749 Duties of the Next Friend, The 750 House Funeral, The 750 Church Funerals 751 Flowers 751 Neighborhood Etiquette 777 Borrowing 777 Receptions 707 Receiving 707 Decorations 707 Rules for Precedence 763 Smoking, About 763 Smoke, Where not to 764 Expectoration, About 764 Social Affairs, The Young Girl's 718 Girl and the Chaperon 719 Girl and the Young Men, The 719 About Gifts 720 Telephone, The 720 Speech, Good Form in 773 Use of Slang and Colloquialisms 773 Form of Address 774 Courtesy of Conversation 774 "Stag" Dinners 725 Subjects of Conversation 775 Discourtesies 778 Some Things to Avoid 775 The Speaking Voice 776 Summary 782 Table Etiquette 704 At the Table 705 Using the Fork 705 Vegetables, Fruits, etc 705 The Spoon 706 Finger Bowls 707 Tea, the Musical and Informal 725 Visiting Etiquette for Girls 717 Deference to Age 718 Wedding-Anniversaries 745 Wedding, The 745 Silver Wedding, The 745 Golden Weddings, The 746 Courtesies of the Occasion, The 746 Gifts 747 Wedding Festivities 732 Engagement "Showers" 732 How Presented 732 Refreshments 733 Wedding Invitations and Announcements 696 Correct Form 696 The Bridegroom's Family 697 Other Items 697 Wedding Preparations 738 The Expense of the Wedding 733 Bride's Privileges, The 734 Who Pays? 735 Wedding Gown, The, 735 Later Wear of the Wedding Gown 735 Bridal Flowers 736 Widow's Bridal Attire 786 Man's Wedding Garments, The 736 Bride's Mother, The 737 Church Wedding, The Formal 737 Bride's Father, The 738 Another Form 738 Best Man's Duties, The 738 Duties of the Ushers 739 Wedding Reception, The 739 Refreshments 739 Going Away 739 Weddings, The Simplest of 744 Week-End Visits 710 Invitation, The 710 Amusements 711 Hostess's Arrangements 711 Young Girls' Parties 724 Birthday Party 725 [946 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] MISCELLANEOUS INDEX PAGES 790 TO 908 Including Chapters on "Beauty and the Toilet," "Nursery Hints and Fireside Gems," "Domestic Science," "Canning and Pickling," "Candy" "General Miscellaneous" and "Glossary" Acid or Lye, Burns from 858 Account Book, Kitchen 867 "Affection" (Quotation) 808 "After the Burial," from Lowell 809 "All Girls and Boys" (Quotation) 808 Almonds, Salted 830 Ants, Troubled With 886 Apples, The Quickest Way to Core 877 Awkwardness Due to Eyes 811 Baby, Amusing 814 "Baby-Class Tree, The" (Poem) 805 Baby's Fine Dresses 803 Baby's Kimona 802 Baby's Layette 801 Baby's Meals 807 Baby's Nerves 803 Baby's Nose 814 Baby's Outing 802 Baby's Petticoats 811 Baby, Pretty Things for 802 "Baby's Purpose" (Quotation) 808 Baby (Quotations) 801, 802 Baby, Rather Hard On 810 Baby's Sleeves 813 Baby's Veil 814 Baking, Apples Cored for 874 Baking Dishes, Discolored China 877 Baking Help 868 "Barefoot Boy" (Quotation) 804 Barefoot, Going 803 Basting Thread, To Save 885 Bathing the Baby, Hints for 866 Bathrobe, A 812 Bathtub, Folding 816 BEAUTY AND THE TOILET 790 "Be Discreet" (Quotation) 813 Bed Sheeting 872 Bed Time 815 Beef, Creamed 829 Beef-Tea, Preparing, A Way of 866 Bindings, Book With Delicate 890 Black Ants, How to Kill 861 Blacking, Soap With Stove 857 Blackheads 790 Blankets, To Remove Stains from 858 Blankets, To Wash White Woolen 889 Bowl, Finger 883 Boy's Garments 802 "Boys" (Quotation) 802 Bread, To Freshen 865 Breakfast Food, Cooking 884 Breakfast Food, To Open Packages 871 Broom Bags 864 Broom, How to Preserve the Household 880 Bruise or Cut, For 858 Brush, To Sweep Stairs With Paint 859 Bunions 799 Bureau Drawers That Stick 891 Buttons for Future Use 885 Buttonhole, To Make a Neat 876 Buttons, Sewing on 888 Cake Tins, Greasing 873 Cake Tins, Non-Sticking 860 Cake Tins, To Prevent Sticking 865 Canary Seed, To Keep Mice Away from 879 Candle Grease, To Remove 863 Candle Grease, To Take Out of Linen 881 Candles, To Keep in Warm Weather 879 CANDY MAKING 848 Candy Making at Home 848 Chocolate Candy, Plain 851 Chocolate Candies 850, 851 Chocolate Caramels 851 Chocolate Fudge 851 Chocolate Nut Caramels 851 Chocolate Peppermint Wafers 852 Chocolate Creams 850 Chocolate Creams, No. 2 851 Cocoanut Caramels 852 Cocoanut Cream Bars 851 Cocoanut Snow Balls 852 Confectioners' and Common Candy 848 Cream Dates 854 Crystallized Fruits 854 Bonbons, Making the 850 Butter Scotch 853 Flavor and Color 849 Fondant, French or Boiled 849 Fondant, Making the 849 Hints, A Few 855 Hoarhound Candy 854 Maple Balls 852 Maple Candies 852 Maple Creams, No. 2 852 Maple Creams 852 Marron Glaces 854 Marshmallows 854 Molasses Candies 852 Molasses Taffy 852 Molasses Taffy No. 2 853 Nougat 853 Nut Bars 853 Nut Loaf 853 Other Candies 854 Peanut Candy 853 Popcorn Baskets 853 Popcorn Candy 853 Sour Drops 853 School Girl's Delight 854 Stick Candy 854 Sugar, Boiling the 848 Wafers 852 CANNING 831 Apples 832 Apples and Quinces 831 Apple Sauce 832 Butter, Apple 832 Canning Fruits, Table for 833 Corn 833 Grapes 833 Peaches 832 Peaches, Brandy 832 [948 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] Flowers, Wild 814 Fly Paper Stains, To Remove 866 Fondue, Cheese 829 Food, Scorched 875 Forbearance (Quotation) 807 Forming Habits 815 Foulard Dress, Have You been Hoarding? 876 Four Things (Quotation) 815 Freckles 791 Freshen Nuts, How to 868 Friendship (Quotation) 813 Friends, Making (Quotation) 814 Fruit After Cutting, To Keep Grape 868 Fruit Cans, When the Top Cannot Be Removed 873 Fruit Stains, To Remove from the Hands 867 Furniture Brush, A Serviceable 890 Furniture, Clean Gilt 801 Furniture, Paint Wicker 801 Furniture Polish, A Good 880 Furniture, To Remove White Marks On 881 Furniture, To Wash 890 Gas, How to Economize on 886 Gas, Save the 865 Gilded Surfaces, To Clean 891 Gilt Frames, Cleaning 888 Gingham Apron for the Housewife 887 Glass, Paint That Sticks to 890 Gloss, To Give Starch a 874 Glass Stopper, How to Remove 866 Gloves, To Clean Kid 888 Gnawing Holes, If the Mice Are 872 Gowns, Afternoon 810 Gravies, Making 875 Gray Hair 795 Grease from Silk, To Remove 870 Grease, To Take Out Wagon 889 Greatness of Love, The (Quotation) 806 Hair, The 793 Hair, Care of the 794 Hair, Clipping the 794 Hair, Color of the 795 Hair, Dyed 795 Hair Brushes, Washing 859 Hair, Gray 795 Hair and Health 796 Hair Tonic, A 796 Hair, Washing the 795 Hands, The 797 Hand Churn, Small 878 Handkerchiefs, Uses for Men's Old Silk 889 Hands and Nose, Red 792 Hangers, Hat 864 Harsh Commands 813 Health as an Aid to Beauty 790 Hem, Putting in a Temporary 885 Hemstitching 871 Hems of Table Linen, To Turn Easily and Accurately 889 Hints, House-Cleaning 888 Homes, Summer 881 Honesty (Quotation) 814 Hot Water Bottle, To Preserve 859 House Account, Keeping a 874 House, A Spotless 879 Household, A Convenience for 889 Household, A Handy Disinfectant for the 892 House Key, How to Carry 862 Housekeeping, Systematic 868 Housewife, Hints for the 892 Housewife, Systematic, A 879 Human Face, The (Quotation) 806 Ice Box, Borax as a Purifier for 891 Idleness (Quotation) 804 Indulgence 807 Intemperance (Quotation) 803 Ironing Day, Conveniences for 877 Ironing Board, Conveniences for 861 Iron Holders Made from Asbestos 884 Iron Rust, To Remove 877 Iron Sink, To Keep in Good Condition 886 JAMS AND JELLIES 845 Apple 845 Blackberry Jam 846 Blackberry 845 Crab Apple 845 Cranberry 845 Gooseberry Jam 847 Grape 846 Orange Marmalade 846 Peach 847 Plum and Apple Jam 846 Raspberry Jams 847 Rhubarb 846 Rhubarb and Apple 846 Spiced Grape 846 Strawberry and Red Currant Jam 847 Tomato Marmalade 846 JAMS AND JELLIES (DOMESTIC SCIENCE METHOD) 822 Glasses for Jelly, To Prepare 822 Jelly Glasses, To Cover 823 Jelly Bag, To Make 823 Good Fruits for Making Jelly 823 General Directions for Making Jelly 823 Apple Jelly 823 Barberry Jelly 824 Crab Apple Jelly 823 Currant Jelly 824 Grape Jam 824 Grape Jelly 824 Quince Jelly 824 Raspberry Jam 824 Raspberry Jelly 824 Strawberry Jam 824 Keep Dainties Away from the Beginning 809 Kerosene Lamps, Paint Smoked from 857 Kettles, Burned 867 Kitchen Apron 877 Kitchen Apron, How to Attach Holder to 863 Kitchen Apron, Making a 875 Kitchen, Convenient Addition to 862 Kitchen, Drop Table for 877 Kitchen, A Useful Article in 886 Lace, Sewing 876 Laces, To Wash 858 Lamp Burners, To Clean 858 Lamps, Kerosene 868 Lap-Board, When Using 876 Last Step, The 868 Laugh, The Value of (Quotation) 812 Learning to Sew 804 Learning Wisdom (Quotation) 810 Leather Furniture, Clean 861 Lemons, How to Obtain More Juice 858 Lemons, Washing 872 Life (Quotation) 816 Linen Collars, Use of Old 859 Linen, To Make Easier to Write on 878 Linoleum, Clean 862 Linoleum or Oilcloth That Is Cracked 891 Little Minds 815 Liquid Whiteners 793 Living Room, Attractive 882 Long Seams, Basting 885 Love (Quotation) 805 Love, The Two Symptoms of 813 Lunches, Putting Up 891 Maidenhood (Quotation) 813 [MISCELLANEOUS INDEX 949] Machine Grease, To Remove 879 Market, Going to 890 MARMALADES AND BUTTERS (DOMESTIC SCIENCE METHOD) 825 Apple 825 Crab Apple 825 Peach 825 Pineapple 825 Rhubarb 825 Marred, If Tour Paint Has Been 881 Massage 792 Matrimony, Cares of (Quotation) 811 Meals, Airing House After 888 Meals, Cheerfulness at 871, 883 Meat, Broiling 870 Meat, The Color Should Be 873 Meat, Larding a Piece of 878 Medicine Cupboard 865 MEDICAL DICTIONARY 893 Medicine (Quotation) 811 Method 807 Methods of Cooking Eggs 813 Mildew, To Remove 874 Milk Vessels, Never Pour Scalding Water Into 872 Mittens, Kitchen 875 Moulding by Circumstances (Quotation) 815 Moulding, To Prevent Fruits from 891 Mop Handles, Uses of 884 Money to Children 812 Mother (Quotation) 801 Motherhood 801 Moths 871 Moths in Carpet 890 Mould, To Keep Free From 859 Mouth Breathing 812 Mouth and Teeth 797 Muddy Skirt, To Make Wash Easily 871 Mud Stains, To Remove 876 Music, To Pack 863 Mutton Chops, To Make Tender 875 Mysterious Future, The (Quotation) 808 Nails, Care of the 797 Finger Nail Powder 797 Implements 797 The Process 797 Nails, Ingrowing 799 Nail Powder, Finger 797 Needles, For Broken 862 Needle Holder, A 857 Needle Sharpener 867 Needles, Threading 885 Nicknames (Quotation) 803 Night Petticoats 812 Night Lamp, A New 864 Noon of Life, The (Quotation) 812 Now or Never (Quotation) 811 Nursery 810 NURSERY HINTS' AND FIRESIDE GEMS 800 Obedience 812 Oil Cloth, Buying a New 874 Old Velvet, Uses for 858 Oranges as Medicine 806 Oven, After Cake is Removed from 873 Oysters, Creamed 829 Oysters, Raw 883 Paint and Varnish, Cleaning 860 Pancakes, Sour Milk 869 Pantry, Closed Cupboards in the 874 Peaches, Left Over 870 Pea-Pods, Uses for 878 Peas Cooking 886 Petticoats, Children 867 Petticoat, making over a Heatherbloom 887 Petticoats, Making Children's 873 Piano Keys, To Clean 881 PICKLES 835 Beet 835 Blackberries, Mothers' 836 Brocoli 836 Cabbage 836 Cantelope, Sweet 836 Catsup, Aunt Mary's 838 Catsup, Grape 839 Catsup, Gooseberry 838 Catsup, Pepper 839 Catsup, Tomato 838 Cauliflower 835 Celery Sauce, Mother Used to Make 837 Cherries 839 Chili Sauce 837, 840 Cucumber, Ripe 837 Cucumber, Sliced 838 Currants, Spiced 840 Dill Pickles, Grandmother's 838 Grapes, Spiced 840 Green Beans 841 Green Tomato 839 Mustard 836, 838 Oyster Catsup 839 Peaches, Sweet 836 Pears, Ginger 840 Pickles, Bottled 838 Pickles, Mustard 839 Pickles, Mixed 836 Pickles, Spanish 840 Pickles, Sweet Mixed 839 Prunes, Sweet 836 Relish, Corn 839 Relish, Tomato 837 Sauce, Green Tomato, for Meats or Fish 837 Soye Tomato 840 Spiced Vinegar for Pickles 838 Tomato 837 Tomato, Green 837, 840 Tomato Relish 837 PICKLES (Domestic Science Method) 826 Chili Sauce 826 Cucumber, Sweet 827 Olive Oil Pickles 826 Pickled Pears or Peaches, Sweet 826 Tomato, Green 827 Picnic Supplies 808 Pie Crust, How to Make 863 Pillows, to Air 878 Pillow Slips, Changing 859 Pillows, Separate Night and Day 886 Pimples 791 Pinafore, The 810 Pineapple, To Preserve 884 Pincushion, A Brick 867 Pitchers, To Prevent Dripping 865 Plaster-of-Paris, To Clean 881 Playground for Boys 808 Plaited Skirt, Pressing a 873 Poison Bottle, To Mark 865 Poison, Let the Bottle Tinkle 863 Politics and Veracity (Quotation) 813 Pomades, Use of 794 Potatoes, To Improve Baked 875 Potatoes, Boiled 869 Potatoes, Browning 872 Powder, To Use 793 Praying of a Child (Poem) 800 PRESERVES 841 Apple 841 Apricot 842 Brandied Peaches 844 Cherries 841 Citron 842 [950 MOTHERS' REMEDIES] Citron and Quince 842 Fig and Rhubarb 841 Grape 844 Lemon Butter 841 Peaches 844 Pear 841, 842, 843 Pear Chip 845 Pineapple 842 Purple Plums 844 Quinces 844 Raspberry and Currant 822 Rhubarb 841 Spiced Currant 843 Spiced Gooseberries 843 Spiced Grapes 844 Spiced Peaches 845 Strawberry 822, 841, 843 Tomato 843 Princess Skirt 813 Progress (Quotation) 809 Prominent Ear 814 Pudding, Steaming or Boiling 886 Purses, Old Suitcases and 891 Putty, To Remove 871 Quilts, Hanging Out 890 Quilts, Washing 884 Rarebit, Welsh 830 Ravelings, A Use for 866 Reading (Quotation) 813 Reasoning Versus Punishment 802 Red Ant, To Destroy 867 Rice, Boiling 870 Roaches, To Exterminate 886 Rock Me to Sleep (Quotation) 809 Romper, The 807 Rouge 793 Rubber, To Mend 877 Ruffle Easily, To 873 Rugs, To Clean Light 880 Rugs, Cleaning 861 Rule, A Good (Quotation) 804 Rust, Charcoal to Prevent 857 Sacks, A Use for 857 Salad, Delicious 880 Salted Almonds 830 Sanitary Care of Baby' Bottles 815 Sanitary Drinking Cups 812 Saw, Toy 874 Scallops, To Mark 876 Schooling, Early (Quotation) 803 Screens, Putting A way 882 Scrub Bucket, Convenient 880 Scrub Bucket Leaks, When the 869 Scrubbing Brush, The Care of 857 Scrubbing Tender Faces 805 Seam, Stitching down 873 Securing Covering at Night 814 Selfishness (Quotation) 807 Sewing Machine, After Cleaning the 887 Sewing Machine, Conveniences 873 Sewing Room, A Hint 862 Sewing, To Save Time by 858 Sewing, Time Saved in 864 Sheets, to Hold in Place 866 Shelves for Cupboard 883 Shoes, Children's, To Save 879 Shoe Cover, A 863 Shoe Polisher, A Satisfactory 866 Shortcake, Meat 875 Sickness, in Case of 857 Sieve, To Clean 860 Silence (Quotation) 811 Silk Gloves, To Preserve 867 Silk, Grease Stains on 883 Silk, Using on the Machine 863 Silverware, Cleaning 890 Silver, To Clean 859 Skins of Tomatoes, To Remove Quickly 878 Skirts, To Press 863 Soap Shaker, Home-Made 861 Soft Soap, To Make 886 Song of Long Ago, A (Quotation) 810 Songs and Story-Telling 813 Souring, To Keep Bread from 872 Spoon, Uses of a Wooden 890 Sprinkling Clothes, New Method 671 Stains, Old Perspiration 889 Stains, Removing 859 Stained Water Bottles, To Make Clean 871 Stale Bread, Uses for 872 Starch, To Prevent from Boiling Over 866 Stews and Hash, How to Make 864 Stilletto, Convenient Place for 860 Stocking Tops, For Convenient Holders 864 Stockings from Wearing Out, To Prevent 867 Stoves, Cleaning 870 Stove, The Easiest Way to Blacken 875 Suits, Wash 872 Sunburn 791 Sweaters 814 Sweeping as a Beautifier 882 Sweeping Brush, Cleaning the 881 System (Quotation) 807 Tablecloths, to Prevent from blowing off 865 Table Linen, Mending 869, 885 Table Linen, A Neat Way to Hem 883 Table Linen, Fruit Stains on 880 Table, Preparing Oranges for the 871 Table, To Prevent Marks on the 888 Tomato, Hollowing out a 875 Tangled Threads, To Remove 887 Tarnished Brass, To Wash 876 Tea and Coffee 815 Tears, Banish 816 Tears (Quotation) 803 Teeth, Children's 798 Teeth, Cleansing the 798 Teeth Second 803 Temperature of the Nursery 809 Tinware Rusting, To Prevent 878 Tireless Talkers (Quotation) 806 Toast, Curried 829 Toaster, A Good Substitute for a 883 Tomato, Curry of 830 Tooth Powder 811 Tough Meat, to Make Tender 884 Towels, Loops on 859 Towels, Tea 879 Toy, Children's 869 Toys, Discarded 859 Training (Quotation) 803 Tub, Galvanized 874 Tub for the Playroom 811 Tufted Furniture, For 862 Underclothing, Hemstitching 885 Undergarments (Infants) 803 Unique Table Protector 815 Unselfishness 806 Vegetables, Boiling 890 Vegetable, Chestnuts as 874 Vegetables, To Make Tender 878 Vegetables, To Restore Freshness to 887 Veils, Washing 881 "Village Blacksmith," from Longfellow's 806 Vinegar, For Clearing 858 Vinegar, To Give a Nice Flavor 872 Wall Paper, Light Colored 879 Water Pipes in the Kitchen 872 Wedding Celebrations 810 [MISCELLANEOUS INDEX 951] Welsh Rarebit 830 Whisks, Worn Brooms or 887 White Dress, if turned yellow 874 White Fabric, To Remove Dust from 887 White Spots Caused by Dishes, to Remove 866 Wholesome Pleasures 805 Wild Flowers 802 Windows, Cleaning in Winter 861 Windows, For Closing 892 Window, Sanitary Screen 871 Windows, Washing 861 Wood Berries, Bright, May Be Preserved 881 Wood Floors, Soft to Paint 889 Wood Work, Old, to Keep Clean 881 Wood Work, To Wash Grained 888 Woolen Clothing, Cleaning Black 877 Woolens, Washing Fine 888 Wringer Rollers, Renewing 865 Wrinkles 792 Wrinkled Hands 792 Zweiback Noodles 808 15019 ---- A QUEENS Delight; OR, The Art of Preserving, Conserving and Candying. As also A right Knowledge of making Perfumes, and Distilling the most Excellent Waters. Never before Published. LONDON. Printed by _E. Tyler_, and _R. Holt_, for _Nath._ _Brooke_, at the Angel in _Corn-Hill_, near the Royal Exchange. 1671. A QUEENS DELIGHT OF Conserves, and Preserves, Candying and Distilling Waters. _To preserve white Pear Plums, or green._ Take the Plums, and cut the stalk off, and wipe them then take the just weight of them in Sugar, then put them in a skillet of water, and let them stand in and scald, being close covered till they be tender, they must not seeth, when they be soft lay them in a Dish, and cover them with a cloth, and stew some of the the Sugar in the glass bottom, and put in the Plums, strewing the sugar over till all be in, then let them stand all night, the next day put them in a pan, and let them boil a pace, keeping them clean scummed, & when your Plums look clear, your syrup will gelly, and they are enough. If your Plums be ripe, peel off the skins before you put them in the glass; they will be the better and clearer a great deal to dry, if you will take the Plums white; if green, do them with the rinds on. _To preserve Grapes_ Take Grapes when they be almost through ripe, and cut the stalks off, and stone them in the side, and as fast as you can stone them strew Sugar on them; you must take to every pound of Grapes three quarters of a pound of Sugar, then take some of the sower Grapes; and wring the juyce of them, and put to every pound of Grapes two spoonfuls of juyce, then set them on the fire, and still lift up the pan and shake it round, for fear of burning to, then set them on again, & when the Sugar is melted, boil them as fast as you can possible, and when they look very clear, and the syrup is somewhat thick, they are enough. _To preserve Quinces white._ Take a pair and coar them, and to every pound of your equal weights in Sugar and Quince, take a wine pint of water; put them together, and boil them as fast as you can uncovered; and this way you may also preserve Pippins white as you do Quinces. _To preserve Respass._ Take a pound of Respass, a pound of fine Sugar, a quarter of a pint of the juyce of Respass, strew the Sugar under and above the Respass, sprinkle the juyce all on them, set them on a clear fire, let them boil as soft as is possible, till the syrup will gelly, then take them off, let them stand till they be cold, then put them in a glass. After this manner is the best way. _To preserve Pippins._ Take fair Pippins, and boil them in fair water till they be somewhat tender, then take them out, and peel off the skins and put them into a fair earthen pot, and cover them till they be cold, then make the syrup with fair water and Sugar, seeth it, and scum it very clean, then being almost cold, put in your Pippins, so boil them softly together, put in as much rind of Oranges as you think will tast them, if you have no Oranges take whole Cinamon and Cloves, so boil them high enough to keep them all the year. _To preserve fruits green._ Take Pippins, Apricocks, Pear-Plums, or Peaches when they be green, scald them in hot water, and peel them or scrape them, put them into another water not so hot as the first, then boil them very tender, take the weight of them in Sugar, put to it as much water as will make a syrup to cover them; then boil them something leisurely, and take them up, then boil the syrup till it be somewhat thick, that it will batten on a dish side, and when they are cold, put them together. _To preserve Oranges and Lemons the best way._ Take and boil them as for paste, then take as much sugar as they weigh, and put to it as much water as will cover them by making a syrrup, then boil them very leisurely till they be clear, then take them up and boil the syrup till it batten on the dish side, and when they are cold put them up, &c. _An approved Conserve for a Cough or Consumption of the Lungs._ Take a pound of Elecampane Roots, draw out the pith, and boil them in two waters till they be soft, when it is cold put to it the like quantity of the pap of roasted Pippins, and three times their weight of brown sugar-candy beaten to powder, stamp these in a Mortar to a Conserve, whereof take every morning fasting as much as a Walnut for a week or fortnight together, and afterwards but three times a week. _Approved_. _To make conserve of Any of these Fruits._ When you have boiled your paste as followeth ready to fashion on the Pie-plate, put it up into Gallipots, and never dry it, and this is all the difference between Conserves. And so you may make Conserves of any Fruits, this is for all hard Fruits, as Quinces, Pippins, Oranges and Lemons. _To dry any Fruits after they are preserved, to or Candy them._ Take Pippins, Pears or Plums, and wash them out in warm water from the syrup they are preserved in, strew them over with searsed Sugar, as you would do flower upon fish to fry them; set them in a broad earthen Pan, that they may lie one by one; then set them in a warm Oven or Stove to dry. If you will candy them withall, you must strew on Sugar three or four times in the drying. _To preserve Artichokes young, green Walnuts and Lemons, and the Elecampane-Roots, or any bitter thing._ Take any of these, and boil them tender, and shift them in their boyling six or seven times to take away their bitterness out of one hot water into another, then put a quart of Salt unto them, then take them up and dry them with a fair cloth, then put them into as much clarified Sugar as will cover them, then let them boil a walm or two, and so let them stand soaking in the Sugar till the next morning, then take them up and boil the Sugar a little higher by it self, and when they are cold put them up. Let your green Walnuts be prickt full of holes with a great pin, and let them not be long in one water, for that will make them look black; being boiled tender, stick two or three Cloves in each of them. Set your Elecampane-Roots, being clean scraped, and shifted in their boilings a dozen times, then dry them in a fair cloth, and so boil them as is above written, take half so much more than it doth weigh, because it is bitter, &c. _To preserve Quinces white or red._ Take the Quinces, and coar them, and pare them, those that you will have white, put them into a pail of water two or three hours, then take as much Sugar as they weigh, put to it as much water as will make a Syrup to cover them, then boil your Syrup a little while, then put your Quinces in, and boil them as fast as you can, till they be tender and clear, then take them up, and boil the Syrup a little higher by it self, and being cold put them up. And if you will have them red, put them raw into Sugar, and boil them leisurely close covered till they be red and put them not into cold water. _To preserve Grapes._ Take the Clusters, and stone them as you do Barberries, then take a little more Sugar than they weigh, put to it as much Apple water as will make a Syrup to cover them, then boil them as you do Cherries as fast as you can, till the Syrup be thick and being cold pot it, thus may you preserve Barberries or English Currans, or any kind of Berries. _To preserve Pippins, Apricoks, Pear-Plums and Peaches when they are ripe._ Take Pippins and pare them, bore a hole through them, & put them into a Pail of water, then take as much Sugar as they do weigh, and put to it as much water as will make a Syrup to cover them, and boil them as fast as you can, so that you keep them from breaking, until they be tender, that you may prick a Rush through them: let them be a soaking till they be almost cold, then put them up. Your Apricoks and Peaches must be stoned & pared, but the Pear-Plums must not be stoned nor pared. Then take a little more Sugar than they weigh, then take as much Apple water and Sugar as will make a Syrup for them, then boil them as you do your Pippins, and Pot them as you do the Pippins likewise, &c. _To preserve Pippins, Apricocks, Pear-Plums, or Peaches green._ Take your Pippins green and quoddle them in fair water, but let the water boil first before you put them in, & you must shift them in two hot waters before they will be tender, then pull off the skin from them, and so case them in so much clarified Sugar as will cover them, and so boil them as fast as you can, keeping them from breaking, then take them up, and boil the syrup until it be as thick as for Quiddony; then pot them, and pour the syrup into them before they be cold. Take your Apricocks and Pear-Plums and boil them tender, then take as much Sugar as they do weigh, and take as much water as will make the syrup, take your green Peaches before they be stoned and thrust a pin through them, and then make a strong water of ashes, and cast them into the hot standing lye to take off the fur from them, then wash them in three or four waters warm, so then put them into so much clarified Sugar as will candy them; so boil them, and put them up, &c. _To dry Pippins, or Pears without Sugar._ Take Pippins or Pears and prick them full of holes with a bodkin, & lay them in sweet wort three or four dayes, then lay them on a sieves bottom, till they be dry in an Oven, but a drying heat. This you may do to any tender Plum. _To make Syrup of Clove-gilly flowers._ Take a quart of water, half a bushel of Flowers, cut off the whites, and with a sieve sift away the seeds, bruise them a little; let your water be boiled, and a little cold again, then put in your Flowers, and let them stand close covered twenty four hours; you may put in but half the flowers at a time, the strength will come out the better; to that liquor put in four pound of Sugar, let it lye in all night, next day boil it in a Gallipot, set it in a pot of water, and there let it boil till all the Sugar be melted and the syrup be pretty thick, then take it out, and let it stand in that till it be through cold, then glass it. _To make Syrup of Hysop for Colds._ Take a handful of Hysop, of Figs, Raisins, Dates, of each an ounce, of Collipint half an handful, French Barley one ounce, boil therein three pints of fair water to a quart, strain it and clarifie it with two whites of Eggs, then put in two pound of fine sugar, and boil it to a syrup. _To make Orange Water._ Take a pottle of the best Maligo Sack, and put in as many of the peels of Oranges as will go in, cut the white clean off, let them steep twenty four hours; still them in a glass still, and let the water run into the Receiver upon fine Sugar-candy; you may still it in an ordinary Still. _To dry Cherries._ Take a pound of sugar, dissolve it in thin fair water, when it is boiled a little while, put in your Cherries after they are stoned, four pound to one pound of Sugar, let them lye in the Sugar three dayes, then take them out of the syrup and lay them on sieves one by one, and set them before the Sun upon stools, turn them every day, else they will mould; when they look of a dark red colour, and are dry then put them up. And so you may do any manner of Fruit. In the Sun is the best drying of them, put into the syrup some juyce of Rasps. _To make juyce of Liquorish._ Take English Liquorish, and stamp it very clean, bruise it with a hammer, and cut it in peices; to a pound of Liquorish thus bruised, put a quart of Hysop water, let them soak together in an earthen pot a day and a night, then pull the Liquorish into small pieces, and lay it in soak again two dayes more; then strain out the Liquorish, and boil the liquor a good while. Stir it often; then put in half a pound of Sugar-candy, or Loaf-sugar finely beaten, four grains of Musk, as much Ambergreece, bruise them small with a little Sugar; then boil them together till it be good & thick, still have care you burn it not; then put it out in glass plates, and make it into round rolls, and set it in a drying place till it be stiff, that you may work it into rolls to be cut as big as Barley corns, and so lay them on a place again: If it be needful strew on the place again a little Sugar to prevent thickning; so dry them still if there be need and if they should be too dry, the heat of the fire will soften them again. _A Perfume for Cloths, Gloves._ Take of Linet two grains, of Musk three, of Ambergreece four, and the oyl of Bems a pretty quantity; grinde them all upon a Marble stone fit for that purpose; then with a brush or sponge rake them over, and it will sweeten them very well; your Gloves or Jerkins must first be washed in red Rose-water, and when they are almost dry, stretch them forth smooth, and lay on the Perfumes. _To make Almond Bisket._ Take the whites of four new laid Eggs, and two yolks, then beat it well for an hour together, then have in readiness a quarter of a pound of the best Almonds blanched in cold water, & beat them very small with Bose-wart, for fear of Oyling; then, have a pound of the best Loaf-sugar finely beaten, beat that in the Eggs a while, then put in your Almonds, and five or six spoonfuls of the finest flower, and so bake them together upon Paper plates, you may have a little fine Sugar in a piece of tiffany to dust them over as they be in the Oven, so bake them as you do Bisket. _To dry Apricocks._ First stone them, then weigh them, take the weight of them in double refined Sugar, make the syrup with so much water as will wet them, and boil it up so high, that a drop being droped on a Plate it will slip clean off, when it is cold, put in your Apricocks being pared, whilst your Syrup is hot, but it must not be taken off the fire before you put them in, then turn them in the syrup often, then let them stand 3 quarters of an hour, then take them out of the syrup, and tie them up in Tiffanies, one in a tiffany or more, as they be in bigness, and whilst you are tying them up, set the syrup on the fire to heat, but not to boil, then put your Apricocks into the syrup, and set them on a quick fire, and let them boil, as fast as you can, skim them clean, and when they look clear take them from the fire, and let them lie in the syrup till the next day, then set them on the fire to heat, but not to boil; then set them by till the next day, and lay them upon a clean Sieve to drain, and when they are well drained, take them out of the Tiffanies, and so dry them in a Stove, or better in the Sun with Glasses over them, to keep them from the dust. _To make Quinces for Pies._ Wipe the Quinces, and put them into a little vessel of swall Beer when it hath done working; stop them close that no air can get in, and this will keep them fair all the year and good. _The best way to break sweet Powder._ Take of Orrice one pound, Calamus a quarter of a pound, Benjamin one half pound, Storax half a pound, Civet a quarter of an ounce, Cloves a quarter of a pound, Musk one half ounce, Oyl of Orange flowers one ounce, Lignum Aloes one ounce, Rosewood a quarter of a pound, Ambergreece a quarter of an ounces. To every pound of Roses put a pound of powder; the bag must be of Taffity, or else the powder will run through. _To make excellent Perfumes._ Take a quarter of a pound of Damask Rose-buds cut clean from the Whites, stamp them very small, put to them a good spoonful of Damask Rose-water, so let them stand close stoopped all night, then take one ounce and a quarter of Benjamin finely beaten, and also searsed, (if you will) twenty grains of Civit, and ten grains of Musk; mingle them well together, then make it up in little Cakes between Rose leaves, and dry them between sheets of Paper. _To make Conserve of Roses boiled._ Take a quart of red Rose-water, a quart of fair water, boil in the Water a pound of red Rose-leaves, the whites cut off, the leaves must be boiled very tender; then take three pound of Sugar, and put to it a pound at a time, and let it boil a little between every pound, so put it up in your pots. _To make Conserves of Roses unboiled._ Take a pound of red Rose leaves, the whites cut off, stamp them very fine, take a pound of Sugar, and beat in with the Roses, and put it in a pot, and cover it with leather, and set it in a cool place. _To make a very good Pomatum._ Take the Fat of a young Dog one pound, it must be killed well that the blood settle not into the fat, then let the outer skin be taken off before it be opened, lest any of the hair come to the fat, then take all the fat from the inside, and as soon as you take it off fling it into Conduit water, and if you see the second skin be clear, peel it and water it with the other: be sure it cools not out of the water: you must not let any of the flesh remain on it, for then the Pomatum will not keep. To one pound of this fat take two pound of Lambs caule, and put it to the other in the water and when you see it is cold, drain it from the water in a Napkin, and break it in little peices with your fingers, and take out all the little veins; then take eight ounces of Oyl of Tartar, and put in that first, stiring it well together, then put it into a Gallon of Conduit water, and let it stand till night; shift this with so much Oyl and Water, morning and evening seven dayes together, and be sure you shift it constantly; and the day before you mean to melt it wring it hard by a little at a time, and be sure the Oyl and water be all out of it, wring the water well out of it with a Napkin every time you shift it; then put in three pints of Rose-water; let it stand close covered twelve hours, then wring out that, and put it in a pint of fresh Rose-water into a high Gallipot with the _Fæces_; then tie it close up, and set it in a pot of water, and let it boil two hours then take it out, and strain it into an earthen Pan, let it stand till it be cold; then cut a hole in it, and let out the water, then scrape away the bottom, and dry it with a cloth, and dry the pan, melt it in a Chafing-dish of Coales, or in the Gallipots; beat it so long till it look very white and shining; then with your hand fling it in fine Cakes upon white paper, and let it lye till it be cold, then put it into Gallipots. This will be very good for two or three years. _To make Raisin Wine._ Take two pound of Raisins of the Sun shred, a pound of good powdered Sugar, the juice of two Lemons, one pill, put these into an earthen Pot with a top, then take two gallons of water, let it boil half an hour, then take it hot from the fire, and put it into the pot, and cover it close for three or four dayes, stirring it twice a day, being strained put it into bottles, and stop it more close, in a fortnight or three weeks it may be drunk; you may put in Clove Gilly flowers, or Cowslips, as the time of the year is when you make it; and when you have drawn this from the Raisins, and bottled it up, heat two quarts of water more, put it to the ingredients, and let it stand as aforesaid. This will be good, but smaller than the other, the water must be boiled as the other. _To make Rasberry Wine._ Take a Gallon of good Rhenish Wine, put into it as much Rasberries very ripe as will make it strong, put it in an earthen pot, and let it stand two dayes, then pour your Wine from your Rasberries, and put into every bottle two ounces of Sugar, stop it up and keep it by you. _The best way to preserve Cherries._ Take the best Cherries you can get, and cut the stalks something short, then for every pound of these Cherries take two pound of other Cherries, and put them of their stalks and stones, put to them ten spoonfuls of fair water, and then set them on the fire to boil very fast till you see that the colour of the syrup be like pale Claret wine, then take it off the fire, and drain them from the Cherries into a Pan to preserve in. Take to every pound of Cherries a quarter of Sugar, of which take half, and dissolve it with the Cherry water drained from the Cherries, and keep them boiling very fast till they will gelly in a spoon, and as you see the syrup thin, take off the Sugar that you kept finely beaten, and put it to the Cherries in the boiling, the faster they boil, the better they will be preserved, and let them stand in a Pan till they be almost cold. _A Tincture of Ambergreece._ Take Ambergreece one ounce, Musk two drams, spirit of Wine half a pint, or as much as will cover the ingredients two or three fingers breadth, put all into a glass, stop it close with a Cork and Bladder; set it in Horse dung ten or twelve days, then pour off gently the Spirit of Wine, and keep it in a Glass close stopt, then put more spirit of Wine on the Ambergreece, and do as before, then pour it off, after all this the Ambergreece will serve for ordinary uses. A drop of this will perfume any thing, and in Cordials it is very good. _To make Usquebath the best way._ Take two quarts of the best _Aqua vitæ_, four ounces of scraped liquorish, and half a pound of sliced Raisins of the Sun, Anniseeds four ounces, Dates and Figs, of each half a pound, sliced Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger, of each half an ounce, put these to the _Aqua vitæ_, stop it very close, and set it in a cold place ten dayes, stirring it twice a day with a stick, then strain and sweeten it with Sugar-candy; after it is strained, let it stand till it be clear, then put into the glass Musk and Ambergreece; two grains is sufficient for this quantity. _To preserve Cherries with a quarter of their weights in Sugar._ Take four pound of Cherries, one pound of Sugar, beat your Sugar and strew a little in the bottom of your skillet, then pull off the stalk and stones of your Cherries, and cut them cross the bottom with a knife; let the juyce of the Cherries run upon the Sugar; for there must be no other liquor but the juyce of the Cherries; cover your Cherries over with one half of your Sugar, boil them very quick, when they are half boiled, put in the remainder of your sugar, when they are almost enough, put in the rest of the sugar; you must let them boil till they part in sunder like Marmalade, stirring them continually; so put them up hot into your Marmalade glasses. _To make Gelly of Pippins._ Take Pippins, and pare them, and quarter them, and put as much water to them as will cover them, and let them boil till all the vertue of the Pippins are out; then strain them, and take to a pint of that liquor a pound of Sugar, and cut long threads of Orange peels, and boil in it, then take a Lemon, and pare and slice it very thin, and boil it in your liquor a little thin, take them out, and lay them in the bottom of your glass, and when it is boiled to a gelly, pour it on the Lemons in the glass. You must boil the Oranges in two or three waters before you boil it in the gelly. _To make Apricock Cakes._ Take the fairest Apricocks you can get, and parboil them very tender, then take off the Pulp and their weight of Sugar, and boil the Sugar and Apricocks together very fast, stir them ever lest they burn to, and when you can see the bottom of the Skillet it is enough; then put then into Cards sowed round, and dust them with fine Sugar, and when they are cold stone them, then turn them, and fill them up with some more of the same stuff; but you must let them stand for three or four dayes before you turn them off the first place; and when you find they begin to candy, take them out of the Cards, dust them with Sugar again; so do ever when you turn them. _To preserve Barberries the best way._ First stone them and weigh them, half a pound of sugar to half a pound of them, then pair them and slice them into that liquor, take the weight of it in sugar; then take as many Rasberries as will colour it, and strain them into the liquor, then put in the sugar, boil it as fast as you can, then skim it till it be very clear, then put in your Barberries, and that sugar you weighed, and so let them boil till the skin be fully risen up, then take them off, and skin them very clean, and put them up. _To make Lozenges of Red Roses._ Boil your sugar to sugar again, then put in your Red Roses being finely beaten and made moist with the juyce of a Lemmon, let it not boil after the Roses are in but pour it upon a Pye-plate, and cut it into what form you please. _To make Chips of Quinces._ First scald them very well, then slice them into a Dish, and pour a Candy Syrup to them scalding hot, and let them stand all night, then lay them on plates, and searse sugar on them, and turn them every day, and scrape more sugar on them till they be dry. If you would have them look clear, heat them in syrup, but not to boil. _To make Sugar of Wormwood, Mint, Anniseed, or any other of that kinde._ Take double refined Sugar, and do but wet it in fair water, or Rose-water and boil it to a Candy, when it is almost boiled take it off, and stir it till it be cold; then drop in three or four drops of the Oyls of whatsoever you will make, and stir it well; then drop it on a board, being before fitted with Sugar. _To make Syrup of Lemons or Citrons._ Pare off all the rindes, then slice your Lemmons very thin, and lay a lare of Sugar finely beaten, and a lare of Lemons in a silver Bason till you have filled it, or as much as you mean to make, & so let it stand all night; the next day pour off the liquor that runs from it into a glass through a Tiffany strainer. Be sure you put sugar enough to them at the first, and it will keep a year good, if it be set up well. _To make Jambals of Apricocks or Quinces._ Take Apricocks or Quinces, and quoddle them tender, then take their Pulp and dry it in a dish over a Chafing-dish of coals, and set it in a Stove for a day or two; then beat it in a stone Mortar, putting in as much Sugar as will make a stiff paste; then colour it with Saunders, Cochinele or blew Starch, and make it up in what colour you please, rowl them with battle doors into long pieces, and tye them up in knots, and so dry them. _To make Cherry-water._ Take nine pound of Cherries, pull out the stones and stalks, break them with you hand, and put them into nine pints of Claret Wine, take nine ounces of Cinamon, and three Nutmegs, bruise them, and put them into this, then take of Rosemary and Balm, of each half a handful, of sweet Marjoram a quarter of a handful; put all these with the aforenamed into an earthen pot well leaded; so let them stand to infuse twenty four hours; so distil it in a Limbeck, keeping the strongest water by it self, put some sugar finely beaten into your glasses. If your first water be too strong, put some of the second to it as you use it. If you please you may tye some Musk and Ambergreese, in a rag, and hang it by a thread in your glass. _To make Orange Cakes._ Take Oranges and pare them as thin as you can, then take out the meats clean, and put them in water; let them lye about an hour, shift the water, and boil them very tender in three or four waters, then put them up, and dry them on a cloath: mince them as small as you can, then put them into a dish, and squeeze all the juyce of the meat into them, and let them stand till the next day, take to every pound of these a pound and a quarter of double refined Sugar. Boil it with a spoonful of water at the bottom to keep it from burning till it be Sugar again; then put in your Oranges and let them stand and dry on the fire, but not boil; then put them on glass plates, and put them in a stove, the next day make them into Cakes, and so fry them as fast as you can. _To preserve Oranges the French way._ Take twelve of the fairest Oranges and best coloured, and if you can get them with smooth skins they are the better, and lay them in Conduit water, six dayes and nights, shifting them into fresh water morning and evening; then boil them very tender, and with a knife pare them very thin, rub them with salt, when you have so done, core them with a coring Iron, taking out the meat and seeds; then rub them with a dry cloth till they be clean, add to every pound of Oranges a pound and half of Sugar, and to a pound of sugar a pint of water; then mingle your, sugar and water well together in a large skillet or pan; beat the whites of three Eggs and put that into it, then set it on the fire, and let it boil till it rises, and strain it through a Napkin; then set it on the fire again, and let it boil till the syrup be thick, then put in your Oranges, and make them seethe as fast as you can, now and then putting in a piece of fine loaf Sugar the bigness of a Walnut, when they have boiled near an hour, put into them a pint of Apple water; then boil them apace, and add half a pint of white Wine, this should be put in before the Apple-water, when your Oranges are very clear, & your Syrup is so thick that it will gelly, (which you may know by setting some to cool in a spoon) when they are ready to be taken off from the fire; then put in the juyce of eight Lemons warm into them, then put them into an earthen pan, and so let them stand till they be cold, then put every Orange in a several glass or pot; if you do but six Oranges at a time it is the better. _To preserve green Plums._ The greatest Wheaten Plum is the best, which will be ripe in the midst of _July_, gather them about that time, or later, as they grow in bigness, but you must not suffer them to turn yellow, for then they never be of good colour; being gathered, lay them in water for the space of twelve hours, and when you gather them, wipe them with a clean linnen cloth, and cut off a little of the stalks of every one, then set two skillets of water on the fire, and when one is scalding hot put in your Plums, and take them from the fire, and cover them, and let them rest for the space of a quarter of an hour; then take them up, and when your other skillet of water doth boil, put them into it; let them but stay in it a very little while, and so let the other skillet of water, wherein they were first boiled, be set to the fire again, and make it to boil, and put in your Plums as before, and then you shall see them rivet over, and yet your Plums very whole; then while they be hot, you must with your knife scrape away the riveting; then take to every pound of Plums a pound and two ounces of Sugar finely beaten, then set a pan with a little fair water on the fire, and when it boils, put in your Plums, and let them settle half a quarter of an hour till you see the colour wax green, then set them off the fire a quarter of an hour, and take a handful of Sugar that is weighed, and strow it in the bottom of the pan wherein you will preserve, and so put in your Plums one by one, drawing the liquor from them, and cast the rest of your Sugar on them; then set the pan on a moderate fire, letting them boil continually but very softly, and in three quarters of an hour they will be ready, as you may perceive by the greenness of your Plums, and thickness of your syrup, which if they be boiled enough, will gelly when it is cold; then take up your Plums, and put them into a Gallipot, but boil your Syrup a little longer, then strain it into some vessel, and being blood-warm, pour it upon your plums, but stop not the pot before they be cold. Note also you must preserve them in such a pan, as they may lye one by another, and turn of themselves; and when they have been five or six days in the syrup, that the syrup grow thin, you may boil it again with a little Sugar, but put it not to your Plums till they be cold. They must have three scaldings, and one boiling. _To dry Plums._ Take three quarters of a pound of Sugar to a pound of black Pear-plums, or Damsins, slit the Plums in the crest, lay a lay of Sugar with a lay of Plums, and let them stand all night; if you stone the Plums, fill up the place with sugar, then boil them gently till they be very tender, without breaking the skins, take them into an earthen or silver dish, and boil your syrup afterwards for a gelly, then pour it on your Plums scalding hot, and let them stand two or three dayes, then let them be put to the Oven after you draw your bread, so often untill your syrup be dryed up, and when you think they are almost dry, lay them in a sieve, and pour some scalding water on them, which will run through the sieve, and set them in an Oven afterwards to dry. _To preserve Cherries the best way, bigger than they grow naturally, &c._ Take a pound of the smallest Cherries, and boil them tender in a pint of fair water, then strain the liquor from the substance, then take two pound of good Cherries, and put them into a preserving-pan with a lay of Cherries, and a lay of sugar: then pour the syrup of the other Cherries about them, and so let them boil as fast as you can with a quick fire, that the syrup may boil over them, and when your syrup is thick and of good colour, then take them up, and let them stand a cooling by partitions one from another, and being cold you may pot them up. _To preserve Damsins, red Plums or black._ Take your Plums newly gathered, and take a little more sugar than they do weigh, then put to it as much water as will cover them; then boil your syrup a little while, and so let it cool, then put in your Damsins or Plums, then boil them leasurely in a pot of seething water till they be tender, then being almost cold pot them up. _To dry Pippins or Pears._ Take your Pippins, Pears, Apricocks, pare them, and lay them in a broad earthen pan one by one, and so rowl them in searsed Sugar as you flower fried fish; put them in an Oven as hot as for manchet, and so take them out, and turn them as long as the Oven is hot; when the Oven is of a drying heat, lay them upon a Paper, and dry them on the bottom of a Sieve; so you may do the least Plum that is. _To dry Pippins or Pears another way._ Take Pippins or Pears, and lay them in an earthen Pan one by one, and when they be baked plump and not broken, then take them out, and lay them upon a Paper, then lay them on a Sieves bottom, and dry them as you did before. _To dry Apricocks tender._ Take the ripest of the Apricoks, pare them, put them into a silver or earthen skillet, and to a pound of Apricocks put three quarters of a pound of Sugar, set your Apricocks over your fire; stirring them till they come to a pulp, and set the Sugar in another skillet by boiling it up to a good height, then take all the Apricocks, and stir them round till they be well mingled, then let it stand till it be something cold and thick, then put it into cards, being cut of the fashion of an Apricock, and laid upon glass plates; fill the Cards half full, then set them in your stove, but when you find they are so dry that they are ready to turn, then provide as much of your pulp as you had before, and so put to every one a stove, when they are turned, (which you must have laid before) & pour the rest of the Pulp upon them, so set them into your stove, turning them till they be dry. _To dry Plums._ Take a pound of Sugar to a pound of Plums, pare them, scald your Plums, then lay your Plums upon a sieve till the water be drained from them, boil your Sugar to a Candy height, and then put your Plums in whilst your syrup is hot, so warm them every morning for a week, then take them out, and put them into your stove and dry them. _To dry Apricocks._ Take your Apricocks, pare and stone them, then weigh half a pound of sugar to a pound of Apricocks, then take half that sugar, and make a thin syrup, and when it boileth, put in the Apricocks; then scald them in that syrup; then take them off the fire, and let them stand all night in that syrup, in the morning take them out of that syrup, and make another syrup with the other half of the sugar, then put them in, and preserve them till they look clear; but be sure you do not do them so much as those you keep preserved without drying; then take them out of that syrup, and lay them on a piece of Plate till they be cold; then take a skillet of fair water, and when the water boils take your Apricocks one after another in a spoon, and dip them in the water first on one side, and then on the other; not letting them go out of the spoon: you must do it very quick, then put them on a piece of plate, and dry them in a Stove, turning them every day; you must be sure that your Stove or Cupboard where you dry them, the heat of it be renewed three times a day with a temperate drying heat untill they be something dry, then afterwards turn once as you see cause. _Conserves of Violets the Italian manner._ Take the leaves of blue Violets separated from their stalks and greens, beat them very well in a stone Mortar, with twice their weight of Sugar, and reserve them for your use in a glass vessel. _The Vertue._ The heat of Choller it doth mitigate extinguisheth thirst, asswageth the belly, and helpeth the Throat of hot hurts, sharp droppings and driness, and procureth rest: It will keep one year. _Conserves of red Roses the Italian manner._ Take fresh red Roses not quite ripe, beat them in a stone Mortar, mix them with double their weight of Sugar, and put them in a glass close stopped, being not full, let them remain before you use them three months, stirring of them once a day. _The Vertues._ The Stomach, Heart, and Bowels it cooleth, and hindreth vapours, the spitting of blood and corruption for the most part (being cold) it helpeth. It will keep many years. _Conserve of Borage Flowers after the Italian manner._ Take fresh Borage flowers cleansed well from their heads four ounces, fine sugar twelve ounces, beat them well together in a stone Mortar, and keep them in a vessel well placed. The vertues are the same with Bugloss flowers. _Conserve of Rosemary flowers after the Italian manner._ Take new Rosemary Flowers one pound, of white sugar one pound; so beat them together in a Marble Mortar with a wooden Pestle, keep it in a gallipot, or vessel of earth well glassed, or in one of hard stone. It may be preserved for one year or two. _The Vertues._ It comforteth the heart, the stomach, the brain, and all the nervous part of the Body. _Conserve of Betony after the Italian way._ Betony new and tender one pound, the best sugar three pound, beat them very small in a stone Mortar, let the sugar be boiled with two pound of Betony-water to the consistance of a syrup, at length mix them together by little and little over a small fire, and make a Conserve, which keep in a glass. _The Vertues._ It helpeth the cold pains of the head, purgeth the stomach and womb: it helpeth stoniness of the Reins, and furthereth Conception. _Conserve of Sage._ Take new flowers of Sage one pound, sugar one pound; so beat them together very small in a Marble Mortar, put them in a vessel well glassed and steeped, set them in the Sun, stir them daily; it will last one year. _The Vertues._ It is good in all cold hurts of the brain, it refresheth the Stomach, it openeth obstructions and takes away superfluous and hurtfull humours from the stomach. _Conserve of flowers of Lavender._ Take the flowers being new, so many as you please, and beat them with three times their weight of white Sugar, after the same manner as Rosemary flowers; they will keep one year. _The Vertues._ The Brain, the Stomach, Liver, Spleen, and Womb it maketh warm, and is good in the Suffocation of the Womb, hardness of the spleen and for the Apoplexy. _Conserve of Marjoram._ The Conserve is prepared as Betony, it keepeth a year. _The Vertues._ It is good against the coldness, moistness of the Brain, and Stomach, and it strengthneth the Vital spirits. _Conserve of Peony after the Italian way._ In the Spring take of the Flowers fresh half a pound, Sugar one pound, beat them together in a good stone Mortar, then put them in a glass, and set them in the sun for three months, stirring them daily with a wooden Spathula. _The Vertues._ It is good against the Falling-sickness, and giddiness in the head, it cleanseth the Reins and Bladder. Touching Candies, as followeth. _To Candy Rosemary-flowers in the Sun._ Take Gum-Dragon, and steep it in Rose-water, then take the Rosemary flowers, good coloured, and well pickt, and wet them in the water that your Gum dragon is steeped in, then take them out, and lay them upon a paper, and strew fine Sugar over them; this do in the hot sun, turning them, and strewing Sugar on them, till they are candied, and so keep them for your use. _To Make Sugar of Roses._ Take the deepest coloured red Roses, pick them, cut off the white bottoms, and dry your red leaves in an Oven, till they be as dry as possible, then beat them to powder and searse them, then take half a pound of Sugar beaten fine, put it into your pan with as much fair water as will wet it; then set it in a chaffing-dish of coals, and let it boil till it be sugar again, then put as much powder of Roses as will make it look very red stir them well together, and when it is almost cold, put it into pailes, and when it is throughly cold, take them off, and put them in boxes. _To Candy Pippins, Pears, Apricocks or Plums._ Take of these fruits being pared, and strew sugar upon them, as you do flower upon frying fish; then lay them on a board in a Pewter dish, so put them into an Oven as hot as for Manchet; as the liquor comes from them, pour forth, turn them, and strew more Sugar on them, and sprinkle Rose-water on them, thus turning and sugaring of them three or four times, till they be almost dry, then lay them on a Lettice Wire, or on the bottom of a sieve in a warm Oven, after the bread is drawn out, till they be full dry: so you may keep them all the year. _To Candy or clear Rockcandy flowers._ Take spices, and boil them in a syrup of Sugar, then put in the flowers, boil them till they be stiff, when you spread them on a Paper, lay them on round Wires in an earthen pan, then take as much hard Sugar as will fill your pan, and as much water as will melt the sugar, that is half a pint to every pound; then beat a dozen spoonfuls of fair water, and the white of an Egg in a bason, with a birchen rod till it come to a Froth, when your sugar is melted and boiled, put the froth of the Egg in the hot syrup, and as it riseth, drop in a little cold water; so let it boil a little while, then scum it, then boil it to a Candy height, that is, when you may draw it in small threads between your finger and your thumb: then pour forth all your syrup that will run from it in your pan, then set it a drying one hour or two, which done pick up the wiers, and take off the flowers, and lay them on papers, and so dry them. _To Candy Spanish Flowers._ Take the Blossoms of divers sorts of flowers, and make a syrup of water and sugar, and boil it very thick, then put in your Blossoms, and stir them in their boiling, till it turn to sugar again, then stir them with the back of a spoon, till the Sugar fall from it; so may you keep them for Sallets all the year. _To Candy Grapes, Cherries or Barberries._ Take of these fruits, and strew fine sifted sugar on them, as you do flower on frying fish, lay them on a lattice of wier in a deep earthen pan, and put them into an Oven as hot as for Manchet; then take them out, and turn them and sugar them again, and sprinkle a little Rose-water on them, pour the syrup forth as it comes from them, thus turning and sugaring them till they be almost dry, then take them out of the earthen pan, and lay them on a lattice of wire, upon two billets of wood in a warm Oven, after the bread is drawn, till they be dry and well candied. _To Candy Suckets of Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, and Angelica._ Take, and boil them in fair water tender, and shift them in three boilings, six or seven times, to take away their bitterness, then put them into as much Sugar as will cover them, and so let them boil a walm or two, then take them out, and dry them in a warm Oven as hot as Manchet, and being dry boil the Sugar to a Candy height, and so cast your Oranges into the hot Sugar, and take them out again suddenly, and then lay them upon a lattice of Wyer or the bottom of a Sieve in a warm Oven after the bread is drawn, still warming the Oven till it be dry, and they will be well candied. _To Candy the Orange Roots._ Take the Orange Roots being well and tenderly boiled, petch them and peel them, and wash them out of two or three waters; then dry them well with a fair cloth; then pot them together two or three in a knot, then put them into as much clarified Sugar as will cover them, and so let them boil leisurely, turning them well until you see the Sugar drunk up into the Root; then shake them in the Bason to sunder the knits; and when they wax dry, take them up suddenly, and lay them on sheets of white Paper, and so dry them before the fire an hour or two, and they will be candied. _Candy Orange Peels after the Italian way._ Take Orange Peels so often steeped in cold water, as you think convenient for their bitterness, then dry them gently, and candy them with some convenient syrup made with Sugar, some that are more grown, take away that spongious white under the yellow peels, others do both together. _The Vertues._ They corroborate the Stomach and Heart. _To Candy Citrons after the Spanish way._ Take Citron Peels so large as you please the inner part being taken away, let them be steeped in a clear lye of water and ashes for nine dayes, and shift them the fifth day, afterward wash them in fair water, till the bitterness be taken away, and that they grow sweet, then let them be boiled in fair water till they grow soft, the watry part being taken away, let them be steeped in a vessel of stone twenty four hours, with a Julip, made of white Sugar and three parts water; after let them be boiled upon a gentle fire, to candiness of Penidies or Paste; being taken out of that, let them be put into a glass vessel, one by one, with the julip of Roses made somewhat hard or with sugar; some do add Amber and Musk to them. _The Vertues._ It comforteth the Stomach and Heart, it helpeth concoction. _Candied Cherries, the Italian way._ Take Cherries before they are full ripe, the stones taken out, put clarified sugar boiled to a height, then pour it on them. _Chicory Roots candied the Italian way._ Take Chicory new and green, the outward Bark being taken away, then before they be candied, let them be cut in several parts, and gently boiled, that no bitterness may remain, then set them in the air placed severally, and put sugar to them boiled to a height. Touching Marmalets, and Quiddony, as followeth. _To make Marmalet of Damsins._ Take two quarts of Damsins that be through ripe, and pare off the skin of three pints of them, then put them into an earthen Pipkin, those with the skins undermost then set the Pipkin into a pot of seething water, and let the water seethe apace untill the Damsins be tender. Cover the Pipkin close, that no water gets into them, and when they are tender, put them out into an earthen pan, and take out all the stones and skins, and weigh them, and take the weight with hard sugar, then break the sugar fine, and put it into the Damsins, then set it on the fire, and make it boil apace till it will come from the bottome of the skillet, then take it up, and put it into a glass but scum it clear in the boiling. _To make white Marmalet of Quinces._ Take unpared Quinces, and boil them whole in fair water, peel them and take all the pap from the core, to every pound thereof add three quarters of a pound of Sugar, boil it well till it comes well from the pans bottom, then put it into boxes. _To make Marmalet of any tender Plum._ Take your Plums, & boil them between two dishes on a Chafing dish of coals, then strain it, and take as much Sugar as the Pulp doth weigh, and put to it as much Rose-water, and fair water as will melt it, that is, half a pint of water to a pound of Sugar, and so boil it to a Candy height, then put the pulp into hot sugar, with the pap of a roasted apple. In like manner you must put roasted apples to make Past Royal of it, or else it will be tough in the drying. _To make Orange Marmalet._ Take Oranges, pare them as thin as you can; boil them in four several waters, let them be very soft before you take them out, then take two quarts of Spring-water, put thereto twenty Pippins pared, quartered, and coared, let them boil till all the vertue be out, take heed they do not lose the colour; then strain them, put to every pint of water a pound of sugar, boil it almost to a Candy-height, then take out all the meat out of the Oranges, slice the peel in long slits as thin as you can, then put in your peel with the juyce of two Lemmons, and one half Orange, then boil it to a Candy. _To make Quiddony of Pippins of Ruby or any Amber colour._ Take Pippins, and cut them in quarters, and pare them, and boil them with as much fair water as will cover them, till they be tender, and sunk into the water, then strain all the liquor from the Pulp, then take a pint of that liquor, and half a pound of Sugar, and boil it till it be a quaking gelly on the back of a spoon; so then pour it on your moulds, being taken out of fair water; then being cold turn them on a wet trencher, and so slide them into the boxes, and if you would have it ruddy colour, then boil it leasurely close covered, till it be as red as Claret Wine, so may you conceive, the difference is in the boiling of it; remember to boil your Quinces in Apple-water as you do your Plums. _To make Quiddony of all kind of Plums._ Take your Apple-water, and boil the Plums in it till it be red as Claret Wine, and when you have made it strong of the Plums, put to every pint half a pound of Sugar, and so boil it till a drop of it hang on the back of a spoon like a quaking gelly. If you will have it of an Amber colour, then boil it with a quick fire, that is all the difference of the colouring of it. _To make Marmalet of Oranges, or Orange Cakes, &c._ Take the yellowest and fairest Oranges, and water them three days, shifting the water twice a day, pare them as thin as you possible can, boil them in a water changed five or six times, until the bitterness of the Orange be boiled out, those that you preserve must be cut in halves, but those for Marmalet must be boiled whole, let them be very tender, and slice them very thin on a Trencher, taking out the seeds and long strings, and with a Knife make it as fine as the Pap of an Apple; then weigh your Pap of Oranges, and to a pound of it, take a pound and a half of sugar; then you must have Pippins boiled ready in a skillet of fair water, and take the pap of them made fine on a Trencher, and the strings taken out, (but take not half so much Pippins as Oranges) then take the weight of it in sugar, and mix it both together in a Silver or Earthen Dish; and set it on the coals to dry the water out of it, (as you do with Quince Marmalet) when your sugar is Candy height, put in your stuff, and boil it till you think it stiff enough, stirring it continually: if you please you may put a little Musk in it. Touching Pastrey and Pasties. _To make Sugar Cakes._ Take three pound of the finest Wheat Flower, one pound of fine Sugar, Cloves, and Mace of each one ounce finely searsed, two pound of butter, a little Rose-water, knead and mould this very well together, melt your butter as you put it in; then mould it with your hand forth upon a board, cut them round with a glass, then lay them on papers, and set them in an Oven, be sure your Oven be not too hot, so let them stand till they be coloured enough. _To make clear Cakes of Plums._ Take Plums of any sorts, Raspiss are the best, put them in a stone Jug, into a pot of seething water, and when they are dissolved, strain them together through a fair cloth, and take to a pint of that a pound of sugar, put to as much color as will melt it, and boil to a Candy height; boil the liquor likewise in another Posnet, then put them seething hot together, and so boil a little while stirring them together, then put them into glasses, and set them in an Oven or Stove in a drying heat, let them stand so two or three weeks, and never be cold, removing them from one warm place to another, they will turn in a week; beware you set them not too hot, for they will be tough; so every day turn them till they be dry; they will be very clear. _To make Paste of Oranges and Lemons._ Take your Oranges well coloured, boil them tender in water, changing them six or seven times in the boiling, put into the first water one handful of Salt, and then beat them in a wooden bowl with a wooden Pestle, and then strain them through a piece of Cushion Canvas, then take somewhat more than the weight of them in Sugar, then boil it, dry and fashion it as you please. _To make Rasberry Cakes._ Take Rasberries, and put them into a Gallipot, cover them close, and set them into a skillet of water, and let them boil till they are all to mash, then rub them through a strainer of Cushion Canvas, put the liquor into a silver bason, and set it upon a very quick fire; and put into it one handful or two of whole Rasberries, according to the quantity of your liquor; and as you shall like to have seeds in your paste: Thus let it boyl very fast till it be thick; and continually stir, lest it burn; then take two silver dishes that are of a weight, and put them into your scales, in the one put the Raspiss stuffe, and in the other double refined Sugar finely beaten, as much as the weight of Raspiss stuff; then put as much water to the sugar as will melt it, set it upon the fire, and let it boil till it be very high candied, then take it from the fire, and put your Raspiss stuff into it; and when your Sugar and Rasberries are very well mixt together, and the sugar well melted from about the dish, (which if it will not do from the fire, set it on again) but let it not boil in any case; when it is pretty cool, lay it by spoonfuls in places, and put it into your stuff, keeping temperate fire to it twice a day till it be candied that will turn them, joyn two of the pieces together, to make the cakes the thicker. _To make Paste of Genoa Citrons._ Take Citrons, & boil them in their skins, then scrape all the pulp from the core, strain it through a piece of Cushion Canvas, take twice the weight of the pulp in Sugar, put to it twice as much water as will melt it that is half a pint to every pound of Sugar, boil it to a Candy height; dry the Pulp upon a Chafing-dish of Coales, then put the syrup and the Pulp hot together, boil it with stirring until it will lye upon a Pye-plate, set it in a warm stone Oven upon two billets of wood, from the heat of the Oven, all one night, in the morning turn it, and set it in the like heat again, so turn it every day till it be dry. _To make a French Tart._ Take a quarter of Almonds or thereabouts, and peel them, then beat them in a mortar, take the white of the breast of a cold Capon, and take so much Lard as twice the quantity of the Capon, and so much Butter, or rather more, and half a Marrow-bone, and if the bone be little then all the Marrow, with the juyce of one Lemon; beat them all together in a Mortar very well, then put in one half pound of loaf sugar grated, then take a good piece of Citron, cut it in small pieces, and half a quarter of Pistanius, mingle all these together, take some flour, and the yolks of two or three Eggs, and some sweet Butter, and work it with cold water. _To make Cakes of Pear Plums._ Take a pound of the clear, or the Pulp, a pound of Sugar, and boil it to a Sugar again, then break it as small as you can, and put in the clear, when your Sugar is melted in it, and almost cold, put it in glass plates, and set them into your stove as fast as you can, with coals under them, and so twice a day whilst they be dry enough to cut; if you make them of the clear, you must make paste of Apples to lay upon them, you must scald them, and beat them very well, and so use them as you do your Plums, and then you may put them into what fashion you please. _To make Cakes, viz._ Take a pound of Sugar finely beaten, four yolks of Eggs, two whites, one half pound of Butter washt in Rose-water, six spoonfuls of sweet Cream warmed, one pound of Currans well pickt, as much flower as will make it up, mingle them well together, make them into Cakes, bake them in an Oven; almost as hot as for Manchet, half an hour will bake them. _To make a Cake the way of the Royal Princess, the Lady_ Elizabeth, _daughter to King_ Charles _the first._ Take half a peck of Flower, half a pint of Rose-water, a pint of Ale-yeast, a pint of Cream, boil it, a pound and an half of Butter, six Eggs, (leave out the whites) four pound of Currans, one half pound of Sugar, one Nutmeg, and a little Salt, work it very well, and let it stand half an hour by the fire, and then work it again, and then make it up, and let it stand an hour and a half, in the Oven; let not your Oven be too hot. _To make Paste of Apricocks._ Take your Apricock, & pare them, and stone them, then boil them tender betwixt two dishes on a Chafing-dish of coals; then being cold, lay it forth on a white sheet of paper; then take as much sugar as it doth weigh, & boil it to a candy height, with as much Rose-water and fair water as will melt the sugar; then put the pulp into the Sugar, and so let it boil till it be as thick as for Marmalet, now and then stirring of it; then fashion it upon a Pye-plate like to half Apricocks, and the next day close the half Apricocks to the other, and when they are dry, they will be as cleer as Amber, and eat much better than Apricocks itself. _To make Paste of Pippins like leaves, and some like Plums, with their stones, and Stalks in them._ Take Pippins pared and coared, and cut in pieces, and boiled tender, so strain them, and take as much Sugar as the Pulp doth weigh, and boil it to a Candy height with as much Rose-water and fair water as will melt it, then put the pulp into the hot sugar, and let it boil until it be as thick as Marmalet; then fashion it on a Pye-plate, like Oaken leaves, and some like half Plums, the next day close the half Plums together; and if you please you may put the stones and stalks in them, and dry them in an Oven, and if you will have them look green, make the paste when Pippins are green; and if you would have them look red, put a little Conserves of Barberries in the Paste, and if you will keep any of it all the year, you must make it as thin as Tart stuff, and put it into Gallipots. _To make Paste of Elecampane roots, an excellent remedy for the Cough of the Lungs._ Take the youngest Elecampane roots, and boil them reasonably tender; then pith them and peel them; and so beat it in a Mortar, then take twice as much sugar as the Pulp doth weigh, and so boil it to a Candy height, with as much Rose-water as will melt it; then put the pulp into the Sugar with the pap of a roasted-apple, then let it boil till it be thick, then drop it on a Pye-plate, and so dry it in an Oven till it be dry. _To make Paste of flowers of the colour of Marble, tasting of natural flowers._ Take every sort of pleasing Flowers, as Violets, Cowslips, Gilly-flowers, Roses or Marigolds, and beat them in a Mortar, each flower by it self with sugar, till the sugar become the colour of the flower, then put a little Gum Dragon steept in water into it, and beat it into a perfect paste; and when you have half a dozen colours, every flower will take of his nature, then rowl the paste therein, and lay one piece upon another, in mingling sort, so rowl your Paste in small rowls, as big and as long as your finger, then cut it off the bigness of a small Nut, overthwart, and so rowl them thin, that you may see a knife through them, so dry them before the fire till they be dry. _To make Paste of Rasberries or English Currans._ Take any of the Frails, and boil them tender on a Chafing-dish of coals betwixt two dishes and strain them, with the pap of a rosted Apple; then take as much sugar as the Pulp doth weigh, and boil to a Candy height with as much Rose-water as will melt it; then put the Pulp into the hot Sugar, and let it boil leisurely till you see it is as thick as Marmalet, then fashion it on a Pie-plate, and put it into the Oven with two billets of wood, that the place touch not the bottom, and so let them dry leasurely till they be dry. _To make Naples Bisket._ Take of the same stuff the Mackaroons are made of, and put to it an ounce of pine-apple-seeds in a quarter of a pound of stuff, for that is all the difference between the Mackaroons and the Naples Bisket. _To make Italian Biskets._ Take a quarter of a pound of searsed sugar, and beat it in an Alablaster mortar with the white of an Egg, and a little Gum Dragon steept in Rose-water, to bring it to a perfect paste, then mould it up with a little Anniseed and a grain of Musk; then make it up like Dutch-bread, and bake it on a Pie-plate in a warm Oven till they rise somewhat high and white, take them out, but handle them not till they be throughly dry and cold. _To make Prince Biskets_ Take a pound of searsed sugar, and a pound of fine flower, eight Eggs with two of the reddest yolks taken out, and so beat together one whole hour, then take you Coffins, and indoice them over with Butter very thin, then put an ounce of Anniseeds finely dusted, and when you are ready to fill your Coffins, put in the Anniseeds and so bake it in an Oven as hot as for Manchet. _To make Marchpane to Ice and Gild, and garnish it according to Art._ Take Almonds, and blanch them out of seething water, and beat them till they come to a fine paste in a stone Mortar, then take fine searsed sugar, and so beat it altogether till it come to a prefect paste, putting in now and then a spoonful of Rose-water, to keep it from oyling; then cover your Marchpane with a sheet of paper as big as a Charger, then cut it round by that Charger, and set an edge about it as about a Tart, then bottom it with Wafers, then bake it in an Oven, or in a Baking-pan, and when it is hard and dry, take it out of the Oven, and ice it with Rose-water and Sugar, and the white of an Egg, being as thick as butter, and spread it over thin with two or three feathers; and then put it into the Oven again, and when you see it rise high and white, take it out again and garnish it with some pretty conceit, and stick some long Comfits upright in it, so gild it, then strow Biskets and Carrawayes on it. If your Marchpane be Oyly in beating, then put to it as much Rose-water as will make it almost as thin as to ice. _Lozenges_ Take Blossoms of Flowers, and beat them in a bowl-dish, and put them in as much clarified Sugar as may come to the colour of the cover, then boile them with stirring, till it is come to Sugar again; then beat it fine, and searse it, and so work it up to paste with a little Gum Dragon, steep it in Rose-water, then print it with your mould, and being dry, keep it up. _To make Walnuts artificial._ Take searsed Sugar, and Cinnamon, of quantity a like, work it up with a little Gum Dragon, steep it in Rose-water, and print it in a mould made like a Walnut-shell, then take white Sugar Plates, print it in a mold made like a Walnut kernel, so when they are both dry, close them up together with a little Gum Dragon betwixt, and they will dry as they lie. _To make Collops like Bacon of Marchpane._ Take some of your Marchpane Paste, and work it in red Saunders till it be red; then rowl a broad sheet of white Paste, and a sheet of red Paste, three of the white, and four of the red, and so one upon another in mingled sorts, every red between, then cut it overthwart, till it look like Collops of Bacon, then dry it. _To make artificial Fruits._ Take a Mould made of Alablaster, three yolks, and tye two pieces together, and lay them in water an hour, and take as much sugar as will fill up your mold, and boil it in a _Manus Christi_, then pour it into your mould suddenly, and clap on the lid, round it about with your hand, and it will be whole and yellow, then colour it with what colour you please, half red, or half yellow, and you may yellow it with a little Saffron steept in water. Touching Preserves and Pomanders. _To make an excellent perfume to burn between two Rose leaves._ Take an ounce of Juniper, an ounce of Storax, half a dozen drops of the water of Cloves, six grains of Musk, a little Gum Dragon steept in water, and beat all this to paste, then roll it in little pieces as big as you please, then put them betwixt two Rose-leaves, and so dry them in a dish in an Oven, and being so dried, they will will burn with a most pleasant smell. _To make Pomander._ Take an ounce of Benjamin, an ounce of Storax, and an ounce of Laudanum, heat a Mortar very hot, and beat all these Gums to a perfect paste; in beating of it, put in six grains of Musk, four grains of Civet; when you have beaten all this to a fine paste with you hands with Rose-water, rowl it round betwixt your hands, and make holes in the heads, and so string them while they be hot. _To make an Ipswich Water._ Take a pound of fine white Castle-soap shave it thin in a pint of Rose-water, and let it stand two or three days; then pour all the water from it, and put to it half a pint of freshwater; and so let it stand one whole day, then pour out that, and put half a pint more, and let it stand a night more then put to it half an ounce of powder called sweet Marjoram, a quarter of an ounce of the powder of Winter-Savory, two or three drops of the Oyl of Spike, and the Oyl of Cloves, three grains of Musk, and as much Ambergreese; work all these together in a fair Mortar, with the powder of an Almond Cake dryed, and beaten as small as fine flour, so rowl it round in your hands in Rose-water. _To make a sweet Smell._ Take the Maste of a sweet Apple-tree, being gathered betwixt the two Lady-dayes, and put to it a quarter of Damask Rose-water, & dry it in a dish in an Oven; wet in drying two or three times with Rose-water, then put to it an ounce of Benjamin, an ounce of Storax Calamintæ: these Gums being beaten to powder, with a few leaves of Roses, then you may put what cost of Smells you will bestow, as much Civet or Ambergreese, and beat it altogether in a Pomander or a Bracelet. Touching Wine. _To make Hypocras._ Take four Gallons of Claret Wine, eight ounces of Cinnamon, three Oranges, of Ginger, Cloves, and Nutmegs a small quantity, Sugar six pound, three sprigs of Rosemary, bruise all the spices somewhat small, and so put them into the Wine, and keep them close stopped, and often shaked together a day or two, then let it run through a gelly bag twice or thrice with a quart of new Milk. _The Lady_ Thornburghs _Syrup of Elders._ Take Elder-berries when they be red, bruise them in a stone Mortar, strain the juyce, and boil it to a consumption of almost half, scum it very clear, take it off the fire whilest it is hot, put in sugar to the thickness of a syrup; put it no more on the fire, when it is cold, put it into Glasses, not filling them to the top, for it will work like Beer. This cleanseth the stomach and spleen, and taketh away all obstructions of the Liver, by taking the quantity of a spoonful in a morning, and fasting a short time after it. _To make gelly of Raspis the best way._ Take the Raspis, and set them over the fire in a Posnet, and gather out the thin juyce, the bottom of the skillet being cooled with fair water, and strain it with a fine strainer, and when you have as much as you will, then weigh it with Sugar, and boil them till they come to a Gelly, which you may perceive by drawing your finger on the back of the spoon. _To dry Fox Skins._ Take your shee Fox Skins, nail them upon a board as strait as you can, then brush them as clean as you can, then take Aqua Fortis, and put into it a six pence, and still put in more as long as it will dissolve it, then wash your skin over with this water, and set it to dry in the sun; and when it is dry, wash it over with the spirits of wine; this must be done in hottest time of Summer. Choice Secrets made known. _To make true Magistery of Pearl._ Dissolve two or three ounces of fine seed Pearl in distilled Vinegar, & when it is perfectly dissolved, and all taken up, pour the Vinegar into a clean glass Bason; then drop some few drops of Oyl of Tartar upon it, & it will cast down the Pearl into fine Powder, then pour the Vinegar clean off softly, then put to the Pearl clear Conduit or Spring water; pour that off, and do so often untill the taste of the Vinegar and Tartar be clean gone, then dry the powder of Pearl upon warm embers, and keep it for your use. _How to make Hair grow._ Take half a pound of Aqua Mellis in the Spring time of the year, warm a little of it every Morning when you rise in a Sawcer, and tie a little spunge to a fine box comb, and dip it in the water, and therewith moisten the roots of the Hair in combing it, and it will grow long, thick, and curled in a very short time. _To write Letters of Secret, that they cannot be read without the directions following._ Take fine Allum, beat it small, and put a reasonable quantity of it into water, then write with the said water. The work cannot be read, but by steeping your paper in fair running water. You may likewise write with Vinegar, or the juyce of Lemon or Onion; if you would read the same, you must hold it before the fire. _How to keep Wine from Sowring._ Tye a piece of very salt Bacon on the inside of your barrel, so as it touch not the Wine, which will preserve Wine from sowring. _To take out Spots of Grease or Oyl._ Take bones of sheeps feet, burn them almost to ashes, then bruise them to powder, and put of it on the spot, and lay it in the sun when it shineth hottest, when the powder becomes black, lay on fresh in the place till it fetch out the spots, which will be done in a very short time. _To make hair grow black, though any colour._ Take a little Aqua Fortis, put therein a groat or sixpence, as to the quantity of the aforesaid water, then set both to dissolve before the fire, then dip a small spunge in the said water, and wet your beard or hair therewith; but touch not the skin. _King_ Edwards _perfume._ Take twelve spoonfuls of right red Rose-water, the weight of six pence in fine powder of Sugar, and boil it on hot Embers and Coles softly, and the house will smell as though it were full of Roses; but you must burn the sweet Cypress wood before, to take away the gross air. _Queen_ Elizabeths _Perfume._ Take eight spoonfuls of Compound water, the weight of two pence in fine powder of Sugar, and boil it on hot Embers and Coals, softly, and half an ounce of sweet Marjoram dried in the Sun, the weight of two pence of the powder of Benjamin. This Perfume is very sweet, and good for the time. _Mr._ Ferene _of the_ New Exchange, _Perfumer to the Queen, his rare Dentifrice, so much approved of at Court._ First take eight ounces of Ireos roots, also four ounces of Pomistone, and eight ounces of Cutle-bone, also eight ounces of Corral, and a pound of Brick if you desire to make them red; but he did oftener make them white, and then instead of the Brick did take a pound of fine Alabaster; all this being throughly beaten, and sifted through a fine searse, the powder is then ready prepared to make up in a paste, which must be done as follows. _To make the said Powder into Paste._ Take a little Gum Dragant, and lay it in steep twelve hours, in Orange flower water, or Damask Rose-water, and when it is dissolved, take the sweet Gum, and grind it on a Marble stone with the aforesaid powder, and mixing some crums of white bread, it will come into a Paste, the which you may make Dentifrices, of what shape or fashion you please, but rolls is the most commodious for your use. _The Receipt of the Lady_ Kents _powder, presented by her Ladyship to the Queen._ Take white Amber, Crabs eyes, red Corral, Harts-horn and Pearl, all prepared several, of each a like proportion, tear and mingle them, then take Harts-horn gelly, that hath some Saffron put into a bag, dissolve into it while the gelly is warm, then let the gelly cool, and therewith make a paste of the powders, which being made up into little balls, you must dry gently by the fire side. Pearl is prepared by dissolving it with the juyce of Lemons, Amber prepared by beating it to powder; so also Crabs-eyes and Coral, Harts-horn prepared by burning it in the fire, and taking the shires of it especially, the pith wholly rejected. _A Cordial Water of Sir_ Walter Raleigh. Take a gallon of Strawberries, and put them into a pint of _Aqua vitæ_, let them stand for four or five days, strain them gently out, and sweeten the water as you please with fine Sugar; or else with perfume. _The Lady_ Malets _Cordial Water._ Take a pound of fine Sugar beaten and put to it a quart of running water, pour it three or four times through a bag; then put a pint of Damask Rose-water, which you must always pour still through the bag, then four penniworth of Angelica water, four pence in Clove-water, four pence of Rosa Solis, one pint of Cinnamon-water, or three pints and a half _Aqua vitæ_, as you find it in taste; put all these together three or four times through the bag or strainer, and then take half an ounce of good Muskallis and cut them grosly, & put them into a glass, and fill them with the water, &c. * * * * * _A Sovereign Water of Dr._ Stephens, _which he long times used, wherewith he did many Cures; he kept secretly till a little before his death, and then he gave it to the Lord Arch-bishop of_ Canterbury _in writing, being as followeth_, viz. * * * * * Take a Gallon of good Gascoine Wine, and take Ginger, Gallingale, Cinamon, Nutmegs, Cloves, Grains, Anniseeds, Fennil-seed, of every of them a dram, then take Caraway-seed, of red Mints, Roses, Thime, Pellitory of the Wall, Rosemary, wild Thime, Camomil, the leaves if you cannot get the flowers, of small Lavander, of each a handful, then bray the Spices small, and bray the Herbs, and put all into the Wine, and let it stand for twelve hours, stirring divers times, then still it in a Limbeck, and keep the first water, for it is best, then put the second water by it self, for it is good, but not of such vertues, &c. _The Vertues of this water._ It comforts the Spirits Vital, and helps all inward Diseases that come of cold, it is good against the shaking of the Palsie; it cures the contraction of the Sinews, helps the conception of Women if they be Barren, it kills the Worms in the Belly and Stomach; it cures the cold Dropsie, and helps the Stone in the Bladder, and in the Reins of the back; it helps shortly the stinking breath, and whosoever useth this Water morning and evening, (and not too often) it preserveth him in good liking, and will make him seem young very long, and Comforteth nature marvellously; with this water did Dr. _Stephens_ preserve his life, till extream age would not let him go or stand and he continued five years, when all the Physicians judged he would not live a year longer, nor did he use any other Medicine but this, &c. _A Plague Water to be taken one spoonful every four hours with one sweat every time._ Take Scabious; Betony, Pimpernel, and Turmentine-roots, of each a pound, steep these all night in three gallons of strong Beer, and distil them all in a Limbeck, and when you use it, take a spoonful thereof every four hours, and sweat well after it, draw two quarts of water, if your Beer be strong, and mingle them both together. _Poppy water._ Take four pound of the flower of Poppies well pickt and sifted, steep them all night in three Gallons of Ale that is strong, and still it in a Limbeck; you may draw two quarts, the one will be strong and the other will be small, &c. _A Water for a Consumption, or for a Brain that is weak._ Take Cream (or new milk) and Claret-wine, of each three pints of Violet-flowers, Bugloss and Borage-flowers, of each a spoonful, Comfrey, Knot-grass, and Plantane of these half a handful, three or four Pome-waters sliced, a stick of Liquorish, some Pompion seeds and strings; put to this a Cock that hath been chased and beaten before he was killed, dress it as to boil, and parboil it until there be no blood in it; then put them in a pot, and set them over your Limbeck, and the soft fire; draw out a pottle of water, then put your water in a Pipkin over a Charcoal fire, and boil it a while, dissolve therein six ounces of white Sugar-candy, & two penny weight of Saffron: when it is cold strain it into a glass, & let the Patient drink three or four spoonfuls three or four times a day blood-warm; your Cock must be cut into small pieces, & the bones broken, and in case the flowers and herbs are hard to come by, a spoonful of their stilled waters are to be used. _Another of the same._ Take a pottle of good Milk, one pint of Muscadine, half a pint of red Rose-water, a penny manchet sliced thin, two handfuls of Raisins of the sun stoned, a quarter of a pound of fine sugar, sixteen Eggs beaten; mix all these together, then distill them in a common still with a soft fire, then let the Patient drink three or four spoonfuls at a time blood warm, being sweetned with _Manus Christi_ made with Corral and Pearl; when your things are all in the still, strew four ounces of Cinamon beaten; this water is good to put into broath, &c. _A good Stomach Water._ Take a quart of _Aqua Composita_, or _Aqua vitæ_, (the smaller) and put into it one handful of Cowslip flowers, a good handful of Rosemary flowers, sweet Marjoram, a little Pellitory of the Wall, a little Betony and Balm, of each a little handful, Cinnamon half an ounce, Nutmegs a dram, Anniseeds, Coriander seeds, Caroway seeds, Gromel seeds, Juniper berries, of each a dram, bruise the spice and seed, and put them into _Aqua Composita_, or _Aqua vitæ_, with your Herbs together, and put into them a pound of very fine sugar, stir them well together, and put them into a glass and let it stand in the sun nine days, and stir it every day; two or three Dates, and a little race of Ginger sliced into it will make it the better, especially against wind, &c. _A Bag of purging Ale._ Take of Agrimony, Speedwell, Liverwort, Scurvy-grass, Water-cresses, of each a handful, of Monks Rhubarb, and red Madder, of each half a pound, of Horseradishes three ounces, Liquorish two ounces, Sassafrage four ounces, Sena seven ounces, sweet Fennil-seeds two drams, Nutmegs four; pick and wash your Herbs and Roots, and bruise them in a Mortar, and put them in a bag made of a Bolter, & so hang them in three gallons of middle Ale, and let it work in the Ale, and after three days you may drink it as you see occasion, &c. _The Ale of Health and Strength, by Viscount St._ Albans. Take Sassafras wood half an ounce, Sarsaparilla three ounces, white Saunders one ounce, Chamapition an ounce, China-root half an ounce, Mace a quarter of an ounce, cut the wood as thin as may be with a knife into small peices, and bruise them in a Mortar; put to them these sorts of Herbs, (viz.) Cowslip flowers, Roman-wormwood, of each a handful, of Sage, Rosemary, Betony, Mugwort, Balm and Sweet-marjoram, of each half a handful, of Hops; boil all these in six gallons of Ale till it come to four; then put the wood and hearbs into six gallons of Ale of the second wort, and boil it till it come to four, let it run from the dregs, and put your Ale together, and tun it as you do other purging Ale, &c. _A Water excellent good against the Plague._ Take three pints of Malmsey, or Muscadine, of Sage and Rue, of each one handful, boil them together gently to one pint, then strain it and set it on the fire again, and put to it one penniworth of Long Pepper, Ginger four drams, Nutmegs two drams, all beaten together, then let it boil a little, take it off the fire, and while it is very hot, dissolve therein six penniworth of Mithridate, and three penniworth of Venice Treacle, and when it is almost cold put to it a pint of strong Angelica water, or so much _Aqua vitæ_, and so keep it in a glass close stopped. _A Cordial Cherry-water._ Take a pottle of _Aqua vitæ_, two ounces of ripe Cherries stoned, Sugar one pound, twenty four Cloves, one stick of Cinamon, three spoonfuls of aniseeds bruised, let these stand in the _Aqua vitæ_ fifteen days, and when the water hath fully drawn out the tincture, pour it off into another glass for your use, which keep close stopped, the Spice and the Cherries you may keep, for they are very good for winde in the Stomach. _The Lord_ Spencers _Cherry-water._ Take a pottle of new Sack, four pound of through ripe Cherries stoned, put them into an earthen pot, to which put an ounce of Cinnamon, Saffron unbruised one dram, tops of Balm, Rosemary or their flowers, of each one handful, let them stand close covered twenty four hours, now and then stirring them; then put them into a cold Still, to which put of beaten Amber two drams, Corianderseed one ounce, Alkerms one dram, and distill it leisurely, and when it is fully distilled, put to it twenty grains of Musk. This is an excellent Cordial, good for Faintings and Swoundings, for the Crudities of the Stomach, Winde and Swelling of the Bowels, and divers other evil Symptomes in the Body of Men and Women. _The Herbs to be distilled for Usquebath._ Take Agrimony, Fumitory, Betony, Bugloss, Wormwood, Harts-tongue, Carduus Benedictus, Rosemary, Angelica, Tormentil, of each of these for every gallon of Ale one handful, Anniseed, and Liquorish well bruised half a pound, still these together, and when it is stilled, you must infuse Cinamon, Nutmeg, Mace, Liquorish, Dates, and Raisins of the Sun, and sugar what quantity you please. The infusion must be till the colour please you. _Dr._ Kings _way to make Mead._ Take five quarts and a pint of water, and warm it, then put one quart of Honey to every gallon of Liquor, one Lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of Nutmegs; it must boil till the scum rise black, that you will have it quickly ready to drink, squeeze into it a Lemon when you tun it. It must be cold before you tun it up. _To make Syrup of Rasberries._ Take nine quarts of Rasberries, clean pickt, and gathered in a dry day, and put to them four quarts of good Sack, into an earthen pot, then paste it up very close, and set it in a Cellar for ten days, then distill it in a Glass or Rosestill, then take more Sack and put in Rasberries to it, then when it hath taken out all the colour of the Raspis, strain it out and put in some fine Sugar to your taste, and set it on the fire, keeping it continually stirring till the scum doth rise; then take it off the fire, let it not boil, skim it very clean, and when it is cold put it to your distilled Raspis; colour it no more than to make it a pale Claret Wine. This put into bottles or Glasses stopt very close. _To make Lemon Water._ Take twelve of the fairest Lemons, slice them, and put them into two pints of White wine, and put to them Cinamon two drams, Gallingale two drams, of Rose-leaves, Borage and Bugloss flowers, of each one handful, of yellow Saunders one dram; steep all these together twelve hours; then distill them gently in a Glass still untill you have distilled one pint and an half of the Water, and then adde to it three ounces of Sugar; one grain of Ambergreese, and you will have a most pleasing cleansing Cordial water for many uses. _To make Gilly-flower Wine._ Take two ounces of dryed Gilly-flowers, and put them into a pottle of Sack, and beat three ounces of Sugar-candy, or fine Sugar and grind some Ambergreese, and put it in the bottle and shake it oft, then run it through a gelly bag, and give it for a great Cordial after a weeks standing or more. You may make Lavander as you do this. _The Lady_ Spotswood _Stomach Water._ Take white Wine one pottle, Rosemary and Cowslip flowers, of each one handful, as much Betony leaves, Cinamon and Cloves grosly beaten, of both one ounce; steep all these three dayes, stirring it often; then put to it Mithridate four ounces, and stir it together, and distil it in an ordinary still. _Water of Time for the Passion of the Heart._ Take a quart of white Wine, and a pint of Sack, steep in it as much broad Thime as it will wet, put to it of Galingale and Calamus Aromaticus, of each one ounce, Cloves, Mace, Ginger, and grains of Paradise two drams, steep these all night, the next morning distil it in an ordinary still, drink it warm with Sugar. _A Receipt to make damnable Hum._ Take Species de Gemmis, Aromaticum Rosatum, Diarrhodon Abbatis, Lætificans Galeni, of each four drams, Loaf-sugar beaten to powder half a pound, small _Aqua Vitæ_ three Pints, strong Angelica water one pint; mix all these together, and when you have drunk it to the Dregs, you may fill it up again with the same quantity of water. The same powders will serve twice, and after twice using it, it must be made new again. _An admirable Water for sore Eyes._ Take _Lapis Tutiæ_; Aloes Hepatica, fine hard sugar, of each three drams, beat them very small, and put them into a Glass of three pints, to which put red Rose-water and white Wine, of each one pint; set the Glass in the Sun, in the Month of _July_, for the whole Month, shaking it twice in a day for all that while; then use it as followeth, put one drop thereof into the Eye in the evening, when the party is in bed, and one drop in the morning an hour before the Patient riseth: Continue the use of it till the Eyes be well. The older the Water, the better it is. Most approved. _A Snail Water for weak Children, and old People._ Take a pottle of Snails, and wash them well in two or three waters, and then in small Beer, bruise them shells and all, then put them into a gallon of red Cows Milk, red Rose leaves dried, the whites cut off, Rosemary, sweet Marjoram, of each one handful, and so distil them in a cold still, and let it drop upon powder of white Sugar candy in the receiver; drink of it first and last, and at four a clock in the afternoon, a wine-glass full at a time. _Clary Water for the Back, Stomach, &c._ Take three gallons of midling Beer, put in a great brass Pot of four gallons, and put to it ten handfuls of Clary gathered in a dry day, Raisins of the Sun stoned three pounds, Anniseeds, and Liquorish, of each four ounces, the whites and shells of twenty four eggs, or half so many, if there be not so much need, beat the shells small, and mix them with the whites; put to the bottoms of three white loaves, put into the Receiver one pound of white sugar-candy, or so much fine loaf sugar beaten small, and distill it through a Limbeck, keep it close, and be seldom without it; for it reviveth very much the stomach and heart, strengtheneth the back, procureth appetite and digestion, driveth away Melancholly, sadness and heaviness of the heart, &c. _Dr._ Montfords _Cordial Water._ Take Angelica leaves twelve handfuls, six leaves of Carduus Benedictus, Balm & Sage, of each five handfuls, the seeds of Angelica and sweet Fennil, of each five ounces bruised, scraped and bruised Liquorish twelve ounces, Aromaticum Rosatum, Diamoscus dulcis, of each six drams; the Herbs being cut small, the seeds and Liquorish bruised, infuse them into two gallons of Canary Sack for twenty four hours, then distill it with a gentle fire, and draw off onely five pints of the spirits, which mix with one pound of the best Sugar dissolved into a Syrup in half a pint of pure red Rose-water. _Aqua Mirabilis, Sir_ Kenelm Digby's _way._ Take Cubebs, Gallingale, Cardamus, Melliot flowers, Cloves, Mace, Ginger, Cinamon, of each one dram bruised small, juyce of Celandine one pint, juyce of Spearmint half a pint, juyce of Balm half a pint, sugar one pound, flower of Cowslips, Rosemary, Borage, Bugloss, Marigolds, of each two drams, the best Sack three pints, strong Angelica water one pint, red Rose-water half a pint, bruise the Spices and flowers, & steep them in the Sack & Juyces one night, the next morning distill it in an ordinary Limbeck or glass still, and first lay Hearts-tongue leaves in the bottom of the Still. _The Vertues of the precedent Water._ This Water preserveth the Lungs without grievances, and helpeth them; being wounded, it suffereth the blood not to putrifie, but multiplieth the same; this water suffereth not the heart to burn, nor melancholly, nor the Spleen to be lifted up above nature; it expelleth the Rheum, preserveth the Stomach, conserveth Youth, and procureth a good colour, it preserveth Memory, it destroyeth the palsie; if this be given to one a dying, a spoonful of it reviveth him; in the summer use one spoonful a week fasting, in the winter two spoonfuls. _A Water for fainting of the Heart._ Take Bugloss and red Rose-water of each one pint, Milk half a pint, Anniseeds and Cinamon grosly bruised, of each half an ounce, Maiden-hair two handfuls, Harts-tongue one handful, both shred, mix all together, and distill it in an ordinary still, drink of it morning and evening With a little sugar. _A Surfeit Water._ Take half a bushel of red Corn Poppy, put it into a large dish, cover it with brown Paper, and lay another dish upon it, set it in an Oven after brown bread is baked divers times till it be dry, which put into a pottle of good _Aqua vitæ_, to which put Raisins of the sun stoned half a pound, six figs sliced, three Nutmegs sliced, two flakes of Mace bruised, two races of Ginger sliced, one stick of Cinnamon bruised, Liquorish sliced one ounce, Aniseed, Fennil-seed, and Cardamums bruised, of each one dram; put all these into a broad glass body, and lay first some Poppy in the bottom, then some of the other ingredients, then Poppy again, and so untill the Glass be full; then put in the _Aqua vitæ_, and let it infuse till it be strong of the spices, and very red with the Poppy, close covered, of which take two or three spoonfuls upon a surfeit, and when all the liquor is spent, put more _Aqua vitæ_ to it, and it will have the same effect the second time, but no more after. _Dr._ Butlers _Cordial Water against Melancholly, &c. most approved._ Take the flowers of Cowslips, Marigolds, Pinks, Clove-gilly-flowers, single stock gilly-flowers, of each four handfuls, the flowers of Rosemary, and Damask Roses, of each three handfuls, Borage and Bugloss flowers, and Balm leaves, of each two handfuls; put them in a quart of Canary Wine into a great Bottle or Jug close stopped, with a Cork, sometimes stirring the flowers and wine together, adding to them Anniseeds bruised one dram, two Nutmegs sliced, _English_ Saffron two pennyworth; after some time of infusion, distill them in a cold Still with a hot fire, hanging at the Nose of the Still Ambergreece and Musk, of each one grain; then to the distilled water put White Sugar-candy finely beaten six ounces, and put the glass wherein they are into hot water for one hour. Take of this water at one time three spoonfuls thrice a week, or when you are ill, it cureth all melancholly fumes, and infinitely comforts the spirits. _The admirable and most famous Snail Water._ Take a peck of garden shell snails, wash them well in small beer, and put them in a hot Oven till they have done making a noise, then take them out, and wipe them well from the green froth that is upon them, and bruise them shells and all in a stone Mortar, then take a quart of earth worms, scower them with salt, slit them & wash them well with water from their filth, and in a stone Mortar beat them to pieces, then lay in the bottom of your distilled pot Angelica two handfuls, and two handfuls of Celandine upon them, to which put two quarts of Rosemary flowers, Bears foot, Agrimony, red Dock Roots, Bark of Barberries, Betony, Wood sorrel, of each two handfuls, Rue one handful; then lay the Snails and worms on the top of the Herbs and Flowers, then pour on three Gallons of the strongest Ale, and let it stand all night, in the morning put in three ounces of Cloves beaten, six penniworth of beaten Saffron and on the top of them six ounces of shaved Harts-horn, then set on the Limbeck, and close it with paste, and so receive the water by pints, which will be nine in all, the first is the strongest, whereof take in the morning two spoonfuls in four spoonfuls of small Beer, and the like in the afternoon; you must keep a good Diet and use moderate exercise to warm the blood. This Water is good against all Obstructions whatsoever. It cureth a Consumption and Dropsie, the stopping of the Stomach and Liver. It may be distilled with milk for weak people and children, with Harts-tongue and Elecampance. _A singular Mint water._ Take a still full of Mints, put Balm, and Penniroyal, of each one good handful, steep them in Sack, or Lees of Sack twenty four hours, stop it close, and stir it now and then: Distill it in an ordinary Still with a very quick fire, and keep the Still with wet cloaths, put into the receiver as much sugar as will sweeten it, and so double distill it. Distillings. _A most Excellent_ Aqua Coelestis _taught by Mr._ Philips Apothecary. Take of Cinamon one dram, Ginger half a dram, the three sorts of Saunders, of each of them three quarters of an ounce, Mace and cubebs, of each of them one dram, Cardamom the bigger and lesser, of each three drams, Setwall-roots half an ounce, Anniseed, Fennil-seed Basil-seed, of each two drams, Angelica roots, Gilly-flowers, Thyme, Calamint, Liquorish, Calamus, Masterwort, Pennyroyal, Mint, Mother of Thyme, Marjoram, of each two drams, red Rose-seed, the flowers of Sage and Betony, of each a dram and a half, Cloves, Galingal, Nutmegs, of each two drams, the flowers of Stechados, Rosemary, Borage and Bugloss flowers, of each a dram and half, Citron Rindes three drams; bruise them all, and put in these Cordial Powders, Diamber Aromaticum, Diamascum, Diachoden, the Spices made with Pearl, of each three drams; infuse all these in twelve pints of _Aqua Vitæ_; in a glass, close stopped for fifteen dayes, often shaking it, then let it be put into a Limbeck close stopped, and let it be distilled gently; when you have done, hang in a cloth, two drams of Musk, half a dram of Ambergreese, and ten or twelve grains of gold, and so receive it to your use. _Hypocras taught by Dr._ Twine _for Wind in the Stomach._ Take Pepper, Grains, Ginger, of each half an ounce, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, of each one ounce grosly beaten, Rosemary, Agrimony, both shred of each a few crops, red Rose leaves a pretty quantity, as an indifferent gripe, a pound of Sugar beaten; lay these to steep in a gallon of good Rhenish or white-Wine in a close vessel, stirring it two or three times a day the space of three or four dayes together, then strain it through an Hypocras strainer, and drink a draught of it before meat half an hour, and sometimes after to help digestion. _Marigold flowers distilled, good for the pain of the Head._ Take Marigold flowers, and distill them, then take a fine cloth and wet in the aforesaid distilled water, and so lay it to the forehead of the Patient, and being so applied, let him sleep if he can; this with Gods help will cease the pain. _A Water good for Sun burning._ Take Water drawn off the Vine dropping, the flowers of white Thorn, Bean-flowers, Water Lilly-flowers, Garden Lilly-flowers, Elder-flowers, and Tansie-flowers, Althea-flowers, the whites of Eggs, French Barley. _The Lady_ Giffords _cordial Water._ Take four quarts of _Aqua vitæ_, Borrage and Poppy-water, of each a pint, two pounds of Sugar-candy, one pound of figs sliced, one pound of Raisins of the Sun stoned, two handfuls of red Roses clipped and dried, one handful of red Mint, half a handful of Rosemary, as much of Hysop, a few Cloves; put all these in a great double Glass close stopped, and set it in the sun three months, and so use it. _A water for one pensive and very sick, to comfort the Heart very excellent._ Take a good spoonful of _Manus Christi_, beaten very small into powder, then take a quarter of a pound of very fine sugar, and beat it small, and six spoonfuls of Cinamon water, and put to it, and ten spoonfuls of red Rose-water; mingle all these together, and put them in a dish, and set them over a soft fire five or six walms, and so let it be put into a glass, and let the party drink thereof a spoonful or two, as he shall see cause. _To perfume Water._ Take Malmsey or any kind of sweet water; then take Lavender, Spike, sweet Marjoram, Balm, Orange peels, Thyme, Basil, Cloves, Bay leaves, Woodbine flowers, red and white Roses, and still them all together. FINIS. The Table. _Ale of health and strength._ _Almond Bisket._ _Apricock cakes how to make._ _Aqua mirabilis, Sir_ Kenelm Digby's _way._ _Aqua Coelestis._ _Cake the Lady_ Elizabeths _way._ _Cakes how to make_, &c. _Cakes of Pear-plums._ _Clear cakes of Plums._ _Collops like bacon of Marchpane._ _Cherry water._ _Cordial Cherry water._ _Cherry water by the Lord_ Spencer. _Chips of Quinces._ _Cordial water by Sir_ Walter Raleigh. _by the Lady_ Malet. _by Doctor_ Muntford. _by Doctor_ Butler. _by the Lady_ Gifford. _Conserve for a cough or consumption of the Lungs._ Conserve _of Borage flowers._ _Betony._ _Lavender flower._ _Lemons._ _Oranges._ _Piony._ _Pippins._ _Quinces._ _Roses boyl'd._ _unboild._ _Roses._ _Sage._ _Violets._ _Marjoram._ Candy, _or clear Rockcandy flowers._ Candy _Apricocks._ _Barberries._ _Chicory roots._ _Cherries._ _Citrons._ _Grapes._ _Orange roots._ _Orange pills._ _Pippins, Pears, Plums._ _Rosemary-flowers in the sun._ _Spanish flowers._ _Suckets of Oranges, Lemons_, &c. Dry _Fox-skins how._ Dry _Apricoks._ _Cherries._ _Plums._ _Pippins or Pears._ _Pippins or Pear-Plums without sugar._ Dentifrices _the best and paste of the same._ Damnable Hum. French _Tart to make._ Fruits _to dry or Candy after preserved._ Fruit _artificial to make._ Gelly _of Pippins._ _Of Raspiss._ Gilly-_flower Wine._ Hair _to make grow._ _To grow black._ Hypocras. _Doctor_ Twines _way._ Jumbals _of Apricocks or Quinces._ Ipswich _water._ Italian _Bisquet._ Juyce _of Liquorish._ Letters _to write secretly._ Lozenges _Of red Roses._ Lemon _water._ Magistery _of Pearl._ Marchpane _to ice and gild._ Marmalet _of Damsins._ _Oranges._ _Plums._ _Quinces._ Mead, _Doctor_ Kings _way._ Mint-_Water._ Marigold-_flowers distild good for the head._ Naples-_Bisquet._ Orange-_Water._ Orange-_Cakes._ Preserves. _To preserve Artichokes young._ _Apricocks._ _Barberries._ _Cherries._ _Damsins._ _Elecampane-root._ _Fruit green._ _Grapes._ _Green plums._ _Lemons._ _Oranges._ _Pear-plums white or green._ _Pippins, or Peaches._ _Plums red or black._ _Quinces white._ _White or red._ _Respass._ Paste _of Apricocks._ _Citrons._ _Elecampane-roots._ _Flowers with its natural taste._ _Oranges and Lemons._ _Pippins like leaves, and some like plums, with their stones and stalks in them._ _Rasberries or English Currans._ Perfumes, _for Cloathes, Gloves._ _Perfumes excellent._ _K._ Edwards. _Q._ Elizabeths. _Perfume water._ Purging-_bag for Ale._ Plague-_water._ Poppy-_water._ Pomander. Pomatum _good._ Prince-_Bisquet._ Powder _the Lady_ Kents. Quinces _for pies._ Quiddony _of Pippins._ _Of all kinds of plums._ Raisin _Wine._ Rasberry _Wine._ _Shrubbery cakes._ Sweet _smell._ _Sweet powder to break._ Syrup _of Clove-gillyflowers._ _Of Hysop for colds._ _Lemons or Citrons._ _Elders._ _Rasberries._ Spots _of grease or Oyle to take out._ Dr. Stephens _sovereign Water._ Stomach _water the Lady_ Spotswoods. Snail-water _most excellent._ Sugar _of Wormwood, Mint, Aniseed &c._ _Of Roses._ Surfeit water. Tincture _of Ambergreese._ Usquebath _distilled with herbs._ Walnuts _artificial._ Wine _to keep from souring._ Water _for a Consumption._ _For the stomach._ _The Plague._ _Of Time for passion of the heart._ _For sore eyes._ _Of Snails for children and old people._ _Of Clary for the back and stomach._ _For fainting of the heart._ _Sunburning._ _One pensive to comfort the heart._ FINIS. 18432 ---- FOWLER'S HOUSEHOLD HELPS Over 300 Useful and Valuable Helps About the Home, Carefully Compiled and Arranged in Convenient Form for Frequent Use With Complete Index Published by Household Publishing Company 132 Jay St., Albany, N. Y. To the many efficient and up-to-date housekeepers of our land this book is respectfully dedicated, in the hope that they may find something herein to further increase their efficiency. While the author does not guarantee the reliability of these household helps, they have been carefully compiled from reliable sources and are believed to be efficient if directions are carefully followed. Copyright, 1916 By A. L. Fowler IMPORTANT NOTICE This book is fully protected by copyright and any infringement thereof will be duly prosecuted. Extra copies may be obtained at 10c each, postpaid, from the Household Publishing Co., 132 Jay Street, Albany, N. Y. HOUSEHOLD HELPS THE CARE AND USE OF GAS APPLIANCES CARE OF GAS RANGES In order to get satisfactory and economical service and a long life, any range or mechanical device must be kept clean. This applies to the gas range as well, and we therefore wish to emphasize that the little attention required is very much worth while. Clean the top, the ovens and removable drip pan frequently. Clean broiler griddle and pan _every_ time it is used. If any burner holes become clogged, clean them out with a piece of wire or a hairpin. Keep the air inlets on the shutter at the front of the burners near the levers clear of dust. The suction at this point draws the dust, which, if allowed to accumulate, will cause the flame to burn yellow or red instead of blue. More ranges rust out than wear out. To keep the range free from rust rub it very frequently with a cloth slightly oiled with any kind of oil or grease, except kerosene or one containing salt; we suggest the use of olive oil or one of its cheaper substitutes. This is done to the best advantage while the range is warm. When the burners become greasy, remove and wash them thoroughly in soap and hot water. Never black the burners or top grates. The broiler pan and rack should be kept out of the range when oven is being used or it will rust, warp or chip. It requires the same care any kitchen enamel ware does. Always leave oven and broiler doors open for a few minutes after lighting the oven burners and after extinguishing them. This will dry the inside of the range and prevent rusting. USE OF THE RANGE With reasonable care gas is much cheaper for household cooking than any other fuel. Every range should be equipped with a top burner lighter which is convenient and economical, as it is just as easy to light a burner as to leave it burning. Never turn on the gas until you are ready to use it. Turn off the gas as soon as you are through with it. Turn down the gas as low as possible to give the required heat. Remember that water boiling rapidly is no hotter than water boiling slowly. Always open oven door before lighting oven burners. Plan your cooking so as to use both broiler and oven at once. The same burners heat both. While a roast is in the broiler, bake the cookies, bread, apples or pudding in the oven. When the latter are done, use the oven to cook vegetables or bake biscuits. To boil foods in the oven, utensils should be set directly on the bottom of the oven. By following this plan both the time required to cook the meal and your fuel expense will be reduced to a minimum. BROILING AND ROASTING Broiling and roasting are the same form of cooking, the former term being applied to thinner and the latter to thicker foodstuffs. They consist of cooking at very high temperatures, obtained only by exposure to the direct flame. It must be done in the broiler, which should be lighted ten minutes before cooking commences. Always leave broiler door open and put a little cold water in the bottom of the broiler pan to prevent the food from burning. Place the food to be cooked on the cold rack in the broiling pan. STEAKS AND CHOPS Place the meat about two inches from the fire until well seared. Turn over and sear other side in the same way, thus preventing the escape of the juice. Then lower the pan and turn down the gas until the meat is done to taste. For steak allow about 10 minutes if one inch thick, 15 minutes if one and one-half inches thick. For chops allow 8 minutes. Cooking may be done faster, but proper tenderness of meats can only be had at the slower rates. FISH Place fish on the rack, skin side down, and do not turn. Place rack in lower part of oven. Baste liberally and turn down gas when the fish begins to brown. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. OTHER FOODS Chicken, bacon, liver, ham, tripe, and vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, Spanish onions, can also be broiled to perfection in a manner similar to above. ROAST MEATS Roast meats should be treated the same as steaks and chops, except that after the meat is seared the cooking should be done more slowly, which will, of course, take more time. This part of the cooking can be done with the broiler door closed, or can be done in the upper or baking oven. Allow about 20 minutes to the pound for a roast. BAKING Baking is cooking at moderate temperatures in a range oven. The oven should be lighted from 5 to 10 minutes (depending upon the food to be cooked) before the food is put in. BREAD Heat the oven about 5 minutes before using, and bake from 45 to 50 minutes on the lower rack. Bread should be baked in a hot oven, should continue to rise about 15 minutes, brown for 20 minutes longer, and bake 15 minutes longer with a reduced flame. BISCUITS Heat oven for 10 minutes. Put biscuits in oven and bake for 5 minutes with full heat, then turn gas off completely and bake 5 minutes longer. LOAF CAKE Heat oven 5 minutes. Place the cake on the rack about 3 inches from bottom of oven. Turn gas half on for about 30 minutes when the cake should have fully risen. Increase heat enough to make the top brown and crisp. LAYER CAKE Layer cake should be placed in a hotter oven than loaf cake. Heat oven 10 minutes. Place cake on rack in center of oven and turn out the gas for 10 minutes. Relight both burners turned half down for 12 or 15 minutes. If not sufficiently browned increase the heat at the last. BOILING Boiling is cooking in water at a temperature of 212 degrees. This is done on the open burners on top of the range. There are three sizes of burners: the giant, the ordinary and the simmerer. In bringing water to boil quickly use the giant burner, then continue boiling on the simmerer or one of the ordinary burners turned low. Do not waste gas by boiling hard. Use covers on kettles. Green vegetables when boiling retain their color better if the lid is left off the pot. STEWING Stewing is cooking in a small amount of water for a long time at simmering temperature. It is the most economical way of cooking the cheaper cuts of meat. The simmering burner should be used for this cooking. TOASTERS Bread toasters placed on the top burners of a gas range supply a quick and the most satisfactory method of preparing toast. Large quantities of toast can be made to advantage in the broiler. GAS WATER HEATERS Gas water heaters supply the most economical and convenient source of hot water obtainable. The automatic water heaters are made to heat water instantly and automatically upon opening any hot water faucet in the system. These heaters are made in various capacities from 2 to 8 gallons per minute. Circulating tank heaters which are attached to the kitchen boiler have to be lighted every time they are used. Usually the heater is lighted a few minutes before hot water is required, the time depending upon the amount likely to be used. A 30-gallon tank may be heated in approximately one hour. Sufficient hot water for an average bath may be had in fifteen minutes. The most economical way to handle the circulating tank heater, when water is needed for a bath, is as follows: Light heater and turn on faucet so that the water will flow into the tub as quickly as it is heated in the tank. This is usually at the rate of one gallon per minute. According to the city ordinance, in residences where water meter check valves are installed on the water service, the consumer should supply a safety water relief valve before connecting any hot water system. This must be done to take care of the expansion. GAS FLAT IRONS The gas flat iron is a most satisfactory and economical household appliance. FURNACE CONNECTIONS A pipe coil should be placed in every furnace and connected to the hot water tank in order to insure an economical supply of hot water during the period when the furnace is in use. This makes it possible to use the gas range in the kitchen and enjoy its convenience and economy the year round. ALL-GAS KITCHENS All-gas kitchens embodying the foregoing appliances are in general use owing to their convenience and economy. Details regarding these kitchen appliances and other gas appliances, such as fireplace kindlers, furnace kindlers, coke box kindlers, garbage burners, gas steam radiators, gas water radiators, safety garage heaters and ironing machines may be obtained from your Gas Company. Telephone them, for their salesmen are always glad to serve you. DEMONSTRATOR Most gas companies have a practical and expert demonstrator whose services are free. When any gas appliance is not giving perfect satisfaction in every way, or once a year on general principles, you should ask the demonstrator to call. GAS LIGHTING Correct, healthful and pleasing lighting conditions do more than anything else to brighten, modernize and make comfortable the house of today. Poor light is poor economy in more than one sense of the term. "Poor light" may mean too little or too much light, a wrong kind of light or a misplaced source of light. Any of these conditions cause eye strain. Eye strain results in eye troubles and inevitably affects the general health. Furthermore, the well lighted home is an attractive center for the family, while a badly lighted house creates gloom and a restless atmosphere. Gas light offers convenience in lighting and beauty in its fixtures. Gas light presents the real economy of the best at the least cost. All new houses should be piped for gas. Even an old house can be equipped with ceiling, wall and baseboard outlets with but little expense or inconvenience to you. Your Gas Company will also help you to select just the fixtures and burners you need to harmonize with the decorations in your home and to supply the best possible light for each room. At your call, the Company will keep your equipment in thoroughly efficient condition. You should use only the best gas mantles. It sells them at cost to you in order to encourage their use--cheap mantles are cheap in first cost and expensive in the long run. Your Gas Company prides itself on being "at your service." ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES ELECTRIC SERVICE IN THE HOME The home that is completely wired has at hand a tireless electric servant-of-all-work; for the past few years have seen the invention and perfection of devices for doing household labor of practically every description. These are of practical economy not only when used by the housewife, but also in making domestic help more efficient and better satisfied. In addition to the almost universal use of electricity for lighting, with every facility for flexibility and convenience in connecting and control, electricity may be absolutely depended upon today for washing, wringing, drying and ironing the clothes, for sweeping and dusting, for polishing, for cleaning silver and brightwork, for all cooking, for such culinary processes as beating eggs, mixing bread, grinding meat or coffee, turning the ice cream freezer or sharpening knives, or, on emergency, for heating or cooling the house. And (contrary to popular belief), in most of these cases electricity offers an opportunity for actual domestic economy. Electricity is no longer a rich man's luxury, for its convenience, cleanliness, time saving and economy, as shown by the following pages, have made it every man's necessity. ALL-ELECTRIC HOMES The model home is electrically lighted, has the kitchen equipped with an electric range, electric dishwasher, electric kitchen set for beating eggs, grinding, mixing and polishing; the dining-room equipped with electric coffee percolator, electric samovar and an electric toaster; laundry equipped with electric washing machine, motor-driven mangle heated by gas or electricity, and an electric iron. A vacuum cleaner is essential in every household. Other appliances which will prove their value if once tried are heating pads, vibrators, heating or disk stoves, luminous radiators, sewing machines, fans, pressing iron for the sewing-room and Christmas tree outfits. ELECTRIC RANGE Cooking by electricity is an ideal method, and the electric range makes it practical. Every housewife should be familiar with its advantages as it provides the most satisfactory results. The electric range is reliable, efficient and durable. It saves time, work, worry and watching. It promotes safety, comfort and cleanliness. The electric range is convenient and easy to operate, as the heat is always instantly available and readily regulated at the turn of a switch. Cooking becomes a certainty, as the same switch position always provides the same amount of heat. All the heat is concentrated on the cooking and there is no excess heat wasted on other parts of the range or radiated out into the room. Ordinary cooking utensils are used as with other ranges. Cooking with an electric range can be done at a reasonable cost in consideration of the many inherent advantages above referred to. The roasting of meat to the exact degree desired need not be the dread of the cook when an electric oven is available. The uniformity and reliability of the heat of the electric oven facilitates the roasting of meat without constant attention and worry. Electric broiling insures tender chops and steaks, as the surface of the meat is quickly seared and all its juicy tenderness is retained. In order to facilitate the use of the electric range, your Lighting Company gives an instruction book with every installation. ELECTRIC DISHWASHER After each meal scrape off the dishes and place them in the washer in such a position that the water can be thrown against both sides of them. It is convenient to accumulate enough dishes to fill the washer, as it may thereby become possible to do all of the day's dishes in one washing. Shake washing powder or liquid soap into the machine and add one-quarter of a cup of ammonia. Pour in the right amount of hot water from faucet (according to instructions with machine) and allow the machine to run about 10 minutes. Then let the water run out and pour in a little more to wash out the sediment. Close the drain and pour in boiling water which acts as a rinsing water. Run the machine two minutes more and drain. Raise cover immediately after the machine is stopped to let the steam out. The dishes will dry by themselves with high polish, but it is necessary to wipe the silver and glassware. The washer is then ready to be used as a storage for dishes until needed again. VACUUM CLEANER There are many good electric vacuum cleaners on the market, all of which operate on the same general principle of suction. The Hoover, however, has a motor-driven brush in addition, which acts as a sweeper. Oil the motor with a drop or two each time it is used, according to the directions given with the machine. If using a Hoover, the brush bearings should not be oiled as they are made of wood. Should the brush become stuck it is due to threads, string and hair which have been collected by it. Remove the brush according to directions supplied with the machine and free all the bearings. Clean the bag after using by carefully removing it from the machine and shaking the dirt on a newspaper. Once a month the machine should be cleaned by taking off the bag, lifting the machine from the carpet and allowing the machine to run for a couple of minutes. SEWING MACHINE Follow directions supplied with the machine as to oiling and proper size of needle, thread, etc. Do not make any adjustments unless you are sure you know how. These adjustments require patience, as the adjusting screws must be turned a very little at a time to note the effect produced. Do not run the machine at too high a speed as this will shorten its life. When putting a motor on a foot-power machine be sure that the old machine is not over-speeded. If your machine is provided with a foot release be sure that the release entirely cuts off current, otherwise the motor will run very hot. FLAT IRON There are several makes of electric irons which do excellent work and have a long life. The standard sizes are 3, 6 and 8 pounds. The 6-pound iron is best adapted for general household use. If the iron becomes too hot, disconnect the lead from the iron. In case the terminals become corroded, rub them with a piece of fine emery cloth to remove corrosion. If the contacts become corroded or bent they should be replaced. Your Lighting Company maintains a repair department for all heating and cooking appliances. Telephone Sales Department. ELECTRIC LAMPS Mazda lamps are the most efficient lamps obtainable and their use is recommended for all classes of service. Your electric bills depend upon the watts per lamp and the number of hours of use. Note in the following table that the Mazda lamps give on the average two and one-half times as much light for the same cost as the Gem carbon lamps. The column "Cost of current per month" gives the cost of burning one lamp one hour per day for one month at the maximum rate of nine cents per K. W. H. Table of Comparisons _Gem_Carbon_Lamps_ _Mazda Lamps_(Type_B_) Cost of Cost of current per current per Watts C.P. month in cents Watts C.P. month in cents 30 12 8.1 10 8 2.7 50 20 13.5 25 23 6.7 80 32 21.6 40 38 10.8 60 60 16.2 100 105 27.0 RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING In most cases the following recommendations of Mazda lamp sizes will be found most satisfactory in the home. Frosted lamps are recommended wherever the direct rays of the lamp may strike the eye, as the frosting diffuses the light. Parlor 1-Bracket chandelier 1--60 watt 2-Bracket chandelier 2--40 watt 3-Bracket chandelier 3--25 watt Side wall fixtures for decorative purposes--10 watt, all frosted. Side wall fixtures for good general illumination--25 or 40 watt, all frosted. Hall Small hall 1--10 watt Large hall 1--25 watt Porch Ceiling light 1--10 watt Side bracket 1--25 watt If used for reading light 1--60 watt Bedroom Ceiling light 1--40 watt Side bracket 1--40 watt _or_ 2--25 watt Sitting-room Same as parlor. A well shaded reading lamp with a 40 or 60 watt all-frosted bulb. Dining-room Dome 1--60 watt bowl frosted 2 or 3 light shower 25 watt bowl frosted Semi-indirect 1--60 or 100 watt clear Bathroom Ceiling or side brackets 25 watt Kitchen Ceiling light 1--40 or 60 watt bowl frosted Side bracket over sink 1--25 watt bowl frosted Attic 25 watt Cellar In installing lamps for the cellar the time they are lighted should be borne in mind. As this is short, the expense of running larger lamps--25 watt and 40 watt--is insignificant. The following locations should be provided for: Bottom of cellar stairs 25 watt Work bench 40 watt Laundry 40 watt Vegetable and fruit cellar 25 watt Lamp in front of furnace 60 watt This latter lamp is usually close enough to also illuminate the coal bin. Care of Lamps and Fixtures Lamps and fixtures should he cleaned once a month to insure the maximum efficiency. Reliable tests have shown that dirty glassware reduces effective illumination from 10 to 50 per cent. FIXTURE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE HOUSE Parlor Ceiling fixtures Indirect or semi-indirect Side fixtures Semi-indirect Baseboard receptacles for table or floor lamps. Hall One ceiling fixture equipped with two lamps wired so that one or both lamps may be operated as desired. This arrangement provides for a night light. Sitting-room and Library Same as parlor. Bedroom One ceiling semi-indirect fixture. Side brackets near dressing table, or, Rigid pendant for use over center of dressing table. Baseboard outlet near bed for heating pad or reading lamp. Dining-room Indirect or semi-indirect fixture. Baseboard or floor outlet for toaster and percolator. Floor call button attached to kitchen buzzer. Bathroom One side bracket on each side of mirror. One side wall receptacle for curling iron, shaving mug and luminous radiator. Kitchen One center ceiling light, one side bracket over sink and one side wall outlet for iron and washing machine. Cellar Five outlets should be provided for proper illumination, one at foot of stairs, one at work bench, one in fruit and vegetable cellar and one in front of furnace located so as also to illuminate the coal bin. A control switch and telltale lamp should be provided in the kitchen. Attic Two outlets are usually sufficient. A control switch and telltale lamp should be provided in the hall. Clothes Press A rigid pendant with a chain-pull socket should be provided for each dark clothes press. It is most convenient and practical to have these lights operated by an automatic switch which is opened and closed by the closing and opening of the closet door. This provides a light immediately the door is opened, while when the door is shut one may be sure that the light has not been left burning. GENERAL Baseboard outlets should be installed in all rooms for the use of vacuum cleaner, fans, or other portable appliances. Bell-ringing transformers which provide current for door bells and buzzers should be installed for each apartment. Emergency gas lights should be provided for the halls, kitchen, dining-room and bathroom. If any special requirements are not provided for in the above recommendations your Lighting Company will be glad to give you expert advice free of charge. They pride themselves on being at your service. WIRING HINTS The service entrance should be of sufficient capacity to care for additional load in the form of electric heating, cooking and other domestic appliances. The branch circuits should be heavy and numerous enough to care for additional outlets for lighting and appliances as found desirable. Your Lighting Company will be glad to go over your plans with you. The electric meters should be located in the cellar near the gas meter, as this will save you the annoyance of meter readers and testers going through the house to the attic. Be sure and install control switches and telltale lamps on cellar and attic lights. Provide three-way switches in the halls so that the hall lights may be controlled from either the first or second floor. All ceiling outlet lighting, and wherever desirable, side bracket lighting, should be controlled by wall switches. These switches should preferably be of the push-button type rather than of the snap-switch type. In general the best location for these switches is on the wall of the room right next to the door which is the entrance most frequently used. FUSES Fuses on your electrical wiring act in the same capacity as a safety valve on a steam boiler. Whenever there is an overload on the circuit or a short circuit these fuses blow and relieve the strain on your wiring. When in doubt or when in need of suggestions, 'phone the Sales Department of your Lighting Company. HOUSEHOLD HELPS Look in the Index for the principal word of the article about which you desire information. For instance, "To Open Fruit Jars", look under "Fruit Jars" IN THE KITCHEN Use Sand Soap to Sharpen the Food Chopper--If the knives of your food chopper become black and dull, run a piece of sand soap, or scouring brick, through the chopper as you would a potato. It will brighten and sharpen the knives and they will cut like new. Use pulverized sand soap or the scouring brick with which you scour. Kerosene for Water Bugs--A small quantity of kerosene poured down the drain pipe occasionally will stop annoyance from this pest. To Prevent a Glass from Breaking when pouring hot water in it, first put a spoon in the glass. This method can also be used when pouring hot soup or any hot liquid in any fragile receptacle. When Butter is Too Hard to spread easily, turn a heated bowl upside down over the butter dish for a few minutes. This will thoroughly soften the butter without melting it. To Open Fruit Jars--Strips of emery board, about one inch wide and eight inches or so long, will be found useful to loosen obstinate fruit jar tops. Just place the strip around the edge of the top, and give it a twist. To Keep Refrigerator Sweet--A lump of charcoal should be placed in the refrigerator to keep it sweet. When putting your best tea or coffee urn away, drop a small piece of charcoal in it and prop the lid open with a toothpick. Currycomb for Scaling Fish--A currycomb is better than a knife for scaling fish, as it protects the hands. Cornpopper for Toasting Bread--The cornpopper can be used for toasting odds and ends of stale bread which would otherwise be wasted. To Prevent Stains Under the Nails--Dip the ends of the fingers in melted tallow before beginning a task which is likely to stain them. To Remove Stains from the Hands, rub them with a piece of lemon. Starch to Prevent Chapped Hands--Use starch which is ground fine to prevent chapped hands. Every time the hands are washed and rinsed thoroughly, wipe them off, and, while they are yet damp, rub a pinch of starch over their entire surface. Chapping is then not likely to occur. Wisp Brush for Greasy Pans and Kettles--A small wisp brush is better for cleaning greasy pans and kettles than the string mop you use for the dishes. You can buy them two for five cents. A little soap powder sprinkled on them makes a fine suds for the tinware and cooking utensils. Best Way to Strain Soup--When straining soup set a coarse strainer inside of a fine one and pour the liquid through both; you will thus avoid clogging the fine one with pieces of meat and broken bones. How to Crack Pecan Nuts--Almost all housewives know how very hard it is to crack pecan nuts and get the meats out whole. Pour boiling water over the nuts and let them stand tightly covered for five or six hours. The nut meats may then be extracted easily without a trace of the bitter lining of the nut. Use a nut cracker and crack lightly all around the nuts. The work is quickly done and is not at all like the tedious process of picking out the meats from the dry nuts. The meats nearly always come out whole. Lemon Squeezer for Making Beef Juice--When one has to make beef juice in small quantities which does not warrant buying an expensive meat-press, use instead a ten-cent lemon squeezer. This can be sterilized by boiling and kept absolutely clean. One can press out several ounces in a very few minutes. Quick Way to Peel Carrots--Use a coarse grater to peel carrots. A few passes over the grater will rid the carrots of their skins quicker than any other method. Proper Way to Slice Bacon--To slice bacon properly, always place it rind down, and do not attempt to cut through the rind until you have the desired number of slices. Then slip the knife under them and cut them free of the rind, keeping as close to it as possible. When Cream is on the Turn--When the sweetness of the cream is doubtful and there is no more on hand and it must be used, a pinch of soda will keep it from curdling, even in hot coffee. To Prevent Musty Teapot--When putting away a silver teapot, or one that is not in everyday use, place a little stick across the top underneath the cover. This will allow fresh air to get in and prevent mustiness. Lemon or Orange Peel for Tea Caddy--Thoroughly dry the peel from an orange or a lemon, and place it in the tea caddy. This will greatly improve the flavor of the tea. Heat Lemons Before Squeezing--In using lemons, heat them thoroughly before squeezing and you will obtain nearly double the quantity of juice that you would if they had not been heated. To Keep Teakettle from Rusting--A clean oyster shell placed in the teakettle will keep out rust. To Clean Gas Stove Burners--Pick the holes open with a large pin and apply a vacuum cleaner to take out the particles of dirt. Flour for Burning Kerosene--Wheaten flour is the best extinguisher to throw over a fire caused by the spilling and ignition of kerosene. This should be a matter of common knowledge, since flour is always within convenient reach. Use for Old Newspapers--Old newspapers clean stoves beautifully, as well as being useful for polishing kitchen windows. To Take Rust from Flat-Irons, tie some yellow beeswax or paraffine in a cloth, and when the iron is warm, but not hot enough to use, rub with the wax and then rub it through sand or salt. A Good Stove Polisher--A piece of burlap is a very good polisher for the kitchen stove or range when it is hot. It does not burn readily, and for that reason is better than flannel or cotton cloth or paper. Wire Rack for Use Under Pies--When taking pies from the oven, do not put them on the flat surface of the table to cool unless a high wire rack is put under them. The rack helps to keep the crust crisp and they will not be soggy. Marble Slab or Plate Glass for Mixing Board--For mixing cake and pastry an old marble slab or a piece of plate glass is better than a wooden board. To Prevent Cakes from Burning--Sprinkle the bottom of the oven with fine, dry salt to prevent cakes, pies, and other pastry from burning on the bottom. Wooden Bowl When Washing Silver--When washing silver, use a wooden tub or bowl if possible. There will be less danger of the silver getting scratched or otherwise damaged. Tissue Paper for Greasy Dishes--Very greasy dishes should be wiped with soft tissue paper before being washed. To Skin Tomatoes Easily--Tomatoes nearly always have to be skinned before being used. To do this easily, place them in a basin and pour boiling water over them. Let stand a minute, and then drain. Another method is to rub the tomatoes all over with the back of a knife to loosen the skins before peeling. This is said to be better than scalding. To Peel Sweet Potatoes Easily--Before putting sweet potatoes in the oven, grease the skins and they can then be peeled easily and without any waste of the potato. To Prevent Roasted Meat from Drying Out--To prevent roasted meat, which is to be served cold, from drying out and losing its flavor, wrap it in cheesecloth while it is still hot. When Food is Too Salty--When you have put too much salt into cooking food, stretch a clean cloth tightly over the kettle and sprinkle a table-spoonful of flour over the cloth. Then allow the contents of the kettle to steam and in a few moments the flour will absorb the surplus salt. To Remove Fish Odor from Hands--A few drops of ammonia in the water in which you wash your hands will remove all fishy odor from the hands after preparing fish for cooking. To Remove Onion Smell from Pans--The disagreeable smell of onions which clings to pots and pans so stubbornly can be quickly removed by washing and drying the pans, then scouring them with common salt, and placing them on the stove until the salt is brown. Shake often, then wash the pans as usual. To Prevent Onions from Making the Eyes Water--Scalding water poured over onions will keep the eyes from watering. Hint When Baking Bread--When baking bread or rolls, put a saucepan full of boiling water into the oven. The steam rising from it will keep the crust smooth and tender. To Make Meat Tender--A tablespoonful of vinegar added to tough meat while it is boiling or roasting will make it more tender. To Keep the Lid on a Boiling Pot--A teaspoonful of butter dropped into the water in which you are boiling dry beans, or other starchy vegetables, will stop the annoyance of having the lid of the pot jump off, as it will otherwise do. The butter acts the same as oil on troubled waters and keeps it calm and manageable. To Take Fish Taste from Forks and Spoons--To remove the taste and smell of fish from forks and spoons, rub them with a small piece of butter before washing. All taste and smell will thus be entirely removed. How to Judge Mushrooms--Sprinkle a little salt on the gills of mushrooms to judge their fitness to eat. If the gills turn black the mushrooms are fit for food; if they turn yellow, the mushrooms are poisonous. Orange Peel for Cake Flavoring--Do not throw away orange peel, but dry in the oven. Grate the yellow part and use for flavoring cakes. It will give a delicious orange taste. How to Prevent Fish from Breaking Up When Frying--When frying fish, if the pieces are put in the hot fat with the skin side uppermost, and allowed to brown well before turning, there will be no possibility of the fish breaking up. To Remove Cake from Tin--When taking a cake from the oven, place the cake tin on a damp cloth for a moment and the cake will turn out of the tin quite easily. Lemon Juice for Boiling Rice--A few drops of lemon juice added to boiling rice will help to keep the grains separate and will make them white. Onion for Boston Baked Beans--Bake a small onion with your Boston baked beans to prevent indigestion and add to their fine flavor. Hint for Baking Gems--When filling gem pans with batter leave one pan without batter and fill with water. This will prevent the gems from burning on top. Sandpaper for Cleaning Pots--Always keep a piece of fine sandpaper by the sink with which to clean pots. To Prevent Cake from Sticking to Tins after baking, first grease the tins and then dust them with flour. Lightly beat out the loose flour, leaving only that which sticks to the grease. This does away with the old-fashioned method of lining the pans with greased paper. To Peel Apples Easily--Pour boiling water over the cooking apples and they will be much easier to peel. This will be found a considerable saving of time when busy. When Bread is Too Brown--When bread is baked in too hot an oven and the outside crust gets too brown, do not attempt to cut it off, but as soon as the bread gets cold rub it over with a coarse tin grater and remove all the dark-brown crust. Mustard for Removing Odors from the Hands--Ground mustard is excellent for cleaning the hands after handling onions and other things with disagreeable odors. Economy in Use of Candles--A candle which has burned too low to remain in the candlestick can be used to the very end if removed from the stick and placed on a penny or other small, flat piece of metal. To Get Rid of Spiders--A good way to rid the house of spiders is to take pieces of cotton wool, saturate them with oil of pennyroyal and place them in their haunts. To Rid the Kitchen of Flies--Take a cup of vinegar and place it on the stove where it will simmer enough to make an odor. To Clear Beetles Out of Cupboards and larders, sprinkle a little benzine over the boards. This method will kill the eggs as well as the insects. To Drive Cockroaches Away--Powdered gum camphor will drive cockroaches away if sprinkled about their haunts. To Remove Egg Stains from Silver--Egg stains can be removed from silver by rubbing it with table salt on a wet rag. To Polish Faucets--Nothing is better for scouring a faucet than the half of a lemon after the juice has been squeezed out. After scouring, wash it and it will shine like new. An orange peel will also give good results. For Scorched Vegetables or Other Food--When vegetables or other foods become scorched, remove the kettle at once from the stove and put it into a pan of cold water. In a quarter of an hour the suggestion of scorch will be nearly if not entirely gone. When Cake is Scorched--If a cake is scorched on the top or bottom, grate over it lightly with a nutmeg-grater instead of scraping it with a knife. This leaves a smooth surface for frosting. To Make Muffins and Gems Lighter--Muffins and gems will be lighter if, after greasing your pans you place them in the oven a few moments and let them get hot before putting in the batter. To Make Pie Crust Flaky--To make pie crust flaky, try adding half a spoonful of vinegar to the cold water when mixing. To Make Apple Pie Tender--If you are in doubt whether the apples in your open-top pies are cooking tender, just invert another pie pan over the pie and the steam will serve to cook the apples thoroughly. To Make Fowl Tender--After a turkey or chicken is cleaned, the inside and outside should be rubbed thoroughly with a lemon before the dressing is put in. It will make the meat white, juicy and tender. To Prevent Meat from Scorching--When roasting meat, and there is danger that it will become too brown, place a dish of water in the oven. The steam arising from it will prevent scorching and the meat will cook better. A piece of greased paper placed over the meat is also considered good. To Keep Eggs from Popping When Cooking--Mix a tablespoonful of flour in the hot grease in which eggs are to be cooked, and break the eggs into this. You will also find that the flour gives the eggs a better flavor. To Remove Egg Shells When Cooking--If a piece of shell gets into the egg when breaking eggs into a bowl, just touch it with a half shell and it can easily be removed. To Keep Yolks of Eggs Fresh--Yolks of eggs which are not wanted for immediate use can be kept good for several days by dropping them into cold water and keeping in a cool place--the cooler the better. To Prevent Boiling Eggs from Cracking--The four following suggestions are given in regard to boiling eggs. Use the one best suited to the purpose: When Boiling Eggs, wet the shells thoroughly in cold water and they will not crack. To Prevent Eggs from Bursting While Boiling, prick one end of each of the eggs with a needle before placing them in the water. This makes an outlet for the air and keeps the shells from cracking. If Eggs Which You Are About to Boil Are Cracked, add a little vinegar to the water and they can then be boiled as satisfactorily as undamaged ones. A Spoonful of Salt should be added to the water in which slightly cracked eggs are boiled. The salt will prevent the white of the egg from coming out. Worn-Out Broom for Floor Polisher--When a long-handled broom becomes worn out, instead of throwing it away, tie a piece of felt or flannel cloth around the head and make a good floor polisher. It will make work much easier and also keep linoleum in good condition. Footmarks can be rubbed off at any time without stooping. To Clean a Slender Flower Vase fasten a piece of an old sponge onto a stick and push it down into the vase; this will also be found useful for cleaning decanters and water bottles. To Keep Bread Fresh--Wash a potato, wipe it dry and put it in your breadpan. It will keep the bread fresh for several days. To Freshen Old Lemons--Lemons that have become old and dry can be made fresh and juicy again by putting them in a pan of hot water and keeping the water at an even temperature for about two hours. A More Effective Dishcloth for Cleaning--In knitting dishcloths it is a good plan to put in several rows of hard-twisted cord. This hard part of the cloth will clean many surfaces on which it is not advisable to use scouring soap or metal. To Clean Linoleum, use skimmed milk instead of water. It will keep it glossy, and will not rot it as water does. A Good Remedy for Burns--Cover a soft cloth with a thick layer of scraped raw potato (Irish) and apply it to the burned part. The potato should be renewed as often as necessary to keep it moist. For Burns and Light Scalds--At once coat the burned or scalded spot with mucilage and the smarting will cease almost instantly. If the burn is quite deep, keep it covered with a paste made of cold water and flour; do not allow the paste to get dry until the smarting stops. A GOOD WAY TO SAVE GAS-- READ THE PAGES IN THE FRONT OF THIS BOOK Brush for Removing Silk from Corn--When preparing corn on the ear for the table, or for canning purposes, use a small hand brush to remove the silk. It will do the job more thoroughly and quicker than it can be done with the fingers. To Remove Grease Spots from the Kitchen Floor--Apply alcohol to the spots and you will be surprised to find how easily they can be removed. The small amount of alcohol necessary to be used need not soil the hands. To Open a Jar of Fruit or Vegetables Which Has Stuck Fast-- Place the jar in a deep saucepan half full of cold water; bring it to a boil and let it boil for a few moments. The jar can then be opened easily. To Identify Dishes Which Have Been Loaned--When taking dishes or silver to a picnic or other public gathering, place a small piece of surgeon's plaster on the bottom of each dish and on the under side of the handles of spoons and forks. On this plaster mark your initials (in indelible ink if possible). The plaster will not come off during ordinary washing, but can later be removed by putting it in a warm place until the adhesive gum melts. Tablet or Slate for Kitchen Memoranda--Keep in the kitchen a tablet with a pencil tied to it, or a ten-cent slate and pencil hung upon the wall. The day's work is easier and smoother if you plan each morning the special tasks of the day and jot them down, checking them off as accomplished. Planning the day's meals in advance results in better balanced menus. Writing down all groceries and household supplies as needed will save time when you go to the store or the order boy calls. To Fasten Food Chopper Securely--Before fastening the food chopper to the table, put a piece of sandpaper, large enough to go under both clamps, rough side up, on the table; then screw the chopper clamps up tight and you will not be bothered with them working loose. To Remove Insects from Vegetables which are being washed, put a pinch of borax in the water. It will bring any live insect to the surface at once. To Clean Rust and Stains from Tin--Tins that have become rusty or stained may be cleaned by rubbing well with the cut surface of a raw potato which has been dipped in a fine cleaning powder. To Polish Glass--After washing glass, polish with dry salt. Lemon Juice for Cut Glass--Lemon juice is fine for polishing cut-glass tumblers. These pretties are so delicate there is always danger of breaking the stems. Fill a pan half full of cold water, place a cloth in the bottom and then add the juice of an entire lemon. Just dipping a tumbler about in this cleans and polishes it and it only needs drying with soft linen. Many Uses of Ammonia--As a time saver it is unequalled when washing woodwork and windows. It is fine for cleaning carpets on the floor. They should be swept well and the broom washed; then brush again with water. They will look much brighter, and if there is a lurking moth in the carpet this treatment will destroy it. Ammonia will set color, remove stains and grease, and soften fabrics. A light soap suds with a few drops of ammonia added will give a sparkle to ordinary pressed glass and china impossible to secure without it. Hints for Oil Lamps and Chimneys--The five following paragraphs contain some good suggestions for the use of oil lamps: Put a Small Lump of Camphor Gum in the body of an oil lamp and it will greatly improve the light and make the flame clearer and brighter. A few drops of vinegar occasionally is said to give the same results. To Prevent Lamp Chimney from Cracking--A common hairpin placed astride the top edge of a lamp chimney will keep it from cracking from the heat, and will greatly prolong its life. Gas and Lamp Chimneys, earthenware and baking dishes can be toughened before using by putting them into cold water which is heated gradually until it boils and then cooled slowly. When Washing Your Lamp Chimneys, lift them out of the water and set them on the hot stove; they will not break. Let them steam; then wipe on a clean cloth and they will be as clear as crystal. Take Your Lamp Wicks When New and soak them thoroughly in good apple vinegar and you will be delighted with the result. Do not wring them out, but hang them near a stove or lay out on a plate until dry. This treatment will double the lighting power of your lamps or lanterns. With wicks prepared in this way, only one cleaning each week is necessary, as the wicks will not smoke and the chimney and globe will not blacken around the top. To Mend Broken China, Etc.--The four following methods of mending china, etc., are all considered good: To Mend Broken China--Mix well a teaspoonful of alum and a tablespoonful of water and place it in a hot oven until quite transparent. Wash the broken pieces in hot water, dry them, and while still warm coat the broken edges thickly; then press together very quickly, for it sticks instantly. To Mend Broken Crockery--White lead is one of the few cements that will resist both heat and water. Apply it thinly to the edges of the broken pieces, press them tightly together and set aside to dry. A Cheap Cement for Broken China is lime mixed with the white of an egg. Take only sufficient white of an egg to mend one article at a time, and mix thoroughly with a small quantity of lime. To Mend China successfully melt a small quantity of pulverized alum in an old spoon over the fire. Before it hardens rub the alum over the pieces to be united, press them together and set aside to dry. After drying they will not come apart, even when washed with hot water. Embroidery Hoops and Cheesecloth for Cooling Dishes--When putting puddings or other dishes out of doors to cool, use a cover made of embroidery hoops of proper size with cheesecloth put in as a piece of embroidery is. The contents will be safe from dust and at the same time the air can circulate freely. The hoops will keep the cloth from getting into the contents and also weigh just enough to keep it from blowing off. To Clean Mica in Stove Doors--To clean the mica in stove doors, rub it with a soft cloth dipped in equal parts of vinegar and cold water. To Clean Tarnished Silver, use a piece of raw potato dipped in baking soda. For Tarnished Silverware--If the silverware has become badly tarnished, put it in an aluminum dish, cover it with water, and boil it up for a short time. It will come out bright and clean. To Clean White Knife Handles--To clean and whiten ivory-handled knives which have become yellow with age, rub with fine emery paper or sandpaper. To Prevent Rust in Tinware--If new tinware is rubbed over with fresh lard and thoroughly heated in the oven before being used, it will never rust afterward, no matter how much it is put in water. To Remove Rust from Tinware--To remove rust from tinware, rub the rusted part well with a green tomato cut in half. Let this remain on the tin for a few minutes; then wash the article and the rust will have vanished. Kerosene for Tinware Stains, Etc.--Kerosene removes stains from tinware, porcelain tubs and varnished furniture. Rub with a woolen cloth saturated with it; the odor quickly evaporates. To Preserve Enamel Pans--If new enamel pans are placed in a pan of water and allowed to come to a boil and then cooled, they will be found to last much longer without burning or cracking. To Prevent Dust When Sweeping--Wet the broom before starting to sweep; it makes it more pliable and less hard on the carpet's pile and also prevents dust from arising. To Clean Paint or Rust from Linoleum--When linoleum becomes spotted with paint or rust it may be cleaned by rubbing with steel shavings or emery paper. Linseed Oil for Kitchen Floor--Boiled linseed oil applied to the kitchen floor will give a finish that is easily cleaned. It may also be painted over the draining board of the sink; this will do away with hard scrubbing. It should be renewed twice a year. Window Cleaning Hints--The six following paragraphs will be found useful when cleaning windows: After Polishing Windows, moisten a clean rag with a very little glycerine and rub it over the pane. Windows polished in this way do not "steam" and will stay clean much longer. A Cold-Weather Cleaner for Windows--Dampen a cheesecloth with kerosene and you can clean your windows quickly in cold weather when water can not be applied to the glass without freezing. Window Cleaning Help--Before starting to clean windows carefully brush all dust off the frames. Add a few drops of kerosene to the water used for cleaning and it will give the glass a much brighter and more crystal-like appearance. To Clean Windows--First wash the glass with water to which a little ammonia has been added and then polish with a chamois which has been dipped in water and wrung as dry as possible. Cloths for Cleaning Windows Without Use of Water can be made with a semi-liquid paste of benzine and calcined magnesia. The cloth, which should be coarse linen or something free from lint, is dipped into this mixture and hung in the air until the spirits have evaporated and it is free from odor. This cloth may be used again and again and is a great convenience. When soiled, wash it and redip. To Remove Paint from Window Panes--Paint can be removed from window panes by applying a strong solution of soda. To Clean a Glass Bottle, cut a lemon in small pieces and drop them into the bottle; half fill with water, and shake well. Old Stocking Tops for Dusters or Dustless Mop--Old stocking tops make good dusters when sewed together. They also make good polishing cloths for oiling and rubbing down floors and furniture. Several old stocking tops cut into strips and dipped in paraffine oil make a fine dustless mop for hardwood floors. Cheap Stain for Wood Floors--Ten cents' worth of permanganate of potash will stain a wood floor. When dry polish it with some beeswax and turpentine. It will look as though it had been that color for years. Put the permanganate of potash in an old tin and pour about one quart of boiling water over it; then, with a brush, paint over the floor, after it has cooled. When thoroughly dry, polish. The floor will look like oak. Cheap Polish for Varnished Floors or Linoleum--Take equal parts of kerosene, linseed oil and turpentine to make an inexpensive polish for oiled or varnished floors. An application of this polish to the kitchen linoleum with soft cloth or mop will keep it like new. Varnish for Linoleum--To make linoleum last much longer and have a better appearance, give it a good coat of varnish every few months. To Make Wallpaper Waterproof--To varnish the paper back of the sink, or other places, so it may be wiped with a damp cloth, coat with a mixture made with one ounce of gum arabic, three ounces of glue, and a bar of soap, dissolved in a quart of water. This amount will coat quite a wide surface. IN THE SEWING ROOM When Hands Perspire and soil the sewing material, try bathing them with strong alum water. To Prevent Oil from Soiling Goods--To prevent a sewing machine that has been oiled from soiling the material, try the following method: Tie a small piece of ribbon, or cotton string, around the needlebar near the point where it grips the needle. When Scissors Get Blunt, sharpen them by opening and drawing backward and forward on a piece of glass. This will sharpen the bluntest of scissors. To Tighten a Loose Sewing-Machine Belt, put a few drops of castor-oil on it; run the machine a few minutes and the belt will tighten. To Remove Sewing-Machine Oil Spots: (a) Wet the spots with spirits of turpentine and wash out with cold water and toilet soap, or, (b) Rub the spot with chalk as soon as noticed. Leave for a short time, then brush, and the spot will disappear. To Pair Stockings--For stockings with white heels or tops, mark with indelible ink. For all-black stockings, use colored threads, making a cross-stitch on one pair, two cross-stitches on another, etc. To Prevent Cutting of Stockings--If the covering of the button on side elastics comes off, wind with a fine rubber band. A Sewing Suggestion--A small, inexpensive flashlight should be kept in the sewing machine drawer. It will not only save many precious minutes, but will relieve eye strain when threading a machine needle on a dark day or at night. IN THE BEDROOM To Clean Bed Springs--To clean the dust and dirt from bed springs, set them out in the yard on a sunny day and turn the hose on them freely. The sun and wind will afterward dry them in a few minutes. If Your Alarm Clock Rings Too Loudly, slip an elastic band around the bell to diminish the noise. The wider the band that is used, the greater will be the suppression. Protection Against Spilled Water in Sick Bed--If water is accidentally spilled in bed when attending someone who is ill, it can be quickly dried by slipping a hot-water bag filled with very hot water between the bed covers over the wet spot and leaving it there for a few minutes. To Clean and Polish Brass Beds--Brass bedsteads can be cleaned by rubbing them with a cloth which has been slightly moistened with sweet oil; then polished with a soft, dry duster, and lastly with a chamois leather. If this is done occasionally, it will keep them in good condition for years. But it is a better plan to use the lacquer, given below, after cleaning. Wooden bedsteads should be wiped every three months with a cloth moistened with turpentine to keep them clean. To Keep Brass from Tarnishing--To keep brass beds and other forms of brass work from tarnishing, and also to avoid frequent polishing, the brass should be lacquered with gum shellac dissolved in alcohol. Apply the lacquer with a small paint brush. Ten cents worth will lacquer a bedstead. Clear, hard-drying varnish is also good for this purpose. IN THE PARLOR New Way to Fasten Lace Curtains--The best way to secure lace or net curtains in place over the poles is to fasten with the very fine wire hairpins, known as "invisible" hairpins. These are so sharp that they can be pushed through the curtains without injury to the fabric, and are so fine that they are more invisible than pins. They have the added advantage of never slipping out of place like small-headed pins, or becoming entangled in the lace like safety-pins. Put them perpendicularly (up and down) in the curtain with the rounded head at the top. Filling for Sofa Cushions--Cut a roll of cotton in small squares and put it in a pan in the oven and heat it for half an hour. Do not let the cotton scorch. Every square will swell to twice its original size and will be as light and fluffy as feathers for stuffing sofa cushions. To Brighten Carpets--Wipe them with warm water to which has been added a few drops of ammonia. To Clean Picture Glass--Clean the glass over pictures with a cloth wrung from hot water and dipped in alcohol. Polish them immediately, until they are dry and glossy, with a chamois or tissue paper. Polish for Leather Upholstered Furniture--Turpentine and beeswax mixed to the consistency of thin cream makes a fine polish for leather upholstered furniture. To Fasten Small Pieces on Furniture--For fixing on small pieces of wood chipped off furniture, use the white of an egg. Onion Water for Gilt Frames--Flies may be kept from damaging gilt frames by going over the frames with a soft brush dipped in a pint of water in which three or four onions have been boiled. This is also good for cleaning the frames. To Remove Fly Specks from Gilding--Old ale is a good thing with which to wash any gilding, as it acts at once on the fly dirt. Apply with a soft rag. To Clean Gilded Picture Frames, use a weak solution of ammonia and water. Go over the gilt gently with a moist cloth, and after a few moments, when the dirt has had time to soften, repeat the operation. Do not rub hard, and dry by dabbing gently with a soft cloth. IN THE BATHROOM For Clogged Lavatory Basins--Mix a handful of soda with a handful of common salt and force it down the pipe; then rinse the pipe thoroughly with boiling water. To Clean Bath Tub and Wash Bowl--Some housekeepers like to use kerosene in the bath tub to take off the soapsuds and stain that will gather, but the odor is sometimes objectionable. To clean the bath tub and the wash bowl in a jiffy use a half lemon rind turned wrong side out. To Clean Mirrors--A little camphor rubbed on a mirror after the dust has been wiped off will brighten it wonderfully. To Clean and Purify a Sponge--Rub a fresh lemon thoroughly into a soured sponge and then rinse several times. The sponge can be made as sweet as a new one. IN THE LAUNDRY To Clean Dirty Clothesline--Wrap it around the washboard and scrub it with a brush and soap suds. Brick for Iron Stand--If a brick is used for an iron stand, the iron will hold its heat much longer than when an ordinary stand is used. Lemon for Whitening Clothes--Put a slice of lemon, with rind on, in your boiler of clothes and it will remove stains and make your clothes white without injuring them. To Prevent Starch from Sticking to the Iron--Borax and oily substances added to starch will increase the gloss on the article to be ironed and will also prevent the starch from sticking to the iron. To Make Water Softer for Washing--Use four ounces of alcohol and one-half ounce of ammonia. If used for toilet purposes add to this one dram of oil of lavender. A couple of teaspoonfuls of glycerine to a small tubful of water will soften the lather in which flannel pieces are to be washed. To Protect Hand from a Gasoline Iron--When using a gasoline iron, a little steam always rises from the iron and burns the hand. Before putting on your glove, rub the side of the hand well with vaseline and this burning can be avoided. To Prevent Woolen Blankets from Shrinking--After washing woolen blankets put them on curtain stretchers to dry and prevent shrinking. To Restore Flannels, which have become hard and shrunken, to their former softness, soak them in gasoline. To Make Linen Glossy--When a gloss is desired for linen goods, add a teaspoonful of salt to the starch when making. Quick Method of Sprinkling Clothes--Turn the nozzle of the garden hose to a fine spray and sprinkle the clothes while they are on the line. All plain pieces can then be rolled up and laid in the basket as they are taken down. Starched pieces may need a little further hand sprinkling. When Laundering Sash Curtains, never starch the hem; the rod can then be run through it without danger of tearing. To Clean Wringer Rollers--Kerosene is excellent for cleaning the rubber rollers of a clothes wringer. After it has been applied rinse the rollers off with warm water. When Ironing Calicoes--Dark calicoes should always be ironed on the wrong side of the goods with irons that are not too hot. To Make White Curtains Ecru or Cream Color--First soak curtains over night in cold water to remove all dust. In the morning wash in usual way and rinse thoroughly to remove all soap. Then put them in boiler with a tan stocking and remove when the desired color is obtained. To Stretch Curtains Without a Curtain Frame--Fold the lace curtain double lengthwise; then pin it on a tightly stretched line with many clothes-pins and slip a clean pole inside the folded curtain. This stretches the curtain satisfactorily and saves considerable time and money when a curtain stretcher is not available. Right Way to Hang Skirts--In laundering skirts made of pique, cotton or woolen pin them to the line by the waistband so they will hang straight down. If pinned this way they shrink evenly all around instead of sagging, as they do when pinned at the hem. Bleaching a Scorched Spot--If you scorch a piece of white goods while ironing, immediately rub the spot with a cloth dipped in diluted peroxide, then run the iron over it and the cloth will be as white as before. To Iron Over Buttons, Etc.--When ironing over blouses or frocks with large buttons or hooks and eyes on, use several thicknesses of blanket or Turkish towels to iron them on. Turn the garment button-side down, and press on the wrong side. The buttons will sink into the soft padding and leave a smooth surface for the iron to run over. To Restore Color--When color on a fabric has been accidentally or otherwise destroyed by acid, apply ammonia to neutralize the same, after which an application of chloroform will usually restore the original color. The use of ammonia is common, but that of chloroform is but little known. To Set Color in Wash Goods before laundering: Any colored fabric should have color set before washing, using the method below which is best suited to the goods: For green, blue, pink, pinkish purple, lavender and aniline reds, soak for 10 minutes in alum water, using three ounces of alum to a tub of water. For black-and-white, gray, purple, and dark blue, soak in salt water, using a teaspoonful of common salt to a quart of water; soak one hour and rinse thoroughly. Dry in the shade. If in doubt about the goods, first try a small piece of it as above and note carefully the result. Vinegar is also considered good for dark colors, using one-fourth cup of vinegar to one quart of water. Sugar of lead is best for delicate greens, blues and tans. Use one teaspoonful of sugar of lead to one quart of water. To Get Rid of Ants--To rid the house of ants, smear the cracks and corners of the infested rooms with balsam of peru. MISCELLANEOUS A Cheap Floor Wax--A satisfactory and economical floor wax which is excellent for use on hardwood floors: To one-half cake of melted paraffin add one teacupful of turpentine. Apply to the clean dry floor with a cloth; then polish with a woolen cloth or weighted brush. It gives an excellent polish and keeps the floor nice and light. To Loosen Screws and Nails which have become rusted into wood: (1) Drop a little paraffin on them, and after a short time they can easily be removed, or, (2) Hold a red hot iron to the head of the screw for a short time and use the screwdriver while the screw is still hot. To Put Hooks in Hardwood--When putting hooks in hardwood, use a clothes-pin to turn them, or slip the handle of a knife or any small steel article through the hook and turn until it is secure in the wood. This will save your fingers from aching. Insoles from Old Felt Hats--Cut out pieces from old felt hats big enough to fit the inside of your shoes. This makes a fine insole, and is a great help to keep the feet warm. Novelty Candle-Holders--Rosy-cheeked apples, polished and hollowed out to receive the end of a candle, make charming candle-sticks at a children's party. Especially where a color scheme of red and white is carried out, nothing prettier or more suitable could be designed. Lime for Damp and Musty Cellars--A few lumps of unslaked lime in the cellar will keep the air pure and sweet and also absorb the dampness. Handy Ice Pick--If an ice pick is not available or is misplaced for the time being, an ordinary hat pin gradually forced into ice produces a crack and separates the ice without a sound. Needles and even common pins are used in hospitals to crack ice for patients. Help in Freezing Cream Quickly--If the freezer is packed half an hour before the mixture is put in the can the freezing will be speedier. Allow three times the quantity of ice that there is of salt. Mix before using, or put in the freezer in layers. Cutting Off Old Bottles and Their Uses--A bottle may be cut off by wrapping a cord saturated in kerosene oil around it several times at the point you wish to cut it, then setting fire to the cord, and just when it has finished burning plunge the bottle into cold water and tap the end you wish to break off. Odd shaped or prettily colored bottles make nice vases. The top of a large bottle with a small neck makes a good funnel. Large round bottles make good jelly glasses. Many other uses will no doubt suggest themselves to your mind. More Serviceable Umbrella Jars--Place a large carriage sponge in the bottom of the umbrella jar to prevent umbrellas from striking the bottom of the jar and breaking it. The sponge will also absorb the water from a dripping umbrella. Squeaking Hammock--If your hammock has an annoying squeak where the rope or chain is joined on the hook, slip the finger from an old glove over the hook before putting on the rope or chain. To Lubricate a Clock--If your clock stops on account of being gummed with dust, place a small piece of cotton saturated with kerosene in the clock, and leave it there several hours. The fumes from the kerosene will loosen the dirt, and the clock will run again as well as ever. A Grape-Basket for the Clothespins, with a wire hook fastened to the handle, will save much time when hanging out clothes; it can be pushed along the line and will always be handy for use. For Worn Carpet Sweeper Pulleys--To keep the wood pulleys on carpet sweeper brushes from slipping after they have worn smooth, wrap once or twice with adhesive tape. This will also keep the pulleys from wearing unevenly with the grain of the wood. To Protect Clothing Spread on the Grass for Bleaching--When linen pieces or small articles of clothing are placed upon the grass to whiten, much trouble may be prevented by spreading a strip of cheesecloth over them and fastening it down with wooden pegs or hairpins. This does not prevent bleaching, but keeps off worms and bugs, and prevents the articles from being blown away by the wind. To Soften Paint Brushes that have been used for varnishing and not been cleaned, soak them in turpentine. To soften brushes that have dried paint in them soak in hot vinegar or in turpentine or gasoline. Vinegar for Dried Mucilage--When mucilage has dried at the bottom of the bottle, pour a spoonful or two of vinegar in it, and let it stand awhile. The mucilage will be as good as ever. To Remove Paper Labels, wet the face of the label with water and hold it near a flame or stove. To Separate Postage Stamps--When postage stamps stick together do not soak them. Instead, lay a thin paper over them, and run a hot iron over the paper. They will come apart easily and the mucilage on the back of the stamps can be used as though it was new. Soap Application When Eyeglasses Steam--To prevent annoyance caused by a deposit of moisture upon eyeglasses, when going from a cold into a warm atmosphere, moisten the tips of the fingers and rub them over a cake of soap. Then rub them over the lens, and polish as usual. One application every day or two is all that is necessary. For the Invalid's Room--A few drops of oil of lavender in boiling water is excellent for the invalid's room. For Perspiration Odor--The unpleasant odor of perspiration often causes much annoyance. Instead of using perfumery, wash the body with warm water to which has been added two tablespoonfuls of compound spirits of ammonia. This will leave the skin sweet, clean, and fresh. For a Sprain--Salt and vinegar, bound on a sprain, will relieve the pain in a very little while. To Prevent a Blister on the Heel--If shoes slip and cause blisters on the heels, rub paraffin on the stocking. In a short time the slipping will stop. For Burns, Etc.--If you burn your finger or hand make a strong solution of bluing water and soak the affected part in it for ten minutes, or longer if necessary. The pain will quickly disappear and no soreness will result. For Insomnia--A heaping bowl of bread and milk, seasoned with salt, and eaten just before retiring, is recommended as a sure cure for the worst case of insomnia. Sulphur to Rid House of Rats--Sulphur will successfully rid the house of rats if sprinkled in bureau drawers, closets, and around holes where they are liable to come in. The farmer, also, will find that his corn will not be troubled if he sprinkles it about the barn. To Get Rid of Mice--Mice do not like the smell of peppermint, and a little oil of peppermint placed about their haunts will soon force them to look for other quarters. Lumps of camphor placed about their haunts is another effective method of keeping mice away. To Kill Weeds--If annoyed with dock, dandelion, or other weeds, fill an oil-can with kerosene. With a knife cut the weed off at the ground, or just below, and put a drop or two of kerosene on the heart of the weed. It will not grow again afterward. To Take Mildew Out of Leather--Mildew on leather may be removed with pure vaseline. Rub a little of this into the leather until quite absorbed, and then polish carefully with a clean chamois leather. To Destroy Earthworms--To rid the earth in flower-pots of worms, mix a small quantity of finely-pulverized tobacco with the earth in each. To Induce a Canary to Take a Bath, sprinkle a few seeds on the water. This added attraction will make the bath become a habit with the little pet. A Cure for Leaky Pens--Empty the fountain pen and clean it thoroughly; fill with ink and apply some soap to the threads of the screw. If Your Fingers Become Stained with Ink, wet the head of a match and rub it on the spots. Then rinse the fingers with soap and water and the ink will quickly disappear. A Handy Pen or Brush Holder for Your Desk--A sheet of corrugated paper is a handy thing to have on your writing desk to hold wet pens or brushes. The paper will absorb the liquid and the corrugations will hold the pens or brushes in convenient position. A Novel Match Scratcher--To avoid matches being scratched on the wall-paper almost as much as on the match-scratch, try the idea of removing the glass from a small oval or square picture frame and framing a piece of sandpaper just as one would a picture. Put a small screw-eye on top of the frame, thus allowing it to hang perfectly flat against the wall. The frame prevents the match from being carried over the edges of the sandpaper onto the wall. Emergency White Glove Repair--If your white glove rips or tears accidentally just as you are putting it on to go out, and there is no time to mend same, put a small strip of white adhesive plaster over the spot and it will never be noticed. To Keep Rugs from Slipping--Cut a three-cornered piece of rubber sheeting to fit each corner and sew it firmly in place. Another way is to take a piece of heavy, rough sheathing paper a bit smaller than the rug and lay the rug on that. For Sagging Chair Seats--When cane-seated chairs sag they can be tightened by washing the bottom of the cane in hot water and soap; then rinse in clean water and dry out-of-doors. Two Uses for Velveteen--Old velveteen, fastened over a firm broom, is excellent for wiping down walls. To polish furniture, use a piece of velveteen instead of chamois leather. The former is much cheaper than the chamois and serves just as well. Saltpeter for Icy Steps--Ice on marble or stone steps can be thawed by sprinkling several handfuls of saltpeter on it. An Easy Fly Exterminator--To drive out flies put twenty drops of oil of lavender in a saucer and dilute it slightly with hot water. The sweet, heavy odor of the lavender is very disagreeable to the flies, and the house will soon be rid of them. To Avoid Mistakes with Poison--When poison is kept in the house, push two stout, sharp-pointed pins through the corks crosswise. The pricking points remind even the most careless person of danger. To Pick Up Broken Glass--Even the smallest pieces of broken glass can be easily picked up by using a bit of wet absorbent cotton, which can afterward be destroyed by burning. For Leaky Vases or Other Ornamental Bric-a-Brac--If a valuable flower vase leaks, take some melted paraffin, such as is used over jelly-jars, and pour it into the vase and let it harden over the spot where the leak occurs. It will not leak again. Polish for Floors--Rub polished floors with a mixture of one-third raw linseed oil and two-thirds paraffin. Afterward polish with a dry cloth. To Prevent a Rocking Chair from Creeping across the room while rocking in it, glue strips of velvet on bottom of chair rockers, and the annoyance will cease. To Mark Place for Picture-Nail--When just the right position has been found to hang the picture, moisten your finger and press it against the place where the nail should go. This does away with the awkward reaching for hammer and nail while holding the picture against the wall. An Unbreakable Bead Chain--A violin string makes an excellent chain for stringing beads. It will stand a great amount of wear and tear and will practically last forever. When Packing Flowers for Transportation--When flowers are to be sent some distance it is a good plan to place the ends of the stems in a raw potato. They will keep as fresh as if in water. (1) To Keep Flowers Fresh--To keep flowers fresh put a small piece of sugar in the water. (2) To Keep Flowers Fresh, place a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the water before putting them into a vase. (3) Cut flowers with woody stems will last much longer in water if the stalks are scraped for about three inches up. When Taking Down Pictures in House-Cleaning Time a stick with a deep notch in the end, to lift picture-cords from hooks, is a great convenience. To Tighten Your Eyeglasses--If the tiny screws in your eyeglasses need tightening, you will find that a small steel pen answers as well as a screwdriver. To Mend Celluloid--Moisten the broken edges with glacial acetic acid and hold them together until the acid dries. To Clean White Enameled Furniture--First remove all dirty marks with a flannel cloth dipped in wood alcohol. Then wash at once with tepid water to which has been added a little fine oatmeal. Never use soap or soda. Felt for Dining-Chair Legs--Thin strips of felt glued to the bottom of dining-chair legs will deaden the noise and save the hardwood floors. When Baby Chokes--A choking infant can be quickly relieved by pressing between its eyes with your thumb and finger. To Remove a Fishbone from the Throat--Cut a lemon in two and suck the juice slowly. This will soften the fishbone and give instant relief. New Uses for Macaroni--A stick of macaroni will serve in place of a glass tube for a patient who cannot sit up in bed to drink, or will sometimes induce a child to drink its milk when otherwise it would not. For the Restless Baby--When the creeping baby is placed on the bed for his daily nap, use a large safety-pin to pin his clothes to the bed, or to a strap fastened to the head or foot of the bed. To Drive Nails in Plaster without cracking the plaster, put the nail in hot water for a few minutes and it can then be driven in securely without damage to the wall. Plaster of Paris for Mending Walls--When painting walls and the plaster is in need of mending, fix it with plaster of paris mixed with some of the paint you intend using to paint it with. This will prevent the mended spot from showing. To fix a white wall, mix plaster of paris with turpentine and oil. To Remove Smoke Marks from the Ceiling, frequently due to a smoky lamp, mix a thick paste of starch and water, and with a clean flannel cloth spread it over the entire mark. Allow it to stay on until thoroughly dry, then brush off with a soft brush, and the discoloration will disappear like magic. To Clean a Raincoat--Use either of the two following methods: (1) Use soap and water and not gasoline, as gasoline will injure the rubber. Lay out on a flat surface and scrub lightly with soap and water; then rinse with clear water. Do not wring. Put on a coat-hanger and hang out to dry. (2) Pour some vinegar into a dish and dip a soft rag or sponge into it; then place the mackintosh on the table and rub the soiled parts lightly. If a Bug or Other Small Insect Gets in the Ear and causes severe pain, pour a little melted butter in the ear and there will be instant relief. To Remove Soot from Carpet--Do not attempt to sweep the carpet until it has been covered with dry salt. Then sweep it and no smear will be left. To Brighten a Carpet--First sweep the carpet clean. Then dip a soft, clean mop into a pail containing one-half gallon of water and one-half teacupful of ammonia; wring it well and rub it over the carpet; it will be as bright and fluffy as when new. To Destroy Moths in Carpets, wring a thick towel out of water, spread it on the carpet, and iron over it with a very hot iron. The heat and steam will go through the carpet, thus destroying the grubs. A Moth Preventive--If you wish to be rid of moths, pour a little turpentine in the corners of the wardrobe, chiffonier, or trunk. To Keep Moths Out of Pianos--Try rubbing turpentine occasionally over the woodwork on the inside of the piano, and you will never be troubled with moths getting into the piano, even when it is not used for a long time. To Clean Gilt Frames, dip a soft cloth in the white of egg and gently rub off the soiled spots. To Remove Ink Stains from an Oak Table, lay spirits of wine on the marks; let it remain for some time, then rub well and clean off. To Clean Leather Furniture, add a little vinegar to warm water (not hot) and brush the leather over with it. Restore the polish by rubbing with two tablespoonfuls of turpentine mixed with the whites of two eggs. To Clean Bronze, make the article very hot by placing it in boiling water; then rub it well with a piece of flannel cloth dipped in soapsuds, and dry with a chamois leather. To Clean Zinc--Take a thick slice of lemon and rub it over the stained spots. Let it remain for an hour, then wash the zinc metal with soap and water and it will become clean and bright. To Clean Brass--To keep the polish on brass, after polishing in the usual way, coat with clear varnish. The following is a good polish: To clean tarnished brass use equal parts of vinegar and salt. Rub with this mixture thoroughly, letting it dry on; then wash off in warm, soapy water and polish with a soft cloth. Cleaning with Gasoline--The three following suggestions are made with reference to cleaning with gasoline: (1) To take the odor of gasoline out of freshly cleaned garments, use oil of sassafras in the gasoline to the proportion of about five drops to a quart of gasoline. (2) If a little salt is added to gasoline which is used for cleaning wool or silk material, there will be no ring remaining when dry. (3) Put about one-third part of vinegar in the water with which you dampen the cloth when pressing an article that has been cleaned with gasoline. This will not only remove the scent of the gasoline but will prevent circles forming. Alcohol for Cleaning White Kid Articles--Pure alcohol is better than gasoline for cleaning white kid gloves or other white kid articles, as it dries quickly without the unpleasant odor that gasoline leaves. Five cents' worth of alcohol cleans a pair of gloves beautifully. To Clean White Kid Shoes--Make a lather of pure white soap and milk for cleaning white kid shoes. Brush as much dirt as possible off the shoes before scrubbing with the lather. If New Boots or Shoes Will Not Polish, rub them over with half a lemon and leave until thoroughly dry. Repeat this once or twice if necessary. New Tag for Shoe Lace--If a tag comes off a boot or shoe lace, press a little melted black sealing wax round the end of the lace and shape it to form a tag. It will serve almost as well as the original. To Renovate a Shabby Serge Skirt, sponge it over with hot vinegar until the stains and grease marks disappear; then thoroughly press on the wrong side with a fairly hot iron. To Remove Shine from Woolen Goods--Wet a piece of crinoline and lay it over the shiny surface of the goods. Cover with a dry cloth and press with a hot iron. Pull the crinoline away quickly, as you would a plaster, and this will raise the nap of the goods. To Remove Shine from Black Cloth, rub it well with a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of turpentine and dry in the open air. To Clean a Black Dress--Take a dozen ivy leaves and steep them in boiling water. Let it stand until cold; then rub well over the stained parts. This solution will remove all stains and make the cloth look fresh. To Clean Men's Clothing--Take a soft cloth, dip it in alcohol, and press it lightly over a cake of pure soap; then apply it briskly to the article to be cleaned. After sponging the garment carefully, press it. In cases of obstinate grease spots, rub well with a lather made from pure white soap and luke-warm water; then sponge off with alcohol and proceed as above. Wall Paper Remover--To remove wall paper in about one-half the usual time, take one heaping tablespoonful of saltpetre to a gallon of hot water, and apply it to the paper freely with a brush. A whitewash brush is best for the purpose, as it covers a broader space than other brushes. Keep the water hot, and after a few applications the paper can be easily pulled from the wall. To Clean Wallpaper, make a paste of three cupfuls of flour, three tablespoonfuls of ammonia and one and one-half cupfuls of water. Roll it into balls and rub it over the paper. It will make it as clean as when new. Tobacco for Plant Insects--One tablespoonful of smoking tobacco soaked in a quart of water for twelve hours or more makes a solution that will destroy insects and promote the growth of the plant. It must be poured on the soil about every two months. When a Wax Candle is Too Large for the holder the end should be held in hot water until it is soft. It can then be pressed into shape to fit the hole and there will be no waste of wax, as when slices are shaved off the end of a candle. Salt Water to Clean Matting--A cloth dampened in salt water is the best thing for cleaning matting. To Lay New Matting--Cut each width six inches longer than necessary. Then unravel the ends and tie the cords together. When the matting is taken up to be cleaned it cannot unravel and there will be no waste. To Clean White Furniture or Woodwork--Use clean turpentine and a soft cloth to clean white enameled woodwork or furniture. It will remove all spots without removing any of the gloss, as soap is liable to do. To Remove Spots from Varnished Wood--Spots made by water on varnished tables or other furniture may be removed by rubbing them with a cloth wet with camphor. To Clean Greasy Woodwork--Paint or woodwork that has become greasy can be cleaned with a cloth dipped in turpentine. Then wipe with a cloth dipped in water to which a little kerosene has been added. To Clean Soiled Marble--Pound two parts of common washing soda, one part each of pumice stone and finely powdered chalk, mix together, sift them through cheesecloth, and make into a paste with water. Apply thickly and let it dry on; then wash well with soap and water and rub well with a soft cloth. Never use acids on marble as they destroy the gloss. To Clean Oil Spots from Marble, first wash the stone thoroughly; then place a sheet of blotting paper over the spots and set a hot iron on it; this will draw the oil out and the blotting paper will absorb it. Handy Fruit Picker for Farmers and Suburbanites--Take a large tomato can or other tin can and cut a V-shaped hole in one side at the top, about 1-1/2 inches wide and 2-1/2 inches deep. On the opposite side of the V-shaped hole, nail the can to a long pole. This device is useful for picking apples and many varieties of fruit from upper branches where it is almost impossible to reach them by ladder. It also prevents damage to the fruit by falling. TO REMOVE STAINS, ETC. All spots and stains can be removed much more easily before washing. Fruit stains are probably the most common and they will usually disappear if the stained portion is held taut over a basin and hot water poured over and through it. Butter or Salt for Stains--To remove fruit, tea or coffee stains from cotton or linen goods, rub butter on the stains and then wash with hot water and soap. Remove wine stains by sprinkling salt on them and then pouring boiling water through them. To Remove Indelible Ink--Use equal parts of turpentine and ammonia to remove indelible ink when all other methods fail. Saturate the garment well, and let it soak; then rinse it thoroughly in warm water. To Remove Grease Stains from White Woolens, use cream of tartar and water or alcohol. To Remove Perspiration Stains--The stains caused by perspiration can be removed from garments by the application of a mixture consisting of three parts of alcohol, three parts of ether and one of ammonia. Salt to Remove Perspiration Stains--To remove perspiration stains from clothing, soak the garments in strong salt water before laundering them. To Remove the Stain of Mud from clothing, rub well with a raw potato. To Remove Fruit Stains from Linen the following suggestions are given: (1) Fruit Stains on Linen should be smeared with glycerine and left for about an hour; then wash the stains in warm soapy water. Repeat the process if necessary. (2) To Remove Fruit Stains from Linen--Before sending table linen and white garments to the laundry all fruit stains should be well dampened with alcohol. All traces of discoloration from the fruit will have vanished when returned from the laundry. (3) To Remove Fruit Stains from the Tablecloth, apply powdered starch while fresh. Starch for Removing Blood-Stains--To remove blood-stains from material which can not be washed, cover the stain with lump starch that has been dampened to about the consistency of very thick paste. As the starch dries, the stain will go. To Remove Mildew--The four following methods are given for removing mildew: (1) Buttermilk for Mildew--Articles that have become mildewed should be boiled in buttermilk. Rinse well in warm water after boiling and hang in the sun. The same process will effectively bleach materials that have grown yellow from lack of use. (2) Salt for Mildew--Mildew can be taken out by rubbing the stains well with a fresh tomato and covering with salt; afterward place garment in sun. (3) To Take Out Mildew, mix equal parts of powdered borax and starch with half as much salt; moisten the whole with lemon juice, spread the mixture on the mildewed spot and place the garment in the sun on the grass. Renew the mixture every morning until the stain disappears. (4) Alcohol for Mildew--Mildew may generally be removed by dipping articles into alcohol. To Remove Road Oil--Kerosene is best to take out road oil on most fabrics, as it evaporates and does not injure same. To Remove Wax Stains--To remove wax or tallow stains, lay a piece of brown paper over them and apply a hot flatiron. After one or two applications the paper will absorb all of the wax or tallow from the cloth, leaving no trace behind. To Remove Tar Spots, put a little lard on the spots and let them stand for a few hours, then wash with soap and water. To Remove Iodine Stains, immediately immerse the stained article in a gallon of water to which has been added about two teaspoonfuls of plain household ammonia. To Remove Blueberry Stains--Blueberry stains may be removed by washing at once with cold water and white soap. To Remove Grease Spots--To remove automobile grease, or any dark, heavy grease, from washable fabric, apply a small piece of butter and rub it in well; then wash with soap and rinse. To Remove Tea and Coffee Stains from any white goods, soak the spots with glycerine and let them stand for several hours untouched. Afterward wash with soap and water. To Remove Grease Spots from Tablecloths, coats, trousers, etc., sandwich the article between two pieces of blotting paper and rest a hot iron over the damaged part for a few minutes. To Remove Rust Stains, the three following suggestions are given: (1) Tomato Juice for Iron Rust--Tomato juice will remove iron rust and fruit stains from wash goods. (2) Rhubarb Juice for Rust Stains--The worst rust stains can be removed without injury to the fabric by the application of boiling rhubarb juice. (3) To Remove Rust Stains--Spread the rust-stained part over a bowl of boiling water and rub it with salt wet with lemon juice; then place it in the sun. Repeat this process until the stain is light yellow; then wash the cloth in weak ammonia water and afterward in clear water. To Remove Ink Stains--The following various methods are recommended for removing ink stains: Chinese Plan for Removing Ink Stains from Clothing--Wash the article with boiled rice; rub the rice on the stain as you would soap, and wash with clear water. If first application is not effective, repeat the process. This has been found to work like magic, even with stains not discovered until entirely dry. A Sure Cure for Ink Stains--To remove ink stains from wash materials pour a tablespoonful of kerosene on them and rub well; then rinse in kerosene and the spots will immediately disappear. This should be done before being washed. To Remove Ink Stains--To remove ink stains without damage to the fabric, place the stained portion over a saucer and cover the stain with powdered borax; then pour peroxide of hydrogen over the borax. Do not pour water over the borax. The stain will disappear almost immediately. Ink Stains Can be Removed without injury to the most delicately-colored material. Mix some mustard to a thick paste and spread it over the stain. After twenty-four hours sponge thoroughly with cold water; no trace of the ink will remain. To Remove Ink from Linen After it Has Dried In--Wash out as much of the ink as possible in a pan of milk. Then put the article to soak in another pan of milk, letting it stand until the milk turns to clabber. Then wash out and not a trace of ink will remain. Ink on Carpet--If ink is spilled on the carpet, wash it out at once with sweet milk and sprinkle it with white cornmeal. Let it remain over night. The next morning sweep it up and the colors will remain bright. To Remove Ink from a Carpet, soak up as much of it as possible with blotting paper. Then saturate the spot with plenty of milk, and after some time, having removed the milk with blotting paper, rub the carpet with a clean cloth. INDEX TO GAS AND ELECTRIC SUPPLEMENT The Care and Use of Gas Appliances 1a Care of Gas Ranges 1a Use of the Range 2a Broiling and Roasting 2a Steaks and Chops 3a Fish 3a Other Foods 3a Roast Meats 3a Baking 3a Bread 3a Biscuits 4a Loaf Cake 4a Layer Cake 4a Boiling 4a Stewing 4a Toasters 5a Gas Water Heaters 5a Gas Flat Irons 6a Furnace Connections 6a All-Gas Kitchens 6a Demonstrator 6a Gas Lighting 7a Electrical Appliances 8a Electric Service in the Home 8a All-Electric Homes 8a Electric Range 9a Electric Dishwasher 9a Vacuum Cleaner 10a Sewing Machine 11a Flat Iron 11a Electric Lamps 11a Table of Comparisons 12a Residential Lighting 12a Parlor 12a Hall 12a Porch 12a Bedroom 12a Sitting-room 12a Dining-room 13a Bathroom 13a Kitchen 13a Attic 13a Cellar 13a Care of Lamps and Fixtures 13a Fixture Recommendations for the House 13a Parlor 13a Hall 14a Sitting-room and Library 14a Bedroom 14a Dining-room 14a Bathroom 14a Kitchen 14a Cellar 14a Attic 14a Clothes Press 15a General 15a Wiring Hints 15a Fuses 16a INDEX TO HOUSEHOLD HELPS Alarm Clock, To Diminish Noise of 17 Ammonia, Many Uses of 12 Ants, To Get Rid of 22 Apple Pie, To Make Tender 8 Apples, To Peel Easily 7 Baby, Choking, To Relieve 29 Baby, Restless, Hint for 30 Bacon, Proper Way to Slice 3 Bath Tub and Wash Bowl, To Clean 19 Bead Chain, An Unbreakable 29 Beans, Hint for Baking 6 Bed Springs, How to Clean 17 Beef Juice, Squeezer for 2 Beetles, To Get Rid of 7 Black Cloth and Woolen Goods, To Remove Shine from 33 Black Dress, How to Clean 33 Blankets, Woolen, To Prevent Shrinking 20 Bleaching Clothes, To Protect 25 Blister on Heel, To Prevent 26 Boiling Eggs, Hints for (four) 9 Bottles, How to Cut Off, and Their Uses 24 Bottles, Glass, How to Clean 15 Brass Beds, Polish for 17 Brass, How to Clean 32 Brass, To Keep from Tarnishing 18 Bread, Cornpopper for Toasting 2 Bread, Hint When Baking 5 Bread, To Keep Fresh 9 Bread, When Too Brown 7 Broken Glass, To Gather Up 28 Bronze Articles, To Clean 31 Brushes, Paint, How to Soften 25 Bug or Other Small Insect in Ear, Relief for 31 Burners, Gas Stove, To Clean 3 Burns, Remedy for 10, 26 Butter, How to Soften When Hard 1 Cake Flavoring, Orange Peel for 6 Cake, To Prevent Burning 4 Cake, To Prevent Sticking to Tins 6 Cake, To Remove from Tin 6 Cake, To Remove Scorch from 8 Calicoes, Dark, How to Iron 21 Canary, To Induce to Bathe 27 Candle Holders, Novelty for Children's Party 23 Candles, Economy in Use of 7 Candle, Wax, Hint Regarding 34 Carpets, Ink on, To Remove 38 Carpet, Soot on, To Remove 31 Carpets, To Brighten 18, 31 Carpet Sweeper Pulleys, Worn, To Repair 24 Carrots, Quick Way to Peel 3 Cellars, Damp or Musty, Remedy for 23 Celluloid, How to Mend 29 Chair Seats, Cane, To Tighten 27 Chapped Hands, To Prevent 2 Chicken, To Make Tender 8 Chimneys, Lamps and Wicks, Hints for (five) 12 China, Hints for Mending (four) 13 Choking Baby, To Relieve 29 Chopper, Food, Sand Soap to Sharpen 1 Clock, How to Lubricate 24 Clothes, Bleaching, To Protect 25 Clothes, To Sprinkle Quickly 21 Clothes, To Whiten When Washing 20 Clothesline, Dirty, To Clean 20 Clothespins, Grape Basket for 24 Clothing, Men's, To Clean 33 Cockroaches, To Get Rid of 7 Color, To Restore in Fabrics 22 Color, To Set in Wash Goods 22 Cooling Hot Dishes, Hint for 13 Corn Silk, To Remove from Corn 10 Cream, To Use When it is on the Turn 3 Crockery, Hints for Mending (four) 13 Curtains, Lace, New Way to Fasten 18 Curtains, Lace, To Stretch Without Frame 21 Curtains, Sash, Hint for Laundering 21 Curtains, White, To Make Ecru or Cream Color 21 Cushions, Sofa, Etc., Hint for Filling 18 Cut Glass, Polish for 18 Damp Cellars, or Musty, Remedy for 23 Dining-Chair Legs, To Protect Floors from 29 Dishcloth, Best Kind of 10 Dishes, Greasy, To Clean 4 Dishes, Loaned, To Identify 11 Dress, Black, How to Clean 33 Dust, To Prevent When Sweeping 14 Dustless Mop, How to Make 15 Earthworms in Flower Pots, To Destroy 27 Eggs, Boiling, Hints for (four) 8 Eggs, To Prevent Popping When Cooking 8 Eggs, Yolks of, To Keep Fresh 8 Egg Shells, To Remove from Cooking 8 Egg Stains, To Remove from Silver 7 Eyeglasses, How to Tighten Screws 29 Eyeglasses, To Prevent Steaming 25 Faucets, How to Polish 7 Finger Nails, To Prevent Staining 2 Fire, Kerosene, To Extinguish 3 Fish, To Prevent Breaking Up When Frying 6 Fish, Currycomb for Scaling 1 Fishbone in Throat, To Remove 30 Fish Odor, To Remove from Hands 5 Fish Taste, To Remove from Forks and Spoons 5 Flannels, To Restore When Hard or Shrunken 20 Flashlight for Sewing Machine, Use of 17 Flat-irons, To Remove Rust from 4 Flies, To Get Rid of 7 Floor, Kitchen, To Remove Grease from 10 Floor Polisher, Worn out Broom for 9 Floors, Polished, Finish for 28 Floor Wax, A Cheap and Good 23 Fly Exterminator, An Easy 28 Food, Too Salty, Remedy for 5 Food Chopper, Sand Soap to Sharpen 1 Food Chopper, To Fasten Securely 11 Fountain Pens, Leaky, Cure for 27 Fowl, To Make Tender 8 Frames, Gilt, To Clean and Remove Fly Specks from 19 Fruit Jars, To Open 1, 11 Fruit Picker, Handy, for Farmer or Suburbanite 35 Furniture, Leather, To Clean 31, 35 Furniture, To Mend Small Pieces on 19 Furniture, White Enameled, or Woodwork, To Clean 29, 34 Flowers, How to Pack for Transportation 29 Flowers, To Keep Fresh (three) 29 Gas, Good Way to Save 10 Gasoline Iron, To Protect Hand from 20 Gasoline, Hints for Cleaning With (three) 32 Gas Stove Burners, To Clean 3 Gems, Hint for Baking 6 Gems and Muffins, To Make Lighter 8 Gilt Frames, To Clean and Remove Fly Specks from 19, 31 Glass, Broken, To Gather Up 28 Glass, Drinking, Etc., To Prevent Breaking 1 Glass, Polish for 11 Glove Repair, White, Emergency 27 Grease, To Remove from Kitchen Floor 10 Greasy Woodwork, To Clean Hammock, Squeaky, Remedy for 24 Hands, Chapped, To Prevent 2 Hands, To Remove Fish Odor from 5 Hands, To Remove Odors from 7 Hands, To Remove Stains from 2 Hooks in Hardwood, How to Put in 23 Ice Cream, To Freeze Quickly 24 Ice Pick, Handy, for Emergency 23 Icy Steps, Etc., Remedy for 28 Ink Stains on Fingers, To Remove 27 Ink Stains on Linen, Carpets, Etc., To Remove 38 Ink Stains on Oak Table, To Remove 31 Insect in Ear, Relief for 31 Insects, To Remove from Vegetables When Washing 11 Insects, Plant, To Destroy 33 Insoles from Old Felt 23 Insomnia, Cure for 26 Invalid's Room, Perfume for 25 Iron, Gasoline, To Protect Hand from 20 Ironing Over Buttons, Etc., Hint for 22 Iron Stand, Brick for 20 Kerosene Fire, To Extinguish 3 Kerosene for Water Bugs 1 Kettles and Pans, Greasy, To Clean 2 Kitchen Floor, Etc., Finish for 14 Kitchen Memoranda, Tablet or Slate for 11 Knife Handles, White, To Clean 14 Labels, Paper, To Remove 25 Lace Curtains, New Way to Fasten 18 Lace Curtains, To Stretch Without Frame 21 Lamps, Wicks and Chimneys, Hints for (Five) 12 Leather Furniture, To Clean 31 Leather Upholstery, Polish for 19 Lemons, To Increase Juice from 3 Lemons, Old, To Freshen 9 Lid, To Keep on Boiling Pot 5 Linen, To Make Glossy 21 Linen, To Remove Stains from 35 - 38 Linoleum, To Clean 16 Linoleum, Varnish and Polish for 16 Loaned Dishes, To Identify 11 Macaroni, Two New Uses for 30 Machine Oil, To Prevent Soiling Goods 16 Marble, To Clean Soil or Oil Spots from 34 Match Scratcher, Novel and Useful 27 Matting, How to Clean and Lay 34 Meat, Roast, To Prevent Drying Out 5 Meat, To Make Tender 5 Meat, To Prevent Scorching 8 Mending China and Crockery, Hints for (four) 13 Mica in Stove Doors, To Clean 13 Mice, To Get Rid of 26 Mildew in Leather, To Remove 26 Mildew in Cloth, To Remove (four) 39 Mirrors, To Clean 19 Mixing Board, Best Kind of 4 Moth Preventive 31 Moths in Carpet, To Destroy 31 Moths, To Keep Out of Piano 31 Mucilage, Dried, To Restore 25 Muffins and Gems, To Make Lighter 8 Mushrooms, How to Judge 6 Nails in Plaster, To Drive Without Damage 30 Newspapers, Old, Use for 3 Nuts, Pecan, How to Crack 2 Odor, Perspiration, To Remove 25 Odors, To Remove from Hands 7 Oil Lamps, Wicks and Chimneys, Hints for (five) 12 Oil, Machine, To Prevent Soiling Goods 16 Oil Spots, Sewing Machine, To Remove 17 Onion Smell, To Remove from Pans 5 Onions, To Prevent Eyes Watering When Peeling 5 Paint Brushes, How to Soften 25 Pans and Kettles, Greasy, To Clean 2 Pastry, To Prevent Burning 4 Pecan Nuts, How to Crack 2 Pen or Brush Holder, Handy, for Desk 27 Perspiration of Hands When Sewing, To Prevent 16 Perspiration Odor, To Remove 25 Picture Glass, How to Clean 18 Picture Nail, To Mark Place for 28 Pictures, Hint for Taking from Wall 29 Pie Crust, To Make Flaky 8 Pies, Wire Rack for Cooling 4 Plant Insects, To Destroy 33 Poison, To Avoid Mistakes With 28 Polisher for Stove When Hot 4 Postage Stamps, How to Separate 25 Potatoes, Sweet, To Peel Easily 4 Pots, Hint for Cleaning 6 Raincoat, How to Clean (two) 30 Rats, To Rid House of 26 Refrigerator, To Keep Sweet 1 Rice, Hint for Boiling 6 Roasted Meat, To Prevent Drying Out 5 Rocking Chair, To Prevent Creeping Over Floor 28 Rugs, To Prevent Slipping on Floor 27 Rust and Stains in Tinware, To Remove and Prevent 11, 14 Rust, To Remove from Flat-irons 4 Salty Food, Remedy for 5 Sash Curtains, Hint for Laundering 21 Scalds, Remedy for 10 Scissors, To Sharpen 16 Scorch, To Remove from Cake 8 Scorched Spot, To Bleach 21 Scorched Vegetables, Etc., Remedy for 7 Screws and Nails, Rusty, To Loosen 23 Serge Skirt, Shabby, To Renovate 32 Sewing Machine Belt, To Tighten 16 Sewing Machine Oil Spots, To Remove 17 Shine on Woolen Goods and Black Cloth, To Remove 33 Shoe Lace, New Tag for 32 Shoes or Boots, To Make Them Take Polish 32 Shoes, White Kid, To Clean 32 Silver, Hint for Washing 4 Silver, To Remove Egg Stains from 7 Silver, Tarnished, To Clean 14 Skirts, Right Way to Hang 21 Smoke Marks on Ceiling, To Remove 30 Sofa Cushions, Etc., Hint for Filling 18 Soot on Carpet, To Remove 31 Soup, Best Way to Strain 2 Spectacles, To Prevent Steaming 25 Spiders, To Get Rid of 7 Spilled Water in Sick Bed, Remedy for 17 Sponge, To Clean and Purify 20 Spots on Varnished Wood, To Remove 34 Sprain, To Relieve 26 Stains, All Kinds, To Remove 35 - 38 Stain, Cheap, for Wood Floors 16 Stains, To Remove from Hands 2 Stains Under Finger Nails, To Prevent 2 Stamps, Postage, How to Separate 25 Starch, To Prevent Sticking to Iron 20 Stockings, To Pair 17 Stockings, To Prevent Cutting by Elastic 17 Stove, Polisher for Hot 4 Sweeping, To Prevent Dust When 14 Sweet Potatoes, To Peel Easily 4 Tea Caddy, Orange or Lemon Peel for 3 Teakettle, To Keep from Rusting 3 Teapot, To Prevent Musty 3 Tinware Stains or Rust, To Remove or Prevent 11, 14 Toasting Bread, Cornpopper for 2 Tomatoes, To Skin Easily 4 Turkey, To Make Tender 8 Umbrella Jars, Hint for 24 Upholstery, Leather, Polish for 19 Varnished Floors, Polish for 16 Varnished Wood, To Remove Spots from 34 Vase, Slender, To Clean 9 Vases, or Bric-a-Brac, Leaky, To Mend 28 Vegetables, To Remove Insects When Washing 11 Velveteen, Two Uses for 28 Wall Paper, To Make Waterproof 16 Wall Paper Remover and Cleaner, Recipes for 33 Walls, Broken, How to Mend 30 Wash or Lavatory Basins, To Open Clogged 19 Water, Spilled in Sick Bed, Remedy for 17 Water, To Soften for Washing and Toilet Purposes 20 Water Bottles, To Clean 9 Water Bugs, Kerosene for 1 Watery Eyes, To Prevent When Peeling Onions 5 Wax for Floors, A Cheap and Good 23 Weeds, To Kill 26 White Curtains, To Make Ecru or Cream Color 21 White Glove Repair, Emergency 27 White Kid Articles, To Clean 32 Window Cleaning Hints (six) 15 Wood Floors, Cheap Stain for 16 Woodwork, Greasy, To Clean 34 Woodwork, White Enameled, To Clean 34 Woolen Blankets, To Prevent Shrinking 20 Worms, Earth, in Flower Pots, To Destroy 27 Wringer Rollers, To Clean 21 Zinc, How to Clean 31 28452 ---- Transcriber's Note Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text. [Illustration: MARKETING BEEF. _Hind Quarter._ 1. Sirloin. 2. Rump. 3. Edgebone. 4. Buttock. 5. Mouse Buttock. 6. Veiny Piece. 7. Thick Flank. 8. Thin Flank. 9. Leg. 10. Fore Rib; Five Ribs. _Fore Quarter._ 11. Middle Rib; Four Ribs. 12. Chuck; Three Ribs. 13. Shoulder or Leg of Mutton Piece. 14. Brisket. 15. Clod. 16. Neck or Sticking Piece. 17. Shin. 18. Cheek. VENISON. 1. Haunch. 2. Neck. 3. Shoulder. 4. Breast.] THE AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE: CONTAINING THE MOST VALUABLE AND ORIGINAL RECEIPTS IN ALL THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF COOKERY; AND WRITTEN IN A MINUTE AND METHODICAL MANNER. TOGETHER WITH A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS AND DIRECTIONS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY. BY AN EXPERIENCED LADY. ALSO THE WHOLE ART OF CARVING ILLUSTRATED BY SIXTEEN ENGRAVINGS. THIRD EDITION. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY DAYTON AND SAXTON (SUCCESSORS TO GOULD NEWMAN AND SAXTON ) CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. 1841. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1841 by DAYTON & SAXTON in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York. [Illustration: PLATE. MUTTON. 1. Leg. 2. Loin Best End. 3. Loin Chump End. 4. Neck Best End. 5. Neck Scrag End. 6. Shoulder. 7. Breast. A Chime is two Loins. A Saddle is two Necks. VEAL. 1. Loin Best End. 2. Loin Chump End. 3. Fillet. 4. Hind Knuckle. 5. Fore Knuckle. 6. Neck Best End. 7. Neck Scrag End. 8. Blade Bone. 9. Breast Best End. 10. Breast Brisket End. PORK. 1. The Spare Rib. 2. Hand. 3. Spring. 4. Fore Loin. 5. Hind Loin. 6. Leg.] PREFACE. The writer does not deem any apology necessary for adding another to the long list of gastronomic works provided she has accomplished the desirable object of producing a Cook Book which shall commend itself to all persons of true taste--that is to say those whose taste has not been vitiated by a mode of cooking contrary to her own. Although not a Ude or a Kitchener she does profess to have sufficient knowledge of the culinary art as practised by _good American cooks_ to instruct those not versed in this truly interesting science. The inefficiency of most works of this kind are well known to all experienced housekeepers they being generally a mere compilation of receipts by those who _have no practical knowledge_ of the subject and are consequently unable to judge of their correctness or to give the necessary directions for _putting_ the ingredients together in the right manner. A conviction that a _good practical Cook Book_ was much needed induced the writer to exert herself to supply the deficiency. She does not pretend to infallibility but having taken a great deal of pains to have each receipt as correct and nice as possible she trusts that they will generally give satisfaction. The mode of cooking is such as is generally practised by good American housekeepers and the receipts embrace all the various branches of the culinary science from preparing the most simple vegetables or broths to making the most delicate cake creams sweetmeats &c. The writer has endeavored to combine both economy and that which will be agreeable to the palate but she has never suffered the former to supersede the latter. This book is intended for all classes of society embracing receipts both for rich and plain cooking and written in such a plain manner that the most unskilled need not err. Placed in the hands of any servant of common capacity who can read it will set aside the necessity of those frequent applications for directions with which the patience of housekeepers is often tried. The experienced cook may smile at the minuteness of the directions; but if she has witnessed as much good food spoiled by improper cooking as the writer of these receipts she will not think she has been too explicit. In regard to the seasoning of food it has been found impossible to give any exact rules as so much depends upon the quality of the seasoning and food. The cook should be careful not to have the natural flavor of the food overpowered by the seasoning; and where a variety of spices are used no one of them should predominate. Independent of the receipts for cookery we have annexed a collection of miscellaneous receipts relative to housekeeping which together with the copious illustrations and directions for carving we trust will render it of superior usefulness. In conclusion the writer would give her sincere thanks to those of her friends who have kindly furnished her with their choice and valuable receipts: and to those into whose hands the book may fall she would ask a fair trial of them before passing judgment. CONTENTS. NO. PAGE MEAT. 1 Observations respecting Meat 9 2 Roast Beef 10 3 Beefsteak 10 4 Alamode Beef 11 5 Beef Liver 11 6 To Corn Beef 11 7 Mutton 12 8 Veal 13 9 Veal Cutlets 13 10 Calf's Head 14 11 Force Meat Balls 14 12 Calf's Feet 14 13 Calf's Liver and Heart 15 14 Collops 15 15 Plaw 15 16 Fillet of Veal 15 17 Lamb 16 18 Shoulder of Lamb Grilled 16 19 Lamb's Fry 17 20 Turkey 17 21 Goose 18 22 Chickens 18 23 Fricassee 18 24 Pigeons 19 25 Ducks 19 26 Baked or Roast Pig 19 27 Sweet Bread Liver and Heart 20 28 Pressed Head 20 29 Souse 20 30 Tripe 21 31 Sausages 21 32 To Cure and Cook Hams 21 33 To Salt and Smoke Tongues 22 34 Curries 22 MEAT PIES. 35 Chicken Pie 22 36 Beef and Mutton Pie 23 37 Chicken and Veal Pot Pie 23 38 To Frizzle Beef 24 39 Warmed-over Meats 24 40 A Ragout of Cold Veal 25 GRAVIES AND SAUCES. 41 Drawn Butter 25 42 Burnt Butter 25 43 Roast Meat Gravy 25 44 Sauce for Fish Salad and Cold Meat 26 45 Wine Sauce for Mutton and Venison 26 46 Rice Sauce 26 47 Oyster Sauce 26 48 Celery Sauce 27 49 Brown Sauce for Poultry 27 50 Savory Jelly Sauce for Cold Meat 27 51 Liver Sauce for Fish 27 52 Lobster Sauce 27 53 Chicken Salad 28 54 Turtle or Calf's Head Sauce 28 55 Apple and Cranberry Sauce 28 56 Pudding Sauce 28 57 Tomato Soy 29 58 Tomato Catsup 29 59 Mushroom Catsup 29 60 Walnut Catsup 30 61 Curry Powder 30 62 Essence of Celery 30 SOUPS. 63 Soup Herb Spirit 30 64 Plain Veal Soup 30 65 Mock Turtle or Calf's Head Soup 31 66 Beef and Black Soup 31 67 Chicken and Turkey Soup 31 68 Oyster Soup 32 69 Pea Soup 32 70 Portable Soup 32 VARIOUS METHODS OF COOKING EGGS. 71 To Boil Eggs 33 72 Omelet 33 73 Poached Eggs 33 FISH. 74 Directions for Broiling Boiling and Frying Fish 34 75 Chowders 35 76 Baked Fish 35 77 Codfish 35 78 Cod Sounds and Tongues 36 79 Halibut 36 80 Bass 36 81 Black Fish 36 82 To Cook Shad or Salt them for winter use 36 83 Sturgeons 37 84 Fish Cakes 37 85 Fish Balls 37 86 Lobsters and Crabs 37 87 Scollops 38 88 Eels 38 89 Trout 38 90 Clams 38 91 To Stew Oysters 39 92 To Fry Oysters 39 93 Oyster Pancakes 39 94 Oyster Pies 39 95 Scolloped Oysters 40 VEGETABLES. 96 Potatoes 40 97 Potato Snow Balls 40 98 Turnips 41 99 Beets 41 100 Parsnips and Carrots 41 101 Onions 41 102 Artichokes 41 103 Squashes 42 104 Cabbage and Cauliflowers 42 105 Asparagus 42 106 Peas 43 107 Sweet Corn 43 108 To Bake and Boil Beans 43 109 Greens 44 110 Salads 44 111 To Prepare Cucumbers for Eating 44 112 To Stew Mushrooms 44 113 To Cook Egg Plant 45 114 Celeriac 45 115 Salsify or Vegetable Oyster 45 116 Tomatoes 45 117 Gumbo 46 118 Southern Method of Boiling Rice 46 PICKLES. 119 General Directions for Pickling 46 120 Peppers 47 121 Mangoes 47 122 Butternuts 48 123 Peaches and Apricots 48 124 Cabbage and Cauliflowers 48 125 East India Pickle 49 126 French Beans and Radish Pods 49 127 Nasturtions 49 128 Samphire 49 129 Onions 50 130 Artichokes 50 131 Cucumbers 50 132 Gherkins 51 133 To Pickle Oysters 51 134 Mushrooms 51 BREAD. 135 Wheat Bread 51 136 Sponge Bread 52 137 Rye Bread 53 138 Brown Bread 53 139 Indian Bread 53 140 Potato Bread 53 141 Rice Bread 53 142 French Rolls 54 143 Yeast 54 144 Yeast Cakes 55 BISCUIT. 145 Butter Biscuit 55 146 Buttermilk Biscuit 56 147 Hard Biscuit 56 148 Saleratus Biscuit or Short Cakes 56 149 Potato Biscuit 56 150 Sponge Biscuit 57 151 Crackers 57 HOT CAKES. 152 Cream Cakes 57 153 Crumpets 57 154 Rice Cakes 57 155 Rice Ruffs 58 156 Buckwheat Cakes 58 157 Economy Cakes 58 158 Green Corn Cake 59 159 Ground Corn Cake 59 160 Indian Slap Jacks 59 161 Journey Cakes 59 162 Hoe Cake 60 163 Muffins 60 164 Raised Flour Waffles 60 165 Quick Waffles 60 166 Rice Waffles 61 167 Rice Wafers 61 SWEET CAKES. 168 Directions for making Cake nice 61 169 Frosting for Cake 62 170 Sponge Gingerbread 62 171 Hard Gingerbread 63 172 Soft Gingerbread 63 173 Sugar Gingerbread 63 174 Ginger Snaps 63 175 Spice Cakes 64 176 Cider Cake 64 177 Bannoch or Sweet Meal Cakes 64 178 Rich Cookies 64 179 Tea Cakes or Plain Cookies 64 180 New Year's Cookies 65 181 Shrewsbury Cake 65 182 Tunbridge Cake 65 183 Jumbles 65 184 Composition Cake 65 185 Rusk 66 186 Whigs 66 187 Nut Cakes 66 188 Crollers 67 189 Molasses Dough Cake 67 190 Sugar Dough Cake 67 191 Measure Cake 68 192 French Cake 68 193 Washington Cake 68 194 Cup Cake 68 195 Plain Cream Cake 69 196 Rich Cream Cake 69 197 Cymbals 69 198 Rich Loaf Cake 69 199 Plain Loaf Cake 70 200 Shelah or Quick Loaf Cake 70 201 Rice Cake 70 202 Diet Cake 71 203 Lemon Cake 71 204 Scotch Cake 71 205 Pound Cake 71 206 Confectioner's Pound Cake 71 207 Queen's Cake 72 208 Delicate Cake 72 209 Jelly Cake 72 210 Strawberry Cake 73 211 Superior Sponge Cake 73 212 Good Sponge Cake 73 213 Almond Cake 73 214 Fruit Cake 74 215 Black Cake 74 216 Maccaroons 75 217 Cocoanut Cakes 75 218 Tory Wafers 75 219 Sugar Drops 75 220 Savoy Cakes 76 221 Almond Cheese Cakes 76 TRIFLES. 222 Flummery 76 223 Floating Island 76 224 Whip Syllabub 77 225 Ornamental Froth for Blanc Mange or Creams 77 226 Ice Currants 77 227 Apple Snow 77 228 Comfits 77 BLANC MANGES. 229 Isinglass Blanc Mange 78 230 Calf's Feet Blanc Mange 78 231 Rice Flour Blanc Mange 78 232 Unground Rice Blanc Mange 78 CREAMS. 233 Snow Cream 79 234 Orange Cream 79 235 Lemon Cream 79 236 Iced Creams 79 PASTRY AND PIES. 237 Pastry 80 238 Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry 81 239 Apple Pies 81 240 Mince Pie 82 241 Rice Pie 83 242 Peach Pie 83 243 Tart Pies 83 244 Rhubarb Pies 84 245 Tomato Pie 84 246 Lemon Pie 84 247 Cherry and Blackberry Pies 84 248 Grape Pies 85 249 Currant and Gooseberry Pies 85 250 Prune Pie 85 251 Pumpkin Pie 85 252 Carrot Pie 86 253 Potato Pie 86 254 Sweet Marlborough Pie 87 255 Marlborough Tarts 87 256 Cocoanut Pie 87 257 Small Puffs 88 CUSTARDS. 258 Plain Custard Pie 88 259 Rich Baked Custards 88 260 Boiled Custards 88 261 Mottled Custard 89 262 Cream Custard 89 263 Almond Custard 89 264 Apple Custard 90 PUDDINGS. 265 Directions for making Puddings 90 266 Hasty Pudding 90 267 Corn Pudding 91 268 Cracker Pudding 91 269 Boiled Indian Pudding 91 270 Baked Indian Pudding 91 271 Minute Pudding 92 272 Boiled Bread Pudding 92 273 A Plain Baked Bread Pudding 92 274 Rich Bread Pudding 93 275 Flour Pudding 93 276 Boiled Rice Pudding 93 277 Baked Rice Pudding without Eggs 94 278 Baked Rice Pudding with Eggs 94 279 Ground Rice Pudding 94 280 Rice Snow Balls 94 281 Cream Pudding 95 282 Custard Pudding 95 283 Rennet Pudding 95 284 Fruit Pudding 95 285 Quaking Pudding 96 286 Lemon Pudding 96 287 Almond Pudding 96 288 Tapioca Pudding 97 289 Sago Pudding 97 290 Orange Pudding 97 291 Bird's Nest or Transparent Pudding 98 292 English Plum Pudding 98 FRITTERS AND DUMPLINGS. 293 Plain Fritters 98 294 Apple Fritters 98 295 Cream Fritters 99 296 Oxford Dumplings 99 297 Apple Dumplings 99 SYRUPS. 298 Lemon Syrup 99 299 Orange Syrup 100 300 Blackberry Syrup 100 301 Elderberry Syrup 100 302 Molasses Syrup for Sweetmeats 100 303 To Clarify Syrup for Sweetmeats 101 SWEETMEATS. 304 Directions for Preserving 101 305 To preserve Quinces 102 306 Quince Marmalade 103 307 To preserve Pears 103 308 Pear Marmalade 103 309 To preserve Peaches 103 310 Peach Jam 104 311 To preserve Peaches in Brandy 104 312 Raspberries 104 313 Cherries 105 314 Currants 105 315 Prunes 105 316 Cranberries 106 317 To preserve Crab or Siberian Apples 106 318 Barberries 106 319 Tomatoes 107 320 To preserve Common Apples 107 321 Cymbelines or Mock Citron 107 322 Watermelon Rinds 108 323 Muskmelons 108 324 Pine Apples 109 325 Pumpkins 109 326 Gages 110 327 To preserve Strawberries 110 328 Blackberry and Raspberry Jam 110 JELLIES. 329 Strawberry Raspberry and Blackberry Jellies 110 330 Cranberry Grape and Currant Jellies 111 331 Quince Jelly 111 332 Apple Jelly 111 333 Lemon Jelly 112 334 Calf's Feet Jelly 112 335 Hartshorn Jelly 113 COMMON DRINKS. 336 Coffee 113 337 Tea 114 338 Chocolate 114 339 Hop Beer 114 340 Beer of Essential Oils 115 341 Spring Beer 115 342 Ginger Beer 116 343 Instantaneous Beer 116 344 Mixed Wine 116 345 Currant Wine 116 346 Grape Wine 117 347 To mull Wine 117 348 Quince Cordial 117 349 Peach Cordial 117 350 Smallage Cordial 118 351 Currant Shrub 118 352 Raspberry Shrub 118 353 Lemon Shrub 118 354 Sherbet 119 355 Noyeau 119 356 Mead 119 ESSENCES. 357 Essence of Lemon 119 358 Essence of Ginger 120 359 Spice Brandy 120 360 Rosewater 120 PERFUMERY. 361 To extract the Essential Oil of Flowers 121 362 Perfumery Bags 121 363 Cologne Water 121 364 Lavender Water 121 365 Aromatic Vinegar 121 COOKERY FOR THE SICK. 366 Barley Water 122 367 Rice Gruel 122 368 Water Gruel 122 369 Caudle 122 370 Arrow Root Custards 123 371 Wine Whey 123 372 Stomachic Tincture 123 373 Thoroughwort Bitters 123 374 Cough Tea 124 375 Beef Tea 124 376 Moss Jelly 124 377 Sago Jelly 124 378 Tapioca Jelly 125 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY. 379 To renew Old Bread and Cake 125 380 To keep Insects from Cheese 125 381 To pot Cheese 125 382 To pot Butter for winter 125 383 To extract Salt from Butter 126 384 To extract Rancidity from Butter 126 385 To preserve Cream for a long time 126 386 Substitute for Cream 126 387 To keep Eggs several months 126 388 To melt Fat for Shortening 126 389 To keep Vegetables through the winter 126 390 To preserve Herbs a year 126 391 To keep various kinds of Fruit through the winter 126 392 To keep Pickles and Sweetmeats 127 393 Cautions relative to the use of Brass and Copper Cooking Utensils 127 394 Durable Ink 127 395 Black Ball 127 396 Liquid Blacking 127 397 Cement for the mouths of Bottles 127 398 Cement for China Glass and Earthenware 127 399 Japanese Cement 128 400 Alabaster Cement 128 401 To clean Alabaster 128 402 Cement for Ironware 128 403 To loosen Glass Stopples when wedged tight in bottles 128 404 Lip Salve 128 405 Cold Cream 128 406 To prevent the formation of a crust on Tea-Kettles 128 407 To remove Stains from Broad cloth 128 408 To extract Paint from Goods 128 409 To remove Stains on Scarlet Woollen Goods 128 410 To extract Grease from Silks Woollens and Floors 128 411 To extract Stains from White Cotton and Colored Silks 129 412 Directions for Washing Calicoes 129 413 Directions for Cleaning Silk Goods 129 414 Directions for Washing Woollen Goods 129 415 Directions for Washing White Cotton Clothes 130 416 Starch 130 417 To clean Nice Shawls 130 418 Directions for Carpets 130 419 To clean Light Kid Gloves 130 420 To restore Rusty Crape 131 421 To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture 131 422 To clean Stoves and Stone Hearths 131 423 To extract Ink from Floors 131 424 To remove Paint and Putty from Window Glass 131 425 To clean Feather Beds and Mattresses 131 426 To clean Vials and Pie Plates 131 427 To temper Earthenware 131 428 To temper new Ovens and Ironware 132 429 To polish Brass Britannia and Silver Utensils 132 430 To remove or keep Cutlery from contracting rust 132 431 Preservatives against the ravages of Moths 132 432 To destroy various kinds of household Vermin 132 COMMON DYES. 433 To dye Black 132 434 Green and Blue Dye 133 435 Yellow Dyes 133 436 Red Dyes 133 437 Slate-Colored Dye 133 SOAPS. 438 Soap from Scraps 134 439 Cold Soap 134 440 Hard Soap 134 441 Windsor and Castile Soap 134 442 Bayberry or Myrtle Soap 134 THE ART OF CARVING. 1 Sirloin of Beef 135 2 Aitch or Edgebone of Beef 136 3 Shoulder of Mutton 136 4 Knuckle of Veal 137 5 Roasted Breast of Veal 137 6 A Spare Rib 138 7 Saddle of Mutton 138 8 Pig 138 9 Half a Calf's Head boiled 139 10 Leg of Mutton 139 11 Ham 140 12 Fore Quarter of Lamb 140 13 Haunch of Venison 141 14 Round of Beef 141 15 Brisket of Beef 141 16 Leg of Pork 141 17 Haunch of Mutton 141 18 Goose 142 19 A Fowl 142 20 Partridge 143 21 Pigeons 143 22 Turkey 143 23 Cod's Head 144 PRACTICAL COOKERY. 1. _Observations respecting Meat._ Meat to be in perfection should be kept a number of days when the weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a week in cold weather and poultry three or four days. If the weather is hot it will keep but a short time. It should be kept in a cool airy place away from the flies and if there is any danger of its spoiling a little salt should be rubbed over it. When meat is frozen it should be put into lukewarm water and not taken out till the frost is extracted. If there is any frost in it when put to the fire it will not cook well. The best way to boil it is to put it in cold water and boil it gently with just water enough to cover it as it hardens by furious boiling. The part that is to be up on the table should be down in the pot as the scum that rises is apt to make the meat look dark--the scum should be taken off as soon as it rises. The liquor in which all kinds of fresh meat is boiled makes a good soup when thickened and seasoned. Boiling is the cheapest way of cooking meat provided you make a soup of the liquor; if not it is the dearest as most of the gelatine is extracted by the process of boiling which is the most nourishing part and if not used for soup is completely lost. In roasting meat only the juices and fat are extracted but not lost as the juices make good gravy and the fat is good for various culinary purposes. When it is put down to roast there should be a little water in the dripping pan. For broiling the bars of the gridiron should be perfectly clean and greased with lard or butter otherwise the meat will retain the impression of the bars. The bars of the gridiron should be concave and terminate in a trough to catch the juices or they will drop in the fire and smoke the meat. A good fire of hot coals is necessary to have the meat broil as quick as possible without burning. The gridiron should be put on the fire and well heated before the meat is laid on it. The dish should be very hot on which broiled meat is put and it should not be seasoned till taken up. If you wish to fry meat cut a small piece of pork into slices and fry them a light brown then take them up and put in your meat which should be perfectly dry. When the meat is sufficiently fried take it up remove the frying pan from the fire to cool; when so turn in a little cold water for the gravy put it on the fire--when it boils stir in a little mixed flour and water let it boil then turn it over the meat. If not rich enough add butter and catsup if you like. 2. _Roast Beef._ The tender loin and first and second cuts off the rack are the best roasting pieces--the third and fourth cuts are good. When the meat is put to the fire a little salt should be sprinkled on it and the bony side turned towards the fire first. When the bones get well heated through turn the meat and keep a brisk fire--baste it frequently while roasting. There should be a little water put into the dripping pan when the meat is put down to roast. If it is a thick piece allow fifteen minutes to each pound to roast it in--if thin less time will be required. 3. _Beef Steak._ The tender loin is the best piece for broiling--a steak from the round or shoulder clod is good and comes cheaper. If the beef is not very tender it should be laid on a board and pounded before broiling or frying it. Wash it in cold water then lay it on a gridiron place it on a hot bed of coals and broil it as quick as possible without burning it. If broiled slow it will not be good. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes to broil a steak. For seven or eight pounds of beef cut up about a quarter of a pound of butter. Heat the platter very hot that the steak is to be put on lay the butter on it take up the steak salt and pepper it on both sides. Beef steak to be good should be eaten as soon as cooked. A few slices of salt pork broiled with the steak makes a rich gravy with a very little butter. There should always be a trough to catch the juices of the meat when broiled. The same pieces that are good broiled are good for frying. Fry a few slices of salt pork brown then take them up and put in the beef. When brown on both sides take it up take the pan off from the fire to let the fat cool; when cool turn in half a tea cup of water mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water stir it into the fat put the pan back on the fire stir it till it boils up then turn it over the beef. 4. _Alamode Beef._ The round of beef is the best piece to alamode--the shoulder clod is good and comes lower; it is also good stewed without any spices. For five pounds of beef soak about a pound of bread in cold water till soft then drain off the water mash the bread fine put in a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg half a tea spoonful of salt the same quantity of ground cloves allspice and pepper half a nutmeg a couple of eggs and a table spoonful of flour--mix the whole well together; then cut gashes in the beef and fill them with about half of the dressing put the meat in a bake-pan with lukewarm water enough to cover it; set it where it will stew gently for a couple of hours cover it with a heated bake pan lid. When it has stewed a couple of hours turn the reserved dressing on top of the meat heat the bake pan lid hot enough to brown the dressing stew it an hour and a half longer. After the meat is taken up if the gravy is not thick enough mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water and stir it into the gravy; put in a little butter a wine glass of wine and turn it over the meat. 5. _Beef Liver._ Liver is very good fried but the best way to cook it is to broil it ten minutes with four or five slices of salt pork. Then take it cut it into small strips together with the pork put it in a stew pan with a little water butter and pepper. Stew it four or five minutes. 6. _To Corn Beef._ To every gallon of cold water put a quart of rock salt an ounce of salt-petre quarter of a pound of brown sugar--(some people use molasses but it is not as good)--no boiling is necessary. Put the beef in the brine. As long as any salt remains at the bottom of the cask it is strong enough. Whenever any scum rises the brine should be scalded skimmed and more sugar salt and salt-petre added. When a piece of beef is put in the brine rub a little salt over it. If the weather is hot cut a gash to the bone of the meat and fill it with salt. Put a heavy weight on the beef in order to keep it under the brine. In very hot weather it is difficult to corn beef in cold brine before it spoils. On this account it is good to corn it in the pot when boiled. It is done in the following manner; to six or eight pounds of beef put a tea cup of salt sprinkle flour on the side that is to go up on the table and put it down in the pot turn the water into the pot after the beef is put in boil it a couple of hours then turn in more cold water and boil it an hour and a half longer. 7. _Mutton._ The saddle is the best part to roast--the shoulder and leg are good roasted; but the best mode to cook the latter is to boil it with a piece of salt pork. A little rice boiled with it improves the looks of it. Mutton for roasting should have a little butter rubbed on it and a little salt and pepper sprinkled on it--some people like cloves and allspice. Put a small piece of butter in the dripping pan and baste it frequently. The bony side should be turned towards the fire first and roasted. For boiling or roasting mutton allow a quarter of an hour to each pound of meat. The leg is good cut in gashes and filled with a dressing and baked. The dressing is made of soaked bread a little butter salt and pepper and a couple of eggs. A pint of water with a little butter should be put in the pan. The leg is also good cut into slices and broiled. It is good corned a few days and then boiled. The rack is good for broiling--it should be divided each bone by itself broiled quick and buttered salted and peppered. The breast of mutton is nice baked. The joints of the brisket should be separated the sharp ends of the ribs sawed off the outside rubbed over with a little piece of butter--salt it and put it in a bake pan with a pint of water. When done take it up and thicken the gravy with a little flour and water and put in a small piece of butter. A table spoonful of catsup cloves and allspice improve it but are not essential. The neck of mutton makes a good soup. Parsely or celery-heads are a pretty garnish for mutton. 8. _Veal._ The loin of veal is the best piece for roasting. The breast and rack are good roasted. The breast also is good made into a pot pie and the rack cut into small pieces and broiled. The leg is nice for frying and when several slices have been cut off for cutlets the remainder is nice boiled with a small piece of salt pork. Veal for roasting should be salted peppered and a little butter rubbed on it and basted frequently. Put a little water in the dripping pan and unless the meat is quite fat a little butter should be put in. The fillet is good baked the bone should be cut out and the place filled with a dressing made of bread soaked soft in cold water a little salt pepper a couple of eggs and a table spoonful of melted butter put in--then sew it up put it in your bake pan with about a pint of water cover the top of the meat with some of the dressing. When baked sufficiently take it up thicken the gravy with a little flour and water well mixed put in a small piece of butter and a little wine and catsup if you like the gravy rich. 9. _Veal Cutlets._ Fry three or four slices of pork until brown--take them up then put in slices of veal about an inch thick cut from the leg. When brown on both sides take them up--stir half a pint of water into the gravy then mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir it in--soak a couple of slices of toasted bread in the gravy lay them on the bottom of the platter place the meat and pork over it then turn on the gravy. A very nice way to cook the cutlets is to make a batter with half a pint of milk an egg beaten to a froth and flour enough to render it thick. When the veal is fried brown dip it into the batter then put it back into the fat and fry it until brown again. If you have any batter left it is nice dropped by the large spoonful into the fat and fried till brown then laid over the veal. Thicken the gravy and turn it over the whole. It takes about an hour to cook this dish. If the meat is tough it will be better to stew it half an hour before frying it. 10. _Calf's Head._ Boil the head two hours together with the lights and feet. Put in the liver when it has boiled an hour and twenty minutes. Before the head is done tie the brains in a bag and boil them with it; when the brains are done take them up season them with salt pepper butter and sweet herbs or spices if you like--use this as a dressing for the head. Some people prefer part of the liver and feet for dressing--they are prepared like the brains. The liquor that the calf's head is boiled in makes a good soup seasoned in a plain way like any other veal soup or seasoned turtle fashion. The liquor should stand until the next day after the head is boiled in order to have the fat rise and skimmed off. If you wish to have your calf's head look brown take it up when tender rub a little butter over it sprinkle on salt pepper and allspice--sprinkle flour over it and put before the fire with a Dutch oven over it or in a brick oven where it will brown quick. Warm up the brains with a little water butter salt and pepper. Add wine and spices if you like. Serve it up as a dressing for the head. Calf's head is also good baked. Halve it rub butter over it put it in a pan with about a quart of water; then cover it with a dressing made of bread soaked soft a little butter an egg and season it with salt pepper and powdered mace. Slice up the brains and lay them in the pan with the head. Bake it in a quick oven and garnish it with slices of lemon or force meat balls. 11. _Force Meat Balls._ Chop a pound or two of veal fine--mix it with one or two eggs a little butter or raw pork chopped fine--season it with salt and pepper or curry powder. Do them up into balls about the size of half an egg and fry them brown. 12. _Calf's Feet._ Boil them with the head until tender then split and lay them round the head or dredge them with flour after they have been boiled tender and fry them brown. If you wish for gravy for them when you have taken them up stir a little flour into the fat they were fried in; season it with salt pepper and mace. Add a little butter and wine if you like then turn it over the feet. 13. _Calf's Liver and Heart._ Are good broiled or fried. Some people like the liver stuffed and baked. 14. _Collops._ Cut part of a leg of veal into pieces three or four inches broad--sprinkle flour on them fry them in butter until brown then turn in water enough to cover the veal. When it boils take off the scum put in two or three onions a blade of mace a little salt and pepper. When stewed tender take up the meat thicken the gravy with flour and water mixed smoothly together squeeze in the juice of half a lemon then turn it over the collops. Garnish them with a lemon cut in thin slices. 15. _Plaw._ Boil a piece of lean veal till tender. Take it up cut it into strips three or four inches long put it back into the pot with the liquor it was boiled in with a tea cup of rice to three pounds of veal. Put in a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg; season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs if you like; stew it gently till the rice is tender and the water nearly stewed away. A little curry powder in this converts it into a curry dish. 16. _A Fillet of Veal._ Cut off the shank of a leg of veal and cut gashes in the remainder. Make a dressing of bread soaked soft in cold water and mashed; season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs; chop a little raw pork fine put it in the dressing and if you have not pork use a little butter instead. Fill the gashes in the meat with part of the dressing put it in a bake pan with just water enough to cover it; put the remainder of the dressing on top of the meat and cover it with a heated bake pan lid. For six pounds of veal allow two hours' steady baking. A leg of veal is nice prepared in this manner and roasted. 17. _Lamb._ The fore and hind quarters are good roasting pieces. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the lamb turn the bony side towards the fire first; if not fat rub a little butter on it and put a little in the dripping pan; baste it frequently. These pieces are good stuffed like a fillet of veal and roasted. The leg is also good cooked in the same manner; but it is better boiled with a pound of salt pork. Allow fifteen minutes boiling to each pound of meat. The breast of lamb is good roasted broiled or corned and boiled; it is also good made into a pot pie. The fore quarter with the ribs divided is good broiled. The bones of this as well as all kinds of meat when put down to broil should first be put towards the fire and browned before the other side is broiled. A little salt pepper and butter should be put on it when you take it up. Lamb is very apt to spoil in warm weather. If you wish to keep a leg several days put it in brine. It should not be put with pork as fresh meat is apt to injure it. Lamb's head feet and heart are good boiled till tender then cut off the flesh from the head cut up the heart and split the feet in two; put the whole into a pan with a pint of the liquor they were boiled in together with a little butter pepper salt and half a tea cup of tomato catsup; thicken the gravy with a little flour; stew the whole for a few moments. Pepper-grass or parsely are a pretty garnish for this dish. 18. _Shoulder of Lamb Grilled._ The shoulder of lamb is good roasted plain but is better cooked in the following manner. Score it in checkers about an inch long rub it over with a little butter and the yelk of an egg; then dip it into finely pounded bread crumbs; sprinkle on salt pepper and sweet herbs; roast it till of a light brown. This is good with plain gravy but better with a sauce made in the following manner. Take a quarter of a pint of the drippings from the meat mix it with the same quantity of water set it on the fire; when it boils up thicken it with a little flour and water mixed put in a table spoonful of tomato catsup the juice and grated rind of a lemon; season it with salt and pepper. 19. _Lamb's Fry._ The heart and sweet bread are nice fried plainly or dipped into a beaten egg and fine bread crumbs. They should be fried in lard. 20. _Turkey._ Take out the inwards wash both the inside and outside of the turkey. Prepare a dressing made of bread soaked soft in cold water (the water should be drained from the bread and the bread mashed fine.) Melt a small piece of butter and mix it with the dressing or else put in salt pork chopped fine; season it with salt and pepper; add sweet herbs if you like. An egg in the dressing makes it cut smoother. Any kind of cooked meat is nice minced fine and mixed with the dressing. If the inwards are used they ought to be boiled very tender as it is very difficult to cook them through while the turkey is roasting. Fill the crop and body of the turkey with the dressing sew it up tie up the legs and wings rub on a little salt and butter. Roast it from two to three hours according to its size; twenty-five minutes to every pound is a good rule. The turkey should be roasted slowly at first and basted frequently. A little water should be put into the dripping pan when the meat is put down to roast. For a gravy to the turkey take the liquor that the inwards are boiled in put into it a little of the turkey drippings set it where it will boil thicken it with a little flour and water previously mixed smooth. Season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs if you like. Drawn butter is used for boiled turkey. A turkey for boiling should be prepared in the same manner as one for roasting. If you wish to have it look white tie it up in a cloth unless you boil rice in the pot. If rice is used put in two-thirds of a tea cup. A pound or two of salt pork boiled with the turkey improves it. If you wish to make a soup of the liquor in which the turkey is boiled let it remain until the next day then skim off the fat. Heat and season it. 21. _Goose._ If a goose is tender under the wing and you can break the skin easily by running the head of a pin across the breast there is no danger of its being tough. A goose should be dressed in the same manner and roasted the same length of time as a turkey. 22. _Chickens._ Chickens for roasting or boiling should have a dressing prepared like that for turkies. Half a tea cup of rice boiled with the chickens makes them look white. They will be less liable to break if the water is cold when they are put in. A little salt pork boiled with the chickens improves them. If you do not boil pork with them they will need salt. Chickens for broiling should be split the inwards taken out and the chicken washed inside and out. Put the bony side down on the gridiron and broil it very slowly until brown then turn it and brown it on the other side. About forty minutes is required to broil a common sized chicken. For roast chicken boil the liver and gizzards by themselves and use the water for gravy to the chickens--cut the inwards in slices and put them in the gravy. 23. _Fricassee._ The chickens should be jointed the inwards taken out and the chickens washed. Put them in a stew pan with the skin side down; on each layer sprinkle salt and pepper; put in three or four slices of pork just cover them with water and let them stew till tender. Then take them up mix a little flour and water together and thicken the liquor they were stewed in add a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg then put the chickens back in the stew pan and let them stew four or five minutes longer. When you have taken up the chickens soak two or three slices of toast in the gravy then put them in your platter lay the chickens over the toast and turn the gravy on them. If you wish to brown the chickens stew them without the pork till tender then fry the pork brown take it up put in the chickens and then fry until a light brown. 24. _Pigeons._ Take out the inwards and stuff the pigeons with a dressing prepared like that for turkeys lay them in a pot with the breast side down. Turn in more than enough water to cover them. When stewed nearly tender put in a quarter of a pound of butter to every dozen of pigeons--mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir into the gravy. If you wish to brown them put on a heated bake pan lid an hour before they are done or else take them up when tender and fry them in pork fat. They are very good split open and stewed with a dressing made and warmed up separately with a little of the gravy. Tender pigeons are good stuffed and roasted. It takes about two hours to cook tender pigeons and three hours tough ones. Roast pigeons should be buttered when put to the fire. 25. _Ducks._ Are good stewed like pigeons or roasted. Two or three onions in the dressing of wild ducks takes out the fishy taste they are apt to have. If ducks or any other fowls are slightly injured by being kept long dip them in weak saleratus water before cooking them. 26. _Baked or Roast Pig._ A pig for roasting or baking should be small and fat. Take out the inwards and cut off the first joint of the feet and boil them till tender then chop them. Prepare a dressing of bread soaked soft the water squeezed out and the bread mashed fine season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs add a little butter and fill the pig with the dressing. Rub a little butter on the outside of the pig to prevent its blistering. Bake or roast it from two hours and a half to three hours. The pan that the pig is baked in should have a little water put in it. When cooked take out a little of the dressing and gravy from the pan mix it with the chopped inwards and feet put in a little butter pepper and salt and use this for a sauce to the pig. Expose the pig to the open air two or three minutes before it is put on the table to make it crispy. 27. _Sweet Bread Liver and Heart._ A very good way to cook the sweet bread is to fry three or four slices of pork till brown then take them up and put in the sweet bread and fry it over a moderate fire. When you have taken up the sweet bread mix a couple of tea-spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir it into the fat--let it boil then turn it over the sweet bread. Another way is to parboil them and let them get cold then cut them in pieces about an inch thick dip them in the yelk of an egg and fine bread crumbs sprinkle salt pepper and sage on them before dipping them in the egg fry them a light brown. Make a gravy after you have taken them up by stirring a little flour and water mixed smooth into the fat add spices and wine if you like. The liver and heart are good cooked in the same manner or broiled. 28. _Pressed Head._ Pig's head is good baked with beans or corned and smoked. It is also nice prepared with spices in the following manner. Boil the ears forehead and rind (the cheek is good but it is better corned and smoked ) till the meat will almost drop from the bones; take them up; when cold cut the meat in strips about an inch long warm it in a little of the liquor in which the meat was boiled season it with salt pepper cloves nutmeg and cinnamon. Put it while hot in a strong bag put a heavy weight upon it and let it remain till perfectly cold. When you wish to eat it cut it in thin slices. 29. _Souse._ Take pig's ears and feet clean them thoroughly then soak them in salt and water for several days. Boil them tender and split them they are then good fried. If you wish to souse them when cold turn boiling vinegar on them spiced with pepper-corns and mace. Cloves improve the taste but it turns them a dark color. Add a little salt. They will keep good pickled five or six weeks. Fry them in lard. 30. _Tripe._ After being scoured should be soaked in salt and water seven or eight days changing the water every other day then boil it till tender which will take eight or ten hours. It is then fit for broiling frying or pickling. It is pickled in the same manner as souse. 31. _Sausages._ Chop fresh pork very fine the lean and fat together (there should be rather more of the lean than the fat ) season it highly with salt pepper sage and other sweet herbs if you like them--a little salt-petre tends to preserve them. To tell whether they are seasoned enough do up a little into a cake and fry it. If not seasoned enough add more seasoning and fill your skins which should be previously cleaned thoroughly. A little flour mixed in with the meat tends to prevent the fat from running out when cooked. Sausage-meat is good done up in small cakes and fried. In summer when fresh pork cannot be procured very good sausage-cakes may be made of raw beef chopped fine with salt pork and seasoned with pepper and sage. When sausages are fried they should not be pricked and they will cook nicer to have a little fat put in the frying-pan with them. They should be cooked slowly. If you do not like them very fat take them out of the pan when nearly done and finish cooking them on a gridiron. Bologna sausages are made of equal weight each of ham veal and pork chopped very fine seasoned high and boiled in casings till tender then dried. 32. _Ham._ A ham that weighs ten pounds should be boiled four or five hours; if very salt the water should be changed. Before it is put on the table take off the rind. If you wish to ornament it put whole cloves or pepper in the form of diamonds over it. The Virginia method of curing hams (which is considered very superior) is to dissolve two ounces of salt-petre two tea spoonsful of saleratus in a salt pickle as strong as possible for every sixteen pounds of ham add molasses in the proportion of a gallon to a hogshead of brine then put in the hams and let them remain three or four weeks. Then take them out of the brine and smoke them with the hocks downwards to preserve the juices. They will smoke tolerably well in the course of a month but they will be much better to remain in the smoke-house two or three months. Hams cured in this manner are very fine flavored and will keep good a long time. 33. _Tongues._ Cut off the roots of the tongues they are not good smoked but they make nice pies. Take out the pipes and veins boil them till tender mince them fine season the meat with salt cloves mace and cinnamon put in a little sugar and molasses moisten the whole with brandy put it in a cool place and it will keep good several months in cold weather and is good to make pies of at any time with the addition of apples chopped fine and a little butter melted. For the remainder of the tongues make a brine in the following manner--to a gallon of cold water put a quart of rock salt an ounce of salt-petre quarter of a pound of sugar and a couple of table spoonsful of blown salt. Put in the tongues let them remain in it a week and then smoke them eight or ten days. 34. _Curries._ Chickens pigeons mutton chops lobsters and veal all make good curries. If the curry dish is to be made of fowls they should be jointed. Boil the meat till tender in just sufficient water to cover it and add a little salt. Just before the meat is boiled enough to take up fry three or four slices of pork till brown--take them up and put in the chickens. Let them brown then add part of the liquor in which they were boiled one or two tea spoonsful of curry powder and the fried pork. Mix a tea spoonful of curry powder with a tea cup of boiled rice or a little flour and water mixed--turn it on to the curry and let it stew a few minutes. 35. _Chicken Pie._ Joint the chickens which should be young and tender--boil them in just sufficient water to cover them. When nearly tender take them out of the liquor and lay them in a deep pudding dish lined with pie crust. To each layer of chicken put three or four slices of pork--add a little of the liquor in which they were boiled and a couple of ounces of butter cut into small pieces--sprinkle a little flour over the whole cover it with nice pie crust and ornament the top with some of your pastry. Bake it in a quick oven one hour. 36. _Beef and Mutton Pie._ Take tender meat pound it out thin and broil it ten minutes--then cut off the bony and gristly parts season it highly with salt and pepper butter it and cut it into small pieces. Line a pudding dish with pastry put in the meat and to each layer add a tea spoonful of tomato catsup together with a table spoonful of water--sprinkle over flour and cover it with pie crust and ornament as you please with pastry. Cold roast or boiled beef and mutton make a good pie by cutting them into bits and seasoning them highly with salt and pepper. Put them into a pie dish turn a little melted butter over them or gravy and pour in water till you can just see it at the top. 37. _Chicken and Veal Pot Pie._ If the pie is to be made of chickens joint them--boil the meat until about half done. Take the meat out of the liquor in which it was boiled and put it in a pot with a layer of crust to each layer of meat having a layer of crust on the top. The meat should be seasoned with salt and pepper--cover the whole with the boiled meat liquor. If you wish to have the crust brown keep the pot covered with a heated bake pan lid. Keep a tea kettle of boiling water to turn in as the water boils away--cold water makes the crust heavy. The crust for the pie is good like that made for fruit pies with less shortening but raised pie crust is generally preferred to any other. It is made in the following manner--mix together three pints of flour a tea cup of melted butter a tea spoonful of salt then turn in half a tea cup of yeast--add cold water to make it sufficiently stiff to roll out. Set it in a warm place to rise which will take seven or eight hours unless brewer's yeast is used. When risen roll it out and cut it into small cakes. Potatoe pie crust is very nice. To make it boil eight or nine small potatoes peel and mash them fine mix with them a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg a tea spoonful of salt a tumbler full of milk and flour to render it of the right consistency to roll out. When rolled out cut them into cakes and put them with the meat. If you happen to have unbaked wheat dough very good crust may be made of it by working into it a little lukewarm melted butter. Let it remain after you have rolled and cut it into cakes about ten or fifteen minutes before putting it with the meat. 38. _To Frizzle Beef._ Take beef that is fresh smoked and tender--shave it off thin put it in a stew pan with water enough to cover it--let it stew ten or fifteen minutes. Three or four minutes before it is taken up mix a little flour and water together and stir in to thicken the water; add a little butter and pepper. This makes a good dish for breakfast--eggs are a nice accompaniment to it. 39. _Warmed Over Meats._ Boiled or roasted veal makes a nice dish chopped fine and warmed up with just sufficient water to moisten it and a little butter salt and pepper added. A little nutmeg and the grated rind of a lemon improve it--none of the white part of the lemon should be used. When well heated through take it up on a platter and garnish it with a couple of lemons cut in slices. Fresh or corned beef is good minced fine with boiled potatoes and warmed up with salt pepper and a little water--add butter just before you take it up. Some people use the gravy that they have left the day before for the meat but it is not as good when warmed over and there is no need of its being wasted as it can be clarified and used for other purposes. Boiled onions or turnips are good mixed with mince meat instead of potatoes. Veal lamb and mutton are good cut into small strips and warmed with boiled potatoes cut in slices pepper salt a little water--add butter just before you take it up. Roast beef and mutton if not previously cooked too much are nice cut in slices and just scorched on a gridiron. Meat when warmed over should be on the fire just long enough to get well heated through--if on the fire long most of the juices of the meat will be extracted and render it very indigestible. Cold fowls are nice jointed and warmed with a little water then taken up and fried in butter till brown. A little flour should be sprinkled on them before frying. Thicken the water that the fowls were warmed in--add a little salt pepper and butter and turn it over the fowls. 40. _A Ragout of Cold Veal._ Cut boiled or roasted veal in nice slices--flour and fry them in butter till a light brown--then take them up and turn a little hot water into the butter they were fried in mix a little flour and water together and stir it into the gravy--season it with salt pepper (nutmeg or catsup ) and lemon juice--put in the meat and stew it till very hot--stew two or three onions with it if you like. 41. _Drawn Butter._ Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little cold water--stir it till free from lumps thin it and stir it into half a pint of boiling water--let it boil two or three minutes then cut up about a quarter of a pound of butter into small pieces and put it with the flour and water--set it where it will melt gradually. If carefully mixed it will be free from lumps--if not strain it before it is put on the table. If the butter is to be eaten on fish cut up several soft boiled eggs into it. A little curry powder sprinkled into it will convert it into curry sauce. 42. _Burnt Butter._ Put a couple of ounces of butter into a frying pan--set it on the fire--when of a dark brown color put in half a tea cup full of vinegar a little pepper and salt. This is nice for fish salad or eggs. 43. _Roast Meat Gravy._ Meat when put down to roast should have about a pint of water in the dripping pan. A little while before the meat is done stir up the drippings put it in a skillet and set it where it will boil. Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly with a little water and stir it in the gravy when it boils. Lamb and veal require a little butter in the gravy. The gravy for pork and geese should have a little of the dressing and sage mixed with it. If you wish to have your gravies look dark scorch the flour that you thicken them with which is easily done by putting it in a pan setting it on a few coals and stirring it constantly till it is a dark brown color taking care that it does not burn. Enough can be burnt at once to last a long time. 44. _Sauce for Cold Meat Fish or Salad._ Boil a couple of eggs three minutes--then mix it with a mustard spoonful of made mustard a little salt pepper half a tea cup of salad oil or melted butter and half a tea cup of vinegar. A table spoonful of catsup improves it. 45. _Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton._ Warm half a pint of the drippings or liquor the meat was boiled in--mix a couple of tea spoonsful of scorched flour with a little water and stir it in when the gravy boils. Season it with salt pepper and cloves--stir a table spoonful of currant jelly in and just before you take it from the fire half a tumbler of wine. Many people prefer melted currant jelly to any other sauce for venison or mutton. 46. _Rice Sauce._ Boil one onion and half a tea cup of rice with a blade of mace till very soft in just water enough to cover it--then stir in half a pint of milk a little salt and strain it. This is a nice accompaniment to game. 47. _Oyster Sauce._ Take the juice of the oysters and to a pint put a couple of sticks of mace a little salt and pepper. Set it on the fire--when it boils stir in a couple of tea spoonsful of flour mixed with milk. When it has boiled several minutes stir in half a pint of oysters a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg. Let them scald through then take them up. 48. _White Celery Sauce for Boiled Poultry._ Take five or six heads of celery--cut off the green tops cut up the remainder into small bits and boil it till tender in half a pint of water--mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly with a little milk--then add half a tea cup more of milk stir it in add a small lump of butter and a little salt. When it boils take it up. 49. _Brown Sauce for Poultry._ Peel two or three onions cut them in slices flour and fry them brown in a little butter--then sprinkle in a little flour pepper salt and sage--add half a pint of the liquor the poultry was boiled in and a table spoonful of catsup. Let it boil up then stir in half a wine glass of wine if you like. 50. _Savory Jelly for Cold Meat._ Boil lean beef or veal till tender. If you have any beef or veal bones crack and boil them with the meat (they should be boiled longer than the meat ) together with a little salt pork sweet herbs and pepper and salt. When boiled sufficiently take it off strain it and let it remain till the next day--then skim off the fat take up the jelly and scrape off the dregs that adhere to the bottom of it--put in the whites and shells of several eggs several blades of mace a little wine and lemon juice--set it on the fire stir it well till it boils then strain it till clear through a jelly bag. 51. _Liver Sauce for Fish._ Boil the liver of the fish--then mash it fine stir it into drawn butter put in a little cayenne or black pepper a couple of tea spoonsful of lemon juice and a table spoonful of catsup. 52. _Sauce for Lobsters._ Boil a couple of eggs three minutes--mix them with the spawn of the lobster and a tea spoonful of water. When rubbed smooth stir in a tea spoonful of mixed mustard half a tea cup of salad oil or the same quantity of butter melted a little salt pepper and five table spoonsful of vinegar. 53. _Chicken Salad._ Boil a chicken that weighs not more than a pound and a half. When very tender take it up cut it in small strips and make the following sauce and turn over it--boil four eggs three minutes--then take them out of the shells mash and mix them with a couple of table spoonsful of olive oil or melted butter two thirds of a tumbler of vinegar a tea spoonful of mixed mustard a tea spoonful of salt a little pepper and essence of celery if you have it--if not it can be dispensed with. 54. _Sauce for Turtle or Calf's Head._ To half a pint of hot melted butter or beef gravy put the juice and grated rind of half a lemon a little sage basil or sweet marjoram a little cayenne or black pepper and salt. Add a wine glass of white wine just before you take it up. 55. _Apple and Cranberry Sauce._ Pare and quarter the apples--if not tart stew them in cider--if tart enough stew them in water. When stewed soft put in a small piece of butter and sweeten it to the taste with sugar. Another way which is very good is to boil the apples without paring them with a few quinces and molasses in new cider till reduced to half the quantity. When cool strain the sauce. This kind of sauce will keep good several months. It makes very good plain pies with the addition of a little cinnamon or cloves. To make cranberry sauce nothing more is necessary than to stew the cranberries till soft; then stir in sugar and molasses to sweeten it. Let the sugar scald in it a few minutes. Strain it if you like--it is very good without straining. 56. _Pudding Sauce._ Stir to a cream a tea cup of butter with two of brown sugar then add a wine glass of wine or cider--flavor it with nutmeg rose-water or essence of lemon. If you wish to have it liquid heat two-thirds of a pint of water boiling hot mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir it into the boiling water. As soon as its boils up well stir it into the butter and sugar. 57. _Tomato Soy._ Take ripe tomatos and prick them with a fork--lay them in a deep dish and to each layer put a layer of salt. Let them remain in it four or five days then take them out of the salt and put them in vinegar and water for one night. Drain off the vinegar and to each peck of tomatos put half a pint of mustard seed half an ounce of cloves and the same quantity of pepper. The tomatos should be put in a jar with a layer of sliced onions to each layer of the tomatos and the spices sprinkled over each layer. In ten days they will be in good eating order. 58. _Tomato Catsup._ To a gallon of ripe tomatos put four table spoonsful of salt four of ground black pepper three table spoonsful of ground mustard half a table spoonful of allspice half a spoonful of cloves six red peppers ground fine--simmer the whole slowly with a pint of vinegar three or four hours--then strain it through a sieve bottle and cork it tight. The catsup should be made in a tin utensil and the later in the season it is made the less liable it will be to spoil. 59. _Mushroom Catsup._ Put a layer of fresh mushrooms in a deep dish sprinkle a little salt over them then put in another layer of fresh mushrooms and salt and so on till you get in all the mushrooms. Let them remain several days--then mash them fine and to each quart put a table spoonful of vinegar half a tea spoonful of black pepper and a quarter of a tea spoonful of cloves--turn it into a stone jar set the jar in a pot of boiling water and let it boil two hours then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice a quarter of an hour skim it well let it stand a few hours to settle then turn it off carefully through a sieve bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place. 60. _Walnut Catsup._ Procure the walnuts by the last of June--keep them in salt and water for a week then bruise them and turn boiling vinegar on them. Let them remain covered with vinegar for several days stirring them up each day--then boil them a quarter of an hour with a little more vinegar strain it through a thick cloth so that none of the coarse particles of the walnuts will go through--season the vinegar highly with cloves allspice pepper and salt. Boil the whole a few minutes then bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place. 61. _Curry Powder._ Mix an ounce of ginger one of mustard one of pepper three of coriander seed the same quantity of turmeric a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper half an ounce of cardamums and the same of cummin seed and cinnamon. Pound the whole fine sift and keep it in a bottle corked tight. 62. _Essence of Celery._ Steep an ounce of celery seed in half a pint of brandy or vinegar. A few drops of this will give a fine flavor to soups and sauce for fowls. 63. _Soup Herb Spirit._ Those who like a variety of herbs in soup will find it very convenient to have the following mixture. Take when in their prime thyme sweet marjoram sweet basil and summer savory. When thoroughly dried pound and sift them. Steep them in brandy for a fortnight the spirit will then be fit for use. 64. _Plain Veal Soup._ A leg of veal after enough has been cut off for cutlets makes a soup nearly as good as calf's head. Boil it with a cup two thirds full of rice a pound and a half of pork--season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs if you like. A little celery boiled in it gives the soup a fine flavor. Some people like onions carrots and parsely boiled in it. If you wish for balls in the soup chop veal and a little raw salt pork fine mix it with a few bread crumbs and a couple of eggs. Season it with salt and pepper--add a little curry powder if you like do it up into small balls and boil them in the soup. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned. Just before the soup is taken up put in a couple of slices of toast cut into small pieces. If you do not like your soup fat let the liquor remain till the day after you have boiled the meat and skim off the fat before heating the liquor. The shoulder of veal makes a good soup. 65. _Mock Turtle or Calf's Head Soup._ Boil the head until perfectly tender--then take it out strain the liquor and set it away until the next day--then skim off the fat cut up the meat together with the lights and put it into the liquor put it on the fire and season it with salt pepper cloves and mace--add onions and sweet herbs if you like--stew it gently for half an hour. Just before you take it up add half a pint of white wine. For the balls chop lean veal fine with a little salt pork add the brains and season it with salt pepper cloves mace sweet herbs or curry powder make it up into balls about the size of half an egg boil part in the soup and fry the remainder and put them in a dish by themselves. 66. _Beef or Black Soup._ The shank of beef is the best part for soup--cold roast beef bones and beef steak make very good soup. Boil the shank four or five hours in water enough to cover it. Half an hour before the soup is put on the table take up the meat thicken the soup with scorched flour mixed with cold water season it with salt pepper cloves mace a little walnut or tomato catsup improves it put in sweet herbs or herb spirit if you like. Some cooks boil onions in the soup but as they are very disagreeable to many persons it is better to boil and serve them up in a dish by themselves. Make force meat balls of part of the beef and pork season them with mace cloves pepper and salt and boil them in the soup fifteen minutes. 67. _Chicken or Turkey Soup._ The liquor that a turkey or chicken is boiled in makes a good soup. If you do not like your soup fat let the liquor remain till the day after the poultry has been boiled in it then skim off the fat set it where it will boil. If there was not any rice boiled with the meat put in half a tea cup full when the liquor boils or slice up a few potatoes and put in--season it with salt and pepper sweet herbs and a little celery boiled in it improves it. Toast bread or crackers and put them in the soup when you take it up. 68. _Oyster Soup._ Separate the oysters from the liquor to each quart of the liquor put a pint of milk or water set it on the fire with the oysters. Mix a heaping table spoonful of flour with a little water and stir it into the liquor as soon as it boils. Season it with salt pepper and a little walnut or butternut vinegar if you have it if not common vinegar may be substituted. Put in a small lump of butter and turn it as soon as it boils up again on to buttered toast cut into small pieces. 69. _Pea Soup._ If you make your soup of dry peas soak them over night in a warm place using a quart of water to each quart of the peas. Early the next morning boil them an hour. Boil with them a tea spoonful of saleratus eight or ten minutes then take them out of the water they were soaking in put them into fresh water with a pound of salt pork and boil it till the peas are soft which will be in the course of three or four hours. Green peas for soup require no soaking and boiling only long enough to have the pork get thoroughly cooked which will be in the course of an hour. 70. _Portable Soup._ Take beef or veal soup and let it get perfectly cold then skim off every particle of the grease. Set it on the fire and let it boil till of a thick glutinous consistence. Care should be taken that it does not burn. Season it highly with salt pepper cloves and mace--add a little wine or brandy and then turn it on to earthen platters. It should not be more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. Let it remain until cold then cut it in pieces three inches square set them in the sun to dry turning them frequently. When perfectly dry put them in an earthen or tin vessel having a layer of white paper between each layer. These if the directions are strictly attended to will keep good a long time. Whenever you wish to make a soup of them nothing more is necessary than to put a quart of water to one of the cakes and heat it very hot. 71. _To Boil Eggs._ They should be put into boiling water and if you wish to have them soft boil them only three minutes. If you wish to have them hard enough to cut in slices boil them five minutes. Another way which is very nice is to break the shells and drop the eggs into a pan of scalding hot water let it stand till the white has set then put the pan on a moderate fire when the water boils up the eggs are cooked sufficiently. Eggs look very prettily cooked in this way the yelk being just visible through the white. If you do not use the eggs for a garnish serve them up with burnt butter. See receipt for making No. 42. 72. _Omelet._ Beat the eggs to a froth and to a dozen of eggs put three ounces of finely minced boiled ham beef or veal; if the latter meat is used add a little salt. Melt a quarter of a pound of butter mix a little of it with the eggs--it should be just lukewarm. Set the remainder of the butter on the fire in a frying or tin pan when quite hot turn in the eggs beaten to a froth stir them until they begin to set. When brown on the under side it is sufficiently cooked. The omelet should be cooked on a moderate fire and in a pan small enough to have the omelet an inch thick. When you take them up lay a flat dish on them then turn the pan upside down. 73. _Poached Eggs._ Break the eggs into a pan beat them to a froth then put them into a buttered tin pan set the pan on a few coals put in a small lump of butter a little salt let them cook very slowly stirring them constantly till they become quite thick then turn them on to buttered toast. 74. _Directions for Broiling Boiling and Frying Fish._ Fish for boiling or broiling are the best the day after they are caught. They should be cleaned when first caught washed in cold water and half a tea cup of salt sprinkled on the inside of them. If they are to be broiled sprinkle pepper on the inside of them--keep them in a cool place. When fish is broiled the bars of the gridiron should be rubbed over with a little butter and the inside of the fish put towards the fire and not turned till the fish is nearly cooked through--then butter the skin side and turn it over--fish should be broiled slowly. When fresh fish is to be boiled it should either be laid on a fish strainer or sewed up in a cloth--if not it is very difficult to take it out of the pot without breaking. Put the fish into cold water with the back bone down. To eight or ten pounds of fish put half of a small tea cup of salt. Boil the fish until you can draw out one of the fins easily--most kinds of fish will boil sufficiently in the course of twenty or thirty minutes some kinds will boil in less time. Some cooks do not put their fish into the water till it boils but it is not a good plan as the outside gets cooked too much and breaks to pieces before the inside is sufficiently done. Fish for frying after being cleaned and washed should be put into a cloth to have it absorb the moisture. They should be dried perfectly and a little flour rubbed over them. No salt should be put on them if you wish to have them brown well. For five or six pounds of fish fry three or four slices of salt pork--when brown take them up and if they do not make fat sufficient to fry the fish in add a little lard. When the fish are fried enough take them up and for good plain gravy mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir it into the fat the fish was fried in--put in a little butter pepper and salt if you wish to have the gravy rich--add spices catsup and wine--turn the gravy over the fish. Boiled fish should be served up with drawn butter or liver sauce (see directions for making each Nos. 41 and 51.) Fish when put on the platter should not be laid over each other if it can be avoided as the steam from the under ones makes those on the top so moist that they will break to pieces when served out. Great care and punctuality is necessary in cooking fish. If not done sufficiently or if done too much they are not good. They should be eaten as soon as cooked. For a garnish to the fish use parsely a lemon or eggs boiled hard and cut in slices. 75. _Chowder._ Fry three or four slices of pork till brown--cut each of your fish into five or six slices flour and put a layer of them in your pork fat sprinkle on pepper and a little salt--add cloves mace and sliced onions if you like--lay on several bits of your fried pork and crackers previously soaked soft in cold water. This process repeat till you get in all the fish then turn on water enough to just cover them--put on a heated bake pan lid. When the fish have stewed about twenty minutes take them up and mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water and stir it into the gravy also a little butter and pepper. Half a pint of white wine spices and catsup will improve it. Bass and cod make the best chowder--black fish and clams make tolerably good ones. The hard part of the clams should be cut off and thrown away. 76. _Stuffed and Baked Fish._ Soak bread in cold water till soft--drain off the water mash the bread fine mix it with a table spoonful of melted butter a little pepper and salt--a couple of raw eggs makes the dressing cut smoother--add spices if you like. Fill the fish with the dressing sew it up put a tea cup of water in your bake pan and a small piece of butter--lay in the fish bake it from forty to fifty minutes. Fresh cod bass and shad are suitable fish for baking. 77. _Codfish._ Fresh cod is good boiled fried or made into a chowder. It is too dry a fish to broil. Salt cod should be soaked in lukewarm water till the skin will come off easily--then take up the fish scrape off the skin and put it in fresh water and set it on a very moderate fire where it will keep warm without boiling as it hardens by boiling. It takes between three and four hours to cook it soft--serve it up with drawn butter. Cold salt codfish is nice minced fine and mixed with mashed potatoes and warmed up with just water enough to moisten it and considerable butter. It makes a nice dish for breakfast prepared in the following manner. Pull the fish into small pieces soak it an hour in warm water then drain off the water put a little milk and butter to it stew it a few minutes and serve it up with soft boiled eggs. 78. _Cod Sounds and Tongues._ Soak them four or five hours in lukewarm water--then take them out of the water scrape off the skin cut them once in two and stew them in a little milk. Just before they are taken up stir in butter and a little flour. 79. _Halibut._ Is nice cut in slices salted and peppered and broiled or fried. The fins and thick part is good boiled. 80. _Striped and Sea Bass._ Bass are good fried boiled broiled or made into a chowder. 81. _Black Fish._ Are the best boiled or fried--they will do to broil but are not so good as cooked in any other way. 82. _Shad._ Fresh shad are good baked or boiled but better broiled. For broiling they should have a good deal of salt and pepper sprinkled on the inside of them and remain several hours before broiling. The spawn and liver are good boiled or fried. Salt shad and mackerel for broiling should be soaked ten or twelve hours in cold water. Salt shad for boiling need not be soaked only long enough to get off the scales without you like them quite fresh--if so turn boiling water on them and let them soak in it an hour--then put them into fresh boiling water and boil them twenty minutes. To pickle shad mix one pound of sugar a peck of rock salt two quarts of blown salt and a quarter of a pound of salt-petre. Allow this quantity to every twenty-five shad. Put a layer of the mixture at the bottom of the keg then a layer of cleaned shad with the skin side down. Sprinkle on another layer of salt sugar and salt-petre and so on till you get in all the shad. Lay a heavy weight on the shad to keep it under the brine. If the juice of the shad does not run out so as to form brine sufficient to cover them in the course of a week make a little brine and turn on to them. 83. _Sturgeons._ Sturgeons are good boiled or baked but better fried. Before baking it boil it about fifteen minutes to extract the strong oily taste and when baked to eight or ten pounds of it put a quart of water into the pan and bake it till tender. (See directions for baking fish No. 76.) The part next to the tail is the best for baking or frying. Sturgeons are very nice cooked in the following manner. Cut it in slices nearly an inch thick--fry a few slices of pork--when brown take them up and put in the sturgeon. When a good brown color take them up and stir in a little flour and water mixed smoothly together. Season the gravy with salt pepper and catsup--stir in a little butter and wine if you like then put back the sturgeon and let it stew a few minutes in the gravy. While the sturgeon is cooking make force meat balls of part of the sturgeon and salt pork--fry and use them as a garnish for the fish. 84. _Fish Cakes._ Cold boiled fresh fish or salt codfish is nice minced fine with potatoes moistened with a little water and a little butter put in done up into cakes of the size of common biscuit and fried brown in pork fat or butter. 85. _Fish Force Meat Balls._ Take a little uncooked fish chop it fine together with a little raw salt pork mix it with one or two raw eggs a few bread crumbs and season the whole with pepper and spices. Add a little catsup if you like--do them up into small balls and fry them till brown. 86. _Lobsters and Crabs._ Put them into boiling water and boil them from half to three quarters of an hour according to their size. Boil half a tea cup of salt with every four pounds of the fish. When cold crack the shell and take out the meat taking care to extract the blue veins and what is called the lady in the lobster as they are very unhealthy. If the fish are not eaten cold warm them up with a little water vinegar salt pepper and butter. The following way of dressing lobsters looks very prettily. Pick out the spawn and red chord mash them fine rub them through a sieve put in a little butter and salt. Cut the lobsters into squares and warm it together with the spawn over a moderate fire. When hot take it up and garnish it with parsely. The chord and spawn are a handsome garnish for any kind of fish. 87. _Scollops._ Are nice boiled and then fried or boiled and pickled in the same manner as oysters. Take them out of the shells--when boiled pick out the hearts and throw the rest away as the heart is the only part that is healthy to eat. Dip the hearts in flour and fry them in lard till brown. The hearts are good stewed with a little water butter salt and pepper. 88. _Eels._ Eels if very large are best split open cut into short pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper and broiled several hours after they have been salted. They are good cut into small strips and laid in a deep dish with bits of salt pork seasoned with salt and pepper and covered with pounded rusked bread then baked half an hour. Small eels are the best fried. 89. _Trout._ Trout are good boiled broiled or fried--they are also good stewed a few minutes with bits of salt pork butter and a little water. Trout as well as all other kinds of fresh water fish are apt to have an earthy taste--to remove it soak them in salt and water a few minutes after they are cleaned. 90. _Clams._ Wash and put them in a pot with just water enough to prevent the shells burning at the bottom of the pot. Heat them till the shells open--take the clams out of them and warm them with a little of the clam liquor a little salt butter and pepper. Toast a slice or two of bread soak it in the clam liquor lay it in a deep dish and turn the clams on to it. For clam pancakes mix flour and milk together to form a thick batter--some cooks use the clam liquor but it does not make the pancakes as light as the milk. To each pint of the milk put a couple of eggs and a few clams--they are good taken out of the shells without stewing and chopped fine or stewed and put into the cakes whole. Very large long clams are good taken out of the shells without stewing and broiled. 91. _Stewed Oysters._ Strain the oyster liquor rinse the bits of shells off the oysters then turn the liquor back on to the oysters and put them in a stew pan--set them where they will boil up then turn them on to buttered toast--salt pepper and butter them to your taste. Some cooks add a little walnut catsup or vinegar. The oysters should not be cooked till just before they are to be eaten. 92. _To Fry Oysters._ Take those that are large dip them in beaten eggs and then in flour or fine bread crumbs--fry them in lard till of a light brown. They are a nice garnish for fish. They will keep good for several months if fried when first caught salted and peppered then put into a bottle and corked tight. Whenever they are to be eaten warm them in a little water. 93. _Oyster Pancakes._ Mix equal quantities of milk and oyster juice together. To a pint of the liquor when mixed put a pint of wheat flour a few oysters a couple of eggs and a little salt. Drop it by the large spoonful into hot lard. 94. _Oyster Pie._ Line a deep pie plate with pie crust--fill it with dry pieces of bread cover it over with puff paste--bake it till a light brown either in a quick oven or bake pan. Have the oysters just stewed by the time the crust is done--take off the upper crust remove the pieces of bread put in the oysters season them with salt pepper and butter. A little walnut catsup improves the pie but is not essential--cover it with the crust. 95. _Scolloped Oysters._ Pound rusked bread or crackers fine--butter scollop shells or tins sprinkle on the bread crumbs then put in a layer of oysters a small lump of butter pepper salt and a little of the oyster juice--then put on another layer of crumbs and oysters and so on till the shells are filled having a layer of crumbs at the top. Bake them till a light brown. 96. _Potatoes._ The best way to cook Irish potatoes is to pare and put them in a pot with just boiling water enough to prevent their burning and a little salt. Cover them tight and let them stew till you can stick a fork through them easily. If any water remains in the pot turn it off put the pot where it will keep moderately warm and let the potatoes steam a few moments longer. The easiest way to cook them is to put them in boiling water with the skins on and boiled constantly till done. They will not be mealy if they lie soaking in the water without boiling. They are more mealy to peel them as soon as tender and then put back in the pot without any water and set in a warm place where they will steam with the lid of the pot off. Old and poor potatoes are best boiled till soft then peeled and mashed fine with a little salt butter and very little milk put in--then put into a dish smoothed over with a knife a little flour sprinkled over it and put where it will brown. Cold mashed or whole boiled potatoes are nice cut in slices and fried with just butter or lard enough to prevent their burning. When brown on both sides take them up salt and butter them. Most potatoes will boil in the course of half an hour--new ones will boil in less time. Sweet potatoes are better baked than boiled. 97. _Potato Snow Balls._ Take the white mealy kind of potatoes--pare them and put them into just boiling water enough to cover them--add a little salt. When boiled tender drain off the water and let them steam till they break to pieces--take them up put two or three at a time compactly together in a strong cloth and press them tight in the form of a ball--then lay them in your potatoe dish carefully so as not to fall apart. 98. _Turnips._ White turnips require about as much boiling as potatoes. When tender take them up peel and mash them--season them with a little salt and butter. Yellow turnips require about two hours boiling--if very large split them in two. The tops of white turnips make a good salad. 99. _Beets._ Beets should not be cut or scraped before they are boiled or the juice will run out and make them insipid. In summer they will boil in an hour--in winter it takes three hours to boil them tender. The tops in summer are good boiled for greens. Boiled beets cut in slices and put in cold spiced vinegar for several days are very nice. 100. _Parsnips and Carrots._ Wash them and split them in two--lay them in a stew pan with the flat side down turn on boiling water enough to cover them--boil them till tender then take them up and take off the skin and butter them. Many cooks boil them whole but it is not a good plan as the outside gets done too much before the inside is cooked sufficiently. Cold boiled parsnips are good cut in slices and fried brown. 101. _Onions._ Peel and put them in boiling milk (water will do but it is not as good.) When boiled tender take them up salt them and turn a little melted butter over them. 102. _Artichokes._ Scrape and put them in boiling water with a table spoonful of salt to a couple of dozen. When boiled tender (which will be in about two hours ) take them up salt and butter each one. 103. _Squashes._ Summer squashes if very young may be boiled whole--if not they should be pared quartered and the seeds taken out. When boiled very tender take them up put them in a strong cloth and press out all the water--mash them salt and butter them to your taste. The neck part of the winter squash is the best. Cut it in narrow strips take off the rind and boil the squash in salt and water till tender--then drain off the water and let the pumpkin steam over a moderate fire for ten or twelve minutes. It is good not mashed--if mashed add a little butter. 104. _Cabbage and Cauliflowers._ Trim off the loose leaves of the cabbage cut the stalky in quarters to the heart of the cabbage--boil it an hour. If not boiled with corned beef put a little salt in the water in which they are boiled. White cauliflowers are the best. Take off the outside leaves cut the stalk close to the leaves let them lie in salt and cold water for half an hour before boiling them--boil them fifteen or twenty minutes according to their size. Milk and water is the best to boil them in but clear water does very well. Put a little salt in the pot in which they are boiled. 105. _Asparagus._ Cut the white part of the stalks off and throw it away--cut the lower part of the stalks in thin slices if tough and boil them eight or ten minutes before the upper part is put in. Lay the remainder compactly together tie it carefully in small bundles and boil it from fifteen to twenty minutes according to its age. Boil a little salt with them and a quarter of a tea spoonful of saleratus to two or three quarts of water to preserve their fresh green color. Just before your asparagus is done toast a slice of bread moisten it with a little of the asparagus liquor lay it in your asparagus dish and butter it--then take up the asparagus carefully with a skimmer and lay it on the toast take off the string salt it and turn a little melted butter over the whole. 106. _Peas._ Peas should be put into boiling water with salt and saleratus in the proportion of a quarter of a tea spoonful of saleratus to half a peck of peas. Boil them from fifteen to thirty minutes according to their age and kind. When boiled tender take them out of the water with a skimmer salt and butter them to the taste. Peas to be good should be fresh gathered and not shelled till just before they are cooked. 107. _Sweet Corn._ Corn is much sweeter to be boiled on the cob. If made into sucatosh cut it from the cobs and boil it with Lima beans and a few slices of salt pork. It requires boiling from fifteen to thirty minutes according to its age. 108. _To cook various kinds of Beans._ French beans should have the strings taken off--if old the edges should be cut off and the beans cut through the middle. Boil them with a little salt from twenty-five to forty minutes according to their age. A little saleratus boiled with them preserves their green color and makes them more healthy. Salt and butter them when taken up. Lima beans can be kept the year round by being perfectly dried when fresh gathered in the pods or being put without drying into a keg with a layer of salt to each layer of beans having a layer of salt at the bottom of the keg. Cover them tight and keep them in a cool place. Whenever you wish to cook them soak them over night in cold water--shell and boil them with a little saleratus. White beans for baking should be picked over carefully to get out the colored and bad ones. Wash and soak them over night in a pot set where they will keep lukewarm. There should be about three quarts of water to three pints of the beans. The next morning set them where they will boil with a tea spoonful of saleratus. When they have boiled four or five minutes take them up with a skimmer. Put them in a baking pot. Gash a pound of pork and put it down in the pot so as to have the beans cover all but the upper surface--turn in cold water till you can just see it at the top. They will bake in a hot oven in the course of three hours--but they are better to remain in it five or six hours. Beans are good prepared in the same manner as for baking and stewed several hours without baking. 109. _Greens._ White mustard spinach water cresses dandelions and the leaves and roots of very small beets are the best greens. Boil them with a little salt and saleratus in the water. If not fresh and plump soak them in salt and water half an hour before cooking them. When they are boiled enough they will sink to the bottom of the pot. 110. _Salads._ To be in perfection salads should be fresh gathered and kept in cold water for an hour before they are put on the table. The water should be drained from them and if you have not any salad oil melt a little butter and put it in a separate dish--if turned over the salad it will not be crispy. 111. _Cucumbers._ To be healthy they should not be picked longer than a day before they are to be eaten. They should be kept in cold water and fifteen or twenty minutes before they are to be eaten pare and slice them into fresh cold water to take out the slimy matter. Just before they are put on the table drain off the water. Put them in a deep dish; sprinkle on a good deal of salt and pepper--cover them with vinegar. Cucumbers are thought by many people to be very unhealthy but if properly prepared they will not be found to be any more unwholesome than most other summer vegetables. 112. _To stew Mushrooms._ Cut off the lower part of the stem as it is apt to have an earthy taste. Peel and put them in a saucepan with just water enough at the bottom to prevent their burning to the pan. Put in a little salt and shake them occasionally while stewing to prevent their burning. When they have stewed quite tender put in a little butter and pepper--add spices and wine if you like. They should stew very slowly till tender and not be seasoned till just before they are taken up. Serve them up on buttered toast. 113. _Egg Plant._ Boil them a few moments to extract the bitter taste--then cut them in thick slices; sprinkle a little salt between each slice. Let them lie half an hour--then fry them till brown in lard. 114. _Celeriac._ This is an excellent vegetable but is little known. The stalks of it can hardly be distinguished from celery and it is much easier cultivated. The roots are nice boiled tender cut in thin slices and put in soup or meat pies; or cooked in the following manner and eaten with meat. Scrape and cut them in slices. Boil them till very tender--then drain off the water. Sprinkle a little salt over them--turn in milk enough to cover them. When they have stewed about four or five minutes turn them into a dish and add a little butter. 115. _Salsify or Vegetable Oyster._ The best way to cook it is to parboil it (after scraping off the outside ) then cut it in slices dip it into a beaten egg and fine bread crumbs and fry it in lard. It is very good boiled then stewed a few minutes in milk with a little butter and salt. Another way which is very good is to make a batter of wheat flour milk and eggs; cut the Salsify in thin slices (after having been boiled tender ) put them into the batter with a little salt; drop this mixture into hot fat by the large spoonful. When a light brown they are cooked sufficiently. 116. _Tomatoes._ If very ripe will skin easily; if not pour scalding water on them and let them remain in it four or five minutes. Peel and put them in a stew pan with a table spoonful of water if not very juicy; if so no water will be required. Put in a little salt and stew them for half an hour; then turn them into a deep dish with buttered toast. Another way of cooking them which is considered very nice by epicures is to put them in a deep dish with fine bread crumbs crackers pounded fine a layer of each alternately; put small bits of butter a little salt and pepper on each layer--some cooks add a little nutmeg and sugar. Have a layer of bread crumbs on the top. Bake it three quarters of an hour. 117. _Gumbo._ Take an equal quantity of young tender ocra chopped fine and ripe tomatoes skinned an onion cut into slices a small lump of butter a little salt and pepper. Put the whole in a stew pan with a table spoonful of water and stew it till tender. 118. _Southern manner of Boiling Rice._ Pick over the rice rinse it in cold water a number of times to get it perfectly clean; drain off the water then put it in a pot of boiling water with a little salt. Allow as much as a quart of water to a tea-cup of rice as it absorbs the water very much while boiling. Boil it seventeen minutes; then turn the water off very close; set the pot over a few coals and let it steam fifteen minutes with the lid of the pot off. The beauty of rice boiled in this way is that each kernel stands out by itself while it is quite tender. Great care is necessary to be used in the time of boiling and steaming it as a few moments variation in the time makes a great deal of difference in the looks of it. The water should boil hard when the rice is put in and not suffered to stop boiling till turned off to have the rice steamed. The water that the rice is boiled in makes good starch for muslin if boiled a few minutes by itself. 119. _Directions for Pickling._ Vinegar for pickling should be good but not of the sharpest kind. Brass utensils should be used for pickling. They should be thoroughly cleaned before using and no vinegar should be allowed to cool in them as the rust formed by so doing is very poisonous. Boil alum and salt in the vinegar in the proportion of half a tea cup of salt and a table spoonful of alum to three gallons of vinegar. Stone and wooden vessels are the only kinds of utensils that are good to keep pickles in. Vessels that have had any grease in will not do for pickles as no washing will kill the grease that the pot has absorbed. All kinds of pickles should be stirred up occasionally. If there is any soft ones among them they should be taken out the vinegar scalded and turned back while hot--if very weak throw it away and use fresh vinegar. Whenever any scum rises the vinegar needs scalding. If you do not wish to have all your pickles spiced it is a good plan to keep a stone pot of spiced vinegar by itself and put in a few of your pickles a short time before they are to be eaten. 120. _To Pickle Peppers._ Procure those that are fresh and green. If you do not like them very fiery cut a small slit in them and take the seeds out carefully with a small knife so as not to mangle the pepper. Soak them in salt and water eight or nine days changing the water each day. Keep them in a warm place. If you like them stuffed chop white cabbage fine season it highly with cloves cinnamon mace and fill the peppers with it--add nasturtions if you like--sew them up carefully and put them in cold spiced vinegar. Tomatoes when very small and green are good pickled with the peppers. 121. _Mangoes._ Procure muskmelons as late in the season as possible--if pickled early they are not apt to keep well. Cut a small piece from the side that lies upon the ground while growing take out the seeds and if the citron or nutmeg melons are used for mangoes the rough part should be scraped off. The long common muskmelons make the best mangoes. Soak the melons in salt and water three or four days; then take them out of the water; sprinkle on the inside of the melons powdered cloves pepper nutmeg; fill them with small strips of horseradish cinnamon and small string beans. Flag root nasturtions and radish tops are also nice to fill them with. Fill the crevices with American mustard seed. Put back the pieces of melon that were cut off and bind the melon up tight with white cotton cloth sew it on. Lay the melons in a stone jar with the part that the covers are on up. Put into vinegar for the mangoes alum salt and peppercorns in the same proportion as for cucumbers--heat it scalding hot then turn it on to the melons. Barberries or radish tops pickled in bunches are a pretty garnish for mangoes. The barberries preserve their natural color best by being first dried. Whenever you wish to use them turn boiling vinegar on them and let them lie in it several hours to swell out. 122. _To Pickle Butternuts and Walnuts._ The nuts for pickling should be gathered as early as July unless the season is very backward. When a pin will go through them easily they are young enough to pickle. Soak them in salt and water a week--then drain it off. Rub them with a cloth to get off the roughness. To a gallon of vinegar put a tea-cup of salt a table-spoonful of powdered cloves and mace mixed together half an ounce of allspice and peppercorns. Boil the vinegar and spices and turn it while hot on to the nuts. In the course of a week scald the vinegar and turn it back on them while hot. They will be fit to eat in the course of a fortnight. 123. _Peaches and Apricots._ Take those of a full growth but perfectly green put them in salt and water strong enough to bear up an egg. When they have been in a week take them out and wipe them carefully with a soft cloth. Lay them in a pickle jar. Put to a gallon of vinegar half an ounce of cloves the same quantity of peppercorns sliced ginger and mustard seed--add salt and boil the vinegar--then turn it on to the peaches scalding hot. Turn the vinegar from them several times. Heat it scalding hot and turn it back while hot. 124. _To Pickle Cabbages and Cauliflowers._ Purple cabbages are the best for pickling. Pull off the loose leaves quarter the cabbages put them in a keg and sprinkle a great deal of salt on each one--let them remain five or six days. To a gallon of vinegar put an ounce of mace one of peppercorns and cinnamon (cloves and allspice improve the taste of the cabbages but they turn it a dark color.) Heat the vinegar scalding hot put in a little alum and turn it while hot on to the cabbages--the salt should remain that was sprinkled on the cabbages. Turn the vinegar from the cabbages six or seven times--heat it scalding hot and turn it back while hot to make them tender. Cauliflowers are pickled in the same manner. Cauliflowers cut into bunches and pickled with beet roots sliced look very prettily. 125. _East India Pickle._ Chop cabbage fine leaving out the stalks together with three or four onions a root of horseradish and a couple of green peppers to each cabbage. Soak the whole in salt and water three or four days. Spice some vinegar very strong with mace cloves allspice and cinnamon. Heat it scalding hot--add alum and salt and turn it on to the cabbage onions and pepper which should previously have all the brine drained from them. This pickle will be fit to eat in the course of three or four weeks. 126. _French Beans and Radish Pods._ Gather them while quite small and tender. Keep them in salt and water till you get through collecting them--changing the water as often as once in four or five days. Then scald them with hot salt and water let them lie in it till cool then turn on hot vinegar spiced with peppercorns mace and allspice. The radish top if pickled in small bunches are a pretty garnish for other pickles. 127. _Nasturtion._ Take them when small and green--put them in salt and water--change the water once in three days. When you have done collecting the nasturtions turn off the brine and pour on scalding hot vinegar. 128. _Samphire._ Procure samphire that is fresh and green--let it lay in salt for three days--then take it out and for a peck of samphire spice a gallon of vinegar with a couple of dozen of peppercorns--add half a tea-cup of salt--heat the vinegar scalding hot and turn it on to the samphire while hot--cover it close. In the course of ten days turn the vinegar from the samphire heat it scalding hot and turn it back. 129. _Onions._ Peel and boil them in milk and water ten minutes. To a gallon of vinegar put half an ounce of cinnamon and mace a quarter of an ounce of cloves a small tea-cup of salt and half an ounce of alum. Heat the vinegar together with the spices scalding hot and turn it on to the onions which should previously have the water and milk drained from them. Cover them tight till cold. 130. _Artichokes._ Soak the artichokes in salt and water for several days then drain and rub them till you get all the skin off. Turn boiling vinegar on them with salt alum and peppercorns in it in the same proportion as for cucumbers. Let them remain a week then turn off the vinegar scald it and turn it back while hot on to the artichokes. Continue to turn boiling vinegar on to the artichokes till thoroughly pickled. 131. _Cucumbers._ Gather those that are small and green and of a quick growth. Turn boiling water on them as soon as picked. Let them remain in it four or five hours then put them in cold vinegar with alum and salt in the proportion of a table spoonful of the former and a tea cup of the latter to every gallon of vinegar. When you have done collecting the cucumbers for pickling turn the vinegar from the cucumbers scald and skim it till clear then put in the pickles let them scald without boiling for a few minutes; then turn them while hot into the vessel you intend to keep them in. A few peppers or peppercorns improve the taste of the cucumbers. Cucumbers to be brittle need scalding several times. If the vinegar is weak it should be thrown away and fresh put to the cucumbers with more alum and salt. Another method of pickling cucumbers which is good is to put them in salt and water as you pick them--changing the salt and water once in three or four days. When you have done collecting your cucumbers for pickling take them out of the salt and water turn on scalding hot vinegar with alum salt and peppercorns in it. 132. _Gherkins._ Put them in strong brine--keep them in a warm place. When they turn yellow drain off the brine and turn hot vinegar on them. Let them remain in it till they turn green keeping them in a warm place. Then turn off the vinegar--add fresh scalding hot vinegar spiced with mace allspice and peppercorns--add alum and salt in the same proportion as for cucumbers. 133. _To Pickle Oysters._ Take the oysters from the liquor strain and boil it. Rinse the oysters if there are any bits of the shells attached to them. Put them into the liquor while boiling. Boil them one minute then take them out of it and to the liquor put a few peppercorns cloves and a blade or two of mace--add a little salt and the same quantity of vinegar as oyster juice. Let the whole boil fifteen minutes then turn it on to the oysters. If you wish to keep the oysters for a number of weeks bottle and cork them tight as soon as cold. 134. _To Pickle Mushrooms._ Peel and stew them with just water enough to prevent their sticking at the bottom of the pan. Shake them occasionally to prevent their burning. When tender take them up and put them in scalding hot vinegar spiced with mace cloves and peppercorns--add a little salt. Bottle and cork them tight if you wish to keep them long. 135. _Wheat Bread._ For six common sized loaves of bread take three pints of boiling water and mix it with five or six quarts of flour. When thoroughly mixed add three pints of cold water. Stir it till the whole of the dough is of the same temperature. When lukewarm stir in half a pint of family yeast (if brewers' yeast is used a less quantity will answer ) a table-spoonful of salt knead in flour till stiff enough to mould up and free from lumps. The more the bread is kneaded the better it will be. Cover it over with a thick cloth and if the weather is cold set it near a fire. To ascertain when it has risen cut it through the middle with a knife--if full of small holes like a sponge it is sufficiently light for baking. It should be baked as soon as light. If your bread should get sour before you are ready to bake it dissolve two or more tea-spoonsful of saleratus (according to the acidity of it) in a tea-cup of milk or water strain it on to the dough work it in well--then cut off enough for a loaf of bread--mould it up well slash it on both sides to prevent its cracking when baked--put it in a buttered tin-pan. The bread should stand ten or twelve minutes in the pans before baking it. If you like your bread baked a good deal let it stand in the oven an hour and a half. When the wheat is grown it makes better bread to wet the flour entirely with boiling water. It should remain till cool before working in the yeast. Some cooks have an idea that it kills the life of the flour to scald it but it is a mistaken idea--it is sweeter for it and will keep good much longer. Bread made in this way is nearly as good as that which is wet with milk. Care must be taken not to put the yeast in when the dough is hot as it will scald it and prevents its rising. Most ovens require heating an hour and a half for bread. A brisk fire should be kept up and the doors of the room should be kept shut if the weather is cold. Pine and ash mixed together or birch-wood is the best for heating an oven. To ascertain if your oven is of the right temperature when cleaned throw in a little flour; if it browns in the course of a minute it is sufficiently hot; if it turns black directly wait several minutes before putting in the things that are to be baked. If the oven does not bake well set in a furnace of live coals. 136. _Sponge Bread._ For four loaves of bread take three quarts of wheat flour and the same quantity of boiling water--mix them well together. Let it remain till lukewarm then add a tea-cup full of family or half a tea-cup of distillery yeast. Set it in a warm place to rise. When light knead in flour till stiff enough to mould up then let it stand till risen again before moulding it up. 137. _Rye Bread._ Wet up rye flour with lukewarm milk (water will do to wet it with but it will not make the bread so good.) Put in the same proportion of yeast as for wheat bread. For four or five loaves of bread put in a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. A couple of table-spoonsful of melted butter makes the crust more tender. It should not be kneaded as stiff as wheat bread or it will be hard when baked. When light take it out into pans without moulding it up--let it remain in them about twenty minutes before baking. 138. _Brown Bread._ Brown bread is made by scalding Indian meal and stirring into it when lukewarm about the same quantity of rye flour as Indian meal--add yeast and salt in the same proportion as for other kinds of bread. Bake it between two and three hours. 139. _Indian Bread._ Mix Indian meal with cold water stir it into boiling water let it boil half an hour--stir in a little salt take it from the fire let it remain till lukewarm then stir in yeast and Indian meal to render it of the consistency of unbaked rye dough. When light take it out into buttered pans let it remain a few minutes then bake it two hours and a half. 140. _Potato Bread._ Boil the potatoes very soft then peel and mash them fine. Put in salt and very little butter--then rub them with the flour--wet the flour with lukewarm water--then work in the yeast and flour till stiff to mould up. It will rise quicker than common wheat bread and should be baked as soon as risen as it turns sour very soon. The potatoes that the bread is made of should be mealy and mixed with the flour in the proportion of one-third of potatoes to two-thirds of flour. 141. _Rice Bread._ Boil a pint of rice till soft--then mix it with a couple of quarts of rice or wheat flour. When cool add half a tea-cup of yeast a little salt and milk to render it of the consistency of rye bread. When light bake it in small buttered pans. 142. _French Rolls._ Turn a quart of lukewarm milk on to a quart of flour. Melt a couple of ounces of butter and put to the milk and flour together with a couple of eggs and a tea-spoonful of salt. When cool stir in half a tea-cup of yeast and flour to make it stiff enough to mould up. Put it in a warm place. When light do it up into small rolls--lay the rolls on flat buttered tins--let them remain twenty minutes before baking. 143. _Yeast._ Boil a small handful of hops in a couple of quarts of water. When the strength is obtained from them strain the liquor--put it back on the fire--take a little of the liquor and mix smoothly with three heaping table-spoonsful of wheat flour--stir it into the liquor when it boils. Let it boil five or six minutes--take it from the fire. When lukewarm stir in a tea-cup of yeast--keep it in a warm place till risen. When of a frothy appearance it is sufficiently light. Add a table-spoonful of salt turn it into a jar and cover it tight. Some people keep yeast in bottles but they are apt to burst--some use jugs but they cannot be cleaned so easily as jars. Whenever your yeast gets sour the jar should be thoroughly cleaned before fresh is put in--if not cleaned it will spoil the fresh yeast. Yeast made in this manner will keep good a fortnight in warm weather; in cold weather longer. If your yeast appears to be a little changed add a little saleratus to it before you mix it with your bread. If it does not foam well when put in it is too stale to use. Milk yeast makes sweeter bread than any other kind of yeast but it will not keep good long. It is very nice to make biscuit of. Take half the quantity of milk you need for your biscuit--set it in a warm place with a little flour and a tea-spoonful of salt. When light mix it with the rest of the milk and use it directly for the biscuit. It takes a pint of this yeast for five or six loaves of bread. Another method of making yeast which is very good is to take about half a pound of your bread dough when risen and roll it out thin and dry it. When you wish to make bread put a quart of lukewarm milk to it set it near the fire to rise--when light scald the flour and let it be till lukewarm--then add the yeast and salt. This will raise the bread in the course of an hour. The dough will need a little fresh hop liquor put to it in the course of three or four times baking. Potato yeast makes very nice bread but the yeast does not keep good as long as when made without them. It is made in the following manner: boil a couple of good sized potatoes soft--peel and rub them through a sieve--put to it a couple of table-spoonsful of wheat flour and a quart of hot hop tea--when lukewarm stir in half a tea-cup of yeast--when light put in a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt put it in your yeast-jar and cover it up tight. 144. _Yeast Cakes._ Stir into a pint of good lively yeast a table-spoonful of salt and rye or wheat flour to make a thick batter. When risen stir in Indian meal till of the right consistency to roll out. When risen again roll them out very thin cut them into cakes with a tumbler and dry them in the shade in clear windy weather. Care must be taken to keep them from the sun or they will ferment. When perfectly dry tie them up in a bag and keep them in a cool dry place. To raise four or five loaves of bread take one of these cakes and put to it a little lukewarm milk or water. When dissolved stir in a couple of table-spoonsful of flour set it near the fire--When light use it for your dough. Yeast cakes will keep good five or six months. They are very convenient to use in summer as common yeast is so apt to ferment. 145. _Butter Biscuit._ Melt a tea-cup of butter--mix it with two-thirds of a pint of milk (if you have not any milk water may be substituted but the biscuit will not be as nice.) Put in a tea-spoonful of salt half a tea-cup of yeast (milk yeast is the best see directions for making it)--stir in flour till it is stiff enough to mould up. A couple of eggs improve the biscuit but are not essential. Set the dough in a warm place when risen mould the dough with the hand into small cakes lay them on flat tins that have been buttered. Let them remain half an hour before they are baked. 146. _Butter-milk Biscuit._ Dissolve a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in a tea-cup of sour milk--mix it with a pint of butter-milk and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Stir in flour until stiff enough to mould up. Mould it up into small cakes and bake them immediately. 147. _Hard Biscuit._ Weigh out four pounds of flour and rub three pounds and a half of it with four ounces of butter four beaten eggs and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Moisten it with milk pound it out thin with a rolling-pin sprinkle a little of the reserved flour over it lightly--roll it up and pound it out again sprinkle on more of the flour--this operation continue to repeat till you get in all the reserved flour--then roll it out thin cut it into cakes with a tumbler lay them on flat buttered tins cover them with a damp cloth to prevent their drying. Bake them in a quick oven. 148. _Saleratus Biscuit._ Put a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in a pint of sour milk. If you have not any sour milk put a table-spoonful of vinegar to a pint of sweet milk set it in a warm place--as soon as it curdles mix it with the saleratus--put in a couple of table-spoonfuls of melted butter and flour to make them sufficiently stiff to roll out. Mould them up into small biscuit and bake them immediately. 149. _Potato Biscuit._ Boil mealy potatoes very soft peel and mash them. To four good-sized potatoes put a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg a tea-spoonful of salt. When the butter has melted put in half a pint of cold milk. If the milk cools the potatoes put in a quarter of a pint of yeast and flour to make them of the right consistency to mould up. Set them in a warm place--when risen mould them up with the hand--let them remain ten or fifteen minutes before baking them. 150. _Sponge Biscuit._ Stir into a pint of lukewarm milk half a tea-cup of melted butter a tea-spoonful of salt half a tea-cup of family or a table-spoonful of brewers' yeast (the latter is the best;) add flour till it is a very stiff batter. When light drop this mixture by the large spoonful on to flat buttered tins several inches apart. Let them remain a few minutes before baking. Bake them in a quick oven till they are a light brown. 151. _Crackers._ Rub six ounces of butter with two pounds of flour--dissolve a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in a wine glass of milk and strain it on to the flour--add a tea-spoonful of salt and milk enough to enable you to roll it out. Beat it with a rolling-pin for half an hour pounding it out thin--cut it into cakes with a tumbler--bake them about fifteen minutes then take them from the oven. When the rest of your things are baked sufficiently take them out set in the crackers and let them remain till baked hard and crispy. 152. _Cream Cakes._ Mix half a pint of thick cream with the same quantity of milk four eggs and flour to render them just stiff enough to drop on buttered tins. They should be dropped by the large spoonful several inches apart and baked in a quick oven. 153. _Crumpets._ Take three tea-cups of raised dough and work into it with the hand half a tea-cup of melted butter three eggs and milk to render it a thick batter. Turn it into a buttered bake pan--let it remain fifteen minutes then put on a bake pan heated so as to scorch flour. It will bake in half an hour. 154. _Rice Cakes._ Mix a pint of rice boiled soft with a pint of milk a tea-spoonful of salt and three eggs beaten to a froth. Stir in rice or wheat flour till of the right consistency to fry. If you like them baked add two more eggs and enough more flour to make them stiff enough to roll out and cut them into cakes. 155. _Rice Ruffs._ To a pint of rice flour put boiling water or milk sufficient to make a thick batter. Beat four eggs (when it is cool ) and put in together with a tea-spoonful of salt. Drop this mixture by the large spoonful into hot fat. 156. _Buckwheat Cakes._ Mix a quart of buckwheat flour with a pint of lukewarm milk (water will do but is not as good ) and a tea-cup of yeast--set it in a warm place to rise. When light (which will be in the course of eight or ten hours if family yeast is used if brewers' yeast is used they will rise much quicker ) add a tea-spoonful of salt--if sour the same quantity of saleratus dissolved in a little milk and strained. If they are too thick thin them with cold milk or water. Fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the frying pan. 157. _Economy Cakes._ Rusked bread or that which is old and sour can be made into nice cakes. The bread should be cut into small pieces and soaked in cold water till very soft. Then drain off the water mash the bread fine--to three pints of the bread pulp put a couple of beaten eggs three or four table-spoonsful of flour and a little salt--dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus to a tea-cup of milk strain it then stir it into the bread--add more milk till it is of the right consistency to fry. The batter should be rather thicker than that of buckwheat cakes and cooked in the same manner. Another way of making them which is very good is to mix half a pint of wheat flour with enough cold milk or water to render it a thick batter and a couple of table-spoonsful of yeast. When light mix the batter with the bread (which should be previously soaked soft and mashed fine ) add salt and a tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved in a little milk. Fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the frying pan. 158. _Green Corn Cake._ Mix a pint of grated green corn with three table-spoonsful of milk a tea-cup of flour half a tea-cup of melted butter one egg a tea-spoonful of salt and half a tea-spoonful of pepper. Drop this mixture into hot butter by the spoonful let the cakes fry eight or ten minutes. These cakes are nice served up with meat for dinner. 159. _Indian Corn Cake._ Stir into a quart of sour or butter-milk a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus a little salt and sifted Indian meal to render it a thick batter--a little cream improves the cake--bake it in deep cake pans about an hour. When sour milk cannot be procured boil sweet milk and turn it on to the Indian meal--when cool put in three beaten eggs to a quart of the meal--add salt to the taste. 160. _Indian Slap Jacks._ Scald a quart of Indian meal--when lukewarm turn stir in half a pint of flour half a tea-cup of yeast and a little salt. When light fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the frying pan. Another method of making them which is very nice is to turn boiling milk or water on to the Indian meal in the proportion of a quart of the former to a pint of the latter--stir in three table-spoonsful of flour three eggs well beaten and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. 161. _Journey or Johnny Cakes._ Scald a quart of sifted Indian meal with sufficient water to make it a very thick batter. Stir in two or three tea-spoonsful of salt--mould it with the hand into small cakes. In order to mould them up it will be necessary to rub a good deal of flour on the hands to prevent their sticking. Fry them in nearly fat enough to cover them. When brown on the under side they should be turned. It takes about twenty minutes to cook them. When cooked split and butter them. Another way of making them which is nice is to scald the Indian meal and put in saleratus dissolved in milk and salt in the proportion of a tea-spoonful of each to a quart of meal. Add two or three table-spoonsful of wheat flour and drop the batter by the large spoonful into a frying pan. The batter should be of a very thick consistency and there should be just fat enough in the frying pan to prevent the cakes sticking to it. 162. _Hoe Cakes._ Scald a quart of Indian meal with just water enough to make a thick batter. Stir in a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt and two table-spoonful of butter. Turn it into a buttered bake pan and bake it half an hour. 163. _Muffins._ Mix a quart of wheat flour smoothly with a pint and a half of lukewarm milk half a tea-cup of yeast a couple of beaten eggs a heaping tea-spoonsful of salt and a couple of table-spoonsful of lukewarm melted butter. Set the batter in a warm place to rise. When light butter your muffin cups turn in the mixture and bake the muffins till a light brown. 164. _Raised Flour Waffles._ Stir into a quart of flour sufficient lukewarm milk to make a thick batter. The milk should be stirred in gradually so as to have it free from lumps. Put in a table-spoonful of melted butter a couple of beaten eggs a tea-spoonsful of salt and half a tea-cup of yeast. When risen fill your waffle-irons with the batter bake them on a hot bed of coals. When they have been on the fire between two and three minutes turn the waffle-irons over--when brown on both sides they are sufficiently baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard and very hot before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon. 165. _Quick Waffles._ Mix flour and cold milk together to make a thick batter. To a quart of the flour put six beaten eggs a table-spoonful of melted butter and a tea-spoonful of salt. Some cooks add a quarter of a pound of sugar and half a nutmeg. Bake them immediately. 166. _Rice Waffles._ Take a tea-cup and a half of boiled rice--warm it with a pint of milk mix it smooth then take it from the fire stir in a pint of cold milk and a tea-spoonful of salt. Beat four eggs and stir them in together with sufficient flour to make a thick batter. 167. _Rice Wafers._ Melt a quarter of a pound of butter and mix it with a pound of rice flour a tea-spoonful of salt and a wine glass of wine. Beat four eggs and stir in together with just cold milk enough to enable you to roll them out easily. They should be rolled out as thin as possible cut with a wine glass into cakes and baked in a moderate oven on buttered flat tins. 168. _Rules to be observed in making nice Cake._ Cake to be good must be made of nice materials. The butter eggs and flour should not be stale and the sugar should be of a light color and dry. Brown sugar answers very well for most kinds of cake if rolled free from lumps and stirred to a cream with the butter. The flour should be sifted and if damp dried perfectly otherwise it will make the cake heavy. The eggs should be beaten to a froth; and the cake will be more delicate if the yelks and whites are beaten separately. Saleratus and soda should be perfectly dissolved and strained before they are stirred into the cake. Raisins for cake should have the seeds taken out. Zante currants should be rinsed in several waters to cleanse them rubbed in a dry cloth to get out the sticks and then spread on platters and dried perfectly before they are put into the cake. Almonds should be blanched which is done by turning boiling water on them and letting them remain in it till the skins will rub off easily. When blanched dry them then pound them fine with rosewater to prevent their oiling. When the weather is cold the materials for cake should be moderately warmed before mixing them together. All kinds of cake that are made without yeast are better for being stirred till just before they are baked. The butter and sugar should be stirred together till white then the eggs flour and spice added. Saleratus and cream should not be put in till just before the cake is baked--add the fruit last. Butter the cake pans well. The cake will be less liable to burn if the pans are lined with white buttered paper. The cake should not be moved while baking if it can be avoided as moving it is apt to make it heavy. The quicker most kinds of cake are baked the lighter and better they will be; but the oven should not be of such a furious heat as to burn them. It is impossible to give any exact rules as to the time to be allowed for baking various kinds of cake as so much depends on the heat of the oven. It should be narrowly watched while in the oven and if it browns too fast it should be covered with a thick paper. To ascertain when rich cake is sufficiently baked stick a clean broom splinter through the thickest part of the loaf--if none of the cake adheres to the splinter it is sufficiently baked. When cake that is baked on flat tins moves easily on them it is sufficiently baked. 169. _Frosting for Cake._ Allow for the white of one egg nine heaping tea-spoonsful of double refined sugar and one of nice Poland starch. The sugar and starch should be pounded and sifted through a very fine sieve. Beat the whites of eggs to a stiff froth so that you can turn the plate upside down without the eggs falling from it--then stir in the sugar gradually with a wooden spoon--stir it ten or fifteen minutes without any cessation--then add a tea-spoonful of lemon juice (vinegar will answer but is not as nice)--put in sufficient rosewater to flavor it. If you wish to color it pink stir in a few grains of cochineal powder or rose pink--if you wish to have it of a blue tinge add a little of what is called the powder blue. Lay the frosting on the cake with a knife soon after it is taken from the oven--smooth it over and let it remain in a cool place till hard. To frost a common sized loaf of cake allow the white of one egg and half of another. 170. _Sponge Gingerbread._ Melt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg--mix it with a pint of nice molasses a table-spoonful of ginger and a quart of flour. Dissolve a heaping table-spoonful of saleratus in half a pint of milk strain and mix it with the rest of the ingredients add sufficient flour to enable you to roll it out easily roll it out about half an inch thick and bake it on flat tins in a quick oven. Gingerbread made in this manner will be light and spongy if baked quick and made of nice molasses but it will not keep good so long as hard gingerbread. 171. _Hard Molasses Gingerbread._ To a pint of molasses put half a tea-cup of melted butter a table-spoonful of ginger and a quart of flour. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in half a pint of water and stir it in together with flour sufficient to enable you to roll it out. Bake it in a moderately warm oven. 172. _Soft Molasses Gingerbread._ Melt a tea-cup of butter--mix it with a pint of molasses a table-spoonful of ginger a pint of flour and a couple of beaten eggs. Fresh lemon peel cut into small strips improves it. Dissolve a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in half a pint of milk and stir it into the cake. Add flour to render it of the consistency of unbaked pound cake. Bake it in deep pans about half an hour. 173. _Sugar Gingerbread._ Mix a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter. Beat four eggs and stir them into the butter and sugar together with three tea-spoonsful of ginger. Stir in gradually a pound and a half of flour--dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a wine glass of milk and stir it in and bake the gingerbread immediately. 174. _Ginger Snaps._ Melt a quarter of a pound of butter the same quantity of lard--mix them with a quarter of a pound of brown sugar a pint of molasses a couple of table-spoonsful of ginger and a quart of flour. Dissolve a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in a wine glass of milk and strain it into the cake--add sufficient flour to enable you to roll it out very thin cut it into small cakes and bake them in a slow oven. 175. _Spice Cakes._ Melt a tea-cup of butter mix it with a tea-cup of sugar and half a tea-cup of molasses. Stir in a tea-spoonful of cinnamon the same quantity of ginger a grated nutmeg and a tea-spoonful each of caraway and coriander seed--put in a tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved in half a tea-cup of water stir in flour till stiff enough to roll out thin cut it into cakes and bake them in a slow oven. 176. _Cider Cake._ Stir together a tea-cup of butter three of sugar--beat four eggs and put into the cake together with two tea-cups of flour and a grated nutmeg. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in half a tea-cup of milk strain it and mix it with the above ingredients--stir in a tea-cup of cider and four more cups of flour. 177. _Bannock or Indian Meal Cakes._ Stir to a cream a pound and a quarter of brown sugar a pound of butter--beat six eggs and mix them with the sugar and butter--add a tea-spoonful of cinnamon or ginger--stir in a pound and three quarters of white Indian meal and a quarter of a pound of wheat flour (the meal should be sifted.) Bake it in small cups and let it remain in them till cold. 178. _Rich Cookies._ Rub together till white a tea-cup of butter two of sugar--then stir in a couple of beaten eggs a little flour grate in a nutmeg--dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk or water strain it on to the cake then add flour till stiff enough to roll out easily. If you cannot roll out the cake without its sticking to the board and rolling-pin (which should be previously floured ) work in more flour stamp and cut it into cakes--bake them in a moderately warm oven. 179. _Plain Tea Cakes._ Mix thoroughly a tea-cup and a half of sugar half a tea-cup of butter stir in a little flour and half a nutmeg. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk strain and mix it with the cake--add flour till stiff enough to roll out--roll it out half an inch thick cut it into cakes bake them on flat buttered tins in a quick oven. If baked slow they will not be good. 180. _New Year's Cookies._ Weigh out a pound of sugar three-quarters of a pound of butter--stir them to a cream then add three beaten eggs a grated nutmeg two table-spoonsful of caraway seed and a pint of flour. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk strain and mix it with half a tea-cup of cider and stir it into the cookies--then add flour to make them sufficiently stiff to roll out. Bake them as soon as cut into cakes in a quick oven till a light brown. 181. _Shrewsbury Cake._ Stir together three-quarters of a pound of sugar half a pound of butter. When white add five beaten eggs a tea-spoonful of rosewater or a nutmeg and a pound of flour. Drop it with a large spoon on to flat tins that have been buttered--sift sugar over them. 182. _Tunbridge Cake._ Six ounces of butter the same quantity of sugar three-quarters of a pound of flour a couple of eggs and a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Stir to a cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs flour and spice. Roll it out thin and cut it into small cakes. 183. _Jumbles._ Stir together till of a light color a pound of sugar and half the weight of butter--then add eight eggs beaten to a froth essence of lemon or rosewater to the taste and flour to make them sufficiently stiff to roll out. Roll them out in powdered sugar about half an inch thick cut it into strips about half an inch wide and four inches long join the ends together so as to form rings--lay them on flat tins that have been buttered--bake them in a quick oven. 184. _Composition Cake._ Five tea-cups of flour three of sugar two of butter five eggs a tea-spoonful of saleratus a tea-cup of milk a wine glass of wine or brandy one nutmeg a pound of raisins. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream then add the eggs beaten to a froth and part of the flour and the spice--dissolve the saleratus in the milk strain and mix it with the brandy stir it into the cake with the rest of the flour--add the raisins just before the cake is put into the pans. 185. _Rusk._ Melt half a pound of butter and mix it with two-thirds of a pint of milk--flour to make a thick batter. Add three table-spoonsful of yeast and set the batter in a warm place to rise. When light beat two eggs with half a pound of rolled sugar--work it into the batter with the hand add a tea-spoonful of salt a tea-spoonful of cinnamon and flour to make them sufficiently stiff to mould up. Mould them up into cakes of the size you would make biscuit lay them on flat tins previously buttered let them remain till of a spongy lightness before baking. They will bake in a quick oven in the course of fifteen minutes. 186. _Whigs._ Mix half a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter a couple of beaten eggs a tea-spoonful of cinnamon. Stir in two pounds of flour a tea-cup of yeast and milk sufficient to make a thick batter. When light bake them in small cups. 187. _Nut Cakes._ Heat a pint of milk just lukewarm--stir into it a tea-cup of lard (the lard should be melted.) Stir in flour till it is a thick batter then add a small tea-cup of yeast. Set it in a warm place--when light work in two tea-cups and a half of rolled sugar four eggs beaten to a froth two tea-spoonsful of cinnamon and one of salt. Knead in flour to make it sufficiently stiff to roll out--keep it in a warm place till risen again. When it appears of a spongy lightness roll it out about half an inch thick cut it into cakes with a wine glass let them remain fifteen or twenty minutes before boiling them--boil them in a pot with about a couple of pounds of lard. The fat should be hot enough to boil up as they are put in and a brisk fire kept under the pot. It should be shaken constantly while they are boiling. Only a few should be boiled at once--if crowded they will not fry well. If you wish to have them look nice dip them into powdered white sugar as soon as fried. The same lard with a little more added will answer to fry several batches of cakes in if not burnt. 188. _Crollers._ Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in four table-spoonsful of milk or leave out one spoonful of milk and substitute one of wine. Strain it on to half a pint of flour four table-spoonsful of melted butter or lard and a tea-spoonful of salt. Beat four eggs with six heaping table-spoonsful of rolled sugar--work them into the rest of the ingredients together with a grated nutmeg--add flour to make them stiff enough to roll out easily. They should be rolled out about half an inch thick cut with a jagging iron or knife into strips about half an inch wide and twisted so as to form small cakes. Heat a pound of lard in a deep pot or kettle (some cooks use a frying pan to fry crollers in but they are more apt to burn when fried in a pan.) The fat should boil up as the cakes are laid in and they should be constantly watched while frying. When brown on the under side turn them--when brown on both sides they are sufficiently cooked. 189. _Molasses Dough Cake._ Melt half a tea-cup of butter mix it with a tea-cup of molasses the juice and chopped rind of a fresh lemon a tea-spoonful of cinnamon--work the whole with the hand into three tea-cups of raised dough together with a couple of beaten eggs. Work it with the hand for ten or twelve minutes then put it into buttered pans. Let it remain ten or fifteen minutes before baking it. 190. _Sugar Dough Cake._ Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a wine glass of wine or milk--strain it on to three tea-cups of raised dough. Work into the dough a tea-cup of lukewarm melted butter two tea-cups of rolled sugar three eggs well beaten and a couple of tea-spoonsful of cinnamon. Work the whole well together for a quarter of an hour then put it into cake pans. Let it stand in a warm place fifteen or twenty minutes before baking it. 191. _Measure Cake._ Stir to a cream a tea-cup of butter two of sugar then stir in four eggs beaten to a froth a grated nutmeg and a pint of flour. Stir it until just before it is baked. It is good either baked in cups or pans. 192. _French Cake._ One pound of sugar three quarters of a pound of butter a pound and a half of flour twelve eggs a gill each of wine brandy and of milk. Mix the sugar and butter together--when white add the eggs beaten to a froth (the whites and yelks should be separated)--then stir in the flour the milk and wine and one-fourth of a grated nutmeg. Just before it is baked add three-quarters of a pound of seeded raisins a quarter of a pound of citron and a quarter of a pound of almonds blanched and pounded fine. To blanch almonds see directions in No. 168. 193. _Washington Cake._ Stir together till quite white a pound of sugar three-quarters of a pound of butter then add four beaten eggs. Stir in gradually a pound and a half of flour. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk strain and mix it with a glass of wine then stir it into the cake together with a tea-spoonful of rosewater and half a nutmeg. Just before it is baked add a pound of seeded raisins. 194. _Cup Cake._ Mix three tea-cups of sugar with one and a half of butter. When white beat three eggs and stir them into the butter and sugar together with three tea-cups of sifted flour and rosewater or essence of lemon to the taste. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk strain it into the cake then add three more tea-cups of sifted flour. Bake the cake immediately either in cups or pans. 195. _Plain Cream Cake._ Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a wine glass of milk strain it on to a little sifted flour beat three eggs with a tea-cup of rolled sugar mix them with the above ingredients together with half a grated nutmeg. Add a tea-cup of thick cream and sifted flour to render it of the consistency of unbaked pound cake. Bake it as soon as the cream and flour are well mixed in as stirring the cream much decomposes it. 196. _Rich Cream Cake._ Stir together till very white half a pound of butter three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Beat the whites and yelks of seven eggs separately to a froth stir them into the cake--put in a wine glass of brandy a grated nutmeg and a pound and a half of sifted flour. Just before it is baked add half a pint of thick cream and a pound of seeded raisins. 197. _Cymbals._ Half a pound of sugar a quarter of a pound of butter a couple of eggs half a nutmeg a tea-spoonful of saleratus half a tea-cup of milk. Stir the butter and sugar together then add the eggs and a little flour stir in the milk and saleratus which should be previously strained then add enough flour to make it stiff enough to roll out--roll it out half an inch thick in pounded white sugar cut it with a tumbler into cakes and bake them on flat buttered tins. 198. _Rich Loaf Cake._ Stir gradually into a pint of lukewarm milk a pound of sifted wheat flour add a small tea-cup of yeast and set it where it will rise quick. When of a spongy lightness weigh out a pound of butter a pound and a quarter of nice sugar--stir them to a cream then work them with the hand into the sponge. Beat four eggs to a froth the whites and yelks separately--mix the eggs with the cake together with a wine glass of wine one of brandy a quarter of an ounce of mace or one nutmeg. Cinnamon is good spice for loaf cake but it turns it a dark color. Add another pound of flour and work it with the hand for fifteen or twenty minutes. (The longer it is worked the more delicate will be the cake.) Let it remain till risen again--when perfectly light beat it a few minutes with the hand then add a couple of pounds of seeded raisins a quarter of a pound of citron or almonds blanched and pounded fine. Butter three common sized cake pans and put the cake into them--let them remain half an hour in a warm place before setting them in the oven. Bake the cake in a quick but not a furious oven from an hour and fifteen to thirty minutes according to the heat of the oven. If it browns too fast cover it while baking with thick paper. 199. _Plain Loaf Cake._ Mix together a pint of lukewarm milk two quarts of sifted flour a small tea-cup of yeast. Set the batter where it will rise quick. When perfectly light work in with the hand four beaten eggs a tea-spoonful of salt two of cinnamon a wine glass of brandy or wine. Stir a pound of sugar with three-quarters of a pound of butter--when white work it into the cake add another quart of sifted flour and beat the whole well with the hand ten or fifteen minutes then set it where it will rise again. When of a spongy lightness put it into buttered cake pans and let them stand fifteen or twenty minutes before baking. Add if you like a pound and a half of raisins just before putting the cake into the pans. 200. _Shelah or Quick Loaf Cake._ Melt half a pound of butter--when cool work it into a pound and a half of raised dough. Beat four eggs with three-quarters of a pound of rolled sugar mix it with the dough together with a wine glass of wine or brandy a tea-spoonful of cinnamon and a grated nutmeg. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a small tea-cup of milk strain it on to the dough work the whole well together for a quarter of an hour then add a pound of seeded raisins and put it into cake pans. Let them remain twenty minutes before setting them in the oven. 201. _Rice Cake._ Mix ten ounces of ground rice three of wheat flour eight ounces of powdered white sugar. Sift the whole by degrees into the beaten yelks of eight eggs. Add the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth and half a grated nutmeg. Bake the cake in deep pans as soon as the ingredients are well mixed in. The cake will bake sufficiently in the course of twenty minutes if the oven is hot. 202. _Diet Bread._ Sift a pound of flour mix it with a pound of rolled sugar. Beat eight eggs to a froth and stir the flour and sugar in very gradually. Season it to the taste with essence of lemon or rosewater. Bake it from fifteen to twenty minutes. 203. _Lemon Cake._ Stir together till very white a pound of sugar half a pound of butter--then add eight eggs beaten to a froth (the whites and yelks should be beaten separately ) the grated rind of two lemons and the juice of half a lemon. Stir in gradually a pound of sifted flour. Line a couple of cake pans with white buttered paper turn the cake into them and bake it in a quick oven. 204. _Scotch Cake._ Stir to a cream a pound of sugar and three-quarters of a pound of butter--put in the juice and grated rind of a lemon a wine glass of brandy. Separate the whites and yelks of nine eggs beat them to a froth and stir them into the cake--then add a pound of sifted flour and just before it is put in the cake pans a pound of seeded raisins. 205. _Pound Cake._ Mix a pound of sugar with three-quarters of a pound of butter. When worked white stir in the yelks of eight eggs beaten to a froth then the whites. Add a pound of sifted flour and mace or nutmeg to the taste. If you wish to have your cake particularly nice stir in just before you put it into the pans a quarter of a pound of citron or almonds blanched and powdered fine in rosewater. 206. _Confectioner's Pound Cake._ Stir together a pound and a quarter of sugar three quarters of a pound of butter. When of a light color stir in twelve beaten eggs a pound and a half of sifted flour and mace or nutmeg to the taste. 207. _Queen's Cake._ Rub together till very white a pound of sugar three quarters of a pound of butter. Mix a wine glass of wine one of brandy one of milk and if you wish to have the cake look dark put in a tea-spoonful of saleratus. Stir them into the butter and sugar together with a pound of flour a tea-spoonful of rosewater or essence of lemon a quarter of an ounce of mace. Beat the whites and yelks separately of six eggs--if no saleratus is used two more eggs will be necessary. When beaten to a froth mix them with the cake. Stir the whole well together then add just before baking it half a pound of seeded raisins the same weight of Zante currants a quarter of a pound of citron or almonds blanched and pounded fine in rosewater. The fruit should be stirred in gradually a handful of each alternately. Line a couple of three pint tin pans with buttered white paper put in the cake and bake it directly. If it browns too fast cover it with paper. It takes from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half to bake it according to the heat of the oven. 208. _Delicate Cake._ Stir to a cream a pound of powdered white sugar seven ounces of butter--then add the whites of sixteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth half a nutmeg or a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Stir in gradually a pound of sifted flour and bake the cake immediately. The yelks of the eggs can be used for custards. 209. _Jelly Cake._ Rub together till white half a pound of sugar six ounces of butter. Beat eight eggs to a froth and stir into the butter and sugar together with a pound of sifted flour. Add the juice and grated rind of a fresh lemon and turn this mixture on to scolloped tin plates that have been well buttered. The cake should not be more than a quarter of an inch thick on each of the plates. Bake them directly in a quick oven till a light brown. Pile them on a plate with a layer of jelly or marmalade between each of the cakes and a layer on the top. 210. _Strawberry Cake._ Mix a quart of flour with a tea-spoonful of salt four beaten eggs and a tea-cup of thick cream or melted butter. Add sufficient milk to enable you to roll it out--roll it out thin line a shallow cake pan with part of it then put in a thick layer of nice ripe strawberries strew on sufficient white sugar to sweeten the strawberries cover them with a thin layer of the crust then add another layer of strawberries and sugar--cover the whole with another layer of crust and bake it in a quick oven about twenty-five minutes. 211. _Superior Sponge Cake._ Take the weight of ten eggs in powdered loaf sugar beat it to a froth with the yelks of twelve eggs put in the grated rind of a fresh lemon leaving out the white part--add half the juice. Beat the whites of twelve eggs to a stiff froth and mix them with the sugar and butter. Stir the whole without any cessation for fifteen minutes then stir in gradually the weight of six eggs in sifted flour. As soon as the flour is well mixed in turn the cake into pans lined with buttered paper--bake it immediately in a quick but not a furiously hot oven. It will bake in the course of twenty minutes. If it bakes too fast cover it with thick paper. 212. _Good Sponge Cake._ Beat together the yelks of ten eggs with a pound of powdered white sugar--beat to a stiff froth the whites of the eggs and stir them into the yelks and sugar. Beat the whole ten or fifteen minutes then stir in gradually three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour. Flavor it with a nutmeg or the grated rind of a lemon. Bake it as soon as the flour and spices are well mixed in. 213. _Almond Cake._ Beat the yelks of twelve eggs to a froth with a pound of powdered white sugar. Beat the whites of nine eggs to a stiff froth and stir them into the yelks and sugar. When the whole has been stirred together for ten minutes add gradually a pound of sifted flour and half a pound of almonds blanched and pounded fine then stir in three table-spoonsful of thick cream. As soon as the ingredients are well mixed in turn the cake into buttered pans and bake it immediately. Frost the cake with the reserved whites of the eggs as soon as it is baked. 214. _Fruit Cake._ One pound of flour one of sugar three-quarters of a pound of butter two pounds of seeded raisins two of currants one of citron a quarter of a pound of almonds half an ounce of mace a tea-spoonful of rosewater a wine glass of brandy one of wine and ten eggs. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream then add the whites and yelks of the eggs beaten separately to a froth--stir in the flour gradually then the wine brandy and spice. Add the fruit just before it is put into the pans. It takes over two hours to bake it if the loaves are thick--if the loaves are thin it will bake in less time. This kind of cake is the best after it has been made three or four weeks and it will keep good five or six months. 215. _Black Cake._ One pound of flour one of sugar fourteen ounces of butter ten eggs three pounds of seeded raisins three pounds of Zante currants and one pound of citron a wine glass of wine one of brandy and one of milk a tea-spoonful of saleratus a table-spoonful of molasses a table-spoonful of cinnamon a tea-spoonful of cloves a quarter of an ounce of mace or one nutmeg. The sugar should be the brown kind and stirred a few minutes with the butter then the eggs beaten to a froth and stirred in. Brown the flour in a pan over a few coals--stir it constantly to prevent its burning. It should be done before you commence making the cake so as to have it get cold. Stir it into the butter and sugar gradually then add the molasses and spice. Dissolve the saleratus in the milk then strain it and mix it with the brandy and wine to curdle them--stir the whole into the cake. Just before you put it into the cake pans stir in the fruit gradually a handful of each alternately. When well mixed in put it into cake pans and bake it immediately. If baked in thick loaves it takes from two hours and a half to three hours to bake it sufficiently. The oven should not be of a furious heat. Black cake cuts the best when three or four weeks old. 216. _Maccaroons._ Soak half a pound of sweet almonds in boiling hot water till the skins will rub off easily--wipe them dry. When you have rubbed off the skins pound them fine with rosewater. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth then stir in gradually half a pound of powdered white sugar then add the almonds. When the almonds are well mixed in drop the mixture in small parcels on buttered baking plates several inches apart sift sugar over them and bake them in a slow oven. 217. _Cocoanut Cakes._ Take equal weights of grated cocoanut and powdered white sugar (the brown part of the cocoanut should be cut off before grating it)--add the whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth in the proportion of half a dozen to a pound each of cocoanut and sugar. There should be just eggs enough to wet up the whole stiff. Drop the mixture on to buttered plates in parcels of the size of a cent several inches apart. Bake them immediately in a moderately warm oven. 218. _Tory Wafers._ Melt a tea-cup of butter half a one of lard and mix them with a quart of flour a couple of beaten eggs a tea-spoonful of salt a wine glass of wine. Add milk till of the right consistency to roll out--roll it out about the third of an inch in thickness cut it into cakes with a wine glass lay them on buttered baking plates and bake them a few minutes. Frost them as soon as baked and sprinkle comfits or sugar sand on the top. 219. _Sugar Drops._ Stir to a cream three ounces of butter six of powdered white sugar--then add three beaten eggs half a pound of sifted flour half of a nutmeg. Drop this mixture by the large spoonful on to buttered plates several inches apart sprinkle small sugar plums on the top and bake them directly. 220. _Savoy Cakes._ Beat eight eggs to a froth--the whites and yelks should be beaten separately then mixed together and a pound of powdered white sugar stirred in gradually. Beat the whole well together for eight or ten minutes then add the grated rind of a fresh lemon and half the juice a pound of sifted flour a couple of table-spoonsful of coriander seed. Drop this mixture by the large spoonful on to buttered baking plates several inches apart sift white sugar over them and bake them immediately in a quick but not a furiously hot oven. 221. _Almond Cheese Cakes._ Boil a pint of new milk--beat three eggs and stir into the milk while boiling. When it boils up take it from the fire put in half a wine glass of wine separate the curd from the whey and put to the curd three eggs six ounces of powdered white sugar previously beaten together. Add a tea-spoonful of rosewater half a pound of sweet almonds that have been blanched and pounded fine a quarter of a pound of melted butter. Mix the whole well together then pour it into small pans that are lined with pastry. Ornament the top with Zante currants and almonds cut in thin slips--bake them directly. 222. _Flummery._ Lay sponge or Savoy cakes in a deep dish--pour on white wine sufficient to make them quite moist. Make a rich boiled custard using only the yelks of the eggs--turn it over the cakes when cool--beat the whites of the eggs to a froth and turn them over the whole. 223. _Floating Island._ Mix a pint and a half of sweet thick cream with a gill of wine the juice of half a lemon and a tea-spoonful of essence of lemon or rosewater. Sweeten the whole with powdered loaf sugar--turn it into a deep dish. Beat the whites of four eggs to a froth and stir in half a pound of any dark-colored preserved small fruit you may happen to have. Beat the whole to a strong froth then turn it into the centre of the cream. 224. _Whip Syllabub._ Take good sweet cream--to each pint put six ounces of double refined powdered white sugar half a tumbler of white wine the juice and grated rind of a lemon. Beat the whole well together--put jelly in glasses and cover them with the froth as fast as it rises. 225. _Ornamental Froth for Blanc Mange or Creams._ Beat the whites of four eggs to a froth then stir in half a pound of preserved raspberries cranberries or strawberries--beat the whole well together then turn it over the top of your creams or blanc mange. 226. _Ice Currants._ Take large bunches of ripe currants wash and drain them dry then dip them into the whites of eggs previously beaten to a stiff froth. Lay them on a sieve at such a distance from each other as not to touch--sift double refined sugar over them thick and set them in a warm place to dry. 227. _Apple Snow._ Put a dozen good tart apples into cold water set them over a slow fire. When soft drain off the water pull the skins from the apples take out the cores and lay the apples in a deep dish. Beat the whites of twelve eggs to a strong froth--put half a pound of powdered white sugar on the apples beat them to a strong froth then add the beaten eggs. Beat the whole to a stiff snow then turn it into a dessert dish and ornament it with myrtle or box. 228. _Comfits._ Mix a pound of white sugar with just sufficient water to make a thick syrup. When the sugar has dissolved drop in a pound of coriander seed then drain off the syrup and put the seeds in a sieve with two or three ounces of flour--shake them well in it then set them where they will dry. When dry put them in the syrup again repeat the above process till they are of the size you wish. 229. _Isinglass Blanc Mange._ Pull an ounce of mild white isinglass into small pieces--rinse them and put to them a quart of milk if the weather is hot and three pints if it is cold weather. Set it on a few coals stir it constantly till the isinglass dissolves then sweeten it to the taste with double refined loaf sugar put in a small stick of cinnamon a vanilla bean or blade of mace. Set it where it will boil five or six minutes stirring it constantly. Strain it and fill the moulds with it--let it remain in them till cold. The same bean will do to use several times. 230. _Calf's Feet Blanc Mange._ Boil four feet in five quarts of water without any salt. When the liquor is reduced to one quart strain and mix it with one quart of milk several sticks of cinnamon or a vanilla bean. Boil the whole ten minutes sweeten it to the taste with white sugar strain it and fill your moulds with it. 231. _Rice Flour Blanc Mange._ Mix four table-spoonsful of ground rice smoothly with half a pint of cold milk then stir it into a quart of boiling milk. Put in the grated rind of a lemon and half the juice a blade of mace--sweeten to the taste with white sugar. Boil the whole seven or eight minutes stirring it frequently. Take it from the fire--when cool put in the beaten whites of three eggs put it back on the fire stir it constantly till nearly boiling hot then turn it into moulds or deep cups and let it remain till cold. This is nice food for invalids. 232. _Rice Blanc Mange._ Boil a tea-cup of rice in a pint of water with a blade of mace and a tea-spoonful of salt. When it swells out and becomes dry add sufficient milk to prevent its burning. Let it boil till quite soft stirring it constantly to keep it from burning--sweeten it with white sugar. Dip your moulds in cold water then turn in the rice without drying the moulds. Let the rice remain in the moulds till it becomes quite cold. Turn it into dessert dishes ornament it with marmalade cut in slices and box and serve it up with cream or preserved strawberries. It should be made the day before it is to be eaten in order to have it become firm. 233. _Snow Cream._ Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth--then stir in two table-spoonsful of powdered white sugar a table-spoonful of sweet wine a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Beat the whole together then add a pint of thick cream. This is a nice accompaniment to a dessert of sweetmeats. 234. _Orange Cream._ Beat the yelks of eight eggs and the whites of two to a froth then stir in half a pound of powdered white sugar--add half a pint of wine and the juice of six fresh oranges and the juice of one lemon. Flavor it with orange-flower water--strain it and set it on a few coals--stir it till it thickens then add a piece of butter of the size of a nutmeg. When the butter has melted take it from the fire continue to stir it till cool then fill your glasses with it. Beat up the whites of the eggs to a froth and lay the froth on top of the glasses of cream. 235. _Lemon Cream._ Pare four fresh lemons very thin so as to get none of the white part. Soak the rinds twelve hours in half a pint of cold water then add the juice of the lemons and half a pint more of cold water. Beat to a froth the whites of eight eggs and the yelks of three--strain the lemon-juice and water mix it with the eggs--set the whole on a few coals sweeten it with double refined sugar stir it till it grows thick then take it from the fire stir it till cold--serve it up in glasses. 236. _Ice Creams._ Sweeten thick rich cream with powdered white sugar--it should be made very sweet as the process of freezing extracts a great deal of the saccharine matter. Essence of lemon the juice of strawberries or pine-apples are nice to flavor the cream with--the juice should be sweetened before being mixed with the cream. Where cream cannot be procured a custard made in the following manner may be substituted: To a quart of milk put the beaten yelks of four eggs the rind of a lemon or a vanilla bean--set it on a few coals make it extremely sweet with white sugar--stir it constantly till scalding hot--care must be taken that it does not boil. Take it from the fire take out the bean or lemon peel--when perfectly cold put it in an ice cream form--if one cannot be procured a milk kettle with a tight cover may be substituted. Set the form into the centre of a tub that is large enough to leave a space of five inches from the form to the outside of the tub. Fill the space round the form with alternate layers of finely cracked ice and rock salt having a layer of ice last and the whole should be just as high as the form. Care should be taken to keep the salt from the cream. The tub should be covered with a woollen cloth while the cream is freezing and the form should be constantly shaken. If you wish to shape the cream turn it into moulds as soon as it freezes set them in the tub let them remain till just before they are to be eaten then dip them in warm water and take them out instantly and turn them into dessert dishes. 237. _Pastry._ For a good common pie-crust allow half a pound of shortening to a pound of flour. If liked quite short allow three-quarters of a pound of shortening to a pound of the flour. Pie crust looks the nicest made entirely of lard but it does not taste so good as it does to have some butter used in making it. In winter beef shortening mixed with butter makes good plain pie crust. Rub half of the shortening with two-thirds of the flour--to each pound of flour put a tea-spoonful of salt. When the shortening is thoroughly mixed with the flour add just sufficient cold water to render it moist enough to roll out easily. Divide the crust into two equal portions--lay one of them one side for the upper crust take the other roll it out quite thin flouring your rolling-board and pin so that the crust will not stick to them and line your pie plates which should be previously buttered--fill your plates with your fruit then roll out the upper crust as thin as possible spread on the reserved shortening sprinkle over the flour roll it up and cut it into as many pieces as you have pies to cover. Roll each one out about half an inch thick and cover the pies--trim the edges off neatly with a knife and press the crust down round the edge of the plate with a jagging iron so that the juices of the fruit may not run out while baking. Pastry to be nice should be baked in a quick oven. In cold weather it is necessary to warm the shortening before using it for pie crust but it must not be melted or the crust will not be flaky. 238. _Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry._ Weigh out a pound and a quarter of sifted flour and a pound of butter. Rub about one-third of the butter with two-thirds of the flour a tea-spoonful of salt. When the butter is thoroughly mixed with the flour add one beaten egg and cold water to moisten it sufficiently to roll out. Sprinkle part of the reserved flour on a board cut the butter into small pieces and roll them out as thin as possible. In order to do so it will be necessary to rub a great deal of the flour on the moulding-board and rolling-pin. Lay the butter as fast as rolled out on to a floured plate each piece by itself--roll out the pastry as thin as it can be rolled cover it with the rolled butter sprinkle on part of the reserved flour and roll the crust up. Continue to roll out the crust and put on the reserved butter and flour till the whole is used. Roll it out lightly about half an inch thick for the upper crust or rim to your pies--plain pie crust should be used for the under crust to the pies. Puff pastry to be nice should be baked in a quick oven till of a light brown color. If it browns before the fruit in the pie is sufficiently baked cover it with thick paper. 239. _Apple Pie._ When apples are very small and green they are nice stewed whole with the skins on and strained when soft and sweetened. Pare quarter and take out the cores of the apples when of a large size. If they are not ripe stew them with just water enough to prevent their burning. When soft sweeten and season them to the taste. When apples are ripe they make better pies not to be stewed before baking. Fill your pie plates cover them with a thick crust and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour. When baked sufficiently cut the upper crust through the centre remove it carefully with a broad knife put a piece of butter of the size of a walnut into a pie sweeten it to your taste and if the apples are not tart enough squeeze in the juice of part of a lemon--flavor the pie with either nutmeg rosewater or grated lemon peel. Apples cut into quarters without paring and stewed soft in new cider and molasses make good plain pies. The apples should be strained after stewing and seasoned with cinnamon or nutmeg. If made quite sweet it will keep good several months. Dried apples should have boiling water turned on to cover them and stewed till very soft. If they are not tart enough turn in sour cider when they are partly stewed. A little orange peel stewed with the apples gives them a fine flavor. Season them when soft with sugar and nutmeg and strain them if you like. 240. _Mince Pie._ The best kind of meat for mince pies is neat's tongue and feet--the shank of beef makes very good pies. Boil the meat till perfectly tender--then take it up clear it from the bones and gristle chop it fine enough to strain through a sieve mix it with an equal weight of tart apples chopped very fine. If the meat is not fat put in a little suet or melted butter. Moisten the whole with cider--sweeten it to the taste with sugar and very little molasses--add mace cinnamon cloves and salt to the taste. If you wish to make your pies rich put in wine or brandy to the taste and raisins citron and Zante currants. The grated rind and juice of lemons improve the pie. Make the pies on shallow plates with apertures in the upper crust and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour according to the heat of the oven. Meat prepared for pies in the following manner will keep good several months if kept in a cool dry place: To a pound of finely chopped meat a quarter of a pound of suet put half an ounce of mace one ounce of cinnamon a quarter of an ounce of cloves two tea-spoonsful of salt. Add if you like the following fruits: half a pound of seeded raisins half a pound of Zante currants a quarter of a pound of citron. Put in half a pint of French brandy or wine three table-spoonsful of molasses and sugar sufficient to make it quite sweet. Put the whole in a stone pot--cover it with a paper wet in brandy. When you wish to use any of it for pies put to what meat you use an equal weight of apples pared and chopped fine. If not seasoned high enough add more spice and sugar. If the apples are not tart put in lemon-juice or sour cider. 241. _Rice Pie._ To a quart of boiling water put a small tea-cup of rice. Boil it till very soft then take it from the fire and add a quart of cold milk. Put in a tea-spoonful of salt a grated nutmeg five eggs beaten to a froth--add sugar to the taste and strain it through a sieve. Bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust and rim of pastry--add if you like a few raisins. 242. _Peach Pie._ Take mellow juicy peaches--wash and put them in a deep pie plate lined with pie crust. Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on each layer of peaches put in about a table-spoonful of water and sprinkle a little flour over the top--cover it with a thick crust and bake the pie from fifty to sixty minutes. Pies made in this manner are much better than with the stones taken out as the prussic acid of the stone gives the pie a fine flavor. If the peaches are not mellow they will require stewing before being made into a pie. Dried peaches should be stewed soft and sweetened before they are made into a pie--they do not require any spice. 243. _Tart Pie._ Sour apples cranberries and peaches all make nice tarts. Stew and strain them when soft. Peach tarts require a little lemon-juice without they are sour. Grate in lemon peel add brown sugar to the taste. Put in each pie one beaten egg to make it cut smooth. Bake the pies on shallow plates with an under crust and rim of pastry--ornament the pie with very small strips of pastry. When the crust is done remove the pies from the oven. 244. _Rhubarb Pies._ Take the tender stalks of the rhubarb strip off the skin and cut the stalks into thin slices. Line deep plates with pie crust then put in the rhubarb with a thick layer of sugar to each layer of rhubarb--a little grated lemon peel improves the pie. Cover the pies with a thick crust--press it down tight round the edge of the plate and prick the crust with a fork so that the crust will not burst while baking and let out the juices of the pie. Rhubarb pies should be baked about an hour in a slow oven--it will not do to bake them quick. Some cooks stew the rhubarb before making it into pies but it is not so good as when used without stewing. 245. _Tomato Pie._ Take green tomatoes turn boiling water on them and let them remain in it a few minutes--then strip off the skin cut the tomatoes in slices and put them in deep pie plates. Sprinkle sugar over each layer and a little ginger. Grated lemon peel and the juice of a lemon improve the pie. Cover the pies with a thick crust and bake them slowly for about an hour. 246. _Lemon Pie._ For one pie take a couple of good sized fresh lemons squeeze out the juice and mix it with half a pint of molasses or sufficient sugar to make the juice sweet. Chop the peel fine line a deep pie plate with your pastry then sprinkle on a layer of your chopped lemon peel turn in part of the mixed sugar or molasses and juice then cover the whole with pie crust rolled very thin--put in another layer of peel sweetened juice and crust and so on till all the lemon is used. Cover the whole with a thick crust and bake the pie about half an hour. 247. _Cherry and Blackberry Pie._ Cherries and blackberries for pies should be ripe. Bake them in deep pie plates sweeten them with sugar and put in cloves or cinnamon to the taste. Bake them about half an hour. 248. _Grape Pie._ Grapes make the best pies when very tender and green. If not very small they should be stewed and strained to get out the seeds before they are made into pies--sweeten them to the taste when stewed. They do not require any spice. If made into a pie without stewing put to each layer of grapes a thick layer of sugar and a table-spoonful of water. 249. _Currant and Gooseberry Pie._ Currants and gooseberries are the best for pies when of a full growth just before they begin to turn red--they are tolerably good when ripe. Currants mixed with ripe raspberries or mulberries make very nice pies. Green currants and gooseberries for pies are not apt to be sweet enough without the sugar is scalded in before they are baked as the juice of the currants is apt to run out while they are baking and leave the fruit dry. Stew them on a moderate fire with a tea-cup of water to a couple of quarts of currants--as soon as they begin to break add the sugar and let it scald in a few minutes. When baked without stewing put to each layer of fruit a thick layer of sugar. There should be as much as a quarter of a pound of sugar to a pint of currants to make them sufficiently sweet. Green currant pies are good sweetened with molasses and sugar mixed. 250. _Prune Pie._ Prunes that are too dry to eat without stewing can be made into good pies. Turn enough boiling water on the prunes to cover them set them on a few coals and let them remain till swelled out plump. If there is not water sufficient to make a nice syrup for the pies add more and season them with cinnamon or cloves. The juice and grated peel of a lemon gives them a fine flavor. Add sugar to the taste and bake them in deep pie plates. 251. _Pumpkin Pie._ Halve the pumpkin take out the seeds--rinse the pumpkin and cut it into small strips--stew them over a moderate fire in just sufficient water to prevent their burning to the bottom of the pot. When stewed soft turn off the water and let the pumpkin steam over a slow fire for fifteen or twenty minutes taking care that it does not burn. Take it from the fire and strain it when cool through a sieve. If you wish to have the pies very rich put to a quart of the stewed pumpkin two quarts of milk and twelve eggs. If you like them plain put to a quart of the pumpkin one quart of milk and three eggs. The thicker the pie is of the pumpkin the less will be the number of eggs required for them. One egg with a table-spoonful of flour will answer for a quart of the pumpkin if very little milk is used. Sweeten the pumpkin with sugar and very little molasses--the sugar and eggs should be beaten together. Ginger the grated rind of a lemon or nutmeg is good spice for the pies. Pumpkin pies require a very hot oven. The rim of the pies is apt to get burnt before the inside is baked sufficiently. On this account it is a good plan to heat the pumpkin scalding hot when prepared for pies before turning it into the pie plates. The pies should be baked as soon as the plates are filled or the under crust to the pies will be clammy. The more the number of eggs in the pies the less time will be required to bake them. If you have pumpkins that have begun to decay or those that are frozen they can be kept several months in cold weather by cutting the good part up stewing it till soft then stirring it and adding sugar and molasses to make it very sweet. Make it strong of ginger then scald the seasoning in well. Keep it in a stone jar in a cool place--whenever you wish to use any of it for pies take out the quantity you wish and put milk and eggs to it. 252. _Carrot Pie._ Scrape the skin off from the carrots boil them soft and strain them through a sieve. To a pint of the strained pulp put three pints of milk six beaten eggs two table-spoonsful of melted butter the juice of half a lemon and the grated rind of a whole one. Sweeten it to your taste and bake it in deep pie plates without an upper crust. 253. _Potato Pie._ Boil Carolina or mealy Irish potatoes till very soft--when peeled mash and strain them. To a quarter of a pound of potatoes put a quart of milk three table-spoonsful of melted butter four beaten eggs a wine glass of wine--add sugar and nutmeg to the taste. 254. _Sweet Marlborough Pie._ Procure sweet mellow apples pare and grate them. To a pint of the grated pulp put a pint of milk a couple of eggs two table-spoonsful of melted butter the grated peel of a lemon and half a wine glass of brandy. Sweeten it to the taste with nice brown sugar. The eggs should be beaten to a froth then the sugar stirred into them and mixed with the rest of the ingredients. A little stewed pumpkin mixed with the apples improves the pie. Bake the pie in deep plates without an upper crust. 255. _Marlborough Tarts._ Take tart juicy apples--quarter them and stew them till soft enough to rub through a sieve. To twelve table-spoonsful of the strained apple put twelve of sugar the same quantity of wine six table-spoonsful of melted butter four beaten eggs the juice and grated rind of a lemon half a nutmeg and half a pint of milk. Turn this when the ingredients are well mixed together into deep pie plates that are lined with pastry and a rim of puff paste round the edge. Bake the tarts about half an hour. 256. _Cocoanut Pie._ Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut--grate the white part and mix it with milk and set it on the fire and let it boil slowly eight or ten minutes. To a pound of the grated cocoanut allow a quart of milk eight eggs four table-spoonsful of sifted white sugar a glass of wine a small cracker pounded fine two table-spoonsful of melted butter and half a nutmeg. The eggs and sugar should be beaten together to a froth then the wine stirred in. Put them into the milk and cocoanut which should be first allowed to get quite cool--add the cracker and nutmeg--turn the whole into deep pie plates with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake them as soon as turned into the plates. 257. _Small Puffs._ To make a dozen puffs take a pound and a quarter of flour a pound of butter and one egg. Put them together according to the directions for puff pastry No. 238. Divide it when made into three equal portions--roll one of them out half an inch thick cut it into cakes with a tumbler--roll out the rest of the pastry cut it into strips with a jagging iron and lay the strips round those that are cut with a tumbler so as to form a rim. Lay the puffs on buttered flat tins--bake them in a quick oven till a light brown then fill them with any small preserved fruit you may happen to have. 258. _A Plain Custard Pie._ Boil a quart of milk with half a dozen peach leaves or the rind of a lemon. When they have flavored the milk strain it and set it where it will boil. Mix a table-spoonful of flour smoothly with a couple of table-spoonsful of milk and stir it into the boiling milk. Let it boil a minute stirring it constantly--take it from the fire and when cool put in three beaten eggs--sweeten it to the taste turn it into deep pie plates and bake the pies directly in a quick oven. 259. _A Rich Baked Custard._ Beat seven eggs with three table-spoonsful of rolled sugar. When beaten to a froth mix them with a quart of milk--flavor it with nutmeg. Turn it into cups or else into deep pie plates that have a lining and rim of pastry--bake them directly in a quick oven. To ascertain when the custards are sufficiently baked stick a clean broom splinter into them--if none of the custard adheres to the splinter it is sufficiently baked. 260. _Boiled Custards._ Put your milk on the fire and let it boil up--then remove it from the fire and let it cool. Beat for each quart of the milk if liked rich the yelks and half the whites of six eggs with three table-spoonsful of rolled sugar--stir them into the milk when it is cool. If you wish to have your custards very plain four eggs to a quart of the milk is sufficient. Season the custard with nutmeg or rosewater and set it on a few coals and stir it constantly until it thickens and becomes scalding hot. Take it from the fire before it gets to boiling and stir it a few minutes then turn it into the cups. Beat the reserved whites of the eggs to a froth and turn them on the top of the custards just before they are to be eaten. 261. _Mottled Custards._ Stir into a quart of milk while boiling the beaten yelks of six eggs. Beat the whites of the eggs with three table-spoonsful of powdered white sugar if the custards are liked very sweet--if not a less quantity will answer. Stir in the whites of the eggs a minute after the yelks have set so as to be thick. Season the custard with essence of lemon or rosewater--stir it till it becomes thick and lumpy then turn it into cups. 262. _Cream Custards._ Sweeten a pint of cream with powdered white sugar--set it on a few coals. When hot stir in white wine until it curdles--add rosewater or essence of lemon to the taste and turn it into cups. Another way of making them which is very nice is to mix a pint of cream with one of milk five beaten eggs a table-spoonful of flour and three of sugar. Add nutmeg to the taste and bake the custards in cups or pie plates in a quick oven. 263. _Almond Custards._ Blanch and pound fine with a table-spoonful of rosewater four ounces of almonds. Boil them four or five minutes in a quart of milk with sufficient white sugar to sweeten the milk. Take it from the fire and when lukewarm stir in the beaten yelks of eight and the whites of four eggs. Set the whole on the fire and stir it constantly until it thickens--then take it up stir it till partly cooled and turn it into cups. If you wish to have the custards cool quick set the cups into a pan of cold water--as fast as it gets warm change it. Just before the custards are to be eaten beat the reserved whites of the eggs to a froth and cover the top of the custards with them. 264. _Apple Custards._ Take half a dozen tart mellow apples--pare and quarter them and take out the cores. Put them in a pan with half a tea-cup of water--set them on a few coals. When they begin to grow soft turn them into a pudding dish sprinkle sugar on them. Beat eight eggs with rolled brown sugar--mix them with three pints of milk grate in half a nutmeg and turn the whole over the apples. Bake the custard between twenty and thirty minutes. 265. _Directions for making Puddings._ A bag that is used for boiling puddings should be made of thick cotton cloth. Before the pudding is turned in the bag should be dipped into water wrung out and the inside of it floured. When the pudding is turned in tie the bag tight leaving plenty of room for the pudding to swell out in. Indian and flour puddings require a great deal of room. Put them in a pot of boiling water with an old plate at the bottom of the pot to keep the pudding bag from sticking to it. When the pudding has been in a few minutes turn the bag over or the pudding will settle and be heavy. There should be water enough in the pot to cover the pudding and it should not be allowed to stop boiling a minute--if so the pudding will not be nice. A tea-kettle of boiling water should be kept on the fire to turn in as the water boils away. When the pudding is done dip the bag into cold water for a minute--the pudding will then come out easily. When puddings are baked the fruit should not be put in till the pudding has begun to thicken otherwise they will sink to the bottom of the pudding. 266. _Hasty Pudding._ Wet sifted Indian meal with cold water to make a thick batter. Stir it into a pot of boiling water gradually. Boil it an hour then stir in sifted Indian meal by the handful till it becomes quite thick and so that the pudding stick may be made to stand up in it. It should be stirred in very gradually so that the pudding may not be lumpy. Add salt to the taste. Let it boil slowly and stir it frequently to keep it from burning on the inside of the pot. If you do not wish to fry the pudding it will boil sufficiently in the course of an hour and a half. If it is to be fried it will be necessary to boil it an hour longer; and a little flour stirred in just before it is taken up will make it fry better. It must get perfectly cold before it is fried. When you wish to fry it cut it in slices half an inch thick flour them and fry them brown in a little lard. 267. _Corn Puddings._ Grate sweet green corn--to three tea-cups of it when grated put two quarts of milk eight eggs a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt half a tea-cup of melted butter and a grated nutmeg. Bake the pudding an hour--serve it up with sauce. 268. _Cracker Pudding._ Mix ten ounces of finely pounded crackers with a wine glass of wine a little salt and half a nutmeg three or four table-spoonsful of sugar two of melted butter. Beat eight eggs to a froth--mix them with three pints of milk and turn them on to the rest of the ingredients. Let it remain till the crackers begin to soften then bake it. 269. _Boiled Indian Pudding._ Stir enough sifted Indian meal into a quart of boiling milk or water to make a very stiff batter--then stir in a couple of table-spoonsful of flour three of sugar or molasses half a spoonful of ginger or a couple of tea-spoonsful of cinnamon and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Two or three eggs improve the pudding but are not essential--some people like a little chopped suet in them. The pudding will boil so as to be very good in the course of three hours but it is better for being boiled five or six hours. Some cooks boil them eight or nine hours--when boiled so long it is necessary to boil them several hours the day before they are to be eaten. 270. _Baked Indian Pudding._ Boil a quart of milk and turn it on to a pint of sifted Indian meal. Stir it in well so as to scald the meal--then mix three table-spoonsful of wheat flour with a pint of milk. The milk should be stirred gradually into the flour so as to have it mix free from lumps. Turn it on to the Indian meal--mix the whole well together. When the whole is just lukewarm beat three eggs with three table-spoonsful of sugar--stir them into the pudding together with two tea-spoonsful of salt two of cinnamon or a grated nutmeg and a couple of table-spoonsful of melted butter or suet chopped fine. Add if you wish to have the pudding very rich half a pound of raisins--they should not be put in till the pudding has baked five or six minutes. If raisins are put in an additional half pint of milk will be required as they absorb a great deal of milk. A very good Indian pudding may be made without eggs if half a pint more of meal is used and no flour. It takes three hours to bake an Indian pudding without eggs--if it has eggs in it will bake in much less time. 271. _Minute Pudding._ Put a pint and a half of milk on the fire. Mix five large table-spoonsful of either wheat or rye flour smoothly with half a pint of milk a tea-spoonful of salt and half of a grated nutmeg. When the milk boils stir in the mixed flour and milk. Let the whole boil for one minute stirring it constantly--take it from the fire let it get lukewarm then add three beaten eggs. Set it back on the fire and stir it constantly until it thickens. Take it from the fire as soon as it boils. 272. _Boiled Bread Pudding._ Take about three-quarters of a pound of bread cut it into small pieces and soak them soft in cold water--then drain off the water mash the bread fine and mix with it two table-spoonsful of flour three eggs a tea-spoonful of salt a table-spoonful of melted butter and cold milk sufficient to make it a thick batter. Mix the whole well together then turn it into a floured pudding bag--tie it up so as to leave room for the pudding to swell--boil it an hour and a half without any intermission. Serve up the pudding with rich sauce. 273. _A Plain Baked Bread Pudding._ Pound rusked bread fine--to five heaping table-spoonsful of it put a quart of milk three beaten eggs three table-spoonsful of rolled sugar a tea-spoonful of salt half a nutmeg and three table-spoonsful of melted butter. Bake it about an hour--it does not need any sauce. 274. _Rich Bread Pudding._ Cut a pound loaf of bakers' bread into thin slices--spread butter on them as for eating--lay them in a pudding dish--sprinkle between each layer of bread seeded raisins and citron cut in small strips. Beat eight eggs with four table-spoonsful of rolled sugar--mix them with three pints of milk half of a grated nutmeg. Turn the whole on to the bread and let it remain until the bread has absorbed full half of the milk--then bake it about three-quarters of an hour. 275. _Flour Pudding._ Into a pint and a half of sifted flour stir gradually so that it may not be lumpy a quart of milk. Beat seven eggs and put in together with a couple of table-spoonsful of melted butter and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Grate in half of a nutmeg--add if you want the pudding very rich half a pound of raisins. They should not be put into a baked pudding till it has been cooking long enough to thicken so that the raisins will not sink to the bottom of it. A pudding made in this manner is good either baked or boiled. It takes two hours to boil and an hour and a quarter to bake it. When boiled the bag should not be more than two-thirds full as flour puddings swell very much. It should be put into boiling water and kept boiling constantly. If the water boils away so as to leave any part of the bag uncovered more boiling water should be added. When the pudding has boiled eight or nine minutes the bag should be turned over otherwise the pudding will be heavy. Flour puddings should be eaten as soon as cooked as they fall directly. Serve them up with rich sauce. 276. _Boiled Rice Pudding._ Put two tea-cups of rice into a quart of boiling water--add a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt and let the rice boil till soft. Then take it from the fire stir in a quart of cold milk and half a pound of raisins; or omit the raisins and substitute any other fruit that you may like. Beat a couple of eggs and put in together with half of a grated nutmeg. Set the whole on the fire and let it boil till the fruit is soft. Serve it up with butter and sugar. 277. _A Baked Rice Pudding without eggs._ Pick over and wash two small tea-cups of rice and put it into two quarts of milk. Melt a small tea-cup of butter and put in together with two of sugar a grated nutmeg and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt and bake the pudding about two hours. This pudding does not need any sauce and is good either hot or cold. If you wish to have the pudding very rich add when it has been baking five or six minutes half a pound of raisins. 278. _Rice Pudding with eggs._ Boil a quarter of a pound of unground rice in a quart of milk till soft then stir in a quarter of a pound of butter--take it from the fire put in a pint of cold milk a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt and a grated nutmeg. When it is lukewarm beat four eggs with a quarter of a pound of sugar and stir it into the pudding--add half a pound of raisins and turn the whole into a buttered pudding dish and bake it three-quarters of an hour. 279. _Ground Rice Pudding._ Mix a pint and a half of ground rice smooth with a quart of milk--stir in a glass of wine a quarter of a pound of melted butter a tea-spoonful of salt and spice to the taste. Beat eight eggs and stir them in--turn the whole into a buttered pudding dish and when it has baked a few minutes add half a pound of raisins or Zante currants. 280. _Rice Snow Balls._ Pare small tart apples and take out the cores with a small knife--fill the cavity with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Put each one in a small floured bag and fill the bags about half full of unground rice. Tie up the bags so as to leave a great deal of room for the rice to swell. Put them in a pot of water with a table-spoonful of salt to a couple of quarts of water. The bags of rice should be boiled in a large proportion of water as the rice absorbs it very much. Boil them about an hour and twenty minutes then turn them out of the bags carefully into a dessert dish and garnish them with marmalade cut in slices. Serve them up with butter and sugar. 281. _Cream Pudding._ Beat six eggs to a froth--then mix with them three table-spoonsful of powdered white sugar the grated rind of a lemon. Mix a pint of milk with a pint of flour two tea-spoonsful of salt--then add the eggs and sugar. Just before it is baked stir in a pint of thick cream. Bake it either in buttered cups or a pudding dish. 282. _Custard Pudding._ Stir a quart of milk very gradually into half a pint of flour--mix it free from lumps and put to it seven eggs beaten with three table-spoonsful of sugar a tea-spoonful of salt and half of a grated nutmeg. Bake it three-quarters of an hour. 283. _Rennet Pudding._ Put cleaned calf's rennet into white wine in the proportion of a piece three inches square to a pint of wine. It will be fit for use in the course of seven or eight hours. Whenever you wish to make a pudding put three table-spoonsful of the wine to a quart of sweet milk and four table-spoonsful of powdered white sugar--flavor it with rosewater or essence of lemon. Stir it twenty minutes then dish it out and grate nutmeg over it. It should be eaten in the course of an hour after it is made as it soon curdles. 284. _Fruit Pudding._ Make good common pie crust--roll it out half an inch thick and strew over it any one of the following kinds of fruit: Cherries currants gooseberries strawberries raspberries blackberries or cranberries. A thick layer of marmalade spread on is also very nice. Sprinkle over the fruit a little cinnamon or cloves and sugar. If the pudding is made of gooseberries currants or cranberries a great deal of sugar will be necessary. Roll the crust up carefully join the ends so that the fruit will not drop out and lay the pudding in a thick white towel that has been previously dipped into water and floured. Baste up the towel and lay it carefully in a pot of boiling water with a plate at the bottom of it. Boil it an hour and serve it up with rich liquid sauce. For a baked fruit pudding make a batter of wheat flour or Indian meal with milk and eggs. Mix the ingredients in the proportion of a pint of flour and six eggs to a quart of milk. Put to each quart of milk a pint of fruit and sugar to the taste. 285. _A Quaking Pudding._ Slice up three-quarters of a pound of bakers' bread. Beat eight eggs to a froth stir in several large spoonsful of sugar and mix it with a quart of milk a grated nutmeg. Turn it on to the sliced bread--let the whole remain till the bread has soaked up most of the milk then stir in a couple of table-spoonsful of flour a tea-spoonful of salt and turn it into a pudding bag and boil it an hour. Serve it up with rich sauce. 286. _Lemon Pudding._ Grate the rind of two fresh lemons being careful not to grate any off the white part. Squeeze the juice out of the lemons and strain it to separate it from the seeds. Mix it with six large spoonsful of fine white sugar. Take a quart of milk and mix it with the rind of the lemons a couple of table-spoonsful of pounded crackers and a table-spoonful of melted butter. Beat six eggs to a froth and stir them into the milk. Stir in the lemon-juice and sugar last and then turn the whole into a pudding dish that has a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake it from twenty-five to thirty minutes. It should not be eaten till it is cold. 287. _Almond Pudding._ Turn boiling water on three-quarters of a pound of sweet almonds. Let them remain in it till the skins will slip off easily--rub the skins off with a dry cloth. When they are perfectly dry pound them fine with a table-spoonful of rosewater. Beat six eggs to a froth then mix them with four table-spoonsful of powdered sugar--put them into a quart of milk with three table-spoonsful of pounded crackers a quarter of a pound of melted butter four ounces of citron and the pounded almonds. Line a pudding dish with pastry put round it a rim of puff paste turn in the pudding and bake it about half an hour. The pudding should be eaten cold. 288. _Tapioca Pudding._ To a quart of warm milk put eight table-spoonsful of tapioca. Let it soak till it softens then stir it up and put to it a couple of table-spoonsful of melted butter four beaten eggs and cinnamon or mace to the taste. Mix four table-spoonsful of white powdered sugar with a wine glass of wine and stir it into the rest of the ingredients. Turn the whole into a pudding dish that has a lining of pastry and bake it immediately. 289. _Sago Pudding._ Rinse half a pound of sago in hot water till it is thoroughly cleansed--then drain off the water and boil the sago in a quart of milk with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Stir it constantly or it will burn. When soft take it from the fire take out the stick of cinnamon and put in a quarter of a pound of butter. Mix a wine glass of wine with four large spoonsful of fine white sugar and stir it into the sago--add when cold five beaten eggs and bake the pudding in a deep dish with a lining and rim of pastry. Strew over the pudding a quarter of a pound of Zante currants and bake it directly in a quick oven. It is the best when cold. 290. _Orange Pudding._ Stir to a cream six ounces of white powdered sugar with four of butter--then add a wine glass of wine the juice and chopped peel of a couple of large fresh oranges. Beat eight eggs to a froth the whites and yelks separately--mix them with a quart of milk a couple of ounces citron cut in small strips and a couple of ounces of pounded crackers. Mix all the ingredients well together--line a pudding dish with pastry put a rim of puff paste round the edge of the dish and then turn in the pudding and bake it in a quick oven about half an hour. 291. _Bird's Nest or Transparent Pudding._ Pare and halve tart mellow apples scoop out the cores. Put a little flour and water in the hollow of each apple so as to form a thick paste--then stick three or four Zante currants in each one. Butter and line a pudding dish with pastry put on a rim of puff paste and lay in the apples with the hollow side up. Have just enough apples to cover the bottom of the dish and stick citron cut in very long narrow strips round the apples. Stir to a cream half a pound each of butter and fine white sugar--beat the yelks and whites separately of eight eggs to a froth and mix them with the butter and sugar. Flavor it with nutmeg and set it on a few coals--stir it constantly till quite hot--take it from the fire stir it till nearly cold then turn it over the apples and bake it directly. 292. _English Plum Pudding._ Soak three-quarters of a pound of crackers in two quarts of milk--they should be broken in small pieces. When they have soaked soft put in a quarter of a pound of melted butter the same weight of rolled sugar half a pint of wheat flour a wine glass of wine and a grated nutmeg. Beat ten eggs to a froth and stir them into the milk. Add half a pound of seeded raisins the same weight of Zante currants and a quarter of a pound of citron cut in small strips. Bake or boil it a couple of hours. 293. _Plain Fritters._ Stir a quart of milk gradually into a quart of flour--put in a tea-spoonful of salt and seven beaten eggs. Drop them by the large spoonful into hot lard and fry them till a very light brown color. They are the lightest fried in a great deal of fat but less greasy if fried in just fat enough to keep them from sticking to the frying pan. Serve them up with liquid pudding sauce. 294. _Apple Fritters._ Take four or five tart mellow apples pare and cut them in slices and soak them in sweetened lemon-juice. Make a batter of a quart of milk a quart of flour eight eggs--grate in the rind of two lemons and the juice and apples. Drop the batter by the spoonful into hot lard taking care to have a slice of apple in each fritter. 295. _Cream Fritters._ Mix a pint and a half of wheat flour with a pint of milk--beat six eggs to a froth and stir them into the flour--grate in half a nutmeg then add a pint of cream a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Stir the whole just long enough to have the cream get well mixed in then fry the mixture in small cakes. 296. _Oxford Dumplings._ Take eight ounces of biscuit that is pounded fine and soak it in just sufficient milk to cover it. When soft stir in three beaten eggs a table-spoonful of flour and a quarter of a pound of Zante currants. Grate in half a nutmeg and do up the mixture into balls of the size of an egg--fry them till a light brown. 297. _Apple Dumplings._ Pare tart mellow apples--take out the cores with a small knife and fill the holes with sugar. Make good pie crust--roll it out about two-thirds of an inch thick cut it into pieces just large enough to enclose one apple. Lay the apples on them and close the crust tight over them--tie them up in small pieces of thick cloth that has been well floured--put the dumplings in a pot of boiling water and boil them an hour without any intermission--if allowed to stop boiling they will be heavy. Serve them up with pudding sauce or butter and sugar. 298. _Lemon Syrup._ Pare thin the rind of fresh lemons squeeze out the juice and to a pint of it when strained put a pound and three-quarters of sugar and the rind of the lemons. Dissolve the sugar by a gentle heat skim it clear then let it simmer gently eight or ten minutes--strain it through a flannel bag. When cool bottle cork and seal it tight and keep it in a cool place. 299. _Orange Syrup._ Squeeze out the juice of fresh oranges and strain it. To a pint of the juice put a pound and a half of sugar--set it on a moderate fire--when the sugar has dissolved put in the peel of the oranges and set the syrup where it will boil slowly for six or eight minutes--then strain it till clear through a flannel bag. The bag should not be squeezed while the syrup is passing through it or it will not be clear. Bottle cork and seal it tight. This syrup is very nice to flavor puddings and pies. 300. _Blackberry Syrup._ Procure nice high vine blackberries that are perfectly ripe--the low vine blackberries will not answer for syrup as they do not possess the medicinal properties of the high vine blackberries. Set them on a moderate fire and let them simmer till they break to pieces then strain them through a flannel cloth--to each pint of juice put a pound of white sugar half an ounce of cinnamon powdered fine a quarter of an ounce of finely powdered mace and a couple of tea-spoonsful of powdered cloves. Boil the whole together fifteen minutes--strain it and when cool add to each pint of syrup a wine glass of French brandy. Bottle cork and seal it--keep it in a cool place. This mixed with cold water in the proportion of a wine glass of syrup to two-thirds of a tumbler of water is an excellent remedy for the dysentery and similar complaints. It is also a very pleasant summer beverage. 301. _Elderberry Syrup._ Wash and strain the berries which should be perfectly ripe. To a pint of juice put a pint of molasses. Boil it twenty minutes stirring it constantly then take it from the fire--when cold add to each quart four table-spoonsful of French brandy--bottle and cork it tight. This is an excellent remedy for a tight cough. 302. _Molasses Syrup for preserving._ Mix eight pounds of light sugar-house or New-Orleans molasses eight pounds of water one pound of powdered charcoal. Boil the whole together twenty minutes then strain it through a flannel bag. When lukewarm put in the beaten whites of a couple of eggs and put it on the fire. As soon as it boils take it from the fire and skim it till clear--then put it on the fire and let it boil till it becomes a thick syrup--strain it for use. This syrup does very well to preserve fruit in for common use. 303. _To clarify Syrup for Sweetmeats._ Put your sugar into the preserving kettle turn in the quantity of cold water that you think will be sufficient to cover the fruit that is to be preserved in it. Beat the whites of eggs to a froth allowing one white of an egg to three pounds of sugar--mix the whites of the eggs with the sugar and water set it on a slow fire and let the sugar dissolve then stir the whole up well together and set it where it will boil. As soon as it boils up well take it from the fire let it remain for a minute then take off the scum--set it back on the fire and let it boil a minute then take it off and skim it again. This operation repeat till the syrup is clear--put in the fruit when the syrup is cold. The fruit should not be crowded while preserving and if there is not syrup enough to cover the fruit take it out of the syrup and put in more water and boil it with the syrup before putting back the fruit. 304. _Directions for making Sweetmeats._ A pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is sufficient to preserve most kinds of fruit. Some kinds of fruit require more and some will do with less than an equal weight of sugar. White sugar makes the most delicate sweetmeats--nice brown sugar answers very well for most kinds of fruit. The West India sugar-house syrup is better than sugar to preserve fruit on account of its never fermenting. When brown sugar is used clarify it as in direction for clarifying syrup No. 303 then put in the fruit. Nice white sugar does not need clarifying. All kinds of fire-proof ware will do to preserve in excepting iron ware. The fruit should not be crowded while preserving and should boil gently. The fruit should be turned out of the preserving kettles as soon as done and set away in a cool place otherwise they will not be nice. Keep the sweetmeats in stone or china jars that have never been used for other purposes. Glass jars are the best for delicate sweetmeats such as strawberries or cherries. Preserves should be covered tight and kept in a cool place. A paper wet in brandy and laid over the sweetmeats has a tendency to keep them from fermenting. They should be looked to frequently to see that they do not ferment. Whenever they do the syrup should be turned from them scalded and turned back on them while hot. 305. _To Preserve Quinces._ Quinces if very ripe are best preserved in the following manner: Pare and cut them in slices an inch thick--take out the cores carefully so as to have the slices in the form of a ring. Allow a pound of nice white sugar for each pound of the fruit--dissolve it in cold water having a quart of the latter to a pound of sugar then put in the sliced quinces and let them soak in it ten or twelve hours. Put them in a preserving kettle and put it on a moderate fire--cover them over and let the quinces boil gently--there should be more than enough syrup to cover the quinces. When a broom splinter will go through them easily take them from the fire and turn them out. In the course of a week turn the syrup from them and boil it down so that there will be just enough to cover the fruit. Quinces preserved in this manner retain their natural flavor better than when preserved in any other manner but they must be very ripe to preserve in this way otherwise they will not be tender. When not very ripe pare and cut them either in rings or quarters take out the cores and boil the quinces in fair water till they begin to grow tender--take them up and strain the water in which they are boiled--put in either brown or white sugar--add a little cold water. When lukewarm put in the whites of eggs and clarify it--let it cool then put in the quinces and boil them slowly for half an hour. Keep them covered over while boiling if you wish to have them of a light color. Turn them out into pots as soon as preserved and set them away in a cool place. Look at them in the course of a week to see if they have fermented--if so turn the syrup from them boil it and turn it back while hot. The parings and cores of the quinces can be used for marmalade with a few whole ones. Some people preserve the quinces with the cores in but the syrup will not look clear. The following is a cheap method of preserving quinces and answers very well for common use: Pare halve and take out the cores of the quinces and boil the parings in new cider till soft. Strain the cider and for five pounds of quinces put in a pound of brown sugar a quart of molasses the beaten white of an egg--clarify it then put in the quinces. There should be rather more than enough cider to cover the quinces as it wastes a good deal while the quinces are boiling. The peel of an orange cut in small pieces and boiled with them gives the quinces a fine flavor. 306. _Quince Marmalade._ Wash and quarter the quinces without paring them--put them on the fire with just water enough to stew them in. When soft rub them through a sieve and put to each pound of the strained quinces a pound of brown sugar. Set it on a few coals and let it stew slowly stirring it constantly. When it has stewed an hour take a little of it out let it get cold--if it then cuts smooth it is sufficiently stewed. 307. _Pears._ Make a syrup allowing three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of the pears. If brown sugar is used for the syrup clarify it then put in the pears and boil them till soft. A few slips of ginger or powdered ginger tied up in bags and boiled with the pears gives them a fine flavor. Choke and vergouleuse are the best pears for preserving. 308. _Pear Marmalade._ Boil the pears with the skins on. When soft rub them through a sieve and put to each pound of pulp three-quarters of a pound of brown sugar. Stew it over a slow fire till it becomes a thick jelly. It should be stirred constantly. 309. _Peaches._ Take juicy peaches--pare them allow for each pound of them a pound of nice white sugar. Put just cold water enough to the sugar to saturate it. When dissolved stir it up well and put in the peaches without crowding them and boil them slowly about twenty minutes. A few peach meats blanched and preserved with the peaches are nice and are quite ornamental to the peaches. These as well as all other kinds of sweetmeats should be turned out of the preserving kettle as soon as taken from the fire and set away in a cool place. If allowed to remain near the fire the syrup will not look clear. Cover them up tight--let them remain three or four days then turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it back while hot on to the peaches. 310. _Peach Jam._ Inferior peaches and those that are not fully ripe are best preserved in the following manner: Pare and halve them and take out the stones--lay the peaches in a deep dish and to each layer of peaches put a layer of brown sugar. Three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of the peaches is sufficient. Let the peaches remain until the next day--then put them on a moderate fire without any water and let them stew slowly about twenty minutes. Peaches preserved in this way are very nice for puffs. 311. _To Preserve Peaches in Brandy._ Procure peaches that are mellow but not dead ripe--draw a pin round the seam of the peaches so as to pierce the skin--cover them with French brandy and let them remain a week--then make a syrup allowing three-quarters of a pound of brown sugar to a pound of the peaches. Clarify the syrup then boil the peaches in it. When tender take them out of the syrup let it remain till cool then mix it with the brandy and turn the whole on to the peaches. 312. _To Preserve Raspberries._ Strain equal quantities of ripe currants and raspberries to make a syrup to preserve the raspberries in. Dissolve white sugar in the syrup by a gentle heat using a pound of sugar to each pound of syrup and raspberries. When the sugar has dissolved set the syrup where it will boil about ten minutes then put in the raspberries and let them boil five minutes. In the course of four or five days turn the syrup from the raspberries--boil it away so that there will be just enough of it to cover the berries--turn it on them while hot. Keep them in wide-mouthed bottles corked and sealed up tight. Preserved raspberries are very nice to flavor ice creams and blanc mange. 313. _Cherries._ Procure cherries that are not quite dead ripe--allow for each pound of cherries a pound of white sugar. Make a rich syrup of the sugar--when it boils put in the cherries with the stems on--let them boil till transparent. Keep them in glass jars or wide-mouthed bottles--cork and seal them tight. If you wish to preserve them without the stones take those that are very ripe take out the stones carefully save the juice. Make a syrup of the juice white sugar and very little water then put in the cherries and boil them to a thick consistency. 314. _Currants._ Take the currants when ripe and in their prime--let them remain on the stalks picking off the bad ones. Make a syrup of sugar and very little water allowing a pound of sugar to each pound of currants. Clarify it then put in the currants and let them boil a few minutes. In the course of a few days turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it back while hot on to the currants. Preserved currants mixed with water is an excellent drink in fevers. Dried currants are also good for the same purpose if made into a tea. 315. _To Preserve Prunes._ Pour boiling water on the prunes and set them where they will keep hot with a lemon cut in small pieces. When swelled out to nearly the original size put to each pound of the prunes half a pound of brown sugar a stick of cinnamon or a tea-spoonful of powdered cloves and if there is not sufficient water remaining to cover the prunes add more and stew them in the syrup a quarter of an hour. Add when taken from the fire a wine glass of wine to every three pounds of the prunes. 316. _Cranberries._ For each peck of cranberries allow two pounds and a half of brown sugar and half a pint of molasses. Make a syrup of the molasses sugar and a little water. When it boils put in the cranberries and let them boil till transparent. To make cranberry marmalade boil the cranberries in just water enough to prevent their burning. Strain them when soft and add to each pound a pound and a half of brown sugar. Stew it over a slow fire stirring it constantly till it becomes very thick jelly. 317. _Crab Apples._ Make a syrup allowing the same weight of sugar as apples. Let it get cool then put in the apples a few at once so that they will not crowd and break to pieces. Boil them till they begin to break then take them out of the preserving kettle carefully. Boil the syrup in the course of three or four days and turn it while hot on to the apples. This continue to do at intervals of two or three days till the apples appear to be thoroughly preserved. If you wish to make a marmalade of the apples boil them in just water enough to keep them from burning--strain them when soft and put to them an equal weight of brown sugar--stew them over a slow fire stirring them constantly. When of a thick consistency take a little of it out and set it where it will get cold. If it then cuts smooth and clear take the whole from the fire and turn it into deep dishes. 318. _Barberries._ Take them when fully ripe let them remain on the stems. Make a rich syrup allowing the same weight of sugar as barberries. When clarified set it where it will get lukewarm then put in the barberries. Boil them till the syrup appears to have entered them. Barberries preserved with molasses and a little orange peel and sugar are very good for common use. Allow for each pound of barberries a quarter of a pound of sugar half a pint of molasses and the rind of half an orange. Make them into a syrup with a little water--boil it a quarter of an hour before putting in the barberries. Preserved barberries mixed with cold water make a very refreshing drink in fevers. 319. _Tomatoes._ Take them when quite small and green--put them in cold clarified syrup with an orange cut in slices to every two pounds of the tomatoes. Simmer them gently on a slow fire two or three hours. There should be equal weights of sugar and tomatoes and more than sufficient water to cover the tomatoes used for the syrup. Another method of preserving them which is very nice is to allow a couple of fresh lemons to three pounds of the tomatoes--pare thin the rind of the lemons so as to get none of the white part squeeze out the juice mix them with cold water sufficient to cover the tomatoes and put in a few peach leaves and powdered ginger tied up in bags. Boil the whole together gently for three-quarters of an hour--then take up the tomatoes strain the liquor and put to it a pound and a half of white sugar for each pound of tomatoes. Put in the tomatoes and boil them gently till the syrup appears to have entered them. In the course of a week turn the syrup from them heat it scalding hot and turn it on to the tomatoes. Tomatoes preserved in this manner appear like West Indian sweetmeats. 320. _To Preserve Apples._ Apples for preserving should be tart and mellow--pare them and take out the cores with a small knife. Allow for each pound three-quarters of a pound of sugar a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger tied in a bag and sufficient water to cover the apples. Make the syrup then take it from the fire and put in the apples when it is just lukewarm. Boil them till transparent take them up--when partly cooled put in a little essence of lemon. Turn the syrup from them in the course of a week boil it and turn it back on the apples while hot. 321. _Cymbelines or Mock Citron._ Cut into small pieces and scrape the rind of cymbelines--put them into strong salt and water--let them remain in it three days then in fair water a day changing the water several times--soak them in alum water an hour--tie up oyster shells in a cloth and boil them with the cymbelines. When the cymbelines are tender take them up and put them back into the alum water. Make the syrup for them allowing a pound and a half of sugar to one of the cymbelines. When clarified let it get cold--then rinse the cymbelines and boil them three-quarters of an hour. When partly cooled put in a little essence of lemon to flavor them. These are good eaten like any other sweetmeats or used instead of citron for cake. 322. _Watermelon Rinds._ Take the rind of a nice ripe watermelon--cut it into small strips and boil them till they begin to grow tender in water with saleratus and peach leaves in it in the proportion of a tea-spoonful of saleratus and a dozen peach leaves to a couple of quarts of water. Take the rinds out of the water and soak them in alum water an hour. Make a syrup allowing the same weight of sugar as rinds. When clarified and cooled rinse the rinds and put them in the syrup together with powdered ginger tied up in a small bag. Boil them till they are quite soft--when partly cooled add a little essence of lemon. Turn the syrup from them in the course of two or three days take out the bags of ginger and boil the syrup till there is just sufficient of it to cover the rinds and turn it on them while hot. 323. _Muskmelons._ Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green and of a quick growth and as late in the season as possible. If preserved while the weather is very hot they are apt to ferment. Scrape off the skin of the rind being careful not to scrape any of the green part. Cut them through the middle and take out the seeds--then cut them in rings an inch in thickness. Soak them in salt and water a day then in fair water three or four hours changing the water several times. Soak them in alum water an hour--rinse and put them in fair water with a handful of peach leaves to four or five pounds of the melon and a table-spoonful of ginger tied up in small pieces of cloth. The peach leaves turn the melon a fine green color. Boil the melons till they begin to grow tender then put them in alum water together with the ginger. Make a syrup of white sugar and put in the melons and ginger (which should be previously rinsed.) Boil them in the syrup as long as you can without their breaking to pieces. In the course of a week turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it on to the melons. Add sufficient essence of lemon to flavor it just before turning it on to the melons. Keep them covered tight in a cool place with a paper wet in brandy on them. 324. _Pine Apples._ Take those that are ripe and perfectly fresh--pare off the rind and cut the apples in slices an inch thick. Powder the same weight of white sugar as you have pine apples--lay the pine apples in a deep dish and sprinkle part of the powdered sugar between each layer of apples. Reserve about half of the sugar. Let the apples remain till the succeeding day--then turn the syrup from them and mix it with the reserved sugar and half a pint of water for three or four pounds of pine apple. Boil the syrup take it from the fire and when cool put in the apples simmer them gently till tender let them remain in a deep dish for several days--they should be covered up tight and kept in a cool place. Whenever there is any appearance of fermentation turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it back hot on to the pine apples. Keep them in glass or china jars covered tight and in a cool place. 325. _Pumpkin Chips._ Take what quantity you choose of a good sweet pumpkin (the butter pumpkin makes the nicest sweetmeats.) Halve the pumpkin take out the seeds and cut it into chips of the size of a dollar. For each pound of the pumpkin to be preserved allow a pound of fine white sugar and a gill of lemon-juice. Put the chips in a deep dish and sprinkle on each layer a layer of the sugar. Turn the lemon-juice over the whole. Let it remain a day--then boil the whole together with half a pint of water to three pounds of the pumpkin a table-spoonful of powdered ginger tied up in bags and the peel of the lemons cut into small pieces. When the pumpkin becomes tender turn the whole into a preserve pot. In the course of a week turn the syrup from the pumpkin boil it to a rich syrup and turn it back hot. 326. _Gages._ Allow equal weights of sugar and gages. Make a syrup of white sugar and just water enough to cover the plums. Boil the plums slowly in the syrup ten minutes--turn them into a dish and let them remain four or five days then boil them again till the syrup appears to have entered the plums. Put them in a china jar and in the course of a week turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it over them hot. 327. _Strawberries._ Procure Chili or field strawberries and hull them. Take equal quantities of berries and powdered white sugar--put a layer of each in a preserving pan having a layer of strawberries at the bottom. Let them remain an hour then put in a gill of cold water to prevent their burning to the bottom of the pan. Set them on a very moderate fire--when the juice runs freely increase the fire until they boil briskly. Let them boil half an hour then turn them into a dish--when lukewarm put them in wide-mouthed bottles or small glass jars cork and seal them tight and keep them in dry sand. 328. _Raspberry and Blackberry Jam._ For each pound of berries allow a pound of sugar. Put a layer of each alternately in a preserving dish. Let them remain half an hour--then boil them slowly stirring them frequently to keep them from burning. When they have boiled half an hour take a little up in a cup and set it in a dish of cold water--if it appears of the consistency of thick jelly take the whole from the fire--if not boil it till it becomes so. 329. _Strawberry Raspberry and Blackberry Jelly._ Jellies of these fruits are all made in the following manner: Take the berries when ripe and in their prime mash them and let them drain through a flannel bag without squeezing it. To each pint of juice put a pound of white sugar and the beaten white of an egg to three pounds of the sugar. Set it on the fire--when it boils up well take it from the fire and skim it clear. Set it back on the fire--if any more scum rises take it from the fire and skim it off. Boil it till it becomes a jelly which is ascertained by taking a little of it up into a tumbler of cold water. If it falls to the bottom in a solid mass it is sufficiently boiled. 330. _Cranberry Grape and Currant Jelly._ They are all made in the same manner. Take the fruit in its prime wash and drain it till nearly dry then put it in an earthen jar or pot and set the pot in a kettle of hot water. Set the kettle where the water will boil taking care that none of it gets into the jar. When the fruit breaks turn it into a flannel bag and let it drain slowly through into a deep dish without squeezing. When the juice has all passed through the bag put to each pint of it a pound and a half of white sugar. Put to each quart of the syrup the beaten white of an egg. Set the syrup where it will boil gently--as fast as any scum rises take the syrup from the fire and skim it clear. When the jelly has boiled fifteen or twenty minutes try a little of it in a tumbler of cold water--if it sinks to the bottom of the tumbler in a solid lump it is sufficiently boiled. Jellies are improved by being put in the sun for several days--care must be taken that the dew does not fall on them. 331. _Quince Jelly._ Halve the quinces and take out the cores. Boil the quinces till very soft in clear water mash them and let them drain through a flannel bag without squeezing them. Put to the quince liquor when drained through the bag white sugar in the proportion of a pound to a pint of the liquor. Add the whites of eggs and clarify it. When clear boil it on a moderate fire till it becomes a thick jelly. Fill glasses with the jelly and cover them tight. The quince pulp that remains in the jelly-bag can be made into marmalade. 332. _Apple Jelly._ Halve tart apples and take out the cores. Boil them till very soft in a large proportion of water--then let it pass through a jelly-bag without squeezing them. Weigh the liquor and to each pint of it put a pound of white sugar--then boil it slowly till it becomes a thick jelly which is ascertained in the same manner as currant jelly. If you wish to have it of a red tinge put in when taken from the fire a little cranberry or beet-juice. If you wish to have it a straw color put in a little tincture of saffron. If green use the expressed juice of spinach leaves. Let it pass through the jelly-bag again--when cool turn it into glasses. 333. _Lemon Jelly._ Put on a slow fire an ounce of white isinglass pulled into small pieces and rinsed a pint of water with the rind of six lemons. Stir it constantly till dissolved then add a pint of lemon-juice and sweeten it to the taste with nice white sugar. Boil the whole four or five minutes then color it with tincture of saffron and let it pass through a flannel bag without squeezing it. Fill your jelly glasses with it when partly cooled. 334. _Calf's Feet Jelly._ Take four feet (that have been perfectly cleaned ) and boil them in four quarts of water till very soft and the water is reduced to one quart. Take it from the fire and let it remain till perfectly cold then take off all the fat and scrape off the dregs that adhere to the jelly. Put the jelly in a preserving kettle set it on a slow fire--when it melts take it from the fire and mix with it half a pint of white wine the juice and grated rind of a couple of fresh lemons and a stick of cinnamon or mace. Wash and wipe dry six eggs--take the whites of them and beat them to a froth--stir them into the jelly when it is cool--bruise the shells and mix them with the jelly then set it on a few coals. Sweeten it when hot to the taste--white sugar is the best but brown answers very well. Let the whole boil slowly fifteen minutes without stirring it--suspend a flannel bag on a nail and let the jelly drain through it into a deep dish or pitcher. If it is not clear the first time let it pass through the bag till it becomes so. The bag should not be squeezed otherwise the jelly will not look clear. When transparent turn it into glasses and set the glasses if the weather is hot into cold water and keep them in a cool place. This kind of jelly will keep but a few days in warm weather. A knuckle of veal and sheep's feet make a nice jelly prepared in the same manner as calf's feet. 335. _Hartshorn Jelly._ Boil four ounces of hartshorn shavings in a couple of quarts of water till it becomes a thick jelly--then strain and put to it the juice and rind of a couple of lemons a wine glass of white wine and a stick of cinnamon. Wash four fresh eggs wipe them dry separate the whites from the yelks beat the whites to a froth bruise the shells and mix them with the hartshorn--set the whole on a moderate fire--sweeten it to the taste when hot. Boil it till it becomes quite thick then let it drain through a jelly-bag till clear. 336. _Coffee._ Old Java and Mocha coffee are the best kinds. Coffee should be put in an iron pot and dried over a moderate fire for several hours before it is roasted. It should be put at such a distance from the fire as to be in no danger of burning. When it has dried three or four hours set the pot on a hot bed of coals and stir it constantly until sufficiently roasted which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest colored kernels--if it is brittle the whole is done. Turn it out of the pot immediately into a box--cover it tight to keep in the steam. A coffee-roaster is better than a pot to roast coffee in as it preserves the fine aromatic flavor of the coffee which in a great measure escapes with the steam of the coffee when roasted in an open pot. To make good common coffee allow a table-spoonful of it when ground to each pint of water. Turn on the water boiling hot and boil the coffee in a tin pot from twenty to twenty-five minutes--if boiled longer it will not taste fresh and lively. Let it stand after being taken from the fire four or five minutes to settle then turn it off carefully from the grounds into a coffee-pot or urn. When the coffee is put on the fire to boil a piece of fish-skin or isinglass of the size of a nine-pence should be put in or else the white and shell of half an egg to a couple of quarts of coffee. Many persons dislike to clear coffee with fish-skin thinking that it imparts an unpleasant taste to coffee but it will not if properly prepared. The skin should be taken from mild codfish that has not been soaked as the skin loses its clearing properties by soaking. Rinse it in cold water and dry it perfectly. When dried cut it into pieces of the size of a nine-pence. If torn off as it is wanted for use too much is apt to be put in at once and give the coffee a bad taste. A piece of the size of a twelve and a half cent piece is sufficient to settle a couple of quarts of water. French coffee is made in a German filter the water is turned on boiling hot and one-third more coffee is necessary than when boiled in the common way. Where cream cannot be procured for coffee the coffee will be much richer to boil it with a less proportion of water than the above rule and weaken it with boiling hot milk when served out in cups. 337. _Tea._ Scald the tea-pot and if the tea is a strong kind a tea-spoonful for a pint of water is sufficient--if it is a weak kind more will be required. Pour on just enough boiling water to cover the tea and let it steep. Green tea should not steep more than five or six minutes before drinking--if steeped longer it will not be lively. Black tea requires steeping ten or twelve minutes to extract the strength. 338. _Chocolate._ Scrape the chocolate off fine mix it smooth with water--if liked very rich make the chocolate entirely of milk--if not use half water. Boil water and milk together then stir in the chocolate previously mixed with water--stir it till it boils then sweeten it to your taste and take it up. If liked rich grate in a little nutmeg. A table-spoonful of chocolate to a pint of water or milk is about the right proportion. 339. _Hop Beer._ Put to six ounces of hops five quarts of water and boil them three hours--then strain off the liquor and put to the hops four quarts more of water a tea-cup full of ginger and boil the hops three hours longer. Strain and mix it with the rest of the liquor and stir in a couple of quarts of molasses. Take about half a pound of bread and brown it very slowly--when very brown and dry put it in the liquor to enrich the beer. Rusked bread is the best for this purpose but a loaf of bread cut in slices and toasted till brittle will do very well. When rusked bread is used pound it fine and brown it in a pot as you would coffee stirring it constantly. When the hop liquor cools so as to be just lukewarm add a pint of new yeast that has no salt in it. Keep the beer covered in a temperate situation till it has ceased fermenting which is ascertained by the subsiding of the froth--turn it off carefully into a beer keg or bottles. The beer should not be corked very tight or it will burst the bottles. It should be kept in a cool place. 340. _Beer of Essential Oils._ Mix a couple of quarts of boiling water with a pint and a half of molasses. Stir in five quarts of cold water then add ten drops of the oil of sassafras ten of spruce fifteen of winter-green and a tea-spoonful of essence of ginger. When just lukewarm put in half a pint of fresh lively yeast. When fermented bottle and cork it and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit to drink in the course of two or three days. 341. _Spring Beer._ Take a small bunch of all or part of the following: Sweet fern sarsaparilla winter-green sassafras prince's pine and spice wood. Boil them with two or three ounces of hops to three or four gallons of water and two or three raw potatoes pared and cut in slices. The strength of the roots and hops is obtained more thoroughly by boiling them in two waters--for when the liquor is strongly saturated with the hops it will rather bind up the roots than extract their juices. The roots should be boiled five or six hours--the liquor should then be strained and a quart of molasses put to three gallons of the beer. If you wish to have the beer very rich brown half a pound of bread and put it into the liquor. If the liquor is too thick dilute it with cold water. When just lukewarm put in a pint of fresh lively yeast that has no salt in it. The salt has a tendency to keep it from fermenting. Keep it in a temperate situation covered over but not so tight as to exclude the air entirely or it will not work. When fermented keep it in a tight keg or bottle and cork it up. 342. _Ginger Beer._ Boil gently in a gallon of water three table-spoonsful of cream of tartar three of ginger and a lemon cut in slices. When it has boiled half an hour take it from the fire strain and sweeten it to your taste--white sugar is the best but brown sugar or molasses answers very well. Put to it when lukewarm half a pint of fresh yeast. Turn it off carefully when fermented bottle it and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit to drink in the course of seven or eight days. 343. _Instantaneous Beer._ Put to a pint and a half of water four tea-spoonsful of ginger a table-spoonful of lemon-juice--sweeten it to the taste with syrup or white sugar and turn it into a junk bottle. Have ready a cork to fit the bottle a string of wire to tie it down and a mallet to drive in the cork. Then put into the bottle a heaping tea-spoonful of the super-carbonate of soda cork it immediately tie it down then shake the whole up well cut the string and the cork will fly out. Turn it out and drink immediately. 344. _Mixed Wine._ Take equal parts of ripe currants grapes raspberries and English cherries. Bruise them then mix cold water with them in the proportion of four pounds of fruit to a gallon of water. Let the whole remain half a day. Stir the whole up well then strain it--to each gallon of it put three pounds of sugar. Keep it in a temperate situation where it will ferment slowly three or four days--stir it up frequently. When fermented add a ninth part of brandy to it and stop it up tight--when it becomes clear bottle it. In the course of a year it will be fit to drink. 345. _Currant Wine._ Strain the currants which should be perfectly ripe. To each quart of juice put a couple of quarts of water and three pounds of sugar--stir the whole well together and let it stand twenty-four hours without stirring--then skim and set it in a cool place where it will ferment slowly. Let it remain three or four days--if at the end of that time it has ceased fermenting add one quart of French brandy to every fifteen gallons of the liquor and close up the barrel tight. When it becomes clear it is fit to bottle. This will be good in the course of six months but it is much improved by being kept several years. 346. _Grape Wine._ Bruise the grapes which should be perfectly ripe. To each gallon of grapes put a gallon of water and let the whole remain a week without being stirred. At the end of that time draw off the liquor carefully and put to each gallon three pounds of lump sugar. Let it ferment in a temperate situation--when fermented stop it up tight. In the course of six months it will be fit to bottle. 347. _To mull Wine._ To a pint of water put a tea-spoonful of powdered cloves and cinnamon. Set it where it will boil--then separate the whites and yelks of three eggs and beat the yelks with a large spoonful of powdered white sugar. As soon as the water boils turn it on to the yelks and sugar--add a pint of wine and turn the beaten whites of the eggs over the whole. 348. _Quince Cordial._ Take ripe nice quinces wipe off the fur and grate them. Express the juices of the quince pulp through a strong cloth and to each quart of it put two-thirds of a quart of French brandy a pound and a half of white sugar a hundred bitter almonds or peach meats a dozen cloves. Put it in a stone pot cover it tight and keep it a week in a warm place then skim and bottle it and let it remain a year before using it. 349. _Peach Cordial._ Take ripe juicy peaches--wash and wipe them to get off the down--gash them to the stone. Put to each peck of peaches a gallon of French brandy and cover them up tight. Let the whole remain a couple of months then drain the brandy free from the peaches--add sufficient cold water to render it of the strength of good white wine and to every three gallons of it put four pounds of sugar. Stir it up well--let it remain a couple of days stirring it up well each day then turn it into a wine cask and close it tight. 350. _Smallage Cordial._ Take young sprouts of smallage--wash and drain them till perfectly dry. Cut them in small pieces put them in a bottle with seeded raisins having an alternate layer of each. When the bottle is two-thirds full of the smallage turn in French brandy till the bottle is full. Let it remain three or four days to have the smallage absorb the brandy--then put in as much more brandy as the bottle will hold. It will be fit for use in the course of eight or ten days. This is an excellent family medicine. 351. _Currant Shrub._ To a pint of strained currant juice put a pound of sugar. Boil the sugar and juice gently together eight or ten minutes then set it where it will cool. Add when lukewarm a wine glass of French brandy to every pint of syrup--bottle and cork it tight--keep it in a cool place. 352. _Raspberry Shrub._ To three quarts of fresh ripe raspberries put one of good vinegar. Let it remain a day--then strain it and put to each pint a pound of white sugar. Boil the whole together for half an hour skim it clear. When cool add a wine glass of French brandy to each pint of the shrub. A couple of table-spoonsful of this mixed with a tumbler two-thirds full of water is a wholesome and refreshing drink in fevers. 353. _Lemon Shrub._ Procure nice fresh lemons--pare the rind off thin then squeeze out the juice of the lemons and strain it. To a pint of the juice put a pound of white sugar broken into small pieces. Measure out for each pint of the syrup three table-spoonsful of French brandy and soak the rind of the lemons in it. Let the whole remain a day stirring up the lemon-juice and sugar frequently. The next day turn off the syrup and mix it with the brandy and lemon rinds--put the whole in clean bottles cork and seal them tight and keep them in dry sand in a cool place. 354. _Sherbet._ Boil in three pints of water six or eight green stalks of rhubarb a quarter of a pound of figs or raisins. When the whole has boiled between twenty-five and thirty minutes strain it and mix it with a tea-spoonful of rosewater and lemon or orange syrup to the taste. Let it get cold before drinking it. 355. _Noyeau._ To three pints of French brandy put four ounces of bitter almonds or peach meats and a couple of ounces of sweet almonds--they should be bruised before they are mixed with the brandy. Add half an ounce each of powdered cinnamon and mace a quarter of an ounce of cloves. Let the whole remain a fortnight shaking it up well each day then drain off the brandy into another bottle and put to the almonds a quart of water. Let it stand three days then turn back the brandy and put in a pound and a half of white sugar. Let the whole remain a week stirring it up frequently then strain the liquor off free from the dregs into bottles for use. 356. _Mead._ Put to a pound of honey three pints of warm water--stir it up well and let it remain till the honey is held in complete solution--then turn it into a cask leaving the bung out. Let it ferment in a temperate situation--bottle it as soon as fermented cork it up very tight. 357. _Essence of Lemon._ Turn gradually on to a drachm of the best oil of lemons a couple of ounces of strong rectified spirit. The best method of obtaining the essence of the lemon peel is to rub all the yellow part of the peel off with lumps of white sugar and scrape off the surface of the sugar into a preserving pot as fast as it becomes saturated with the oil of the lemon. The sugar should be pressed down tight and covered very close. A little of this sugar gives a fine flavor to puddings cakes and pies. This mode of preserving the essence of the lemon is superior to the one in which spirit is used as the fine aromatic flavor of the peel is procured without any alloy. 358. _Essence of Ginger._ Take three ounces of fresh ginger--grate and put it into a quart of French brandy together with the rind of a fresh lemon--none of the white part of the peel should be put in. Shake the whole up well every day for eight or ten days--at the end of that time it will be fit for use. A little of this mixed with water or put on a lump of sugar answers all the purposes of ginger tea and is much more palatable. It is also nice to flavor many kinds of sweetmeats. 359. _Spice Brandy._ Put into a jar French brandy and rose or peach leaves in the proportion of a quart of the former to half a pint of the latter. Let them steep together till the strength is obtained from the leaves--then turn off the brandy squeeze the leaves dry throw them away and put fresh leaves to the brandy. Continue to go through the above process until the brandy is strongly impregnated with the leaves--then turn the brandy off clear and bottle it--keep it corked tight. Lemon or orange peel and peach meats steeped in a bottle of brandy give it a fine flavor. It takes the rind of three or four lemons or a quarter of a pound of peach meats to flavor a pint of brandy. When all the brandy is used put in more with a few fresh rinds. Spice brandy is very nice to season cakes puddings and mince pies. 360. _Rosewater._ Gather fragrant full-blown roses on a dry day--pick off the leaves and to each peck of them put a quart of water. Put the whole in a cold still and set the still on a moderate fire--the slower they are distilled the better will be the rosewater. Bottle the water as soon as distilled. 361. _To extract the Essential Oil of Flowers._ Procure a quantity of fresh fragrant leaves--both the stalk and the flower leaves will answer. Cord very thin layers of cotton and dip them into fine Florence oil--put alternate layers of the cotton and leaves in a glass jar or large tumbler. Sprinkle a very small quantity of fine salt on each layer of the flowers cover the jar up tight and place it in a south window exposed to the heat of the sun. In the course of a fortnight a fragrant oil may be squeezed out of the cotton. Rose leaves mignonette and sweet-scented clover make fine perfumes managed in this way. 362. _Perfume Bags._ Rose and sweet-scented clover leaves dried in the shade then mixed with powdered cloves cinnamon mace and pressed in small bags are very nice to keep in chests of linen or drawers of clothes to perfume them. 363. _Cologne Water._ Turn a quart of alcohol gradually on to the following oils: a couple of drachms of the oil of rosemary two of the oil of lemon or orange-flower water one drachm of lavender ten drops of oil of cinnamon ten of cloves and a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Keep the whole stopped tight in a bottle--shake it up well. It will do to use as soon as made but it is much improved by age. 364. _Lavender Water._ Turn a pint of alcohol slowly on to an ounce and a half of the oil of lavender two drachms of ambergris. Keep the lavender water in a tight-corked bottle--it should be shook up well when first put in. 365. _Aromatic Vinegar._ Mix with a table-spoonful of vinegar enough powdered chalk to destroy the acidity. Let it settle--then turn off the vinegar from the chalk carefully and dry it perfectly. Whenever you wish to purify an infected room put in a few drops of sulphuric acid--the fumes arising from it will purify a room where there has been any infectious disorder. Care is necessary in using it not to inhale the fumes or to get any of the acid on your garments as it will corrode whatever it touches. 366. _Barley Water._ Boil a couple of ounces of barley in two quarts of water till soft--pearl barley is the best but the common barley answers very well. When soft strain and mix it with a little currant jelly to give it a pleasant acid taste. If the jelly is not liked turn it when boiled soft on to a couple of ounces of figs or raisins and boil it again till reduced to one quart then strain it for use. 367. _Rice Gruel._ Put a large spoonful of unground rice into six gills of boiling water with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Strain it when boiled soft and add half a pint of new milk--put in a tea-spoonful of salt and boil it a few minutes longer. If you wish to make the gruel of rice flour mix a table-spoonful of it smoothly with three of cold water and stir it into a quart of boiling water. Let it boil five or six minutes stirring it constantly. Season it with salt a little butter and add if you like nutmeg and white sugar to your taste. 368. _Water Gruel._ Mix a couple of table-spoonsful of Indian meal with one of wheat flour and sufficient cold water to make a thick batter. If the gruel is liked thick stir it into a pint of boiling water--if liked thin more water will be necessary. Season the gruel with salt and let it boil six or eight minutes stirring it frequently--then take it from the fire put in a piece of butter of the size of a walnut and pepper to the taste. Turn it on toasted bread cut in small pieces. 369. _Caudle._ Make rice or water gruel as above--then strain it and add half a wine glass of ale wine or brandy. Sweeten it with loaf sugar and grate in a little nutmeg. 370. _Arrow Root Custards._ Boil a pint of milk and stir into it while boiling a table-spoonful of arrow root mixed smooth with a little cold milk. Stir it in well and let the whole boil three or four minutes--take it from the fire to cool--when so stir in a couple of beaten eggs sweeten it to the taste and grate in a small piece of nutmeg. Set the whole where it will boil stirring it constantly. As soon as it boils up take it from the fire and turn it into custard cups. The arrow root prepared in the same manner as for the custards omitting the sugar spice and eggs is excellent food for invalids and can be eaten when the custards are too rich for the stomach. 371. _Wine Whey._ Stir into a pint of boiling milk a couple of glasses of wine. Let it boil a minute then take it from the fire and let it remain till the curd has settled--then turn off the whey and sweeten it with white sugar. 372. _Stomachic Tincture._ Bruise a couple of ounces of Peruvian bark one of bitter dried orange peel. Steep them in a pint of proof spirit a fortnight shaking up the bottle that contains it once or twice every day. Let it remain untouched for a couple of days then decant the bitter into another bottle. A tea-spoonful of this in a wine glass of water is a fine tonic. 373. _Thoroughwort Bitters._ Make a strong tea of the thoroughwort--strain it and when cool put to a couple of quarts of it half a pint of French brandy the peel of two or three fresh oranges cut into small bits and half a dozen bunches of fennel or smallage seed. The seed and orange peel should be crowded into a bottle then the tea and brandy turned in. The bottle should be corked tight. The bitters will keep good almost any length of time and is an excellent remedy for bilious complaints and can often be taken when the thoroughwort tea will not sit on the stomach. A wine glass of these bitters to a tumbler of water is about the right proportion. It should have a little sugar added to it before drinking it. 374. _Cough Tea._ Make a strong tea of everlasting--strain and put to a quart of it two ounces of figs or raisins two of liquorice cut in bits. Boil them in the tea for twenty minutes then take the tea from the fire and add to it the juice of a lemon. This is an excellent remedy for a tight cough--it should be drank freely being perfectly innocent. It is the most effectual when hot. 375. _Beef Tea._ Broil a pound of fresh lean beef ten minutes--then cut it into small bits turn a pint of boiling water on it and let it steep in a warm place half an hour--then strain it and season the tea with salt and pepper to the taste. This is a quick way of making the tea but it is not so good when the stomach will bear but a little liquid on it as the following method: Cut the beef into small bits which should be perfectly free from fat--fill a junk bottle with them cork it up tight and immerse it in a kettle of lukewarm water and boil it four or five hours. This way is superior to the first on account of obtaining the juices of the meat unalloyed with water a table-spoonful of it being as nourishing as a tea-cup full of the other. 376. _Moss Jelly._ Steep Carragua or Irish moss in cold water a few minutes to extract the bitter taste--then drain off the water and to half an ounce of moss put a quart of fresh water and a stick of cinnamon. Boil it till it becomes a thick jelly then strain it and season it to the taste with white wine and white sugar. This is very nourishing and recommended highly for consumptive complaints. 377. _Sago Jelly._ Rinse four ounces of sago thoroughly then soak it in cold water half an hour--turn off the water and put to it a pint and a half of fresh cold water. Let it soak in it half an hour then set it where it will boil slowly stirring it constantly--boil with it a stick of cinnamon. When of a thick consistency add a glass of wine and white sugar to the taste. Let it boil five minutes then turn it into cups. 378. _Tapioca Jelly._ Take four table-spoonsful of tapioca--rinse it thoroughly then soak it five hours in cold water enough to cover it. Set a pint of cold water on the fire--when it boils mash and stir up the tapioca that is in water and mix it with the boiling water. Let the whole simmer gently with a stick of cinnamon or mace. When thick and clear mix a couple of table-spoonsful of white sugar with half a table-spoonful of lemon-juice and half a glass of white wine--stir it into the jelly--if not sweet enough add more sugar and turn the jelly into cups. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY. 379. _To renew Old Bread and Cake._ Fill a bread steamer about half full of water and lay the dry bread on it and set it on the fire where it will steam the bread from half to three-quarters of an hour; then wrap the bread in a towel and let it remain till dry. In this way bread that is old and dry may be made moist and good. Where a steamer cannot be procured soak the bread in cold water till it has absorbed sufficient water to be moist inside--then put it in a bake pan without any cover and heat it very hot. If broken pieces of bread are put in the oven five or six hours after baking and rusked they will keep good a long time. Sour heavy bread treated in this manner will make very decent cakes and puddings provided there is enough saleratus used in making them to correct the acidity of the bread. Rich cake that has wine or brandy in it will remain good in cold weather several months if it is kept in a cool dry place. The day in which it is to be eaten put it in a cake pan and set it in a bake pan that has half a pint of water in it--set on the bake-pan cover and let the cake bake till it is heated very hot. Let it get cold before cutting it. 380. _To preserve Cheese from Insects._ Cover the cheese while whole with a paste made of wheat flour; then wrap a cloth round it and cover it with the paste. Keep the cheese in a cool dry place. Cheese that has skippers in it if kept till cold weather will be freed from them. 381. _To pot Cheese._ Cheese that has begun to mould can be kept from becoming any more so by being treated in the following manner: Cut off the mouldy part and if the cheese is dry grate it--if not pound it fine in a mortar together with the crust. To each pound of it when fine put a table-spoonful of brandy--mix it in well with the cheese then press it down tight in a clean stone pot and lay a paper wet in brandy on the top of it. Cover the pot up tight and keep it in a cool dry place. This is also a good way to treat dry pieces of cheese. Potted cheese is best when a year old. It will keep several years without any danger of its breeding insects. 382. _To pot Butter for winter use._ Mix a large spoonful of salt a table-spoonful of powdered white-sugar and one of saltpetre. Work this quantity into six pounds of fresh-made butter. Put the butter into a stone pot that is thoroughly cleansed. When you have finished putting down your butter cover it with a layer of salt and let it remain covered until cold weather. 383. _To make Salt Butter Fresh._ When butter has too much salt in it put to each pound of it a quart of fresh milk and churn it an hour; then treat it like fresh butter working in the usual quantity of salt. A little white sugar worked in improves it. This is said to be equal to fresh butter. Salt may be taken out of a small quantity of fresh butter by working it over in clear fresh water changing the water a number of times. 384. _To extract Rancidity from Butter._ Take a small quantity that is wanted for immediate use. For a pound of the butter dissolve a couple of tea-spoonsful of saleratus in a quart of boiling water put in the butter mix it well with the saleratus water and let it remain till cold then take it off carefully and work a tea-spoonful of salt into it. Butter treated in this manner answers very well to use in cooking. 385. _To preserve Cream for Sea Voyages._ Take rich fresh cream and mix it with half of its weight of white powdered sugar. When well mixed in put it in bottles and cork them tight. When used for tea or coffee it will make them sufficiently sweet without any additional sugar. 386. _Substitute for Cream in Coffee._ Beat the white of an egg to a froth--put to it a small lump of butter and turn the coffee to it gradually so that it may not curdle. It is difficult to distinguish the taste from fresh cream. 387. _To keep Eggs several months._ It is a good plan to buy eggs for family use when cheap and preserve them in the following manner: Mix half a pint of unslaked lime with the same quantity of salt a couple of gallons of water. The water should be turned on boiling hot. When cold put in the eggs which should be perfectly fresh and care should be taken not to crack any of them--if cracked they will spoil directly. The eggs should be entirely covered with the lime-water and kept in a stone pot and the pot set in a cool place. If the above directions are strictly attended to the eggs will keep good five months. The lime-water should not be so strong as to eat the shell and all the eggs should be perfectly fresh when put in as one bad one will spoil the whole. 388. _To melt Fat for Shortening._ The fat of all kinds of meat excepting that of ham and mutton makes good shortening. Roast meat drippings and the liquor in which meat is boiled should stand until cold to have the fat congeal so that it can be taken off easily. When taken up scrape off the sediment which adheres to the under side of the fat cut the fat into small pieces together with any scraps of fat from broiled meat that you may happen to have. Melt the fat slowly then strain it and let it remain till cold. When formed into a hard cake take it up--if any sediment adheres to the under side scrape it off. Melt the fat again--when partly cooled sprinkle in salt in the proportion of a tea-spoonful to a pound of the shortening. The dregs of the fat are good for soap grease. This shortening answers all the various purposes of lard very well excepting in the hottest weather. The fat of cooked meat should not be suffered to remain more than a week in winter and three days in summer without being melted. Ham fat if boiled in fresh water and then clarified answers very well to fry in. Mutton fat if melted into hard cakes will fetch a good price at the tallow-chandler's. The leaves and thin pieces of pork should be used for lard. Cut them in small bits and melt them slowly; then strain them through a cullender with a thick cloth laid in it. As soon as the fat cools and thickens sprinkle in salt in the proportion of a tea-cup full to twenty weight of the lard. Stir it in well then set the pot that contains it in a cool place. Some people have an idea that the pork scraps must be on the fire until they become brown in order to have the lard kept sweet the year round but it is not necessary if salt is mixed with it. 389. _To keep Vegetables through the Winter._ Succulent vegetables are preserved best in a cool shady place that is damp. Turnips Irish potatoes and similar vegetables should be protected from the air and frost by being buried up in sand and in very severe cold weather covered over with a linen cloth. It is said that the dust of charcoal sprinkled over potatoes will keep them from sprouting. I have also heard it said that Carolina potatoes may be kept a number of months if treated in the following manner: Take those that are large and perfectly free from decay--pack them in boxes of dry sand and set the boxes in a place exposed to the influence of smoke and inaccessible to frost. 390. _To preserve Herbs._ All kinds of herbs should be gathered on a dry day just before or while in blossom. Tie them in bundles and suspend them in a dry airy place with the blossoms downwards. When perfectly dry wrap the medicinal ones in paper and keep them from the air. Pick off the leaves of those which are to be used in cooking pound and sift them fine and keep the powder in bottles corked up tight. 391. _To preserve various kinds of Fruit through the Winter._ Apples can be kept till June by taking only those that are hard and sound wiping them dry then packing them in tight barrels with a layer of bran to each layer of apples. Envelope the barrel in a linen cloth to protect it from frost and keep it in a cool place but not so cold as to freeze the apples. It is said that mortar laid over the top of a barrel of apples is a good thing to preserve them as it draws the air from them which is the principal cause of their decaying. Care should be taken not to have it come in contact with the apples. To preserve oranges and lemons several months take those that are perfectly fresh and wrap each one in soft paper; put them in glass jars or a very tight box with white sand that has been previously dried in an oven a few hours after it has been baked in. The sand should be strewed thick over each one of the oranges as they are laid in the jar and the whole covered with a thick layer of it. Close the jar up tight and keep it in a cool dry place but not so cool as to freeze the fruit. To preserve grapes gather them on a dry day when they are not quite dead ripe and pick those that are not fair off from the stems. Lay the bunches of grapes in a glass jar and sprinkle around each of them a thick layer of dry bran so that they will not touch each other. Have a thick layer of bran on the top and cork and seal the jar very tight so that the air may be entirely excluded. Whenever they are to be eaten restore them to their freshness by cutting off a small piece from the end of the stalks and immerse the stalks of each bunch in sweet wine for a few minutes. The stalks will imbibe the wine and make the grapes fresh and juicy. Various kinds of fruit taken when green such as grapes gooseberries currants and plums can be kept through the winter by being treated in the following manner: Fill junk bottles with them and set them in an oven six or seven hours after having baked in it. Let them remain till they begin to shrink then take the fruit from one bottle to fill the others quite full. Cork and seal up the bottles. Whenever you wish to make pies of them put the quantity you wish to use into a tin pan turn on boiling water sufficient to cover them and stew them in it till soft then sweeten and make them into pies. Ripe blackberries and whortleberries to be kept long should be dried perfectly in the sun then tied up in bags that are thick enough to exclude the air. When used for pies treat them in the same manner as the green fruit. Ripe currants dried on the stalks then picked off and put in bags will keep nice for pies during the winter. They also make a fine tea for persons that have a fever particularly the hectic fever--it is also an excellent thing to counteract the effects of opium. 392. _To keep Pickles and Sweetmeats._ Pickles should be kept in unglazed earthen jars or wooden kegs. Sweetmeats keep best in glass jars; unglazed stone pots answer very well for common fruit. A paper wet in brandy or proof spirit and laid on the preserved fruit tends to keep it from fermenting. Both pickles and sweetmeats should be watched to see that they do not ferment particularly when the weather is warm. Whenever they ferment turn off the vinegar or syrup scald and turn it back while hot. When pickles grow soft it is owing to the vinegar being too weak. To strengthen it heat it scalding hot turn it back on the pickles and when lukewarm put in a little alum and a brown paper wet in molasses. If it does not grow sharp in the course of three weeks it is past recovery and should be thrown away and fresh vinegar turned on scalding hot to the pickles. 393. _Cautions relative to the use of Brass and Copper Cooking Utensils._ Cleanliness has been aptly styled the cardinal virtue of cooks. Food is more healthy as well as palatable cooked in a cleanly manner. Many lives have been lost in consequence of carelessness in using brass copper and glazed earthen cooking utensils. The two first should be thoroughly cleansed with salt and hot vinegar before cooking in them and no oily or acid substance after being cooked should be allowed to cool or remain in any of them. 394. _Durable Ink for Marking Linen._ Dissolve a couple of drachms of lunar caustic and half an ounce of gum arabic in a gill of rain water. Dip whatever is to be marked in strong pearl-ash water. When perfectly dry iron it very smooth; the pearl-ash water turns it a dark color but washing will efface it. After marking the linen put it near a fire or in the sun to dry. Red ink for marking linen is made by mixing and reducing to a fine powder half an ounce of vermilion a drachm of the salt of steel and linseed oil to render it of the consistency of black durable ink. 395. _Black Ball._ Melt together moderately ten ounces of Bayberry tallow five ounces of bees' wax one ounce of mutton tallow. When melted add lamp or ivory black to give it a good black color. Stir the whole well together and add when taken from the fire half a glass of rum. 396. _Liquid Blacking._ Mix a quarter of a pound of ivory black six gills of vinegar a table-spoonful of sweet oil two large spoonsful of molasses. Stir the whole well together and it will then be fit for use. 397. _Cement for the Mouths of Corked Bottles._ Melt together a quarter of a pound of sealing-wax the same quantity of rosin a couple of ounces of bees' wax. When it froths stir it with a tallow candle. As soon as it melts dip the mouths of the corked bottles into it. This is an excellent thing to exclude the air from such things as are injured by being exposed to it. 398. _Cement for broken China Glass and Earthenware._ Rub the edge of the china or glass with the beaten white of an egg. Tie very finely powdered quick lime in a muslin bag and sift it thick over the edges of the dishes that have been previously rubbed with the egg. Match and bind the pieces together and let it remain bound several weeks. This is good cement for every kind of crockery but thick heavy glass and coarse earthenware; the former cannot be cemented with any thing; for the latter white paint will answer. Paint and match the broken edges bind them tight together and let them remain until the paint becomes dry and hard. Milk is a good cement for crockery--the pieces should be matched and bound together tight then put in cold milk and the milk set where it will boil for half an hour; then take it from the fire and let the crockery remain till the milk is cold. Let the crockery remain bound for several weeks. The Chinese method of mending broken china is to grind flint glass on a painter's stone till it is reduced to an impalpable powder: then beat it with the white of an egg to a froth and lay it on the edge of the broken pieces match and bind them together firmly and let them remain several weeks. It is said that no art will then be able to break it in the same place. 399. _Japanese Cement or Rice Glue._ Mix rice flour with cold water to a smooth paste and boil it gently. It answers all the purposes of wheat flour paste while it is far superior in point of transparency and smoothness. This composition made with so small a proportion of water as to have it of the consistence of plastic clay may be used to form models busts basso-relievos and similar articles. When made of it they are susceptible of a very high polish. Poland starch is a nice cement for pasting layers of paper together or any fancy articles. 400. _Cement for Alabaster._ Take of white bees' wax one pound of rosin a pound and three quarters of alabaster. Melt the wax and rosin then strew the alabaster over it lightly (which should be previously reduced to a fine powder.) Stir the whole well together then knead the mass in water in order to incorporate the alabaster thoroughly with the rosin and wax. The alabaster when mended should be perfectly dry and heated. The cement when applied should also be heated. Join the broken pieces bind them and let them remain a week. This composition when properly managed forms an extremely strong cement. 401. _To clean Alabaster or any other kinds of Marble._ Pound pumice stone to a fine powder and mix it with verjuice. Let it remain several hours then dip in a perfectly clean sponge and rub the marble with it till clean. Rinse it off with clear fresh water and rub it dry with a clean linen cloth. 402. _Cement for Iron-ware._ Beat the whites of eggs to a froth then stir into them enough quicklime to make a consistent paste then add iron file dust to make a thick paste. The quicklime should be reduced to a fine powder before mixing it with the eggs. Fill the cracks in iron-ware with this cement and let them remain several weeks before using them. 403. _To loosen the Stopples of Decanters and Smelling Bottles that are wedged in tight._ Dip the end of a feather in oil and rub it round the stopple close to the mouth of the bottle; then put the bottle about a couple of feet from the fire having the mouth towards it. The heat will cause the oil to run down between the stopple and mouth of the bottle. When warm strike the bottle gently on both sides with any light wooden instrument that you may happen to have. If the stopple cannot be taken out with the hand at the end of this process repeat it and you will finally succeed by persevering in it however firmly it may be wedged in. 404. _Lip Salve._ Dissolve a small lump of white sugar in a table-spoonful of rosewater (common water will do but is not as good.) Mix it with a couple of large spoonsful of sweet oil a piece of spermaceti of the size of half a butternut. Simmer the whole well together eight or ten minutes then turn it into a small box. 405. _Cold Cream._ Take of the oil of almonds two ounces of spermaceti half an ounce and white wax half an ounce. Put them in a close vessel and set the vessel in a skillet of boiling water. When melted beat the ingredients with rosewater until cold. Keep it in a tight box or wide-mouthed bottle corked up close. 406. _To prevent the formation of a Crust on Tea-Kettles._ Keep an oyster-shell in your tea-kettle and it will prevent the formation of a crust on the inside of it by attracting the stony particles to itself. 407. _To remove Stains from Broadcloth._ Take an ounce of pipe clay that has been ground fine and mix it with twelve drops of alcohol and the same quantity of spirits of turpentine. Whenever you wish to remove any stains from cloth moisten a little of this mixture with alcohol and rub it on the spots. Let it remain till dry then rub it off with a woollen cloth and the spots will disappear. 408. _To extract Paint from Cotton Silk and Woollen Goods._ Saturate the spot with spirits of turpentine and let it remain several hours then rub it between the hands. It will crumble away without injuring either the color or texture of the article. 409. _To remove Black Stains on Scarlet Woollen Goods._ Mix tartaric with water to give it a pleasant acid taste then saturate the black spots with it taking care not to have it touch the clean part of the garment. Rinse the spots immediately in fair water. Weak pearl-ash water is good to remove stains that are produced by acids. 410. _To extract Grease from Silks Paper Woollen Goods and Floors._ To remove grease spots from goods and paper grate on them very thick French chalk (common chalk will answer but is not as good as the French chalk.) Cover the spots with brown paper and set on a moderately warm iron and let it remain till cold. Care must be taken not to have the iron so hot as to scorch or change the color of the cloth. If the grease does not appear to be out on removing the iron grate on more chalk heat the iron again and put it on. Repeat the process till the grease is entirely out. Strong pearl-ash water mixed with sand and rubbed on grease spots in floors is one of the most effective things that can be used to extract the grease. 411. _To extract Stains from White Cotton Goods and Colored Silks._ Salts of ammonia mixed with lime will take out the stains of wine from silk. Spirits of turpentine alcohol and clear ammonia are all good to remove stains on colored silks. Spots of common or durable ink can be removed by saturating them with lemon-juice and rubbing on salt then putting them where the sun will shine on them hot for several hours. As fast as it dries put on more lemon-juice and salt. When lemon juice cannot be obtained citric acid is a good substitute. Iron mould may be removed in the same way. Mildew and most other stains can be removed by rubbing on soft soap and salt and placing it where the sun will shine on it hot. Where soap and salt will not remove stains lemon-juice and salt will generally answer. The above things will only remove stains in warm clear weather when the sun is hot. Sulphuric acid diluted with water is very effectual in removing fruit stains. Care should be taken not to have it so strong as to eat a hole in the garment and as soon as the stain is out it should be rinsed in pearl-ash water and then in fair water. Colored cotton goods that have common ink spilt on them should be soaked in lukewarm sour milk. 412. _Directions for Washing Calicoes._ Calico clothes before they are put in water should have the grease spots rubbed out as they cannot be seen when the whole of the garment is wet. They should never be washed in very hot soap suds; that which is mildly warm will cleanse them quite as well and will not extract the colors so much. Soft soap should never be used for calicoes excepting for the various shades of yellow which look the best washed with soft soap and not rinsed in fair water. Other colors should be rinsed in fair water and dried in the shade. When calicoes incline to fade the colors can be set by washing them in lukewarm water with beef's gall in the proportion of a tea-cup full to four or five gallons of water. Rinse them in fair water--no soap is necessary without the clothes are very dirty. If so wash them in lukewarm suds after they have been first rubbed out in beef's gall water. The beef's gall can be kept several months by squeezing it out of the skin in which it is enclosed adding salt to it and bottled and corked tight. The water that potatoes has been boiled in is an excellent thing to wash black calicoes in. When there are many black garments to wash in a family it is a good plan to save during the week all the water in which potatoes are boiled. The following method is said to set the colors of calicoes so that they will not fade by subsequent washing: Infuse three gills of salt in four quarts of boiling water; put in the calicoes (which should be perfectly clean; if not so the dirt will be set.) Let the calicoes remain in till the water is cold. I have never seen this tried but I think it not improbable that it may be an excellent way to set the colors as rinsing calicoes in cold salt and water serves to set the colors particularly of black blue and green colors. A little vinegar in the rinsing water of pink red and green calicoes is good to brighten the colors and keep them from mixing. All kinds of calicoes but black look better for starching but black calicoes will not look clear if starched. On this account potato water is an excellent thing to wash them if boiled down to a thick consistence as it stiffens them without showing. 413. _Directions for Cleaning Silk Goods._ When silk cushions or silk coverings to furniture become dingy rub dry bran on it gently with a woollen cloth till clean. Remove grease spots and stains as in direction No. 410. Silk garments should have the spots extracted before being-washed--use hard soap for all colors but yellow for which soft soap is the best. Put the soap into hot water beat it till it is perfectly dissolved then add sufficient cold water to make it just lukewarm. Put in the silks and rub them in it till clean; take them out without wringing and rinse them in fair lukewarm water. Rinse it in another water and for bright yellows crimsons and maroons add sulphuric acid enough to the water to give it an acid taste before rinsing the garment in it. To restore the colors of the different shades of pink put in the second rinsing water a little vinegar or lemon-juice. For scarlet use a solution of tin; for blues purples and their shades use pearl-ash; and for olive-greens dissolve verdigris in the rinsing water--fawn and browns should be rinsed in pure water. Dip the silks up and down in the rinsing water: take them out of it without wringing and dry them in the shade. Fold them up while damp: let them remain to have the dampness strike through all parts of them alike then put them in a mangler--if you have not one iron them on the wrong side with an iron only just hot enough to smooth them. A little isinglass or gum arabic dissolved in the rinsing water of gauze shawls and ribbons is good to stiffen them. The water in which pared potatoes have been boiled is an excellent thing to wash black silks in--it stiffens and makes them glossy and black. Beef's gall and lukewarm water is also a nice thing to restore rusty silk and soap-suds answers very well. They look better not to be rinsed in clear water but they should be washed in two different waters. 414. _Directions for Washing Woollens._ If you do not wish to have white flannels shrink when washed make a good suds of hard soap and wash the flannels in it without rubbing any soap on them; rub them out in another suds then wring them out of it and put them in a clean tub and turn on sufficient boiling water to cover them and let them remain till the water is cold. A little indigo in the boiling water makes the flannels look nicer. If you wish to have your white flannels shrink so as to have them thick wash them in soft soap-suds and rinse them in cold water. Colored woollens that incline to fade should be washed with beef's gall and warm water before they are put into soap-suds. Colored pantaloons look very well washed with beef's gall and fair warm water and pressed on the wrong side while damp. 415. _Directions for Washing White Cotton Clothes._ Table-cloths or any white clothes that have coffee or fruit stains on them before being put into soap-suds should have boiling water turned on them and remain in it till the water is cold--the spots should be then rubbed out in it. If they are put into soap-suds with the stains in they will be set by it so that no subsequent washing will remove them. Table-cloths will be less likely to get stained up if they are always rinsed in thin starch water as it tends to keep coffee and fruit from sinking into the texture of the cloth. White clothes that are very dirty will come clean easily if put into strong cool suds and hung on the fire the night previous to the day in which they are to be washed. If they get to boiling it will not do them any harm provided the suds is cool when they are put in; if it is hot at first it will set the dirt in. The following method of washing clothes is a saving of a great deal of labor: Soak the clothes in lukewarm soap-suds; if they are quite dirty soak them over night. To every three pails of water put a pint of soft soap and a table-spoonful of the salts of soda. Heat it till mildly warm then put in the clothes without any rubbing and boil them an hour. Drain the suds out of them as much as possible as it is bad for the hands; then add water till cool enough for the hands. The dirt will be loose so that they will require but a little rubbing. Rinse them thoroughly in clear water then in indigo water. The soda can be procured cheap by purchasing it in large quantities--soda is an excellent thing to soften hard water. The soda suds will not do to wash calicoes in. It is a good plan to save your suds after washing to water your garden if you have one or to harden cellars and yards when sandy. 416. _Starch._ To make good flour starch mix flour gradually with cold water so that it may be free from lumps. Stir in cold water till it will pour easily; then stir it into a pot of boiling water and let it boil five or six minutes stirring it frequently. A tallow or spermaceti candle stirred round in the starch several times will make it smoother--strain it through a thick cloth. Starch made in this manner will answer for both cotton and linen very well. Some people do not boil their starch but merely turn boiling water on the mixed flour and water but it does not make clothes look nice. Poland starch is made in the same manner as wheat starch. When rice is boiled in a pot without being tied up in a bag the water in which it is boiled is as good as Poland starch for clear-starching muslins if boiled to a thick consistency after it is turned off from the boiled rice and then strained. Muslins to look clear should be starched and clapped dry while the starch is hot then folded in a very damp cloth and suffered to remain in it till they become quite damp before ironing them. If muslins are sprinkled they are apt to look spotted. Garments that are not worn when laid by should not be starched as it rots them when not exposed to the air. 417. _To clean Woollen and Silk Shawls._ Pare and grate raw mealy potatoes and put to each pint of the potato pulp a couple of quarts of cold water. Let it stand five hours then strain the water through a sieve and rub as much of the potato pulp through as possible--let the strained water stand to settle again--when very clear turn the water off from the dregs carefully. Put a clean white cotton sheet on a perfectly clean table lay on the shawl which you wish to clean and pin it down tight. Dip a sponge that has never been used into the potato water and rub the shawl with it till clean; then rinse the shawl in clear water with a tea-cup of salt to a pailful of the water. Spread it on a clean level place where it will dry quick--if hung up to dry the colors are apt to run and make the shawl streaked. Fold it up while damp and let it remain half an hour then put it in a mangler--if you have not one wrap it in a clean white cloth and put it under a weight and let it remain till dry. If there are any grease spots on the shawl they should be extracted before the shawl is washed. 418. _Directions for Carpets._ Carpets should be taken up and shook thoroughly if in constant use as often as three or four times in a year as the dirt that collects underneath them wears them out very fast. Straw kept under carpets will make them wear much longer as the dirt will sift through and keep it from grinding out. Carpets should be taken up as often as once a year even if not much used as there is danger of moths getting into them. If there is any appearance of moths in carpets when they are taken up sprinkle tobacco or black pepper on the floor before the carpets are put down and let it remain after they are laid down. When the dust is well shaken out of carpets if there are any grease spots on them grate on potter's clay very thick cover them with a brown paper and set on a warm iron. It will be necessary to repeat this process several times to get out all the grease. If the carpets are so much soiled as to require cleaning all over after the dirt has been shaken out spread them on a clean floor and rub on them with a new broom pared and grated raw potatoes. Let the carpets remain till perfectly dry before walking on them. 419. _To clean Light Kid Gloves._ Magnesia moist bread and India rubber are all of them good to clean light kid gloves. They should be rubbed on the gloves thoroughly. If so much soiled that they cannot be cleaned sew up the tops of the gloves and rub them over with a sponge dipped in a decoction of saffron and water. The gloves will be yellow or brown according to the strength of the decoction. 420. _To restore rusty Italian Crape._ Heat skim milk and water--dissolve in half a pint of it a piece of glue an inch square then take it from the fire. Rinse the crape out in vinegar to clean it; then to stiffen it put it in the mixed glue and milk. Wring it out and clap it till dry then smooth it out with a hot iron--a paper should be laid over it when it is ironed. Gin is an excellent thing to restore rusty crape--dip it in and let it get saturated with it; then clap it till dry and smooth it out with a moderately hot iron. Italian crape can be dyed to look as nice as that which is new. 421. _To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture._ No soap should ever be used for them--they should be washed in fair water and rubbed with a clean soft cloth till dry. A little sweet oil rubbed on occasionally gives them a fine polish. The furniture should be rubbed over with a cloth dipped in oil then rubbed over with a clean cloth till it appears dry and polished. White spots on varnished furniture may be removed by rubbing them with a warm flannel dipped in spirits of turpentine. Ink spots may be removed by rubbing them with a woollen cloth dipped in oil of vitriol and water mixed being careful not to touch any part of the furniture that is not spotted. As soon as the ink is extracted rinse the spot with pearl-ash water and then with fair water. It is said that blotting paper alone will extract the ink if rolled up tight and rubbed hard on the spots. If it answers the purpose it is altogether best to use it as there is always danger attending the use of oil of vitriol it being so powerful as to corrode whatever it may get dropped on without its effects are destroyed by the use of an alkali. 422. _To clean Stoves and Stone Hearths._ Varnished stoves should have several coats of varnish put on in summer in order to have it get hard before being used. They should be washed in warm water without soap--a little oil rubbed on them occasionally makes them look nice and tends to keep the varnish from wearing off. Black lead and British Lustre are both of them good to black stoves which have never been varnished--if they have been it will not answer. They should be mixed with cold water to form a paste then rubbed on the stoves and remain till quite dry--they should then be rubbed with a dry stiff and flat brush till clean and polished. If you wish to preserve the color of free-stone hearths wash them in water without any soap; then rub on them while damp free-stone that has been reduced to a powder--let it remain till dry then rub it off. If the hearths are stained rub them hard with a piece of free-stone. If you wish to have your hearth look dark rub it over with hot soft soap alone or diluted with water. For brick hearths use redding mixed with thin hot starch and milk. 423. _To extract Ink from Floors._ Ink spots on floors can be removed by scouring them with sand wet in oil of vitriol and water mixed. Rinse them when the ink is extracted with strong pearl-ash water. 424. _To remove Paint and Putty from Window Glass._ Put sufficient pearl-ash into hot water to make it very strong of it; then saturate the paint which is daubed on the glass with it. Let it remain till nearly dry then rub it off hard with a woollen cloth. Pearl-ash water is also good to remove putty before it is dried on the glass. If it dries on whiting is good to remove it. 425. _To cleanse Feather Beds and Mattresses._ When feather beds become soiled or heavy they may be made clean and light by being treated in the following manner: Rub them over with a stiff brush dipped in hot soap-suds. When clean lay them on a shed or any other clean place where the rain will fall on them. When thoroughly soaked let them dry in a hot sun for six or seven successive days shaking them up well and turning them over each day. They should be covered over with a thick cloth during the night; if exposed to the night air they will become damp and mildew. This way of washing the bed ticking and feathers makes them very fresh and light and is much easier than the old-fashioned way of emptying the beds and washing the feathers separately while it answers quite as well. Care must be taken to dry the bed perfectly before sleeping on it. Hair mattresses that have become hard and dirty can be made nearly as good as new by ripping them washing the ticking and picking the hair free from bunches and keeping it in a dry airy place several days. Whenever the ticking gets dry fill it lightly with the hair and tack it together. 426. _To cleanse Vials and Pie Plates._ Bottles and vials that have had medicine in them may be cleansed by putting ashes in each one and immersing them in a pot of cold water then heating the water gradually until it boils. When they have boiled in it an hour take it from the fire and let them remain in it till cold; then wash them in soap-suds and rinse them in fair water till clear. Pie plates that have been used much for baking are apt to impart an unpleasant taste to the pies which is owing to the lard and butter of the crust soaking into them and becoming rancid. It may be removed by putting them in a brass kettle with ashes and cool water and boiling them in it an hour. 427. _To temper Earthen-ware._ Earthen-ware that is used to bake in will be less liable to crack from the heat if put before they are used into a vessel with sufficient cold water to cover them then heated in it gradually till the water boils. When the vessel is taken from the fire the ware should remain in until cold. 428. _To temper New Ovens and Iron-ware._ New ovens before they are baked in should have a fire kept up in them half a day. As soon as the wood is removed put up the lid of the oven. It should not be used for baking until it has been heated the second time. If not treated in this manner it will never retain the heat well. New flat irons should be heated half a day before they are used in order to retain heat well. Iron cooking utensils when new will be less liable to crack if heated gradually five or six hours and then cooled slowly before being used to cook in. Cold water should never be turned into hot iron utensils as it will crack them by cooling the surface too suddenly. 429. _To polish Brass Britannia and Silver Utensils._ Rotten stone mixed with a little spirit is the best thing to clean brass with: rotten stone and oil does very well. They should be polished with dry rotten stone and a dry cloth. Hot vinegar and milk makes brass look nice--it should be rinsed off wiped dry and rubbed over with chalk to kill the acid and give the brass a polish. Brass looks very nice cleaned in this manner and will keep clean a long time provided all the acid is killed--if not they will turn very soon. When brass utensils are not in use they should be thoroughly cleaned with rotten stone and oil and wrapped up tight to exclude the air. Whiting or chalk is good to polish silver. If the silver is spotted wet the chalk (which should be powdered ) rub it on the silver and let it remain until dry; then rub it off with a clean dry cloth. When chalk will not remove spots hot ashes will. Britannia-ware should be rubbed with a flannel rag dipped in sweet or linseed oil if spotted then washed in soap-suds and wiped dry. To give it a polish rub it over with dry powdered chalk or whiting using a clean dry rag. 430. _To remove or keep Rust from Cutlery._ Bristol brick is good to remove rust and give a polish to steel utensils. It should be powdered fine and rubbed on dry with a woollen cloth. Knives should be rubbed on a board with a thick leather covered over it and fastened down tight. The brick should be dry and powdered fine and the knives should not be wet after cleaning but merely wiped with a dry clean cloth. To make the handles smooth wipe them with a cloth that is a little damp being careful not to touch the blades as it will tarnish them. Knives look very nice cleaned in this manner and the edge will keep sharp. Ivory-handled knives should never have the handles put into hot water as it will turn them yellow. If through misuse they turn yellow rub them with sand paper. When Bristol brick will not remove rust from steel rub the spots with sand paper or emery or else rub on sweet oil and let it remain a day; then rub it off with powdered quicklime. To keep steel utensils (that are not in constant use) from contracting rust clean them thoroughly with Bristol brick wipe them on a perfectly dry cloth and rub them over with sweet oil and cover them with brown paper so as to exclude the air. Knives and forks should be wrapped up in brown paper each one by itself. 431. _Preservatives against the ravages of Moths._ Moths are very apt to eat woollen and fur garments early in the summer. To keep them from the garments take them late in the spring when not worn and put them in a chest with considerable camphor gum. Cedar chips or tobacco leaves are also good for this purpose. When moths get into garments the best thing to destroy them is to hang the garments in a closet and make a strong smoke of tobacco leaves under them. In order to do it have a pan of live coals in the closet and sprinkle on the tobacco leaves. 432. _To destroy Cockroaches Ants and other household Vermin._ Hellebore rubbed over with molasses and put round the places that cockroaches frequent is a very effectual poison for them. Arsenic spread on bread and butter and placed round rat or mouse holes will soon put a stop to their ravages. Quicksilver and the white of an egg beat together and laid with a feather round the crevices of the bedsteads and the sacking is very effectual in destroying bugs in them. To kill flies when so numerous as to be troublesome keep cobalt wet with spirit in a large shallow plate. The spirit will attract the flies and the cobalt will kill them very soon. Black pepper is said to be good to destroy them--it should be mixed so as to be very strong with a little cream and sugar. Great care is necessary in using the above poisons where there are any children as they are so apt to eat any thing that comes in their way and these poisons will prove as fatal to them as to vermin (excepting the pepper.) The flour of sulphur is said to be good to drive ants away if sprinkled round the places that they frequent. Sage is also good. Weak brine will kill worms in gravel walks if kept moist with it a week in the spring and three or four days in the fall. COMMON SIMPLE DYES. 433. _To Dye Black._ Allow a pound of logwood to each pound of goods that are to be dyed. Soak it over night in soft water then boil it an hour and strain the water in which it is boiled. For each pound of logwood dissolve an ounce of blue vitriol in lukewarm water sufficient to wet the goods. Dip the goods in--when saturated with it turn the whole into the logwood dye. If the goods are cotton set the vessel on the fire and let the goods boil ten or fifteen minutes stirring them constantly to prevent their spotting. Silk and woollen goods should not be boiled in the dye-stuff but it should be kept at a scalding heat for twenty minutes. Drain the goods without wringing and hang them in a dry shady place where they will have the air. When dry set the color by put them into scalding hot water that has salt in it in the proportion of a tea-cup full to three gallons of the water. Let the goods remain in it till cold; then hang them where they will dry; (they should not be wrung.) Boiling hot suds is the best thing to set the color of black silk--let it remain in it till cold. Soaking black-dyed goods in sour milk is also good to set the color. 434. _Green and Blue Dye for Silks and Woollens._ For green dye take a pound of oil of vitriol and turn it upon half an ounce of Spanish indigo that has been reduced to a fine powder. Stir them well together then add a lump of pearl ash of the size of a pea--as soon as the fermentation ceases bottle it--the dye will be fit for use the next day. Chemic blue is made in the same manner only using half the quantity of vitriol. For woollen goods the East indigo will answer as well as the Spanish and comes much lower. This dye will not answer for cotton goods as the vitriol rots the threads. Wash the articles that are to be dyed till perfectly clean and free from color. If you cannot extract the color by rubbing it in hot suds boil it out--rinse it in soft water till entirely free from soap as the soap will ruin the dye. To dye a pale color put to each quart of soft warm water that is to be used for the dye ten drops of the above composition--if you wish a deep color more will be necessary. Put in the articles without crowding and let them remain in it till of a good color--the dye-stuff should be kept warm--take the articles out without wringing drain as much of the dye out of them as possible then hang them to dry in a shady airy place. They should be dyed when the weather is dry--if not dried quick they will not look nice. When perfectly dry wash them in lukewarm suds to keep the vitriol from injuring the texture of the cloth. If you wish for a lively bright green mix a little of the above composition with yellow dye. 435. _Yellow Dyes._ To dye a buff color boil equal parts of arnotto and common potash in soft clear water. When dissolved take it from the fire; when cool put in the goods which should previously be washed free from spots and color; set them on a moderate fire where they will keep hot till the goods are of the shade you wish. To dye salmon and orange color tie arnotto in a bag and soak it in warm soft soap suds till it becomes soft so that you can squeeze enough of it through the bag to make the suds a deep yellow--put in the articles which should be clean and free from color; boil them till of the shade you wish. There should be enough of the dye to cover the goods--stir them while boiling to keep them from spotting. This dye will make a salmon or orange color according to the strength of it and the time the goods remain in. Drain them out of the dye and dry them quick in the shade--when dry wash them in soft soap suds. Goods dyed in this manner should never be rinsed in clear water. Peach leaves fustic and saffron all make a good straw or lemon color according to the strength of the dye. They should be steeped in soft fair water in an earthen or tin vessel and then strained and the dye set with alum and a little gum arabic dissolved in the dye if you wish to stiffen the article. When the dye-stuff is strained steep the articles in it. 436. _Red Dyes._ Madder makes a good durable red but not a brilliant color. To make a dye of it allow for half a pound of it three ounces of alum and one of cream of tartar and six gallons of water. This proportion of ingredients will make sufficient dye for six or seven pounds of goods. Heat half of the water scalding hot in a clean brass kettle then put in the alum and cream of tartar and let it dissolve. When the water boils stir the alum and tartar up in it put in the goods and let them boil a couple of hours; then rinse them in fair water--empty the kettle and put in three gallons of water and the madder; rub it fine in the water then put in the goods and set them where they will keep scalding hot for an hour without boiling--stir them constantly. When they have been scalding an hour increase the fire till they boil. Let them boil five minutes; then drain them out of the dye and rinse them without wringing in fair water and hang them in the shade where they will dry. To dye a fine crimson take for each pound of goods two and a half ounces of alum an ounce and a half of white tartar--put them in a brass kettle with sufficient fair water to cover your goods; set it where it will boil briskly for several minutes; then put in the goods which should be washed clean and rinsed in fair water. When the goods have boiled half an hour take them out without wringing and hang it where it will cool all over alike without drying; empty out the alum and tartar water put fresh water in the kettle and for each pound of goods to be dyed put in an ounce of cochineal powdered fine. Set the kettle on the fire and let the water boil fifteen or twenty minutes; then put in sufficient cold water to make it lukewarm put in the goods and boil them an hour and a quarter--take them out without wringing and dry them in a shady place. The blossoms of the Balm of Gilead steeped with fair water in a vessel then strained will dye silk a pretty red color. The silk should be washed clean and free from color then rinsed in fair water and boiled in the strained dye with a small piece of alum. To dye a fine delicate pink use a carmine saucer--the directions for dyeing come with the saucers. It is too expensive a dye for bulky goods but for faded fancy shawls and ribbons it is quite worth the while to use it as it gives a beautiful shade of pink. 437. _Slate-Colored Dye._ To make a good dark slate color boil sugar-loaf paper with vinegar in an iron utensil--put in alum to set the color. Tea grounds set with copperas makes a good slate color. To produce a light slate color boil white maple bark in clear water with a little alum--the bark should be boiled in a brass utensil. The dye for slate color should be strained before the goods are put into it. They should be boiled in it and then hung where they will drain and dry. 438. _Soap from Scraps._ Dissolve eighteen pounds of potash in three pailsful of water; then add to it twenty-five pounds of grease and boil it over a slow fire for a couple of hours. Turn it into a barrel and fill it up with water. 439. _Cold Soap._ Heat twenty-six pounds of strained grease. When melted mix it with four pailsful of lye made of twenty pounds of white potash. Let the whole stand in the sun stirring it frequently. In the course of a week fill the barrel with weak lye. This method of making soap is much easier than to make a lye of your ashes while it is as cheap if you sell your ashes to the soap-boiler. 440. _Hard Soap._ Dissolve twenty weight of white potash in three pailsful of water. Heat twenty pounds of strained grease then mix it with the dissolved potash and boil them together till the whole becomes a thick jelly which is ascertained by taking a little of it out to get cold. Take it from the fire stir in cold water till it grows thin then put to each pailful of soap a pint of blown salt--stir it in well. The succeeding day separate it from the lye and heat it over a slow fire. Let it boil a quarter of an hour then take it from the fire. If you wish to have it a yellow color put in a little palm oil and turn it out into wooden vessels. When cold separate it again from the lye and cut it in bars--let them remain in the sun several days to dry. 441. _Windsor and Castile Soap._ To make the celebrated Windsor soap nothing more is necessary than to slice the best white soap as thin as possible and melt it over a slow fire. Take it from the fire when melted and when it is just lukewarm add enough of the oil of caraway to scent it. If any other fragrant oil is liked better if may be substituted. Turn it into moulds and let it remain in a dry situation for five or six days. To make Castile soap boil common soft soap in lamp oil three hours and a half. 442. _Bayberry or Myrtle Soap._ Dissolve two pounds and a quarter of white potash in five quarts of water then mix it with ten pounds of myrtle wax or bayberry tallow. Boil the whole over a slow fire till it turns to soap then add a tea-cup of cold water--let it boil ten minutes longer--at the end of that time turn it into tin moulds or pans and let them remain a week or ten days to dry then turn them out of the moulds. If you wish to have the soap scented stir into it any essential oil that has an agreeable smell just before you turn it into the moulds. This kind of soap is excellent for shaving and chapped hands--it is also good for eruptions on the face. It will be fit for use in the course of three or four weeks after it is made but it is better for being kept ten or twelve months. THE WHOLE ART OF CARVING. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The carving knife should be light of middling size and of a fine edge. _Strength_ is less required than _skill_ in the manner of using it; and to facilitate this the butcher should be directed to divide the _joints_ of the bones of all carcass joints of mutton lamb and veal (such as neck breast and loin ) which then may easily be cut into thin slices attached to the bones. If the whole of the meat belonging to each bone should be too thick a small slice may be taken off between every two bones. The more fleshy joints (as fillets of veal leg or saddle of mutton and beef ) are to be helped in thin slices neatly cut and smooth. Observe to let the knife pass down to the bone in the mutton and beef joints. The dish should not be too far off the carver as it gives an awkward appearance and makes the task more difficult. Attention is to be paid to help every one to a part of such articles as are considered best. In helping fish take care not to break the flakes which in cod and very fresh salmon are large and contribute much to the beauty of its appearance. A fish knife not being sharp divides it best. Help a part of the roe milt or liver to each person. The heads of carp part of those of cod and salmon sounds of cod and fins of turbot are likewise esteemed niceties and are to be attended to accordingly. In cutting up any wild fowl duck goose or turkey for a large party if you cut the slices down from pinion to pinion without making wings there will be more handsome pieces. 1. _Sirloin of Beef._ This may be begun at either end or by cutting in the middle. It is usual to inquire whether the outside or inside is preferred. For the outside the slice should be cut down to the bones and the same with every following helping. Slice the inside likewise and give with each piece some of the soft fat. The inside done in the following manner is excellent: Have ready some shalot vinegar boiling hot; mince the meat large and a good deal of the fat; sprinkle it with salt and pour the vinegar and the gravy on it. Help with a spoon as quick as possible on hot plates. 2. _Aitch or Edgebone of Beef._ [Illustration] Cut off a slice an inch thick all the length from _a_ to _b_ and then help. The soft fat which resembles marrow lies at the back of the bone below _d_--the firm fat must be cut in horizontal slices at the edge of the meat _c_. The skewer used in keeping the meat together while boiling is shown at _a_ which should be drawn out before served up; or if necessary to leave it in place instead one of silver. 3. _Shoulder of Mutton._ [Illustration] This is a very good joint and by many preferred to the leg; for if properly roasted it abounds in gravy and produces many nice bits. The figure annexed represents it as laid in the dish with its back uppermost. It should first be cut in the hollow part in the direction _a_ _b_ and the knife passed deep to the bone. The best part of the fat lies on the outer edge and it is to be cut out in thin slices in the direction _f_. If many are at the table and the hollow part cut in the line _a_ _b_ is eaten some very good and delicate slices may be cut out on each side the ridge of the blade bone in the direction _c_ _d_. The line between these two dotted lines is that in the direction of which the edge or ridge of the blade bone lies and cannot be cut across. It is necessary to wind writing paper around the shank as in the leg provided you wish to handle it. The lower side of the shoulder has two cuts abounding in gravy. The part in the direction _i_ _k_ is lean; the other _g_ _h_ is very fat. [Illustration] 4. _Knuckle of Veal._ [Illustration] A knuckle of veal cuts in neat slices only in one direction viz.: from _a_ to _b_. The line _d_ _c_ divides two bones which it is necessary to separate in order to get at the best marrowy fat portion--also cut asunder the knuckle bones. 5. _Roasted Breast of Veal._ [Illustration] Cut to the left on the first line _d_ _c_; then cross from _c_ to the most distant _a_. The lines _a_ _d_ _a_ _d_ &c. represent the directions in which the brisket or gristly part should be divided; _d_ _c_ show the course of the ribs and _e_ is the sweetbread. 6. _A Spare Rib._ [Illustration] Cut out first a slice from the fleshy portion following the line _a_ _b_. This will give a due proportion of fat and lean. After this part is taken away the bone lying in the direction _d_ _b_ _c_ should be separated breaking it off at the joint _c_. 7. _Saddle of Mutton._ [Illustration] Cut long thin slices from the tail to the end viz.: from _a_ to _b_ beginning close to the back bone. If a large joint the slice may be divided. Cut some fat from the sides. 8. _Pig._ [Illustration] The cook usually divides the body before it is sent to the table and garnishes the dish with the jaws and ears. The first thing is to separate the shoulder from the carcass on one side and then the leg according to the direction given by the dotted line _a_ _b_ _c_. The ribs are then to be divided into about two helpings and an ear or jaw presented with them and plenty of sauce. The joints may either be divided into two each or pieces may be cut from them. The ribs are reckoned the finest part but some people prefer the neck and between the shoulders. 9. _Half a Calf's Head boiled._ [Illustration] Be careful and get a young one as they look much handsomer served up and besides are more tender. First cut in the direction _c_ _b_. The throat bread is considered the choicest part; it lies in the fleshy portion near the termination of the jaw-bone and the line _c_ _d_ shows the direction to cut into it. On the under part of the lower jaw there is some very nice meat; and about the ear _g_ some fat rather gristly but highly esteemed. The part near the neck is very inferior. Sometimes the bone in the line _f_ _e_ is cut off but this is a coarse part. The sweet tooth is quite a delicacy--it lies back of all the rest and in a young calf is easily extracted with the knife. Many like the eye which you must cut out with the point of your knife and divide in two. Under the head is the palate which is reckoned a nicety. 10. _Leg of Mutton._ [Illustration] A leg of wether mutton (which is best flavored) may be known at the market by a round lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part a little above the letter _a_. The best part is midway between the knuckle and farther end. Begin to help there by cutting thin slices to _b_. If the outside is not fat enough help some from the side at the broad end in slices from _e_ to _f_. This part is most juicy but many prefer the knuckle which in fine mutton will be very tender though dry. There are very fine slices in the back of the leg--turn it up and cut the broad end not in the direction you did the other side but lengthwise. To cut out the cramp bone take hold of the shank (which should be previously wound round with half a sheet of fool's-cap paper) with your left hand and cut down to the thigh bone at _g_ then pass the knife under the cramp bone in the direction _g_ _d_. 11. _Ham._ [Illustration] Ham may be cut three ways; the common method is to begin in the middle by long slices from _b_ to _c_ from the centre through the thick fat. This brings to the prime at first which is likewise accomplished by cutting a small round hole on the top of the ham as at _a_ and with a sharp knife enlarging that by cutting successive thin circles--this preserves the gravy and keeps the meat moist. The last and most saving way is to begin at the hock end (which many are most fond of ) and proceed onward. Ham that is used for pies &c. should be cut from the under side. 12. _Fore Quarter of Lamb._ [Illustration] Separate the shoulder from the breast and ribs by passing the knife under in the direction of _a_ _b_ _c_ and _d_. Be careful to keep it towards you horizontally to prevent cutting the meat too much off the bones. If grass lamb the shoulder being large put it into a another dish. Squeeze the juice of half a Seville orange or lemon on the other part and sprinkle a little salt and pepper; then separate the gristly part from the ribs in the line _e_ _c_ and help either from that or from the ribs as may be chosen. 13. _Haunch of Venison._ [Illustration] First cut it down to the bone in the line _d_ _c_ _a_ then turn the dish with the end _a_ towards you; put in the point of the knife at _c_ and cut it down as deep as you can in the direction _c_ _b_. Thus cut you may take out as many slices as you please on the right or left. As the fat lies deeper on the left between _b_ and _a_ to those who are fond of fat as most venison eaters are the best flavored and fattest slices will be found on the left of the line _c_ _b_ supposing the end _a_ turned towards you. Slices of venison should not be cut too thick nor too thin and plenty of gravy given with them. 14. _Round of Beef._ This is cut in the same way as a fillet of veal. It should be kept even all over. When helping the fat be careful not to hack it but cut it smooth. A deep slice should be taken off before you begin to help as directed in the edge-bone. 15. _Brisket of Beef._ This must be cut lengthwise quite down to the bone after separating the outside or first slice which must be cut pretty thick. 16. _Leg of Pork._ This joint is sent to the table whether boiled or roasted as a leg of mutton roasted and cut up in the same manner. The close firm flesh about the knuckle is by many reckoned best. 17. _Haunch of Mutton._ This is formed by the leg and part of the loin cut so as to resemble a haunch of venison and is to be helped at table in the same manner. 18. _Goose._ [Illustration] Turn the neck end of the goose towards you and cut the whole breast in slices on each side of the bird but only remove them as you help each person unless the company is so large as to require the legs likewise. Turn the goose on one side and then take off the leg by putting the fork into the small end of the leg bone pressing it close to the body; and having passed the knife in the line _e_ _d_ turn the leg back and if a young bird it will easily separate. To take off the wing put your fork into the small end of the pinion and press it close to the body; then put in the knife at _c_ and divide the joint taking it down in the direction _c_ _d_. Nothing but _practice_ will enable people to hit the joint exactly at the first trial. When the leg and wing of one side are done go on to the other; cut off the apron in the line _f_ _e_ _g_ then take off the merry-thought in the line _o_ _i_. The neck bones are next to be separated as in a fowl and all other parts divided the same. 19. _A Fowl._ [Illustration] A boiled fowl's legs are bent inwards but before it is served the skewers are to be removed. Lay the fowl on your plate and place the joints as cut off on the dish. Take the wing off in the direction of _a_ to _b_ in the annexed engraving only dividing the joint with your knife; and then with your fork lift up the pinion and draw the wings towards the legs and the muscles will separate in a more complete form than if cut. Slip the knife between the leg and body and cut to the bone; then with the fork turn the leg back and if the bird is not old the joint will give way. When the four quarters are thus removed take off the merry-thought from _a_ and the neck bones these last by putting in the knife at _c_ and pressing it under the long broad part of the bone in the line _c_ _b_; then lift it up and break it off from the part that sticks to the breast. The next thing is to divide the breast from the carcass by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast quite down to the end of the fowl; lay the back up put your knife into the bone half way from the neck to the rump and on raising the lower part it will readily separate. Turn the neck towards you and very neatly take off the two sidesmen and the whole will be done. As each part is taken off it should be turned neatly on the dish and care should be taken that what is left should go properly from the table. The breast and wings are looked upon as the best parts but the legs are most juicy in young fowls. After all more advantage will be gained by observing those who carve well and a little practice than by any written directions whatever. 20. _Partridge._ This bird is cut up in the same way as a fowl. The best parts are the wings breast and merry-thought; but the bird being small the two latter are not often divided. The wing is considered the best and the tip is reckoned the most delicate morsel of the whole. 21. _Pigeons._ Pigeons are considered very fine eating. It is usual to cut them in half either from top to bottom or across. The lower part is generally thought best. 22. _Turkey._ Fix your fork firmly in the lower part of the breast so as to have full command of the turkey. Slice down on each side of the centre of the breast two or three lines lengthwise with the body; then take off the leg on one side holding the knife in a sloping direction the point turned towards the end of the body. This done cut off the wing on the same side in a line nearly parallel with the length of the turkey. When you have thus separated the wings and legs take off from the breast bone the parts you before sliced down. Be very attentive in separating the wing not to cut too near the neck or you will find yourself interrupted by the neck bone from which the wing must be taken. 23. _Cod's Head._ [Illustration] Fish in general requires very little carving the fleshy parts being those principally esteemed. A cod's head and shoulders when in season and properly boiled is a very genteel and handsome dish. When cut it should be done with a fish trowel; the parts about the back-bone or the shoulders are by far the firmest and best. Take off a piece quite down to the bone in the direction _a_ _b_ _c_ _d_ putting in the spoon at _a_ _c_ and with each slice of the fish give a piece of the round which lies underneath the back-bone and lines it the meat of which is thin and a little darker colored than the body of the fish itself. This may be got by passing a spoon under it in the direction _d_ _f_. About the head are many delicate parts and a great deal of the jelly kind. The jelly part lies about the jaw-bone and the firm parts within the head. Some are fond of the palate and others the tongue which likewise may be got by putting a spoon into the mouth. Transcriber's Note The following typographical errors were corrected: Page Error 5 PICKLES changed to PICKLES. 7 COMMON DRINKS changed to COMMON DRINKS. 8 washing Calicoes changed to Washing Calicoes 12 scum tha changed to scum that 19 them fry until a a light changed to then fry until a light 19 its blistering changed to its blistering. 27 boiled Poultry changed to Boiled Poultry 28 sweet marjorum changed to sweet marjoram 36 _Black Fish_ changed to _Black Fish._ 37 baking fish No. 74. changed to baking fish No. 76. 46 118. _Directions_ changed to 119. _Directions_ 59 _Green Corn Cake_ changed to _Green Corn Cake._ 125 freed from them changed to freed from them. 126 _through the Winter_ changed to _through the Winter._ 128 boil it gently changed to boil it gently. 130 in indigo water changed to in indigo water. 131 _Marble Furniture_ changed to _Marble Furniture._ 134 into the moulds changed to into the moulds. 142 _A Fowl_ changed to _A Fowl._ The following words had inconsistent spelling and hyphenation: Butter-milk / Buttermilk Earthen-ware / Earthenware edge-bone / edgebone Iron-ware / Ironware pearl-ash / pearl ash pepper-corns / peppercorns potato / potatoe Potato / Potatoe rose-water / rosewater quick lime / quicklime salt-petre / saltpetre sweet bread / sweetbread table-spoonful / table spoonful table-spoonsful / table spoonsful tea-cup / tea cup tea-spoonful / tea spoonful tea-spoonsful / tea spoonsful three-quarters / three quarters tomatoes / tomatos turkies / turkeys 38067 ---- Curious Arts. [Illustration: Sketches of Landscapes. [See page 31]] A SELECT COLLECTION OF VALUABLE AND CURIOUS ARTS, AND INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS, WHICH ARE WELL EXPLAINED AND WARRANTED GENUINE AND MAY BE PERFORMED EASILY, SAFELY, AND AT LITTLE EXPENSE. THIRD EDITION. CONCORD: PUBLISHED BY RUFUS PORTER. J. B. Moore, Printer. 1826. Transcriber's Note: Some of the articles in the Appendix do not list a price. DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, to wit. _District Clerk's Office._ [Sidenote: L. S.] Be it remembered, that on the twenty-second day of October, A.D. 1825, and in the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United States of America, RUFUS PORTER, of the said District, has deposited in this Office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit:-- "_A Select Collection of valuable and curious Arts and interesting Experiments, which are well explained and warranted genuine, and may be performed easily, safely, and at little expense._" In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned;" and also to an act, entitled, "An act supplementary to an act, entitled, an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints." SAMUEL CUSHMAN, _Clerk of the District of New-Hampshire_. A true copy of record:-- Attest, SAMUEL CUSHMAN, _Clerk_. ADVERTISEMENT. It is not so much the object of the author, with regard to the various arts treated of in the following pages, to convey to professed artists, a more accurate and extensive knowledge of those arts, as to explain some of the first lines and principles of them, for the advantage of those, who may be induced to practice them occasionally, either for profit or amusement. The chemical experiments are such as are calculated to combine recreation, with improvement in useful knowledge--a knowledge of some of the leading principles of chemistry.--The true chemical terms, according to the new nomenclature (which, perhaps, may not be so readily understood, by some, as the more common and familiar names, but will be found sufficiently explained in the appendix) have, in this work, been applied to the various articles occasionally mentioned. Very few substances have been mentioned, which are generally considered poisonous, or otherwise dangerous; but it may be proper, however, for those who may attempt any of the chemical experiments, to proceed with caution, and carefully avoid the fumes produced by chemical action, especially in metallic solutions in nitric acid, and sublimation of mercury. Several articles in this little collection, will probably be found to contain some improvements, and if it prove as interesting to others, as a similar work would formerly have been to the author, his object will have been attained. TABLE OF CONTENTS. _Page._ 1. Water-proof gilding and silvering, 9 2. The art of burnish gilding, 11 3. Ornamental bronze gilding, 13 4. To enamel picture glasses with gold, 15 5. To wash iron or steel with gold, 15 6. To wash brass or copper with silver, 16 7. To give wood a gold, silver, or copper lustre, 17 8. To print gold letters on morocco, 18 9. To dye silk a brilliant gold colour, 18 10. To dye silk a brilliant silver colour, 19 11. To silver looking glasses, 20 12. To write on paper with gold or silver, 22 13. To make good shining black ink, 23 14. Blue ink, 23 15. Red ink, 24 16. Yellow ink, 24 17. Green ink, 25 18. Purple ink, 25 19. To write in various colours with the same pen, ink and paper. 25 20-26. Sympathetic inks for secret correspondence, 27 27. Luminous ink that will shine in the dark, 28 28. To make a writing appear and disappear at pleasure, 29 29. To make a writing vanish and another appear in its place, 29 30. To restore old writing that is nearly defaced, 30 31. To paint a picture that will appear and disappear occasionally, 30 32. Landscape painting on walls of rooms, 31 33. To paint in figures for carpets or borders, 34 34. To paint in imitation of mahogany and maple, 35 35. The art of painting on glass, 36 36. Best method of polishing steel, 37 37. To make letters of blue on polished steel, 38 38. To preserve the brightness of polished steel, 39 39. To give steel a temper to cut marble, 40 40. To wash iron or steel with copper, 41 41. To give iron the whiteness of silver, 42 42. To wash iron with tin, 42 43. To give tin the whiteness and brilliancy of silver, 44 44. To crystallize tin, 44 45. To make a gold coloured varnish for tin, 45 46. To make shellac varnish for japanning, 46 47. To make the best copal varnish, 47 48. To make a spirit varnish for maps, 48 49. To make elastic varnish for umbrellas, 49 50. To varnish maps and pictures, 49 51. To make brunswick blacking, 50 52. To make a print appear on a gold ground, 51 53. Best method of tracing or copying a picture, 52 54. The construction and use of a copying machine, 53 55. To produce the exact likeness of any object instantly, 54 56. Copper plate engraving, 57 57. Etching on copper plates, 60 58. Engraving and scraping in mezzotinto, 63 59. Etching in aqua-tinta, 64 60. Copper plate printing, 65 61. Etching letters and flowers on glass, 67 62. To print figures with a smooth stone, 68 63. To cut glass with a piece of iron, 69 64. Best cement for joining glass, 70 65. Best cement for joining china or crockery, 70 66. To make a strong water proof glue, 71 67. The art of moulding figures in relief, 72 68. To cast images in plaster, 73 69. To produce embossed letters on marble, 74 70. To soften stone, 75 71. To change wood, apparently, to stone, 76 72. To render wood, cloth or paper, fire proof 77 73-75. To produce fire readily, 77 76. To make super-combustible matches, 78 77. To make gun powder, 79 78. To make the common fulminating powder, 80 79. To make mercurial fulminating powder, 80 80. To kindle a fire under water, 82 81. To light a candle by application of ice, 82 82. To form letters or flowers of real flame, 83 83. To produce flame of various colours, 84 84. To make sky rockets and fire wheels, 85 85. To produce detonating balloons, 87 86. To prepare a phial that will give light in the dark, 89 87. To make a person's face appear luminous in the dark, 89 88. To freeze water in warm weather, 90 89. To change the colours of animals, 91 90. To give leather a beautiful metallic lustre, 92 91. An easy method of extracting the essence of roses, 92 92. To prepare various kinds of essences, 93 93. To prepare soda water, 94 94-95. To produce metallic trees, 95 96. To tin copper by boiling, 96 97. A metal that will melt in hot water, 96 98. Illustration of calico printing, 96 99. To prepare an imitation of gold bronze, 99 100. To procure the exhilarating gas, 99 101. Construction of the galvanic pile or battery, 101 102. Construction of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe, 102 103. To make a dry phosphorescent powder, 104 104. Curious experiment of precipitation, 105 105. To make a beautiful soft glass for jewelry, 105 106. Composition of various kinds of glass, 106 107. Composition of various alloys, 107 108. To produce various kinds of gas, 108 109. Various chemical tests, 110 110. To produce a picture instantly, 111 111. A cheap imitation of silver bronze, 112 112. To make crayons of various colours, 113 113. To make hard sealing wax, 115 114. The art of manufacturing paper hangings, 116 115. To make elastic blacking for leather, 118 116. Sundry experiments, 119 CURIOUS ARTS. 1. WATER-PROOF GILDING AND SILVERING.--This kind of gilding, usually termed oil gilding, being the cheapest and most durable, is in general use for gilding or silvering letters on signs, labels, &c. and may be performed as follows:--Grind one ounce of white lead and two ounces of litharge, very fine, in a gill of old linseed oil, and if convenient, add nearly one-fourth of a gill of old copal varnish, and half an ounce of stone yellow; but neither of these last, are very essential ingredients. Expose this composition to the rays of the sun for a week or more in a broad open vessel, observing, however, to keep it free from dust. Then pour off the finest part, and dilute it with as much spirits of turpentine as will make it work freely with a brush or camel-hair pencil. (Oil that will answer exceedingly well for this purpose, may sometimes be collected from the top of oil paints that have been long standing, and may be used directly, without being exposed to the sun as directed above.) Whatever letters or figures you would gild, must be first drawn or painted with this sizing, the ground having been previously painted and varnished; and when the sizing is so dry as to be hard, but yet remains slightly adhesive, or sticky, lay on gold or silver leaves smoothly over the whole, pressing them down gently with a soft ball of cotton. The most convenient manner of performing this, is to lay the leaves of gold or silver, first on a piece of deer-skin or glove-leather, and cut them into pieces of a convenient size, by drawing a smooth (not sharp) edged knife over them. Then take a small block of wood, of a triangular form, about half an inch thick, and two inches in diameter, and bind a strip of fine flannel round the edges;--breathe on this, and press it gently on a piece of the leaf, which by this may be taken from the leather, and carried to any part of the sizing where it will best fit, and to which it will readily adhere: thus the sizing may be readily covered with the leaf, very little of which will be wasted. Afterward the whole may be brushed over lightly with cotton, or a soft brush, and the superfluous gold or silver will be brushed off, leaving the letters or figures entire. When the work has thus remained two or three days, it may be rubbed with a piece of silk, which will increase its metallic lustre. _Note._--It is very essential that the varnish of the ground should be thoroughly dry, that it may not be adhesive in the least degree, otherwise the leaf will stick where it should not, and materially injure the work. When plain gilding is required for vanes, balls, &c. the leaves of gold or silver may be applied to the work directly from the book, without cutting or dividing them. 2. THE ART OF BURNISH GILDING.--Make a sizing by boiling the skins of beaver and musk rats, (which may be readily procured at a hat manufactory,) in water, till it is of sufficient strength that by cooling it will become a stiff jelly; strain the liquor while warm, and give your work one coat of it with a brush; when this is dry, add a little fine whiting to the sizing, and give the work one coat of this. Then add as much whiting as will work freely under the brush, and lay on five or six coats of this, allowing each a sufficient time to dry. Smooth the work by wetting it, and rubbing it with a piece of pumice stone, which should be previously cut and fitted to the moulding or other work that is to be gilt; afterward, when the work is dry, rub it with some fine sand paper. Then take some burnish-gold-size (which is composed of pipe-clay, plumbago, beef tallow and castile soap, but may be easily procured ready made,) and dilute it with water till it is of the consistence of very soft putty, and afterward with the above mentioned sizing till it will flow freely from a brush, and give the work three successive coats of this; when the last is dry, dip a camel-hair pencil in a mixture of equal quantities of rum and water, and with it wet a small part of the work, and immediately, while it is flowing, lay on a leaf of gold, brushing it down with a very soft, flat camel-hair brush, with which also, the leaf is usually conveyed from the book to the sizing; proceed thus till the whole is gilt, and let it dry. When the work is sufficiently dry to take a fair polish by burnishing, (which can be only ascertained by applying the burnisher to different parts of the work occasionally while it is drying,) rub over the whole carefully with a flint burnisher, or with the tooth of a wolf or dog, being fixed in a convenient handle, till the whole acquires a brilliant polish, except such parts as are required to remain in a rough-gilt state, which parts are usually flatted by a coat of thin sizing. Such are the principal rules of the art of burnish gilding; but as this business requires some variation of management, according to the state of the weather and other circumstances, it may not be expected that any person should become very expert in the art, without the advantage of some experience and practice. 3. ORNAMENTAL BRONZE GILDING.--This is performed by means of gold or silver, reduced to an impalpable powder, called bronze. One method of preparing it, is to levigate any quantity of gold or silver leaves on a stone, with some clarified honey; dilute the honey with clear water, that the bronze may settle; pour off the water and honey, and add fresh water to the bronze, which, after being thus thoroughly washed, may be dried on paper, and is ready for use. Another method of preparing the gold bronze, is to precipitate the gold from its solution in nitro-muriatic acid, (see 5,) by adding sulphate of iron to the solution;--then washing it, as directed above. But in general it will be found much cheaper to buy the bronze ready prepared. The ground for this work must be varnished with a mixture of copal varnish, with an equal quantity of old linseed oil; and whatever figures are to be formed in bronzing, must be represented by holes cut through pieces of paper. Lay these patterns on the work, when the varnish is so dry as to be but slightly adhesive, but not press them down any more than is requisite to keep the paper in its place. Then take a piece of soft glove-leather, moisten it a little by breathing on it, and dip it in some dry bronze, and apply it to the figures, beginning at the edges;--tap the figure gently with the leather, and the bronze will stick to the varnish according to the pattern. Thus any figure may be produced in a variety of shades, by applying the bronze more freely to some parts of the work than to others. If some internal parts of the figures require to be more distinct than others, they may be wrought by their peculiar patterns, or may be edged with dark coloured paint. In some work it may be well to extend the varnish no farther than the intended figures, in which case, any projecting or branching parts of the figures, may be drawn with a camel-hair pencil, and the patterns may in some measure be dispensed with. In either case, the work must afterwards have one or more coats of copal or shellac varnish. 4. TO ENAMEL PICTURE GLASSES WITH GOLD.--The glass must first be washed perfectly clean and dried; then damp it by breathing on it, or wet it with the tongue, and immediately lay on a leaf of gold, and brush it down smooth. When this is dry, draw any letters or flowers on the gold with Brunswick blacking, (see 51) and when dry, the superfluous gold may be brushed off with cotton, leaving the figures entire. Afterward the whole may be covered with blacking, or painted in any colour, while the gold figures will appear to advantage on the opposite side of the glass. This work may be elegantly shaded by scratching through the gold with a small steel instrument, (in the end of which many sharp points are formed,) previous to laying on the blacking. Oil paints of any kind may be substituted in the place of the blacking, but will not dry so quick. 5. TO WASH IRON OR STEEL WITH GOLD.--Mix together in a phial, one part of nitric acid, with two parts of muriatic acid, and add as much fine gold as the acid will dissolve. For this purpose gold leaf is the most convenient, as it will be the most readily dissolved. (This solution is called the nitro-muriate of gold.) Pour over this solution, cautiously, about half as much sulphuric ether;--shake the mixture, and then allow it to settle. The ether will take the gold from the acid, and will separate itself from it also, and form an upper stratum in the phial. Carefully pour off this auriferous ether into another phial, and cork it close. Wash any piece of steel or iron with this ether, and immediately plunge it in cold water, and it will have acquired a coat of pure gold. With this also, any flowers or letters may be drawn or written, even with a pen, and will appear perfectly gilt. The steel or iron should afterward be heated as much as it will bear without changing colour, and if the steel be previously polished, the beauty of the gilding may be much increased by burnishing with a cornelian or blood stone. 6. TO WASH BRASS OR COPPER WITH SILVER.--To half an ounce of nitric acid in a phial, add one ounce of water, and one fourth of an ounce of good silver. It will soon be dissolved, and if the acid and metal are both pure, the solution, (which is called nitrate of silver) will be transparent and colourless. Add to this a solution of nearly two drachms of muriate of soda, in any quantity of water; this will precipitate the silver in a white opaque mass. Pour off the water with the acid, and add to the silver an equal quantity of super-tartrate of potass, thus forming a soft paste;--dip a piece of soft leather in his paste, and rub it on the metal to be silvered; continue rubbing it till it is nearly dry; then wash it with water, and polish by rubbing it hard with a piece of dry leather. Another method is, to add sub-carbonate of potass to the nitrate of silver, as long as ebulition ensues; then the acid is poured off, and the precipitate, (which is white at first, but becomes green when dry,) is mixed with double its quantity of muriate of soda, and super-tartrate of potass. With this composition, being moistened, the metal is rubbed over, &c. 7. TO GIVE WOOD A GOLD, SILVER, OR COPPER LUSTRE.--Grind about two ounces of white beach sand in a gill of water, in which half an ounce of gum-arabic has been dissolved, and brush over the work with it. When this is dry, the work may be rubbed over with a piece of gold, silver or copper, and will in a measure, assume their respective colours and brilliancy. This work may be polished by a flint burnisher, but should not be varnished. 8. TO PRINT GOLD LETTERS ON MOROCCO.--First wet the morocco with the whites of eggs; when this is dry, rub the work over with a little olive oil, and lay on gold leaves. Then take some common printing types, and heat them to the temperature of boiling water, and impress the letters on the gold;--rub the whole with a piece of flannel, and the superfluous gold will come off, leaving the letters handsomely gilt. Another method is, to strew powdered rosin over the morocco previous to laying on the leaf; the heat of the types melts the rosin, which occasions the gold to adhere in the impressions, while the other may be brushed off. 9. TO DYE SILK A BRILLIANT GOLD COLOUR.--Take any quantity of nitro-muriate of gold, (see 5) and evaporate by exposing it to a gentle heat in a glass tumbler or phial; the gold will form itself in crystals on the bottom and sides of the vessel; collect these crystals and dissolve them in ten times their weight of pure water. Then put a gill of water into a common flask, and add one ounce of granulated zinc, and one-fourth of an ounce of sulphuric acid. Hydrogen gas will be evolved, and rise through the neck of the flask, which must not be stopped. Immerse a piece of white silk in the above mentioned aqueous solution of gold, and expose it, while wet, to the current of gas as it rises from the flask; the gold will soon be revived, and the silk will become beautifully and permanently gilt. Any letters or flowers may be drawn on the silk with a camel-hair pencil dipped in the solution, and on being exposed to the action of the gas, will be revived and shine with metallic brilliancy. _Note._--The silk must be kept moist with water till the gold is revived. Zinc may be prepared for the above purpose, by melting it, and stirring it continually with a stick or iron rod while it is cooling; or it may be pulverized with a hammer as soon as it becomes solid. 10. TO DYE SILK A BRILLIANT SILVER COLOUR.--Proceed as directed in the last experiment, only use the nitrate of silver, (see 6) instead of nitro-muriate of gold. The process of crystalizing, re-dissolving, &c. is the same. But the crystals of silver differ in colour, being white, whereas those produced from gold are yellow. If a jar, or box be filled with hydrogen gas, and the silk suspended in it, the action of the gas, and consequently the revivification of the metals will be more uniform. For small figures, however, it may be as well to fix a stopper in the flask, having a small orifice through it, that the gas may be thrown with some force on the silk, and will have a more certain effect. A solution of muriate of tin may be managed in a similar manner, but none of these solutions can be thus revived on paper. 11. TO SILVER LOOKING GLASSES.--Lay on a smooth board, a piece of soft deer-skin leather, rather larger than the glass that is to be silvered; and on the leather, having sprinkled a little fine whiting, spread a piece of tin foil of the same size. Pour on a few drops of mercury, and brush it over the tin with a smooth brush, till every part of the tin becomes bright. Then add as much mercury as will lay on the tin, and upon this lay the glass to be silvered: on the glass lay another piece of leather, of the same size, and on that another board.--Take up the boards with the glass, and pressing the boards together, turn them with the glass, the other side up; take off the upper board, and pass the glass with the tin and leather, between two rollers, similar to those of a rolling press, for copper-plate printing; thus to press out the mercury from between the tin and the glass. Then place the glass between the boards again as before, and place a heavy weight (which cannot be too heavy, unless it breaks the glass) on the upper board, which must remain two or three days. The glass may then be taken up. The practice of some is, to lay thin paper on the mercury previous to laying on the glass; this paper, being carefully drawn out, after the glass is laid on, serves to remove the superfluous mercury, that the tin may come more nearly in contact with the glass. In this case, no rollers are used. Concave or other fancy glasses may be silvered, by making an impression with the glass, in a kind of putty, made of fine sulphate of lime and water; and placing the glass in the impression again with the tin foil and mercury, when the plaster is dry, and subjecting it to pressure two or three days in that situation. The experiment of silvering glass may be performed by rubbing a drop of mercury on a small piece of tin foil, and pressing it upon a piece of glass with the finger, or a piece of soft leather. In this case, the glass will have acquired the reflective property of a mirror; and if a similar pressure be continued a few hours, the tin will adhere permanently. 12. TO WRITE ON PAPER WITH GOLD OR SILVER.--Make a sizing as strong as will flow freely from the pen, by dissolving equal quantities of gum-arabic and loaf sugar in water; write with this on paper and let it dry; then moisten the paper by breathing on it, or by holding it over hot water, and immediately lay pieces of gold or silver leaf on the lines of the writing, pressing them down gently with a dry hair pencil. Otherwise, brush gold or silver bronze lightly over the writing; but this will not have so brilliant an appearance. Allow the sizing to dry again, and then brush off the redundant gold or silver with cotton. This writing, (if performed with leaf gold or silver) may be burnished with a flint burnisher or a cornelian or blood-stone. Gold letters may also be written or drawn with a hair pencil by means of gold bronze, mixed with weak gum-water, to which may be added a little solution of soap, which will make it run more freely. But no preparation of solution of gold has yet been discovered, which may be easily revived on paper. 13. TO MAKE GOOD SHINING BLACK INK.--Take two ounces of nut-galls in coarse powder; one ounce of logwood in thin chips; one ounce of sulphate of iron; three-fourths of an ounce of gum-arabic; one-fourth of an ounce of sulphate of copper; and one-fourth of an ounce of loaf sugar. Boil the galls and logwood together in three pints of water, till the quantity is reduced to one half. Then the liquor must be strained through a flannel into a proper vessel, and the remainder of the ingredients be added to it. The mixture is then to be frequently stirred till the whole is dissolved; after which it must be left at rest for twenty-four hours. The ink may then be decanted from the gross sediment, and must be preserved in a glass bottle well corked. 14. BLUE INK.--Dissolve one ounce of gum-arabic in a pint of water. In a part of this gum-water, grind a small quantify of best prussian blue; you may thus bring it to any depth of colour you choose. Indigo will answer this purpose very well, but is not so fine a colour, nor will it remain suspended so uniformly in the water. 15. RED INK.--In the above mentioned gum-water, grind very fine, three parts of vermillion with one of lake or carmine. This is a very perfect colour, but may require to be shaken up occasionally. To make the common red ink, such as is used by book binders for ruling, &c. infuse half a pound of rasped brazil-wood, for two or three days in a pint of vinegar; then filter or strain it, and add one ounce of gum-arabic, and one ounce of alum. It may afterward be diluted occasionally with water. 16. YELLOW INK.--Steep one ounce of turmeric, in powder, in half a gill of alcohol; let it rest twenty-four hours, and then add an equal quantity of water;--throw the whole on a cloth, and express the coloured liquor, which mix with gum-water. Rum or other spirits may be substituted in the place of alcohol. A solution of gamboge in water, writes a full yellow, but comes far short of turmeric in brightness. 17. GREEN INK.--To the tincture of turmeric, prepared as above, add a little prussian blue. A variety of tints may be formed, by varying the proportions of these two ingredients, and no artificial colour can excel it in beauty. 18. PURPLE INK.--To the blue ink, described at 14, add some finely ground lake; or instead of this, the expressed juice of the deepest coloured beets may be substituted, but is more liable to fade. With either of these a variety of tints may be formed, by varying the proportions. 19. TO WRITE IN VARIOUS COLOURS WITH THE SAME PEN, INK AND PAPER.--Take a sheet of white paper, and wet some parts of it with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass, which must be diluted with water so as not to appear on the paper when dry. Wet some other parts with diluted muriatic acid, or with juice of lemons.--Some other parts may be wet with a dilute solution of alum; and others with an infusion of nut-galls (water in which bruised or pulverized nut-galls have been steeped.) None of these preparations must be so strong as to colour the paper any. When these are dry, take some finely powdered sulphate of iron, and rub it lightly on some parts of the paper, that have been wet with the sub-carbonate of potass, and infusion of galls. Then with the juice of violets, or of the leaves of red cabbage, write on the paper as usual with a pen. The ink is, of itself, a faint purple; where the paper was wet with acid, the writing will be bright red; on the sub-carbonate of potass, it will take a beautiful green; on the alum it will be brown; on the sub-carbonate of potass that was rubbed with powdered sulphate of iron, it will be deep yellow; and on the infusion of galls that was rubbed with the powder, it will be black.--The juice of violets will sometimes take a brilliant yellow on the alkali if it be very strong. The juice of violets or red cabbage may be kept a long time by means of the addition of a few drops of alcohol; or the leaves may be dryed by the fire, and thus may be kept ready for use; and it is only requisite to steep them in hot water, in order to prepare the ink at any time. _Note._--The yellow ink, described at 16, writes a full red where the paper has been wet with the solution of sub-carbonate of potass; while the solution of sulphate of iron, which has no colour of itself, writes a deep yellow on the alkali, and black on the infusion of galls. 20. SYMPATHETIC INKS FOR SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.--_Process 1._--Dissolve muriate of ammonia in water, and write;--the writing will be invisible. When you would make the writing appear, heat the paper by the fire, and the writing will become black. 21. _Process 2._--Write with a solution of sulphate of iron--the writing will be invisible. Dip a feather in an infusion of nut-galls, and with it wet the paper, and the writing will become black. 22. _Process 3._--Write with a dilute infusion of galls,--it will be invisible. Dip a feather in a solution of sulphate of iron, and moisten the paper with it and the writing will become black. 23. _Process 4._--Write with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass; wet this writing with a solution of sulphate of iron,--it will take a deep yellow colour. 24. _Process 5._--Write with a solution of sulphate of copper,--no writing will be visible. Wash the paper with a solution of prussiate of potass,--the writing will then get a reddish brown colour. 25. _Process 6._--Write with a solution of super-carbonate of soda;--moisten the paper with a solution of sulphate of copper, and the writing will become green. 26. _Process 7._--Write with diluted nitrate of silver, and let the writing dry in the dark--it will be invisible; but expose the paper to the rays of the sun, and the writing will become black. 27. LUMINOUS INK THAT WILL SHINE IN THE DARK.--To half an ounce of essential oil of cinnamon, in a phial, add half a drachm of phosphorus. Cork the phial slightly, and set it, or suspend it near a fire, where the heat may be nearly equal to boiling; continue the heat four or five hours, shaking the phial frequently, but cautiously lest any of the oil should escape, or come in contact with atmospheric air, in which case it would take fire. The cork should be set sufficiently tight to exclude atmospheric air, but not so as to prevent the escape of any vapour that might be produced by excess of heat. The phial may be afterward removed from the fire and suffered to cool. With this phosphorised oil, any letters may be written on paper, and if carried into a dark room, will appear very bright, resembling fire. The phial should be kept corked close, except when used. 28. TO MAKE A WRITING APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR AT PLEASURE.--Dissolve equal parts of sulphate of copper and muriate of ammonia in water, and write. When you would make the writing appear, warm the paper gently by the fire; the writing will appear in a yellow colour; but as soon as you take the paper into the cold air, the writing will vanish. This may be often repeated. 29. TO MAKE A WRITING VANISH AND ANOTHER APPEAR IN ITS PLACE.--Write on paper with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass,--the writing will be invisible. Mix together equal parts of solution of sulphate of iron, and infusion of galls; write with this mixture (which is black) on the same paper. Then add to the black liquor a little sulphuric acid, sufficient to deprive it of colour. Wet the paper with this compound; the acid will discharge the colour from the last writing, while the alkali of the first, will precipitate the gallate of iron, and the writing will become black. 30. TO RESTORE OLD WRITING THAT IS NEARLY DEFACED.--Boil one ounce of powdered nut-galls, for an hour or more in a pint of white wine; filter the liquor, and when cold, wet the paper with it, or pass it on the lines with a camel hair pencil, and the writing will be much revived. 31. TO PAINT A PICTURE THAT WILL APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR OCCASIONALLY.--To half an ounce of nitric acid, add one drachm of cobalt, one drachm of muriate of soda, and two ounces of water; set it in a sand bath or on warm ashes, where it must remain five or six hours. Then filter the solution, (which is nitro-muriate of cobalt,) and with it draw the trees, and shrubbery of a designed picture. Then with a solution of oxide of cobalt in acetic acid, draw some distant mountains, fences, &c. and with muriate of copper, (the compound solution described at 28,) draw some flowers, buildings, &c. These will all be invisible when dry; but warm the paper and the picture will appear in green, blue and yellow. It will disappear again when the paper becomes cold. 32. LANDSCAPE PAINTING ON WALLS OF ROOMS.--Dissolve half a pound of glue in a gallon of water, and with this sizing, mix whatever colours may be required for the work. Strike a line round the room, nearly breast high; this is called the horizon line: paint the walls from the top to within six inches of the horizon line, with sky blue, (composed of refined whiting and indigo, or slip blue,) and at the same time, paint the space from the horizon line to the blue, with horizon red, (whiting, coloured a little with orange lead and yellow ochre,) and while the two colours are wet, incorporate them partially, with a brush. Rising clouds may be represented by striking the horizon red colour upon the blue, before it is dry, with a large brush. Change some sky blue about two shades with slip blue and paint your design for rivers, lakes or the ocean. Change some sky blue one shade with forest green, (slip blue and chrome yellow,) and paint the most distant mountains and highlands; shade them while wet, with blue, and heighten them with white, observing always to heighten the side that is towards the principal light of the room. The upper surface of the ocean must be painted as high as the horizon line, and the distant highlands must rise from ten to twenty inches above it.--Paint the highlands, islands, &c. of the second distance, which should appear from four to six miles distant, with mountain green, (two parts sky blue with one of forest green,) heighten them, while wet, with sulphur yellow, (three parts whiting with one of chrome yellow,) and shade with blue-black, (slip blue and lamp black equal.) Paint the lands of the first distance, such as should appear within a mile or two, with forest green; heighten with chrome yellow and shade with black; occasionally incorporating red ochre, french green or whiting. The nearest part, or fore ground, however, should be painted very bold with yellow ochre, stone brown, (red and yellow ochres and lamp black equal,) and black. Paint the shores and rocks of the first distance with stone brown; heighten with horizon red, shade with black. For those of the second distance, each colour must be mixed with sky blue.--The wood lands, hedges and trees of the second distance are formed by striking a small flat stiff brush end-wise, (which operation is called bushing, and is applied to the heightening and shading all trees and shrubbery of any distance,) with mountain green, deepened a little with slip blue; with which also the ground work for trees of the first distance is painted; and with this colour the water may be shaded a little under the capes and islands, thus representing the reflection of the land in the water. Trees of the first distance are heightened with sulphur yellow or french green; and shaded with blue-black. Every object must be painted larger or smaller, according to the distance at which it is represented; thus the proper height of trees in the second distance, is from one to two inches, and other objects in proportion. Those in the first distance from six to ten inches generally; but those in the fore ground, which are nearest, are frequently painted as large as the walls will admit. The colours also for distant objects, houses, ships, &c., must be varied, being mixed with more or less sky blue, according to the distance of the object. By these means the view will apparently recede from the eye, and will have a very striking effect. 33. TO PAINT IN FIGURES FOR CARPETS OR BORDERS.--Take a sheet of pasteboard or strong paper, and paint thereon with a pencil, any flower or figure that would be elegant for a border or carpet figure; then with small gouges and chisels, or a sharp pen knife, cut out the figure completely, that it be represented by apertures cut through the paper. Lay this pattern on the ground intended to receive the figure, whether a floor or painted cloth, and with a stiff smooth brush, paint with a quick vibrative motion over the whole figure.--Then take up the paper and you will have an entire figure on the ground. _Note._--If a floor is to be thus painted, in imitation of a carpet, the pattern must be perfectly square, and the figure so designed, that when several of them come together, they may completely match each other; and when different colours are used in the same figure, they must be kept a little separate from each other, and wrought with different brushes. 34. TO PAINT IN IMITATION OF MAHOGANY AND MAPLE.--First give the work one or two coats of straw coloured paint, composed of white lead and yellow ochre, ground in linseed oil, to which may be added a little fine litharge, that the paint may the sooner dry; when this is dry, rub it smooth with sand-paper. Then if mahogany is to be imitated, stain the work over with boiled linseed oil, coloured a little with venetian red and burnt terra-de-sienna, equal quantities. This should be applied with a short stiff brush, and spread very thin that it may not run, or drip off. Then with terra-de-sienna, ground very thick in oil, form the dark shades of the graining according to your design, with a small flat brush. For this purpose a common sash-brush may be made flat, by having a small piece of wire, or wood, bound on each side near the handle. Some of the darker shades may be drawn with burnt umber and black, ground together, which may be applied with a camel hair pencil. If any part is to be made very light, the staining may be wiped off carefully with a ball of cotton. Light stripes, or lines may be produced by drawing a piece of cork or soft wood over the work, thus taking off or removing the dark colours, that the original ground may appear.--To imitate maple, the work must be stained with yellow ochre, and burnt umber, ground together in boiled oil. Instead of burnt umber, terra-de-sienna (unburnt) is sometimes used, but as different kinds, or parcels of it, vary in colour, from yellow to brown, it may not be depended on uniformly. The birds' eyes and curls are formed by removing the staining from the ground with a piece of stiff leather, the edges of which are cut in notches so that the several points will touch the work at the same time. 35. THE ART OF PAINTING ON GLASS.--If the common cakes of water-colours are to be used in this work, they should be mixed with water in which a little muriate of soda has been dissolved. Other paints may be ground in shellac varnish; or in linseed oil, but this will not dry so quick. The most proper colours for this work, on account of their transparency, are india ink, or lamp black, burnt umber, burnt terra-de-sienna, lake and gamboge or chrome yellow. These must be laid on very thin, that they may be the more transparent. Set up the glass on its edge, against a window, or place a lamp on the opposite side that the light may shine through, and with a fine hair pencil, draw the out lines of your design on the glass with black; afterward shade and paint it with the above mentioned colours, observing to paint that part of the work first, which in other painting would be done last. The shading may be performed by laying on two or more coats of the colour, where you want it darker. If transparency is not required, a greater variety of colours may be used, and laid on in full heavy coats. Any writing or lettering in this work, must be written from right to left, contrary to the usual order. In some pieces, the body of some of the principal objects, may be left blank, so that by placing pieces of silk or paper of different colours, on the opposite side of the glass the picture will also appear in different colours, and may be changed from one colour to another at pleasure. 36. BEST METHOD OF POLISHING STEEL.--For this purpose a wheel must be provided that is perfectly round, and the rim of it covered with deer-skin, or buff-leather. The diameter of the wheel, for common purposes may be about two feet; but for polishing razors, and some other similar instruments, the wheel should not be more than five or six inches in diameter, and two inches thick. The steel must first be ground smooth as possible on a common, or fine grained stone; it may then be applied to the polishing wheel, which must be turned with such velocity that the surface, or rim, may move at the rate of from forty to sixty feet in a second; and the leather must frequently have a powder applied, called crocus of iron, which is prepared by calcining sulphate of iron in a crucible till it becomes a fine red oxide resembling rust. For ordinary work, the leather may be moistened with olive oil, that it may the better retain the powder; but it will give a more perfect polish if kept dry. If any perfectly plain surfaces, such as mirrors are to be polished, they must be applied to the sides of a wheel, and not to the edge or rim, in the manner of other work. 37. TO MAKE LETTERS OR FLOWERS OF BLUE, ON POLISHED STEEL.--Hold the steel over a charcoal fire till it becomes blue;--let it cool. Then with equal parts of rosin and bees wax, melted together, coloured a little with lamp black, and diluted with spirits of turpentine, so as to work freely with a camel hair pencil, draw any letters or figures on the steel, while it is a little warm. When the steel has become cold, wash it over with muriatic acid, diluted with two parts water, to one of acid; thus take off the blue colour, and then wash it with clear water. Afterward the varnish, being warmed a little, may be readily washed off with spirits of turpentine, and the letters or flowers will remain blue. _Note._--If letters are formed of polished steel with this varnish, and the body of the metal be also covered with it, except a small space round the letters, and then bathed with muriatic acid, the space round the letters, will become a dull iron colour, while the letters and the body of the steel will retain their polished surface and brilliancy. 38. TO PRESERVE THE BRIGHTNESS OF POLISHED STEEL.--Grind an ounce of native plumbago, (such as is used for making lead pencils,) very fine in a gill of spirits of turpentine; then add an ounce of clean bees wax; apply a gentle heat, till the wax is melted, and continue stirring it till it is nearly cold. Brush over the steel with this composition, and when the spirits have evaporated, rub the work hard with a piece of glove leather, and wipe off nearly all the wax, that the metal may retain its brightness. This may be applied to iron or steel in machinery, or other work, and will be found to answer a much better purpose than oil, as it is less liable to collect dust from the atmosphere, and is, in general, much more durable. 39. TO GIVE STEEL A TEMPER TO CUT MARBLE.--No temper can be given to steel, in which hardness is combined with tenacity, more than in that given to files, at the file manufactories, which is accomplished by the following process.--To boiling water, add about twice as much finely ground muriate of soda, as the water will dissolve, and as much rye flour as will, with the other, make a thick paste; lay a coat of this paste over the steel, (which must be ground, or filed previous to tempering,) and subject it to a full red heat, in a fire of charcoal, mixed with about a third part of animal coal, (coal of bones, horns, leather, &c.) and then suddenly plunge it three or four feet deep, in exceeding cold water. By thus immersing the steel rather deep in the water there is a double advantage; for the water which becomes heated, by contact with the steel, will rise and its place be supplied continually by fresh cold water; and at the same time, the pressure of the water on the coating of paste, will make it adhere more closely to the steel while it is cooling. The paste may then be shelled off, and the steel will be found as bright as before, or at least, will not have been essentially oxydized by the operation. 40. TO WASH IRON OR STEEL WITH COPPER.--Dissolve sulphate of copper in water, in the proportion of one to three; wash the iron or steel with it, and it will instantly be covered with reduced copper. This is best performed by applying the solution with a brush, which must be followed directly with a sponge of clear water. In this manner any letters or figures may be drawn with a camel-hair pencil, or a pen, and if it be on polished steel, the letters or flowers will assume the brilliancy of the steel and appear like highly polished copper. It may sometimes be requisite to cleanse the metal by washing it with diluted muriatic acid, that the copper may adhere the more readily. If the steel thus ornamented, be held over a charcoal fire, the copper figures become blue first; and when the steel becomes blue, the copper takes a gold colour; but is restored again to its original colour, by diluted muriatic acid. 41. TO GIVE IRON THE WHITENESS OF SILVER.--To nitric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of water, add as much mercury as the acid will dissolve; then add to the solution, three or four times as much water, and having given the iron a coat of copper, as directed in the last experiment, brush it over in the same manner with the diluted nitrate of mercury; its appearance will be equal, if not superior to that of real silver. In this manner any common, or rough iron work, may be apparently silvered at a most insignificant expense. 42. TO WASH IRON WITH TIN.--Small pieces of iron may be tinned, after being filed bright, by washing them with a saturated solution of muriate of ammonia in water and dipping them, while moist, in a vessel of melted tin. If the iron is of such form as cannot be conveniently filed, it may be immersed in nitric acid, diluted with as much water as acid; when the acid begins to act sensibly on every part, it may be washed with water, and then with the muriate of ammonia, and if a little fine rosin be sprinkled on it previous to dipping it in the tin, it may be an advantage. The iron must remain in the tin till it becomes nearly as hot as the tin, otherwise it will be coated too thick. Muriatic acid may sometimes be used, instead of muriate of ammonia, and if the iron is not filed, it will answer a better purpose. The inside of cast iron vessels may be tinned as follows: Cleanse the iron by scouring or rubbing it with a sharp grained stone, keeping the iron wet with diluted nitric acid. As the most prominent parts of the iron will be first brightened by the stone, the acid will also commence its action on the same parts, which will very much facilitate the work, while the hollows, and deeper parts of the surface, will remain untouched till the iron is nearly smooth. When this is accomplished, wash the iron with water, and then with clear muriatic acid; turn the vessel over to drain off the superfluous acid; then set it upright, and fill it with melted tin, which must be poured in cautiously, directly on the bottom of the vessel first, and the stream of tin increased till the vessel is full; then pour out the tin suddenly, and invert the vessel till it is cold. Sheets of iron are tinned, in the manufactories of tin plate, by immersing the sheets, endwise, in a pot of melted tin, the top of which is covered with about two inches depth of tallow. This tallow answers a better purpose, after it has become brown by use, than it does at first. The only preparation of the iron sheets is, to scour them perfectly clean and bright. 43. TO GIVE TIN THE WHITENESS AND BRILLIANCY OF SILVER.--To an ounce of nitric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of water, add nearly an ounce of mercury, or as much as the acid will dissolve. When this is dissolved, add to the solution, gradually, half an ounce of sulphuric acid; this will precipitate the mercury in the form of a white powder; when this has subsided, pour off the acid and add clear water; thus wash the powder from the acid, then pour off the water, and while the precipitate is moist, (or if it be suffered to dry, it may be again moistened with water,) rub it over the tin with a piece of glove leather.--Then wash the tin with water, and when it is dry, rub it pretty hard with a piece of fine woollen cloth; it will resemble polished silver. 44. TO GIVE TIN A CHANGEABLE CRYSTALLINE APPEARANCE.--Cleanse the tin by washing it with warm soap and water, and rinse it in clear water. Then heat the tin to the temperature of bare sufferance to the hand, and pour on it, or apply with a brush or sponge, a mixture of one ounce of muriatic acid, with one fourth of an ounce of sulphuric acid, and two ounces of water; then immediately wash the tin in clear water. Another method is, to apply in the same manner a solution of two ounces of muriate of soda, in four ounces of water, with one ounce of nitric acid. In either case, if the crystalline figures are not bold enough, the operation may be repeated. If a very small figure is required, the tin may be heated nearly to flowing, and plunged into cold water, slightly acidulated with nitric and muriatic acids. If a little solder is drawn over the tin with a hot iron or copper, in such manner as to form a cross, or circle, and the opposite side of the tin be afterwards crystallized, it will have a beautiful effect. 45. TO MAKE A GOLD COLOURED VARNISH FOR TIN.--To half a pint of alcohol, in a flask, add one ounce of gum-shellac, and half an ounce of turmeric, both in powder; set the flask in a warm place, frequently shaking it, for twelve hours or more; then filter or strain off the liquor, which may be occasionally diluted with new rum.--If a colour is required resembling dutch gold, a small quantity of dragon's blood may be added, or substituted in the place of turmeric.--When this varnish is used, it must be applied to the work freely and flowing, and must not be brushed or rubbed while it is drying. One or more coats of this varnish (or laquer as it is sometimes called) may be laid on the work, as the colour is required to be deeper or lighter. _Note._--To make a rose coloured varnish, proceed as above directed, only substitute one-fourth of an ounce of the best lake, finely ground, in the place of turmeric. A transparent blue varnish may also be made by means of prussian blue; and purple or green, by adding a little blue to the gold, or rose coloured varnishes. These laquers are frequently employed for washing silver bronzed ornaments, to give them the appearance of gold or copper. 46. TO MAKE SHELLAC VARNISH FOR JAPANNING.--To one quart of the best alcohol, add half a pound of the thinnest and most transparent gum-shellac; mix and shake these together, and let them stand in a warm place for two or three days; then strain the varnish through a fine flannel, and bottle it. Shellac varnish is used for japanning lamps, tea trays, &c. Any of the colours commonly used for oil painting, may be ground in this varnish and should be applied to the work with a smooth brush, and in a warm place; and the work to be japanned, should be perfectly dry and warm. _Note._--Most of the writers on the subject of japanning, have recommended seed-lac varnish; but it is a fact, though not so generally known as it ought to be, that shellac and seed-lac are the same substance; the only difference is, that shellac is in a more clarified and refined state, than that which is called seed-lac. 47. TO MAKE THE BEST COPAL VARNISH.--Take one pound of gum-copal, and melt in a flask over a brisk fire of charcoal; at the same time in another flask, boil, or heat to the point of boiling, one pint of linseed oil; as soon as the gum is melted, take it from the fire, and add the hot oil in small quantities, at the same time stirring or shaking it till they are thoroughly incorporated. Allow the mixture to cool below the boiling point of water, and then add nearly a quart of spirits of turpentine;--cork the flask slightly, and expose it for a few days to the rays of the sun, which will make it work more smooth and shining. If a larger quantity is to be made, a copper boiler, that is small at the top will answer to melt the gum in. For ordinary or coarse work, a larger proportion of oil and a little rosin may be added. If oil is used in which red lead and litharge (in the proportion of half a pound of each to a gallon of oil) have been previously boiled, the varnish will the sooner dry. 48. TO MAKE A SPIRIT VARNISH FOR PICTURES AND FANCY BOXES.--To a pint of alcohol, in a flask, add four ounces of gum-mastic, and one ounce of gum-sandarac, both in powder; expose the mixture to a gentle heat, sufficient to produce a slight ebulition for a few minutes, frequently shaking it, and the gums will be dissolved; strain the varnish through a fine flannel, bottle and cork it. Some recommend the addition of venice turpentine, by means of which, a small quantity of gum-copal, finely powdered, may also be dissolved, but as venice turpentine contains a portion of spirits of turpentine, it renders the varnish too penetrating for many purposes; and even the gum-sandarac may be omitted without any essential disadvantage. This varnish should be a little warm when used. 49. TO MAKE ELASTIC VARNISH FOR UMBRELLAS, OR HAT CASES.--To a pint of spirits of turpentine, in a flask, add one ounce of gum-elastic, cut into very small pieces; put in the cork slightly and set the flask in a warm place, where the heat may not be equal to that of boiling water, till the gum-elastic is dissolved, which may be effected in four or five hours. Then strain the solution through a strong linen or cotton cloth, and add half a pint of boiled linseed oil. _Note._--A larger proportion of gum-elastic may be dissolved, and a less quantity of oil added, by which means the varnish will be more elastic, but will not have so smooth and permanent a gloss. 50. TO VARNISH MAPS AND PICTURES.--Take a piece of linen, or cotton cambric, rather larger than the map or picture to be varnished, and draw it straight upon a frame of convenient size, and confine it at the edges by small tacks or nails. Lay a thin coat of fine rye flour paste on this, and on the back of the paper that is to be varnished; lay the paper on the cambric and press them together till the paper adheres firmly in every part. When this is dry, give the face of the print two or three coats of a strong solution of gum-arabic in water, allowing each sufficient time to become perfectly dry. This sizing must be applied with a large smooth brush, and must be spread over the work very quickly, and with as little brushing as possible. Afterwards, give the work one or more coats of the varnish described at 48. _Note._--Very small prints may not require to be pasted on cambric; and if the paper be very thick, the varnish may be applied without the previous sizing. Ising-glass, (which may be readily dissolved in boiling water) is sometimes added to the gum-arabic, and increases the strength of the sizing, but is somewhat less transparent than pure gum-arabic. A more simple method of varnishing prints, is to size them with a solution of loaf sugar, and finish with a solution of rosin in spirits of turpentine. 51. TO MAKE BRUNSWICK BLACKING FOR PICTURE GLASSES.--Take one pound of gum-asphaltum and melt it over a slow fire; then take it from the fire and add spirits of turpentine in small quantities, stirring it briskly till it is of the consistence of varnish. As there is some danger of its taking fire when the spirits of turpentine is added, it may be well to be provided with a piece of wet flannel, to throw over it if that should happen. When it is nearly cold, strain it through a flannel, and bottle it for use. This blacking is used for bordering picture glasses, and is probably the most perfect black in nature. It is water proof and dries very quick. 52. TO MAKE A PRINT APPEAR ON A GOLD GROUND.--Dilute venice turpentine with spirits of turpentine till it works freely with a camel-hair pencil; lay a coat of this varnish on any part of a print or picture, observing to keep the pencil within the lines, that the varnish may not spread beyond. Then lay a coat of the varnish on the same part of the back of the paper and lay on a leaf of gold over the varnished part; press down the gold very gently with cotton, and the varnish having rendered the paper transparent, the face of the picture will appear as if those parts were printed in gold. By this varnish (which is less liable to spread in the paper than oil) pictures may be so prepared, that the colours of various parts of them, may be varied and changed at pleasure, by placing pieces of silk or paper of different colours on the back of them. 53. BEST METHOD OF TRACING OR COPYING A PICTURE.--Perhaps the most simple method of copying the outlines of a picture, is to place the picture against a window, with the paper over it, on which the copy is to be drawn; the principal lines of the picture will be seen through the other paper, and may readily be traced with a lead pencil. But the usual manner of copying, in landscape painting, and which will answer for pictures of any size, is to rub over the back of the picture with plumbago, or red ochre; then lay the picture on the ground that is to receive the copy, and trace the lines with a smooth pointed steel, or piece of hard wood. The ground will thus be very accurately and distinctly marked, by the plumbago or ochre adhering to the ground in the lines that are traced. When several copies are to be taken from the same pattern, (which frequently occurs in ornamental painting,) the outlines of the first copy may be perforated with some pointed instrument, so that being laid on the other grounds that are to receive the copies, and brushed over with a little fine dry whiting, or red ochre, (as the case may require) the whiting or ochre will penetrate the perforated lines of the pattern, and thus mark the ground on which it is laid. 54. THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF A COPYING MACHINE.--Take two strips of wood, which may be about three feet long, one inch wide, and one-fourth of an inch thick; lay them on a table, parallel to each other, and eighteen inches apart. Across these, lay three other strips, which must be eighteen inches long, that each end of each piece may rest on one of the longer strips. Two of these must lie across the opposite ends of the longer pieces, and the other across the centre, thus forming two squares. Drive a pin through the ends of the short pieces, or confine them by rivets to the others, but not so as to prevent their playing circularly on the rivets. Then drive a pin or pivot through the centre of the middle cross-bar into the table, or board on which the work lies. In one end of one of the long strips (which may project a little over the cross-bar) fix a lead pencil, with the point downward, so that it may bear lightly on the board; and under this pencil, place the paper that is to receive the copy. And in the opposite end of the other piece, fix a smooth iron point, in a manner similar to that of the pencil, and under this point place the picture that is to be copied. Then with the iron point, carefully trace the lines of the picture, and the pencil in the opposite corner will move in a transverse direction, and draw the same picture very accurately on the other paper. If you fix the pencil half way between its former place and the middle cross-bar, and remove the pivot to a point that is directly in a line with the pencil and the iron point, it will give a copy in exact proportion, but only one fourth part as large as the picture that is copied. Thus the copy may be decreased or increased to any size, and still retain its regular proportions. In this manner, painting on wood or canvas may be copied, which could not readily be done in any other way. 55. TO PRODUCE THE EXACT LIKENESS OF ANY OBJECT, INSTANTLY ON PAPER.--This may be readily effected by laying the paper on a table, and holding a double convex lens (a common sun-glass) over it, and then placing a mirror over the lens, in an oblique position so as to face partly downward, and partly towards the object that is to be represented. The rays of light passing from the object to the mirror, will be reflected downward through the lens, and produce the likeness of the object in full colours on the paper. This experiment may be easily made in the evening, by reflecting the flame of a candle in this manner, which will appear very brilliant on the paper. But in order to render the reflection of an object distinctly visible by day light, it may be requisite to exclude nearly all the light from the paper, except what falls through the lens. In all cases, the lens must be placed at a distance above the paper, according to its focus, or the distance at which it would contract the rays of the sun to the smallest point. A very convenient camera obscura, for drawing landscapes, or even portraits may be constructed as follows: Make a box of boards, in the form of a regular cube, being one foot in length, breadth and height; bore a hole of one inch diameter, through the centre of the top; and on this, fix a double convex lens, the focus of which must reach the bottom of the box. Make an aperture of about six inches in length, and one in breadth, through one side of the box at the top, by shaving off, or hollowing the edge in such manner that when you put your face to the aperture to look into the box, it will exclude all the light except what falls through the lens. Make a hole through each end of the box, near the bottom, large enough to put in the hands, with paper and pencil. On the top of the box, on the right and left sides of the lens, fix two pieces of boards, which may be about four inches high, eight inches long, and three inches distant from each other. Between these boards, fix a piece of looking glass, three inches square, and facing from you; the lower edge of the glass, being near the lens, on the side towards you; and the upper edge inclining towards you about thirty degrees from a perpendicular. Directly over, and nearly four inches above the lens, place another mirror, the centre of which must face directly towards the lower edge of the first. Cover the glass-box so as to exclude all the light from the glasses except what falls on them horizontally from objects directly in front of you, and place a sheet of paper on the bottom of the box inside. The rays of light, passing from objects in front, will be reflected from the first mirror to the second, and from the second, through the lens to the paper, where you will have a perfect similitude of the objects in view, in full colours, and true perspective, and may trace them on the paper, with a pencil or pen. 56. COPPER-PLATE ENGRAVING.--For this purpose, provide a plate of copper, rather larger than the design that is to be engraved, and may be about one sixteenth of an inch thick; planish by rubbing it, first, directly length-wise, and afterwards breadth-wise with a piece of pumice-stone, which may be dipped occasionally in a mixture of one part nitric acid, with six or seven parts water.--Then wash the copper with clear water, and rub it with an oil stone that has a plane surface; and then polish it with a piece of charcoal, that has been ignited to redness and quenched in cold water. Afterwards burnish the copper by rubbing it with polished steel. Lay a piece of transparent paper on the design that is to be engraved, and trace the principal lines with a lead pencil;--then brush over the copy or tracing with dry red ochre, and having rubbed the copper plate with a piece of bees-wax, lay the red side of the tracing on the plate; then with a smooth iron point, trace the same lines again, that they may thus be transferred to the plate by means of the red ochre and wax. Take up the paper and trace the lines on the plate with a needle, thus scoring the lines slightly on the copper. Then warm the plate and wipe off the wax, or wash it off with spirits of turpentine, and rub the plate with fine dry whiting. The next instrument to proceed with is the graver; consisting of a blade of steel about three inches long, which is fixed in a convenient handle like an awl. The form of the graver should be triangular, or between a triangle and lozenge, having two sides plane and the other round or swelled; and should taper regularly from the handle to the point, or nearly so, but the point must be ground off obliquely so that the edge may extend a little farther than the back; and the edge should rise a little rounding towards the point. It is very essential that the edge and point of the graver should be kept very sharp. The manner of holding the graver, is to take the handle into the hollow of the hand, pressing it with three fingers, on one side, and the thumb on the other, and extend the fore finger on the back of the blade towards the point.--The edge of the graver must rest on the plate, and its motion when cutting must be endwise in all cases; though there evidently might be a graver constructed, which might, in some cases, be handled in a manner more similar to that of a pen or pencil. A graver of a square form may also be requisite, for cutting large and broad lines occasionally. In proceeding to engrave the plate, begin with the outlines, observing to press harder or lighter on the graver, as the lines require to be larger or smaller, and finish each line with the same motion if possible, without taking the graver off the plate. Having cut the outlines, proceed to fill up, and shade the work discretionally, according to the design. It may be requisite, after part of the work is engraved, to scrape it lightly with the edge of the graver, to take off any roughness, that may have been formed on the part engraved. If after finishing the design, any part appears to have been improperly executed, such parts may be erased by the burnisher, and may be re-engraved with the requisite amendments. 57. ETCHING ON COPPER PLATES.--Melt together two ounces of bees-wax, and one ounce of venice turpentine, and when the wax is melted and boils, add by small quantities, two ounces of gum-asphaltum, stirring the mixture briskly at the same time; and when the mixture is well incorporated, take it from the fire, let it cool a little, and then pour it into warm water, and by working it with the hands, form it into balls of about an inch in diameter, and wrap each of them in a piece of taffety, or thin silk. Then, having prepared and polished a plate of copper, as directed for copper-plate engraving, warm the plate sufficiently to melt the balls of wax varnish, and rub one of them over it, till every part of the polished side is covered with the varnish; then with a ball of cotton, wrapped or tied up in taffety, beat every part of the varnished plate gently, while the varnish is yet flowing, that it may spread the more even and uniformly. Then hold the plate in a horizontal position, with the varnished side down, and hold the flame of a wax candle under it, or a small roll of paper that has been dipped in melted wax, and thus blacken the varnish while the plate is yet warm enough to keep it in a melted state. When the varnish has become sufficiently and uniformly black, let the plate cool, and having drawn the design on transparent paper, rub over the face of it with chalk; then wipe off most of the chalk with a piece of flannel, lay the chalked side on the varnish, and trace the lines, somewhat minutely, with a smooth round pointed needle. Then take up the paper, and proceed to scoring the lines in the varnish. For this purpose you must be provided with several needles of different sizes, and fixed in handles, which may be about four inches long, and nearly half an inch in diameter, and the needle may project three fourths of an inch from the handle. Some of these may be ground a little flat on one side, and others may be round, but taper more abruptly at the point. These needles may be held, and managed much the same as a pen. Begin scoring with the out lines, observing to cut completely through the varnish, but it is not requisite to scratch the copper, except in making very heavy lines, when it cannot well be avoided. Having finished scoring the varnish according to the design, fix a border of wax (composed of two parts bees-wax and one of venice turpentine) round the work, on the margin of the plate. This border may be about half an inch high, and must be fixed to the plate while warm. Then pour on as much nitric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of water, as the plate with the border will contain. In about fifteen minutes pour off the acid, and examine whether it has sufficiently corroded any part of the work; if so, lay a mixture of warm tallow and linseed oil over such parts with a hair pencil, and again pour on the acid. In half an hour more the acid may be poured off, and the plate being warmed, the border may be removed, and the varnish may be wiped off with a piece of linen cloth;--the plate may then be washed with olive oil, and cleansed as before with dry fine whiting. _Note_--Different artists use a variety of different preparations of varnish for the purpose of etching. In some old recipes, virgin wax, calcined asphaltum, gum mastic, amber, colophony, greek pitch, burgundy pitch, black pitch, resin, shoe makers' wax, &c. &c. are mentioned. But it is believed that the above described varnish, while it is much more simple, will answer equally as well for young practitioners; and it is not expected that any will attempt very nice work, without further information than they could expect to obtain from the sketches in this little collection. 58. ENGRAVING AND SCRAPING IN MEZZOTINTO.--Having prepared a plate of copper, proceed to score it so full of lines, cross-lines and diagonal lines, that when they are filled with ink, the plate may appear quite black. For this purpose an instrument will be requisite that is fashioned similar to a chisel, the round or sloping side being scored or filed near the point, with lines or notches very near to each other, so as to form a set of sharp uniform teeth at the edge; this instrument is called a cradle, and should be a little round at the corners. This cradle must be moved over the plate, in the manner of a graver, scoring the plate uniformly in various directions. When the scoring is finished, take a scraper, which may be similar to a knife, having two edges, and sloping on each side towards the point; with this, scrape off the roughness of the plate, in such places as is required to be the lightest in the print; such parts as require to be shaded partially, may not be scraped so deep, while the points that are to be the brightest may be burnished quite smooth with the polished end of a piece of steel, about the size of a large nail, and some of the heaviest out-lines may be cut with a graver. Thus any portraits or other figures may be formed on the plate, with due proportion of light and shade, and will, if properly-managed, give an impression on paper, equal in elegance to any that might be produced by other means. 59. ETCHING IN AQUA-TINTA.--Polish the plate of copper, the same as for engraving; moisten the plate with water and sift on finely powdered rosin and gum-asphaltum, so as to nearly cover the plate; then warm the plate sufficient to make the powder adhere, but not to melt it entirely. Transfer the design to the plate, and cover such parts as are intended to remain white, with a varnish composed of bees wax and linseed oil, which may be coloured a very little with black, and must be applied to the work, while warm, with a camel hair pencil. Then fix a border of wax round the plate, and pour on diluted nitric acid. In about one minute, pour off the acid, and wash the plate with clear water, but without effecting the varnish;--dry the plate, and apply the varnish to such parts of the design as are intended to have but a faint shade; then apply the acid for a minute or two longer. Thus proceed biting in, and stopping out alternately, till every part of the design has acquired its proper shade. But if any part requires a darker shade than the ground, the powdered rosin may be removed from such parts with a scraper. When the plate has become sufficiently corroded, the varnish may be washed off with oil, or spirits of turpentine, and the plate may be cleansed with whiting. 60. COPPER-PLATE PRINTING.--The paper on which impressions from a copper-plate are to be taken, should be moistened, or wet down two or three days previous to printing; this is performed by dipping the sheets in water severally, and then laying them all together under a heavy weight till they are used. When the paper is ready, the copper-plate may be warmed over a chafing dish of coals, and the engraved side completely covered and all the lines filled with common printing ink, or ink made of Frankfort black, finely ground in old linseed oil. This may be done by means of a printing ball, or the ink may be spread on the plate with a smooth stiff brush. The plate may then be wiped with a piece of linen or cotton cloth, and afterward with the hand, being passed slowly but hardly over the plate to take off all the ink except what remains in the lines of the engraving; to accomplish which more effectually, the hand may be rubbed occasionally with dry whiting. When the plate is thoroughly cleaned of the redundant ink, it may be laid on the table of a rolling press, and having a sheet of the moistened paper laid upon the face of it, and a piece of fine broad-cloth over the paper, the whole may be passed through the press. Then on taking up the paper, it will be found to have received a black impression from the plate, according to the engraving or etching, and the plate may be again carried to the fire, to be blacked again as before. This is the usual manner of printing; but when a rolling press is not at hand, the plate and moistened paper may by other means, be pressed hard and firmly together, and the paper will have received the impression equally as fair. Any of the colours, commonly used in oil painting, being ground very thick in oil may be substituted for ink in copper-plate printing. The plate, after being used, should be wiped clean with a piece of flannel, moistened with olive oil. 61. ETCHING LETTERS OR FLOWERS ON GLASS.--Select a piece of glass that is thick and straight, and lay a coat of melted bees-wax on the fairest side; then with a needle, pen-knife, or any other convenient pointed instrument, trace any design, or picture, which being placed under the glass, may be seen through the wax; or form any letters or figures on the glass, carefully cutting or scoring quite through the wax, and making the lines large or small as occasion may require. Then warm a piece of the wax, so as to form it into a roll, about one fourth of an inch in diameter; lay this roll round the work upon the glass, and press it down so as to make it adhere to the glass, thus forming a border. Then take some finely powdered fluate of lime, and strew it evenly over the glass, on the waxed side, that it may fill all the lines in the wax; and then gently pour upon it, so as not to displace the powder, as much sulphuric acid, diluted with thrice its weight of water, as is sufficient to cover the powdered fluate of lime. Let every thing remain in this state for three hours; then pour off the mixture, and clean the glass by washing it with spirits of turpentine. The figures which were scored in the wax, will be found engraven on the glass; while the parts which the wax covered, will be uncorroded.--This glass plate may be charged with ink, (or any thick oil paint) and impressions may be taken from it on paper, the same as from copper plates, only caution is requisite, that the glass be not broken by the pressure. _Note._--The fluoric acid, which is partly absorbed by the water, in the above process, being very corrosive, should not be suffered to touch the hands, nor any valuable vessel whatever. 62. TO PRINT FIGURES WITH A SMOOTH STONE.--Take a piece of marble or slate, and form a smooth plane surface on one side, and on this, paint any letters or figures with common oil paint of any colour. When this is dry, wet the stone with water, which will not adhere to the painted figures, especially if the paints were mixed with old linseed oil, that will produce a sharp gloss. Then apply a printer's ink-ball to the plane surface, by which means the dry painted figures will be covered with the ink, while the bare surface of the stone, being wet, will not be blackened or affected by it. Press the figured surface upon some moistened paper, and it will give a fair impression of the painted figures, on the paper. The block of stone must be then dipped in the water, and again inked as before, Thus many impressions may be taken with a tolerable degree of accuracy. 63. TO CUT GLASS WITH A PIECE OF IRON.--Draw with a pencil on paper, any pattern to which you would have the glass conform; place the pattern under the glass, holding both together in the left hand, (for the glass must not rest on any plane surface;) then take a common spike or some similar piece of iron,--heat the point of it to redness, and apply it to the edge of the glass; draw the iron slowly forward, and the edge of the glass will immediately crack; continue moving the iron slowly over the glass, tracing the pattern, and the chink in the glass will follow at the distance of about half an inch, in every direction according to the motion of the iron. It may sometimes be found requisite, however, especially in forming corners, to apply a wet finger to the opposite side of the glass. Tumblers and other glasses may be cut or divided very fancifully by similar means. The iron must be reheated as often as the crevice in the glass ceases to follow. 64. BEST CEMENT FOR JOINING GLASS.--If the glass is not likely to be exposed to moisture, the pieces may be joined by a solution of equal parts of gum-arabic and loaf sugar in water; or if these are not at hand, the white of an egg may answer nearly as well. But a strong water proof cement that is equally transparent, may be made by digesting finely powdered gum-copal, in thrice its weight of sulphuric ether till it is dissolved. This solution may be applied to the edges of the broken glass, with a camel hair pencil, and the pieces must be put together immediately and pressed close till they adhere. 65. BEST CEMENT FOR JOINING CHINA OR CROCKERY.--Heat a piece of chalk to a full red heat in a fire; and while this is heating, take the white of an egg, and mix and beat together with it, one fourth of its weight of pondered or scraped cheese, (such as is most void of cream, or oily matter is preferable) or the curd that is formed by adding vinegar to skimmed milk;--take the chalk from the fire, and before it is cold, reduce it to powder, and add as much of it to the mixture as will form a thick paste, and beat them anew all together, and use the composition immediately. When this is dry, it will resist, in a great measure, either heat or moisture. A semi-transparent cement, suitable for china ware, may be made by gently boiling the flour of rice with water. 66. TO MAKE A STRONG WATER PROOF GLUE.--Dissolve common glue in water in the usual way, and dip into it some clean paper, sufficient to take up an ounce or more of the glue. When the paper is nearly dry, roll it up, or cut it into strips and put them into a wide mouthed phial or flask, with about four ounces of alcohol; suspend this over a fire so as to boil it gently for an hour, having the cork set in slightly to prevent its taking fire, but not so as to prevent the vapour entirely. Then take out the paper (the only use of which is to give the glue more surface for the action of the alcohol) and add one ounce of gum-shellac in powder; continue the heat, often shaking the mixture till the shellac is dissolved. Then evaporate it to the proper consistence for use. _Note._--Many experiments have been made, in order to discover some aqueous size, that when dry, would resist moisture: and some have recommended skimmed milk, and others vinegar as a menstruum for the glue. But it does not appear from trial, that either of these are but very little better for this purpose than water; nor is it probable that any similar composition of size will resist moisture much better than common glue, especially if it be mixed with sulphate of lime, or some similar substance by way of support. 67. THE ART OF MOULDING FIGURES IN RELIEF.--Mix together and temper with a solution of gum-arabic in water, one part of clean, sifted wood-ashes, and two parts of fine sulphate of lime. Knead this composition on a board, till it has the consistence of putty. Press a ball of this putty on any medal, coin or carved work in relief, (which must be previously oiled) and let it dry; then take off the mould thus formed, and oil the part that has received the impression of the figure, with olive oil;--make a small orifice through the mould, from the centre, or deepest part of the impression; also, pare off the border of the mould, to within half an inch of the impressed figure. Then lay a small piece of the putty on the board and press the mould down hard upon it, that it may not only fill the mould, but that the redundant part may be pressed out beyond the border of the mould: raise the mould a little and blow through the orifice, to detach the new moulded figure from the mould. Thus any number of figures may be readily produced, suitable for ornamenting chimney pieces, or mouldings, and which will be very hard when dry, and may be painted with any coloured oil paints, which will also preserve them from moisture. 68. TO CAST IMAGES IN PLASTER.--For this purpose a model of the figure that is to be cast, must be provided, and suspended by a rod or staff, one inch in diameter, and fixed in the top of the head. This model may be made of wood, chalk, or any other substance that is smooth, and sufficiently cohesive to support itself. This being prepared, mix fine sulphate of lime with water, to the consistence of soft putty, and having brushed some olive oil over the model, cover it completely with the plaster, which must be applied, and spread over it with the hands, to the depth of two inches or more. When the plaster is nearly dry, divide it into several parts with a thin blade, so as to take it off from the model without breaking any part. When the several parts of the mould are dry, oil them inside and put them together as before, and bind them with pieces of tape or twine; set the mould upright, and fill it with a fresh mixture of sulphate of lime and water, of as much consistence as may be poured in through the aperture at the head. This plaster should be poured into the mould as quick as possible after being mixed; otherwise it would become too stiff, and be spoiled. The plaster in the mould will soon cohere, so that the mould may be taken off, and the figures may be set up to dry; and the mould being oiled and put together again, is ready for another cast. 69. TO PRODUCE EMBOSSED LETTERS, OR FIGURES ON MARBLE.--Take some of the coloured varnish described at 37, and with a hair pencil, draw the letters, &c. on the marble, (which should be previously well polished,) and also cover with the varnish, every part of the face of the marble that is to remain plain. Lay the marble in a horizontal position and make a border of oil putty round it, and pour on muriatic acid to the depth of half an inch on the marble. When ebulition ceases, the acid may be drained off, and the work examined; and if the letters are not sufficiently prominent, a fresh quantity of the acid may be added. When the work has been thus corroded to the depth required, the varnish may be washed off with spirits of turpentine. The acid that has been thus employed need not be lost, for a muriate of lime being thus formed, may be crystallized by a slight evaporation, and preserved for other purposes; or by the addition of a small quantity of sulphuric acid a sulphate of lime is precipitated, and the muriatic may be poured off and be used again for the same or a similar purpose. 70. TO SOFTEN STONE.--Marble or granite may be deprived in some measure, of the property of cohesion by being heated red hot and then quenched in oil. In this case, the carbonic acid which constitutes the cohesive property of the stone, is expelled by the heat; and the vacuum thus produced in its pores, are in some measure, filled by the oil by the pressure of the atmosphere; by which means the stone acquires a texture quite different from what it had previously. This however, is not often applied to any valuable purpose. 71. TO CHANGE WOOD APPARENTLY, TO STONE.--Provide a block, or plank of soft wood, of the dimensions required, and give it two or three coats of linseed oil, allowing each to dry. Then having prepared some pieces of marble or granite as directed in the last experiment, pulverize them to a gross powder; brush over the wood with a heavy coat of copal varnish (see 47) mixed with an equal quantity of venice turpentine; let this rest about an hour, and then strew the stone powder over every part of it, so as to cover the surface completely. If marble is to be imitated, the powder of different colours, especially the white and blue, may be prepared separately, and may be strewed on the work in such shades as will appear the most natural. Granite may also be crossed or striped occasionally with streaks of a coarser grain, which will give it a very deceptive effect. When the varnish is thus covered with stone, a heavy roller, or round log of wood, having a blanket folded and wrapped round it, should be rolled over the work, that the larger grains, (which of course will be the most exposed,) may the more firmly adhere. In this manner, a very perfect imitation of stone may be given, and the wood thus prepared will be exceedingly durable, and will answer for many purposes, as well as real stone. 72. TO RENDER WOOD, CLOTH OR PAPER FIRE-PROOF.--Dissolve one ounce of alum, half an ounce of sub-borate of soda and half an ounce of cherry tree gum, in half a pint of vinegar. Dip any cloth or pieces of paper, or wood, in this mixture and let them dry;--they cannot afterwards be ignited so as to blaze, but may be considered safe with regard to their taking fire by accident. _Note._--Though this composition is a very powerful preventive against fire, it is too complex for common use, and has too much colour for white cloths or papers; but a solution of one ounce of sub-borate of soda in a pint of water is very transparent and harmless, and will answer in most cases nearly as well. 73. TO PRODUCE FIRE READILY.--_Process 1._ Mix together gently but intimately, two or three grains of chlorate of potass, and an equal quantity of loaf sugar, both previously reduced to fine powder:--dip the end of a strip of glass, or a straw in sulphuric acid, and with it gently touch the powder,--it will instantly burst into flame. 74. _Process 2._--Upon one drachm of spirits of turpentine, in a glass, pour an equal quantity of a mixture of three parts of nitric, with one of sulphuric acid. Instantaneous inflammation, accompanied by the production of a large quantity of black smoke, will be the result. 75. PROCESS 3.--Take a piece of phosphorus of the size of a pin's head, and wrap it in a piece of dry brown paper: rub the paper with a piece of wood, or any hard body, and it will instantly inflame. _Note._--In handling phosphorus, it is proper to have a piece of paper or cloth intervene between the stick of phosphorus and the fingers; and the phosphorus should be kept under water except when wanted for use. 76. TO MAKE SUPER-COMBUSTIBLE MATCHES.--Prepare any number of small strips or splinters of pine or other light wood, which may be about two inches in length and one twelfth of an inch in diameter; dip one end of each in melted sulphur to the depth of one fourth of an inch. When they are cold, scrape off most of the sulphur, and dip the ends of them slightly in a paste made of ten parts of chlorate of potass, five parts of loaf sugar and one part of red lead, mixed and ground together in alcohol. Afterwards they may be readily ignited or kindled at any time by application of the smallest quantity of sulphuric acid. For this purpose, the ends of them may be dipped or rather barely touched to the acid in a phial, or, which is a better way, a strip of glass, or even wood may be dipped in the acid and applied to the match. 77. TO MAKE GUN POWDER.--Pulverize separately, five drachms of nitrate of potass, one of sulphur, and one of newly burnt charcoal. Mix them together with a little water, so as to make the compound into a dough; form this dough into rolls of the size of a small wire, which may be done by rolling small quantities between two boards. Lay a few of these rolls together, and cut them into very small grains, and place them on a sheet of paper, in a warm place, to dry. The dough may be prevented sticking to the board while rolling it, by rubbing on the board, a little of the dry compound powder. When the grains are thoroughly dry, they are ready for use or experiment. On the same principle, gun powder is manufactured on the large scale, but then the several parts of the operation, are performed by machinery, otherwise it would be a very expensive commodity. 78. TO MAKE THE COMMON FULMINATING POWDERS.--Grind and mix intimately, three parts of nitrate of potass, with two of sub-carbonate of potass, and one of sulphur. If half a drachm of this compound be placed on a shovel, and held over a gentle fire, it will soon explode with a loud report. It is not, however, attended with any danger. If two grains of chlorate of potass in powder and one of sulphur be mixed together, and wrapped in a piece of strong paper, and the paper be then struck with a hammer, it will also explode with detonation. This experiment may require some caution. _Note._--The percussion powder, such as is used for priming the patent percussion rifles, is composed of chlorate of potass, and flour of sulphur, with a trifling proportion of charcoal and loaf sugar, being made into a paste or dough with alcohol,--then grained and dried. 79. TO MAKE THE MERCURIAL FULMINATING POWDER.--Dissolve half an ounce of mercury in three ounces of nitric acid, assisting the solution by a gentle heat. When the solution is cold, pour it upon an equal quantity of strong alcohol previously introduced into a flask, and apply a moderate heat till effervescence is excited. (Do not forget that the mercurial solution must be poured upon the alcohol, and not the alcohol upon the solution.) A white fume will soon begin to undulate on the surface of the liquor, and flow through the neck of the flask, and a white powder will be gradually precipitated. As soon as any precipitate ceases to fall, quickly pour the contents of the flask on a filter; wash the powder with pure water, and cautiously dry it by a heat not exceeding that of boiling water. The immediate washing the powder is material, because it is liable to the re-action of the nitric acid; and while any of that acid adheres to it, it is very subject to be decomposed by the action of light. This powder, if very pure and nicely made, explodes by percussion, or a moderate degree of heat. _Experiment._--Place one-fourth of a grain of this powder, between the ends of two slips of paste-board, and paste, or bind them firmly together;--hold the ends of the slips over the flame of a candle, and as soon as it becomes warm, it will explode with a loud report. This composition is less dangerous than the fulminating compounds of gold or silver, as it never explodes spontaneously; but yet it cannot be handled with too much caution. _Note._--The silver powder, or fulminating silver, with which torpedoes and waterloo crackers are charged, is prepared in a similar manner; pure silver being dissolved instead of mercury, but it is too dangerous to be trifled with. 80. TO KINDLE A FIRE UNDER WATER.--Put into a deep wine-glass, that is small at the bottom, three or four bits of phosphorus, about the size of flax seeds, and two or three times the quantity of chlorate of potass, in grains or crystals, and fill the glass nearly full of water. Then place the end of a tobacco-pipe stem directly on, or over the chlorate and phosphorus, and pour nearly a tea-spoon full of sulphuric acid into the bowl of the pipe, that it may fall directly on the phosphorus; a violent action will ensue, and the phosphorus will burn vividly, with a very curious light under the water. 81. TO LIGHT A CANDLE BY APPLICATION OF ICE.--Attach to the wick of a candle, a small piece, or globule of potassium (the metallic base of potass) of the size of a small shot. Apply an icicle or point of ice to the metal, and it will instantly inflame. _Note._--This curious substance, which has the peculiar property of being ignited by coming in contact with ice or water, has been lately discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy. It is produced by making pure potass a part of the circuit of a powerful Voltaic battery. It cannot be preserved but by being kept immersed in naptha, a kind of oil of which oxygen is not a constituent. 82. TO FORM LETTERS OR FLOWERS OF REAL FLAME.--Provide a tin chest of about eighteen inches in length, equal in height and one inch in breadth. Chalk any design, of letters or flowers on the face of this chest, and pierce each line with rows of small holes, which should be about half an inch distant from each other.--Make an aperture at the top, through which pour about a pint of a mixture of rum and spirits of turpentine. Place two or three lamps under the bottom of the chest (which must be raised a little from the floor for that purpose) to warm the spirits, but not so as to cause them to boil. Stop the aperture at the top and after eight or ten minutes (which time should be allowed for the vapour to expel the atmospheric air, which otherwise would cause an explosion) apply the flame of a lamp to the pierced lines;--in an instant, all the lines will be covered with flame, which will continue till the spirits are exhausted. 83. TO PRODUCE FLAME OF VARIOUS COLOURS.--This may be effected by mixing certain substances with burning alcohol, or by applying them with the point of a pen-knife, to the wick of a burning lamp or candle. Thus a beautiful rose or carmine coloured flame may be produced by muriate of strontia: this is prepared by dissolving carbonate of strontia in muriatic acid, and evaporating it to dryness. The preparation for an orange colour, is muriate of lime; (a solution of marble in muriatic acid, evaporated to crystallization) which should be exposed to a moderate heat till it is deprived of its water of crystallization and falls to powder. A fine green tinge is produced by acetate of copper, or boracic acid; which last is procured by adding sulphuric acid to a solution of borate of soda (in hot water) till it has a sensibly acid taste; as it cools, the boracic acid is deposited in crystals on the sides of the vessel. Camphor gives to flame a blue colour; and nitrate of strontia (prepared the same as the muriate) a purple. A brilliant yellow may also be produced by muriate of soda. Any of these preparations being reduced to powder, may be ignited with three or four times their weight of alcohol, which should be previously warmed; and if the vessel that contains it be kept heated also, the combustion will be the more brilliant. 84. TO MAKE SKY-ROCKETS AND FIRE WHEELS.--Grind and mix together, (dry) one pound of gun powder, two ounces of sulphur, two ounces of nitrate of potass, and four ounces of newly burnt charcoal. Then make several strong paper cases or cartridges, by wrapping some strong paper (being moistened with paste,) fifteen or twenty times round a mould made of wood, which may be one inch in diameter, and ten inches in length. One end of this mould must be made smaller, being only one fourth of an inch in diameter for the space of an inch of its length. The paper must be drawn up close round this neck, and strongly bound with twine, being thus brought to a shape similar to the neck of a phial. This neck is called the choke of the cartridge. Take the paper from the mould, and proceed in the same manner with another. When a sufficient number of cartridges are thus made and dry, place one of them in a socket which it will fill up closely, and then fill the cartridge with the above described compound powder, which must be thrown into the cartridge in small quantities, and each several quantity must be rammed or beat down very hard, with a suitable sized rammer and mallet. In filling the cartridge, small quantities of any of the flame-colouring preparations, described in the preceding article, may be added occasionally. When the cartridge is nearly full, some small balls of cotton, dipped in spirits of turpentine, may be added, to produce the appearance called stars.--These also, may have some muriate of strontia, or boracic acid strewed on them. Then place a circular piece of thick paste board on the materials in the cartridge, having a small hole through it, communicating with the powder below; lay upon this, half an ounce of fine gun powder, and fold the paper down upon it from all sides, cementing the folds firmly with glue, thus giving the end of the cartridge a conical form. Then bore a hole about two thirds of the length of the cartridge from the choke with a gimblet or bit. Fill this hole (which must be as large as the choke, but tapering towards the other end) with fine gun powder, to the choke, and fill the choke with the compound, the outside of which may be moistened a little, the better to keep it in its place. Finish the others in the same manner, and keep them in a warm dry place till used. They are then to be lashed firmly to the end of a light pine rod, with the choke towards the opposite end. The length of the rod, should be about nine times that of the cartridge. The rocket then being elevated by the rod, and being ignited at the choke, the compound inside burning intensely, acts upon the air, and causes it to ascend. The cartridges for fire wheels, are prepared in the same manner, but are generally smaller; and instead of being lashed to a rod, they are lashed to the arms of a wheel, in such manner, that a violent rotary motion is produced by their combustion. 85. TO PRODUCE DETONATING BALLOONS.--Moisten and compress a bladder till no air remains in it, and tie the neck of it upon a perforated cork; set the cork in a flask containing the materials for producing hydrogen gas (see 9.) Thus convey into the bladder a quantity of the gas, and then remove the cork to another flask, containing two or three ounces of black oxide of manganese, moistened with sulphuric acid, sufficient to form with it a soft paste; apply the heat of a lamp, and oxygen gas will be evolved, and will also rise through the neck of the flask; in this manner, convey into the bladder, nearly half as much oxygen gas, as it previously contained of hydrogen. Then tie the stem of a tobacco-pipe in the neck of the bladder, and dip the bowl of the pipe in a solution of soap in water, (soap-suds) and compress the bladder a little, so as to swell a bubble from the bowl of the pipe;--shake off the bubble, which being lighter than atmospheric air will naturally rise, or float horizontally in the air. If the flame of a candle be brought in contact with one of these balloons, or floating bubbles, it will explode with a violent detonation, resembling the report of a pistol. If this compound gas be forced into the water, so as to form several bubbles on the surface, and flame be then applied to them, a volley of explosions will be the result. Caution is requisite in these experiments, that the fire be not communicated to the bladder, as such an explosion might not be safe. 86. TO PREPARE A PHIAL THAT WILL GIVE LIGHT IN THE DARK.--Fill a small phial about one third full of olive oil; add to this a piece of phosphorus equal to one tenth of the weight of the oil. Cork the phial and wrap it in paper to exclude the light, and set it, or suspend it in a warm place, but where the heat may not be equal to that of boiling water, till the phosphorus appears to be dissolved. This phial may be carried in the pocket, and whenever the cork is started in the night, the phial will evolve light enough to show the hour on a watch. 87. TO MAKE A PERSON'S FACE APPEAR LUMINOUS IN THE DARK.--Prepare some phosphorized oil, (as directed 27,) and rub it over the face. This oil, though it appears luminous in the dark has not power to burn any thing, so that it may be rubbed on the face or hands without danger; and the appearance thereby produced, is most hideously frightful. All the parts of the face that have been rubbed, appear to be covered with a luminous bluish flame, and the mouth and eyes appear as black spots.--The luminous appearance may also be repeatedly heightened, by the friction of a handkerchief, being rubbed over the luminous part. 88. TO FREEZE WATER IN WARM WEATHER.--Draw a thread through a small glass tube; close one end and then fill the tube with water. Mix together equal parts of nitrate of ammonia and water, and immerse the tube in this mixture. The water in the tube will be frozen immediately, and may be drawn out by the thread. The same effect may be produced by a mixture of one part muriate of ammonia, one part nitrate of potass, and three parts of water. For these experiments, the above mentioned salts should be fresh, dry and finely pulverized previous to mixing; the mixture should be made in a tin vessel that is coated inside with bees-wax, and has a flannel wrapper round the outside, and the tube should be immersed quickly, as soon as the ingredients are mixed. To produce a greater, or intense degree of cold, a small vessel of water is first set in one of those freezing mixtures till it becomes very cold, and then the due proportion of the salts are added to that, and the tube, &c. immersed in it. The water in the tube may also be frozen, by continually bathing the outside of it with sulphuric ether: the evaporation of the ether, carries off the caloric of fluidity, and the water congeals. 89. TO CHANGE THE COLOURS OF ANIMALS.--Any black, or dark coloured spots on some animals, especially horses, may be effectually changed to white, by means of any substance that will chafe or blister the skin; thus a white spot of any shape may be produced on a black horse, by shaving off the hair from the part that is to be thus marked, and applying a plaster of spanish flies, or of quick lime moistened with vinegar; this plaster must be cut to the size and form required for the mark, and must be kept bound on, till the skin is blistered, or nearly so. The next coat of hair will infallibly be white. White spots can be changed to black or brown, only by means of oils or grease. Bacon fat has been recommended for this purpose, but if the oil or fat of a bear can be procured, it will prove more efficacious, as this fat is well known to have a remarkable tendency to darken the colour of animals and even complexions. But either of these, and in fact, many other kinds, will answer this purpose if properly applied, and frequently repeated. 90. TO GIVE LEATHER A BEAUTIFUL METALLIC LUSTRE.--Levigate one ounce of soft lead-coloured plumbago, and an equal quantity (in bulk) of lamp-black, in a gill of alcohol; then add half an ounce of loaf sugar, moistened with water and grind all together. The leather must first be brushed over smoothly with this composition, and when dry, it must be brushed hard and quickly with a dry smooth brush; or may be rubbed with a piece of woollen cloth. This blacking will be found useful for some ornamental purposes, but may be rather too brilliant for boots and shoes. This composition, however, may be mixed occasionally with other kinds of blacking, and will tend to increase their brightness. 91. AN EASY METHOD OF EXTRACTING THE ESSENCE OF ROSES.--Take the leaves of roses, and pound or bruise them: then stratify them with an equal weight of muriate of soda, in a glazed earthern vessel:--when thus filled to the top, cover it well, and set it in the cellar, and let it remain at rest a month or more. Afterwards, strain off the essence therefrom, through a strong cloth by pressure. The essence thus procured, is quite equal if not superior for culinary purposes, to that which is procured by distillation. 92. TO PREPARE VARIOUS KINDS OF ESSENCES.--The manner of extracting the essential oils, being attended with considerable expense of preparations, of stills, &c. a particular description of the process, would not, it is presumed, be sufficiently interesting to warrant its insertion. But the manner of reducing the oils to the state in which they are more generally sold, and is distinguished by the term "essences" is as follows. To half a pint of alcohol, add one ounce of any of the essential oils, (lemon, cinnamon, foxberry, peppermint, &c.) and shake them together; set the mixture in a warm place for a few minutes, and if then any opaque or milky appearance remains, a little more alcohol must be added. When this has become clear, it may be diluted occasionally with new rum. The essences of foxberry and cinnamon are coloured with a few drops of tincture of red saunders; and the essence of lemon, with tincture of turmeric. 93. TO PREPARE SODA WATER.--Only two articles are requisite for this preparation; one of which is super-carbonate of soda, or of potass (sal eratus,) and the other is citric or tartaric acid. The super-carbonates are formed by passing a stream of carbonic acid gas (which is produced by adding muriatic acid to pulverized marble) through a solution of soda or potass in water;--then evaporating till it crystallizes. Citric acid is prepared from the juice of lemons; and tartaric acid (which is more generally employed) is procured from super-tartrate of potass. But these being common articles of commerce, a more minute description of the process of preparing them, may not, in this place, be expedient. The compound called soda powders, consists of about ten grains of either of the super-carbonates, with an equal quantity of either of the acids, in each paper; this compound being dissolved in a glass of water, produces violent effervescence, and if drank off at the time, gives the water a smart and agreeable acid taste. The salt and acid, if mixed in powder, must be kept perfectly dry; otherwise, they would act on each other, and soon be spoiled. On this account, they are frequently prepared in separate papers, and sold by sets. Soda water is similarly prepared on the larger scale; the salts and acid being put into a cask of water, which is so confined, that the carbonic acid can have no other vent than by forcing out the water through a pipe fixed for the purpose with a tube, &c. 94. TO PRODUCE METALLIC TREES. _Process 1._--Mix one part of a saturated solution of nitrate of silver, with twenty parts of pure water, and pour the mixture upon two parts of mercury in a phial. After some time (the mercury being left standing quietly,) the branches and the figure of a tree, formed of brilliant silver, will appear to grow from the mercury in a very beautiful manner. The silver in solution being thus robbed of its oxygen by the metallic mercury, and consequently precipitated. 95. _Process 2._--Dissolve two drachms of acetate of lead, in six ounces of water; filter the solution, and pour it into a clean wide phial. Then suspend a granule of zinc, by a thread or wire fastened to the cork of the phial, in the middle of the solution, and place the phial where it will not be disturbed. After a few hours the lead, being de-oxydized by the zinc, will be precipitated on the zinc, in the shape of leaves, which will have a very brilliant appearance. 96. TO TIN COPPER BY BOILING.--Boil half a pound of granulated tin, and six ounces of super tartrate of potass in three pints of water; when they have boiled half an hour, put in any piece of copper ware, and continue the boiling fifteen minutes longer. The copper may then be taken out, and will have been handsomely coated with tin. 97. A METAL THAT WILL MELT IN HOT WATER.--Melt together eight parts of bismuth, five of lead and three of tin. This alloy, though hard and brilliant, when cold, is so easily fusible that it may be melted on a paper, being held over the flame of a candle. Tea spoons may be made of this compound metal, which may be melted by putting them in a cup of hot tea. 98. ILLUSTRATION OF CALICO PRINTING.--It frequently occurs, that substances of different colours, or even without colour, by coming in contact, produce colours very different from that of either of the ingredients when separate; thus, if a sheet of paper be striped in one direction with a hair pencil dipped in a solution of sub-carbonate of potass; and then crossed with a solution of sulphuric acid, diluted with five times as much water, it will be colourless; but dip it in a mixture of a weak solution of sulphate of iron, and infusion of nut galls, and it will instantly become a beautiful plaid; the ground being purple, striped one way with black and crossed with white. If a similar paper be striped with sub-carbonate of potass, and crossed with infusion of galls, and afterward dipped in a solution of sulphate of iron, it will become purple, yellow, black and white. Dip a piece of white calico in a cold solution of sulphate of iron and let it dry. Then imprint any figures upon it with a strong solution of colourless citric acid, and let this dry also. If the piece be then well washed in warm water, and afterwards boiled in a decoction of log-wood, the ground will be dyed either a slate or a black colour, according to the strength of the metallic solution, while the printed figures will remain beautifully white. Stain some parts of a sheet of paper a purple brown, with a mixture of infusion of galls and sulphate of iron; stain other parts green with a mixture of tinctures of turmeric and litmus; stain other parts purple with juice of red cabbage; other parts red with tincture of litmus and muriatic acid; other parts yellow with tincture of turmeric; wash the remainder of the sheet with a solution of sulphate of iron, which will remain white. Then print, or draw with a camel-hair pencil, any figure or figures on every part of the paper, with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass. On the purple brown, the figure will be black; on the green it will be purple; on the purple it will be green; on the red it will be blue; on the yellow, red; and on the white, it will take a yellow colour. Thus the figure will appear in colors different from the ground in every part. Immerse a piece of white cotton in a solution of sulphate of iron--it will remain white; dip another piece in tincture of turmeric, it will take a yellow; wet another piece with juice of red cabbage, containing also, a few drops of muriatic acid,--it will be red; dye another piece green, by immersing it in a mixture of tincture of turmeric and litmus; and another, purple by a mixture of infusion of galls and sulphate of iron. Let them dry; then immerse them all together in a solution of sub-carbonate of potass. The white will be changed to a yellow; the yellow to a red; the red to green; the green to purple; and the purple to black; and it is not improbable that some black might be materially changed or bleached by the same simple solution. 99. TO PREPARE AN IMITATION OF GOLD BRONZE.--Melt two ounces of tin, and mix with it one ounce of mercury; when this is cold pulverize it and add one ounce of muriate of ammonia, and one ounce of sulphur, and grind them all together. Put the compound in a flask and heat it in a clear fire (carefully avoiding the fumes) till the mercury sublimes, and rises in vapour. When the vapour ceases to rise, take the glass from the fire. A flaky gold colored powder will remain in the flask, which may be applied to ornamental work in the manner of gold bronze, of which it is a tolerable imitation. 100. TO PROCURE THE EXHILARATING GAS.--Put a quantity of nitrate of ammonia into a flask, and apply the heat of a lamp, which must be gentle, and well regulated. The salt will in a short time liquify, and must then be kept quietly simmering, avoiding violent ebullition. The gas will be evolved, and rise through the neck of the flask, and may be collected in a bladder containing a small quantity of water, and should be allowed to stand a few hours, and shifted into another bladder, or silk varnished bag before it is used. Though this gas is not fitted to support life, yet it may be respired for a short time, and the effects produced by it upon the animal frame, are its most extraordinary properties. The effects of this gas, are in general, highly pleasurable, and resemble those attendant on the agreeable period of intoxication. Exquisite sensations of pleasure; an irresistible propensity to laughter; a rapid flow of vivid ideas; a strong incitement to muscular motion, are the ordinary feelings produced by it. And what is exceedingly remarkable, is, that the intoxication thus produced, instead of being succeeded by the debility subsequent to intoxication by ardent spirits, does, on the contrary, generally render the person who takes it, cheerful and high spirited for the remainder of the day. 101. CONSTRUCTION OF A GALVANIC PILE OR BATTERY.--Procure fifty or more thin plates of copper, and the same number of plates of zinc, all of which may be about the size of a dollar, but not so thick. The copper and zinc plates, may be either cast in moulds, or may be cut out of rolled plates of the metals. In addition to the plates of copper and zinc, it is necessary to be provided with an equal number of pieces of woollen cloth, rather smaller than the metallick plates in size. Let these be soaked in a solution of muriate of soda, till they have thoroughly imbibed it; then take them out of the solution, and squeeze them gently, to force out the superabundant water. Then, having provided a circular piece of wood, rather larger than the plates, cover it with tin foil, and on this lay a plate of zinc, upon that a plate of copper, and then a piece of moistened cloth; next a plate of zinc, &c. Continue this arrangement of zinc, copper and cloth, till all the pieces that have been provided are laid on. As the pile began with zinc, it must be concluded with copper. This pile may be braced occasionally with strips of glass to prevent its being overthrown, Fix the end of a piece of metallic wire, in contact with the base, and lay the end of another piece upon the top of the pile; if thus, the opposite ends of the wire be brought in contact with each other, or if they are connected by any conducting body, so as to form a circuit of conductors, the pile will afford a constant and powerful current of the galvanic fluid through them for many hours. If the hands be moistened, and one of them applied to each of the wires, a shock will be received. Gold and other metals have been melted, and even burnt; and potass, soda and lime have been reduced to their respective metallic states, by being made to form part of a galvanic circuit. When the pile is not in use, it should be taken down, which will preserve it from wear, and the plates will require to be cleansed occasionally, which may be easily done by diluted muriatic acid. 102. CONSTRUCTION OF THE OXY-HYDROGEN BLOW-PIPE.--This useful instrument consists of a cubical vessel, made of tin plate, being from ten to twenty inches in length, breadth and height. The inside is divided into four equal apartments, by two partitions, crossing each other in the centre. The two front apartments are covered at the top, and each of them have a tube fixed in the front side, near the top, with a stopcock. The other apartments are open at the top, and communicate with those in front, by a small aperture near the bottom of each. These apartments being all filled with water, those in front are filled, the one with oxygen, and the other with hydrogen gas, which is done by forcing the gases into them through the tubes in front, which causes the water to recede through the aperture at the bottom, and consequently, part of the water is forced over the top of the other apartments; or rather, may run off through small tubes, fixed for the purpose, near the top, similar to those in front. When the front apartments are filled with the gases, (which may be known by the bubbling in the others) the tubes are stopped, and two leaden pipes are fixed in them, the opposite ends of which, are so placed, that the two streams of gas, when expelled from the gas holders, may come in contact very near the ends of the pipes. When the tubes are open, the pressure of the water will expel the gases, and will consequently settle, and must be replenished, so as to keep the apartments nearly full. When the two streams of gas are ignited at the point of contact, a flame is produced of sufficient intensity to burn gold, silver, copper or tin, with a very brilliant combustion. 103. TO MAKE A DRY PHOSPHORESCENT POWDER.--Take some thick oyster shells, wash them, and calcine by keeping them red hot in an open fire for half an hour: then, select the clearest and whitest parts, and reduce them to powder. Mix three parts of this powder, with one of the flour of sulphur; fill a crucible with this compound, pressing or beating it down as hard and solid as may be, without breaking the crucible. Set the crucible in the fire, and heat it moderately at first, but increase the heat gradually for an hour, in which time it must approach nearly to a white heat. Then let it cool, and again select from the mass, the whitest and purest parts, which must be preserved in a phial with a glass stopper. This powder has the peculiar property of imbibing the rays of the sun in the day time, and emitting them again in the night; or if the phial containing it, be exposed for a few minutes to the direct rays of the sun and then carried into a dark room, light enough will be evolved to render it distinctly visible. 104. CURIOUS EXPERIMENT OF PRECIPITATION.--Set five glasses on the table, and nearly fill one of them with a solution of sulphate of iron; and another with a solution of sulphate of copper; a third with a solution of nitrate of bismuth; pour into the fourth, a solution of nitro-muriate of cobalt, and into the fifth a solution of acetate of lead, or sulphate of zinc. These liquid solutions may all be diluted so as to be colourless. Then pour into each glass, a few drops of a colourless solution of prussiate of potass. The contents of the first glass will be instantly changed to a full blue colour; those of the second to a reddish brown; those of the third, to a yellow; the fourth to a green, and the fifth to a white. Thus five distinct colours will be given, by the addition of one colourless solution. 105. TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL SOFT GLASS FOR JEWELRY.--Take six ounces of clean fine white sand, three ounces of red lead, three ounces of pure sub-carbonate of potass, one ounce of nitrate of potass, half an ounce of borate of soda, and two drachms of arsenic; mix and pound them all together. Put the compound in a crucible, and set it in a common fire, often stirring it with an iron rod, till it is well melted, and becomes transparent. This compound will liquify very easily without any great heat, if the sand is fine, (which sometimes requires to be ground or pounded in a glass or flint mortar,) and if it be kept melted awhile, will become beautifully transparent, and may be cast or blown in the manner of other glass. This glass may be changed to a red or ruby colour, by adding and fusing together with it, a small quantity of finely powdered precipitate of gold, (gold precipitated from solution in nitro-muriatic acid by the addition of tin.) It may be also changed to blue by the addition of zaffre, (an ore of cobalt,) and magnesia: a green colour may be given by a precipitate of copper; and yellow by calcined iron, and white by calcined bones. This subject is treated of largely in the _Handmaid of the Arts_, to which, for further information on the subject, the reader is referred. 106. COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS KINDS OF GLASS.--The best flint glass is composed of 129 lbs. of white sand, 50 lbs. of red lead, 40 lbs. of sub-carbonate of potass, 20 lbs. of nitrate of potass, and 5 oz. of magnesia. The best crown glass is composed of 60 lbs. of white sand, 30 lbs. of sub-carbonate of potass, 15 lbs. of nitrate of potass, 1 lb. of borate of soda and 1/2 lb. of arsenic. The composition of common green window glass, is 120 lbs. of white sand, 30 lbs. of sub-carbonate of potass, 60 lbs. of wood ashes, 20 lbs. of muriate of soda and 5 lbs. of arsenic. The composition for looking glass plates, is 60 lbs. of clean white sand, 25 lbs. of purified sub-carbonate of potass, 15 lbs. of nitrate of potass, and 7 lbs. of borate of soda. Common green bottle glass is made from 200 lbs. of wood ashes, and 100 lbs. of sand. The materials for making glass, is first reduced to powder; then mixed and exposed to a strong heat, in suitable pots and furnaces, till the whole mass liquifies and becomes thoroughly commixed and transparent. 107. COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS ALLOYS.--Brass is composed of two parts of copper to one of zinc; or copper and calamine, (an ore of zinc,) equal quantities. Pinchbeck consists of from five to ten parts copper, and one of zinc. Bell metal is composed of three parts copper and one of tin. Gun metal, nine parts copper and one of tin. Tombac, sixteen parts copper, one part zinc and one of tin. The composition of pewter is seven pounds of tin, one of lead, four ounces of copper and two of zinc. That of type-metal is nine parts lead, two parts antimony and one of bismuth. Solder, two parts of lead with one of tin. Queen's metal, nine parts of tin, one of bismuth, one of antimony and one of lead. Jewel gold is composed of twenty-five parts gold, four parts silver, and seven parts fine copper. In forming metallic compounds or alloys, it is proper to melt such of the ingredients as are the least fusible first, and afterwards add the others, stirring them briskly till they are thoroughly commixed. 108. TO PRODUCE VARIOUS KINDS OF GAS.--To three or four ounces of pulverized chalk or marble, moistened in a flask, with an equal quantity of water, add one ounce of sulphuric acid;--carbonic acid gas will be evolved in abundance, and will rise through the neck of the flask, and may be conducted by pipes, to any proper receiver. Instead of the marble or chalk, substitute granulated zinc;--in this case hydrogen gas will be evolved; but this may require a larger proportion of water. Pour sulphuric acid upon a similar quantity of dry muriate of soda;--muriatic acid gas will be rapidly evolved. Proceed in the same manner with a similar quantity of black oxide of manganese,--apply the heat of a lamp, and oxygen gas will be produced. Put into the flask, two or three ounces of lean beef, cut into small pieces; pour over them one ounce of nitric acid diluted with three ounces of water; apply the heat of a lamp, and nitrogen gas will be liberated. Powder separately, equal quantities of muriate of ammonia and newly burnt lime; put them together into a flask and apply gentle heat; ammoniacal gas will be evolved. Pour an ounce of nitric acid, diluted with five times its weight of water, upon one ounce of shreds or turnings of copper; nitrous gas will be rapidly evolved. Grind three parts of muriate of soda with two parts of black oxide of manganese; introduce this mixture into the flask, and add two parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of water; apply a gentle heat and chlorine gas will be evolved. _Note._--When either of the last mentioned gases are produced, great caution is requisite that they do not escape into the room, in any considerable quantity, as their action on the lungs is exceedingly injurious. 109. VARIOUS CHEMICAL TESTS.--When water is suspected to hold any foreign substance in solution, various means may be used to detect and ascertain the quality of the substances combined; thus, acids may be detected by immersing in the water, a slip of litmus colored paper, which, if acid be present, will be changed to red. In the same manner, alkalies may be detected by a strip of turmeric yellow paper, which will be also changed to red by alkalies. These tests are sensible to the presence of an acid or alkali in the proportion of one to ten thousand. Iron may be detected by a drop of infusion of galls, which will give to the water (if iron be present) a brown tinge. A drop of sulphuric acid, precipitates barites in the form of a white powder. Clear transparent lime-water (water in which lime has been slaked and then suffered to settle) will indicate the presence of carbonic acid by a milky whiteness. On the same principle, a solution of super-carbonate of potass will detect lime. A few drops of nitrate of silver will instantly discover muriatic acid, by a white flaky precipitate. Muriatic acid, consequently, is a good test for silver. Acetate of lead, in solution, is a test for sulphureted hydrogen, which occasions a precipitate of a black colour. Nitrate of mercury is an excellent test for ammonia, one part of which, with 30,000 parts of water is indicated by a blackish yellow tinge on adding the test. Liquid ammonia is a very sensible test for copper, with which it strikes a fine blue colour. Nitro-muriate of gold will discover the presence of tin, by a beautiful purple precipitate. Nitro-muriate of tin is, on the same principle, an excellent test for gold. 110. TO PRODUCE A PICTURE INSTANTLY, IN A VARIETY OF COLOURS.--Paint any picture on paper in the usual way, only instead of colours, use the following substitutes: for green, use a solution of nitro-muriate of cobalt, for blue, a solution of sulphate of iron--for yellow, a solution of nitrate of bismuth--and for a brown, a solution of sulphate of copper. Any of these solutions may be more or less diluted, as the respective parts of the picture are to be light or dark, but none of them must be strong enough to colour the paper. This pictture is invisible: but when it is required to appear, the paper may be tacked up on the wall, and having a glass of the transparent solution of prussiate of potass (which by sight cannot be distinguished from clear water) dashed suddenly upon it, the picture will instantly appear in its full colours. A similar effect may be produced, by drawing the picture with infusion of galls, and sub-carbonate of potass; this is revived by a solution of sulphate of iron, and appears in a yellow and a brown colour. 111. A CHEAP IMITATION OF SILVER BRONZE.--Put into a crucible, an ounce of pure tin, and set it on a fire to melt; when it begins to melt, add to it an equal quantity of bismuth, and stir the mixture with an iron rod till the whole is entirely melted and incorporated. Take the crucible then from the fire, and after the melted composition has become a little cooler, but while it is yet in a fluid state, pour into it gradually, an ounce of mercury, stirring it at the same time, that the mercury may be thoroughly conjoined with the other ingredients. When the whole is thus commixed, pour the mass out of the crucible on a stone, where, as it cools, it will take the form of an amalgam, or metallic paste; which will be easily bruised into a flaky powder, and may then be applied to sized figures in the manner of gold or silver bronze, or may be tempered with gum-water, and applied to the work with a brush or camel-hair pencil; and if properly secured with varnish or laquers will be even more durable than either silver leaf or silver bronze. 112. TO MAKE CRAYONS OF VARIOUS COLOURS.--Crayons or pastils consist of various coloured pigments or paints, formed into sticks or rolls for the purpose of drawing and shading with them in the manner of lead pencils. But that they may be of uniform texture or hardness, different ingredients and materials require some variation in the management. To make white crayons, nothing more is requisite than to mix superfine or refined whiting with alcohol, to the consistence of soft putty; form it into rolls of a convenient length and size and let them dry: or the whiting may be mixed with water and a sufficient quantity of burnt or calcined sulphate of lime to give the crayons a sufficient degree of hardness when dry. A great variety of elegant light colours may be formed by adding to the whiting prepared as above, small quantities of any of the coloured pigments. The most proper colors for crayons are lamp-black, prussian blue, burnt umber, burnt terra-de-sienna, red ochre, vermilion, lake, rose-pink, chrome yellow, yellow ochre and mineral green. Many other handsome greens are formed by mixing chrome yellow with prussian blue, varying the proportions; and purples are produced by mixing rose pink or lake with blue. Prussian blue and lake being each naturally of a binding nature, require only to be ground in water; but red ochre and vermilion should be ground in alcohol, or may have some quantity of the sulphate of lime mixed with them. Any of these colours may be mixed in any proportion with whiting or with each other, each compound having a sufficient proportion of the sulphate of lime, to give it a proper degree of hardness and strength when dry. The proper length for crayons is from two to three inches, and the size about the same as that of a tobacco-pipe stem. It is customary in making crayons, to have at hand a large piece of chalk with a plane surface, on which to lay the crayons as soon as they are rolled; the chalk absorbs a part of the moisture, which makes them dry the sooner and without cracking. 113. TO MAKE HARD SEALING WAX, OF VARIOUS COLOURS.--Take of gum-shellac and rosin each two ounces; and of gum-mastic one ounce; reduce them to powder and mix and melt them together over a gentle fire. Then if a red colour is required, add to the mixture one ounce of fine vermilion; for a black colour, add half an ounce of a mixture of lamp black with rum; for a blue, half an ounce of white lead with one fourth of an ounce of prussian blue; which should be previously ground together dry. To give a green colour, add finely ground verdegris; a yellow is produced by chrome yellow or gamboge; and white, by adding pure white lead to the mixture. When the desired colour is formed by the mixture and incorporation of any of the above mentioned colouring ingredients, take out a part of the mixture, sufficient to form a stick or roll of the usual size, and roll it between two smooth metallic plates, which should also be previously warmed to prevent the wax from becoming too hard. When the stick is reduced to a proper size, flatten it a little and let it cool. Proceed in the same manner with the rest of the composition; afterward hold each stick severally over a fire of charcoal, turning it quickly till the surface of the wax is completely melted, by which means the sticks will have acquired a very smooth and shining polish at the surface, which they will retain when cold again. If a softer wax is required, a small quantity of bees-wax and of linseed oil may be added to the above composition, or may be substituted in the place of the gum-mastic. 114. THE ART OF MANUFACTURING PAPER HANGINGS.--This business, which has been usually, though improperly termed paper staining, consists principally in stamping or painting various figures in water colours on paper. The paper for this purpose is formed into long strips or rolls, by pasting the edges of several sheets together. The edges of the sheets should not lap on each other more than half an inch, and the usual length of a roll is about nine yards. These rolls are first painted plain with a large brush; the paint is composed of refined whiting with some colouring ingredient, being ground in water and tempered with a sufficient quantity of glue to prevent it from rubbing off; when a new design or figure is to be introduced, several colours are prepared, i.e. as many as are required in such design, and with these the design is painted on a sheet of paper. The paper is then laid on a smooth birch or maple board, and such parts of the paper as contain the colour that was last applied in the drawing (which is usually the white) are completely cut out, with a sharp pen-knife, and the parts thus cut out, are pasted down upon the board, immediately, in the places and positions they occupied in the design. The sheet is then removed to another board, and another colour is cut out in the same manner; thus the several colours are distributed in their proper arrangements on as many different boards. Each board is then cut away with chisels and gouges, to the depth of a fourth, or an eighth of an inch, in every part except where the pieces of paper are fixed. These boards or prints are supported by other thin pieces, which are fixed firmly on the backs of them by screws, in such manner that the grain of one, crosses that of the other, and thus prevents their warping. They have also cleats or pins attached to them which serve as handles. A trough is provided, a little larger than the prints, of one inch in depth, and having a smooth bottom, on which is laid three or four pieces of fine flannel or cassimere, each of which is at least as large as the prints. Then some of the colour with which the first part of the design was painted, is spread upon the cloth with a brush; and upon this, the print containing the corresponding parts of the figure, is pressed, (the pieces of paper having been previously scraped off;) the print being thus charged with the colour, is placed upon one end of a roll of the prepared paper, which is laid on a table for that purpose, and is pressed down hard by a lever or screw. It is then returned to the trough, and again charged with the colour, and again impressed on the paper at a proper distance above the other impression. In this manner several rolls are printed with one colour. Then the next colour in the design is applied to the paper in the same manner by another print;--a third colour by a third print and so on till the paper is completely printed with every colour in the design, each in its proper place. These prints should be washed and kept dry for future use. A variety of figures may be produced with the same print, by varying the colours. 115. TO MAKE ELASTIC BLACKING FOR LEATHER.--Dilute one ounce of gum-asphaltum with a pint of spirits of turpentine, in the manner described at 51;--put this into a flask, and add one ounce of gum-elastic cut into very small pieces, and half an ounce of gum-shellac previously reduced to powder. Suspend the flask unstopped over a fire of charcoal, or set it in a sand bath where it may boil gently till the quantity is reduced to a gill; then strain it through a flannel, and when nearly cold, bottle and cork it. The leather should be thoroughly blackened with some liquid blacking and waxed over slightly with bees-wax before the elastic blacking is applied. If the blacking should be too thick, it may again be diluted with spirits of turpentine. It should be warmed when applied, and the work may require several coats, and a considerable time for each to dry. Any of the above mentioned gums may also be dissolved in sulphuric ether, and thus produce a fine drying varnish, but the preparation is much more difficult as the volatile nature of the ether will not admit of much heat, whereby to facilitate the solution. 116. SUNDRY EXPERIMENTS.--Rub together a little dry powdered alum, and acetate of lead; both will become fluid. To a saturated solution of muriate of lime, add a saturated solution of sub-carbonate of potass, (both transparent liquids,) the mixture will be nearly solid. Rub together a little pure white calomel (sublimed mercury) and pure white ammonia (being moistened;) both will become intensely black. Fill a flask nearly half full of water, and apply heat till it boils; take it from the fire and (when it has done boiling) cork it; pour cold water upon the flask, and the water inside will re-commence boiling. Fill a glass with water, and lay a piece of paper upon the top of it; place your hand upon the paper, and invert the glass; the hand may be removed and the glass may be suspended in that position by a thread, and the water will not be spilled. Expose a piece of ice to the action of (cold) muriatic gas; the ice will be instantly melted. Drop a piece of phosphuret of lime, into a glass of water; bubbles will soon rise, and on reaching the surface of the water will spontaneously explode. Apply the end of a roll of brimstone to a hot bar of iron; a part of the iron will be instantly melted, and will fall. Write with diluted sulphuric acid, on paper that has been coloured brown by a mixture of sulphate of iron, and infusion of galls; the writing will be white. Moisten the under lip, and lay upon it a piece of silver money, (not less than a twenty cent piece) with the edge of it beneath the tongue; lay a piece of zinc, of nearly an equal size, upon the tongue, and bring the edges of the pieces of metal into contact; you will instantly drop the money. _Appendix._ A catalogue of the various articles mentioned in the preceding pages, with the prices, explanations, &c. --> The articles which have this mark * prefixed may be procured at 135, Washington-street, Boston. ACETATE OF COBALT, produced by digesting the oxide of cobalt in strong vinegar, _Cts._ * ACETATE OF LEAD, (sugar of lead) procured by dissolving white lead in vinegar, and evaporating, _oz._ 6 * ACETIC ACID, vinegar concentrated by distillation, _pt._ 25 * ALCOHOL, rectified spirit of wine, _pt._ 25 * ALUM, sulphate of alumine and potass, _oz._ 3 * AMMONIA, (hartshorn) a volatile alkali, _oz._ 12 * ANTIMONY, a dark porous metal, _oz._ 6 * BEES WAX, a yellowish resinous substance procured from honey, or honey combs, _oz._ 6 * BISMUTH, (tin glass) a reddish white metal, _oz._ 12 * BORACIC ACID, procured by adding sulphuric acid to a hot solution of borax; the acid crystallizes, _oz._ 100 * BRAZIL-WOOD, (red-wood,) _lb._ 6 * BORATE OF SODA, OR SUB-BORATE OF SODA, (borax) is brought from the East-Indies in an impure state called tincal, _oz._ 6 BURNISH GOLD-SIZE, and BURNISHERS, may be had of Bittle and Cooper, Pemberton's-hill, Boston, prices various, * CAMPHOR, obtained from a species of laurel tree, _oz._ 12 * CARBONATE OF COPPER, (French green) produced by adding a solution of super-carbonate of soda, to a hot solution of sulphate of copper, _lb._ 50 * CARBONATE OF LEAD, (white lead) is formed by exposing thin sheets of lead to the vapour of vinegar, after which they abstract the carbonic acid from the atmosphere, _lb._ 16 * CARBONATE OF STRONTIA, a native mineral, _oz._ 50 CARBONATE OF LIME, (marble, chalk) a native earth, * CHLORATE OF POTASS, procured by passing a current of chlorine gas through a solution of pearl-ash, _oz._ 100 * CHROME YELLOW, a pigment, is formed by the combination of a metallic substance with the chromic acid, _oz._ 12 * COBALT, (Zaffre) a metal of a reddish grey colour; when exposed to a gentle heat, it becomes oxidized and takes the form of a black powder, _oz._ 50 * CITRIC ACID, procured from lemons, limes, &c., _oz._ 75 * CALOMEL, white sublimate of mercury, _oz._ 20 * DRAGON'S BLOOD, a red mucilage extracted from a plant, _oz._ 10 * FLUATE OF LIME, (fluor spar) is found in abundance in Derbyshire, England, its acid constituent has the peculiar property of dissolving glass, _lb._ 50 * FRANKFORT BLACK, which takes its name from Frankfort, in Germany, is manufactured from the lees of wine, _oz._ 12 * GAMBOGE, a yellow opaque gum, or mucilage, _oz._ 16 * GLUE, (gelatine) a jelly procured from skins of animals, _lb._ 25 * GOLD BRONZE, gold in fine powder, _pwt._ 75 * GOLD LEAF, thin laminas of gold, _book_ 45 * GUM-ARABIC, a mucilaginous substance that exudes from certain trees in Arabia, _oz._ 6 * GUM-ASPHALTUM, a bitumen, or mineral pitch, _oz._ 8 * GUM-COPAL, a hard transparent resin, _lb._ 40 * GUM-ELASTIC, (indian rubber, caoutchouc) exudes from trees in the West-Indies, _oz._ 8 * GUM-SANDARAC, a resin, similar to rosin but much harder, _lb._ 100 * GUM-SHELLAC, a compound, resinous substance, procured from the nests, or cells of an insect, _oz._ 6 * GUM-MASTIC, a hard, transparent resin, _lb._ 100 * ISING-GLASS, a kind of transparent glue procured from various kinds of fish, _oz._ 25 * LAKE, (drop lake) a rose coloured pigment, prepared from brazil wood, _oz._ 200 * LEAD, a brown heavy metal, _lb._ 12 LIME, an oxide of calcium, is procured by calcining lime stone, marble or chalk, * LINSEED OIL, is expressed from ground flaxseed, _pt._ 15 * LITHARGE, (gold litharge) an oxide of lead, _oz._ 4 * LITMUS, a blue colouring vegetable, _oz._ 10 * MERCURY, (quick silver) a metal that remains fluid in the common temperature of the atmosphere, _oz._ 8 * MURIATE OF AMMONIA, (sal ammoniac) is formed by adding muriatic acid to liquid ammonia, evaporating, &c., _oz._ 6 MURIATE OF SODA, (culinary salt) is procured by evaporating the water of the ocean, * MURIATE OF STRONTIA, procured by dissolving native carbonate of strontia, in muriatic acid, and evaporating, _oz._ 75 MURIATE OF LIME, formed by evaporating a solution of marble in muriatic acid, * MURIATIC ACID, (marine acid, spirit of salt) is extracted from sea-salt, _oz._ 12 * NITRATE OF AMMONIA, procured by dissolving carbonate of ammonia (common smelling salts) in nitric acid, _oz._ 20 * NITRATE OF POTASS, (nitre, salt-petre) may be procured by adding nitric acid to a solution of sub-carbonate of potass, and crystallizing by evaporation, _oz._ 3 * NITRATE OF STRONTIA, procured the same as the muriate, _oz._ 75 * NITRIC ACID, (aquafortis) is obtained by distilling two parts of sulphuric acid, together with one part of salt-petre, _oz._ 12 * NUT GALLS, are formed on the leaves of a species of oak, _oz._ 6 * OLIVE OIL, (sweet oil,) _oz._ 3 * OIL OF CINNAMON, extracted from cinnamon by distillation, _oz._ 75 * OIL OF ROSEMARY, procured also by distillation, _oz._ 25 * ORANGE LEAD, a scarlet pigment similar to red lead, _oz._ 3 * OXIDE OF MANGANESE, a black powder consisting of a metal combined with oxygen, _oz._ 10 * PHOSPHORUS, a simple substance procured from bones; its greatest peculiarity is extraordinary combustibility, _oz._ 200 * PHOSPHURET OF LIME, a combination of lime and phosphorus, _oz._ 200 * PLUMBAGO, (black lead) a carburet of iron, _lb._ 16 * POTASSIUM, the metallic base of potass, may be readily obtained from pearl ash by any one who has a galvanic apparatus, * PRUSSIATE OF IRON, (prussian blue) may be formed by adding prussiate of potass, to a solution of copperas, _oz._ 25 * PRUSSIATE OF POTASS, a combination of potass and prussic acid, _oz._ 50 * PUMICE STONE, _lb._ 12 * RED LEAD, (minium) is obtained by melting lead in an open vessel, and exposing it in that state to the action of the atmospheric air, _oz._ 3 * RED OCHRE, (spanish brown) a native oxide of iron, _lb._ 6 * ROSIN, the resinous part of turpentine, _lb._ 6 * SILVER BRONZE, _pwt._ 50 * SILVER LEAF, _book_ 30 * SLIP BLUE, (wet blue) an aqueous preparation of prussian blue, _lb._ 30 * SPIRITS OF TURPENTINE, (oil of turpentine) is procured by distilling common or crude turpentine; the residuum is rosin, _pt._ 12 * SUB-ACETATE OF COPPER, (verdigris,) _oz._ 3 * SUB-CARBONATE OF POTASS, (pearlash) potass refined by calcination, _lb._ 12 * SULPHATE OF COPPER, (blue vitriol, roman vitriol,) _oz._ 3 * SULPHATE OF IRON, (copperas, green vitriol,) _oz._ 6 SULPHATE OF LIME, (plaister of paris, alabaster, gypsum,) * SULPHATE OF ZINC, (white vitriol,) _oz._ 3 * SULPHUR (brimstone) is generally found combined with ores of metals, _oz._ 3 * SULPHURIC ACID, (oil of vitriol) the condensed vapour of burning sulphur, _oz._ 16 * SULPHURIC ETHER, procured by distilling alcohol with sulphuric acid, _oz._ 25 * SUPER CARBONATE OF POTASS (sal eratus) is formed by passing a current of carbonic acid gas, through a solution of pearl ash, _oz._ 3 * SUPER CARBONATE OF SODA, may be prepared in the same manner from the sub-carbonate, _oz._ 12 * SUPER TARTRATE OF POTASS (cream of tartar) is found encrusted on the sides of casks in which wine has been kept, _oz._ 4 * TARTARIC ACID, procured from cream of tartar, _oz._ 12 * TERRA-DE-SIENNA, an oxide of iron that becomes dark red by burning, _oz._ 6 * TIN, (grain, or granulated tin,) _oz._ 12 * TIN FOIL, metallic tin rolled to thin laminas or sheets like paper, _oz._ 12 * TURMERIC, the root of a vegetable, _oz._ 3 * UMBER, a brown earth that becomes nearly black by burning, _oz._ 3 * VENICE TURPENTINE, _oz._ 6 * VERMILION, a sulphuret of mercury, is sometimes found native, but may be procured by grinding sulphur and mercury together, and heating them, first in an open vessel, till the mixture takes a violet colour; and afterward in a flask or matrass, _oz._ 12 * WHITING, (Spanish white) refined, _lb._ 12 * YELLOW OCHRE, (spruce yellow) an oxide of iron, _lb._ 12 * ZINC (spelter) a metal of which, with copper, brass is made, _oz._ 3 36689 ---- Transcriber's Note Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text. THE NEW ENGLAND COOK BOOK OR YOUNG HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE: BEING A COLLECTION OF THE MOST VALUABLE RECEIPTS; EMBRACING ALL THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF COOKERY AND WRITTEN IN A MINUTE AND METHODICAL MANNER. ALSO AN APPENDIX CONTAINING A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY. NEW HAVEN: HEZEKIAH HOWE & CO. AND HERRICK & NOYES. 1836. Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1836 by HEZEKIAH HOWE & CO. in the Clerk's office of the District Court of Connecticut. PREFACE. The writer deems that no apology need be offered for adding another to the long list of works on the truly interesting if not noble science of gastronomy provided she has accomplished the desirable object of producing a work that will commend itself to all persons of true taste; that is to say those whose taste has not been vitiated by a mode of living contrary to her own. She has made that her aim and although not an Ude or Kitchener she does profess to have sufficient knowledge of the occult science if properly imparted to enlighten those not versed in culinary lore. The utter inefficiency of most works of the kind are well known to every experienced housekeeper serving but to lead the uninitiated astray who following implicitly the directions given have to lament in the language of that homely but not inapt proverb that their cake is all dough. Among the few exceptions she would mention the Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Child which is a very useful book and fully answers its author's design; but that is limited as its name imports to the plainest cooking and is not intended for those who can afford to consult their taste in preference to their purse. The writer of this short but she trusts comprehensive work has endeavored to combine both economy and that which would be agreeable to the palate but she has never suffered the former to supersede the latter. Although the mode of cooking is such as is generally practiced by good notable Yankee housekeepers yet the New England Cook Book is not so local but that it will answer like a modern almanac without any material alteration for almost any meridian. It is intended for all classes of society and embracing both the plainest and richest cooking joined to such minuteness of directions as to leave as little as possible to the judgment of the practitioner proving to the unskilled quite a desideratum while in the hands of the head of the culinary department it will prevent that incessant running to and fro for directions with which housekeepers' patience are too often tried. The experienced cook may smile at the simplicity and minuteness of some of the receipts yet if she has witnessed as much good food spoiled by improper cooking as the writer of these receipts she will not think she has been unnecessarily plain. In regard to the seasoning of food it has been found impossible to give any exact rules as so much depends on the quality of the food and seasoning. The cook should be careful not to have the natural flavor of the food overpowered by the seasoning and where a variety of spices are used no one should predominate over the other. Measuring has been adopted as far as practicable in preference to weighing on account of its being more convenient. As many people have not a set of measures it has been thought best to use such utensils as every one has viz. tumblers tea cups wine glasses &c. but as they may be thought rather too indefinite by some the exact quantity will here be stated; most tumblers are a good half pint measure wine glasses usually hold half a gill and table spoons the fifth of a gill; by tea cups are meant the old fashioned ones which hold very little over a gill. In conclusion the writer would give her sincere thanks to those of her friends who have kindly furnished her with many of their choice and rare receipts and to the public she would not add any thing more in its favor being strongly impressed with the truth of the adage that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. CONTENTS. Page. 1. Meat 1 2. Roast Beef 1 3. Beef Steak 2 4. Alamode Beef 2 5. Beef Liver 3 6. To Corn Beef 3 7. Mutton 4 8. Veal 4 9. Veal Cutlets 4 10. Calf's Head 5 11. Collops 5 12. Plaw 5 13. A Fillet of Veal 6 14. Lamb 6 15. Shoulder of Lamb Grilled 7 16. Lamb's Fry 7 17. Turkey 7 18. Goose 8 19. Chickens 8 20. Fricassee Chickens 9 21. Pigeons 9 22. Ducks 10 23. Baked Pig 10 24. Pressed Head 10 25. Souse 11 26. Tripe 11 27. Ham 11 28. Tongues 11 29. Curries 12 30. Curry Powder 12 31. Chicken Pie 12 32. Beef and Mutton Pie 13 33. Chicken and Veal Pot Pie 13 34. To Frizzle Beef 14 35. Warmed over Meats 14 36. A Ragout of cold Veal 15 37. Drawn Butter 15 38. Burnt Butter 16 39. Roast Meat Gravy 16 40. Sauce for cold Meat Fish or Salad 16 41. Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton 16 42. Rice Sauce 17 43. Oyster Sauce 17 44. Liver Sauce for Fish 17 45. Lobster Sauce 17 46. Chicken Salad 18 47. Sauce for Turtle or Calf's Head 18 48. Apple Sauce 18 49. Pudding Sauce 18 50. Tomato Catsup 19 51. Mushroom Catsup 19 52. Essence of Celery 19 53. Soup Herb Spirit 20 54. Veal Soup 20 55. Black Soup 20 56. Calf's Head or mock Turtle Soup 21 57. Chicken or Turkey Soup 21 58. Oyster Soup 22 59. Pea Soup 22 60. To Bake Beans 22 61. Poached Eggs 23 62. To Boil Eggs 23 63. Omelet 23 64. Fresh Fish 23 65. Fresh Cod 24 66. Halibut 24 67. Striped and Sea Bass 24 68. Black Fish 25 69. Shad 25 70. Chowder 25 71. Stuffed and baked Fish 26 72. Salt Cod 26 73. Fish Cakes 26 74. Lobsters and Crabs 27 75. Scollops 27 76. Eels 27 77. Clams 28 78. Stew Oysters 28 79. To Fry Oysters 28 80. Oyster Pancakes 28 81. Oyster Pie 29 82. Scolloped Oysters 29 83. Vegetables.--Potatoes 29 84. Turnips 30 85. Beets 30 86. Parsnips and Carrots 30 87. Onions 30 88. Artichokes 31 89. Squashes 31 90. Cabbage 31 91. Asparagus 31 92. Peas 31 93. Beans 32 94. Corn 32 95. Greens 32 96. Salads 32 97. To Stew Mushrooms 33 98. Egg Plant 33 99. Celeriac 33 100. Salsify or Vegetable Oyster 33 101. Tomatoes 34 102. Gumb 34 103. Southern manner of Cooking Rice 34 104. To Pickle Peppers 35 105. Mangoes 35 106. To Pickle Butternuts and Walnuts 35 107. To Pickle Cabbage and Cauliflower 36 108. To Pickle Onions 36 109. To Pickle Artichokes 36 110. To Pickle Cucumbers 37 111. To Pickle Gherkins 37 112. To Pickle Oysters 38 113. To Pickle Mushrooms 38 114. Wheat Bread 38 115. Sponge Bread 39 116. Rye Bread 39 117. Rice Bread 40 118. French Rolls or Twists 40 119. Yeast 40 120. Yeast Cakes 41 121. Biscuit 42 122. Butter Milk Biscuit 42 123. Hard Biscuit 42 124. York Biscuit 42 125. Rice Cakes 43 126. Rice Ruffs 43 127. Buck Wheat Cakes 43 128. Economy Cakes 43 129. Green Corn Cakes 44 130. Corn Cake 44 131. Indian Slap Jacks 44 132. Johnny Cakes 44 133. Hoe Cakes 45 134. Muffins 45 135. Flour Waffles 45 136. Quick Waffles 45 137. Rice Waffles 46 138. Rice Wafers 46 139. Observations respecting Sweet Cakes 46 140. Gingerbread 47 141. Soft Gingerbread 47 142. Ginger Snaps 48 143. Cider Cake 48 144. Cookies 48 145. New Year's Cookies 49 146. Plain Tea Cakes 49 147. Shrewsbury Cake 49 148. Tunbridge Cake 49 149. Jumbles 50 150. Simbals 50 151. Sugar Gingerbread 50 152. Rusk 50 153. Whigs 51 154. Hot Cream Cakes 51 155. Cross Buns 51 156. Nut Cakes 52 157. Crollers 52 158. Molasses Dough Cake 53 159. Sugar Dough Cake 53 160. Measure Cake 53 161. Cup Cake 53 162. French Loaf 54 163. Washington Cake 54 164. Plain Cream Cake 54 165. Rich Cream Cake 54 166. Shelah or quick Loaf Cake 55 167. Loaf Cake 55 168. Rice Cake 55 169. Diet Bread 56 170. Scotch or Lemon Cake 56 171. Pound Cake 56 172. Queen's or heart Cakes 56 173. Jelly Cake 57 174. Raised Queen's Cake 57 175. Sponge Cake 57 176. Almond Sponge Cake 58 177. Black or Fruit Cake 58 178. Almond Cheese Cake 59 179. Maccaroons 59 180. Frosting for Cake 59 181. Cocoanut Cakes 60 182. Floating Island 60 183. Whip Syllabub 60 184. Blanc Mange 61 185. Rice flour Blanc mange 61 186. Ice Cream 61 187. Pastry 62 188. Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry 63 189. Apple Pie 63 190. Mince Pie 64 191. Peach Pie 64 192. Tart Pie 65 193. Rice Pie 65 194. Rhubarb or Persian Apple Pie 65 195. Cherry and Blackberry Pies 66 196. Grape Pie 66 197. Currant and Gooseberry Pies 66 198. Pumpkin Pie 66 199. Carrot Pie 67 200. Potatoe Pie 67 201. Marlborough Pie 67 202. Custard Pie 67 203. A Plain Custard Pie 68 204. Lemon Pie 68 205. Cocoanut Pie 68 206. Small Puffs 69 207. Boiled Custards 69 208. Almond Custards 69 209. Cold Custard or Rennet Pudding 70 210. Custard Pudding 70 211. Boiled Bread Pudding 70 212. A Plain Baked Bread Pudding 71 213. A Rich Bread Pudding 71 214. Flour Pudding 71 215. A Plain Rice Pudding 72 216. A Rich Rice Pudding 72 217. Rice Snow Balls 72 218. Baked Indian Pudding 72 219. Boiled Indian Pudding 73 220. Corn Pudding 73 221. Hasty Pudding 73 222. Fruit Pudding 74 223. Fritters 74 224. Apple Dumplings 74 225. Orange Pudding 75 226. Bird's Nest Pudding 75 227. Apple Custard Pudding 75 228. English Plum Pudding 76 229. Transparent Pudding 76 230. Lemon Syrup 76 231. Orange Syrup 77 232. Blackberry Syrup 77 233. Clarified Syrup for Sweet Meats 77 234. To Preserve Quinces 78 235. Quince Marmalade 79 236. To Preserve Pears 79 237. To Preserve Peaches 79 238. To Preserve Currants 80 239. To Preserve Barberries 80 240. To Preserve Ginger 81 241. To Preserve Apples 81 242. To Preserve Cymbelines or Mock Citron 81 243. To Preserve Watermelon Rinds 82 244. To Preserve Cherries 82 245. To Preserve Muskmelons 82 246. To Preserve Pine Apples 82 247. To Preserve Pumpkins 83 248. To Preserve Gages 84 249. To Preserve Strawberries 84 250. Blackberry and Raspberry Jam 84 251. Strawberry Blackberry and Raspberry Jelly 84 252. Cranberry Grape and Currant Jelly 85 253. Quince Jelly 85 254. Apple Jelly 85 255. Lemon Jelly 86 256. Calf's Foot Jelly 86 257. Coffee 87 258. To make Tea 88 259. Chocolate 88 260. Hop Beer 88 261. Spruce Beer 89 262. Spring Beer 89 263. Ginger Beer 89 264. A good Family Wine 90 265. Currant Wine 90 266. Raspberry Shrub 90 267. Noyeau 91 268. Spring Fruit Sherbet 91 269. Grape Wine 91 270. Smallage Cordial 91 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS AND OBSERVATIONS USEFUL TO YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS. Page. 1. To make Essence of Lemon 92 2. Essence of Ginger 92 3. Rose Water 92 4. Spice Brandy 93 5. Barley Water 93 6. Water Gruel 93 7. Wine Whey 93 8. Stomachic Tincture 94 9. Beef Tea 94 10. Carrageen or Irish Moss 94 11. Moss Blanc Mange 95 12. Elderberry Syrup 95 13. New Bread and Cake from old and rusked bread 95 14. To Preserve Cheese from Insects and Mould 96 15. To keep vegetables and herbs 96 16. To Preserve various kinds of Fruit over winter 97 17. To extract Essences from various kinds of Flowers 98 18. Indelible Ink for marking linen 98 19. Perfume Bags 98 20. Lip Salve 99 21. Bread Seals 99 22. To Loosen the Glass Stopples of Decanters or Smelling Bottles when wedged in tight 99 23. Cement for broken China Glass and Earthenware 100 24. Japanese Cement or Rice Glue 100 25. Cement for Alabaster 101 26. To extract fruit Stains 101 27. To extract Spots of paint from Silk Woolen and Cotton Goods 101 28. To remove black stains on Scarlet Merinos or Broadcloths 102 29. To remove grease spots from Paper Silk or Woolen 102 30. To extract stains from white Cotton goods and Colored Silks 102 31. Rules for washing Calicoes 103 32. Rules for washing Silks 103 33. Rules for washing woolens 104 34. Rules for washing white Cotton Clothes 105 35. To clean silk and woolen Shawls 105 36. To clean Silk Stockings 106 37. To clean Carpets 106 38. To clean feather Beds and Mattresses 107 39. To clean Light Kid Gloves 107 40. To remove Ink or grease spots from Floors 107 41. To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture 108 42. To clean stone hearths and stoves 108 43. To clean Brass 109 44. To cleanse Vials and Pie Plates 109 45. Cautions Relative to Brass and Copper 109 46. To keep Pickles and Sweet Meats 109 47. Starch 110 48. To temper new Ovens and Iron Ware 110 49. To temper Earthen Ware 111 50. Preservatives against the ravages of Moths 111 51. To drive away various kinds of household vermin 111 52. To keep Meat in hot Weather 112 53. To Prevent polished Cutlery from rusting 112 54. To melt Fat for Shortening 112 55. To preserve Eggs fresh a year 113 56. To preserve Cream for long Voyages 113 57. Substitute for Milk and Cream in Tea or Coffee 113 58. To Cure Butter 113 59. To make salt Butter fresh 114 60. To take rankness from a small quantity of butter 114 61. Windsor Soap 114 62. To make Bayberry or Myrtle Soap 115 63. Cold Soap 115 PRACTICAL COOKERY. 1. _Meat._ To be in perfection meat should be kept several days when the weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a week in cold weather and poultry three or four days. In summer meat should be kept in a cool airy place away from the flies and if there is any danger of its spoiling sprinkle a little salt over it. When meat is frozen it should be put in cold water and remain in it till the frost is entirely out if there is any frost in it when put to the fire it will be impossible to cook it well. Fresh meat should not be put into the pot until the water boils. When meat is too salt soak it in lukewarm water for several hours change the water before boiling it. Meat should boil gently with just water enough to cover it and the side that is to go up on the table should be put down in the pot as the scum that rises makes the meat look dark it should be taken off as soon as it rises. The liquor in which all kinds of fresh meat is boiled makes good soup. 2. _Roast Beef._ The tender loin and first and second cuts of the rack are the best roasting pieces the third and fourth cuts are good. The lower part of a rack of beef should be cut off as it prevents the meat from roasting thoroughly. When the beef is put to the fire to roast a little salt should be sprinkled on it and the bony side turned towards the fire when the ribs get well heated through turn the meat put it to a brisk fire and baste it frequently till done. If the meat is a thick piece allow fifteen minutes to each pound to roast it in if thin less time will be required. 3. _Beef Steak._ The tender loin is the best piece for broiling that from the shoulder clod or from the round is good and comes much cheaper. Beef before broiling if not very tender should be laid on a board and pounded. Wash it in cold water and broil it on a hot bed of coals the quicker it is cooked without being burnt the better it is. Cut up about quarter of a pound of butter for 7 or 8 lbs. of beef put the pieces into a platter and when the steak is done lay it on the butter pepper and salt it on both sides. 4. _Alamode Beef._ The round of beef is the best piece to alamode. The shoulder clod is good and comes cheaper it is also good stewed without any spices. For five lbs. of beef soak about a pound of bread in cold water when soft drain off the water mash the bread fine put in a piece of butter half the size of a hen's egg together with half a tea spoonful of salt the same quantity of mace pepper and cloves also a couple of eggs and a table spoonful of flour mix the whole well together then cut gashes in the beef and fill them with half of the dressing put it in a bake pan with boiling water enough to cover it. The bake pan lid should be just hot enough to scorch flour put a few coals and ashes on the top let it stew constantly for two hours then place the reserved dressing on top of the meat put in a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg heat the bake pan lid till hot enough to brown the dressing stew it an hour and a half longer. When you have taken up the meat if the gravy is not thick enough mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water and stir it in put in a couple of wine glasses of white wine and a small piece of butter. 5. _Beef Liver._ The best way to cook liver is to pour boiling water on it dip it in salt and water then broil it till nearly done with two or three slices of salt pork previously dipped in flour cut up the meat and pork into strips about two inches long lay the whole into a pan with a little water salt and pepper put in a little butter stew it four or five minutes. It is more economical to fry or broil it but it is not as nice. 6. _To Corn Beef._ To every gallon of cold water put a quart of rock salt an oz. of salt petre a quarter of a lb. of sugar and a couple of table spoonsful of blown salt. (Some people use molasses instead of sugar but it is not as good). No boiling is necessary put your beef in the brine as long as any salt remains at the bottom of the brine it is strong enough. Whenever any scum rises the brine should be scalded skimmed and more sugar salt and salt petre put in. When a piece of beef is put in the brine a little salt should be added and if the weather is warm cut gashes in the beef and fill them with salt. Keep a heavy weight on the beef in order to keep it under the brine. The top of the weight is a good place to keep fresh meat from spoiling in hot weather. In very hot weather it is difficult to corn beef in cold brine before it spoils on this account it is a good plan to corn it in the pot it is done in the following manner to six or eight lbs. of beef put a tea cup of salt sprinkle flour on the side that is to go up on the table and put it down in the pot without any water in it then turn in cold water enough to cover it boil it two hours then fill up the pot and boil it an hour and a half longer. 7. _Mutton._ The saddle is the best part for roasting the shoulder and leg are good roasted; but the latter is better boiled with a piece of salt pork; a tea cup of rice improves the looks of it. Before putting the mutton down to roast rub a little butter on it sprinkle on salt and pepper; cloves and allspice improve it. Put a small piece of butter in the dripping pan and baste it frequently the bony side should be turned towards the fire first and roasted. For boiling or roasting mutton allow a quarter of an hour to each pound. 8. _Veal._ The loin of veal is the best roasting piece the breast and rack are good roasting pieces the breast makes a good pot pie. The leg is nice for frying and when several slices have been cut off for cutlets the remainder is nice boiled with about half a pound of salt pork. Veal for roasting should be salted and peppered and have a little butter rubbed on it baste it frequently and unless the meat is very fat put a small piece of butter in the dripping pan when the meat is put down to roast. 9. _Veal Cutlets._ Fry three or four slices of pork when brown take them up. Cut part of a leg of veal into slices about an inch thick and fry them in your pork fat when brown on both sides take it up stir about half a tea cup of clear water into the gravy then mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water and turn it in soak a couple of slices of toasted bread in the gravy lay them on the bottom of a platter place your meat and pork over the toast then turn your gravy on the meat. Some people dip the veal into the white of an egg and roll it in pounded bread crumbs before cooking it. It takes nearly an hour to cook this dish. 10. _Calf's Head._ Boil the head two hours together with the lights and feet put in the liver when it has boiled an hour and twenty minutes before the head is done tie up the brains in a bag and boil them with it. When these are done take them up and mash them fine season them with salt pepper and butter sweet herbs if you like use them as the dressing for the head. Some people prefer part of the liver and the feet for dressing they are prepared like the brains. The liquor that the calf's head is boiled in makes a nice soup seasoned in a plain way like any other veal soup or seasoned turtle fashion. The liquor should stand till the day after the head is boiled when the fat should be skimmed off. 11. _Collops._ Cut part of a leg of veal into pieces three or four inches broad sprinkle flour on them and fry in butter till brown then turn in water enough to cover the veal when it boils take off the scum put in two or three onions a blade of mace let it stew gently three quarters of an hour put in a little salt pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Take it up pour the gravy over it. The gravy should be previously thickened with a little flour and water. 12. _Plaw._ Boil a piece of lean veal till tender. Then take it up cut it into strips three or four inches long put it back into the pot with the liquor it was boiled in and a couple of tea cups of rice to four lbs. of the veal put in a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs stew it gently till the water has nearly boiled away. A little curry powder in this converts it into a curry dish. 13. _A Fillet of Veal._ Take a leg of veal cut off the shank and cut gashes in the remainder. Make a dressing of bread soaked soft and mashed season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs chop a little raw pork fine and put it into the dressing if you have not pork use a little butter. Fill the gashes in the meat with the dressing put it in a bake pan with water enough to just cover it put the remainder of the dressing on top of the meat. For six lbs. of veal allow two hours steady baking. A leg of veal is nice prepared in this manner and roasted. 14. _Lamb._ The fore and hind quarter of lamb are good roasting pieces. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the lamb and turn the bony side towards the fire first if not fat rub on a little butter and put a little in the dripping pan baste it frequently. These pieces are good stuffed like a fillet of veal and roasted the leg is also good cooked in the same manner but it is better boiled with a little pork or salt allow fifteen minutes boiling to each lb. The breast of lamb is good roasted broiled or corned and boiled it is also good made into a pot pie. The fore quarter with the ribs divided is good broiled the bones of this as well as of all other kinds of meat when put down to broil should be put toward the fire a little butter pepper and salt should be put on it. Lamb is very apt to spoil in warm weather if you wish to keep a leg several days put it in brine it should not be put in with pork as fresh meat is apt to injure the pork. 15. _Shoulder of Lamb Grilled._ The shoulder of lamb is good roasted or cooked in the following manner. Score it in chequers about an inch long rub it over with a little butter and the yolk of an egg then dip it into finely pounded bread crumbs sprinkle on salt pepper and sweet herbs broil or roast it till of a light brown. This is good with plain gravy or sauce made in the following manner with half a pint of the gravy (or the same quantity of drawn butter ) put a table spoonful of tomato catsup the juice of half a lemon a little salt and pepper. 16. _Lamb's Fry._ The heart and sweet bread are nice fried plainly or dipped into the white of an egg and fine bread crumbs they should be fried in lard. 17. _Turkey._ Take out the inwards and wash both the inside and outside of the turkey. Prepare a dressing of either boiled potatoes mashed fine or bread soaked in cold water the water should be squeezed out of the bread mash it fine add a small piece of butter or pork chopped fine put in pepper salt and sweet herbs if you like them an egg mixed with the dressing makes it cut smoother. Fill the crop and body of the turkey with the dressing sew it up tie up the legs and wings rub on a little salt and butter. Roast it from two to three hours according to the size; twenty five minutes for every pound is a good rule. A turkey should be roasted slowly at first and basted frequently the inwards of a turkey should be boiled till tender and the liquor they are boiled in used for the gravy when you have taken up the inwards mix a little flour and water smoothly together and stir it into the skillet put in a little of the drippings of the turkey season it with salt and pepper and sweet herbs if you like. Drawn butter is used for boiled turkey. A turkey for boiling should be dressed like one for roasting tie it up in a cloth unless you boil rice in the pot with it if you use rice put in a tea cup two thirds full a small piece of pork boiled with the turkey improves it. If you wish to make a soup of the liquor in which the turkey is boiled let it stand till the next day and then skim off the fat. 18. _Goose._ If a goose is tender under the wing and you can break the skin easily by running the head of a pin across the breast there is no danger of its being tough. A goose should be dressed in the same manner and roasted the same length of time as a turkey. 19. _Chickens._ Chickens for roasting or boiling should have a dressing prepared like that for turkies. Half a tea cup full of rice boiled with the chickens makes them look white they will be less liable to break if the water is cold when they are put in to boil a little pork boiled with the chickens improves them if you do not boil any pork with them put in a little salt. Chickens for broiling should be split the inwards taken out and the chicken washed inside and out put the bony side down on the gridiron and broil it very slowly till brown then turn it when done take it up salt and butter it. About forty minutes is required to broil a common sized chicken. For roast chicken boil the liver and gizzard by themselves and use the water for gravy cut the inwards in slices and put them in. 20. _Fricassee Chickens._ The chickens should be jointed the inwards taken out and the chickens washed put them in a stew pan with the skin side down on each layer sprinkle salt and pepper; put in three or four slices of pork just cover them with water and let them stew slowly till tender. Then take them up mix a tea spoonful of flour smoothly with a little water and stir it into the gravy add a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg put the chickens back into the stew pan let them stew slowly for four or five minutes. When you have taken up the chickens put two or three slices of toast into the gravy and when soaked soft lay it in a platter and lay the chickens on top and turn the gravy upon it. If you wish to brown the chickens reserve the pork and fry it by itself when brown take it up and put in the chickens (when they are stewed tender ) and let them fry till of a light brown. 21. _Pigeons._ Take out the inwards and stuff them with a dressing prepared like that for turkies put them in the pot with the breast side down the water should more than cover them when nearly done put in a quarter of a lb. of butter to every dozen of pigeons mix a little flour and water and stir into the gravy. When stewed tender if you wish to brown them take them up and fry them in a little pork fat or butter an hour before they are done put on a heated bake pan lid. They are very good split open and stewed with a dressing made and warmed up separately with a little of the gravy. It takes about two hours to cook tender pigeons and three for tough ones. Tender pigeons are good stuffed and roasted. They should be buttered just before they are taken from the fire. 22. _Ducks._ Are good stewed like pigeons or roasted. Two or three onions in the dressing of wild ducks takes out the fishy taste. If ducks or any other fowls are slightly injured by being kept too long dip them in weak sal eratus and water before cooking them. 23. _Baked Pig._ Take out the inwards cut off the first joint of the feet and boil them till tender take them up and take out the bones chop them a little. Prepare a dressing of bread soaked and mashed fine season it with salt pepper butter and sweet herbs if you like fill the pig with the dressing rub a little butter on the out side to prevent its blistering. If you wish to have it go on the table whole put it into a long dripping pan put in a little water set it in a well heated oven bake it from two hours and a half to three according to the size. When done take out a little of the dressing and mix it with the chopped inwards and feet put in a little butter pepper and salt let the pig stand in the open air a few minutes before it goes on the table in order to make it crispy. 24. _Pressed Head._ Boil ears forehead and rind (the cheek is good but is better corned and smoked) boil them till the meat will almost drop from the bones take them up when cold cut the meat in strips about an inch long and half an inch broad warm it in a little of the liquor in which the meat was boiled season it with pepper salt cloves nutmeg and cinnamon when hot take it up and put it in a strong bag put a heavy weight upon it and let it remain till perfectly cold. 25. _Souse._ Take pig's ears and feet clean them thoroughly boil them till tender take them out and when cold split them lay them in a deep dish pour on boiling vinegar strongly spiced with pepper corns cloves and nutmeg put in a little salt. When cold they are fit to cook. Fry them in lard. They will keep good pickled for four or five weeks. 26. _Tripe._ After being scoured should be soaked in salt and water seven or eight days changing the water every other day. Then boil it till tender which will take eight or ten hours. It is then fit for broiling frying or pickling. It is pickled like souse. 27. _Ham._ A ham that weighs ten lbs. should be boiled four or five hours if too salt the water should be changed. Before it goes on to the table take off the rind put pepper or whole clove in the form of diamonds all over it. The Virginia way of curring Hams is the following dissolve two oz. of salt petre two tea spoonsful of sal eratus for every 16 lbs. of ham add molasses in the proportion of a gallon to a hogshead of brine. Make a salt pickle as strong as possible put the above ingredients in it then put the hams in and let them remain for six weeks. Take them out and smoke them for three months. Hams cured in this way will keep good a long time and are very fine flavored. 28. _Tongues._ Cut off the roots of the tongues make a brine like that for curing beef let the tongues remain in it for a week then smoke them eight or ten days. They require boiling four or five hours. The roots make very nice mince pies but are not good smoked. 29. _Curries._ Chickens pigeons mutton chops veal lamb and lobsters make good curries. The meat should be boiled till nearly tender if made of fowls they should be jointed before they are boiled. Put a little butter in a stew pan when melted put in the meat and cover it with part of the liquor it was boiled in let it stew for ten or fifteen minutes. For 4 lbs. of meat mix a table spoonful of curry powder with one of flour or a tea cup of boiled rice put in a little water and a table spoonful of melted butter and half a tea spoonful of salt turn the whole over the meat and let it stew six or eight minutes. 30. _Curry Powder._ Pound fine one oz. of ginger one of mustard one of pepper three of coriander seed the same quantity of turmeric half an oz. of cardamums quarter of an oz. of cayenne pepper the same quantity of cinnamon and cummin seed. Pound the whole well together sift and put them in a bottle. 31. _Chicken Pie._ Joint the chickens and boil them till nearly tender in water just sufficient to cover them. Take them up and lay them in a dish lined with pie crust on each layer of the chickens sprinkle pepper and salt put in a little of the liquor that they were boiled in three or four slices of pork and a small piece of butter sprinkle flour over the whole. Cover it with a nice pie crust ornament it with pastry cut in narrow strips. Bake it an hour and a quarter. 32. _Beef and Mutton Pie._ Take meat that is tender pound it out thin and boil it ten minutes. Take it up cut off the bony and gristly parts season the meat highly with pepper and salt butter it and cut it in narrow strips. Line a deep dish with piecrust put in the meat and to each layer put a tea spoonful of tomato catsup and a table spoonful of water sprinkle flour over the whole and cover it with piecrust ornament it as you please with pastry. Cold roast or boiled beef and mutton cut in bits and seasoned highly with salt and pepper make a nice pie put them in a dish and turn a little melted butter over them pour on water till you can just see it at the top. 33. _Chicken and Veal Pot Pie._ Boil the meat until about half done if chickens they should be jointed. Take up the meat and put it in a pot with a layer of crust to each layer of meat; have a layer of crust on the top cover the whole with the liquor the meat was boiled in. Keep a tea kettle of boiling water to turn in when the water boils away (cold water makes the crust heavy.) If you wish to have it brown heat a bake pan lid and cover the pot while it is cooking which takes about an hour. The crust for the pie is good made like common pie crust only very plain roll it about an inch thick cut it with a tumbler into small cakes. Raised pie crust is generally preferred to any other it is made in the following manner. Rub together three pints of flour one cup of butter half a tea spoonful of salt and then turn in a tea cup of yeast and half a pint of water. Set it in a warm place to rise when risen (which will be in the course of ten or twelve hours in cold weather ) roll it out and cut it into small cakes. If it is not stiff enough to roll out knead in a little flour if too stiff put in a little water. Potatoe pie crust is good boil the potatoes peel and mash them fine put in a tea spoonful of salt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg and half a pint of milk mix flour with it till of the right consistency to roll out cut it into cakes and put them with the meat. A very good way to make the crust when you happen to have unbaked wheat bread; is to roll out the dough several times and spread butter on it each time let it lay about half an hour before you put it with the meat. 34. _To Frizzle Beef._ Take tender smoked beef and shave it off thin put it in a stew pan with boiling water enough to cover it let it stew ten or fifteen minutes; three or four minutes before it is done thicken the water it is stewed in with a little flour when taken up sprinkle on a little pepper. This makes a nice dish for breakfast provided the beef is moist and tender. 35. _Warmed over Meats._ Boiled or roasted veal makes a nice dish chopped very fine and warmed up with a little pepper a small piece of butter and a little water if you have gravy it is very good instead of the butter and water. A little nutmeg and the rind and juice of half a lemon improve it the rind should be chopped very fine (none of the white part should be used.) When well heated through take it up and cut a couple of lemons in slices and lay over it. Veal and fresh or salt beef are all of them good minced fine with boiled potatoes and warmed up with pepper salt and gravy if you have not gravy use a little butter and water. Some people like boiled onions or turnips chopped fine and mixed with the minced meat instead of potatoes. Veal lamb and mutton are good cut in small strips and warmed with boiled potatoes cut in slices and pepper salt and gravy. Roast beef and mutton if not cooked too much are nice cut in slices and just scorched on a gridiron. Meat when warmed over should only be on the fire just long enough to get heated well through if on the fire long most of the nourishment of the meat will be extracted and it will be very indigestible. Cold fowls are nice jointed and warmed up with a little water and salt then take the fowls out of the water put them in a frying pan that has a little hot butter in it and fry them till of a light brown they should have a little flour sprinkled over them before they are browned. Thicken the water with flour that the fowls were warmed in put a little butter in it and turn it over the meat when taken up. 36. _A Ragout of Cold Veal._ Cut boiled or roasted veal in nice slices flour and fry them in butter till of a light brown. Then take them up and turn a little hot water into the butter they were fried in mix a little flour with water and into the gravy season it with salt pepper mace and catsup if you have any and a little lemon juice. Put in the meat and stew it till very hot. 37. _Drawn Butter._ Mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour gradually with a little water stir it till free from lumps thin it and stir it into half a pint of boiling water let it boil four or five minutes then put in about a quarter of a lb. of butter previously cut in small pieces set it where it will melt gradually. If carefully mixed it will be free from lumps if not strain it before it is put on to the table. If the butter is to be eaten on fish cut up several boiled eggs into it. A little curry powder sprinkled in it will convert it into curry sauce. 38. _Burnt Butter._ Put a couple of ounces of butter in a frying pan set it on the fire when of a dark brown color put in a table spoonful of vinegar a little pepper and salt. This is nice for fish or boiled eggs. 39. _Roast Meat Gravy._ Meat when put down to roast should have about a pint of water in the dripping pan. If you like your gravy very rich skim off the top of the drippings to your meat and use them if you like it plain stir up the drippings strain them and put in a skillet and boil them. Mix a tea spoonful of flour with a little cold water and stir it into the gravy. Lamb and veal require a little butter in the gravy. 40. _Sauce for cold Meat Fish or Salad._ Mix the yolks of two eggs boiled soft with a mustard spoonful of made mustard a little salt and pepper two table spoonsful of salad oil or melted butter when well mixed put in three table spoonsful of vinegar. A table spoonful of tomato or mushroom catsup improves it. 41. _Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton._ Warm half a pint of the drippings or the liquor the meat was boiled in. When it boils mix a tea spoonful of scorched flour with a little water and stir it in put in a little pepper salt and quarter of a tea spoonful of cloves put in a table spoonful of currant jelly and half a tumbler full of wine just before you take it from the fire. Many people prefer melted currant jelly to any other sauce for venison. 42. _Rice Sauce._ Boil half a tea cup of rice till soft then stir in two table spoonsful of milk a little salt and a nutmeg or mace sweet herbs a boiled onion and strain it. This is a very nice accompaniment to game. 43. _Oyster Sauce._ Take the juice of your oysters and to a pint put a couple of sticks of mace a little salt and pepper put it on the fire when it boils mix two tea spoonsful of flour with a little milk and stir it in. When it has boiled two or three minutes put in about half a pint of solid oysters a piece of butter of the size of half an egg when scalded through take them up. 44. _Liver Sauce for Fish._ Boil the liver of the fish then mash it fine stir it into drawn butter put in a little cayenne or black pepper a couple of tea spoonsful of lemon juice and a table spoonful of catsup. 45. _Lobster Sauce._ Mash the yolks of two eggs boiled soft with the spawn of the lobster and a tea spoonful of water when rubbed smooth put in a mustard spoonful of made mustard two table spoonsful of salad oil or melted butter a little salt pepper and five table spoonsful of vinegar. 46. _Chicken Salad._ Boil four eggs three minutes take them out of the shell mash and mix them with a couple of table spoonsful of olive oil or melted butter two thirds of a tumbler of vinegar a tea spoonful of mixed mustard half a tea spoonful of salt quarter of a tea spoonful of pepper and a little essence of celery if you have any. Cut up a boiled chicken that weighs two or three pounds into small strips and turn the sauce over it. 47. _Sauce for Turtle or Calf's Head._ To half a pint of drawn butter or thickened beef gravy put the juice of half a lemon a little sage basil or sweet marjoram a little cayenne pepper and a wine glass of white wine just before you take it up. 48. _Apple Sauce._ Pare and quarter the apples take out the cores stew them in cider. When soft take them up put in a piece of butter of the size of a walnut to every quart of the sauce sweeten it to your taste with brown sugar. Another way which is very good is to boil the apples with a few quinces in new cider and molasses enough to sweeten them till reduced to half the quantity. This kind of sauce will keep good for several months. 49. _Pudding Sauce._ Mix a tea cup of butter with two of nice brown sugar when white put in a wine glass of wine or brandy flavor it with nutmeg essence of lemon or rosewater. If you wish to have it liquid make two thirds of a pint of thin starch and stir it into the butter and sugar. If you wish to have it foam put in a little cider. Cider instead of wine or brandy answers very well for common pudding sauce. 50. _Tomato Catsup._ Wipe the tomatoes which should be perfectly ripe. Boil them till soft in a little water. Strain the whole through a sieve season it highly with salt pepper cloves allspice and mace then boil it fifteen minutes. Let it stand twenty four hours then take off the watery part bottle the remainder seal it tight and keep it in a cool place. Made in this way it will keep the year round. The catsup should be stewed in tin and the later in the season it is made the less liable will it be to spoil. 51. _Mushroom Catsup._ Put a layer of fresh mushrooms in a deep dish sprinkle a little salt over them then put in another layer of mushrooms and salt and so on till you get in all the mushrooms let them stand several days then mash them fine; to each quart put a tea spoonful of black pepper put it in a stone jar tightly covered set it in a pot of boiling water boil it two hours then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice half an hour skim it well let it stand a few hours to settle then turn it off carefully through a sieve bottle cork and seal it tight set it in a cool place. 52. _Essence of Celery._ Steep half an oz. of bruised celery seed in a quarter of a pint of brandy for a fortnight. A few drops of this will give a fine flavor to soup. 53. _Soup Herb Spirit._ Those who like a variety of herbs in soup will find it very convenient to have the following mixture. Take when in their prime thyme sweet marjoram sweet basil and summer savory dry pound and sift them steep them in brandy. The herb spirit will be fit for use in the course of a fortnight. 54. _Veal Soup._ A leg of veal after enough has been cut off for cutlets makes a soup nearly as good as calves head. Boil it with a cup two thirds full of rice a pound and a half of pork season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs if you like a little boiled celery cut in slices or a little essence of celery improves it parsly carrot and onions boiled in the soup are liked by some people. If you wish for balls in your soup chop veal fine mix it with a couple of eggs a few bread crumbs a small piece of butter or raw pork chopped fine put in salt and pepper to your taste or a little curry powder boil them in the soup. Just before you take the soup up put in a couple of slices of toast cut into small pieces. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned. 55. _Black Soup._ The shank of beef is the best part for soup cold roast beef bones and beef steak make very good soup. Boil the shank four or five hours in water enough to cover it. Half an hour before the soup goes on the table take out the meat thicken the soup with scorched flour mixed with cold water season it with pepper salt nutmeg and cloves a little tomato catsup improves it put in sweet herbs or herb spirit if you like. Some people boil onions in the soup but as they are very disagreeable to many persons it is better to boil them and put them in a dish by themselves. Take bread soaked soft mash it well and put in a little of the boiled beef chopped fine a couple of eggs a very little flour season it highly with salt pepper cloves and mace do it up in small balls and boil them in the soup fifteen minutes. 56. _Calf's Head or mock Turtle Soup._ Boil the head till perfectly tender then take it out strain the liquor and set it away till the next day then skim off the grease. Cut up the meat and put it in the liquor together with the lights (the brains should be reserved for the balls) warm it and season it with salt pepper cloves mace and sweet herbs if you like and onions let it stew gently for half an hour. Just before taking it up add half a pint of white wine. For the balls chop lean veal fine with a small piece of raw salt pork add the brains and season it highly with salt pepper cloves mace and sweet herbs or curry powder make it up into balls about the size of half a hen's egg boil part in the soup and fry the remainder and put them in a dish by themselves. 57. _Chicken or Turkey Soup._ The liquor that turkey or chicken is boiled in makes a good soup with half a tea cup of rice and a lb. of pork boiled in it. If you do not like it very fat let it stand till the next day after the turkey is boiled skim off the fat season it with salt pepper and sweet herbs. If you like vegetables in soup boil them by themselves slice them up when done and put them in the turreen with toasted bread cut in small pieces; or toasted crackers. When the soup is hot turn it on them. 58. _Oyster Soup._ Take a couple of quarts of oysters out of the liquor with a fork strain the liquor and if there are any shells in them rinse them off. To each quart put a pint of milk or water. Set them on the fire when it begins to simmer skim it mix three tea spoonsful of flour with a little milk stir it in when the oysters boil when it boils again take it up and season it with salt pepper a table spoonful of tomato catsup a table spoonful of vinegar and a small lump of butter; turn it on to a slice of toast cut in pieces. 59. _Pea Soup._ To a quart of peas put a quart of cold water soak them over night in a warm place. Next day set them to boiling four or five hours before they are to be eaten put in a couple of lbs. of pork to two quarts of the peas add in a little more water if not likely to be sufficiently soft put in a tea spoonful of saleratus half an hour before you take up the soup. 60. _To Bake Beans._ Pick over the beans wash and put them in a pot with cold water enough to cover them hang them over the fire where they will keep just lukewarm. When they begin to grow soft stew them over a hot fire several minutes with a heaping tea spoonful of saleratus. Then take them up with a skimmer and put them in a baking pot gash a lb. of pork and put it down in the pot so as to have the beans just cover it pour in cold water till you can see it at the top. They will bake in a hot oven in the course of three hours; but they will be better to remain in it five or six. Beans are very good stewed without being baked. 61. _Poached Eggs._ Break your eggs into a dish and beat them to a foam. Then put them on a few coals put in a small lump of butter a little salt let them cook very slowly stirring them constantly till they become quite thick then take them up and turn them on buttered toast. 62. _To Boil Eggs._ They should be put into boiling water and if you wish to have them soft three minutes is long enough to boil them if you wish to have them hard they should boil five minutes. Another way to boil them is to break the shells and drop the eggs into a frying pan of boiling water let them boil three or four minutes. If you do not use the eggs as a garnish salt and butter them when you take them up. 63. _Omelet._ Beat your eggs to a froth leaving out half the whites put in a couple of ounces of fine minced ham corned beef or veal when veal is used a little salt will be requisite. Fry it in butter till it begins to thicken. When it is brown on the underside it is sufficiently cooked. If you wish to have it brown on the top put a heated bake pan lid over it as soon as it has set. 64. _Fresh Fish._ Fresh fish for boiling or broiling are the best the day after they are caught. They should be cleaned washed and half a tea cup of salt sprinkled on the inside of them and a little pepper if they are to be broiled. Set them in a cool place. When fresh fish are boiled they should be put in a strainer or sewed up in a cloth carefully; put them in cold water with the backbone down; with eight or ten pounds of fish boil half a tea cup of salt. Many people do not put their fish into the pot until the water boils but it is not a good plan as the outside gets cooked too much before the inside is cooked sufficiently. Fish for frying should be wiped dry after being washed and flour sprinkled on them. For five or six lbs. of fish fry three or four slices of pork when brown take them up and put in the fish if the pork does not make sufficient fat to fry the fish in add a little lard. For good plain gravy mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water and turn in when you have taken up the fish; when well mixed add a little butter and pepper when it boils turn it on to the fish. Boiled fish should be served up with drawn butter or liver sauce. For a garnish to boiled fish boil several eggs five minutes cool them in water then take off the shells and cut them in slices and lay them round the fish; parsly and pepper grass are also a pretty garnish for boiled fish. For broiling fish the gridiron should be greased with a little butter the inside of the fish should be broiled first. 65. _Fresh Cod_ Is good boiled fried baked or made into a chowder. It is too dry a fish to broil. 66. _Halibut_ Is nice cut in slices and broiled or fried; the fins and the thick part are good boiled. 67. _Striped and Sea Bass_ Are good fried boiled broiled baked or made into a chowder. 68. _Black Fish._ Black fish are the best fried or boiled they will do to broil but are not so nice as cooked in any other way. 69. _Shad._ Fresh shad are the best bloated and broiled; but they are good boiled or fried the spawn and liver are nice fried in lard. Salt shad is good boiled without any soaking if liked quite salt if not pour on scalding water and let them soak in it half an hour then drain off the water and boil them twenty minutes. Salt shad and mackerel for broiling should be soaked twenty four hours in cold water the water should be changed several times. To salt twenty five shad mix one pound of sugar a peck of rock salt two quarts of fine salt and quarter of a pound of salt petre. Put a layer of it at the bottom of the keg then a layer of shad with the skin side down sprinkle on the mixed salt sugar and salt petre and so on till you get in all the shad. Lay a heavy weight on the shad to keep it under brine. If there is not brine enough in the course of a week add a little more sugar salt and salt petre. 70. _Chowder._ Fry three or four slices of pork until brown. Cut each of your fish into five or six slices flour and put a layer of them in your pork fat sprinkle on pepper and very little salt cloves and mace if you like lay on several crackers previously soaked soft in cold water and several bits of your fried pork this operation repeat till you get in all your fish then turn on nearly water enough to cover them put on a heated bake pan lid. When the fish has stewed about twenty minutes take them up and mix a tea spoonful of flour with a little water and stir it into the gravy add about an ounce of butter and cloves. Half a pint of white wine and the juice of half a lemon or a tea cup of tomato catsup improve it. Bass and Cod make the best chowder. Some people like them made of clams the hard part should be cut off. 71. _Stuffed and Baked Fish._ Soak bread in cold water till soft then squeeze out all the water mash it and mix it with a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg a little salt pepper cloves and mace a couple of raw eggs makes the dressing cut smoother. Fill the fish with this dressing and sew it up. Put a tea cup of water in a bake pan and a small piece of butter lay in the fish; bake it about an hour. Fresh cod bass and shad are suitable fish for baking. 72. _Salt Cod_ Should be soaked in lukewarm water till the skin will come off easily. Scrape it and change the water and put it over a moderate fire where it will keep warm without boiling boiling hardens rather than softens it. It takes three hours to soak it soft. It should be cut into good square pieces and served up with drawn butter. Cold codfish is good minced up fine with potatoes and warmed up with butter and a little water. 73. _Fish Cakes._ Cold boiled salt or fresh fish are nice mixed up fine with potatoes a little butter put in and moulded up into small cakes with the hand fry them in pork fat or butter. 74. _Lobsters and Crabs._ Put them into boiling water and boil them three quarters of an hour if large if not half an hour will be long enough. Boil two thirds of a tea cup of salt with four or five pounds of lobsters. When cold crack the shells take out the meat. Be careful to get out the blue vein and what is called the lady as they are very unhealthy. Lobsters are good cold or warmed up with a little vinegar pepper salt and butter. A way of dressing them which looks very prettily is to pick out the spawn and red chord mash it fine and rub it through the sieve put in a little butter and salt cut the lobsters into small squares and warm it together with the spawn over a moderate fire. When hot take it up and garnish it with parsly. The chord and spawn when strained are a handsome garnish for any kind of boiled fish. 75. _Scollops._ Are nice fried or boiled and pickled like oysters for frying they should be previously boiled and taken out of the shells and all but the hearts thrown away as the rest is very unhealthy dip the hearts into flour and fry them till brown in lard. The hearts are also good stewed with a little water butter pepper and salt. 76. _Eels._ If very large are best bloated and broiled they should be bloated several hours before cooking them. If not very large fry them in pork fat; large eels are nice cut into small strips and laid in a deep dish with bits of salt pork and pepper and baked for half an hour. 77. _Clams._ Wash and boil them until the shells open with just water enough to prevent their burning at the bottom of the pot. When the shells open take the clams out of them and warm them with a little of the liquor they were boiled in and a little butter pepper and salt. Soak a slice of toasted bread in the clam liquor put it in the bottom of a dish and turn the clams on to it when hot. For clam pancakes take some of the clam liquor and mix with a little flour to a pint of flour put two beaten eggs and a little salt fry them in lard. Very large long clams are nice taken out of the shell without boiling and broiled. 78. _Stew Oysters._ Take the oysters out of the liquor with a fork rinse the bits of shell from them and strain the liquor put the oysters in a stew pan with the juice when scalded through take them up turn them on buttered toast salt butter and pepper them to your taste some cooks add a little catsup or lemon juice. 79. _To Fry Oysters._ Take those that are large dip them in eggs and fine bread crumbs fry them in lard till of a light brown. They are a nice garnish for boiled or fried fish if fried when first caught with a little salt and pepper sprinkled on them will keep good several months provided they are put into a bottle and corked tight as soon as cooked. Whenever they are to be eaten warm them with a little water. 80. _Oyster Pancakes._ Mix the juice of the oysters with flour in the proportion of a pint of liquor to a pint of flour if you have not juice enough put in a little milk or water add a couple of eggs and a little salt to each pint fry them in lard. 81. _Oyster Pie._ Line a deep dish with pie crust fill it with dry pieces of bread; make a nice puff paste and cover the dish with it bake till of a light brown either in a quick oven or bake pan have the oysters just stewed by the time the crust is done take off the upper crust and remove the pieces of bread put in the oysters season them with salt pepper and butter a little catsup improves the pie but is not essential cover it with the crust. 82. _Scolloped Oysters._ Pound crackers or rusked bread till fine butter scolloped tins or shell sprinkle on the crumbs then put in a layer of oysters a small lump of butter a little pepper salt and juice of the oysters put on another layer of crumbs and oysters and so on till the shells are filled having the bread crumbs on top; bake them until a light brown. 83. _Vegetables.--Potatoes._ The best way to cook potatoes is to pare and put them in a pot with just boiling water enough to prevent their burning put in a little salt and cover them up tight let them stew till you can stick a fork through them easily. If there is any water in the pot turn it off and put it back on the fire and let the potatoes steam a few moments longer. The easiest way to cook them is to put them in boiling water with the skins on they should boil constantly till done if you wish to have them mealy; they are more mealy to have the water turned off as soon as you can stick a fork through them easily and put in a warm place where they will steam the lid should be off. Cold mashed or whole potatoes are nice cut in slices and fried in lard or butter. Sweet potatoes are the best baked. Most potatoes will boil sufficiently in half an hour new Irish potatoes will boil in less time. 84. _Turnips._ White turnips require about as much boiling as potatoes. When tender take them up peel and mash them season them with a little salt and butter. Yellow turnips require about two hours boiling if very large they should be split in two. 85. _Beets._ Beets should not be cut or scraped before they are boiled. In summer they will boil in an hour in winter it takes three hours to boil them tender. Boiled beets cut in slices and put in vinegar for several days are nice. 86. _Parsnips and Carrots._ The best way to cook them is to scrape and split them in two put them in a stew pan with the flat side down pour on boiling water enough to cover them when done take them up and butter them. Many people boil parsnips whole but it is not a good plan as the outside gets done too much before the inside is cooked sufficiently. 87. _Onions._ Peel and put them in boiling milk water will do to boil them in but is not as good when done take them up salt them and turn a little melted butter over them. 88. _Artichokes._ Scrape and put them in boiling water with a table spoonful of salt to a couple of dozen when boiled tender (which will be in about two hours) take them up and butter them. 89. _Squashes._ If very young boil them whole if not they should be pared quartered and the seeds taken out boil them till very tender then take them up put them in a cloth and press out the water mash them in a dish salt and butter them to your taste. 90. _Cabbage._ Take off the loose leaves cut the stalky part in quarters to the heart of the cabbage. Boil it an hour if not boiled with corn beef put a little salt in the pot. Cauliflowers will boil tender in fifteen or twenty minutes. 91. _Asparagus._ The tough part should be cut in thin slices and boiled eight or ten minutes before the other part is put in lay the remainder compactly together tie it in small bundles and boil it from fifteen to twenty minutes according to its age. Take it up when tender with a skimmer lay it on buttered toast in a deep dish sprinkle a little salt on it melt a little butter and turn over it. 92. _Peas._ Shell and boil them from fifteen to thirty minutes according to their age and kind if very old a tea spoonful of saleratus boiled with them makes them better and more healthy. When tender take them up salt and butter them to your taste. 93. _Beans._ String beans should have the strings carefully taken off and if old the edges should be cut off; if the beans are old put saleratus in the pot in the proportion of half a tea spoonful of saleratus to a peck of beans it should be put in before the beans. Boil them from twenty five to thirty minutes salt and butter them when you take them up. Beans and all other summer vegetables should not be picked longer than one day before being cooked; the fresher green vegetables are the better they are and more healthy. 94. _Corn_ Should be put in boiling water with a little salt and boiled from ten to twenty minutes according to its age. It is much sweeter to be boiled on the cob. 95. _Greens._ White mustard spinach and the leaves and roots of very small beets are the best greens. Boil them with a little salt and saleratus in the water. 96. _Salads_ Should be fresh and put in cold water for half an hour before they are eaten. Cucumbers to be healthy should not be picked longer than a day before they are eaten they should be kept in cold water and fifteen or twenty minutes before they are eaten pare and slice them into fresh cold water. 97. _To Stew Mushrooms._ Peel and put them in a sauce pan with just enough water to prevent their burning to the bottom of the pan. Put in a little salt and shake them occasionally. When they have stewed about twenty minutes put in a little butter pepper and salt; a little wine and cloves improve them. They should be stewed very slowly and taken up as soon as seasoned turn them on buttered toast. 98. _Egg Plant_ Should be cut in slices about half an inch thick between every slice sprinkle a little salt let them lay two hours before cooking then scrape off the salt and fry them till brown in lard. 99. _Celeriac._ This is an excellent vegetable but it is but little known. The stalks of it can hardly be distinguished from celery and it is much easier cultivated. The roots are nice boiled tender and cut in thin slices and put in soup or meat pie or cooked in the following manner and eaten with meat. Scrape and cut them in slices and boil them till perfectly tender then take them up sprinkle on a little salt and stew them in a little milk four or five minutes turn them into a dish and put in a little butter. 100. _Salsify or Vegetable Oyster._ The best way too cook it is to cut it in slices and dip it into an egg and fine bread crumbs fry it in lard. It is very good boiled and then stewed a few moments in milk and a little butter put on it or cut in slices and fried in butter made like that for oyster pancakes substituting milk for the juice of the oyster. 101. _Tomatoes _ If very ripe will skin easily if not pour on scalding water and let them remain in it four or five minutes. Peel and put them in a stew pan with a table spoonful of water if not very juicy if so no water will be required put in a little salt and stew them in tin for half an hour when done turn them into a dish with buttered toast. Another way of cooking them which is considered very nice by epicures is to put them in a deep dish with powdered bread crumbs or crackers a layer of each alternately sprinkle salt and pepper on each layer and put on small bits of butter over each layer some people like a little nutmeg and sugar. Have a layer of bread crumbs on the top and bake it in a bake pan three quarters of an hour. 102. _Gumb._ Take an equal quantity of young tender okra chopped fine and ripe tomatoes skinned an onion shredded fine a small lump of butter a little salt and pepper put the whole in a stew pan with a table spoonful of water and stew it till tender. 103. _Southern Manner of Cooking Rice._ Pick over the rice and wash it in cold water put it in three quarts of boiling water with half a tea spoonful of salt to a pint of the rice. Boil it seventeen minutes then turn off the water very close put it over a moderate fire with the lid of the pot off let it steam fifteen minutes. Rice boiled in this manner is superior to any other; but care must be taken to be exact in the time of boiling and steaming as a few moments variation makes a great deal of difference with it the water should boil when it is put in the pot and not allowed to stop boiling till done. The water that the rice is cooked in makes nice starch if boiled a few moments by itself. 104. _To Pickle Peppers._ If you do not like them fiery take out the seeds they should be taken out carefully with a penknife so as not to mangle the pepper. Soak them in salt and water eight or nine days change the water each day and keep them in a warm place. If you like them stuffed put in cinnamon cloves mace and nasturtions lay them in cold spiced vinegar. Tomatoes when very small and green are good pickled with the peppers. 105. _Mangoes._ Procure muskmelons as late in the season as possible and those that are very green; if pickled early they are apt to spoil. Take out the seeds and soak them in salt and water three or four days. Then take them out of the water sprinkle powdered cloves and nutmeg round on the inside of the melon fill them with strips of horseradish cinnamon small string beans or flag root nasturtion and radish tops fill the crevices with American mustard seed; put on the covers and sew each one up in a bag. Lay the melons in a stone jar with the side that the covers are on up; turn on scalding hot vinegar with alum pepper corns and salt in it. Pickled barberries are a pretty garnish for them. 106. _To Pickle Butternuts and Walnuts._ The nuts for pickling should be picked as early as the first of July unless the season is very backward if a pin will go through them easily they are in a right state for pickling. Soak them in salt and water a week then drain and scrape or rub them with a cloth sprinkle them with ground cloves and pour on boiling vinegar spiced with cloves pepper corns allspice and mace add a little salt. They will be fit to eat in the course of a fortnight or three weeks. The vinegar they are pickled in makes a nice catsup if boiled down to half the quantity and a little more spice added. 107. _To Pickle Cabbage and Cauliflower._ Purple cabbages are the best for pickling. Pull off the loose leaves and quarter them sprinkle salt on the flat side of each one let them lay several days then rinse off the salt and drain them; sprinkle on powdered cloves mace salt and pour on scalding vinegar with a few peppers in it alum and pepper corns. Cauliflowers are pickled in the same manner as the cabbages. They will be fit to eat in the course of a fortnight after being pickled. 108. _To Pickle Onions._ Peel and boil them in milk and water a few minutes. Put cloves cinnamon mace and salt in vinegar and heat the vinegar scalding hot in brass. Take the onions out of the milk and water drain them then turn on the vinegar scalding hot with two ounces of alum to each pailful of vinegar. Cover them tight until cold. 109. _To Pickle Artichokes._ Soak the artichokes in salt and water a week then drain and rub them till you get all the skin off turn boiling vinegar on them spiced with pepper corns and mace add salt and alum. Let them remain a week then turn off the vinegar scald it and turn it back while hot on to the artichokes. Continue to scald the vinegar at intervals of a week or ten days until the vinegar appears to have entered the artichokes. 110. _To Pickle Cucumbers._ Pour boiling water on them when first picked; and let them lay in it eight or ten hours then put them in cold vinegar with alum and salt in the proportion of quarter of a pound of the first and a pint of the last to every half barrel of pickles. When you have done picking your cucumbers for pickling turn the vinegar from them boil and skim it till clear throw in the cucumbers and let them boil a few moments then put them in fresh cold vinegar with salt and alum; a few peppers improve them. Whenever any scum rises on any kind of pickles turn off the vinegar scald and skim it turn it back when cold on the pickles. Pickles of all kinds should be stirred up occasionally and if there are any soft ones among them they should be thrown away and the vinegar scalded; if very weak it should be thrown away and fresh added. The vinegar when scalded should not be allowed to cool in brass. Another method of pickling cucumbers which is very good is to put them in salt and water as you pick them change the water once in three days; when you have done picking your cucumbers take them out of the salt and water and put them in cold vinegar with alum salt and pepper corns in it. 111. _To Pickle Gherkins._ Put them in strong brine keep them in a warm place when they turn yellow drain off the brine and turn hot vinegar on them let them remain in it near the fire till they turn green turn off the vinegar and pour on fresh hot vinegar spiced with pepper corns mace cloves and cinnamon; add salt and alum in the same proportions as for cucumbers. These as well as all other pickles should not be kept in glazed earthen jars. 112. _Oysters._ Take the oysters from the liquor strain and boil it then put in the oysters let them boil one minute take them out and to the liquor put a few pepper corns cloves a little mace and the same quantity of vinegar as oyster juice boil it fifteen minutes; when cold turn it on to the oysters. Bottle and cork them tight. 113. _Mushrooms._ Peel and stew them with just water enough to prevent their sticking to the bottom of the stew pan shake them occasionally to prevent their burning. When tender take them up and put them in scalding vinegar spiced with mace cloves and pepper corns add a little salt bottle and cork them up. 114. _Wheat Bread._ For six common sized loaves of bread take three pints of boiling water and mix with five quarts of flour; when thoroughly mixed add three pints of cold water stir it till the whole of the dough is equally cold; when lukewarm stir in half a pint of yeast a table spoonful of salt knead in flour till stiff enough to mould up cover it over and if the weather is cold set it near the fire to rise. To ascertain when it is risen cut it through the middle with a knife and if full of small holes like a sponge it is sufficiently light. If the dough gets sour before you are ready to bake it dissolve two or more tea spoonsful of saleratus (according to the acidity of it ) in a cup of water and strain it on the dough work it in well mould it up slash it on the sides to prevent its cracking when baked put it in buttered pans and let it stand ten or twelve minutes before you bake it; if you like it quite brown let it stand in the oven an hour and a half. If the wheat is grown use all boiling water and let it stand till cool before putting in the yeast. Some people have an idea that it kills the life of the flour to scald it but it is a mistake it makes it much sweeter and prevents its moulding soon in warm weather; bread made in this manner is very nearly as good as that which is wet with milk. Care must be taken not to put in the yeast when the dough is hot as it will scald it and prevent its rising. Bread is much better in the winter for being made several days before it is baked it should be kept in a cool place and a little flour knead in every day. Most ovens require heating an hour and a half for bread some will heat sufficiently in an hour a brisk fire should be kept up the doors in the room should be kept shut in cold weather. Pine and ash or birch mixed are the best wood for heating an oven. To ascertain if your oven is of the right temperature when cleared throw in a little flour if it browns in the course of a minute it is hot enough if it turns black wait several minutes before you put in your things if not hot enough set in a furnace of live coals after you have put your things in. 115. _Sponge Bread._ For four loaves of bread take three quarts of boiling water and turn it into three quarts of flour. When lukewarm put in a cup of yeast a table spoonful of salt set it in a warm place to rise when light knead in flour till stiff enough to mould up then let it stand till risen again before moulding it up. 116. _Rye Bread._ Wet up the rye flour with lukewarm milk if you have it; if not water will do and the same proportion of yeast as for wheat flour; put in a small piece of butter and a little salt. It should not be kneaded as stiff as wheat flour as it will be hard when baked; let it stand in the pans after it is moulded up half an hour. Brown Bread is made by mixing Indian meal and Rye flour. The Indian meal should be scalded; when cool put in the rest of the ingredients in the same proportion as for plain rye bread. Bake it between two and three hours. 117. _Rice Bread._ Boil a pint of rice till soft then mix it with two quarts of rice flour a tea cup of yeast two tea spoonsful of salt and milk enough to render it of the consistency of rye bread. When light bake it in small loaves. 118. _French Rolls or Twists._ Turn a pint of lukewarm milk into a pint of flour mix them well together then turn in a small tea cup of yeast two tea spoonsful of salt and flour enough to make a thick batter. Set it in a warm place to rise. When light put in a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg and half a tea cup of lukewarm water the butter should be melted before it is put in; knead in flour until stiff enough to roll out. Let it stand till risen again then roll it out about half an inch thick cut it into narrow strips braid and twist them a little as you braid them. Lay them on flat buttered tins let them remain from twenty to thirty minutes then bake them slowly. 119. _Yeast._ Boil a small handful of hops in two quarts of water when all the strength is obtained from them strain the liquor and put it back on the fire take a little of it and mix smoothly with a couple of table spoonsful of flour mix it with the boiling liquor when it has boiled five or six minutes take it from the fire and when lukewarm add a tea cup of yeast keep it in a warm place till risen then stir in a table spoonful of salt turn it into a jar and cover it up tight. Some people keep yeast in bottles but they are very apt to burst. Yeast made in this manner will keep a fortnight in the warmest weather. If your yeast appears to be sour put a little saleratus in just before you put it into your bread; if it does not foam well it is too stale to use. Another method of raising bread which is very good is to leave about half a pound of dough from one week's baking to another. It should be rolled out thin and dried in the sun about two hours before you wish to bake your bread turn a quart of warm water to it and set it near the fire till light which will be in the course of an hour then scald your dough and when lukewarm stir in the yeast; it will raise the bread in the course of an hour. This can only be used two or three times without having fresh yeast put to it. 120. _Yeast Cakes._ Stir into a pint of yeast a table spoonful of salt and Indian meal sufficient to enable you to roll it out. When rolled thin cut it into cakes with a tumbler and dry them in the wind; in hot weather care must be taken to keep them from the sun or they will ferment; when perfectly dry tie them up in a bag and keep them in a cool dry place. To raise four or five loaves of bread take one of these cakes and put it in half a pint of warm water set it near the fire to rise when light use it to raise your dough. 121. _Biscuit._ Melt a cup of butter and mix it with half a pint of lukewarm milk; if you have not milk water will do add a tea cup of yeast two tea spoonsful of salt and flour to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out. Set it in a warm place when light roll it out about an inch thick cut it with a tumbler into cakes and let them stand half an hour before baking them. 122. _Butter Milk Biscuit._ Dissolve a couple of tea spoonsful of saleratus in a tea cup of milk sour is the best. Mix it with a pint of buttermilk three tea spoonsful of salt; a little cream improves it; knead in flour till stiff enough to roll out. Mould it into small cakes and bake them directly. 123. _Hard Biscuit._ Weigh out four pounds of sifted flour; take out about a quarter of a pound of it rub the remainder with four ounces of butter two tea spoonsful of salt and four eggs. Wet up the whole with milk pound it out flat with a rolling pin sprinkle a little of the reserved flour over it lightly roll it up and pound it out thin again sprinkle on more of the flour roll it up this operation continue to repeat until you get in all the reserved flour. Then mould it up into small cakes lay them on flat buttered tins flatten and cover them with a damp cloth as you lay them on the tins to prevent their drying too fast. Bake them in a quick oven. 124. _York Biscuit._ Rub together six ounces of butter two pounds and three quarters of flour dissolve a couple of tea spoonsful of saleratus in a little milk and mix it with the flour add a tea spoonful of salt and milk sufficient to enable you to roll it out. Pound it out thin and cut it into cakes bake them till a light brown. 125. _Rice Cakes._ Mix a pint of soft boiled rice with a pint of milk or water a tea spoonful of salt and a couple of beaten eggs. Stir in rice or wheat flour till of the right consistency to roll out. Cut them into cakes and bake them. 126. _Rice Ruffs._ To a pint of rice flour put a pint of boiling water a tea spoonful of salt and four eggs beaten to a froth. Drop this mixture into boiling fat by large spoonsful. 127. _Buck Wheat Cakes._ Mix a quart of buck wheat flour with a pint and a half of warm milk (water will do but is not quite as good) and a tea cup of yeast then set it in a warm place to rise. When light (which will be in the course of ten or twelve hours ) add a tea spoonful of salt if sour the same quantity of saleratus dissolved in milk and strained thin them with a little milk. Fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle or pan. Salt pork rinds beef fat or lard are good to fry them in. 128. _Economy Cakes._ Soak dry pieces of bread in water till soft enough to mash fine squeeze out all the water and to three pints of the bread pulp put a couple of table spoonsful of flour one beaten egg half a tea spoonful of salt the same quantity of saleratus dissolved in a cup of milk and strained. If not thin enough stir in a little more milk. Cook them in the same manner as buck wheat cakes. 129. _Green Corn Cakes._ Mix a pint of grated green corn with three table spoonsful of milk a tea cup of flour half a cup of melted butter one egg a tea spoonful of salt half a tea spoonful of pepper. Drop this mixture by the spoonful into hot butter and fry it eight or ten minutes. These cakes are nice served up with meat for dinner. 130. _Corn Cake._ To a quart of milk put three beaten eggs a tea spoonful of salt mix it with sifted Indian meal enough to make a thin batter. Bake it in a bake pan about one hour. Buttermilk or sour milk with a tea spoonful of saleratus is better to mix with the Indian meal than sweet milk and eggs. 131. _Indian Slap Jacks._ Mix a quart of milk with a pint of Indian meal four table spoonsful of flour three beaten eggs a tea spoonful of salt. A table spoonful of molasses or a little stewed pumpkin is thought by many people to improve them. Fry them in lard. Another way which is very good is to scald a quart of Indian meal and half a pint of wheat flour with milk (water will do but is not as good) stir in a small tea cup of yeast and set them in a warm place to rise. When light fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle. 132. _Johnny Cakes._ Scald sifted Indian meal put in a little salt mould it with the hand into cakes of the size of biscuit. In order to mould them up considerable flour must be rubbed on the hands. Fry them in fat enough to cover them. When cooked split and butter them. 133. _Hoe Cakes._ Stir up Indian meal with cold water sufficient to make a batter of the consistency of buck wheat cakes add a tea spoonful of salt a table spoonful of melted butter. Butter your bakepan and turn this mixture into it and bake it about an hour. Indian meal wet up in this manner is good fried. 134. _Muffins._ Mix a pint of lukewarm milk with the same quantity of flour a tea spoonful of salt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg. When light beat a couple of eggs and put in; butter muffin rings and put them in a buttered pie pan turn in the mixture and bake them till of a light brown. 135. _Flour Waffles._ Gradually turn a quart of milk or water on to a quart of flour stirring it well as you turn it in so that it may not be lumpy add a tea cup of yeast a tea spoonful of salt a table spoonful of melted butter a couple of eggs improve them but they can be dispensed with very well. When light bake them in waffle irons well heated and greased with lard before each one is poured in. Bake them on hot coals; when they have been on the fire about two minutes turn the irons and let them brown on the other side. 136. _Quick Waffles._ Into a quart of flour stir slowly a quart of milk or water beat five eggs and put in together with a tea spoonful of salt and a table spoonful of melted butter. They are cooked in the same manner as other waffles. A quarter of a pound of sugar stirred into the mixture improves it. 137. _Rice Waffles._ Mix a quart of milk with a tea cup of boiled rice and a pint and a half of rice or wheat flour. Beat three eggs to a froth and stir in together with a tea spoonful of salt. 138. _Rice Wafers._ Rub a pound of rice flour with quarter of a pound of butter put in a little salt a wine glass of wine two eggs and milk sufficient to enable you to roll them out. When rolled thin cut them with a wine glass into small cakes and bake them. 139. _Observations respecting Sweet Cakes._ If you wish your cake to be good it must be made of nice materials. The butter eggs and flour should not be stale and the sugar should be dry and of a light color. Brown sugar answers for most kinds of cakes if rolled free from lumps and stirred with the butter until it is a very light color. The flour should be sifted and if damp it should be dried perfectly or it will make the cake heavy. Where sifted flour for cake is measured it should be shaken down in the measure to be accurate; if there is not flour enough in cake it will not be light. The eggs should be beaten to a froth on a shallow plate and for very nice cake the whites and yolks should be beaten separately. Where saleratus is used it should be thoroughly dissolved and strained. Raisins for cake should have the seeds taken out and Zante currants should be carefully washed and rubbed in a cloth to get out the sticks; they should be perfectly dried before they are put into the cake. All kinds of cake that has not yeast in it should be stirred till it goes into the oven. It should not be moved while in the oven if it can be avoided. The quicker most kinds of cake are baked without burning the better they will be. It is impossible to give any exact rules as to the time for baking cake as so much depends on the heat of the oven; it should be narrowly watched and if likely to burn covered with a thick paper. To ascertain when rich cake is sufficiently baked stick a clean broom splinter through the thickest part and if none of the cake adheres to it it is baked enough. When cake that is baked on flat tins moves easily on them it is sufficiently done. 140. _Gingerbread._ Melt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg and put it with a pint of molasses stir in a little flour and a heaping table spoonful of ginger. Dissolve a large table spoonful of saleratus in half a pint of water strain and mix it with the rest of the ingredients together with flour enough to enable you to roll it out easily. Roll it about half an inch thick and lay it on flat buttered tins; bake it as soon as rolled out in a quick oven a few moments. Gingerbread to be very nice should be made of good molasses and baked very quick. Some people use only a tea spoonful of saleratus to a pint of molasses but it is much better with more appearing in point of lightness like sponge cake. 141. _Soft Gingerbread._ Melt a cup of butter and mix it with a pint of molasses a table spoonful of ginger and a little flour dissolve three tea spoonsful of saleratus in a tea cup of water and stir it into the cake together with flour enough to render it of the consistency of pound cake. Bake it in deep cake pans about thirty minutes. A couple of eggs improve the cake. 142. _Ginger Snaps._ Mix half a tea cup of melted butter with a tea cup of sugar half a tea cup of molasses and a table spoonful of ginger. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in half a tea cup of water and strain it into the cake knead in flour till quite stiff. Roll it out very thin and cut it into cakes with a wine glass. Lay them on buttered tins and bake them a few moments in a very moderate oven. A tea spoonful of allspice the same quantity of cinnamon mace and coriander seed together with a tea spoonful of ginger instead of a table spoonful put into this cake will convert it into spice snaps. 143. _Cider Cake._ Rub together three quarters of a pound of sugar and half a pound of butter. Dissolve two tea spoonsful of saleratus in half a tea cup of water turn it into the cake together with half a pint of cider stir in two pounds of flour and a grated nutmeg. Bake it about half an hour. This cake should be eaten in the course of two or three days after it is made as it gets dry very quick. 144. _Cookies._ Stir together one cup of butter two of sugar. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in a cup of milk (water will do but the cake will not be as rich ) stir it into the cake together with a table spoonful of caraway seed and one egg beaten to a froth knead in flour till of the right consistency to roll out easily. Lay the cake on a moulding board and if you cannot roll it out without its sticking to the rolling pin more flour should be added. Stamp and cut it into cakes lay them on flat tins well buttered bake them in a quick oven. 145. _New Year's Cookies._ Mix one pound of butter a pound and three quarters of sugar dissolve a couple of tea spoonsful of saleratus in a pint of milk and turn it on to the butter and sugar when well mixed beat three eggs to a froth and stir them into the cake with a grated nutmeg and three heaping table spoonsful of caraway seed. Sift three pounds of flour and work into the cake with the hand. Roll them half an inch thick and bake them immediately in a quick oven. 146. _Plain Tea Cakes._ Stir together half a tea cup of butter two of sugar turn in a tea cup of milk with a tea spoonful of saleratus dissolved in it add one half of a grated nutmeg and flour enough to enable you to roll it out cut it into small cakes. 147. _Shrewsbury Cake._ Mix a pound of butter with twelve ounces of sugar add five eggs beaten to a froth a little rosewater or essence of lemon and a pound of flour roll the cake out thin and stamp and cut it into cakes and bake them in a quick oven. 148. _Tunbridge Cake._ Stir six ounces of butter with the same quantity of sugar beat a couple of eggs and put in together with a table spoonful of cream and a little orange flower water or essence of lemon; add three quarters of a pound of flour roll it out thin and cut it into cakes. 149. _Jumbles._ Mix half a pound of sugar with the same quantity of butter five beaten eggs a little essence of lemon; add a pound of flour when well mixed. Roll it about half an inch thick cut it into narrow strips of equal length join the ends together so as to form rings. Bake them on flat tins. 150. _Simbals._ Rub together half a pound of sugar quarter of a pound of butter; dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in half a cup of milk put it into the cake with a couple of beaten eggs a little mace or nutmeg. Then add flour enough to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out. It should be rolled in pounded white sugar cut into strips and the ends joined in the form of rings. 151. _Sugar Gingerbread._ Mix a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in half a tumbler of milk and stir in together with four beaten eggs three tea spoonsful of ginger; when well mixed add a pound and a half of flour and roll it out about an inch thick run a jagging iron across it in parallel lines an inch apart. Bake it on flat buttered tins in a quick oven. 152. _Rusk._ Melt six ounces of butter and mix it with half a pound of sugar turn in half a pint of lukewarm milk half a tea cup of yeast (brewer's is the best ) add three tea spoonsful of cinnamon and flour to make them stiff enough to mould up. Set them in a warm place to rise. When light mould them up into small cakes lay them on tins well buttered let them remain till very light before baking them. 153. _Whigs._ Mix three quarters of a pound of sugar with half a pound of butter; when white beat two eggs and put in together with half a pint of milk half a tea cup of yeast a tea spoonful of rosewater or nutmeg and two pounds of flour. When very light bake them in cups. 154. _Hot Cream Cakes._ Rub together three quarters of a pound of flour a quarter of a pound of butter and half a tea spoonful of salt; beat four eggs to a froth and put in together with a tea cup of cream; drop this mixture into buttered muffin hoops placed in a buttered bake pan; when brown take them up split and butter them. 155. _Cross Buns._ Mix a tumbler of lukewarm milk with a pint of flour a tea cup of yeast a tea spoonful of salt the same quantity of allspice mace and three tea spoonsful of cinnamon set it in a warm place; when light add half a pound of sugar the same quantity of melted butter (it should not be hot ) and flour enough to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out. Put them in a warm place to rise again when risen mould them up into cakes of the size of an egg lay them on buttered tins several inches apart; press on them a mould in the form of a cross let them remain an hour before baking them. 156. _Nut Cakes._ Melt a tea cup of lard and mix it with four tea cups of rolled sugar three eggs well beaten three tea spoonsful of cinnamon or a little rosewater add a pint of lukewarm milk half a pint of yeast and flour to make it stiff enough to roll out. Put it in a warm place to rise (the oven is the best place to raise them in several hours after you have baked in it.) When so light as to appear like a sponge in the middle roll it out about an inch thick and cut it into cakes about three inches long and two wide; let them stand twenty or thirty minutes before boiling them. Fry them in a kettle with about two pounds of hot lard; the fat should boil up as they are put in and not more than seven or eight boiled at once; the kettle should be over a brisk fire and shaken constantly while frying. The same lard will answer to fry several batches of nut cakes in if not burnt with the addition of a little more fat. 157. _Crollers._ Melt your lard in a frying pan to fry your crollers in; take four table spoonsful of it when melted and mix with five heaping table spoonsful of rolled sugar half a tea spoonful of salt four beaten eggs and a little essence of lemon or rosewater. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in half a tea cup of milk and turn it in together with flour sufficient to enable you to roll it out easily. Roll it half an inch thick cut it with a jagging iron or knife into strips about half an inch wide twist them into any shape you please. Heat your fat in your frying pan till it boils up as the cakes are laid in. There should be fat enough to cover them watch them narrowly when brown on the under side turn them carefully and let them brown on the other. 158. _Molasses Dough Cake._ Into three tea cups of raised dough work with the hand half a tea cup of melted butter a tea cup of molasses and a couple of eggs beaten to a froth chop the rind of a fresh lemon very fine and put it in together with the juice and a tea spoonful of cinnamon; work it with the hand eight or ten minutes then put it into cake pans well buttered and set it in a warm place about twenty minutes before baking it. 159. _Sugar Dough Cake._ Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in half a tumbler of milk strain it on three cups of raised dough a tea cup of melted butter two eggs two tea cups of rolled sugar and two tea spoonsful of cinnamon. Work it with the hand for ten or twelve minutes put it in deep pans set it in a warm place for fifteen minutes before you put it in the oven. 160. _Measure Cake._ Stir together till of a light color a tea cup of butter with two of sugar beat four eggs and put in together with a grated nutmeg and a pint of flour. Stir it till just before it goes into the oven bake it in deep tins about twenty minutes. 161. _Cup Cake._ Mix three cups of sugar with one and a half of butter. Beat three eggs and put in together with a little essence of lemon or rosewater. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in a tea cup of milk and strain it into the cake. Stir in six cups of sifted flour and bake it either in cups or deep pans. 162. _French Loaf._ Stir together one pound of sugar three quarters of butter. When white mix a gill of wine one of rose or French brandy half a gill of milk and stir it into the cake together with eight eggs beaten to a froth the whites and yolks separate put in a pound and a half of sifted flour just before it goes into the oven; add a grated nutmeg a quarter of a pound of citron or pounded almonds and three quarters of a pound of Zante currants or stoned raisins. 163. _Washington Cake._ Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in a wine glass of milk and put it with half a pound of butter and a pound of sugar previously stirred white add a wine glass of wine four eggs and a pound and a half of flour put in rosewater or essence of lemon to the taste. 164. _Plain Cream Cake._ Mix a tea cup of cream two of sugar a couple of beaten eggs and a wine glass of milk with a tea spoonful of saleratus dissolved in it. Stir in flour to render it of the consistency of pound cake. 165. _Rich Cream Cake._ Stir till white half a pound of butter with three quarters of sugar then add a wine glass of brandy seven eggs beaten to a froth the whites and yolks separate. Stir in a pound and a half of sifted flour and mace to your taste. Just before it goes into the oven stir in half a pint of cream and three quarters of a pound of fruit. 166. _Shelah or quick Loaf Cake._ Melt half a pound of butter when cool work it into a pound and a half of raised dough. Beat four eggs with three quarters of a pound of rolled sugar and put it into the cake together with a tea spoonful of saleratus dissolved in a tea cup of milk add a wine glass of brandy a little mace and cinnamon. Work the whole with the hand for a quarter of an hour add a pound of raisins; then put it into cake pans let it remain twenty five or thirty minutes before baking it. 167. _Loaf Cake._ Into two pounds of flour stir a pound of lukewarm melted butter and a tea cup of yeast put it in a warm place to rise but care must be taken not to get it too warm as the yeast will get scalded and prevent its rising. When perfectly light beat four eggs with a pound and a quarter of sugar and work them into the sponge with a wine glass of wine and one of brandy three tea spoonsful of cinnamon a little mace or nutmeg. Work the whole well with the hand for ten minutes then set it where it will rise again. When risen the second time work it with the hand for fifteen minutes then stir in gradually a pound of stoned raisins and quarter of a pound of citron cut into small strips fill your cake pans about half full put them near the fire for half an hour to rise again in the pans. Bake the cake in a quick (but not a furious oven ) for about an hour and twenty minutes. 168. _Rice Cake._ Mix ten ounces of ground rice three of wheat flour eight ounces of powdered sugar sift them by degrees into eight yolks and six whites of eggs previously beaten to a froth grate in the peel of a lemon and bake it in deep pans about twenty minutes. 169. _Diet Bread._ Sift a pound of flour and put it with a pound of sugar and eight eggs well beaten add a little rosewater or essence of lemon bake it fifteen or twenty minutes. 170. _Scotch or Lemon Cake._ Stir together till white a pound of sugar half a pound of butter; then put in eight eggs beaten to a froth with the grated peel of a couple of lemons and the juice. Sift a pound of flour and stir it in. 171. _Pound Cake._ Mix a pound of sugar three quarters of butter when white put in eight eggs beaten to a froth the whites and yolks separate add a pound of sifted flour and mace to your taste. If you wish your cake to be very rich stir in just before it is put in the oven half a pound of stoned raisins and quarter of a pound of citron or pounded sweet almonds. 172. _Queen's or Heart Cakes._ Rub together till very white a pound of sugar three quarters of butter then beat the whites and yolks of seven eggs separately to a froth and stir them into the cake mix a wine glass of wine one of brandy and one of milk turn it into the cake then stir in a pound of flour a little essence of lemon and mace or nutmeg to your taste. Stir the whole well together then add (a minute before you put it in the pans ) half a pound of raisins seeded quarter of a pound of Zante currants quarter of a pound of almonds pounded fine or citron cut in strips; they should be stirred in very gradually a handful of each alternately; when well mixed in bake the cake immediately in small tins or in large cake pans if baked in the latter it will require baking about an hour and twenty five minutes if baked in small tins it will bake in much less time. 173. _Jelly Cake._ Stir together half a pound of sugar and six ounces of butter beat seven eggs to a froth and put in together with a little mace or nutmeg then stir in gradually a pound of flour and the juice and grated peel of a fresh lemon turn the mixture on to scolloped tin plates well buttered the mixture should not be more than quarter of an inch thick in each one bake them until brown in a quick oven then pile them together on a plate with jelly spread on each one and jelly on the top. 174. _Raised Queen's Cake._ Stir into a pound of flour half a pint of lukewarm milk a tea cup of yeast set it in a warm place; when light stir a pound of sugar with three quarters of butter and work it into the sponge with three beaten eggs a little mace or essence of lemon and half a pound more of sifted flour. Work the whole together for fifteen or twenty minutes then let it remain till very light when so stir in half a pound of seeded raisins quarter of a pound of Zante currants and the same of citron. Bake it directly in a moderate oven but not a slow one. 175. _Sponge Cake._ Take the weight of ten eggs in sifted loaf sugar beat it well with the yolks of twelve eggs then grate in the peel of a fresh lemon and add the juice of half an one. Beat the whites of six eggs to a froth and mix them with the sugar and yolks. Beat the whole well together without any cessation for fifteen minutes on a shallow plate then stir in very gradually the weight of six eggs in sifted flour put it in a moderate oven as soon as the flour is well mixed in and bake it from fifteen to twenty minutes. 176. _Almond Sponge Cake._ Into the whites of sixteen eggs beaten to a froth stir their weight of sifted loaf sugar; beat them well five or six minutes then add the weight of seven whites of eggs in sweet almonds previously blanched dried and pounded fine a table spoonful of cream or lukewarm melted butter beat the ingredients well together then stir in very gradually the weight of the whites of eight eggs in sifted flour; as soon as it is mixed in well bake it in a moderate oven about twenty minutes. 177. _Black or Fruit Cake._ Stir for twenty minutes four pounds of butter with five of sugar. Beat forty eggs the whites and yolks separate and stir them into the butter and sugar then add a table spoonful of cinnamon the same quantity of rosewater a tea spoonful of essence of lemon or three of orange flower water half an ounce of allspice the same of mace and a tea spoonful of cloves. Stir in very gradually five pound of sifted flour. Mix three glasses of white wine three of brandy and two of milk. Stir it with the rest of the above ingredients for twenty minutes then stir in three quarters of a pound of blanched dried and pounded almonds four pounds of stoned raisins five of Zante currants and a pound of citron cut in small pieces the fruit should be stirred in gradually a handful of each kind alternately. Bake it immediately in a moderate oven for about two hours and a half. This kind of cake will keep good four or five months. 178. _Almond Cheese Cake._ Mix half a pound of powdered loaf sugar with four ounces of butter when white add a gill of cream if you have it if not put in the same quantity of boiling milk with an ounce of pounded cracker two ounces of blanched and pounded sweet almonds half a glass of wine a tea spoonful of orange flower or rosewater and half a grated nutmeg. Beat five eggs to a froth the whites and yolks separate and stir into the above mixture; then set it on a few coals and stir it constantly till scalding hot take it off before it boils and stir it till nearly cold then add quarter of a pound of Zante currants. Pour it into patty pans lined with puff paste cut blanched almonds into small slips and ornament the top of the cheese cake with them. Bake them in a quick oven twenty minutes. 179. _Maccaroons._ Beat the whites of nine eggs to a stiff froth then stir in ten large table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar beat them together well; add quarter of a pound of bitter almonds previously blanched dried and pounded fine and the same quantity of sweet ones. When the whole is well mixed do them up into balls of the size of a walnut lay them on buttered baking plates several inches apart flatten them on the top bake them in a slow oven till of a light brown. 180. _Frosting for Cake._ Allow for each loaf of cake the white of one egg and ten heaping tea spoonsful of powdered double refined loaf sugar. Beat the eggs on a shallow plate till you can turn the plate upside down without the eggs dropping from it. Then stir in the sugar very gradually; stir it without any cessation for fifteen minutes then add a tea spoonful of lemon juice vinegar will do but it is not as good as the lemon juice. If you wish to have it colored stir in a few grains of cochineal powder or a little powder blue. As soon as you have put in the lemon juice lay it with a knife on the cake which should be hot smooth it over and set the cake away in a cool place and let it remain until it hardens. 181. _Cocoanut Cakes._ Beat the whites of eight eggs to a stiff froth then stir in half a pound of sifted loaf sugar; it should be stirred in very gradually and beaten eight or ten minutes then add half a pound of grated cocoanut the brown part should be cut off before it is grated. Put in a table spoonful of the milk of the cocoanut if you have it if not it will do without drop it on buttered pie plates several inches apart the drops should be about the size of a cent. Bake them in a oven about twenty minutes. 182. _Floating Island._ Beat the whites of nine eggs to a froth then beat with them seven large table spoonsful of whatever dark colored jelly you may happen to have. When you have beaten them seven or eight minutes put some cream into a large shallow dish and turn the jelly and eggs into the center of it. This should not be made but a short time before it is to be eaten. 183. _Whip Syllabub._ Take good sweet cream and to each pint of it put six ounces of sifted double refined loaf sugar half a tumbler of white wine the juice and grated peel of a lemon. Beat it well as the froth rises take it off and lay it on jelly in a dish or glasses. Keep it in a cool place till just before it is eaten. 184. _Blanc Mange._ Pull an ounce of isinglass into small pieces rinse and put it to a pint and a half of milk. Stir it over a slow fire with a stick of cinnamon or mace and loaf sugar to your taste. Stir it without boiling until the isinglass dissolves. Then set it where it will boil five or six minutes stirring it constantly. Strain it and fill your moulds with it when cool and let it remain until wanted. 185. _Rice Flour Blanc Mange._ Boil a quart of milk and sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar; add the juice and grated peel of a lemon. Mix four table spoonsful of ground rice smoothly with a little cold milk and stir it into the boiling milk. Boil the whole together ten minutes stirring it occasionally while boiling; then take it from the fire stir into it the beaten whites of three eggs set it back on a few coals and stir it constantly until nearly boiling hot take it off fill your moulds and let it remain till cold. This is very good food for invalids. 186. _Ice Cream._ To one quart of milk put the yolks of four eggs well beaten the rind of a lemon pared thin sweeten it very sweet with loaf sugar. Put it on a slow fire and stir it constantly till scalding hot care must be taken then it does not get to boiling. Take it up take out the lemon peel set it away to cool. When perfectly cold put it into an ice cream form (if you cannot procure one a milk kettle will do ) set it into a large tub strew round it a layer of ice cracked fine then a layer of rock salt then another layer of ice and salt and so on till the ice is as high as the top of the form; a layer of ice should be last. Shake the form frequently while the cream is freezing; care must be taken that none of the salt gets into the cream. The tub should be covered with a flannel cloth while the cream is freezing. If you wish to shape the cream in moulds turn it into them as soon as it freezes in the form and set them in the tub and let them remain in it till just before they are to be eaten. When you wish to get them out of the moulds or form dip them into warm water and take them out of it instantly and turn them out into your dishes. Where cream is used instead of milk no eggs or scalding will be necessary. Three table spoonsful of pine apple juice to a quart of the cream gives it a fine flavor strawberries are also nice in the cream. If you wish to color the cream stir in a little cochineal powder saffron or powder blue before you freeze it. 187. _Pastry._ For good common pie crust allow two tea cups of shortening to a quart of flour and a tea spoonful of salt half lard and half butter is the best beef shortening does very well with butter for plain pie crust. Rub part of the shortening thoroughly with two thirds of the flour; then put in the salt together with cold water to moisten it just enough to roll out easily. Roll it out thin spread on the reserved shortening then sprinkle on the remainder of your flour and roll it up. Cut it into as many pieces as you have pies roll out the under crust very thin butter your pie plates and put it on them fill your plates with your fruit roll out the upper crust lightly about half an inch thick and cover your pies pare it off neatly round the edges of the plates. This rule furnishes crust enough for a couple of pies. Pie crust to be light should be baked in a quick oven. 188. _Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry._ Sift three quarters of a pound of flour and mix it with cold water enough to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out put in one half a tea spoonful of salt before you put in the water. Weigh out a pound of butter cut it into thin slices and roll it out thin as possible on a moulding board; in order to do this a great deal of flour should be sprinkled on the board and butter and rubbed on the rolling pin. Lay your rolled butter on a platter. Then roll out your crust very thin lay the pieces of butter thickly over it. Weigh out a quarter of a pound of sifted flour and sprinkle part of it over it roll it up then roll it out again put on the remainder of the butter and flour roll it up and let it stand half an hour in a cool place. Roll it our lightly half an inch thick for the upper crust to the pies. Bake it in a quick oven till of a light brown. 189. _Apple Pie._ Pare quarter and take out the cores of the apples and if not ripe stew them before baking them and season them to your taste. Butter your plates put on a thin under crust fill the plates and cover them with a thick crust. Bake them about three quarters of an hour. When done take off the upper crust carefully and put a piece of butter of the size of a walnut into each pie sweeten them to your taste if not acid enough squeeze in the juice of part of a lemon or put in a little tartaric acid dissolved in a little water. Essence of lemon nutmeg or rosewater are all good spice for apple pies. Apples stewed in new cider and molasses with a few quinces and strained with a little cinnamon in it makes nice pies. Dried apples for pies should have boiling water turned on them and stewed till tender then add a little sour cider and a little orange peel and stew them a few moments longer take them up put in a little butter sugar and the juice and peel of a lemon improve them they are better for being rubbed through a sieve. Fill your pie plates and bake the pies half an hour. 190. _Mince Pie._ The best kind of meat for mince pies is neats tongue and feet and chickens; a shank of beef makes very good pies. Boil your meat till perfectly tender then take it up clear it from the bones and gristle chop it very fine and mix it with double the quantity of chopped apple; if the meat is not fat put in a little suet or melted butter moisten it with cider add cloves mace or nutmeg and cinnamon to your taste sweeten it with molasses and sugar add a little salt. If you wish to have your pies very rich put in wine or brandy to your taste the juice and peel of a lemon the peel should be grated and stoned raisins and citron cut in small strips. Bake the pies in shallow plates. Make apertures in the upper crust before you cover the pies. Bake the pies from half to three quarters of an hour. Mince meat for pies with brandy or wine in it and strongly spiced will keep several months in cold weather. It should be put in a stone pot and kept in a dry cool place. 191. _Peach Pie._ Take mellow juicy peaches wash and put them in a deep pie plate or pudding dish lined with pie crust sprinkle sugar on each layer of peaches a great deal will be necessary to sweeten them sufficiently put in about a table spoonful of water sprinkle a little flour over the top and cover the pie with a thick crust. Bake it an hour. Pies made in this manner are much better than with the stones taken out as the prussic acid of the stones gives the pie a fine flavor. Dried peaches should be stewed and sweetened before being made into pies; they do not require any spice. 192. _Tart Pie._ Sour apples cranberries and dried peaches all make nice tarts. Stew and strain them; if the peaches are not tart put in the juice and grated peel of a lemon put in a little sugar. Line shallow pie plates with a thin crust put a rim of pie crust round the edge of the dish fill the plates with your tart. Roll some of the crust very thin cut it into narrow strips with a jagging iron and lay it on the pie in a fanciful manner. Bake the pies about twenty five minutes. 193. _Rice Pie._ To a quart of boiling water put a small tea cup of rice and boil it till very soft. Then add a quart of milk strain it through a sieve put in a little salt five beaten eggs a nutmeg grated and sugar enough to sweeten it the sugar should be put in before the rice is strained add a few raisins. Bake it in deep pie plates without an upper crust. 194. _Rhubarb or Persian Apple Pie._ Take the stalks of the rhubarb plant in the spring or fore part of summer (they are not good later ) cut them in small pieces and stew them till tender; then strain and sweeten them to your taste bake them with only an under crust. 195. _Cherry and Blackberry Pies._ Cherries and blackberries for pies should be perfectly ripe; put them in a deep plate with an under crust and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon or cloves over them; cover them and bake them half an hour. 196. _Grape Pie._ Grapes are the best for pies when very small and tender; if not very small they should be stewed and strained on account of the seeds. Sweeten them to your taste no spice is necessary. 197. _Currant and Gooseberry Pies._ Pick them over and stew them in just water enough to prevent their burning at the bottom when tender sweeten them to your taste with sugar and bake them without any spice in deep dishes. Some people do not stew the currants before baking them but they are not apt to be sweet enough if not previously stewed. 198. _Pumpkin Pie._ Cut your pumpkin in two take out the seeds and wash the pumpkin cut it into small strips and boil it in just water enough to prevent its burning when tender turn off the water and let it steam over a moderate fire for fifteen minutes taking care it does not burn. Take it up strain it through the sieve and if you like the pies very thin put two quarts of milk to a quart of the pumpkin and six eggs; if you wish to have them thick put a quart only of milk to a quart of pumpkin and three eggs. Three eggs to a quart of milk does very well but they are better with five or six. Sweeten it with molasses or sugar put in ginger or grated lemon peel to your taste. Bake them in deep plates from fifty to sixty minutes in a hot oven. 199. _Carrot Pie._ Scrape three good sized carrots boil them till very tender. Then rub them through a sieve and mix them with a quart of milk four beaten eggs a piece of butter of the size of half an egg a table spoonful of lemon juice and the grated peel of half a one. Sweeten it to your taste. Bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust and rim. 200. _Potatoe Pie._ Boil Irish or sweet potatoes till very soft. Take them up peel and mash them fine. To one quarter of a pound of potatoes put a quart of milk three ounces of butter melted; five eggs a glass of wine and one of lemon or French brandy. Put in sugar and mace to your taste. 201. _Marlborough Pie._ Pare tart mellow apples quarter them take out the seeds and stew them in a little water till soft enough to rub through a sieve. To twelve table spoonsful of it when strained put twelve table spoonsful of sugar the same quantity of wine five eggs six table spoonsful of melted butter half a pint of milk the juice and grated peel of half a lemon and half a nutmeg. Bake it in deep pie plates without an upper crust. 202. _Custard Pie._ Beat seven eggs with three table spoonsful of rolled sugar mix them with a quart of milk flavor it with nutmeg or rosewater. This is good baked either in cups or deep pie plates with an under crust. Set the pie plates with the crust in the oven and let it bake a moment before you turn in the custard. To ascertain when the pie is done stick a clean broom splinter through the center of the pie if none of the custard adheres to it it is sufficiently bakes. 203. _A Plain Custard Pie._ Boil a quart of milk with a few peach leaves or lemon peel; strain it. Put it back on the fire; when it boils mix a table spoonful of flour with a little milk and turn it in let it boil a minute then put it with four beaten eggs and sugar to your taste and bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust. 204. _Lemon Pie._ Squeeze out the juice of two good sized lemons grate the rind of the lemon but not the white part put the juice and grated lemon to a pint of milk. Beat six eggs with five table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar and put them in the milk with a couple of crackers pounded fine and a table spoonful of melted butter. Line a pudding dish with pie crust put a rim of puff paste or nice pie crust round the edge turn the mixture into it and bake it from twenty five to thirty minutes. 205. _Cocoanut Pie._ Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut grate the remainder of it. Scald a quart of milk and turn it on to the cocoanut and three crackers pounded fine. Beat eight eggs with three table spoonsful of sifted loaf sugar turn it into the milk together with a glass of wine and half a grated nutmeg. If any of the milk of the cocoanut can be saved to mix with the cow's milk it makes the pie nicer. Bake it in a deep pie plate or pudding dish with a rim of puff paste round the edge of the dish. 206. _Small Puffs._ Make some puff paste and roll it half an inch thick cut it with a tumbler into any number of puffs you want cut the remainder of your paste into narrow strips with a jagging iron put them round the edge of those you have cut with a tumbler lay the puffs on buttered plates and bake them in a quick oven till of a light brown. Then fill them with any preserved fruit you may happen to have. 207. _Boiled Custards._ Boil a quart of milk. Beat six eggs with three table spoonsful of sugar four eggs are enough if you want them plain grate in a nutmeg or put in a little rosewater or essence of lemon. Turn the boiling milk on to the sugar and eggs stir it several minutes then put it on a few coals stir it constantly till boiling hot take it up before it gets to boiling stir it a few moments then turn it into your cups and grate nutmeg on them. 208. _Almond Custards._ Boil in a quart of milk a couple of ounces each of sweet and of bitter almonds pounded fine. When it has boiled seven or eight minutes strain it on to the beaten yolks of eight eggs and three table spoonsful of loaf sugar. Stir it several moments then put it on a moderate fire stir it without any cessation till scalding hot then take it from the fire and stir it constantly till nearly cold then fill your glasses or cups. Just before they are to be eaten beat the whites of the eggs to a froth and lay them on the top of the custards. A few grains of cochineal powder or saffron in the beaten whites makes them look handsomely. 209. _Cold Custard or Rennet Pudding._ Put a piece of calf's rennet three inches square to a pint of wine when it has stood seven or eight hours it is fit for use. Whenever you wish to make your custard put three table spoonsful of the wine to a quart of milk and four table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar flavor it with essence of lemon or rosewater. Stir it twenty minutes then dish it out grate nutmeg over it. It should be eaten in the course of an hour after it is made as it will soon curdle. 210. _Custard Pudding._ Stir a quart of milk very gradually into half a pint of flour put in a little salt seven beaten eggs and a little nutmeg or essence of lemon sweeten it to your taste bake it three quarters of an hour. 211. _Boiled Bread Pudding._ Soak about three quarters of a pound of rusked bread in milk if you have not milk water will do. When soft squeeze out the water mash it fine and put in a heaping table spoonful of flour mixed with a tea cup of milk put in three eggs half a tea spoonful of salt. Mix the whole well together flour the inside of your pudding bag and put the pudding in. The bag should not be more than two thirds full as the pudding swells considerably while boiling. The pudding should be put into a pot of boiling water and boiled an hour and a half without intermission; if allowed to stop it will be heavy. 212. _A Plain Baked Bread Pudding._ Pound rusked bread and put five heaping table spoonsful of it to a quart of milk three beaten eggs four table spoonsful of sugar half a tea spoonful of salt half a nutmeg and a table spoonful of melted butter. Bake it an hour and a half; it is good without the eggs if baked two hours and a half. It does not require any sauce. 213. _A Rich Bread Pudding._ Cut a loaf of baker's bread into thin slices spread butter on both sides; lay them in a buttered pudding dish and on each layer strew Zante currants or stoned raisins and citron cut into small pieces. Beat eight eggs with six table spoonsful of sugar rolled free from lumps; mix them with three pints of milk and a grated nutmeg. Turn the whole over the bread and let it stand until the bread has absorbed most of the milk then bake it about three quarters of an hour. 214. _Flour Pudding._ Into a pint and a half of flour stir gradually a quart of milk; stir it till free from lumps then add seven beaten eggs a couple of tea spoonsful of salt and a grated nutmeg. A pudding made in this manner is good either baked or boiled; it takes two hours to boil and one to bake it. It should be eaten as soon as cooked or it will be heavy. This as well as all other kinds of boiled puddings should not be put into the pot until the water boils and should not be allowed to stop for a moment if the water wastes much in boiling fill the pot up with boiling water. A pudding bag should be floured on the inside and not filled more than two thirds full. When the pudding has boiled six or eight minutes turn it over as it is apt to settle. Flour puddings require rich sauce. 215. _A Plain Rice Pudding._ Swell the rice with a little milk over a fire then put in acid apples pared and cut in thin slices or gooseberries and currants add a couple of eggs a tea spoonful of salt fill your pudding bag half full and boil it an hour and a half. Serve it up with butter and sugar. 216. _A Rich Rice Pudding._ Pick over and wash two small tea cups of rice and put it into two quarts of milk; add a tea cup of butter two of sugar and a grated nutmeg. Butter a pudding dish set it in a bake pan then turn in the pudding when it begins to thicken stir in three tea cups full of raisins. Bake it two hours it will not fall if taken from the fire sometime before it is to be eaten it is also good cold. It is good without any sauce and is the only kind of pudding that eggs do not improve. 217. _Rice Snow Balls._ Pare large tart apples take out the cores with a pen-knife; fill the holes with sugar and a stick of cinnamon or mace. Put each one in a small bag well floured fill them half full of unboiled rice tie up the bags and boil them an hour and twenty minutes. When done turn them out carefully and serve them up with pudding sauce. 218. _Baked Indian Pudding._ Boil three pints of milk and turn it on to a pint of Indian meal and five table spoonsful of wheat flour. When cool beat three eggs with the same quantity of sugar and stir it into the pudding together with a tea spoonful of salt three tea spoonsful of cinnamon and a piece of butter of the size of an egg. If raisins are put in the pudding a tea cup more of milk will be required as they absorb the milk. This pudding is good if the eggs are omitted. It takes two hours and a half to bake it. 219. _Boiled Indian Pudding._ Into a quart of boiling milk stir a couple of table spoonsful of flour and sifted Indian meal till it is a thick batter and half a table spoonful of ginger or cinnamon half a tea cup of molasses. Dip the pudding bag into water wring it out and flour the inside of it and fill it not more than half full as Indian puddings swell very much. Put it into boiling water and keep it boiling constantly for four or five hours. A kettle of boiling water should be kept to turn into the pudding pot as the water boils away. 220. _Corn Pudding._ Grate a cup and a half of green corn mix it with a quart of milk four beaten eggs and half a grated nutmeg; melt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg and stir it in. Bake it one hour. 221. _Hasty Pudding._ Wet Indian meal with cold water sufficient to make a thin batter turn part of it into a pot of boiling water; when it has boiled fifteen or twenty minutes stir in the remainder salt it to your taste and stir in Indian meal by the handful as long as you can stir the pudding stick round in it easily. When the stick can be made to stand upright in it for a minute it is thick enough. It should boil slowly and be stirred often; if you wish to fry it it will be necessary to boil it from two to three hours if not it will boil sufficiently in an hour. If a little flour is stirred in just before it is taken up it will fry better. Turn it into a deep dish and if it is to be fried let it stand till cold then cut it into thin slices flour and fry them in lard till very brown. 222. _Fruit Pudding._ Take raised or common pie crust and roll it out about half an inch thick. Strew over it either currants cherries cranberries gooseberries black or whortle berries. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon or cloves over them. Roll it up carefully join the ends together and put it in a floured cloth and sew it up. Boil it an hour and eat it with sauce as soon as done. 223. _Fritters._ Mix a quart of milk gradually with a quart of flour stir it till smooth then add a little essence of lemon or rosewater and five beaten eggs. Drop it into boiling hot fat by the spoonsful. They are lighter for being fried in a great deal of fat but less greasy if fried in just enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle. They should be served up with pudding sauce. 224. _Apple Dumplings._ Make good common or raised pie crust divide it into as many pieces as you wish dumplings. Pare tart mellow apples take out the cores with a penknife fill the holes with a blade of mace and sugar. Roll out your crust half an inch thick and enclose an apple in each piece. Tie them up in separate bags that are floured inside. Drop them into a pot of boiling water and boil them without any intermission for an hour then take them out of the bags. If allowed to stop boiling they will not be light. Eat them with butter and sugar or pudding sauce. 225. _Orange Pudding._ Mix three ounces of butter with four table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar when stirred to a cream add a quart of boiling milk the juice and peel of two large oranges the peel should be chopped very fine put in a gill of wine then an ounce of citron cut into small strips add eight eggs the whiles and yolks beaten separately. Mix the whole well together then turn it into a pudding dish with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake it directly in a quick oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes. 226. _Bird's Nest Pudding._ Pare and halve tart mellow apples scoop out the cores put a little flour in the hollow of the apples and wet it so as to form a thick paste stick a blade or two of mace and three or four Zante currants in each one of the apples. Butter small cups and put half an apple in each one lay three or four narrow strips of citron round each apple. Mix a quart of milk with three table spoonsful of flour six eggs a grated nutmeg and four table spoonsful of sugar. Nearly fill the cups with this mixture. Bake them about thirty minutes. They should be eaten as soon as done. 227. _Apple Custard Pudding._ Pare and take out the cores of nice tart apples lay them in a pudding dish well buttered fill the holes of the apples with nutmeg and sugar. For nine or ten apples mix half a pint of flour with a quart of milk four table spoonsful of sugar and seven eggs turn it over the apples flavor it with whatever spice you like and bake it about half an hour. 228. _English Plum Pudding._ Soak three quarters of a pound of finely pounded crackers in two quarts of milk. Put in twelve beaten eggs half a pound of stoned raisins quarter of a pound of Zante currants the same weight of citron cut into small pieces and five ounces of blanched and pounded almonds; add a wine glass of lemon brandy or wine and a little orange flower or rosewater and a little salt. Bake or boil it from two hours and a half to three hours. 229. _Transparent Pudding._ Melt half a pound of butter and stir it into the same weight of double refined loaf sugar add half a tea spoonful of essence of lemon eight eggs the whites and yolks beaten separately and a couple of table spoonsful of cream. Set the whole on a few coals stir it constantly till it thickens take it off before it gets to boiling and stir it till nearly cold then turn it into a dish lined with pastry put a rim of puff paste round the edge and bake it half an hour. It will cut light and clear. 230. _Lemon Syrup._ Mix a pint of lemon juice with a pound and three quarters of lump sugar. Dissolve it by a gentle heat skim it until clear then add one ounce of thin cut lemon peel and simmer if gently for a few moments. Strain it through a flannel bag; when cold bottle cork and seal it tight keep it in a cool place. Another method of making it which is cheaper and very good is to dissolve half an ounce of citric acid in a pint of clarified syrup by a gentle heat; when cool put in a few drops of oil or a little essence of lemon. 231. _Orange Syrup._ Take nice fresh oranges squeeze out the juice and strain it; to a pint of juice put a pound and a half of while sugar. Dissolve it over a moderate fire put in the peel of the oranges and let the whole boil eight or ten minutes. Strain it till clear through a flannel bag bottle and cork it tight. This is nice to flavor puddings and pies or sherbet. 232. _Blackberry Syrup._ Pick over blackberries that are perfectly ripe boil them in their juice till they break to pieces then strain them through a flannel cloth and to each pint of juice put a pound of sugar. Boil it again for ten minutes then strain it and add a wine glass of brandy to each pint of syrup. When cool bottle and cork it tight and set it in a cool place. This mixed with cold water in the proportion of a wine glass of it to two thirds of a tumbler of water is a very agreeable summer beverage it also possesses fine medicinal properties. 233. _Clarified Syrup for Sweet Meats._ For most kinds of fruit one pound of sugar to one of the fruit is sufficient to preserve them; some kinds of fruit will do with less. Put your sugar into your preserving kettle and turn in as much cold water as you think will cover your fruit when put in add the white of an egg to every three pounds of sugar then put it over a slow fire; when the sugar has dissolved put it where it will boil let it boil several minutes then take it from the fire and skim it till clear put it back on the fire when the scum rises again take the kettle off and skim it again this operation repeat till it is perfectly clear then put in the fruit. If you have not syrup enough to cover the fruit take the fruit out and put in more cold water and let it get to boiling before you put in the fruit if you have too much syrup it should boil away before you boil your fruit in it. White sugar is better than brown for preserving but brown sugar answers very well for common sweet meats. Every kind of ware but iron will do to preserve in but earthen ware is the best on account of its not imparting an unpleasant taste to the sweet meats. 234. _To Preserve Quinces._ Quinces if very ripe are best pared and cut in slices about an inch thick the cores should be taken out carefully with a small knife then put the quinces in clarified syrup and boil them till you can stick a broom splinter through them easily take them up and put them in jars and turn the syrup over them cover them up and put them in a cool place as soon as done. Quinces preserved in this manner retain more of their natural flavor but they cannot be preserved in this way without they are very ripe. If not very ripe pare and halve them and take out the cores. Boil the quinces till tender then take them out strain the water they were boiled in and use it to make a syrup for the quinces allow a pound of sugar to a pound of the fruit when clarified put in the quinces and boil them slowly half an hour. Set them away in jars covered with a paper wet in brandy. Look at them in the course of three or four days and if they have begun to ferment turn off the syrup and scald it then turn it back on the quinces. Some people boil the cores of the quinces with them but the syrup does not look as nice for it. A cheap way of preserving quinces which is very good for common use is to boil the parings and cores in cider till tender then strain the cider and for ten pounds of quince put in two pounds of brown sugar and a couple of quarts of molasses and the beaten whites of two eggs; put it on the fire clarify it then put in the quinces which should be pared and halved put in the peel of an orange boil them till tender. 235. _Quince Marmalade._ Wash and quarter them put them on the fire with a little water and stew them till tender enough to rub through a sieve. When strained put to a pound of pulp a pound of brown sugar set it back on the fire and let it stew slowly stir it constantly. To ascertain when it is done take a little of it out and let it get cold if it then cuts smooth and clear it is sufficiently stewed. Crab apple marmalade is made in the same manner. 236. _To Preserve Pears._ Take an ounce of race ginger for every pound of pears. Scrape off the skin cut it into thin slices and boil it until tender then take it from the fire put in your sugar allowing three quarters of a pound to a pound of the pears set it on the fire clarify it then put in the pears if very small they are good preserved whole boil them till tender then put them in jars tightly covered set them away in a cool place. In the course of five or six days boil the syrup again and turn it on them while hot. Choke and Vergoulouse are the best pears for preserving. The ginger can be omitted if not liked. 237. _To Preserve Peaches._ Pare your peaches which should be very ripe and if you wish to preserve them whole allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Take lump sugar break it into small pieces and dip each piece into cold water let it be in just long enough to get saturated with the water then put the lumps into a preserving kettle set the kettle over a slow fire when the sugar has dissolved put in your peaches boil them twenty minutes. These as well as all other sweet meats should be set away in a cool place as soon as done if allowed to stand by the fire for a few hours the syrup will not look clear; all preserves should be covered up tight. Let them remain several days then turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it back on to them while hot. If you preserve your peaches without the stones three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is sufficient take those that are mellow and juicy pare and halve them take out the stones put them in a deep dish; on each layer of peach sprinkle your sugar let them stand three or four hours then put them on the fire with very little water let them boil slowly for twenty minutes. 238. _To Preserve Currants._ Take your currants from the stems for a pound of currants allow a pound of sugar. Make some syrup clarify it and put in the currants let them boil slowly for a few moments. A table spoonful of these mixed with a tumbler of water is a very wholesome drink in the summer. 239. _To Preserve Barberries._ Pick over your barberries and put them in clarified syrup boil them half an hour. Molasses does very well to preserve barberries in for common use with a little orange peel boiled with them. Preserved barberries mixed with water is a very refreshing drink in fevers. 240. _To Preserve Ginger._ Take green ginger and soak it until you can scrape off the outside when scraped soak it in salt and water one day then take it out of the salt and water and boil it till tender. Make a syrup of white sugar allowing equal weights of sugar and ginger when clarified take it off and when cold turn it on the ginger let it remain a week then boil the ginger and syrup together until the syrup appears to have entered the ginger when cool put in a little essence of lemon. 241. _To Preserve Apples._ Take nice tart apples halve and quarter them and take out the cores. For a pound of apples allow three quarters of a pound of sugar. When you have clarified your syrup put in the apples with the skin of a lemon pared thin. When the apples are tender take them up and let the syrup remain till cold then turn it over them. Apples preserved in this manner will keep but a few days. Crab apples should be preserved whole with the skins on and to a pound of the apples put a pound of sugar. 242. _To Preserve Cymbelines or Mock Citron._ Cut and scrape the rinds of cymbelines put them in strong salt and water let them remain in it a week then in fair water three days changing the water every day then soak them in alum water an hour. Tie up oyster shells in a cloth and boil them with the cymbelines. When the cymbelines are tender take them up and put them in alum water. Make your syrup allowing a pound and a half of sugar to a pound of the melon boil your cymbelines in it three quarters of an hour. These are good eaten as any other preserves or put in cake instead of citron. 243. _To Preserve Watermelon Rinds._ Take the rind of a nice watermelon cut it in strips and boil them a quarter of an hour with a tea spoonful of saleratus to three or four quarts of water then soak them in alum water an hour rinse and put them in clarified syrup and boil them twenty minutes. When they have stood three or four days turn the syrup from them and boil it then turn it back on the rinds while hot. Allow equal weights of rinds and sugar. 244. _To Preserve Cherries._ Allow three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of cherries. Make your syrup allowing half a pint of water to two pounds of cherries put in your cherries shake them occasionally to prevent their sticking to the kettle. When the syrup is colored strain the cherries. 245. _To Preserve Muskmelons._ Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green the later in the season the better. Scrape off the skin of the rind taking care not to scrape the green part. Cut them through the middle and take out the seeds then cut them in the form of rings an inch thick. Put them in salt and water and let them lay several days then in fair water one day changing the water several times; take them out and soak them in alum water one or two hours. Take race ginger the green is the best soak it until you can scrape off the outside cut it in slices and boil it until tender. Boil your melons in fresh water with a handful of peach leaves and the ginger allowing half an ounce to each pound of fruit. When the melon is tender put it in alum water together with the ginger. Make the syrup for the melons allowing a pound of white sugar to a pound of the fruit when clarified put in the melons and boil them together with the ginger half an hour take them up turn the syrup over them when cool drop in a little essence of lemon. When they have stood several days turn the syrup from them boil and turn it back while hot to the melons. 246. _To Preserve Pine Apples._ Pare off the rind of the pine apples cut them in slices an inch thick. Weigh out a pound of white sugar allowing a pound of it to each pound of fruit lay your pine apples in a deep dish on each layer of it sprinkle some of your sugar (which should be powdered.) Set the pine apples away till the next day reserving part of the sugar. Then turn the syrup from the pine apples into your preserving pan add your reserved sugar put in a tea cup of water to the juice of four or five pine apples clarify it then put in the apples and boil them till tender. Let the whole stand in a dish several days and if there is any appearance of fermentation put it in a preserving pan scald it through then turn it into glasses and set it in a cool place. 247. _To Preserve Pumpkins._ Take a good sweet pumpkin halve it take out the seeds and cut it in chips of the size of a dollar. To each pound of pumpkin allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar and a gill of lemon juice. Put your pumpkin chips in a dish and to each layer put a layer of sugar turn the lemon juice over the whole and let it stand a day then boil it till tender with half a pint of water to four or five pounds of the pumpkin. Tie up ginger in a bag and boil with it also the rind of several lemons cut into chips. 248. _To Preserve Gages._ Take equal quantities of fruit and sugar. Make a syrup of the sugar (which should be white ) with a little water when it boils drop in the plums boil them very slowly for a few moments then take them up into dishes and let them remain several days then boil them again until the syrup appears to have entered them. Put the plums in jars boil the syrup again in the course of two or three days and turn it over them. 249. _To Preserve Strawberries._ Take Chili or field strawberries and hull them. Take equal quantities of fruit and white sugar and put a layer of each alternately in a preserving pan having a layer of strawberries at the bottom let them stand for half an hour then put a gill of cold water with them to prevent their burning at the bottom of the pan. Set them over a moderate fire when the juice runs freely increase the fire until they boil briskly when they have boiled half an hour take them up turn them into bottles cork them tight and dip the mouths of the bottles into hot sealing wax. Keep them in dry sand. 250. _Blackberry and Raspberry Jam._ For a pound of berries allow a pound of brown sugar put a layer of each alternately in a dish let them stand two or three hours strain them put them over a moderate fire and boil them half an hour. 251. _Strawberry Blackberry and Raspberry Jelly._ Pick over your fruit carefully then mash and squeeze the berries through a flannel bag to each pint of juice put a pound of white sugar set it on the fire when it has boiled seven or eight minutes take it from the fire and skim it till clear then put it back on the fire; as fast as the scum rises take it from the fire and skim it. To ascertain when it is done take a little of it from the fire and let it be till cold. 252. _Cranberry Grape and Currant Jelly._ Wash and drain the berries till nearly dry then put them in a preserving pan with a plate at the bottom heat them till they break then strain them through a flannel cloth; to each pint put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim them till perfectly clear the kettle should be taken from the fire when skimmed. When the jelly has boiled four or five hours take a little of it up and put it in a tumbler of cold water if it sinks to the bottom in a solid mass it is done sufficiently. Jellies are improved by being put in the sun for several days. Care must be taken that the dew does not fall on them. 253. _Quince Jelly._ Halve your quinces take out the cores and boil the quinces until very soft in just sufficient water to cover them then squeeze them through a flannel bag and to a pound of quince pulp put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly strain it again fill your glasses and cover them tight. 254. _Apple Jelly._ Take greenings pippins or crab apples halve them and take out the cores boil them till tender in water just sufficient to cover them boil with them the peel and juice of a lemon to every three pounds of the apple. Strain the apple and to each pound put a pound of loaf sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly take it up color it if you like either with saffron beet juice or cochineal. Strain it and put it in glasses and set them in a cool place. 255. _Lemon Jelly._ Put on a slow fire an ounce and a half of isinglass (pulled into small pieces ) a pint of water with the rind of several lemons; when dissolved put in a pint of lemon juice a pound and a half of white sugar color it with a few grains of saffron strain it through a flannel bag then boil it ten or fifteen minutes strain it till clear let it remain till nearly congealed then fill your glasses or moulds with it. To get it out of the moulds dip them into lukewarm water for a minute the jelly will then come out easily. 256. _Calf's Foot Jelly._ To four feet put four quarts of water boil them till tender and the water boils away to one quart. Take it off let it stand till cold then skim off the fat carefully and put the jelly into a preserving pan and set it on the fire; when it melts take it from the fire put in the beaten whites of seven eggs a little cinnamon half a pint of white wine the juice of two lemons and the rind leaving out the white part; sweeten the whole to your taste with loaf sugar. Put it back on the fire and boil it fifteen minutes then strain it through a flannel bag without squeezing it if it is not clear the first time it is strained strain it till it is. The bag should be suspended on a nail over a dish and the jelly poured into it and allowed to drain through it gradually. When clear turn it into cups or glasses and set them where the jelly will congeal but not so cold as to freeze it. This kind of jelly will not keep longer than two or three days in warm weather. A knuckle of veal makes a jelly as good as calves' feet it is made in the same manner. Jellies and sweet meats are less liable to ferment if kept in glass jars or bottles. A paper wet in spirits and put over sweet meats has a tendency to prevent their fermenting. Sweet meats should be carefully watched during warm weather and if fermentation commences turn the syrup from them scald it and turn it back. 257. _Coffee._ To make good strong coffee allow for each person a heaping table spoonful of ground coffee and a pint of water. Put your coffee into a tin pot with a piece of fish skin about the size of a ninepence to two or three quarts of water turn on your water boiling hot and boil the coffee from fifteen to twenty minutes take it off and let it stand to settle five or six minutes then turn it off carefully. French coffee is made in a German filter the water is turned on to it boiling hot an ounce to each person is allowed put in a piece of fish skin before you turn on the water. When cream cannot be preserved for coffee boiled milk is a good substitute. Many people dislike to settle coffee with fish skin thinking it imparts a disagreeable taste to the coffee but it is owing to its not being prepared properly the skin should be taken from mild codfish washed and cut into small pieces and dried perfectly. The white of an egg egg shells and isinglass are all good to settle coffee. The best kind of coffee is old Java and Mocha; before it is roasted it should be hung over the fire two or three hours to dry if dried in the oven it looses its strength it should be hung at such a distance from the fire as to be in no danger of burning. When dry put it on hot coals and stir it constantly till done which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest kernels if it is brittle the whole is done. Put it in a box and cover it up tight to keep in the steam. Coffee is much better roasted in a coffee roaster than a kettle as the fine aromatic flavor of the coffee is preserved which escapes in a great measure when roasted in an open kettle. 258. _To make Tea._ Scald your tea pot and put in a tea spoonful of tea for each person that is to drink it if it is a weak kind of tea more will be required pour on just boiling water enough to cover it let it stand six or eight minutes not longer if you wish to have it in perfection pour on the rest of the water boiling hot. 259. _Chocolate._ Scrape the chocolate off fine and mix it smoothly with a little cold milk or water. If liked very rich make it entirely of milk if not use equal quantities of milk and water boil it then stir in the chocolate while boiling sweeten it to your taste let it boil five or six minutes; if liked rich grate in a little nutmeg. A heaping table spoonful of grated chocolate to a pint of milk or water is the right proportion. 260. _Hop Beer._ For three gallons of beer take nine quarts of water six ounces of hops. Boil the hops in half the water three hours strain it then boil the hops again in the remainder of the water three hours longer with a tea cup of ginger. Strain and put it with the rest of the liquor and two quarts of molasses and when lukewarm put in a pint of new yeast without any salt in it. Keep it in a temperate place till it has ceased fermenting which is ascertained by the froth subsiding. Turn it off carefully into a cask or bottle it; it should not be corked very tight or it will burst the bottles. Keep the bottles in a cool place. 261. _Spruce Beer._ Take five gallons of water and boil with a couple of ounces of hops when it has boiled four or five hours strain it put to it two quarts of molasses when lukewarm put in a pint of fresh yeast without any salt in it (brewer's is the best ) put in three table spoonsful of the essence of spruce. A decoction made of the leaves of white or black spruce is equally as good as the essence; boil the hops with the leaves. Let the beer stand in a temperate situation several days exposed to the air then put it in a cask or bottle it it will be fit to drink in the course of a few days. This is a nice summer drink and a powerful antiscorbutic. 262. _Spring Beer._ Take a small bunch each of sarsaparilla sweet fern wintergreen sassafras and spice wood boil them with three ounces of hops to six gallons of water pare two or three raw potatoes and throw them into the beer while it is boiling. When it has boiled five or six hours strain it and put to it three pints of molasses when cool stir in a pint of fresh yeast if the beer is too thick dilute it with a little cold water. When fermented bottle and keep it in a cool place. 263. _Ginger Beer._ Take three table spoonsful of ginger one of cream of tartar and boil them gently in a gallon of water with a lemon cut in slices; sweeten it to your taste with loaf or Havana sugar boil it three quarters of an hour. Strain it and when cool put in a tea cup of yeast; as soon as it has ceased fermenting bottle it. 264. _A good Family Wine._ Take equal parts of red and white currants grapes raspberries and English cherries bruise and mix them with soft water in the proportion of four pounds of fruit to one gallon of water let the liquid remain for two or three hours then strain it and to each gallon of wine add three pounds of sugar. Let it stand open three days stirring it frequently skim and put it in a cask place it in a temperate situation where it will ferment slowly when fermented add to it a ninth part of brandy and stop it up tight. In two or three years it will be very rich. 265. _Currant Wine._ Strain the currants which should be perfectly ripe to each quart of juice put two of water and three pounds of sugar. Stir the whole well together and let it stand twenty four hours then skim it and set it in a cool place where it will ferment slowly let it remain three or four days if at the end of that time it has fermented add one quart of French brandy to every fifteen gallons stop it tight when it is clear it is fit to bottle. This wine is better for being kept several years. 266. _Raspberry Shrub._ To a quart of vinegar put three quarts of fresh ripe raspberries let it stand a day then strain it and to each pint put a pound of white sugar. Put it in a jar and set it in a kettle of boiling water boil it an hour skim it till clear. When cool add a wine glass of wine to each pint of shrub. A couple of table spoonsful of this mixed with a tumbler of water is a very wholesome and refreshing drink in fevers. 267. _Noyeau._ To three pints of good French brandy put four ounces of bitter almonds or peach meats bruised put in half an ounce of cinnamon the same quantity of mace and amber pounded fine add a tea spoonful of cloves; let it stand for a fortnight shaking it often then add a quart of water and a pound and a quarter of sugar let it stand a week shaking it each day then strain it off for use. 268. _Spring Fruit Sherbet._ Boil in a quart of water six or eight stalks of the rhubarb plant with the peel of a lemon pared very thin and the juice of it. When it has boiled eight or ten minutes take it sweeten it to the taste with any kind of syrup you like or honey flavor it with rosewater strain it let it stand five or six hours it will then be fit to drink. It is a fine thing to assuage thirst. 269. _Grape Wine._ To every gallon of ripe grapes put a gallon of soft water bruise the grapes and let them stand a week without stirring then draw off the liquor carefully; to each gallon put three pounds of lump sugar when fermented put it in a cask stop it up tight in six months it will be fit to bottle. 270. _Smallage Cordial._ Take the young sprouts of smallage wash and drain them till perfectly dry. Cut them into small pieces and put them in a bottle with stoned raisins a layer of each alternately; when the bottle is two thirds full fill it up with good French brandy. Cork it up let it stand four or five days then pour in as much more brandy as you can get in. It will be fit for use in the course of a few days. _Miscellaneous Receipts and observations useful to young housekeepers._ 1. _To make Essence of Lemon._ Take one drachm of the best oil of lemon and two ounces of strong rectified spirit. Mix the spirit by degrees with the oil. Another way to procure the essence of the peel is to rub the peel with lumps of sugar till the yellow part is all taken up. Scrape off the surface of the sugar and press it down tight in a preserving pot and cover it tight; a little of this sugar gives a fine flavor to pies or cake. This mode of procuring the essence of the peel is superior to any other as the fine flavor of the peel is extracted without any alloy. 2. _Essence of Ginger._ Put three ounces of fresh grated ginger an ounce of thin cut lemon peel into a quart of brandy or proof spirit bottle and cork it let it stand for ten days shaking it up each day it will then be fit for use. A few drops of this in a little water or on a lump of sugar answers all the purposes of ginger tea and is much more convenient and palatable. 3. _Rose Water._ Gather your roses on a dry day when full blown pick off the leaves and to a peck of them put a quart of water. Put them in a cold still and put it over a slow fire the slower they are distilled the better. When distilled put it in the bottles let it stand a couple of days then cork it tight. 4. _Spice Brandy._ Into a large wide mouthed bottle put French brandy and fresh rose leaves or lemon and orange peel. When this has stood a week it is nice spice for pies puddings and cake. Peach meats or almonds steeped in brandy are very good spice for custards. 5. _Barley Water._ Take a couple of ounces of pearl barley wash it in cold water and put it into half a pint of boiling water and let it boil four or five minutes then turn off the water and pour on two quarts of boiling water strain it and put to it two ounces of figs sliced two of stoned raisins half an ounce of liquorice cut into small bits and bruised boil it till reduced to a quart and strain it. This is a very wholesome drink in fevers. 6. _Water Gruel._ Mix a couple of table spoonsful of Indian meal with one of flour and a little water stir it into a pint of boiling water let it boil six or eight minutes then take it up put in a piece of butter of the size of a walnut pepper and salt to your taste and nutmeg or cinnamon if you like turn it on to toasted bread or crackers. To convert this into caudle add a little ale; wine or brandy and loaf sugar. 7. _Wine Whey._ Into a pint of milk while boiling stir a couple of wine glasses of wine let it boil for a moment then take it off when the curd has settled turn off the whey and sweeten it with loaf sugar. Where wine cannot be procured cider or half the quantity of vinegar is a good substitute. 8. _Stomachic Tincture._ Bruise an ounce and a half of Peruvian bark and one of bitter dried orange peel. Steep it in brandy or proof spirit for a fortnight shaking it each day. Let it remain for a couple of days without shaking it then decant the liquor. A tea spoonful of it in a wine glass of water is a fine tonic. 9. _Beef Tea._ Broil a pound of fresh beef ten minutes take it up pepper and salt it cut it into small pieces and turn a pint of boiling water on to it let it steep in a warm place for half an hour then strain it off and it is fit to drink. This is a quick way of making it but the best way is to cut beef into small bits and fill a junk bottle with it stop it up tight and immerse it in a kettle of cold water put it where it will boil four or five hours. This way is superior to the other as the juices of the meat are obtained unmixed with water; a table spoonful of this is as nourishing as a cup full of that which is made by broiling. 10. _Carrageen or Irish Moss._ American or Irish Carrageen is a very nutritious and light article of food for children and invalids and is a good thickener of milk and broths and for blanc mange is equal to the most expensive ingredients while the cost is very trifling. The following decoction for consumptive patients is recommended. Steep half an ounce of the moss in cold water for a few minutes then take it out boil it in a quart of milk until it attains the consistency of warm jelly strain it and sweeten it to the taste with white sugar or honey flavor it with whatever spice is most agreeable if milk is disagreeable water may be substituted. If a tea spoonful of the tincture of rhutany is mixed with a cup full of the decoction a tone will be given to the stomach at the same time that nourishment is conveyed to the system. 11. _Moss Blanc Mange._ Steep half an ounce of Irish moss in a pint and a half of milk; when it becomes a thick jelly sweeten it with loaf sugar and flavor it with white wine and cinnamon. To make orange lemon or savory jellies use a similar process substituting water for milk. Jellies made of it are more nourishing than those made of sago tapioca or arrow root. 12. _Elderberry Syrup._ Wash and strain the berries which should be perfectly ripe to a pint of the juice put a pint of molasses. Boil it twenty minutes stirring it constantly; then take it from the fire and when cold add to each quart four table spoonsful of brandy; bottle and cork it. This is an excellent remedy for a tight cough. 13. _New Bread and Cake from old and rusked bread._ Bread that is several days old may be renewed by putting it into a steamer and steaming it from half to three quarters of an hour according to its size; the steamer should not be more than half full otherwise the water will boil up on to the bread. When steamed wrap it up loosely in a dry cloth and let it remain till quite dry it will then appear like bread just baked. If pieces of bread are put in the oven and dried several hours after baking in it they will keep good a long time. They are good as fresh bread for dressing to meat and for puddings if soaked soft in cold water. Rich cake with wine or brandy in it will keep good several months in winter if kept in a cool place. The day it is to be eaten it should be put in a tin pan and set in a bake pan that has a tea cup of water in it when heated thoroughly through take it up. 14. _To Preserve Cheese from Insects and Mould._ Cover the cheese while whole with a paste made of wheat flour put a piece of paper or cloth over it and cover it with the paste keep it in a cool dry place. Cheese that has skippers in it if kept till cold weather will be free from them. Cheese that is growing mouldy can be prevented from becoming any more so by grating it fine and moistening it with wine and covering it up in a jar. It is preferred by many people to that which is not grated. 15. _To keep Vegetables and Herbs._ Succulent vegetables are preserved best in a cool shady place that is damp. Turnips potatoes and similar vegetables should be protected from the air and frost by being buried in earth; in very severe cold weather they should be covered with a linen cloth. It is said that the dust of charcoal will keep potatoes from sprouting if sprinkled over them.--Herbs should be gathered on a dry day either just before or while in blossom; they should be tied in bundles and hung in a shady airy place with the blossoms downwards. When perfectly dry put away the medicinal ones in bundles; pick off the leaves of those that are to be used in cooking pound and sift them and keep them in bottles corked tight. 16. _To preserve various kinds of Fruit over winter._ Apples can be kept till June by taking only those that are perfectly sound and wiping them dry and putting them in barrels with a layer of bran to each layer of apples. Cover the barrel with a linen cloth to protect them from the frost. Mortar put on the top of the apples is said to be an excellent thing to prevent their decaying as it draws the air from them which is the principal cause of decay; the mortar should not touch the apples. To preserve oranges and lemons for several months take those that are perfectly fresh and wrap each one by itself in soft paper and put them in glass jars or a very tight box strew white sand thickly round each one and over the top. The sand should be previously perfectly dried in the oven several hours after baking in it. Cover the fruit up tight and keep it in a cool dry place but not so cold as to freeze it. To preserve grapes gather them on a dry day when not quite dead ripe; pick those off from the stem that are not perfectly fair lay them in a glass jar and on each layer sprinkle a layer of dry bran taking care that none of the grapes touch each other have a layer of bran on the top of them and cork and seal them tight. A box will do to keep them in if covered with mortar. To restore them to their freshness when they are to be eaten cut the ends of the stalks and immerse them in wine let them remain in it for a few moments before they are to be eaten. Various kinds of green fruit such as grapes currants gooseberries and plums can be kept the year round by putting them in bottles and setting them in an oven four or five hours after baking in it; let them remain in it till they begin to shrink then cork and seal them tight they will be fit for pies whenever you wish to use them. Ripe blackberries and whortleberries dried perfectly in the sun and tied up in bags so as to exclude the air will keep good over the winter. Whenever you wish to use them for pies pour on boiling water enough to cover them and let them remain in it till they swell to nearly the original size then drain off the water and use them. 17. _To extract essences from various kinds of flowers._ Procure a quantity of the petals of any kind of flowers that have an agreeable fragrance. Card thin layers of cotton which dip into the finest Florence oil. Sprinkle a small quantity of salt on the flowers and put a layer of them in a glass jar or wide mouthed bottle with a layer of the cotton put in a layer of each alternately until the jar is full then cover the top up tight with a bladder. Place the vessel in a south window exposed to the heat of the sun. In the course of a fortnight a fragrant oil may be squeezed from the cotton little inferior if rose leaves are made use of to the imported otto of rose. 18. _Indelible Ink for marking linen._ Dissolve a drachm of lunar caustic in half an ounce of pure cold water. Dip whatever is to be marked in pearlash water dry it perfectly then rub it smooth with a silver spoon (ironing it sets the pearlash water ) write on it and place it in the sun and let it remain until the name appears plain and black. Red ink for marking linen is made by mixing and reducing to a fine powder half an ounce of vermilion a drachm of the salt of steel and linseed oil enough to render it of the consistency of black durable ink. 19. _Perfume Bags._ Rose leaves dried in the shade and mixed with powdered cloves cinnamon and mace put in small bags and pressed is a fine thing to keep in drawers of linen to perfume them. 20. _Lip Salve._ Dissolve a small lump of white sugar in a table spoonful of rose water clear water will do but is not as good. Mix it with a table spoonful of sweet oil a piece of spermaceti of the size of half a butternut. Simmer the whole together about eight or ten minutes. 21. _Bread Seals._ Take the crust of newly baked bread moisten it with gum water and milk add either vermilion in powder or rose pink to color it. When moistened work it with the fingers till it forms a consistent paste without cracking; it should then be laid in a cellar till the next day. Then break it into pieces of the size you wish to have the seals warm and roll them into balls press one at a time on the warm impression of a seal press. The bread should go into every part of the sealing wax impression; while the bread remains on it pinch the upper part so as to form a handle to hold the bread seal when in use. Take off the bread seal trim all the superfluous parts put the seals where they will dry slowly. The more the bread has been worked with the fingers the more glossy and smooth will be the seals and the better impression will they make. 22. _To loosen the Glass Stopples of Decanters or Smelling Bottles when wedged in tight._ Rub a drop or two of oil with a feather round the stopple close to the mouth of the bottle or decanter then place it between one and two feet from the fire. The heat will cause the oil to run down between the stopple and mouth. When warm strike it gently on both sides with any light wooden instrument you may happen to have; then try to loosen it with the hand. If it will not move repeat the process of rubbing oil on it and warming it. By persevering in this method you will at length succeed in loosening it however firmly it may be wedged in. 23. _Cement for broken China Glass and Earthenware._ To half a pint of skimmed milk add an equal quantity of vinegar to curdle it then separate the curd from the whey and mix the curd with the whites of five eggs beat the whole well together then add enough of the finest quicklime to form a consistent paste. (Plaster of Paris is still better if it can be procured than lime.) Rub this mixture on the broken edges of the china or glass match the pieces and bind them tightly together and let them remain bound several weeks. They will then be as firm as if never broken. Boiling crockery in milk is a good thing to cement them the pieces should be matched bound with pieces of cloth and boiled half an hour they should remain in the milk till cold and not be used for several weeks. Pulverized quicklime mixed with the white of an egg and rubbed in the cracks of china and glass will prevent their coming apart; the dishes should be bound firmly for several weeks after it is rubbed in. The Chinese method of mending broken china is to grind flint glass on a painter's stone as fine as possible and then beat it with the white of an egg to a froth and lay it on the edges of the broken pieces. It should remain bound several weeks. It is said that no art will then be able to break it in the same place. 24. _Japanese Cement or Rice Glue._ Mix rice flour intimately with cold water and then gently boil it. It answers all the purposes of wheat flour paste and is far superior in point of transparency and smoothness. This composition made with a comparatively small proportion of water that it may have the consistence of plastic clay will form models busts statues basso relievos and similar articles. The Japanese make fish of it which very much resemble those made of mother of pearl. Articles made of it when dry are susceptible of a very high polish. Poland starch is a very nice cement for pasting layers of paper together and any fancy articles when it is necessary. 25. _Cement for Alabaster._ Take of bees' wax one pound of rosin half a pound and three quarters of a pound of alabaster. Melt the wax and rosin then strew the alabaster previously reduced to a fine powder over in it lightly. Stir the whole well together then knead the mass in water in order to incorporate the powder thoroughly with the rosin and wax. Heat the cement and the alabaster which should be perfectly dry when applied join and keep it bound a week. This composition when properly managed forms an extremely strong cement. 26. _To Extract Fruit Stains._ Hold the spot over steam till quite moist then over burning sulphur; the sulphurous gas will cause the spot to disappear. 27. _To extract spots of paint from Silk Woolen and Cotton Goods._ Saturate the spots with spirits of turpentine let it remain several hours then take the cloth and rub it between the hands. It will crumble away and not injure either the texture or color of the cloth. 28. _To remove black stains on Scarlet Merinos or Broadcloths._ Wash the stain in water with a little tartaric acid in it rinse it directly and care should be taken not to get any of the acid water on the clean part of the dress. Weak pearlash water is good to remove stains produced by acids. 29. _To remove grease spots from Paper Silk or Woolen._ Grate on chalk enough to cover the grease spots. French chalk is the best but common chalk will answer very well. Cover the spots with brown paper and set a warm flat iron on the top and let it remain until cold. Care must be taken not to get the iron so hot as to change the color of the article. If the grease does not appear to be extracted on removing the flat iron grate on more chalk and heat the iron and put it on again. 30. _To extract stains from white Cotton goods and Colored Silks._ Spots of common or durable ink can be removed by saturating them with lemon juice and salt in summer and keeping them where the sun will shine on them several hours. Rub the juice and salt on them as fast as they get dry. Where lemons cannot be procured tartaric acid dissolved in salt and water is a good substitute. Iron mould can be removed in the same way; it is said that spirits of salts diluted with water will also extract iron mould. Sal ammoniac with lime will take out the stains of wine. Mildew and most other stains on white goods can be removed by rubbing on soft soap and salt and putting them in a hot summer's sun it should be rubbed on as fast as it dries. Where this fails lemon juice and salt will be generally effectual. Colored cotton goods that have ink spilt on them should be soaked in lukewarm milk or vinegar; sour milk is the best. Spirits of turpentine alcohol or sal ammoniac are all good to remove spots from colored silks. 31. _Rules for washing Calicoes._ Calicoes that incline to fade can have the colors set by washing them with beef's gall in clear water previous to washing them in soap suds; a small tea cup full to a pail of water is the right proportion. By squeezing out the gall and bottling and corking it up it can be kept several months. A little vinegar in the rinsing water of calicoes that have green pink or red colors will brighten them and prevent their mixing together. Yellow calicoes should be washed in soap suds and not rinsed. A little salt in the rinsing water of calicoes particularly blues and greens tends to prevent their fading by subsequent washing it will also prevent their catching fire readily. Thin starch water is good to wash fading calicoes in but it is rather hard to get them clean in it; no soap is necessary. Calicoes should not be washed in very hot suds and soft soap should never be used excepting for buff and yellows for which it is the best. The two latter colors should not be rinsed in clear water. 32. _Rules for washing Silks._ The water in which pared potatoes has been boiled is an excellent thing to wash black silk in it makes it look almost as black and glossy as new. Beef's gall in soap suds is also very good and soap suds without the gall does very well. Colored silks should have all the spots removed before the whole of the article is wet. Put soap into boiling water and beat it till it is all dissolved and forms a strong lather when at a hand heat put in the article that is to be washed and if strong it may be rubbed hard; when clean squeeze out the water without wringing and rinse it in warm water. Rinse it in another water and for bright yellows crimsons maroons and scarlets put in oil of vitriol sufficient to give the water an acid taste for oranges fawns browns or their shades use no acids for pinks rose colors and their shades use tartaric acid lemon juice or vinegar. For bright scarlet use a solution of tin. For blues purples and their shades add a small quantity of American pearlash to restore the colors. Verdigris dissolved in the rinsing water of olive greens is good to revive the colors a solution of copper is also good. Dip the silks up and down in the rinsing water and take them out without wringing and before they get perfectly dry fold them up tight and let them lay a few moments then mangle them if you have not a mangler iron them on the wrong side. A little isinglass dissolved in the rinsing water of blondes and gauzes is good to stiffen them. 33. _Rules for washing Woolens._ If you do not wish flannels to shrink wash them in two good suds made of hard soap then wring them out and pour boiling water on them and let them remain in it till cold. A little indigo in the rinsing water of white flannels makes them look nicer. If you wish to shrink your flannels wash them in suds made of soft soap and rinse them in cold water. Colored woolens that incline to fade should be washed with a little beef's gall in the suds. Cloth pantaloons look well washed with beef's gall in the suds; they should be pressed when quite damp on the wrong side. 34. _Rules for washing white Cotton Clothes._ Table cloths that have coffee or any other stains on them should have boiling water turned on them and remain in it till cold. The spots should be rubbed out before they are put in soap suds or they will be set so that they cannot be removed by subsequent washing. If a little starch is put in the rinsing water the stains will come out more easily the next time they are washed. Any white cloths that have fruit stains on them should be washed in the same manner. It is a good plan to soap and soak very dirty clothes over night; put them in when the water is lukewarm and let them heat gradually if they get to boiling it will not do any harm. Where rain water cannot be procured to wash with a little lye in the proportion of half a pailful to seven or eight pails of hard water will soften it so that much less soap will be necessary. It is said that white clothes washed in the following manner will not need any rubbing. To five gallons of soft water add half a gallon of lime water a pint and a half of soap and a couple of ounces of the salts of soda. Wet the clothes thoroughly and soak the parts that are most soiled; if very dirty they should be soaked over night. Heat the above mixture boiling hot then put in the clothes let them boil an hour then drain and rinse them thoroughly in warm water then in indigo water and they are fit for drying. The soda can be procured cheap by purchasing it in large quantities. It is a good plan to save the dirty suds after washing to water your garden if you have one it is also good to harden sandy cellars and yards. 35. _To clean Silk and Woolen Shawls._ Pare and grate raw potatoes put a pint of it in two quarts of clear water. Let it stand for five hours then strain the water and rub through as much of the potatoe as possible; let it remain until perfectly clear then turn off the water carefully. Put a clean white cloth on a table lay the shawl on it and pin it down tight. Dip a clean sponge into the potatoe water and rub the shawl with it till clean then rinse the shawl in clear water. When nearly dry mangle it; if you have not a mangler wrap it up in a clean white cloth and press it under a heavy weight till perfectly dry. All the grease spots and stains should be taken out of the shawls before they are washed with the potatoe water. 36. _To clean Silk Stockings._ Wash the stockings in mildly warm hard soap suds rinse them in soap suds and if you wish to have them of a flesh color put in a little rose pink or cochineal powder; if you prefer a bluish cast put in a little indigo. Hang them up to dry without wringing when nearly dry iron them on the right side till perfectly so. If you wish silks of any kind to have a gloss on them never rinse them without soap in the water. 37. _To clean Carpets._ Carpets should be taken up as often as once a year even if not much used as there is danger of their getting moth eaten. If used much they should be taken up two or three times a year. If there is any appearance of moths when carpets are taken up sprinkle a little black pepper or tobacco on the floor before the carpets are put down. Shake the dust out of the carpets and if they are so much soiled as to require cleaning rub a little dry magnesia or grated raw potatoes on them; the potatoes should be rubbed on with a new broom. Let it remain until perfectly dry before walking on it. If there are any grease or oil spots on the carpet they should be extracted before the potatoe is rubbed on. They can be extracted by grating on potter's clay covering it with brown paper and a moderately warm flat iron or warming pan. It will be necessary to do it several times to get out the whole of the grease. 38. _To clean Feather Beds and Mattresses._ When feather beds become soiled or heavy rub them over with a brush dipped into hot suds. When clean lay them on a shed or railing where the rain will fall on them till they get thoroughly soaked let them dry in a hot sun for a week shaking and turning them over each day. This way of washing the beds makes the feathers fresh and light and is much easier than the old fashioned way of emptying the beds and washing the ticking and feathers separately while it answers quite as well. Hair mattresses that have become hard and dirty can be made nearly as good as new ones by ripping them and washing the ticking picking the hair free from bunches and keeping it in an airy place several days. When the ticking gets dry fill it lightly and tack it together. 39. _To clean Light Kid Gloves._ Magnesia moist bread and India Rubber are all of them good to clean light kid gloves if rubbed on thoroughly. 40. _To remove Ink or Grease spots from Floors._ Ink spots can be removed by scouring them with sand wet with water that has a few drops of oil of vitriol in it. Great care is necessary in using it as it eats holes if suffered to remain long without having something put on to counteract its effects. When rubbed on floors it should be rinsed off immediately with weak pearlash water. Oil and grease spots can be removed by grating on potter's clay thick and wetting it it should remain on till it has absorbed all the grease; if brown paper and a warm iron is put on it will come out much quicker. Pearlash water and sand is also good to extract grease and oil they should be rubbed hard then rinsed directly. 41. _To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture._ They should be washed in water without any soap. A little oil rubbed on them occasionally gives them a fine polish. White spots on varnished furniture can be removed by rubbing them with a warm flannel cloth dipped in spirits of turpentine. It is said that ink spots can be extracted by rubbing them with blotting paper rolled up tight. 42. _To clean Stone Hearths and Stoves._ If you wish to preserve the original color of free stone hearths wash them in clear water then rub them with a stone of the same kind pounded fine let it remain until dry then rub it off. If the hearths are stained rub them hard with a free stone. Hot soft soap or soap suds does very well to wash hearths in provided you have no objections to their looking dark. For brick hearths use redding mixed with thin starch and milk. Varnished stoves should have several coats of varnish put on in summer so as to get quite hard before being used. They should be washed in warm water without any soap a little oil rubbed on once or twice a week improves the looks of them. Black lead is good to black stoves that have never been varnished but it will not do where they have been. It should be rubbed on dry once or twice a day. 43. _To clean Brass._ Rotten stone and spirit is better than any thing else to clean brasses with. Acids make them look nice at first but they will not remain clean long they are also apt to spot without a great deal of care is used. When brass andirons are not in use they should be thoroughly cleaned with rotten stone and rubbed over with oil and wrapped up tight. 44. _To cleanse Vials and Pie Plates._ Bottles and vials that have had medicine in them can be cleaned by putting a tea spoonful or two of ashes in them and immersing them in cold water the water should then be heated gradually until it boils. When they have boiled about half an hour take them from the fire and let them cool gradually in the water. Pie plates that have been baked on many times are apt to impart an unpleasant taste to pies. It may be remedied by boiling them in ashes and water. 45. _Cautions relative to Brass and Copper._ Cleanliness has been aptly styled the cardinal virtue of cooks; food is not only more palatable cooked in a cleanly manner but it is also more healthy. Many lives have been lost in consequence of carelessness in using copper brass and glazed earthen utensils. No oily or acid substance should be allowed to cool or stand in them. Brass and copper utensils should be thoroughly cleaned with salt and hot vinegar before being used. 46. _To keep Pickles and Sweet Meats._ Pickles should be kept in kegs or unglazed earthen jars. Sweetmeats keep best in glass jars unglazed earthen jars do very well. If the jar is covered with a paper wet in spirits the sweet meats are less liable to ferment. Both pickles and sweet meats should be looked to occasionally to see that they are not fermenting if so the vinegar or syrup should be turned from them and scalded. If pickles grow soft it is owing to the vinegar's not being strong enough; to make it stronger scald it and put in a paper wet with molasses and a little alum. 47. _Starch._ To make good flour starch mix the flour with a little water till free from lumps thin it gradually with more water then stir it slowly into boiling water. Let it boil five or six minutes stirring it frequently a tallow candle stirred round in it several times makes it smoother. Strain it through a thick bag. Starch made in this manner will be free from lumps and answers for cotton and linen as well as Poland starch. Many people like it for muslins. Poland starch is made in the same manner as flour starch. When rice is boiled in a pot without a bag the water that it is boiled in is as good as Poland starch for clearing muslins if boiled by itself a few moments and strained. Muslins to look very clear should be starched and clapped while the starch is hot. 48. _To temper New Ovens and Iron Ware._ New ovens before being used to retain their heat well should be heated half a day. The lid should be put up as soon as the wood is taken out. It should not be used to bake in the first time it is heated. Iron utensils are less liable to crack if heated gradually before they are used. New flat irons should be heated half a day to retain their heat well. 49. _To temper Earthen Ware._ Earthen ware that is used to cook in is less liable to crack from the heat by being put before they are used into cold water and heated gradually till the water boils then taken from the fire and left in the water until cold. 50. _Preservatives against the Ravages of Moths._ To prevent woolen and fur articles of dress from getting moth eaten when you have done wearing them put them in a chest with cedar chips camphor gum or tobacco leaves. 51. _To drive away various kinds of Household Vermin._ A little quicksilver and white of an egg beat together and put in the crevices of bedsteads with a feather is the most effectual bed bug poison. A solution of vitriol is also a good thing rubbed on walls that are infested by them. Hellebore with molasses rubbed on it is an excellent thing to kill cockroaches and put round the places that they are in the habit of frequenting. Arsenic spread on bread and butter and placed round in rat holes will put a stop to their ravages very speedily. Great care is necessary in using all these poisons where there are children as they are equally as fatal to human beings as vermin. The flower of sulphur sprinkled round places that ants frequent will drive them away. Half a tea spoonful of black pepper one of sugar and a table spoonful of cream mixed and kept on a plate in a room where flies are troublesome will soon cause them to disappear. Weak brine will kill worms in gravel walks. They should be kept moist with it a week in the spring and three or four days in the fall. 52. _To keep Meat in hot Weather._ Cover it with bran and keep it where there is a free circulation of air away from the flies. A wire safe is an excellent thing to preserve meat from spoiling. 53. _To Prevent polished Cutlery from rusting._ Knives snuffers and other steel articles are apt to rust when not cleaned frequently. To prevent it wrap them tight in coarse brown paper when not in use. Knives and forks should be perfectly free from spots and well polished when not in use. They should also be wrapped up each one by itself so as to exclude the air. 54. _To melt Fat for Shortening._ The fat of all kinds of meat excepting mutton and hams makes good shortening. Roast meat drippings and the liquor that meat is boiled in should stand until cold to have the fat harden so that it can be taken off easily. Cut your scraps of fat into small pieces and melt them slowly without burning together with the fat from your drippings. When melted strain it and let it remain until nearly cold then pour in a little cold water. When the fat forms into a hard cake take it up and scrape off the sediment that adheres to the under side melt it again and when lukewarm sprinkle in a little salt. The dregs of fat are good for soap grease. This shortening answers all the various purposes of lard very well excepting in the warmest weather. In using it for pies it is necessary to use considerable butter with it. The fat of meat should not be suffered to lie more than a week in winter without melting and in summer not more than two or three days. Mutton fat and the fat of beef if melted into hard cakes will fetch a good price at the tallow chandler's. It is much more economical for housekeepers to put down their own pork than to buy it already salted. The leaves and thin pieces that are not good for salting should be cut into small bits and melted then strained through a cullender with a cloth laid in it as soon as it begins to thicken sprinkle in a tea cup of salt to twenty or thirty weight of the lard; stir it in well then set it away in a cool place. Some people have an idea that pork scraps must be fried till very brown in order to be preserved good the year round but it is not necessary if salt is put in. 55. _To preserve Eggs fresh a Year._ Mix a handful of unslacked lime with the same quantity of salt two or three gallons of water. If eggs that are perfectly fresh are put in this mixture they will keep good a year in it provided none are cracked. 56. _To preserve Cream for long Voyages._ Take cream that is fresh and rich and mix it with half its weight of powdered white sugar stir the whole well together and preserve it in bottles corked very tight. In this state it is ready to mix with tea and coffee. 57. _Substitute for Milk and Cream in Tea or Coffee._ Beat the white of a fresh egg in a bowl and turn on to it gradually boiling tea or coffee. It is difficult to distinguish the taste from rich cream. 58. _To Cure Butter._ Take two parts of the best common salt one part of sugar and one of saltpetre blend the whole well together. Mix one ounce of this composition well with every sixteen ounces of the butter. Close it up tight in kegs cover it with an oiled paper and let it remain untouched for a month. Butter cured in this manner is very nice and will keep good eight or nine months if not exposed to the air. 59. _To make salt Butter Fresh._ Put four pounds of salt butter into a churn with four quarts of new milk and a small portion of annatto. Churn them together take out the butter in the course of an hour and treat it like fresh butter working in the usual quantity of salt; a little white sugar improves it. This is said to be equal to fresh butter in every respect. The salt may be got out of a small quantity at a time by working it over in fresh water changing the water several times. 60. _To take Rankness from a small quantity of Butter._ Take a quantity that is to be made use of put it into a bowl filled with boiling water with a little saleratus in it let it remain until cold then take it off carefully and work it over with a little salt. By this method it is separated from the grosser particles. 61. _Windsor Soap._ To make this celebrated soap for shaving and washing the hands nothing more is necessary than to slice the best white soap as thin as possible and melt it over a slow fire. When melted take it up when lukewarm scent it with the oil of caraway or any other oil that is more agreeable then turn it into moulds and let it remain in a dry situation several days. It will then be fit for use. 62. _To make Bayberry or Myrtle Soap._ To a pound of bayberry tallow put a pint of potash lye strong enough to bear up an egg. Boil them together till it becomes soap. Then put in half a tea cup of cold water let it boil several minutes longer. Take it off and when partly cooled put in a few drops of the essence of wintergreen pour it into moulds and let it remain several days. This soap is good for shaving and is an excellent thing for chapped hands and eruptions on the face. 63. _Cold Soap._ To twenty pounds of white potash put ten of grease previously melted and strained. Mix it well together with a pailful of cold water let it remain several days then stir in several more pailsful of cold water. Continue to pour in cold water at intervals of two or three days stirring it up well each time. As soon as the water begins to thin it it is time to leave off adding it. This method of making soap is much easier than any other while it is equally cheap and good. If you have not land to enrich with your ashes they can be disposed of to advantage at the soap boiler's. THE END. Transcriber's Note The following typographical errors were corrected: Page Error vii 67 changed to 97 ix Apple Dumplings changed to Apple Dumplings x woolen Shawls changed to woolen Shawls 3 petre changed to petre 4 and alspice changed to and allspice 4 when severl slices changed to when several slices 4 mix a tea spoonfull changed to mix a tea spoonful 11 pigs ear's changed to pig's ears 15 fow s changed to fowls 15 Cold Veal changed to Cold Veal. 21 rice and a a lb. changed to rice and a lb. 25 twenty minutes changed to twenty minutes. 61 whites of threee ggs changed to whites of three eggs 63 to your tase. changed to to your taste. 71 sugar half a tea spoonsful changed to sugar half a tea spoonful 71 nutmeg and a table spoonsful changed to nutmeg and a table spoonful 74 by the spoonsful changed to by the spoonful 89 be fit to to changed to be fit to 108 without any soap changed to without any soap. The following words were inconsistently spelled. bake pan / bakepan pen-knife / penknife pie crust / piecrust saleratus / sal eratus whortle berries / whortleberries 35123 ---- THE LADIES' BOOK OF ETIQUETTE, AND MANUAL OF POLITENESS. A COMPLETE HAND BOOK FOR THE USE OF THE LADY IN POLITE SOCIETY. CONTAINING FULL DIRECTIONS FOR CORRECT MANNERS, DRESS, DEPORTMENT, AND CONVERSATION; RULES FOR THE DUTIES OF BOTH HOSTESS AND GUEST IN MORNING RECEPTIONS, DINNER COMPANIES, VISITING, EVENING PARTIES AND BALLS; A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR LETTER WRITING AND CARDS OF COMPLIMENT; HINTS ON MANAGING SERVANTS, ON THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH, AND ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS. AND ALSO USEFUL RECEIPTS FOR THE COMPLEXION, HAIR, AND WITH HINTS AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE CARE OF THE WARDROBE. BY FLORENCE HARTLEY, AUTHOR OF THE "LADIES' HAND BOOK OF FANCY AND ORNAMENTAL WORK." BOSTON: G. W. COTTRELL, PUBLISHER, 36 Cornhill. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by G. G. EVANS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. INTRODUCTION. In preparing a book of etiquette for ladies, I would lay down as the first rule, "Do unto others as you would others should do to you." You can never be rude if you bear the rule always in mind, for what lady likes to be treated rudely? True Christian politeness will always be the result of an unselfish regard for the feelings of others, and though you may err in the ceremonious points of etiquette, you will never be impolite. Politeness, founded upon such a rule, becomes the expression, in graceful manner, of social virtues. The spirit of politeness consists in a certain attention to forms and ceremonies, which are meant both to please others and ourselves, and to make others pleased with us; a still clearer definition may be given by saying that politeness is goodness of heart put into daily practice; there can be no _true_ politeness without kindness, purity, singleness of heart, and sensibility. Many believe that politeness is but a mask worn in the world to conceal bad passions and impulses, and to make a show of possessing virtues not really existing in the heart; thus, that politeness is merely hypocrisy and dissimulation. Do not believe this; be certain that those who profess such a doctrine are practising themselves the deceit they condemn so much. Such people scout politeness, because, to be truly a lady, one must carry the principles into every circumstance of life, into the family circle, the most intimate friendship, and never forget to extend the gentle courtesies of life to every one. This they find too much trouble, and so deride the idea of being polite and call it deceitfulness. True politeness is the language of a good heart, and those possessing that heart will never, under any circumstances, be rude. They may not enter a crowded saloon gracefully; they may be entirely ignorant of the _forms_ of good society; they may be awkward at table, ungrammatical in speech; but they will never be heard speaking so as to wound the feelings of another; they will never be seen making others uncomfortable by seeking solely for their own _personal_ convenience; they will always endeavor to set every one around them at ease; they will be self-sacrificing, friendly, unselfish; truly in word and deed, _polite_. Give to such a woman the knowledge of the forms and customs of society, teach her how best to show the gentle courtesies of life, and you have a _lady_, created by God, only indebted for the _outward_ polish to the world. It is true that society demands this same unselfishness and courtesy, but when there is no heart in the work, the time is frittered away on the mere ceremonies, forms of etiquette, and customs of society, and this politeness seeks only its own ends; to be known as courteous, spoken of as lady-like, and not beloved as unselfish and womanly. Etiquette exists in some form in all countries, has existed and will exist in all ages. From the rudest savage who dares not approach his ignorant, barbarous ruler without certain forms and ceremonies, to the most polished courts in Europe, or the home circles of America, etiquette reigns. True politeness will be found, its basis in the human heart, the same in all these varied scenes and situations, but the outward forms of etiquette will vary everywhere. Even in the same scene, time will alter every form, and render the exquisite polish of last year, obsolete rudeness next year. Politeness, being based upon real kindness of heart, cannot exist where there is selfishness or brutality to warp its growth. It is founded upon love of the neighbor, and a desire to be beloved, and to show love. Thus, where such pure, noble feelings do not exist, the mere forms of politeness become hypocrisy and deceit. Rudeness will repel, where courtesy would attract friends. Never by word or action notice the defects of another; be charitable, for all need charity. Remember who said, "Let him that is without fault cast the first stone." Remember that the laws of politeness require the consideration of the feelings of others; the endeavor to make every one feel at ease; and frank courtesy towards all. Never meet rudeness in others with rudeness upon your own part; even the most brutal and impolite will be more shamed by being met with courtesy and kindness, than by any attempt to annoy them by insolence on your part. Politeness forbids any display of resentment. The polished surface throws back the arrow. Remember that a favor becomes doubly valuable if granted with courtesy, and that the pain of a refusal may be softened if the manner expresses polite regret. Kindness, even to the most humble, will never lose anything by being offered in a gentle, courteous manner, and the most common-place action will admit of grace and ease in its execution. Let every action, while it is finished in strict accordance with etiquette, be, at the same time, easy, as if dictated solely by the heart. To be truly polite, remember you must be polite at _all_ times, and under _all_ circumstances. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. CONVERSATION 11 CHAPTER II. DRESS 21 CHAPTER III. TRAVELING 34 CHAPTER IV. HOW TO BEHAVE AT A HOTEL 40 CHAPTER V. EVENING PARTIES--Etiquette for the Hostess 44 CHAPTER VI. EVENING PARTIES--Etiquette for the Guest 54 CHAPTER VII. VISITING--Etiquette for the Hostess 60 CHAPTER VIII. VISITING--Etiquette for the Guest 66 CHAPTER IX. MORNING RECEPTIONS OR CALLS--Etiquette for the Hostess 76 CHAPTER X. MORNING RECEPTIONS OR CALLS--Etiquette for the Caller 81 CHAPTER XI. DINNER COMPANY--Etiquette for the Hostess 87 CHAPTER XII. DINNER COMPANY--Etiquette for the Guest 97 CHAPTER XIII. TABLE ETIQUETTE 105 CHAPTER XIV. CONDUCT IN THE STREET 109 CHAPTER XV. LETTER WRITING 116 CHAPTER XVI. POLITE DEPORTMENT AND GOOD HABITS 142 CHAPTER XVII. CONDUCT IN CHURCH 154 CHAPTER XVIII. BALL ROOM ETIQUETTE--For the Hostess 158 CHAPTER XIX. BALL ROOM ETIQUETTE--For the Guest 166 CHAPTER XX. PLACES OF AMUSEMENT 172 CHAPTER XXI. ACCOMPLISHMENTS 178 CHAPTER XXII. SERVANTS 232 CHAPTER XXIII. ON A YOUNG LADY'S CONDUCT WHEN CONTEMPLATING MARRIAGE 244 CHAPTER XXIV. BRIDAL ETIQUETTE 259 CHAPTER XXV. HINTS ON HEALTH 264 CHAPTER XXVI. MISCELLANEOUS 283 RECEIPTS. FOR THE COMPLEXION, &c. 303 LADIES' BOOK OF ETIQUETTE. CHAPTER I. CONVERSATION. The art of conversation consists in the exercise of two fine qualities. You must originate, and you must sympathize; you must possess at the same time the habit of communicating and of listening attentively. The union is rare but irresistible. None but an excessively ill-bred person will allow her attention to wander from the person with whom she is conversing; and especially she will never, while seeming to be entirely attentive to her companion, answer a remark or question made to another person, in another group. Unless the conversation be general among a party of friends, confine your remarks and attention entirely to the person with whom you are conversing. Steele says, "I would establish but one great general rule in conversation, which is this--that people should not talk to please themselves, but those who hear them. This would make them consider whether what they speak be worth hearing; whether there be either wit or sense in what they are about to say; and whether it be adapted to the time when, the place where, and the person to whom, it is spoken." Be careful in conversation to avoid topics which may be supposed to have any direct reference to events or circumstances which may be painful for your companion to hear discussed; you may unintentionally start a subject which annoys or troubles the friend with whom you may be conversing; in that case, do not stop abruptly, when you perceive that it causes pain, and, above all, do not make the matter worse by apologizing; turn to another subject as soon as possible, and pay no attention to the agitation your unfortunate remark may have excited. Many persons will, for the sake of appearing witty or smart, wound the feelings of another deeply; avoid this; it is not only ill-bred, but cruel. Remember that having all the talk sustained by one person is not conversation; do not engross all the attention yourself, by refusing to allow another person an opportunity to speak, and also avoid the other extreme of total silence, or answering only in monosyllables. If your companion relates an incident or tells a story, be very careful not to interrupt her by questions, even if you do not clearly understand her; wait until she has finished her relation, and then ask any questions you may desire. There is nothing more annoying than to be so interrupted. I have heard a story told to an impertinent listener, which ran in this way:-- "I saw a fearful sight----" "When?" "I was about to tell you; last Monday, on the train----" "What train?" "The train from B----. We were near the bridge----" "What bridge?" "I will tell you all about it, if you will only let me speak. I was coming from B----" "Last Monday, did you say?" and so on. The story was interrupted at every sentence, and the relator condemned as a most tedious story-teller, when, had he been permitted to go forward, he would have made the incident interesting and short. Never interrupt any one who is speaking. It is very ill-bred. If you see that a person to whom you wish to speak is being addressed by another person, never speak until she has heard and replied; until her conversation with that person is finished. No truly polite lady ever breaks in upon a conversation or interrupts another speaker. Never, in speaking to a married lady, enquire for her _husband_, or, if a gentleman, ask for his _wife_. The elegant way is to call the absent party by their name; ask Mr. Smith how Mrs. Smith is, or enquire of Mrs. Jones for Mr. Jones, but never for "your husband" or "your wife." On the other hand, if you are married, never speak of your husband as your "lord," "husband," or "good man," avoid, also, unless amongst relatives, calling him by his Christian name. If you wish others to respect him, show by speaking of him in respectful terms that you do so yourself. If either your own husband or your friend's is in the army or navy, or can claim the Dr., Prof., or any other prefix to his name, there is no impropriety in speaking of him as the colonel, doctor, or whatever his title may be. It is a mark of ill-breeding to use French phrases or words, unless you are sure your companion is a French scholar, and, even then, it is best to avoid them. Above all, do not use any foreign word or phrase, unless you have the language perfectly at your command. I heard a lady once use a Spanish quotation; she had mastered that one sentence alone; but a Cuban gentleman, delighted to meet an American who could converse with him in his own tongue, immediately addressed her in Spanish. Embarrassed and ashamed, she was obliged to confess that her knowledge of the language was confined to one quotation. Never anticipate the point or joke of any anecdote told in your presence. If _you_ have heard the story before, it may be new to others, and the narrator should always be allowed to finish it in his own words. To take any sentence from the mouth of another person, before he has time to utter it, is the height of ill-breeding. Avoid it carefully. Never use the phrases, "What-d-ye call it," "Thingummy," "What's his name," or any such substitutes for a proper name or place. If you cannot recall the names you wish to use, it is better not to tell the story or incident connected with them. No lady of high breeding will ever use these substitutes in conversation. Be careful always to speak in a distinct, clear voice; at the same time avoid talking too loudly, there is a happy medium between mumbling and screaming. Strive to attain it. Overlook the deficiencies of others when conversing with them, as they may be the results of ignorance, and impossible to correct. Never pain another person by correcting, before others, a word or phrase mispronounced or ungrammatically constructed. If your intimacy will allow it, speak of the fault upon another occasion, kindly and privately, or let it pass. Do not be continually watching for faults, that you may display your own superior wisdom in correcting them. Let modesty and kind feeling govern your conversation, as other rules of life. If, on the other hand, your companion uses words or expressions which you cannot understand, do not affect knowledge, or be ashamed of your ignorance, but frankly ask for an explanation. In conversing with professional gentlemen, never question them upon matters connected with their employment. An author may communicate, voluntarily, information interesting to you, upon the subject of his works, but any questions from you would be extremely rude. If you meet a physician who is attending a friend, you may enquire for their progress, but do not expect him to give you a detailed account of the disease and his manner of treating it. The same rule applies to questioning lawyers about their clients, artists on their paintings, merchants or mechanics of their several branches of business. Professional or business men, when with ladies, generally wish for miscellaneous subjects of conversation, and, as their visits are for recreation, they will feel excessively annoyed if obliged to "talk shop." Still many men can converse on no other subject than their every day employment. In this case listen politely, and show your interest. You will probably gain useful information in such conversation. Never question the veracity of any statement made in general conversation. If you are certain a statement is false, and it is injurious to another person, who may be absent, you may quietly and courteously inform the speaker that he is mistaken, but if the falsehood is of no consequence, let it pass. If a statement appears monstrous, but you do not _know_ that it is false, listen, but do not question its veracity. It may be true, though it strikes you as improbable. Never attempt to disparage an absent friend. It is the height of meanness. If others admire her, and you do not, let them have their opinion in peace; you will probably fail if you try to lower her in their esteem, and gain for yourself the character of an ill-natured, envious person. In conversing with foreigners, if they speak slightingly of the manners of your country, do not retort rudely, or resentfully. If their views are wrong, converse upon the subject, giving them frankly your views, but never retaliate by telling them that some custom of their own country is worse. A gentleman or lady of true refinement will always give your words candid consideration, and admit that an American may possibly know the customs of her country better than they do, and if your opponent is not well-bred, your rudeness will not improve his manners. Let the conversation upon national subjects be candid, and at the same time courteous, and leave him to think that the _ladies_ in America are well-bred, however much he may dislike some little national peculiarity. Avoid, at all times, mentioning subjects or incidents that can in any way disgust your hearers. Many persons will enter into the details of sicknesses which should be mentioned only when absolutely necessary, or describe the most revolting scenes before a room full of people, or even at table. Others speak of vermin, noxious plants, or instances of uncleanliness. All such conversation or allusion is excessively ill-bred. It is not only annoying, but absolutely sickening to some, and a truly lady-like person will avoid all such topics. I cannot too severely censure the habit of using sentences which admit of a double meaning. It is not only ill-bred, but indelicate, and no person of true refinement will ever do it. If you are so unfortunate as to converse with one who uses such phrases, never by word, look, or sign show that you understand any meaning beyond the plain, outspoken language. Avoid always any discussion upon religious topics, unless you are perfectly certain that your remarks cannot annoy or pain any one present. If you are tête-à-tête with a friend, and such a discussion arise, inquire your companion's church and mention your own, that you may yourself avoid unpleasant remarks, and caution him. Never, when advancing an opinion, assert positively that a thing "_is so_," but give your opinion _as_ an opinion. Say, "I think this is so," or "these are _my_ views," but remember that your companion may be better informed upon the subject under discussion, or, where it is a mere matter of taste or feeling, do not expect that all the world will feel exactly as you do. Never repeat to a person with whom you converse, any unpleasant speech you may have heard concerning her. If you can give her pleasure by the repetition of a delicate compliment, or token of approval shown by a mutual friend, tell her the pleasant speech or incident, but do not hurt her feelings, or involve her in a quarrel by the repetition of ill-natured remarks. Amongst well-bred persons, every conversation is considered in a measure confidential. A lady or gentleman tacitly confides in you when he (or she) tells you an incident which may cause trouble if repeated, and you violate a confidence as much in such a repetition, as if you were bound over to secrecy. Remember this. Never criticise a companion's dress, or indeed make any remark whatever upon it. If a near friend, you may, if sincere, admire any article, but with a mere acquaintance let it pass unnoticed. If, however, any accident has happened to the dress, of which she is ignorant, tell her of it, and assist her in repairing the mischief. To be able to converse really well, you must read much, treasure in your memory the pearls of what you read; you must have a quick comprehension, observe passing events, and listen attentively whenever there is any opportunity of acquiring knowledge. A quick tact is necessary, too, in conversation. To converse with an entirely uneducated person upon literature, interlarding your remarks with quotations, is ill-bred. It places them in an awkward situation, and does not add to your popularity. In conversing with persons of refinement and intelligence, do not endeavor to attract their admiration by pouring forth every item of your own information upon the subject under consideration, but listen as well as talk, and modestly follow their lead. I do not mean, to assent to any opinion they may advance, if you really differ in your own tastes, but do not be _too_ ready to show your superior judgment or information. Avoid argument; it is not conversation, and frequently leads to ill feeling. If you are unfortunately drawn into an argument, keep your temper under perfect control, and if you find your adversary is getting too warm, endeavor to introduce some other topic. Avoid carefully any allusion to the age or personal defects of your companion, or any one who may be in the room, and be very careful in your language when speaking of a stranger to another person. I have heard a lady inquire of a gentleman, "who that frightful girl in blue could be," and receive the information that the lady in question was the gentleman's own sister. Be careful, when traveling, not to wound the feelings of your friends in another country or city, by underrating their native place, or attempting to prove the superiority of your own home over theirs. Very young girls are apt to suppose, from what they observe in older ones, that there is some particular manner to be put on, in talking to gentlemen, and, not knowing exactly what it is, they are embarrassed and reserved; others observe certain airs and looks, used by their elders in this intercourse, and try to imitate them, as a necessary part of company behaviours, and, so become affected, and lose that first of charms, simplicity, natural grace. To such, let me say, your companions are in error; it requires no peculiar manner, nothing to be put on, in order to converse with gentlemen, any more than with ladies; and the more pure and elevated your sentiments are, and the better cultivated your intellect is, the easier will you find it to converse pleasantly with all. One good rule can be always followed by young ladies; to converse with a lady friend as if there were gentlemen present, and to converse with a gentleman as if in the room with other ladies. Avoid affectation; it is the sure test of a deceitful, vulgar mind. The best cure is to try to have those virtues which you would affect, and then they will appear naturally. CHAPTER II. DRESS. "A lady is never so well dressed as when you cannot remember what she wears." No truer remark than the above was ever made. Such an effect can only be produced where every part of the dress harmonizes entirely with the other parts, where each color or shade suits the wearer's style completely, and where there is perfect neatness in each detail. One glaring color, or conspicuous article, would entirely mar the beauty of such a dress. It is, unfortunately, too much the custom in America to wear any article, or shape in make, that is fashionable, without any regard to the style of the person purchasing goods. If it is the fashion it must be worn, though it may greatly exaggerate a slight personal defect, or conceal or mar what would otherwise be a beauty. It requires the exercise of some judgment to decide how far an individual may follow the dictates of fashion, in order to avoid the appearance of eccentricity, and yet wear what is peculiarly becoming to her own face or figure. Another fault of our fair countrywomen is their extravagance in dress. No better advice can be given to a young person than to dress always according to her circumstances. She will be more respected with a simple wardrobe, if it is known either that she is dependent upon her own exertions for support, or is saving a husband or father from unnecessary outlay, than if she wore the most costly fabrics, and by so doing incurred debt or burdened her relatives with heavy, unwarrantable expense. If neatness, consistency, and good taste, preside over the wardrobe of a lady, expensive fabrics will not be needed; for with the simplest materials, harmony of color, accurate fitting to the figure, and perfect neatness, she will always appear well dressed. GENERAL RULES. NEATNESS--This is the first of all rules to be observed with regard to dress. Perfect cleanliness and careful adjustment of each article in the dress are indispensable in a finished toilet. Let the hair be always smooth and becomingly arranged, each article exquisitely clean, neat collar and sleeves, and tidy shoes and stockings, and the simplest dress will appear well, while a torn or soiled collar, rough hair, or untidy feet will entirely ruin the effect of the most costly and elaborate dress. The many articles required in a lady's wardrobe make a neat arrangement of her drawers and closets necessary, and also require care in selecting and keeping goods in proper order. A fine collar or lace, if tumbled or soiled, will lose its beauty when contrasted with the same article in the coarsest material perfectly pure and smooth. Each article of dress, when taken off, should be placed carefully and smoothly in its proper place. Nice dresses should be hung up by a loop on the inside of the waistband, with the skirts turned inside out, and the body turned inside of the skirt. Cloaks should hang in smooth folds from a loop on the inside of the neck. Shawls should be always folded in the creases in which they were purchased. All fine articles, lace, embroidery, and handkerchiefs, should be placed by themselves in a drawer, always laid out smoothly, and kept from dust. Furs should be kept in a box, alone, and in summer carefully packed, with a quantity of lump camphor to protect from moths. The bonnet should always rest upon a stand in the band-box, as the shape and trimming will both be injured by letting it lie either on the face, sides, or crown. ADAPTIVENESS--Let each dress worn by a lady be suitable to the occasion upon which she wears it. A toilet may be as offensive to good taste and propriety by being too elaborate, as by being slovenly. Never wear a dress which is out of place or out of season under the impression that "it will do for once," or "nobody will notice it." It is in as bad taste to receive your morning calls in an elaborate evening dress, as it would be to attend a ball in your morning wrapper. HARMONY--To appear well dressed without harmony, both in color and materials, is impossible. When arranging any dress, whether for home, street, or evening, be careful that each color harmonizes well with the rest, and let no one article, by its glaring costliness, make all the rest appear mean. A costly lace worn over a thin, flimsy silk, will only make the dress appear poorer, not, as some suppose, hide its defects. A rich trimming looks as badly upon a cheap dress, as a mean one does upon an expensive fabric. Observe this rule always in purchasing goods. One costly article will entirely ruin the harmony in a dress, which, without it, though plain and inexpensive, would be becoming and beautiful. Do not save on the dress or cloak to buy a more elaborate bonnet, but let the cost be well equalized and the effect will be good. A plain merino or dark silk, with a cloth cloak, will look much better than the most expensive velvet cloak over a cheap delaine dress. FASHION--Do not be too submissive to the dictates of fashion; at the same time avoid oddity or eccentricity in your dress. There are some persons who will follow, in defiance of taste and judgment, the fashion to its most extreme point; this is a sure mark of vulgarity. Every new style of dress will admit of adaptation to individual cases, thus producing a pleasing, as well as fashionable effect. Not only good taste, but health is often sacrificed to the silly error of dressing in the extreme of fashion. Be careful to have your dress comfortable and becoming, and let the prevailing mode come into secondary consideration; avoiding, always, the other extreme of oddity or eccentricity in costume. STYLE AND FORM OF DRESS--Be always careful when making up the various parts of your wardrobe, that each article fits you accurately. Not in the outside garments alone must this rule be followed, an ill-fitting pair of corsets, or wrinkles in any other article of the under-clothes, will make a dress set badly, even if it has been itself fitted with the utmost accuracy. A stocking which is too large, will make the boot uncomfortably tight, and too small will compress the foot, making the shoe loose and untidy. In a dress, no outlay upon the material will compensate for a badly fitting garment. A cheap calico made to fit the form accurately and easily, will give the wearer a more lady-like air than the richest silk which either wrinkles or is too tightly strained over the figure. Collars or sleeves, pinned over or tightly strained to meet, will entirely mar the effect of the prettiest dress. ECONOMY--And by economy I do not mean mere cheapness. To buy a poor, flimsy fabric merely because the price is low, is extravagance, not economy; still worse if you buy articles because they are offered cheap, when you have no use for them. In purchasing goods for the wardrobe, let each material be the best of its kind. The same amount of sewing that is put into a good material, must be put into a poor one, and, as the latter will very soon wash or wear out, there must be another one to supply its place, purchased and made up, when, by buying a good article at first, this time and labor might have been saved. A good, strong material will be found cheapest in the end, though the actual expenditure of money may be larger at first. COMFORT--Many ladies have to trace months of severe suffering to an improper disregard of comfort, in preparing their wardrobe, or in exposure after they are dressed. The most exquisite ball costume will never compensate for the injury done by tight lacing, the prettiest foot is dearly paid for by the pain a tight boot entails, and the most graceful effects will not prevent suffering from exposure to cold. A light ball dress and exquisite arrangement of the hair, too often make the wearer dare the inclemency of the coldest night, by wearing a light shawl or hood, to prevent crushing delicate lace or flowers. Make it a fixed rule to have the head, feet, and chest well protected when going to a party, even at the risk of a crushed flower or a stray curl. Many a fair head has been laid in a coffin, a victim to consumption, from rashly venturing out of a heated ball room, flushed and excited, with only a light protection against keen night air. The excitement of the occasion may prevent immediate discomfort in such cases, but it adds to the subsequent danger. DETAILS--Be careful always that the details of your dress are perfectly finished in every point. The small articles of a wardrobe require constant care to keep in perfect order, yet they will wofully revenge themselves if neglected. Let the collar, handkerchief, boots, gloves, and belts be always whole, neat, and adapted to the dress. A lace collar will look as badly over a chintz dress, as a linen one would with velvet, though each may be perfect of its kind. Attention to these minor points are sure tests of taste in a lady's dress. A shabby or ill fitting boot or glove will ruin the most elaborate walking dress, while one of much plainer make and coarser fabric will be becoming and lady-like, if all the details are accurately fitted, clean, and well put on. In arranging a dress for every occasion, be careful that there is no missing string, hook, or button, that the folds hang well, and that every part is even and properly adjusted. Let the skirts hang smoothly, the outside ones being always about an inch longer than the under ones; let the dress set smoothly, carefully hooked or buttoned; let the collar fit neatly, and be fastened firmly and smoothly at the throat; let shoes and stockings be whole, clean, and fit nicely; let the hair be smooth and glossy, the skin pure, and the colors and fabric of your dress harmonize and be suitable for the occasion, and you will always appear both lady-like and well-dressed. HOME DRESSES. MORNING DRESS--The most suitable dress for breakfast, is a wrapper made to fit the figure loosely, and the material, excepting when the winter weather requires woolen goods, should be of chintz, gingham, brilliante, or muslin. A lady who has children, or one accustomed to perform for herself light household duties, will soon find the advantage of wearing materials that will wash. A large apron of domestic gingham, which can be taken off, if the wearer is called to see unexpected visiters, will protect the front of the dress, and save washing the wrapper too frequently. If a lady's domestic duties require her attention for several hours in the morning, whilst her list of acquaintances is large, and she has frequent morning calls, it is best to dress for callers before breakfast, and wear over this dress a loose sack and skirt of domestic gingham. This, while protecting the dress perfectly, can be taken off at a moment's notice if callers are announced. Married ladies often wear a cap in the morning, and lately, young girls have adopted the fashion. It is much better to let the hair be perfectly smooth, requiring no cap, which is often worn to conceal the lazy, slovenly arrangement of the hair. A few moments given to making the hair smooth and presentable without any covering, will not be wasted. Slippers of embroidered cloth are prettiest with a wrapper, and in summer black morocco is the most suitable for the house in the morning. DRESS FOR MORNING VISITS--A lady should never receive her morning callers in a wrapper, unless they call at an unusually early hour, or some unexpected demand upon her time makes it impossible to change her dress after breakfast. On the other hand, an elaborate costume before dinner is in excessively bad taste. The dress should be made to fit the figure neatly, finished at the throat and wrists by an embroidered collar and cuffs, and, unless there is a necessity for it, in loss of the hair or age, there should be no cap or head dress worn. A wrapper made with handsome trimming, open over a pretty white skirt, may be worn with propriety; but the simple dress worn for breakfast, or in the exercise of domestic duties, is not suitable for the parlor when receiving visits of ceremony in the morning. EVENING DRESS--The home evening dress should be varied according to circumstances. If no visitor is expected, the dress worn in the morning is suitable for the evening; but to receive visitors, it should be of lighter material, and a light head-dress may be worn. For young ladies, at home, ribbon or velvet are the most suitable materials for a head-dress. Flowers, unless they be natural ones in summer, are in very bad taste, excepting in cases where a party of invited guests are expected. Dark silk in winter, and thin material in summer, make the most suitable dresses for evening, and the reception of the chance-guests ladies in society may usually expect. WALKING DRESSES--Walking dresses, to be in good taste, should be of quiet colors, and never conspicuous. Browns, modes, and neutral tints, with black and white, make the prettiest dresses for the street. Above all, avoid wearing several bright colors. One may be worn with perfect propriety to take off the sombre effect of a dress of brown or black, but do not let it be too glaring, and wear but little of it. Let the boots be sufficiently strong and thick to protect the feet from damp or dust, and wear always neat, clean, nicely fitting gloves. The entire effect of the most tasteful costume will be ruined if attention is not paid to the details of dress. A soiled bonnet cap, untidy strings, or torn gloves and collar will utterly spoil the prettiest costume. There is no surer mark of vulgarity than over dressing or gay dressing in the street. Let the materials be of the costliest kind, if you will, but do not either wear the exaggerations of the fashion, or conspicuous colors. Let good taste dictate the limits where fashion may rule, and let the colors harmonize well, and be of such tints as will not attract attention. FOR MORNING CALLS--The dress should be plain, and in winter furs and dark gloves may be worn. FOR BRIDAL CALLS--The dress should be of light silk, the bonnet dressy, and either a rich shawl or light cloak; no furs, and light gloves. In summer, a lace or silk mantle and white gloves should be worn. SHOPPING DRESSES--Should be of such material as will bear the crush of a crowded store without injury, and neither lace or delicate fabrics should ever be worn. A dress of merino in winter, with a cloth cloak and plain velvet or silk bonnet is the most suitable. In summer, a dress and cloak of plain mode-colored Lavella cloth, or any other cool but strong fabric, with a simply trimmed straw bonnet, is the best dress for a shopping excursion. STORM DRESSES--A lady who is obliged to go out frequently in bad weather, will find it both a convenience and economy to have a storm dress. Both dress and cloak should be made of a woolen material, (varying of course with the season,) which will shed water. White skirts are entirely out of place, as, if the dress is held up, they will be in a few moments disgracefully dirty. A woolen skirt, made quite short, to clear the muddy streets, is the proper thing. Stout, thick-soled boots, and gloves of either silk, beaver-cloth, or lisle thread, are the most suitable. The bonnet should be either of straw or felt, simply trimmed; and, above all, carry a _large_ umbrella. The little light umbrellas are very pretty, no doubt, but to be of any real protection in a storm, the umbrella should be large enough to protect the whole dress. MARKETING--Here a dress of the most inexpensive kind is the best. There is no surer mark of vulgarity, than a costly dress in the market. A chintz is the best skirt to wear, and in winter a dark chintz skirt put on over a delaine dress, will protect it from baskets, and the unavoidable soils contracted in a market, while it looks perfectly well, and can be washed if required. TRAVELING--Traveling dresses should be made always of some quiet color, perfectly plain, with a deep mantle or cloak of the same material. When traveling with a young babe, a dress of material that will wash is the best, but it should be dark and plain. A conspicuous traveling dress is in very bad taste, and jewelry or ornaments of any kind are entirely out of place. Let the dress be made of dark, plain material, with a simple straw or felt bonnet, trimmed with the same color as the dress, and a thick barege veil. An elastic string run through a tuck made in the middle of the veil, will allow one half to fall over the face, while the other half falls back, covering the bonnet, and protecting it from dust. If white collars and sleeves are worn, they should be of linen, perfectly plain. Strong boots and thick gloves are indispensable in traveling, and a heavy shawl should be carried, to meet any sudden change in the weather. Corsets and petticoats of dark linen are more suitable than white ones, as there is so much unavoidable dust and mud constantly meeting a traveler. EVENING DRESSES--Must be governed by the number of guests you may expect to meet, and the character of the entertainment to which you are invited. For small social companies, a dark silk in winter, and a pretty lawn, barege, or white muslin in summer, are the most appropriate. A light head-dress of ribbon or velvet, or a plain cap, are the most suitable with this dress. For a larger party, low-necked, short-sleeved silk, light colored, or any of the thin goods made expressly for evening wear, with kid gloves, either of a color to match the dress or of white; black lace mittens are admissible, and flowers in the hair. A ball dress should be made of either very dressy silk, or light, thin material made over silk. It should be trimmed with lace, flowers, or ribbon, and made dressy. The _coiffure_ should be elaborate, and match the dress, being either of ribbon, feather, or flowers. White kid gloves, trimmed to match the dress, and white or black satin slippers, with silk stockings, must be worn. MOURNING--There is such a variety of opinion upon the subject of mourning, that it is extremely difficult to lay down any general rules upon the subject. Some wear very close black for a long period, for a distant relative; whilst others will wear dressy mourning for a short time in a case of death in the immediate family. There is no rule either for the depth of mourning, or the time when it may be laid aside, and I must confine my remarks to the different degrees of mourning. For deep mourning, the dress should be of bombazine, Parramatta cloth, delaine, barege, or merino, made up over black lining. The only appropriate trimming is a deep fold, either of the same material or of crape. The shawl or cloak must be of plain black, without border or trimming, unless a fold of crape be put on the cloak; the bonnet should be of crape, made perfectly plain, with crape facings, unless the widow's cap be worn, and a deep crape veil should be thrown over both face and bonnet. Black crape collar and sleeves, and black boots and gloves. The next degree is to wear white collar and sleeves, a bow of crape upon the bonnet, and plain white lace facings, leaving off the crape veil, and substituting one of plain black net. A little later, black silk without any gloss, trimmed with crape, may be worn, and delaine or bombazine, with a trimming of broad, plain ribbon, or a bias fold of silk. The next stage admits a silk bonnet trimmed with crape, and lead color, dark purple, or white figures on the dress. From this the mourning passes into second mourning. Here a straw bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon or crape flowers, or a silk bonnet with black flowers on the outside, and white ones in the face, a black silk dress, and gray shawl or cloak, may be worn. Lead color, purple, lavender, and white, are all admissible in second mourning, and the dress may be lightened gradually, a white bonnet, shawl, and light purple or lavender dress, being the dress usually worn last, before the mourning is thrown aside entirely, and colors resumed. It is especially to be recommended to buy always the best materials when making up mourning. Crape and woolen goods of the finest quality are very expensive, but a cheaper article will wear miserably; there is no greater error in economy than purchasing cheap mourning, for no goods are so inferior, or wear out and grow rusty so soon. CHAPTER III. TRAVELING. There is no situation in which a lady is more exposed than when she travels, and there is no position where a dignified, lady-like deportment is more indispensable and more certain to command respect. If you travel under the escort of a gentleman, give him as little trouble as possible; at the same time, do not interfere with the arrangements he may make for your comfort. It is best, when starting upon your journey, to hand your escort a sufficient sum of money to cover all your expenses, retaining your pocket book in case you should wish to use it. Have a strong pocket made in your upper petticoat, and in that carry your money, only reserving in your dress pocket a small sum for incidental expenses. In your traveling satchel carry an oil skin bag, containing your sponge, tooth and nail brushes, and some soap; have also a calico bag, with hair brush and comb, some pins, hair pins, a small mirror, and some towels. In this satchel carry also some crackers, or sandwiches, if you will be long enough upon the road to need a luncheon. In your carpet bag, carry a large shawl, and if you will travel by night, or stop where it will be inconvenient to open your trunks, carry your night clothes, and what clean linen you may require, in the carpet bag. It is best to have your name and address engraved upon the plate of your carpet bag, and to sew a white card, with your name and the address to which you are traveling, in clear, plain letters upon it. If you carry a novel or any other reading, it is best to carry the book in your satchel, and not open the carpet bag until you are ready for the night. If you are to pass the night in the cars, carry a warm woolen or silk hood, that you may take off your bonnet at night. No one can sleep comfortably in a bonnet. Carry also, in this case, a large shawl to wrap round your feet. One rule to be always observed in traveling is punctuality. Rise early enough to have ample time for arranging everything needful for the day's journey. If you sleep upon the boat, or at a hotel, always give directions to the servant to waken you at an hour sufficiently early to allow ample time for preparation. It is better to be all ready twenty minutes too soon, than five minutes late, or even late enough to be annoyed and heated by hurrying at the last moment. A lady will always dress plainly when traveling. A gay dress, or finery of any sort, when in a boat, stage, or car, lays a woman open to the most severe misconstruction. Wear always neutral tints, and have the material made up plainly and substantially, but avoid carefully any article of dress that is glaring or conspicuous. Above all, never wear jewelry, (unless it be your watch,) or flowers; they are both in excessively bad taste. A quiet, unpretending dress, and dignified demeanor, will insure for a lady respect, though she travel alone from Maine to Florida. If you are obliged to pass the night upon a steamboat secure, if possible, a stateroom. You will find the luxury of being alone, able to retire and rise without witnesses, fully compensates for the extra charge. Before you retire, find out the position and number of the stateroom occupied by your escort, in case you wish to find him during the night. In times of terror, from accident or danger, such care will be found invaluable. You may not be able to obtain a stateroom upon all occasions when traveling, and must then sleep in the ladies' cabin. It is best, in this case, to take off the dress only, merely loosening the stays and skirts, and, unless you are sick, you may sit up to read until quite a late hour. Never allow your escort to accompany you into the cabin. The saloon is open always to both ladies and gentlemen, and the cabin is for ladies _alone_. Many ladies are sufficiently ill-bred to ask a husband or brother into the cabin, and keep him there talking for an hour or two, totally overlooking the fact that by so doing she may be keeping others, suffering, perhaps, with sickness, from removing their dresses to lie down. Such conduct is not only excessively ill-bred, but intensely selfish. There is scarcely any situation in which a lady can be placed, more admirably adapted to test her good breeding, than in the sleeping cabin of a steam-boat. If you are so unfortunate as to suffer from sea-sickness, your chances for usefulness are limited, and patient suffering your only resource. In this case, never leave home without a straw-covered bottle of brandy, and another of camphor, in your carpet-bag. If you are not sick, be very careful not to keep the chambermaid from those who are suffering; should you require her services, dismiss her as soon as possible. As acquaintances, formed during a journey, are not recognized afterwards, unless mutually agreeable, do not refuse either a pleasant word or any little offer of service from your companions; and, on the other hand, be ready to aid them, if in your power. In every case, selfishness is the root of all ill-breeding, and it is never more conspicuously displayed than in traveling. A courteous manner, and graceful offer of service are valued highly when offered, and the giver loses nothing by her civility. When in the car if you find the exertion of talking painful, say so frankly; your escort cannot be offended. Do not continually pester either your companion or the conductor with questions, such as "Where are we now?" "When shall we arrive?" If you are wearied, this impatience will only make the journey still more tedious. Try to occupy yourself with looking at the country through which you are passing, or with a book. If you are traveling without any escort, speak to the conductor before you start, requesting him to attend to you whilst in the car or boat under his control. Sit quietly in the cars when they reach the depot until the first bustle is over, and then engage a porter to procure for you a hack, and get your baggage. If upon a boat, let one of the servants perform this office, being careful to fee him for it. Make an engagement with the hackman, to take you only in his hack, and enquire his charge before starting. In this way you avoid unpleasant company during your drive, and overcharge at the end of it. If you expect a friend to meet you at the end of your journey, sit near the door of the steam-boat saloon, or in the ladies' room at the car depot, that he may find you easily. There are many little civilities which a true gentleman will offer to a lady traveling alone, which she may accept, even from an entire stranger, with perfect propriety; but, while careful to thank him courteously, whether you accept or decline his attentions, avoid any advance towards acquaintanceship. If he sits near you and seems disposed to be impertinent, or obtrusive in his attentions or conversation, lower your veil and turn from him, either looking from the window or reading. A dignified, modest reserve is the surest way to repel impertinence. If you find yourself, during your journey, in any awkward or embarrassing situation, you may, without impropriety, request the assistance of a gentleman, even a stranger, and he will, probably, perform the service requested, receive your thanks, and then relieve you of his presence. Never, upon any account, or under any provocation, return rudeness by rudeness. Nothing will rebuke incivility in another so surely as perfect courtesy in your own manner. Many will be shamed into apology, who would annoy you for hours, if you encouraged them by acts of rudeness on your own part. In traveling alone, choose, if possible, a seat next to another lady, or near an elderly gentleman. If your neighbor seems disposed to shorten the time by conversing, do not be too hasty in checking him. Such acquaintances end with the journey, and a lady can always so deport herself that she may beguile the time pleasantly, without, in the least, compromising her dignity. Any slight attention, or an apology made for crushing or incommoding you, is best acknowledged by a courteous bow, in silence. CHAPTER IV. HOW TO BEHAVE AT A HOTEL. In America, where the mania for traveling extends through all classes, from the highest to the lowest, a few hints upon deportment at a hotel will not be amiss, and these hints are especially addressed to ladies traveling alone. When you arrive at the hotel, enquire at once for the proprietor. Tell him your name and address, and ask him to conduct you to a good room, naming the length of time you purpose occupying it. You may also request him to wait upon you to the table, and allot you a seat. As the hours for meals, at a large hotel, are very numerous, it is best to mention the time when you wish to breakfast, dine, or sup. If you stay more than one day at the hotel, do not tax the proprietor with the duty of escorting you to the table more than once. Request one of the waiters always to meet you as you enter, and wait upon you to your seat. This saves the embarrassment of crossing the room entirely unattended, while it shows others that you are a resident at the house. The waiter will then take your order for the dishes you wish. Give this order in a low tone, and do not harass the man by contradicting yourself several times; decide what you want before you ask for it, and then give your order quietly but distinctly. Use, always, the butter-knife, salt-spoon, and sugar-tongs, though you may be entirely alone in the use of them. The attention to the small details of table etiquette is one of the surest marks of good breeding. If any trifling civility is offered by the gentleman beside you, or opposite to you, thank him civilly, if you either accept or decline it. Thank the waiter for any extra attention he may offer. Remember that a lady-like deportment is always modest and quiet. If you meet a friend at table, and converse, let it be in a tone of voice sufficiently loud for him to hear, but not loud enough to reach ears for which the remarks are not intended. A boisterous, loud voice, loud laughter, and bold deportment, at a hotel, are sure signs of vulgar breeding. When you have finished your meal, cross the room quietly; if you go into the parlor, do not attract attention by a hasty entrance, or forward manner, but take the seat you may select, quietly. The acquaintances made in a hotel may be dropped afterwards, if desirable, without rudeness, and a pleasant greeting to other ladies whom you may recognize from meeting them in the entries or at table, is courteous and well-bred; be careful, however, not to force attentions where you see they are not agreeably received. A lady's dress, when alone at a hotel, should be of the most modest kind. At breakfast let her wear a close, morning dress, and never, even at supper, appear alone at the table with bare arms or neck. If she comes in late from the opera or a party, in full dress, she should not come into the supper-room, unless her escort accompanies her. A traveling or walking-dress can be worn with perfect propriety, at any meal at a hotel, as it is usually travelers who are the guests at the table. After breakfast, pass an hour or two in the parlor, unless you are going out, whilst the chambermaid puts your room in order. You should, before leaving the room, lock your trunk, and be careful not to leave money or trinkets lying about. When you go out, lock your door, and give the key to the servant to hand to the clerk of the office, who will give it to you when you return. You may do this, even if you leave the room in disorder, as the chambermaids all carry duplicate keys, and can easily enter your room in your absence to arrange it. The door should not be left open, as dishonest persons, passing along the entry, could enter without fear of being questioned. If you see that another lady, though she may be an entire stranger, is losing her collar, or needs attention called to any disorder in her dress, speak to her in a low tone, and offer to assist her in remedying the difficulty. Be careful always in opening a door or raising a window in a public parlor, that you are not incommoding any one else. Never sit down to the piano uninvited, unless you are alone in the parlor. Do not take any book you may find in the room away from it. It is best always to carry writing materials with you, but if this is not convenient, you can always obtain them at the office. In a strange city it is best to provide yourself with a small map and guide book, that you may be able to find your way from the hotel to any given point, without troubling any one for directions. If you wish for a carriage, ring, and let the waiter order one for you. When leaving a hotel, if you have been there for several days, give the waiter at table, and the chambermaid, a fee, as your unprotected situation will probably call for many services out of their regular routine of duties. On leaving, ring, order your bill, pay it, state the time at which you wish to leave, and the train you will take to leave the city. Request a man to be sent, to carry your baggage to the hack; and if you require your next meal at an unusual hour, to be ready for your journey, order it then. CHAPTER V. EVENING PARTIES. ETIQUETTE FOR THE HOSTESS. The most fashionable as well as pleasant way in the present day, to entertain guests, is to invite them to evening parties, which vary in size from the "company," "sociable," "soirée," to the party, _par excellence_, which is but one step from the ball. The entertainment upon such occasions, may vary with the taste of the hostess, or the caprice of her guests. Some prefer dancing, some music, some conversation. Small parties called together for dramatic or poetical readings, are now fashionable, and very delightful. In writing an invitation for a small party, it is kind, as well as polite, to specify the number of guests invited, that your friends may dress to suit the occasion. To be either too much, or too little dressed at such times is embarrassing. For large parties, the usual formula is: _Miss S----'s compliments to Miss G----, and requests the pleasure of her company for Wednesday, March 8th, at 8 o'clock._ Such an invitation, addressed either to an intimate friend or mere acquaintance, will signify full dress. If your party is a musical soirée, or your friends meet for reading or conversation alone, say so in your invitation, as-- _Miss S---- requests the pleasure of Miss G----'s company, on Thursday evening next, at 8 o'clock, to meet the members of the musical club, to which Miss S---- belongs_; or, _Miss S---- expects a few friends, on Monday evening next, at 8 o'clock, to take part in some dramatic readings, and would be happy to have Miss G---- join the party._ Always date your note of invitation, and put your address in one corner. Having dispatched these notes, the next step is to prepare to receive your guests. If the number invited is large, and you hire waiters, give them notice several days beforehand, and engage them to come in the morning. Give them full directions for the supper, appoint one to open the door, another to show the guests to the dressing rooms, and a third to wait in the gentlemen's dressing-room, to attend to them, if their services are required. If you use your own plate, glass, and china, show the waiters where to find them, as well as the table cloths, napkins, and other things they may require. If you hire the service from the confectioner's or restaurateur's where you order your supper, you have only to show your waiters where to spread supper, and tell them the hour. You will have to place at least four rooms at the disposal of your guests--the supper room, and two dressing-rooms, beside the drawing-room. In the morning, see that the fires in your rooms are in good order; and in the drawing-room, it is best to have it so arranged that the heat can be lessened towards evening, as the crowd, and dancing, will make it excessively uncomfortable if the rooms are too warm. See that the lights are in good order, and if you propose to have music instead of dancing, or to use your piano for dancing music, have it put in good tune in the morning. If you intend to dance, and do not wish to take up the carpets, you will find it economical, as well as much pleasanter, to cover them with coarse white muslin or linen; be sure it is fastened down smoothly, firmly, and drawn tightly over the carpets. Do not remove all the chairs from the parlor; or, if this is necessary, leave some in the hall, for those who wish to rest after dancing. In the dining-room, unless it will accommodate all your guests at once, have a silk cord so fastened that, when the room is full, it can be drawn across the door-way; those following the guests already in the room, will then return to the parlor, and wait their turn. A still better way, is to set the supper table twice, inviting the married and elderly people to go into the first table, and then, after it is ready for the second time, let the young folks go up. Two dressing-rooms must be ready; one for the ladies, and the other for the gentlemen. Have both these rooms comfortably heated, and well lighted. Nothing can be more disagreeable than cold, ill-lighted rooms to dress in, particularly if your guests come in half-frozen by the cold of a winter's night, or still worse, damp from a stormy one. Be sure that there is plenty of water, soap and towels on the washstand, two or three brushes and combs on the bureau, two mirrors, one large and one small, and a pin cushion, well filled with large and small pins. In the ladies' room, have one, or if your party is large, two women to wait upon your guests; to remove their cloaks, overshoes, and hoods, and assist them in smoothing their dresses or hair. After each guest removes her shawl and hood, let one of the maids roll all the things she lays aside into a bundle, and put it where she can easily find it. It is an admirable plan, and prevents much confusion, to pin to each bundle, a card, or strip of paper, (previously prepared,) with the name of the person to whom it belongs written clearly and distinctly upon it. Upon the bureau in the ladies' room, have a supply of hair-pins, and a workbox furnished with everything requisite to repair any accident that may happen to the dress of a guest. It is well, also, to have Eau de Cologne, hartshorn, and salts, in case of sudden faintness. In the gentlemen's room, place a clothes brush and boot-jack. It is best to send out your invitations by your own servant, or one hired for that purpose especially. It is ill-bred to send invitations either by the dispatch, or through the post-office; and besides being discourteous, you risk offending your friends, as these modes of delivery are proverbially uncertain. Be dressed and ready to receive your guests in good season, as some, in their desire to be punctual, may come before the time appointed. It is better to be ready too soon, than too late, as your guests will feel painfully embarrassed if you are not ready to receive them. For the early part of the evening, take a position in your parlor, near or opposite to the door, that each guest may find you easily. It is not necessary to remain all the evening nailed to this one spot, but stay near it until your guests have all or nearly all assembled. Late comers will of course expect to find you entertaining your guests. As each guest or party enter the room, advance a few steps to meet them, speaking first to the lady, or if there are several ladies, to the eldest, then to the younger ones, and finally to the gentlemen. If the new comers are acquainted with those already in the room, they will leave you, after a few words of greeting, to join their friends; but if they are strangers to the city, or making their first visit to your house, introduce them to a friend who is well acquainted in your circle, who will entertain them till you can again join them and introduce them to others. Do not leave the room during the evening. To see a hostess fidgeting, constantly going in and out, argues ill for her tact in arranging the house for company. With well-trained waiters, you need give yourself no uneasiness about the arrangements outside of the parlors. The perfection of good breeding in a hostess, is perfect ease of manner; for the time she should appear to have no thought or care beyond the pleasure of her guests. Have a waiter in the hall to open the front door, and another at the head of the first flight of stairs, to point out to the ladies and gentlemen their respective dressing-rooms. Never try to outshine your guests in dress. It is vulgar in the extreme. A hostess should be dressed as simply as is consistent with the occasion, wearing, if she will, the richest fabrics, exquisitely made, but avoiding any display of jewels or gay colors, such as will be, probably, more conspicuous than those worn by her guests. Remember, from the moment your first guest enters the parlor, you must forget yourself entirely to make the evening pleasant for others. Your duties will call you from one group to another, and require constant watchfulness that no one guest is slighted. Be careful that none of the company are left to mope alone from being unacquainted with other guests. Introduce gentlemen to ladies, and gentlemen to gentlemen, ladies to ladies. It requires much skill and tact to make a party for conversation only, go off pleasantly. You must invite only such guests as will mutually please, and you must be careful about introductions. If you have a literary lion upon your list, it is well to invite other lions to meet him or her, that the attention may not be constantly concentrated upon one person. Where you see a couple conversing slowly and wearily, stir them up with a few sprightly words, and introduce a new person, either to make a trio, or, as a substitute in the duet, carrying off the other one of the couple to find a more congenial companion elsewhere. Never interrupt an earnest or apparently interesting conversation. Neither party will thank you, even if you propose the most delightful substitute. If your party meet for reading, have a table with the books in the centre of the apartment, that will divide the room, those reading being on one side, the listeners on the other. Be careful here not to endeavor to shine above your guests, leaving to them the most prominent places, and taking, cheerfully, a subordinate place. On the other hand, if you are urged to display any talent you may possess in this way, remember your only desire is to please your guests, and if they are really desirous to listen to you, comply, gracefully and promptly, with their wishes. If you have dancing, and have not engaged a band, it is best to hire a pianist for the evening to play dancing music. You will find it exceedingly wearisome to play yourself all the evening, and it is ill-bred to ask any guest to play for others to dance. This victimizing of some obliging guest is only too common, but no true lady will ever be guilty of such rudeness. If there are several members of the family able and willing to play, let them divide this duty amongst them, or, if you wish to play yourself, do so. If any guest, in this case, offers to relieve you, accept their kindness for _one_ dance only. Young people, who enjoy dancing, but who also play well, will often stay on the piano-stool all the evening, because their own good-nature will not allow them to complain, and their hostess wilfully, or through negligence, permits the tax. See that your guests are well provided with partners, introducing every gentleman and lady who dances, to one who will dance well with them. Be careful that none sit still through your negligence in providing partners. Do not dance yourself, when, by so doing, you are preventing a guest from enjoying that pleasure. If a lady is wanted to make up a set, then dance, or if, late in the evening, you have but few lady dancers left, but do not interfere with the pleasure in others. If invited, say that you do not wish to take the place of a guest upon the floor, and introduce the gentleman who invites you to some lady friend who dances. It is very pleasant in a dancing party to have ices _alone_, handed round at about ten o'clock, having supper set two or three hours later. They are very refreshing, when it would be too early to have the more substantial supper announced. It is very customary now, even in large parties, to have no refreshments but ice-cream, lemonade, and cake, or, in summer, fruit, cake, and ices. It is less troublesome, as well as less expensive, than a hot supper, and the custom will be a good one to adopt permanently. One word of warning to all hostesses. You can never know, when you place wine or brandy before your guests, whom you may be tempting to utter ruin. Better, far better, to have a reputation as strict, or mean, than by your example, or the temptation you offer, to have the sin upon your soul of having put poison before those who partook of your hospitality. It is not necessary; hospitality and generosity do not require it, and you will have the approval of all who truly love you for your good qualities, if you resolutely refuse to have either wine or any other intoxicating liquor upon your supper-table. If the evening of your party is stormy, let a waiter stand in the vestibule with a _large_ umbrella, to meet the ladies at the carriage door, and protect them whilst crossing the pavement and steps. When your guests take leave of you, it will be in the drawing-room, and let that farewell be final. Do not accompany them to the dressing-room, and never stop them in the hall for a last word. Many ladies do not like to display their "sortie du soirée" before a crowded room, and you will be keeping their escort waiting. Say farewell in the parlor, and do not repeat it. If your party is mixed, that is, conversation, dancing, and music are all mingled, remember it is your place to invite a guest to sing or play, and be careful not to offend any amateur performers by forgetting to invite them to favor the company. If they decline, never urge the matter. If the refusal proceeds from unwillingness or inability on that occasion, it is rude to insist; and if they refuse for the sake of being urged, they will be justly punished by a disappointment. If you have guests who, performing badly, will expect an invitation to play, sacrifice their desire to the good of the others, pass them by. It is torture to listen to bad music. Do not ask a guest to sing or play more than once. This is her fair share, and you have no right to tax her too severely to entertain your other guests. If, however, the performance is so pleasing that others ask for a repetition, then you too may request it, thanking the performer for the pleasure given. CHAPTER VI. EVENING PARTIES. ETIQUETTE FOR THE GUEST. Upon receiving an invitation for an evening party, answer it immediately, that your hostess may know for how many guests she must provide. If, after accepting an invitation, any unforeseen event prevents your keeping the engagement, write a second note, containing your regrets. The usual form is:-- _Miss G---- accepts with pleasure Miss S----'s polite invitation for Monday next_; or, _Miss G---- regrets that a prior engagement will prevent her accepting Miss S----'s kind invitation for Monday evening._ Punctuality is a mark of politeness, if your invitation states the hour at which your hostess will be ready to welcome you. Do not be more than half an hour later than the time named, but if unavoidably detained, make no apology when you meet your hostess; it will be in bad taste to speak of your want of punctuality. When you arrive at your friend's house, do not stop to speak to any one in the hall, or upon the stairs, but go immediately to the dressing room. The gentleman who accompanies you will go to the door of the lady's room, leave you, to remove his own hat and over-coat, and then return to the door to wait for you. In the dressing-room, do not push forward to the mirror if you see that others are before you there. Wait for your turn, then perform the needful arrangements of your toilette quickly, and re-join your escort as soon as possible. If you meet friends in the lady's-room, do not stop there to chat; you keep your escort waiting, and your friends will join you in the parlor a few moments later. Avoid all confidential communications or private remarks in the dressing-room. You may be overheard, and give pain or cause annoyance by your untimely conversation. When you enter the parlor, go immediately to your hostess, and speak to her; if the gentleman attending you is a stranger to the lady of the house, introduce him, and then join the other guests, as by delaying, to converse too long with your hostess, you may prevent her speaking to others who have arrived later than yourself. If you have no escort, you may with perfect propriety send for the master of the house, to wait upon you from the dressing-room to the parlor, and as soon as you have spoken to the hostess, thank your host and release him, as the same attention may be required by others. Again, when alone, if you meet a friend in the dressing-room, you may ask the privilege of entering the parlor with her and her escort; or, if she also is alone, there is no impropriety in _two_ ladies going into the room unattended by a gentleman. While you maintain a cheerful deportment, avoid loud talking and laughing, and still more carefully avoid any action or gesture that may attract attention and make you conspicuous. When dressing for a party, while you show that you honor the occasion by a tasteful dress, avoid glaring colors, or any conspicuous ornament or style of costume. Avoid long tête-à-tête conversations; they are in bad taste, and to hold confidential communication, especially with gentlemen, is still worse. Do not make any display of affection for even your dearest friend; kissing in public, or embracing, are in bad taste. Walking with arms encircling waists, or such demonstrative tokens of love, are marks of low breeding. Avoid crossing the room alone, and never run, even if you feel embarrassed, and wish to cross quickly. If you are a musician, and certain that you will confer pleasure by a display of your talents, do not make a show of reluctance when invited to play or sing. Comply gracefully, and after one piece, leave the instrument. Be careful to avoid the appearance of wishing to be invited, and, above all, never hint that this would be agreeable. If your hostess has requested you to bring your notes, and you are dependent upon them, bring them, and quietly place them on the music stand, or, still better, send them in the afternoon. It is a better plan, if you are called upon frequently to contribute in this way to the evening's amusement, to learn a few pieces so as to play them perfectly well without notes. Never attempt any piece before company, unless you are certain that you can play it without mistake or hesitation. When you have finished your song or piece, rise instantly from the piano stool, as your hostess may wish to invite another guest to take the place. If you have a reason for declining to play, do so decidedly when first invited, and do not change your decision. If your hostess or any of the family play for the guests to dance, it is both polite and kind to offer to relieve them; and if truly polite themselves, they will not take advantage of the offer, to _over_ tax your good nature. When others are playing or singing, listen quietly and attentively; to laugh or talk loudly when there is music in the room, is rude, both toward the performer and your hostess. If you are conversing at the time the music begins, and you find that your companion is not disposed to listen to the performer at the harp or piano, converse in a low tone, and take a position at some distance from the instrument. If the rooms are not large enough for all the guests to dance at one time, do not dance every set, even if invited. It is ill-bred and selfish. When you go up to supper, do not accept anything from any gentleman but the one who has escorted you from the parlor. If others offer you, as they probably will, any refreshment, say that Mr. ---- (naming your escort) has gone to get you what you desire. He has a right to be offended, if, after telling him what you wish for, he returns to find you already supplied. It is quite as rude to offer what he brings to another lady. Her escort is probably on the same errand from which yours has just returned. It may seem trivial and childish to warn a lady against putting cakes or bon-bons in her pocket at supper, yet it is often done by those who would deeply resent the accusation of rudeness or meanness. It is not only ill-bred, but it gives rise, if seen, to suspicions that you are so little accustomed to society, or so starved at home, that you are ignorant of the forms of etiquette, or are forced to the theft by positive hunger. If you are obliged to leave the company at an earlier hour than the other guests, say so to your hostess in a low tone, when you have an opportunity, and then stay a short time in the room, and slip out unperceived. By a formal leave-taking, you may lead others to suppose the hour later than it is in reality, and thus deprive your hostess of other guests, who, but for your example, would have remained longer. French leave is preferable to a formal leave-taking upon such occasions. If you remain until the usual hour for breaking up, go to your hostess before you leave the room, express the pleasure you have enjoyed, and bid her farewell. Within the next week, you should call upon your hostess, if it is the first party you have attended at her house. If she is an intimate friend, the call should be made within a fortnight. CHAPTER VII. VISITING. ETIQUETTE FOR THE HOSTESS. When you write to invite a friend to visit you, name a time when it will be convenient and agreeable for you to receive her, and if she accepts your invitation, so arrange your duties and engagements that they will not interfere with your devoting the principal part of your time to the entertainment of your guest. If you have certain duties which must be performed daily, say so frankly when she first arrives, and see that during the time you are so occupied she has work, reading, music, or some other employment, to pass the time away pleasantly. Have a room prepared especially for her use, and let her occupy it alone. Many persons have a dislike to any one sleeping with them, and will be kept awake by a companion in the room or bed. Above all, do not put a child to sleep in the chamber with your guest. The day before your friend arrives, have her room swept, dusted, and aired; put clean, fresh linen upon the bed, see that the curtains are in good order, the locks in perfect repair, and the closet or wardrobe and bureau empty for her clothes. Have upon the bureau a pin cushion well filled, hair pins, brush and comb, and two mirrors, one large, and one small for the hand, as she may wish to smooth her hair, without unpacking her own toilet articles. Upon the washstand, have two pitchers full of water, a cup, tumbler, soap-dish and soap, basin, brush-dish, and a sponge, wash rag, and plenty of clean towels. Have both a feather bed and a mattress upon the bedstead, that she may place whichever she prefers uppermost. Two sheets, a blanket, quilt, and counterpane, should be on the bed, and there should be two extra blankets in the room, should she require more covering in the night. On the mantel piece, place a few books that she may read, if she wishes, before sleeping. Have upon the mantel piece a box of matches, and if the room is not lighted by gas, have also a supply of candles in a box, and a candlestick. If the room is not heated by a furnace, be careful that the fire is made every morning before she rises, and keep a good supply of fuel in the room. Besides the larger chairs, have a low one, to use while changing the shoes or washing the feet. Upon the table, place a full supply of writing materials, as your guest may wish to send word of her safe arrival before unpacking her own writing-desk. Put two or three postage stamps upon this table. Be sure that bells, locks, hinges, and windows, are all in perfect order. Before your guest arrives, go to her room. If it is in winter, have a good fire, hot water on the washstand, and see that the windows are tightly closed, and the room cheerful with sunshine, or plenty of candle or gas light. If in summer, draw the curtains, bow the shutters, open the windows, and have a fan upon the table. It is well to have a bath ready, should your guest desire that refreshment after the dust and heat of traveling. When the time arrives at which you may expect your guest, send a carriage to the station to meet her, and, if possible, go yourself, or send some member of the family to welcome her there. After her baggage is on the carriage, drive immediately to the house, and be certain all is ready there for her comfort. As soon as she is at your house, have her trunks carried immediately to her own room, and lead her there yourself. Then, after warmly assuring her how welcome she is, leave her alone to change her dress, bathe, or lie down if she wishes. If her journey has been a long one, and it is not the usual hour for your next meal, have a substantial repast ready for her about half an hour after her arrival, with tea or coffee. If she arrives late at night, after she has removed her bonnet and bathed her face, invite her to partake of a substantial supper, and then pity her weariness and lead the way to her room. She may politely assert that she can still sit up and talk, but be careful you do not keep her up too long; and do not waken her in the morning. After the first day, she will, of course, desire to breakfast at your usual hour, but if she has had a long, fatiguing journey, she will be glad to sleep late the first day. Be careful that she has a hot breakfast ready when she does rise, and take a seat at the table to wait upon her. After the chambermaid has arranged the guest-chamber in the morning, go in yourself and see that all is in order, and comfortable, and that there is plenty of fresh water and towels, the bed properly made, and the room dusted. Then do not go in again through the day, unless invited. If you are constantly running in, to put a chair back, open or shut the windows, or arrange the furniture, you will entirely destroy the pleasantest part of your guest's visit, by reminding her that she is not at home, and must not take liberties, even in her own room. It looks, too, as if you were afraid to trust her, and thought she would injure the furniture. If you have children, forbid them to enter the room your friend occupies, unless she invites them to do so, or they are sent there with a message. If your household duties will occupy your time for some hours in the morning, introduce your guest to the piano, book-case, or picture-folio, and place all at her service. When your duties are finished, either join her in her own room, or invite her to sit with you, and work, chatting, meanwhile, together. If you keep your own carriage, place it at her disposal as soon as she arrives. If she is a stranger in the city, accompany her to the points of interest she may wish to visit, and also offer to show her where to find the best goods, should she wish to do any shopping. Enquire of your visitor if there is any particular habit she may wish to indulge in, such as rising late, retiring early, lying down in the daytime, or any other habit that your family do not usually follow. If there is, arrange it so that she may enjoy her peculiarity in comfort. If there is any dish which is distasteful to her, avoid placing it upon the table during her visit, and if she mentions, in conversation, any favorite dish, have it frequently placed before her. If she is accustomed to eat just before retiring, and your family do not take supper, see that something is sent to her room every night. If your friend has intimate friends in the same city, beside yourself, it is an act of kindly courtesy to invite them to dinner, tea, or to pass a day, and when calls are made, and you see that it would be pleasant, invite the caller to remain to dinner or tea. Never accept any invitation, either to a party, ball, or public entertainment, that does not include your guest. In answering the invitation give that as your reason for declining, when another note will be sent enclosing an invitation for her. If the invitation is from an intimate friend, say, in answering it, that your guest is with you, and that she will accompany you. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that hospitality and courtesy require _constant_ attention to a guest. There are times when she may prefer to be alone, either to write letters, to read, or practice. Some ladies follow a guest from one room to another, never leaving them alone for a single instant, when they would enjoy an hour or two in the library or at the piano, but do not like to say so. The best rule is to make your guest feel that she is heartily welcome, and perfectly at home. When she is ready to leave you, see that her trunks are strapped in time by the servants, have a carriage ready to take her to the station, have the breakfast or dinner at an hour that will suit her, prepare a luncheon for her to carry, and let some gentleman in the family escort her to the wharf, check her trunks, and procure her tickets. If your guest is in mourning, decline any invitations to parties or places of amusement whilst she is with you. Show her by such little attentions that you sympathize in her recent affliction, and that the pleasure of her society, and the love you bear her, make such sacrifices of gayety trifling, compared with the sweet duty of comforting her. CHAPTER VIII. VISITING. ETIQUETTE FOR THE GUEST. As a first rule with regard to paying a visit, the best one is, never to accept a _general_ invitation. Instances are very common where women (I cannot say _ladies_) have, upon a slight acquaintance, and a "When you are in C---- I should be very happy to have you visit me," actually gone to C---- from their own home, and, with bag and baggage, quartered themselves upon the hospitality of their newly made friend, for weeks at a time. Even where there is a long standing friendship it is not well to visit uninvited. It is impossible for you, in another city, to know exactly when it will be convenient for your friend to have you visit her, unless she tells you, and that will, of course, be a special invitation. If your friends are really desirous to have you pay them a visit, they will name a time when it will be convenient and agreeable to have you come, and you may accept the invitation with the certainty that you will not incommode them. Self-proposed visits are still worse. You, in a manner, force an invitation from your friend when you tell her that you can come at a certain time, unless you have previously arranged to let her know when you can be her guest. In that case, your own time is understood to be the most agreeable for her. If, whilst traveling, you pass through a town where you have friends whom you wish to visit, and who would be hurt if you omitted to do so, go first to a hotel, and either call or send word that you are there. Then, it is optional with them to extend their hospitality or not. Do not be offended if it is not done. The love for you may be undiminished, and the desire to entertain you very great, yet family reasons may render such an invitation as you expect, impossible. Your friend may have engagements or duties at the time, that would prevent her making the visit pleasant for you, and wish to postpone the invitation until she can entertain you as she wishes. To drive, trunks and all, in such a case, to your friend's house, without a word of warning, is unkind, as well as ill-bred. You force her to invite you to stay, when it may be inconvenient, and, even if she is really glad to see you, and wishes you to make a prolonged visit, you may feel certain she would have preferred to know you were coming. If she really loves you, her natural desire would be to have everything ready to give you a comfortable reception, and not have to leave you, perhaps with your traveling costume on, for an hour or two, while she prepares a room for you. It is not enough to say, at such a time, "Don't mind me," or, "Treat me as one of the family." However much her politeness or love may conceal annoyance, be sure, in her secret heart she _does_ mind you, and remember you are _not_ one of her private family. To take the liberty of going to the house of a mere acquaintance, for a night or two, while traveling, without invitation, is making a convenience of them, and wears the appearance of wishing to save the customary hotel-bill, so, while it is extremely ill-bred and impertinent, it is also excessively mean. In case of relationship, or long intimate friendship, an unexpected visit may be pardoned and give pleasure, but it is better to avoid it, as the pleasure will surely be increased if your relative or friend has time to prepare for your reception as her love will prompt, and arrange her duties and engagements to really enjoy your company. When you receive an invitation by letter to visit a friend, answer it immediately, thanking her for her proffered hospitality, and say decidedly then whether you can accept or decline. If you accept the invitation, state in your letter by what train, and at what hour you will arrive, that she may meet you, and let nothing but positive necessity keep you from being punctually at the time and place appointed. To linger by the way, for mere pleasure, and make her come several times to meet you, is unkind, as well as ill-bred. If you are unavoidably detained, write to her, state the reason that will prevent your keeping the appointment, and name another time when you can come. It is well in answering a letter of invitation, to state the limits of your visit, and then to keep them. If she is unwilling to let you go, and you are tempted to stay, that very fact promises well for the pleasure of a second visit. It is better to leave while all will regret you, than to linger on until you have worn out your welcome. Inquire, as soon as possible after your arrival, what are the regular habits of the family; the hours for rising, for meals, and for retiring, and then be punctual in your attendance. Many ladies are very ceremonious about waiting for a guest, and by delay in your room, or inattention to the time, when you are out, you will keep the whole family waiting. If you do not wake early enough for the usual breakfast hour, request the chambermaid to knock at your door in time for you to be ready to go down with the family. Before you leave your room in the morning, take the clothes off your bed, throw the upper bed over the foot-board, and then open all the windows (unless it storms), that room and bed may be thoroughly aired before you sit there again. After breakfast, ask your hostess if you can be of any assistance to her in the household duties. If she declines your services, do not follow her from room to room whilst she is thus engaged, but take your work, books, or music to the sitting room or parlor, until your own room is ready for you. By thus proving that you can occupy yourself pleasantly, while she is away, you make it less annoying to her to feel the obligation to leave you. As soon as you see that she is ready to sew and chat, leave your book, or, if in your own room, come to the sitting room, where she is, and work with her. It is polite and kind, if you see that she has a large supply of family sewing, to offer to assist her, but if she positively declines your aid, then have some work of your own on hand, that you may sew with her. Many pleasant mornings may be spent while visiting, by one lady reading aloud whilst the other sews, alternating the work. It is a pretty compliment to repay the hospitality of your hostess, by working whilst with her upon some piece of fancy work, a chair cover, sofa cushion, or pair of ottomans, presenting them to her when finished, as a keepsake. They will be duly appreciated, and remind her constantly of the pleasures of your visit. If you pass the morning out of the house, remember your time is hers, and have no engagement to interfere with the plans she has laid for entertaining you. Observe this rule during your whole visit, and do not act independent of her plans. By constantly forming engagements without her knowledge, going out without her, or staying in when she has made some excursion or party for your pleasure, you insult her, by intimating that her house is no more to you than a hotel, to sleep and eat in, while your pleasures lie elsewhere. After dinner, retire for an hour to your own room, that your hostess may lie down if she is accustomed to do so. If the hours kept are later than you have been accustomed to, or if the gayety of the family keeps you out at party or opera, it is best to sleep after dinner, even if you do not always do it. To give signs of weariness in the evening will be excessively rude, implying want of enjoyment, and making your hostess feel hurt and annoyed. If you have shopping to do, find out where the best stores are, and then go to them alone, unless your hostess will accompany you upon similar business of her own. Do not tax her good nature to go, merely for the sake of aiding you as guide. If one of the children in the family is familiar with the stores and streets, ask her to accompany you, and be careful to acknowledge the kindness by buying something especially for the child whilst she is out with you, if it is only some cakes or bonbons. Choose an hour when you are certain your hostess has made no other engagement for you, or while she is busy in her domestic duties, for these shopping excursions. Offer, when you are going, to attend to any shopping she may want, and ask if there is any commission you can execute for her while you are out. While on a visit to one friend, do not accept too many invitations from others, and avoid spending too much time in paying calls where your hostess is not acquainted. You owe the greater portion of your time and society to the lady whose hospitality you are accepting, and it is best to decline invitations from other houses, unless they inclose one for your hostess also. Avoid paying any visits in a family not upon good terms with your hostess. If such a family are very dear friends of your own, or you can claim an acquaintance, pleasant upon both sides, with them, write, and state candidly the reason why you cannot visit them, and they will appreciate your delicacy. If, while on a visit to one friend, you receive an invitation to spend some time with another friend in the same place, accept it for the period which you have named as the termination of your first visit. You insult your hostess by shortening your visit to her to accept another invitation, and quite as much of an insult is it, to take the time from the first visit to go to pay another, and then return to your first hostess, unless such an arrangement has been made immediately upon your arrival. Never invite any friend who may call upon you to stay to dinner or tea; you will be taking a most unwarrantable liberty in so doing. This is the right of your hostess, and if, by her silence, she tacitly declines extending this courtesy, you will be guilty of impertinence in usurping her privilege. Never take any one who calls upon you into any room but the parlor, unless invited to do so by your hostess. You have, of course, the _entrée_ of other rooms, but you have no right to extend this privilege to others. If you have many gentlemen visiters, check too frequent calls, and make no appointments with them. If they show you any such attention as to offer to drive you to places of interest, or visit with you picture galleries or public places, always consult your hostess before accepting such civilities, and decline them if she has made other engagements for you. If you receive an invitation to visit any place of public amusement, decline it, unless one of the family with whom you are staying is also invited. In that case you may accept. If the gentleman who invites you is a stranger to the family, introduce him to your hostess, or mention her name in conversation. He will then, if he really desires you to accept his proffered attention, include her in the invitation. When visiting in a family where the members are in mourning, decline all invitations to parties or places of public amusement. It is an insult to them to leave them to join in pleasure from which their recent affliction excludes them. Your visit at such a time will be prompted by sympathy in their trouble, and for the time it is thoughtful and delicate to make their sorrows yours. If sudden sickness or family trouble come to your friend whilst you are with her, _unless you can really be useful_, shorten your visit. In time of trouble families generally like to be alone, all in all to each other; and a visitor is felt a constant restraint. If death comes while you are with your friend, endeavor to take from her as much of the care as you can, a really sympathizing friend is an inexpressible comfort at such a time, as the trying details which must be taken in charge by some one, will be less trying to her than to a member of the family. Do the necessary shopping for your friend, and relieve her of as much family care as you can. Let her feel that you are really glad that you are near her in her affliction, and repay the hospitality she offered in her season of joy by showing her that her sorrow makes her still more dear, and that, while you can enjoy the gayety of her house, you will not flee from its mourning. When your presence can be of no further service, then leave her. Put out your washing and ironing when on a visit. It is annoying and ill-bred to throw your soiled clothes into the family wash. Take with you, from home, all the writing and sewing materials you may require while paying your visit. It is annoying to be constantly requested by a visitor to lend her scissors, pins, needles, or paper; no lady should be without her own portfolio and work-box. Be very careful not to injure any article of furniture in your sleeping apartment, and if, unfortunately, anything suffers from your carelessness, have the accident repaired, or the article replaced, at your own expense. When your visit is over, give a present to each of the servants, varying its value, according to the length of your visit or the services you may have required. You will add to the pleasure by presenting such gifts yourself, with a few pleasant words. Never compare the house you may be visiting with your own, or any other you may visit. Avoid also speaking of any house where you may have been a guest in terms of overpraise, giving glowing pictures of its splendor. Your hostess may imagine you are drawing comparisons unfavorable to your present residence. Also avoid speaking unfavorably of any former visit, as your hostess will naturally conclude that her turn for censure will come as soon as your visit is over. If any family secret comes to your knowledge while you are on a visit in that family, remember the hospitality extended to you binds you to the most inviolable secrecy. It is mean, contemptible, rude, and ill-bred to make your entertainers regret their hospitality by betraying any such confidence; for it is as sacred a confidence as if you were bound over to silence in the most solemn manner. After paying a visit, you should write to your hostess as soon as you reach home again; thank her in this letter for her hospitality, speak warmly of the enjoyment you have had in your recent visit, and mention by name every member of the family, desiring to be remembered to all. CHAPTER IX. MORNING RECEPTIONS OR CALLS. ETIQUETTE FOR THE HOSTESS. If your circle of visiting acquaintance is very large, while at the same time your time is fully occupied, or your home duties make it inconvenient to dress every morning to receive visitors, it is a good plan to set aside one morning in the week for a reception day. Upon your own visiting cards, below the name, put the day when it will be proper to return the visit, thus: MRS. JAMES HUNTER. AT HOME WEDNESDAYS. _No. 1718 C---- st._ Your friends will, unless there is some especial reason for a call in the interval, pay their visit upon the day named. Let nothing, but the most imperative duty, call you out upon your reception day. Your callers are, in a measure, invited guests, and it will be an insulting mark of rudeness to be out when they call. Neither can you be excused, except in case of sickness. Having appointed the day when you will be at home to see your friends, you must, for that day, prepare to give your time wholly to them. The usual hours for morning receptions are from twelve to three, and you should be dressed, and ready for callers, at least half an hour before that time. To come in, flushed from a hurried toilette, to meet your first callers, is unbecoming as well as rude. Your dress should be handsome, but not showy. A silk or cashmere wrapper, richly trimmed, over an embroidered skirt, with a pretty cap, or the hair neatly arranged without head-dress, is a becoming and appropriate dress. Still better is a rich but plain silk, made high in the neck, with long sleeves. Wear a handsomely embroidered, or lace collar, and sleeves, and a rather dressy cap, or, still better, the hair alone, prettily arranged. As each visitor arrives, rise, and advance part of the way to meet her. If gentlemen, rise, but do not advance. It is not customary now to introduce callers at these morning receptions, though you can do so with perfect propriety where you know such an introduction will be agreeable to both parties. In introducing a gentleman to a lady, address her first, as-- "Miss Jones, permit me to introduce Mr. Lee;" and, when introducing a young lady to a matron, you introduce the younger one to the elder, as-- "Mrs. Green, allow me to introduce to you my friend, Miss Brown." In introducing strangers in the city it is well to name the place of their residence, as--Mr. James of Germany, or, Mr. Brown of New York, or, if they have recently returned from abroad, it is well to say so, as, Mr. Lee, lately from India; this is useful in starting conversation. Be careful, when introducing your friends, to pronounce the name of each one clearly and distinctly, that there may be no mistake or necessity for repetition. It is a good plan, if your receptions are usually largely attended, to have books and pictures on the centre table, and scattered about your parlors. You must, of course, converse with each caller, but many will remain in the room for a long time, and these trifles are excellent pastime, and serve as subjects for conversation. It requires much tact to know when to introduce friends, when to take refuge under the shield fashion offers, and not make them acquainted with each other. It is a positive cruelty to force a talented, witty person, to converse with one who is ignorant and dull, as they will, of course, be obliged to do, if introduced. A well-bred lady, who is receiving several visitors at a time, pays equal attention to all, and attempts, as much as possible, to generalize the conversation, turning to all in succession. The last arrival, however, receives a little more attention at first, than the others. If it is not agreeable to you to set aside a day for the especial reception of callers, and you have a large circle of acquaintances, be ready to receive them each day that you are at home. If you are engaged, let the servant say so when she opens the door, and do not send down that message after your friend has been admitted. If she is told when she arrives that you are engaged, she will understand that you are denied to _all_ callers, but if that message comes after she has sent up her card, she may draw the inference that you will not see _her_, though you may see other friends. Never keep a caller waiting whilst you make an elaborate toilette. If you are not ready for visitors, it is best to enter the parlor in your wrapper, apologizing for it, than to keep your friend waiting whilst you change your dress. If a stranger calls, bringing a letter of introduction, and sends the letter, you may read it before going down stairs, but if they wait till you are in the parlor before presenting the letter, merely glance at the signature and at the name of your caller; do not read the letter through, unless it is very short, or you are requested by the bearer to do so. If you have a friend staying with you, invite her to join you in the parlor when you have callers, and introduce her to your friends. If you wish to invite a caller to stay to luncheon or dinner, give the invitation as soon as you have exchanged greetings, not after she has been seated for some time. In the latter case it appears like an after thought, not, as in the former, as if from a real desire to have the pleasure of her company. If you have but one caller at a time, rise when she does, and accompany her to the vestibule; but, if there are several in the room, rise when each one does, but only accompany them to the parlor door; there take leave of them, and return to those who still remain seated. If, after affliction, your friends call before you are able to see them, do not fear to give offence by declining to receive them. They will respect your sorrow, and the call is made more to show their sympathy than from a desire to converse with you. Visits of condolence, paid between the death of one of your family and the day of the funeral, you may always excuse yourself from, with perfect propriety. They are made in kindness, and show interest, but if you decline seeing such callers, there is no offence given. In parting from a gentleman caller, rise when he does, and remain standing until he leaves the room, but do not go towards the door. When a gentleman calls in the morning he will not remove his outside coat, and will hold his hat in his hand. Never offer to take the latter, and do not invite him to remove his coat. Take no notice of either one or the other. If strangers in the city call upon you, enquire at what hotel they are staying, and how long they will be there, that you may return their call before they leave town. CHAPTER X. MORNING RECEPTIONS OR CALLS. ETIQUETTE FOR THE CALLER. The usual hours for paying morning calls are between eleven and two, or twelve and three, and all calls of ceremony should be made between these hours. Never, in paying a ceremonious call, stay more than twenty minutes, or less than ten. If your hostess has several other visitors at the same time that you are in her parlor, make your visit short, that she may have more attention to bestow upon others. After you have received an invitation to a party, call within a week or fortnight after the evening, whether you have accepted or declined the invitation. If you have declined on account of mourning, the excuse extends also to the call. When the servant answers your ring, hand in your card. If your friend is out or engaged, leave the card, and if she is in, send it up. Never call without cards. You may offend your friend, as she may never hear of your call, if she is out at the time, and you trust to the memory of the servant. If your friend is at home, after sending your card up to her by the servant, go into the parlor to wait for her. Sit down quietly, and do not leave your seat until you rise to meet her as she enters the room. To walk about the parlor, examining the ornaments and pictures, is ill-bred. It is still more unlady-like to sit down and turn over to read the cards in her card basket. If she keeps you waiting for a long time, you may take a book from the centre-table to pass away the interval. Never, while waiting in a friend's parlor, go to the piano and play till she comes. This is a breach of good-breeding often committed, and nothing can be more ill-bred. You may be disturbing an invalid unawares, or you may prevent your friend, if she has children, from coming down stairs at all, by waking the baby. If you are a stranger in the city, and bring a letter of introduction to your hostess, send this letter up stairs with your card, that she may read it, and know how to welcome you when she comes down stairs. In this case, write upon the card the name of the hotel at which you are staying, and mention in the course of conversation, how long you will be in the city. If you have a visitor, and desire to introduce her to your friends, you may invite her to accompany you when paying calls. In making a call for condolence, it is sufficient to leave a card with your enquiries for the health of your friend, and offers of service. The same if calling upon invalids, if they are too ill to see you. In visits of congratulation, go in, and be hearty in your expressions of interest and sympathy. Pay visits, both of condolence and congratulation, within a week after the event which calls for them occurs. It is proper, when you have already made your call of the usual length, and another caller is announced, to rise and leave, not immediately, as if you shunned the new arrival, but after a moment or two. Never out-sit two or three parties of visitors, unless you have private business with your hostess which cannot be postponed. Many denounce the system of morning calls as silly, frivolous, and a waste of time. They are wrong. It may be carried to an excess, and so admit of these objections, but in moderation the custom is a good and pleasant one. You have then an opportunity of making friends of mere acquaintances, and you can, in a pleasant chat with a friend at home, have more real enjoyment in her society than in a dozen meetings in large companies, with all the formality and restraint of a party thrown around you. There are many subjects of conversation which are pleasant in a parlor, tête-à-tête with a friend, which you would not care to discuss in a crowded saloon, or in the street. Personal inquiries, private affairs can be cosily chatted over. In paying your visits of condolence, show, by your own quiet gravity, that you sympathize in the recent affliction of your friend. Though you may endeavor to comfort and cheer her, you must avoid a gay or careless air, as it will be an insult at such a time. Avoid any allusion to the past that may be trying for her to hear or answer, yet do not ignore the subject entirely, as that appears like a want of interest in it. Though you may feel happy, avoid parading your own joyousness at such a time; whatever your own feeling may be, respect the sorrow of another. Never sit gazing curiously around the room when paying a call, as if taking a mental inventory of the furniture. It is excessively rude. It is still worse to appear to notice any disorder or irregularity that may occur. If, while paying a call, you perceive that any unforeseen matter in the family, calls for the attention of the lady of the house, leave instantly, no matter how short your call has been. Your friend may not appear to notice the screams of a child, a noise in the kitchen, or the cry from the nursery that the fire board has caught fire, but you may be sure she does hear it, and though too well-bred to speak of it, will heartily rejoice to say good-bye. Do not take a child with you to pay calls, until it is old enough to behave quietly and with propriety. To have a troublesome child constantly touching the parlor ornaments, balancing itself on the back of a chair, leaning from a window, or performing any of the thousand tricks in which children excel, is an annoyance, both to yourself and your hostess. Make no remark upon the temperature of the room, or its arrangement, when you enter it. Never open or shut a window or door without asking permission, and unless really suffering from excessive heat or cold, refrain from asking leave to take this liberty. If you are invited to go up stairs to your friend's private apartment, you will, of course, accept the invitation, but never go up stairs uninvited. When you reach her door, if the servant has not preceded and announced you, knock, and await her invitation to enter. Then, once in, take no notice of the room, but go instantly to your friend. If she is sewing, do not speak of the nature of her work, but request her to continue, as if you were not present. In cases of long standing friendship, you will not, of course, stand upon the ceremony of waiting for each and every one of your calls to be returned before paying another, but be careful that you are not too lavish of your visits. The most cordial welcome may be worn threadbare, if it is called into use _too_ often. If you are visiting an invalid, or one confined by physical infirmity to one apartment, while you are cheerful and ready to impart all the news that will interest them, do not, by too glowing descriptions of out-door pleasures, make them feel more keenly their own deprivations. It is well, when making such calls, to converse upon literature, or such general subjects as will not remind them of their misfortune. In cases where, from long illness or other infirmity, a gentleman friend is confined entirely to his room, you may, with perfect propriety, call upon him. It is both polite and kind to do so, as otherwise he would be deprived entirely of the society of his lady friends. Many thus unfortunately situated, from study and reading while so shut out from the world, become the most delightful companions. If, when you make a call, you unfortunately intrude upon an early dinner hour, do not go in, but leave your card, and say that you will call again. If you call upon two ladies who are boarding at the same house, do not send up your card to both at the same time. If one is out, send a card to her room, and then send up for the other. If the first one is in, wait till she comes down, and then chat as long as a call usually lasts. When you rise as if to take leave, accompany your friend to the parlor door, then tell her that you are going to send up for your other friend. She will bid you good-morning, and go to her own room; ring the bell after she leaves you, and send your card by the waiter to your other friend. In calling at a hotel, enter by the ladies' door, and send your card to the room of your friend by the waiter. It is well, if you are calling upon an entire stranger, to choose a seat, and tell the waiter to say to the lady exactly where she will find you. She will probably enter with your card in her hand; then rise, greet her by name, and introduce yourself. If you speak to another stranger upon the same errand as the one you expect, the error will be instantly perceived by the difference in name. If a stranger, bringing a letter of introduction, sends the letter with her card, instead of calling, courtesy requires you to make the first call, immediately; the same day that you receive the letter, if possible, if not, the day after. CHAPTER XI. DINNER COMPANY. ETIQUETTE FOR THE HOSTESS. In issuing invitations for a large dinner party, the usual form is-- _Mr. and Mrs. G---- request the favor of Mr. and Mrs. L----'s company to dinner, on Wednesday, March 8th, at ---- o'clock._ If your husband is giving a party to gentlemen only, he will have a card printed or written for the occasion, but your duties as hostess, if he wishes you to preside, will still be as arduous as if your own friends were included in the invitation. The directions given in the chapter on "Evening parties" for the arrangement of the parlor and the dressing-rooms, will apply here equally well, but the dining-room (in this case the centre of attraction) requires still more careful attention. Any fault here will mar your own comfort and the pleasure of your guests, and must be carefully avoided. Send out your invitations by a servant, or man hired for the purpose; do not trust them to despatch or penny post. Be careful in selecting the guests for a dinner party. Remember that conversation will be the sole entertainment for several hours, and if your guests are not well chosen, your dinner, no matter how perfect or costly the viands, will prove a failure. The most agreeable dinners are those whose numbers will allow all the guests to join in a common conversation, and where the host has spirit and intelligence to take the lead, and start a new subject when the interest in the old one begins to flag. Dinners where the guests depend entirely upon the person next them for conversation, are apt to be stupid, as it requires marvelous tact to pair off all the couples, so that every one will be entertaining in tête-à-tête conversation. To give a good dinner, your means, room, and establishment must all be taken into consideration when you are preparing for a dinner company. If you invite a large number, you must increase your establishment for the occasion, as to sit down to a dinner badly served, with a scarcity of waiters, is tiresome, and shows little tact or grace on the part of the hostess. One cook cannot prepare dinner properly for more than ten persons, and three waiters will find ample employment in waiting upon the same number. More than this number will require a table too large for general, easy conversation, and throw your company into couples or trios, for entertainment. Have your table spread in a room that will accommodate all the guests comfortably, at the same time avoid putting a small social party in a large room, where they will appear lost in the space around them. Let the room be comfortably warmed, and if your dinner is late, have the apartments well lighted. If you sit down by daylight, but will remain in the room until after dark, have the shutters closed and the lights lit, before the dinner is announced, as nothing can be more awkward than to do this in the middle of the meal. The shape of a table is a point of more importance than some people think. If you wish your dinner to be social--not a mere collection of tête-à-têtes--the table should be of a shape which will make it easy for each guest to address any one at the table. The long parallelogram, with the host at one end and the hostess at the other, is stiff, too broad, too long, and isolates the givers of the feast from the guests. The round table, if large enough to accommodate many guests, has too large a diameter each way for easy conversation. The best table is the oval, and the host and hostess should sit in the middle of each side, facing each other. The dining room, even in the heat of summer, should be carpeted, to deaden the noise of the servants' feet. The chairs should be easy, without arms, and with tall, slanting backs. It adds much to the comfort, if each person is provided with a foot-stool. You must have, besides the waiters, one servant to carve, and he must be an adept. No dish should be carved upon the table, and that no guest shall wait too long for his meat, you must engage a rapid and dexterous carver. For a party of ten, two waiters, and the carver, are amply sufficient. If you have too many servants, they will only interfere with each other, and stand staring at the guests. Give your orders before dinner, and through the meal never speak to the servants. Your whole attention must be given to the guests. Even if you see that matters are going wrong, do not let your annoyance appear, but gracefully ignore the painful facts. Let each servant have his regular position at the table. One should take the guests at the right of the hostess, and the left of the host; the other the guests on the other side. They should wear light, noiseless shoes, and white gloves, and each one carry a folded napkin over his right arm. The main point in the arrangement of the table itself, is to secure beauty, without interfering with conversation. The table cover and napkins must be of snowy damask, the glass clear as crystal, and taste must preside over each detail. Let nothing high be placed on the table, that will effectually separate the guests from each other. There should be, first, a handsome centre piece, and this may be of glass, silver, or china, and not too high or large, and must be elegant as a work of art, or it is better omitted altogether. Preserve or fruit stands, tastefully decorated, with the fruit on fresh, green leaves, and flowers mingled with them, form exquisite centre pieces. A pyramid of flowers, or tasty vase or basket, forms, too, a beautiful ornament for the centre of the table. In addition to this, the French scatter vases of flowers all over the table, at the corners and in the centre. Some place a small, fragrant bouquet before the plate of each guest. Nothing can be more beautiful than this arrangement. Glasses of celery, dishes of clear, transparent jellies or preserves, exquisite little glass plates of pickles should stand in order on the table. Place before each guest, the plate, knife, fork, spoon, four wine-glasses of various sizes, the goblet for water, napkin, small salt cellar, salt spoon, and roll of bread. Place none of the meats or vegetables upon the large table. These should all be served at a side-table, each guest selecting his own, to be handed by the servants. The first course is soup. As this is not meant to destroy the appetite for other viands, it should be light, not too rich or thick. Let the servant hand one ladlefull to each person. If you have more than one kind, he must first inquire which each guest prefers. If you have wines, let them be handed round after the soup. Next comes the fish. If you have large fish, let a slice, cut smoothly, not made into a hash by awkward carving, be placed upon the plate of the guest, with a slice of egg, and drawn butter. If the fish are small, one should be placed upon each plate. Then come the patties of oysters, minced veal, or lobster; or, instead of these, you may have poultry or game. Next the roast. With the meats have vegetables served on a separate plate, that the guest may take as much as he wishes with meat. You will, of course, have a variety of vegetables, but scarcely any guest will choose more than two. The pastry and puddings come next in order, and these, too, are better served from a side table. Between the pastry and the dessert, have salad and cheese placed before each guest. If you eat dessert in the same room that you dine in, it should be placed upon the table (with the exception of the ices) before the guests are seated, and this comes after the pastry has been discussed. It should consist of fruit and ices. A pleasanter and more elegant way, is to have the fruit and ices spread in a separate room, and leave the dining room after the pastry has been eaten. The change of position, the absence of the meat flavor in the atmosphere, make the dessert much more delightful than if it is eaten in the same room as the dinner. In summer especially, the change to a cool, fresh room, where the ices and fruits are tastefully spread, and flowers are scattered profusely about the room, delights every sense. Coffee follows the dessert, and when this enters, if your guests are gentlemen only, your duty is at an end. You may then rise, leave the room, and need not re-appear. If you have lady guests, you give the signal for rising after coffee, and lead the way to the parlor, where, in a few moments, the gentlemen will again join you. Suppose your guests invited, servants instructed, every arrangement made, and the important day arrived. The next point to consider is the reception of your guests. Be dressed in good season, as many seem to consider an invitation to dinner as one to pass the day, and come early. Take a position in your drawing-room, where each guest will find you easily, and remain near it, until every guest has arrived. As each one enters, advance to meet him, and extend your hand. Have plenty of chairs ready in the drawing-room, as an invitation to dinner by no means argues a "stand up" party. As you have already arranged every detail, your duty as hostess consists in receiving your guests gracefully, conversing and looking as charmingly as possible. Flowers in the drawing-room are as great a proof of taste as in the dining room. As the time just before dinner is very apt to be tiresome, you should bring forward all the armor against stupidity that you possess. Display upon tables arranged conveniently about the room, curiosities, handsome books, photographs, engravings, stereoscopes, medallions, any works of art you may own, and have the ottomans, sofas, and chairs so placed that your guests can move easily about the room, or rooms. The severest test of good breeding in a lady, is in the position of hostess, receiving dinner guests. Your guests may arrive all at once, yet you must make each one feel that he or she is the object of your individual attention, and none must be hurt by neglect. They may arrive very early, yet your duty is to make the time fly until dinner is announced. They may come late, and risk the ruin of your choicest dishes, yet you must not, upon pain of a breach of etiquette, show the least annoyance. If you know that the whole kitchen is in arms at the delay, you must conceal the anguish, as the Spartan boy did his pangs, to turn a cheerful, smiling face upon the tardy guests. When dinner is announced, you will lead the way to the dining-room upon the arm of one of your gentlemen guests, having paired off the company in couples. The host comes in last with a lady upon his arm. You may indicate to each couple, as they enter the dining-room, the seats they are to occupy, standing until all are seated, or you may allow them to choose their own places. The English fashion of placing a card upon each plate with the name of the person to take that seat upon it, is a good one. It enables the hostess to place those whom she is certain will be mutually entertaining, next each other. Place the gentleman who escorts you from the parlor at your right hand. Having once taken your seat at table, you have nothing to do with the dinner but to partake of it. Not a word, or even a glance, will a well-bred hostess bestow upon the servants, nor will she speak to the guests of the dishes. Their choice rests between themselves and the waiters, and you must take no notice of what they eat, how much, or how little. Nay, should they partake of one dish only, you must ignore the fact. The greatest tact is displayed where the hostess makes each guest feel perfectly at ease. She will aid her husband both in leading and supporting the conversation, and will see that no guest is left in silence from want of attention. Whilst she ignores every breach of etiquette her guests may commit, she must carefully observe every rule herself, and this she must do in an easy, natural manner, avoiding every appearance of restraint. Her deportment, she may be sure, is secretly watched and criticised by each guest, yet she must appear utterly unconscious that she is occupying any conspicuous position. To watch the servants, or appear uneasy, lest something should go wrong, is excessively ill-bred, and if any accident does occur, you only make it worse by noticing it. To reprove or speak sharply to a servant before your guests, manifests a shocking want of good breeding. The rules given above are only applicable to large dinner parties, and where the guests are few, and the host himself carves, these rules will not apply. In this case, as you will only require the services of your own household domestics, you must, of course, attend personally to the wants of your guests. Dinner not being served from a side table, you must, while putting tasteful ornaments upon it, be careful not to crowd them, and leave room for the substantial dishes. You must watch the plate of each guest, to see that it is well provided, and you will invite each one to partake of the various dishes. Have a servant to pass the plates from you to each guest, and from the host to you, after he has put the meat upon them, that you may add gravy and vegetables before they are set before your visitors. At these smaller dinner companies, avoid apologizing for anything, either in the viands or the arrangement of them. You have provided the best your purse will allow, prepared as faultlessly as possible; you will only gain credit for mock modesty if you apologize for a well-prepared, well-spread dinner, and if there are faults they will only be made more conspicuous if attention is drawn to them by an apology. Ease of manner, quiet dignity, cheerful, intelligent conversation, and gentle, lady-like deportment, never appear more charming than when they adorn a lady at the head of her own table. CHAPTER XII. DINNER COMPANY. ETIQUETTE FOR THE GUEST. When you receive an invitation to join a dinner-party, answer it immediately, as, by leaving your hostess in doubt whether you intend to accept or decline her hospitality, you make it impossible for her to decide how many she must prepare for. If you accept at first, and any unforeseen event keeps you from fulfilling your engagement, write a second note, that your hostess may not wait dinner for you. Such a note, if circumstances render it necessary to write it, may be sent with perfect propriety an hour before the time appointed for dinner, though, if you are aware that you cannot attend, earlier, you must send the information in good season. You should enter the house of your hostess from a quarter to half an hour earlier than the time appointed for dining. Proceed at once to the dressing-room, and arrange your dress and hair, and then enter the drawing-room. By going to the house too early, you may hasten or interrupt the toilet arrangements of your hostess; while, by being late, you will establish a most disagreeable association in the minds of all present, as "the lady who kept dinner waiting at Mrs. L----'s." Immediately upon entering the parlor find your hostess, and speak to her first. It is very rude to stop to chat with other guests before greeting the lady of the house. You may bow to any one you know, in passing, but do not stop to speak. Having exchanged a few words with your hostess, turn to the other guests, unless you are the first arrival. In that case, converse with your host and hostess until others come in. Be careful, if dinner is delayed by the tardiness of the guests, or from any other cause, that you do not show by your manner that you are aware of such delay. To look towards the door often, consult your watch, or give tokens of weariness, are all marks of ill-breeding. Your hostess will probably be sufficiently annoyed by the irregularity itself; do not add to her discomfort by allowing her to suppose that her guests perceive the deficiencies. Look over the books and pictures with an air of interest, converse cheerfully, and in every way appear as if dinner were a matter of secondary importance, (as, indeed, it should be,) compared with the pleasure of the society around you. When the signal for dinner is given, your hostess will probably name your escort to the table. If he is a stranger, bow in acknowledgement of the introduction, take his arm, and fall into your place in the stream of guests passing from the parlor to the dining-room. Take the seat pointed out by your hostess, or the waiter, as soon as it is offered. Each one will do this upon entering, and it prevents the confusion that will result if those first entering the room, remain standing until all the other guests come in. When you take your seat, be careful that your chair does not stand upon the dress of the lady next you, as she may not rise at the same instant that you do, and so you risk tearing her dress. Sit gracefully at the table; neither so close as to make your movements awkward, nor so far away as to drag your food over your dress before it reaches your mouth. It is well to carry in your pocket a small pincushion, and, having unfolded your napkin, to pin it at the belt. You may do this quietly, without its being perceived, and you will thus really save your dress. If the napkin is merely laid open upon your lap, it will be very apt to slip down, if your dress is of silk or satin, and you risk the chance of appearing again in the drawing-room with the front of your dress soiled or greased. If, by the carelessness or awkwardness of your neighbors or the servants, you have a plate of soup, glass of wine, or any dish intended for your mouth, deposited upon your dress, do not spring up, or make any exclamation. You may wipe off the worst of the spot with your napkin, and then let it pass without further notice. If an apology is made by the unlucky perpetrator of the accident, try to set him at his ease by your own lady-like composure. He will feel sorry and awkward enough, without reproach, sullenness, or cold looks from you. Gloves and mittens are no longer worn at table, even at the largest dinner-parties. To make remarks upon the guests or the dishes is excessively rude. If the conversation is general, speak loudly enough to be heard by those around you, but, at the same time, avoid raising your voice _too_ much. If the company is very large, and you converse only with the person immediately beside you, speak in a distinct, but low tone, that you may not interrupt other couples, but carefully avoid whispering or a confidential air. Both are in excessively bad taste. To laugh in a suppressed way, has the appearance of laughing at those around you, and a loud, boisterous laugh is always unlady-like. Converse cheerfully, laugh quietly, but freely, if you will, and while you confine your attention entirely to your neighbor, still avoid any air of secrecy or mystery. Never use an eye-glass, either to look at the persons around you or the articles upon the table. Eat your soup quietly. To make any noise in eating it, is simply disgusting. Do not break bread into your soup. Break off small pieces and put into your mouth, if you will, but neither bite it from the roll nor break it up, and eat it from your soup-plate with a spoon. In eating bread with meat, never dip it into the gravy on your plate, and then bite the end off. If you wish to eat it with gravy, break off a small piece, put it upon your plate, and then, with a fork, convey it to your mouth. When helped to fish, remove, with knife and fork, all the bones, then lay down the knife, and, with a piece of bread in your left hand and a fork in your right, eat the flakes of fish. Need I say that the knife is to cut your food with, and must never be used while eating? To put it in your mouth is a distinctive mark of low-breeding. If you have selected what you will eat, keep the plate that is placed before you; never pass it to the persons next you, as they may have an entirely different choice of meat or vegetables. Never attempt to touch any dish that is upon the table, but out of your reach, by stretching out your arms, leaning forward, or, still worse, standing up. Ask the waiter to hand it, if you wish for it; or, if the gentleman beside you can easily do so, you may ask him to pass it to you. Do not press those near you to take more or other things than are upon their plate. This is the duty of the hostess, or, if the company is large, the servants will attend to it. For you to do so is officious and ill-bred. When conversing let your knife and fork rest easily upon your plate, even if still in your hand. Avoid holding them upright. Keep your own knife, fork, and spoon solely for the articles upon your own plate. To use them for helping yourself to butter or salt, is rude in the extreme. When you do not use the salt-spoon, sugar tongs, and butter-knife, you may be sure that those around you will conclude that you have never seen the articles, and do not know their use. You need not fear to offend by refusing to take wine with a gentleman, even your host. If you decline gracefully, he will appreciate the delicacy which makes you refuse. If, however, you have no conscientious scruples, and are invited to take wine, bow, and merely raise the glass to your lips, then set it down again. You may thus acknowledge the courtesy, and yet avoid actually drinking the wine. No lady should drink wine at dinner. Even if her head is strong enough to bear it, she will find her cheeks, soon after the indulgence, flushed, hot, and uncomfortable; and if the room is warm, and the dinner a long one, she will probably pay the penalty of her folly, by having a headache all the evening. If offered any dish of which you do not wish to partake, decline it, but do not assign any reason. To object to the dish itself is an insult to your entertainers, and if you assert any reason for your own dislike it is ill-bred. Do not bend too much forward over your food, and converse easily. To eat fast, or appear to be so much engrossed as to be unable to converse, is ill-bred; and it makes those around you suspect that you are so little accustomed to dining well, that you fear to stop eating an instant, lest you should not get enough. It is equally ill-bred to accept every thing that is offered to you. Never take more than two vegetables; do not take a second plate of soup, pastry, or pudding. Indeed, it is best to accept but _one_ plate of any article. Never use a spoon for anything but liquids, and never touch anything to eat, excepting bread, celery, or fruit, with your fingers. In the intervals which must occur between the courses, do not appear to be conscious of the lapse of time. Wear a careless air when waiting, conversing cheerfully and pleasantly, and avoid looking round the room, as if wondering what the waiters are about. Never eat every morsel that is upon your plate; and surely no lady will ever scrape her plate, or pass the bread round it, as if to save the servants the trouble of washing it. Take such small mouthfulls that you can always be ready for conversation, but avoid playing with your food, or partaking of it with an affectation of delicate appetite. Your hostess may suppose you despise her fare, if you appear so very choice, or eat too sparingly. If your state of health deprives you of appetite, it is bad enough for you to decline the invitation to dine out. Never examine minutely the food before you. You insult your hostess by such a proceeding, as it looks as if you feared to find something upon the plate that should not be there. If you find a worm on opening a nut, or in any of the fruit, hand your plate quietly, and without remark, to the waiter, and request him to bring you a clean one. Do not let others perceive the movement, or the cause of it, if you can avoid so doing. Never make a noise in eating. To munch or smack the lips are vulgar faults. Sit quietly at table, avoid stiffness, but, at the same time, be careful that you do not annoy others by your restlessness. Do not eat so fast as to be done long before others, nor so slowly as to keep them waiting. When the finger-glasses are passed round, dip the ends of your fingers into them, and wipe them upon your napkin; then do not fold your napkin, but place it beside your plate upon the table. To carry away fruit or bonbons from the table is a sign of low breeding. Rise with the other ladies when your hostess gives the signal. After returning to the parlor, remain in the house at least an hour after dinner is over. If you have another engagement in the evening, you may then take your leave, but not before. You will insult your hostess by leaving sooner, as it appears that you came only for the dinner, and that being over, your interest in the house, for the time, has ceased. It is only beggars who "eat and run!" CHAPTER XIII. TABLE ETIQUETTE. In order to appear perfectly well-bred at table when in company, or in public, as at a hotel, you must pay attention, three times a day, to the points of table etiquette. If you neglect these little details at home and in private, they will be performed awkwardly and with an air of restraint when you are in company. By making them habitual, they will become natural, and appear easily, and sit gracefully upon you. Even when eating entirely alone, observe these little details, thus making the most finished and elegant manners perfectly familiar, and thus avoiding the stiff, awkward air you will wear if you keep your politeness only for company, when you will be constantly apprehensive of doing wrong. At breakfast or tea, if your seat is at the head of the table, you must, before taking anything upon your own plate, fill a cup for each one of the family, and pass them round, being careful to suit each one in the preparation of the cup, that none may return to you for more tea, water, sugar, or milk. If you have a visitor, pass the cup with the tea or coffee alone in it, and hand with the cup the sugar bowl and cream pitcher, that these may be added in the quantity preferred. After all the cups have been filled and passed round, you may take the bread, butter, and other food upon your own plate. Train your children, so that they will pass these things to you as soon as they see you are ready to receive them. If you are yourself at the side of the table, pass the bread, butter, etc., to the lady at the head, when you see that she has sent the cups from the waiter before her, to those seated at the table. If you occupy the place of head of the table, you must watch the cups, offer to fill them when empty, and also see that each one of the family is well helped to the other articles upon the table. Avoid making any noise in eating, even if each meal is eaten in solitary state. It is a disgusting habit, and one not easily cured if once contracted, to make any noise with the lips when eating. Never put large pieces of food into your mouth. Eat slowly, and cut your food into small pieces before putting it into your mouth. Use your fork, or spoon, never your knife, to put your food into your mouth. At dinner, hold in your left hand a piece of bread, and raise your meat or vegetables with the fork, holding the bread to prevent the pieces slipping from the plate. If you are asked at table what part of the meat you prefer, name your favorite piece, but do not give such information unless asked to do so. To point out any especial part of a dish, and ask for it, is ill-bred. To answer, when asked to select a part, that "it is a matter of indifference," or, "I can eat any part," is annoying to the carver, as he cares less than yourself certainly, and would prefer to give you the piece you really like best. Do not pour coffee or tea from your cup into your saucer, and do not blow either these or soup. Wait until they cool. Use the butter-knife, salt-spoon, and sugar-tongs as scrupulously when alone, as if a room full of people were watching you. Otherwise, you may neglect to do so when the omission will mortify you. Never put poultry or fish bones, or the stones of fruit, upon the table-cloth, but place them on the edge of your plate. Do not begin to eat until others at the table are ready to commence too. Sit easily in your chair, neither too near the table, nor too far from it, and avoid such tricks as putting your arms on the table, leaning back lazily in your chair, or playing with your knife, fork, or spoon. Never raise your voice, when speaking, any higher than is necessary. The clear articulation and distinct pronunciation of each word, will make a low tone more agreeable and more easily understood, than the loudest tone, if the speech is rapid or indistinct. Never pass your plate with the knife or fork upon it, and when you pass your cup, put the spoon in the saucer. Never pile up the food on your plate. It looks as if you feared it would all be gone before you could be helped again, and it will certainly make your attempts to cut the food awkward, if your plate is crowded. If there is a delicacy upon the table, partake of it sparingly, and never help yourself to it a second time. If you wish to cough, or use your handkerchief, rise from the table, and leave the room. If you have not time to do this, cover your mouth, and turn your head aside from the table, and perform the disagreeable necessity as rapidly and quietly as possible. Avoid gesticulation at the table. Indeed, a well-bred lady will never gesticulate, but converse quietly, letting the expression and animation of her features give force to her words. Never, when at the home table, leave it until the other members of the family are also ready to rise. CHAPTER XIV. CONDUCT IN THE STREET. A lady's conduct is never so entirely at the mercy of critics, because never so public, as when she is in the street. Her dress, carriage, walk, will all be exposed to notice; every passer-by will look at her, if it is only for one glance; every unlady-like action will be marked; and in no position will a dignified, lady-like deportment be more certain to command respect. Let me start with you upon your promenade, my friend, and I will soon decide your place upon the list of well-bred ladies. First, your dress. Not that scarlet shawl, with a green dress, I beg, and--oh! spare my nerves!--you are not so insane as to put on a blue bonnet. That's right. If you wish to wear the green dress, don a black shawl, and--that white bonnet will do very well. One rule you must lay down with regard to a walking dress. It must never be conspicuous. Let the material be rich, if you will; the set of each garment faultless; have collar and sleeves snowy white, and wear neatly-fitting, whole, clean gloves and boots. Every detail may be scrupulously attended to, but let the whole effect be quiet and modest. Wear a little of one bright color, if you will, but not more than one. Let each part of the dress harmonize with all the rest; avoid the _extreme_ of fashion, and let the dress suit _you_. If you are short and plump, do not wear flounces, because they are fashionable, and avoid large plaids, even if they are the very latest style. If tall and slight, do not add to the length of your figure by long stripes, a little mantilla, and a caricature of a bonnet, with long, streaming ribbons. A large, round face will never look well, staring from a tiny, delicate bonnet; nor will a long, thin one stand the test much better. Wear what is becoming to _yourself_, and only bow to fashion enough to avoid eccentricity. To have everything in the _extreme_ of fashion, is a sure mark of vulgarity. Wear no jewelry in the street excepting your watch and brooch. Jewelry is only suited for full evening dress, when all the other details unite to set it off. If it is real, it is too valuable to risk losing in the street, and if it is _not_ real, no lady should wear it. Mock jewelry is utterly detestable. What are you doing? Sucking the head of your parasol! Have you not breakfasted? Take that piece of ivory from your mouth! To suck it is unlady-like, and let me tell you, excessively unbecoming. Rosy lips and pearly teeth can be put to a better use. Why did you not dress before you came out? It is a mark of ill-breeding to draw your gloves on in the street. Now your bonnet-strings, and now--your collar! Pray arrange your dress before you leave the house! Nothing looks worse than to see a lady fussing over her dress in the street. Take a few moments more in your dressing-room, and so arrange your dress that you will not need to think of it again whilst you are out. Do not walk so fast! you are not chasing anybody! Walk slowly, gracefully! Oh, do not drag one foot after the other as if you were fast asleep--set down the foot lightly, but at the same time firmly; now, carry your head up, not so; you hang it down as if you feared to look any one in the face! Nay, that is the other extreme! Now you look like a drill-major, on parade! So! that is the medium. Erect, yet, at the same time, easy and elegant. Now, my friend, do not swing your arms. You don't know what to do with them? Your parasol takes one hand; hold your dress up a little with the other. Not so! No lady should raise her dress above the ankle. Take care! don't drag your dress through that mud-puddle! Worse and worse! If you take hold of your dress on both sides, in that way, and drag it up so high, you will be set down as a raw country girl. So. Raise it just above the boot, all round, easily, letting it fall again in the old folds. Don't shake it down; it will fall back of itself. Stop! don't you see there is a carriage coming? Do you want to be thrown down by the horses? You can run across? Very lady-like indeed! Surely nothing can be more ungraceful than to see a lady shuffle and run across a street. Wait until the way is clear and then walk slowly across. Do not try to raise your skirts. It is better to soil them. (You were very foolish to wear white skirts this muddy day.) _They_ are easily washed, and you cannot raise _all_. You will surely be awkward in making the attempt, and probably fail, in spite of your efforts. True, they will be badly soiled, and you expose this when you raise the dress, but the state of the streets must be seen by all who see your share of the dirt, and they will apologize for your untidy appearance in a language distinctly understood. Don't hold your parasol so close to your face, nor so low down. You cannot see your way clear, and you will run against somebody. Always hold an umbrella or parasol so that it will clear your bonnet, and leave the space before your face open, that you may see your way clearly. If you are ever caught in a shower, and meet a gentleman friend who offers an umbrella, accept it, if he will accompany you to your destination; but do not deprive him of it, if he is not able to join you. Should he insist, return it to his house or store the instant you reach home, with a note of thanks. If a stranger offers you the same services, decline it positively, but courteously, at the same time thanking him. Never stop to speak to a gentleman in the street. If you have anything important to say to him, allow him to join and walk with you, but do not stop. It is best to follow the same rule with regard to ladies, and either walk with them or invite them to walk with you, instead of stopping to talk. A lady who desires to pay strict regard to etiquette, will not stop to gaze in at the shop windows. It looks countrified. If she is alone, it looks as if she were waiting for some one; and if she is not alone, she is victimizing some one else, to satisfy her curiosity. Remember that in meeting your gentlemen friends it is your duty to speak first, therefore do not cut them by waiting to be recognized. Be sure, however, that they see you before you bow, or you place yourself in the awkward position of having your bow pass, unreturned. You are not expected to recognize any friend on the opposite side of the street. Even if you see them, do not bow. Avoid "cutting" any one. It is a small way of showing spite, and lowers you more than your enemy. If you wish to avoid any further intercourse bow, coldly and gravely, but do not look at any one, to whom you are in the habit of bowing, and pass without bowing. If you do this, they may flatter themselves that they were really unrecognized, but a distant, cold bow will show them that you speak from civility only, not from friendship. In the street a lady takes the arm of a relative, her affianced lover, or husband, but of no other gentleman, unless the streets are slippery, or in the evening. When a lady walks with two gentlemen, she should endeavor to divide her attention and remarks equally between them. If you do stop in the street, draw near the walls, that you may not keep others from passing. Loud talking and laughing in the street are excessively vulgar. Not only this, but they expose a lady to the most severe misconstruction. Let your conduct be modest and quiet. If a gentleman, although a stranger, offers his hand to assist you in leaving a carriage, omnibus, or to aid you in crossing where it is wet or muddy, accept his civility, thank him, bow and pass on. If you wish to take an omnibus or car, see that it is not already full. If it is, do not get in. You will annoy others, and be uncomfortable yourself. It is best to carry change to pay car or omnibus fare, as you keep others waiting whilst the driver is making change, and it is apt to fall into the straw when passing from one hand to another. If a gentleman gives you his seat, hands your fare, or offers you any such attention, _thank him_. It is not countrified, it is lady-like. If you do not speak, bow. Be careful not to be alone in the streets after night fall. It exposes you to insult. If you are obliged to go out, have a servant, or another lady, if you cannot procure the escort of a gentleman, which is, of course, the best. Walk slowly, do not turn your head to the right or left, unless you wish to walk that way, and avoid any gesture or word that will attract attention. Never look back! It is excessively ill-bred. Make no remarks upon those who pass you, while there is even a possibility that they may hear you. Never stare at any one, even if they have peculiarities, which make them objects of remark. In taking your place in an omnibus or car, do so quietly, and then sit perfectly still. Do not change your place or move restlessly. Make room for others if you see that the opposite side is full. If you walk with a gentleman, when he reaches your door invite him in, but if he declines, do not urge him. If you are returning from a ball or party, and the hour is a very late (or early) one, you are not bound in politeness to invite your escort to enter; the hour will be your apology for omitting the ceremony. CHAPTER XV. LETTER WRITING. There is no branch of education called so universally into requisition as the art of letter writing; no station, high or low, where the necessity for correspondence is not felt; no person, young or old, who does not, at some time, write, cause to be written, and receive letters. From the President in his official capacity, with the busy pens of secretaries constantly employed in this branch of service, to the Irish laborer who, unable to guide a pen, writes, also by proxy, to his kinsfolks across the wide ocean; all, at some time, feel the desire to transmit some message, word of love, business, or sometimes enmity, by letter. Yet, in spite of the universal need, and almost universal habit, there are really but very few persons who write a _good_ letter; a letter that is, at the same time long enough to interest, yet not long enough to tire; sufficiently condensed to keep the attention, and not tedious, and yet detailed enough to afford satisfaction; that is correct in grammatical construction, properly punctuated, written in a clear, legible hand, with the date, address, signature, all in the proper place, no words whose letters stand in utter defiance to spelling-book rules; in short, a well-written letter. Thousands, millions are sent from post to post every day. The lightning speed of the telegraph takes its messages from city to city; the panting steamer carries from continent to continent its heavy mail-bags, laden with its weight of loving messages; the "iron horse" drags behind it, its measure of the many missives; while, in the far-distant Western wilds, the lumbering wagon bears its paper freight, with its pen eloquence, to cheer and comfort, or sadden and crush, the waiting emigrants, longing for news of home. To some, who, with hearts desolated by the separation from the home circle, could read, with an eager interest, volumes of the most common-place, trivial incidents, if only connected with the loved ones there, will come pages, from the pen of the dearest relative, full of learning, wit, and wisdom, wholly uninteresting to the receiver. Why is this? Not from any desire upon the part of the writer to display learning or talent, but because, writing a letter being to them a great undertaking, and the letter being destined to go a long distance, they look upon it as an event too unusual to be wasted in detailing the simple, every-day details of domestic life, and ransack memory and learning for a subject worthy of the long journey and unusual labor. Others will have, from mere acquaintances, long, tedious details of uninteresting trivialities, and from the near relatives, short, dry epistles, which fall like stones upon the heart longing for little, affectionate expressions, and home memories. From some letter writers, who are in the midst of scenes and events of the most absorbing interest, letters arrive, only a few lines long, without one allusion to the interesting matter lying so profusely around them; while others, with the scantiest of outward subjects, will, from their own teeming brain, write bewitching, absorbing epistles, read with eagerness, laid aside with the echo of Oliver Twist's petition in a sigh; the reader longing for "more." It is, of course, impossible to lay down any distinct rule for the _style_ of letter writing. Embracing, as it does, all subjects and all classes, all countries and associations, and every relation in which one person can stand to another, what would be an imperative rule in some cases, becomes positive absurdity in others. Every letter will vary from others written before, in either its subject, the person addressed, or the circumstances which make it necessary to write it. Letter writing is, in fact, but conversation, carried on with the pen, when distance or circumstances prevent the easier method of exchanging ideas, by spoken words. Write, therefore, as you would speak, were the person to whom your letter is addressed seated beside you. As amongst relatives and intimate friends you would converse with a familiar manner, and in easy language, so in your letters to such persons, let your style be simple, entirely devoid of effort. Again, when introduced to a stranger, or conversing with one much older than yourself, your manner is respectful and dignified; so let the letters addressed to those on these terms with yourself, be written in a more ceremonious style, but at the same time avoid stiffness, and above all, pedantry. A letter of advice to a child, would of course demand an entirely different style, from that written by a young lady to a friend or relative advanced in life; yet the general rule, "write as you would converse," applies to each and every case. Neatness is an important requisite in a letter. To send a fair, clean sheet, with the words written in a clear, legible hand, will go a great way in ensuring a cordial welcome for your letter. Avoid erasures, as they spoil the beauty of your sheet. If it is necessary to correct a word, draw your pen through it, and write the word you wish to use as a substitute, above the one erased; do not scratch out the word and write another over it: it is untidy, and the second word is seldom legible. Another requisite for a good letter is a clear, concise style. Use language that will be easily understood, and avoid the parenthesis. Important passages in letters are often lost entirely, by the ambiguous manner in which they are worded, or rendered quite as unintelligible by the blots, erasures, or villainously bad hand-writing. A phrase may, by the addition or omission of one word, or by the alteration of one punctuation mark, convey to the reader an entirely different idea from that intended by the writer; so, while you write plainly, use good language, you must also write carefully, and punctuate properly. If you are in doubt about the correct spelling of a word, do not trust to chance, hoping it may be right, but get a dictionary, and be certain that you have spelt it as it ought to be. Simplicity is a great charm in letter-writing. What you send in a letter, is, as a general rule, intended for the perusal of one person only. Therefore to cumber your epistles with quotations, similes, flowery language, and a stilted, pedantic style, is in bad taste. You may use elegant language, yet use it easily. If you use a quotation, let it come into its place naturally, as if flowing in perfect harmony with your ideas, and let it be short. Long quotations in a letter are tiresome. Make no attempt at display in a correspondence. You will err as much in such an attempt, as if, when seated face to face with your correspondent, alone in your own apartment, you were to rise and converse with the gestures and language of a minister in his pulpit, or a lecturer upon his platform. As everything, in style, depends upon the subject of the letter, and the person to whom it is addressed, some words follow, relating to some of the various kinds of correspondence: BUSINESS LETTERS should be as brief as is consistent with the subject; clear, and to the point. Say all that is necessary, in plain, distinct language, and say no more. State, in forcible words, every point that it is desirable for your correspondent to be made acquainted with, that your designs and prospects upon the subject may be perfectly well understood. Write, in such a letter, of nothing but the business in hand; other matters will be out of place there. Nowhere is a confused style, or illegible writing, more unpardonable than in a business letter; nowhere a good style and hand more important. Avoid flowery language, too many words, all pathos or wit, any display of talent or learning, and every merely personal matter, in a business letter. LETTERS OF COMPLIMENT must be restricted, confined entirely to one subject. If passing between acquaintances, they should be written in a graceful, at the same time respectful, manner. Avoid hackneyed expressions, commonplace quotations, and long, labored sentences, but while alluding to the subject in hand, as if warmly interested in it, at the same time endeavor to write in a style of simple, natural grace. LETTERS OF CONGRATULATION demand a cheerful, pleasant style, and an appearance of great interest. They should be written from the heart, and the cordial, warm feelings there will prompt the proper language. Be careful, while offering to your friend the hearty congratulations her happy circumstances demand, that you do not let envy at her good fortune, creep into your head, to make the pen utter complaining words at your own hard lot. Do not dampen her joy, by comparing her happiness with the misery of another. There are many clouds in the life of every one of us. While the sun shines clearly upon the events of your friend's life let her enjoy the brightness and warmth, unshadowed by any words of yours. Give her, to the full, your sympathy in her rejoicing, cheerful words, warm congratulations, and bright hopes for the future. Should there be, at the time of her happiness, any sad event you wish to communicate to her, of which it is your duty to inform her, write it in another letter. If you must send it the same day, do so, but let the epistle wishing her joy, go alone, unclouded with the news of sorrow. At the same time, avoid exaggerated expressions of congratulation, lest you are suspected of a desire to be satirical, and avoid underlining any words. If the language is not forcible enough to convey your ideas, you will not make it better by underlining it. If you say to your friend upon her marriage, that you wish her "_joy_ in her new relations, and _hope_ she may be _entirely happy_ in her domestic life," you make her doubt your wishes, and think you mean to ridicule her chances of such happiness. LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE are exceedingly trying, both to read and to write. If the affliction which calls for them is one which touches you nearly, really grieving and distressing you, all written words must seem tame and cold, compared with the aching sympathy which dictates them. It is hard with the eyes blinded by tears, and the hand shaking, to write calmly; and it is impossible to express upon paper all the burning thoughts and words that would pour forth, were you beside the friend whose sorrow is yours. If you do not feel the trial, your task is still more difficult, for no letters demand truth, spoken from the heart, more than letters of condolence. Do not treat the subject for grief too lightly. Write words of comfort if you will, but do not appear to consider the affliction as a trifle. Time may make it less severe, but the first blow of grief must be heavy, and a few words of sincere sympathy will outweigh pages of mere expressions of hope for comfort, or the careless lines that show the letter to be one of mere duty, not feeling. Let your friend feel that her sorrow makes her dearer to you than ever before, and that her grief is yours. To treat the subject with levity, or to wander from it into witticisms or every-day chit-chat, is a wanton insult, unworthy of a lady and a friend. Do not magnify the event, or plunge the mourner into still deeper despondency by taking a despairing, gloomy view of the sorrow, under which she is bent. Show her the silver lining of her cloud, try to soothe her grief, yet be willing to admit that it _is_ a cloud, and that she _has_ cause for grief. To throw out hints that the sorrow is sent as a punishment to an offender; to imply that neglect or imprudence on the part of the mourner is the cause of the calamity; to hold up the trial as an example of retribution, or a natural consequence of wrong doing, is cruel, and barbarous. Even if this is true, (indeed, if this is the case, it only aggravates the insult); avoid such retrospection. It is as if a surgeon, called in to a patient suffering from a fractured limb, sat down, inattentive to the suffering, to lecture his patient upon the carelessness which caused the accident. One of the most touching letters of condolence ever written was sent by a literary lady, well known in the ranks of our American authoresses, to her sister, who had lost her youngest child. The words were few, merely:-- "SISTER DARLING: "I cannot write what is in my heart for you to-day, it is too full. Filled with a double sorrow, for you, for my own grief. Tears blind me, my pen trembles in my hand. Oh, to be near you! to clasp you in my arms! to draw your head to my bosom, and weep with you! Darling, God comfort you, I cannot. "S." That was all. Yet the sorrowing mother said that no other letter, though she appreciated the kind motive that dictated all, yet none comforted her as did these few lines. Written from the heart, their simple eloquence touched the heart for which they were intended. Early stages of great grief reject _comfort_, but they long, with intense longing, for sympathy. LETTERS WRITTEN TO GENTLEMEN should be ceremonious and dignified. If the acquaintance is slight, write in the third person, if there is a necessity for a letter. If a business letter, be respectful, yet not servile. It is better to avoid correspondence with gentlemen, particularly whilst you are young, as there are many objections to it. Still, if a friend of long standing solicits a correspondence, and your parents or husband approve and permit compliance with the request, it would be over-prudish to refuse. Write, however, such letters as, if they were printed in the newspapers, would cause you no annoyance. If the acquaintance admits of a frank, friendly style, be careful that your expressions of good will do not become too vehement, and avoid any confidential communications. When he begins to ask you to keep such and such passages secret, believe me, it is quite time to drop the correspondence. LETTERS OF ENQUIRY, especially if they request a favor, should contain a few lines of compliment. If the letter is upon a private subject, such as enquiry with regard to the illness or misfortune of a friend, avoid making it too brief. To write short, careless letters upon such subjects, is unfeeling, and they will surely be attributed to motives of obligation or duty, not to interest. Letters of enquiry, referring to family matters, should be delicately worded, and appear dictated by interest, not mere curiosity. If the enquiry refers to matters interesting only to yourself, enclose a postage-stamp for the reply. In answering such letters, if they refer to your own health or subjects interesting to yourself, thank the writer for the interest expressed, and answer in a satisfactory manner. If the answer interests your correspondent only, do not reply as if the enquiry annoyed you, but express some interest in the matter of the letter, and give as clear and satisfactory reply as is in your power. LETTERS OFFERING FAVORS--Be careful in writing to offer a favor, that you do not make your friend feel a heavy weight of obligation by over-rating your services. The kindness will be duly appreciated, and more highly valued if offered in a delicate manner. Too strong a sense of obligation is humiliating, so do not diminish the real value of the service by forcing the receiver to acknowledge a fictitious value. Let the recipient of your good will feel that it affords you as much pleasure to confer the favor as it will give her to receive it. A letter accompanying a present, should be short and gracefully worded. The affectionate spirit of such little epistles will double the value of the gift which they accompany. Never refer to a favor received, in such a letter, as that will give your gift the appearance of being payment for such favor, and make your letter of about as much value as a tradesman's receipted bill. LETTERS OF THANKS for enquiries made, should be short, merely echoing the words of the letter they answer, and contain the answer to the question, with an acknowledgement of your correspondent's interest. If the letter is your own acknowledgement of a favor conferred, let the language be simple, but strong, grateful, and graceful. Fancy that you are clasping the hand of the kind friend who has been generous or thoughtful for you, and then write, even as you would speak. Never hint that you deem such a favor an obligation to be returned at the first opportunity; although this may really be the case, it is extremely indelicate to say so. In your letter gracefully acknowledge the obligation, and if, at a later day, you can return the favor, then let actions, not words, prove your grateful recollection of the favor conferred upon you. If your letter is written to acknowledge the reception of a present, speak of the beauty or usefulness of the gift, and of the pleasant associations with her name it will always recall. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION should be truthful, polite, and carefully considered. Such letters may be business letters, or they may be given to servants, and they must be given only when really deserved. Do not be hasty in giving them; remember that you are, in some measure responsible for the bearer; therefore, never sacrifice truth and frankness, to a mistaken idea of kindness or politeness. LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION must be left unsealed. They must not contain any allusion to the personal qualities of the bearer, as such allusion would be about as sure a proof of ill-breeding as if you sat beside your friend, and ran over the list of the virtues and talents possessed by her. The fact that the person bearing the letter is your friend, will be all sufficient reason for cordial reception by the friend to whom the letter is addressed. The best form is:-- PHILADELPHIA, _June 18th, 18--_. MY DEAR MARY: This letter will be handed to you by Mrs. C., to whom I am pleased to introduce you, certain that the acquaintance thus formed, between two friends of mine, of so long standing and so much beloved, will be pleasant to both parties. Any attention that you may find it in your power to extend to Mrs. C. whilst she is in your city, will be highly appreciated, and gratefully acknowledged, by Your sincere friend A----. LETTERS OF ADVICE should not be written unsolicited. They will, in all probability, even when requested, be unpalatable, and should never be sent unless they can really be of service. Write them with frankness and sincerity. To write after an act has been committed, and is irrevocable, is folly, and it is also unkind. You may inform your friend that, "had you been consulted, a different course from the one taken would have been recommended," and you may really believe this, yet it will probably be false. Seeing the unfavorable result of the wrong course will enable you fully to appreciate the wisdom of the right one, but, had you been consulted when the matter was doubtful, you would probably have been as much puzzled as your friend to judge the proper mode of action. You should word a letter of advice delicately, stating your opinion frankly and freely, but giving it _as_ an opinion, not as a positive law. If the advice is not taken, do not feel offended, as others, more experienced than yourself upon the point in question, may have also been consulted. Let no selfish motive govern such a letter. Think only of the good or evil to result to your friend, and while you may write warmly and earnestly, let the motive be a really disinterested one. LETTERS OF EXCUSE should be frank and graceful. They must be written promptly, as soon as the occasion that calls for them admits. If delayed, they become insulting. If such a letter is called forth by an act of negligence on your own part, apologize for it frankly, and show by your tone that you sincerely desire to regain the confidence your carelessness has periled. If you have been obliged by positive inability to neglect the fulfilment of any promise you have given, or any commission you have undertaken, then state the reason for your delay, and solicit the indulgence of your friend. Do not write in such stiff, formal language that the apology will seem forced from you, but offer your excuse frankly, as if with a sincere desire to atone for an act of negligence, or remove a ground of offence. LETTERS OF INTELLIGENCE are generally the answer to letters of enquiry, or the statement of certain incidents or facts, interesting both to the writer and reader of the letter. Be careful in writing such a letter that you have all the facts in exact accordance with the truth. Remember that every word is set down against you, if one item of your information prove to be false; and do not allow personal opinion or prejudice to dictate a single sentence. Never repeat anything gathered from mere hearsay, and be careful, in such a letter, that you violate no confidence, nor force yourself upon the private affairs of any one. Do not let scandal or a mere love of gossip dictate a letter of intelligence. If your news is painful, state it as delicately as possible, and add a few lines expressive of sympathy. If it is your pleasant task to communicate a joyful event, make your letter cheerful and gay. If you have written any such letter, and, after sending it, find you have made any error in a statement, write, and correct the mistake immediately. It may be a trivial error, yet there is no false or mistaken news so trifling as to make a correction unnecessary. INVITATIONS are generally written in the third person, and this form is used where the acquaintance is very slight, for formal notes, and cards of compliment. The form is proper upon such occasions, but should be used only in the most ceremonious correspondence. If this style is adopted by a person who has been accustomed to write in a more familiar one to you, take it as a hint, that the correspondence has, for some reason, become disagreeable, and had better cease. AUTOGRAPH LETTERS should be very short; merely acknowledging the compliment paid by the request for the signature, and a few words expressing the pleasure you feel in granting the favor. If you write to ask for an autograph, always inclose a postage stamp for the answer. Date every letter you write accurately, and avoid postscripts. Politeness, kindness, both demand that every letter you receive must be answered. Nothing can give more pleasure in a correspondence, than prompt replies. Matters of much importance often rest upon the reply to a letter, and therefore this duty should never be delayed. In answering friendly letters, it will be found much easier to write what is kind and interesting, if you sit down to the task as soon as you read your friend's letter. Always mention the date of the letter to which your own is a reply. Never write on a half sheet of paper. Paper is cheap, and a _half_ sheet looks both mean and slovenly. If you do not write but three lines, still send the whole sheet of paper. Perfectly plain paper, thick, smooth, and white, is the most elegant. When in mourning, use paper and envelopes with a black edge. Never use the gilt edged, or fancy bordered paper; it looks vulgar, and is in bad taste. You may, if you will, have your initials stamped at the top of the sheet, and on the seal of the envelope, but do not have any fancy ornaments in the corners, or on the back of the envelope. You will be guilty of a great breach of politeness, if you answer either a note or letter upon the half sheet of the paper sent by your correspondent, even though it may be left blank. Never write, even the shortest note, in pencil. It looks careless, and is rude. Never write a letter carelessly. It may be addressed to your most intimate friend, or your nearest relative, but you can never be sure that the eye for which it is intended, will be the _only_ one that sees it. I do not mean by this, that the epistle should be in a formal, studied _style_, but that it must be correct in its grammatical construction, properly punctuated, with every word spelt according to rule. Even in the most familiar epistles, observe the proper rules for composition; you would not in conversing, even with your own family, use incorrect grammar, or impertinent language; therefore avoid saying upon paper what you would not say with your tongue. Notes written in the third person, must be continued throughout in the same person; they are frequently very mysterious from the confusion of pronouns, yet it is a style of correspondence much used and very proper upon many occasions. For compliment, inquiry where there is no intimacy between the parties, from superiors to inferiors, the form is elegant and proper. If you receive a note written in the third person, reply in the same form, but do not reply thus to a more familiar note or letter, as it is insulting, and implies offence taken. If you wish to repel undue familiarity or impertinence in your correspondent, then reply to the epistle in the most formal language, and in the third person. It is an extraordinary fact, that persons who have received a good education, and who use their pens frequently, will often, in writing notes, commence in the third person and then use the second or first personal pronoun, and finish by a signature; thus-- Miss Claire's compliments to Mr. James, and wishes to know whether you have finished reading my copy of "Jane Eyre," as if Mr. James had finished it, I would like to lend it to another friend. Sincerely yours, ELLA CLAIRE. The errors in the above are too glaring to need comment, yet, with only the alteration of names, it is a copy, _verbatim_, of a note written by a well educated girl. Never sign a note written in the third person, if you begin the note with your own name. It is admissible, if the note is worded in this way:-- Will Mr. James return by bearer, the copy of "Jane Eyre" he borrowed, if he has finished reading it, and oblige his sincere friend, ELLA CLAIRE. If you use a quotation, never omit to put it in quotation marks, otherwise your correspondent may, however unjustly, accuse you of a desire to pass off the idea and words of another, for your own. Avoid postscripts. Above all, never send an inquiry or compliment in a postscript. To write a long letter, upon various subjects, and in the postscript desire to be remembered to your friend's family, or inquire for their welfare, instead of a compliment, becomes insulting. It is better, if you have not time to write again and place such inquiries above your signature, to omit them entirely. Nobody likes to see their name mentioned as an afterthought. Punctuate your letters carefully. The want of a mark of punctuation, or the incorrect placing of it, will make the most woful confusion. I give an instance of the utter absurdity produced by the alteration of punctuation marks, turning a sensible paragraph to the most arrant nonsense: "Cæsar entered; on his head his helmet; on his feet armed sandals; upon his brow there was a cloud; in his right hand his faithful sword; in his eye an angry glare; saying nothing, he sat down." By using precisely the same words, merely altering the position of the punctuation marks, we have-- "Cæsar entered on his head; his helmet on his feet; armed sandals upon his brow; there was a cloud in his right hand; his faithful sword in his eye; an angry glare saying nothing; he sat down." Be careful, then, to punctuate properly, that you may convey to the reader the exact sense of what is in your mind. If you receive an impertinent letter, treat it with contempt; do not answer it. Never answer a letter by proxy, when you are able to write yourself. It is a mark of respect and love, to answer, in your own hand, all letters addressed to you. If you are obliged to write to a friend to refuse to grant a favor asked, you will lessen the pain of refusal by wording your letter delicately. Loving words, if it is a near friend, respectful, kind ones if a mere acquaintance, will make the disagreeable contents of the letter more bearable. Try to make the _manner_ smooth and soften the hardness of the _matter_. Every letter must embrace the following particulars: 1st. The date. 2d. The complimentary address. 3d. The body of the letter. 4th. The complimentary closing. 5th. The signature. 6th. The address. There are two ways of putting the date, and the address. The first is to place them at the top of the sheet, the other is to place them after the signature. When at the top, you write the name of your residence, or that of the city in which you reside, with the day of the month and the year, at the right hand of the first line of the sheet. Then, at the left hand of the next line, write the address, then the complimentary address below the name; thus-- WILLOW GROVE, NEW YORK, _June 27th, 1859_. MRS. E. C. HOWELL, My dear Madam, I received your letter, etc. At the end of the letter, on the right hand of the sheet, put the complimentary closing, and then the signature; thus-- I remain, my dear Madam, With much respect, Yours sincerely, S. E. LAW. If you place the date and address after the signature, put it at the left of the sheet; thus-- I remain, my dear Madam, With much respect, Yours sincerely, S. E. LAW. MRS. E. C. HOWELL. _June 27th, 1859._ For a long letter, it is better to put the date and address at the top of the page. For a letter of only a few lines, which ends on the first page, the second form is best. In a letter written to a person in the same city, you need not put the address under the signature; if not, write it-- S. E. LAW, WILLOW GROVE, NEW YORK. In writing to a dear friend or relative, where there is no formality required, you may omit the name at the top of the letter; put the date and address thus-- WILLOW GROVE, NEW YORK, _June 27th, 1859_. DEAR ANNA: I write, etc. It is best, however, to put the full name at the bottom of the last page, in case the letter is mislaid without the envelope; thus-- E. C. LAW. MISS ANNA WRIGHT. If you use an envelope, and this custom is now universal, fold your letter neatly to fit into it; then direct on the envelope. Put first the name, then the name of the person to whose care the letter must be directed, then the street, the city, and State. If the town is small, put also the county. This is the form:-- MISS ANNA WRIGHT, Care of Mr. John C. Wright, No. 40, Lexington street, Greensburg--Lee County. Mass. If the city is a large one, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or any of the principal cities of the Union, you may omit the name of the county. If your letter is to go abroad, add the name of the country: as, England, or France, in full, under that of the city. The name of the state is usually abbreviated, and for the use of my readers, I give the names of the United States with their abbreviations: Maine, Me. New Hampshire, N. H. Vermont, Vt. Massachusetts, Mass. Rhode Island, R. I. Connecticut, Conn. New York, N. Y. New Jersey, N. J. Pennsylvania, Pa., or, Penn. Delaware, Del. Maryland, Md. Virginia, Va. North Carolina, N. C. South Carolina, S. C. Georgia, Ga., or, Geo. Alabama, Ala. Mississippi, Miss. Missouri, Mo. Louisiana, La. Tennessee, Tenn. Kentucky, Ky. Indiana, Ind. Ohio, O. Michigan, Mich. Illinois, Ill. Wisconsin, Wis. Arkansas, Ark. Texas, Tex. Iowa, Io. Florida, Flo. Oregon, O. California, Cal. Minnesota, Minn. District of Columbia, D. C. If you are writing from another country to America, put United States of America after the name of the state. On the upper right hand corner of your envelope, put your postage-stamp. If you send a letter by private hand, write the name of the bearer in the lower left hand corner, thus: MRS. E. A. HOWELL, Clinton Place, Boston. Mr. G. G. Lane. In directing to any one who can claim any prefix, or addition, to his proper name do not omit to put that "republican title." For a clergyman, Rev. for Reverend is put before the name, thus:-- REV. JAMES C. DAY. For a bishop: RIGHT REVEREND E. BANKS. For a physician: DR. JAMES CURTIS. or, JAMES CURTIS, M.D. For a member of Congress: HON. E. C. DELTA. For an officer in the navy: CAPT. HENRY LEE, U. S. N. For an officer in the army: COL. EDWARD HOLMES, U. S. A. For a professor: PROF. E. L. JAMES. If the honorary addition, LL.D., A. M., or any such title belongs to your correspondent, add it to his name on the envelope, thus:-- J. L. PETERS, LL.D. If you seal with wax, it is best to put a drop under the turn-over, and fasten this down firmly before you drop the wax that is to receive the impression. Cards of compliment are usually written in the third person. I give a few of the most common and proper forms. For a party: Miss Lee's compliments to Mr. Bates, for Wednesday evening, Nov. 18th, at 8 o'clock. Addressed to a lady: Miss Lee requests the pleasure of Miss Howard's company on Wednesday evening, Nov. 18th, at 8 o'clock. For a ball, the above form, with the word _Dancing_, in the left hand corner. Invitations to dinner or tea specify the entertainment thus: Mrs. Garret's compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Howard, and requests the pleasure of their company to dine (or take tea) on Wednesday, Nov. 6th, at 6 o'clock. The form for answering, is:-- Miss Howard accepts with pleasure Miss Lee's polite invitation for Wednesday evening. or, Miss Howard regrets that a prior engagement will prevent her accepting Miss Lee's polite invitation for Wednesday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Howard's compliments to Mrs. Garret, and accept with pleasure her kind invitation for Wednesday. or, Mrs. Howard regrets that the severe illness of Mr. Howard will render it impossible for either herself or Mr. Howard to join Mrs. Garret's party on Wednesday next. Upon visiting cards, left when the caller is about to leave the city, the letters _p. p. c._ are put in the left hand corner, they are the abbreviation of the French words, _pour prendre congé_, or may, with equal propriety, stand for _presents parting compliments_. Another form, _p. d. a._, _pour dire adieu_, may be used. No accomplishment within the scope of human knowledge is so beautiful in all its features as that of epistolary correspondence. Though distance, absence, and circumstances may separate the holiest alliances of friendship, or those who are bound together by the still stronger ties of affection, yet the power of interchanging thoughts, words, feelings, and sentiments, through the medium of letters, adds a sweetness to the pain of separation, renovating to life, and adding to happiness. The wide ocean may roll between those who have passed the social years of youth together, or the snow-capped Alps may rise in sublime grandeur, separating early associates; still young remembrances may be called up, and the paradise of memory made to bloom afresh with unwithered flowers of holy recollection. Though we see not eye to eye and face to face, where the soft music of a loved voice may fall with its richness upon the ear, yet the very soul and emotions of the mind may be poured forth in such melody as to touch the heart "that's far away," and melt down the liveliest eye into tears of ecstatic rapture. Without the ability to practice the refined art of epistolary correspondence, men would become cold and discordant: an isolated compound of misanthropy. They would fall off in forsaken fragments from the great bond of union which now adorns and beautifies all society. Absence, distance, and time would cut the silken cords of parental, brotherly, and even connubial affection. Early circumstances would be lost in forgetfulness, and the virtues of reciprocal friendship "waste their sweetness on the desert air." Since, then, the art and practice of letter-writing is productive of so much refined and social happiness, a laudable indulgence in it must ever be commendable. While it elevates the noble faculties of the mind, it also chastens the disposition, and improves those intellectual powers which would otherwise remain dormant and useless. Notwithstanding the various beauties and pleasures attendant upon the accomplishment, yet there are many who have given it but a slight portion of their attention, and have, therefore, cause to blush at their own ignorance when necessity demands its practice. There is no better mode by which to test the acquirements of either a young lady or gentleman than from their letters. Letters are among the most useful forms of composition. There are few persons, who can read or write at all, who do not frequently have occasion to write them; and an elegant letter is much more rare than an elegant specimen of any other kind of writing. The more rational and elevated the topics are, on which you write, the less will you care for your letters being seen, or for paragraphs being read out of them; and where there is no need of any secrecy, it is best not to bind your friend by promises, but to leave it to her discretion. CHAPTER XVI. POLITE DEPORTMENT, AND GOOD HABITS. Lord Chesterfield says, "Good sense and good nature suggest civility in general; but in good breeding there are a thousand little delicacies which are established only by custom." It is the knowledge and practice of such "little delicacies" which constitutes the greatest charm of society. Manner may be, and, in most cases, probably is, the cloak of the heart; this cloak may be used to cover defects, but is it not better so to conceal these defects, than to flaunt and parade them in the eyes of all whom we may meet? Many persons plead a love of truth as an apology for rough manners, as if truth was never gentle and kind, but always harsh, morose, and forbidding. Surely good manners and a good conscience are no more inconsistent with each other than beauty and innocence, which are strikingly akin, and always look the better for companionship. Roughness and honesty are indeed sometimes found together in the same person, but he is a poor judge of human nature who takes ill-manners to be a guarantee of probity of character. Some persons object to politeness, that its language is unmeaning and false. But this is easily answered. A lie is not locked up in a phrase, but must exist, if at all, in the mind of the speaker. In the ordinary compliments of civilized life, there is no intention to deceive, and consequently no falsehood. Polite language is pleasant to the ear, and soothing to the heart, while rough words are just the reverse; and if not the product of ill temper, are very apt to produce it. The plainest of truths, let it be remembered, can be conveyed in civil speech, while the most malignant lies may find utterance, and often do, in the language of the fishmarket. Many ladies say, "Oh, I am perfectly frank and outspoken; I never stop to mince words," or, "there is no affectation about me; all my actions are perfectly natural," and, upon the ground of frankness, will insult and wound by rude language, and defend awkwardness and ill-breeding by the plea of "natural manners." If nature has not invested you with all the virtues which may be desirable in a lady, do not make your faults more conspicuous by thrusting them forward upon all occasions, and at all times. "Assume a virtue if you have it not," and you will, in time, by imitation, acquire it. By endeavoring to _appear_ generous, disinterested, self-sacrificing, and amiable, the opposite passions will be brought into subjection, first in the manner, afterwards in the heart. It is not the desire to deceive, but the desire to please, which will dictate such a course. When you hear one, who pretends to be a lady, boast that she is rough, capricious, and gluttonous, you may feel sure that she has never tried to conquer these faults, or she would be ashamed, not proud, of them. The way to make yourself pleasing to others, is to show that you care for them. The whole world is like the miller at Mansfield, "who cared for nobody--no, not he--because nobody cared for him." And the whole world will serve you so, if you give them the same cause. Let every one, therefore, see that you do care for them, by showing them, what Sterne so happily calls, "the small, sweet courtesies of life," those courtesies in which there is no parade; whose voice is too still to tease, and which manifest themselves by tender and affectionate looks, and little, kind acts of attention, giving others the preference in every little enjoyment at the table, in the field, walking, sitting, or standing. Thus the first rule for a graceful manner is unselfish consideration of others. By endeavoring to acquire the habit of politeness, it will soon become familiar, and sit on you with ease, if not with elegance. Let it never be forgotten, that genuine politeness is a great fosterer of family love; it allays accidental irritation, by preventing harsh retorts and rude contradictions; it softens the boisterous, stimulates the indolent, suppresses selfishness, and by forming a habit of consideration for others, harmonizes the whole. Politeness begets politeness, and brothers may be easily won by it, to leave off the rude ways they bring home from school or college. Sisters ought never to receive any little attention without thanking them for it, never to ask a favor of them but in courteous terms, never to reply to their questions in monosyllables, and they will soon be ashamed to do such things themselves. Both precept and example ought to be laid under contribution, to convince them that no one can have really good manners abroad, who is not habitually polite at home. If you wish to be a well-bred lady, you must carry your good manners everywhere with you. It is not a thing that can be laid aside and put on at pleasure. True politeness is uniform disinterestedness in trifles, accompanied by the calm self-possession which belongs to a noble simplicity of purpose; and this must be the effect of a Christian spirit running through all you do, or say, or think; and, unless you cultivate it and exercise it, upon all occasions and towards all persons, it will never be a part of yourself. It is not an art to be paraded upon public occasions, and neglected in every-day duties; nor should it, like a ball-dress, be carefully laid aside at home, trimmed, ornamented, and worn only when out. Let it come into every _thought_, and it will show forth in every _action_. Let it be the rule in the homeliest duties, and then it will set easily when in public, not in a stiff manner, like a garment seldom worn. I wish it were possible to convince every woman that politeness is a most excellent good quality; that it is a necessary ingredient in social comfort, and a capital assistant to actual prosperity. Like most good things, however, the word politeness is often misunderstood and misapplied; and before urging the practical use of that which it represents, it may be necessary to say what it means, and what it does not mean. Politeness is not hypocrisy:--cold-heartedness, or unkindness in disguise. There are persons who can smile upon a victim, and talk smoothly, while they injure, deceive, or betray. And they will take credit to themselves, that all has been done with the utmost _politeness_; that every tone, look, and action, has been in perfect keeping with the rules of good breeding. "The words of their mouth are smoother than butter, but war is in their heart: their words are softer than oil, yet are they drawn swords." Perish for ever and ever such spurious politeness as this! Politeness is not servility. If it were so, a Russian serf would be a model of politeness. It is very possible for persons to be very cringing and obsequious, without a single atom of politeness; and it often happens that men of the most sturdy independence of character, are essentially polite in all their words, actions, and feelings. It were well for this to be fully understood, for many people will abstain from acts of real politeness, and even of common civility, for fear of damaging their fancied independence. True politeness, as I understand it, is kindness and courtesy of feeling brought into every-day exercise. It comprehends hearty good will towards everybody, thorough and constant good-humor, an easy deportment, and obliging manners. Every person who cultivates such feelings, and takes no pains to conceal them, will necessarily be polite, though she may not exactly know it; while, on the other hand, a woman essentially morose and selfish, whatever may be her pretensions, must be very far from truly polite. It is very true there are those whose position in society compels them to observe certain rules of etiquette which pass for politeness. They bow or courtesy with a decent grace; shake hands with the precise degree of vigor which the circumstances of the case require; speak just at the right time, and in the required manner, and smile with elegant propriety. Not a tone, look, or gesture, is out of place; not a habit indulged which etiquette forbids; and yet, there will be wanting, after all, the secret charm of sincerity and heart kindness, which those outward signs are intended to represent; and, wanting which, we have only the form, without the essence, of politeness. Let me recommend, therefore, far beyond all the rules ever penned by teachers of etiquette, the cultivation of kind and loving feelings. Throw your whole soul into the lesson, and you will advance rapidly towards the perfection of politeness, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," and the movements of your form and the words you utter will follow faithfully the hidden springs of action within. There cannot be genuine good breeding to any happy degree, where there is not self-respect. It is that which imparts ease and confidence to our manners, and impels us, for our own sake, as well as for the sake of others, to behave becomingly as intelligent beings. It is a want of true politeness that introduces the discord and confusion which too often make our homes unhappy. A little consideration for the feelings of those whom we are bound to love and cherish, and a little sacrifice of our own wills, would, in multitudes of instances, make all the difference between alienation and growing affection. The principle of genuine politeness would accomplish this; and what a pity it is that those whose only spring of rational enjoyment is to be found at _home_, should miss that enjoyment by a disregard of little things, which, after all, make up the sum of human existence! What a large amount of actual discomfort in domestic life would be prevented, if all children were trained, both by precept and example, to the practice of common politeness! If they were taught to speak respectfully to parents, and brothers, and sisters, to friends, neighbors, and strangers, what bawlings, and snarlings would be stilled! If their behavior within doors, and especially at the table, were regulated by a few of the common rules of good breeding, how much natural and proper disgust would be spared! If courtesy of demeanor, towards all whom they meet in field or highway, were instilled, how much more pleasant would be our town travels, and our rustic rambles! Every parent has a personal interest in this matter; and if every parent would but make the needful effort, a great degree of gross incivility, and consequent annoyance, would soon be swept away from our hearths and homes. Whilst earnestly endeavoring to acquire true politeness, avoid that spurious imitation, affectation. It is to genuine politeness and good breeding, what the showy paste is to the pure diamond. It is the offspring of a sickly taste, a deceitful heart, and a sure proof of low breeding. The certain test of affectation in any individual, is the looking, speaking, moving, or acting in any way different when in the presence of others, especially those whose opinion we regard and whose approbation we desire, from what we should do in solitude, or in the presence of those only whom we disregard, or who we think cannot injure or benefit us. The motive for resisting affectation is, that it is both unsuccessful and sinful. It always involves a degree of hypocrisy, which is exceedingly offensive in the sight of God, which is generally detected even by men, and which, when detected, exposes its subject to contempt which could never have been excited by the mere absence of any quality or possession, as it is by the false assumption of what is not real. The best cure for affectation is the cultivation, on principle, of every good, virtuous, and amiable habit and feeling, not for the sake of being approved or admired, but because it is right in itself, and without considering what people will think of it. Thus a real character will be formed instead of a part being assumed, and admiration and love will be spontaneously bestowed where they are really deserved. Artificial manners are easily seen through; and the result of such observations, however accomplished and beautiful the object may be, is contempt for such littleness. Many ladies, moving, too, in good society, will affect a forward, bold manner, very disagreeable to persons of sense. They will tell of their wondrous feats, when engaged in pursuits only suited for men; they will converse in a loud, boisterous tone; laugh loudly; sing comic songs, or dashing bravuras in a style only fit for the stage or a gentleman's after-dinner party; they will lay wagers, give broad hints and then brag of their success in forcing invitations or presents; interlard their conversation with slang words or phrases suited only to the stable or bar-room, and this they think is a dashing, fascinating manner. It may be encouraged, admired, in their presence, by gentlemen, and imitated by younger ladies, but, be sure, it is looked upon with contempt, and disapproval by every one of good sense, and that to persons of real refinement it is absolutely disgusting. Other ladies, taking quite as mistaken a view of real refinement, will affect the most childish timidity, converse only in whispers, move slowly as an invalid, faint at the shortest notice, and on the slightest provocation; be easily moved to tears, and profess never to eat, drink, or sleep. This course is as absurd as the other, and much more troublesome, as everybody dreads the scene which will follow any shock to the dear creature's nerves, and will be careful to avoid any dangerous topics. Self-respect, and a proper deference for our superiors in age or intellect, will be the best safeguards against either a cringing or insolent manner. Without self-respect you will be apt to be both awkward and bashful; either of which faults are entirely inconsistent with a graceful manner. Be careful that while you have sufficient self-respect to make your manner easy, it does not become arrogance and so engender insolence. Avoid sarcasm; it will, unconsciously to yourself, degenerate into pertness, and often downright rudeness. Do not be afraid to speak candidly, but temper candor with courtesy, and never let wit run into that satire that will wound deeply, whilst it amuses only slightly. Let your carriage be at once dignified and graceful. There are but few figures that will bear quick motion; with almost every one its effect is that of a jerk, a most awkward movement. Let the feet, in walking or dancing, be turned out slightly; when you are seated, rest them both on the floor or a footstool. To sit with the knees or feet crossed or doubled up, is awkward and unlady-like. Carry your arms, in walking, easily; never crossing them stiffly or swinging them beside you. When seated, if you are not sewing or knitting, keep your hands perfectly quiet. This, whilst one of the most difficult accomplishments to attain, is the surest mark of a lady. Do not fidget, playing with your rings, brooch, or any little article that may be near you; let your hands rest in an easy, natural position, perfectly quiet. Never gesticulate when conversing; it looks theatrical, and is ill-bred; so are all contortions of the features, shrugging of shoulders, raising of the eyebrows, or hands. When you open a conversation, do so with a slight bow and smile, but be careful not to simper, and not to smile too often, if the conversation becomes serious. Never point. It is excessively ill-bred. Avoid exclamations; they are in excessively bad taste, and are apt to be vulgar words. A lady may express as much polite surprise or concern by a few simple, earnest words, or in her manner, as she can by exclaiming "Good gracious!" "Mercy!" or "Dear me!" Remember that every part of your person and dress should be in perfect order before you leave the dressing-room, and avoid all such tricks as smoothing your hair with your hand, arranging your curls, pulling the waist of your dress down, or settling your collar or sleeves. Avoid lounging attitudes, they are indelicate, except in your own private apartment. Nothing but ill health will excuse them before company, and a lady had better keep her room if she is too feeble to sit up in the drawing-room. Let your deportment suit your age and figure; to see a tiny, fairy-like young girl, marching erect, stiff, and awkwardly, like a soldier on parade, is not more absurd than to see a middle-aged, portly woman, aping the romping, hoydenish manners of a school-girl. Let the movements be easy and flexible, and accord with the style of the lady. Let your demeanor be always marked by modesty and simplicity; as soon as you become forward or affected, you have lost your greatest charm of manner. You should be quite as anxious to _talk_ with propriety as you are to think, work, sing, paint, or write, according to the most correct rules. Always select words calculated to convey an exact impression of your meaning. Let your articulation be easy, clear, correct in accent, and suited in tone and emphasis to your discourse. Avoid a muttering, mouthing, stuttering, droning, guttural, nasal, or lisping, pronunciation. Let your speech be neither too loud nor too low; but adjusted to the ear of your companion. Try to prevent the necessity of any person crying, "What? What?" Avoid a loquacious propensity; you should never occupy more than your share of the time, or more than is agreeable to others. Beware of such vulgar interpolations as "You know," "You see," "I'll tell you what." Pay a strict regard to the rules of grammar, even in private conversation. If you do not understand these rules, learn them, whatever be your age or station. Though you should always speak pleasantly, do not mix your conversation with loud bursts of laughter. Never indulge in uncommon words, or in Latin and French phrases, but choose the best understood terms to express your meaning. Above all, let your conversation be intellectual, graceful, chaste, discreet, edifying, and profitable. CHAPTER XVII. CONDUCT IN CHURCH. In entering a church of a different denomination from the one you have been in the habit of frequenting, ask the sexton to show you to a seat. It is the height of rudeness to enter a pew without invitation, as the owner may desire, if her family do not require all the seats, to invite her own personal friends to take the vacant places. If you are not perfectly familiar with the manner of conducting the worship, observe those around you, rise, kneel, and sit, as you see they do. It is a mark of disrespect for the pastor as well as irreverence for the Most High, to remain seated through the whole service, unless you are ill, or otherwise incapacitated from standing and kneeling. Enter the sacred edifice slowly, reverentially, and take your seat quietly. It is not required of you to bow to any friend you may see in passing up the aisle, as you are supposed yourself to be, and suppose her to be entirely absorbed in thought proper for the occasion. To stare round the church, or if you are not alone, to whisper to your companion, is irreverent, indelicate, and rude. If your own feelings will not prompt you to silence and reverence, pay some regard to the feelings of others. Be careful not to appear to notice those around you. If others are so rude as to talk or conduct improperly, fix your own mind upon the worship which you come to pay, and let the impertinence pass unheeded. If there is another person in the same pew with yourself, who, more familiar with the service, hands you the book, or points out the place, acknowledge the civility by a silent bow; it is not necessary to speak. In your own pew, extend this courtesy to a stranger who may come in beside you, and even if it is a gentleman you may, with perfect propriety, hand him a book, or, if there is but one, offer him a share of your own. Endeavor always to be in your seat before the service commences, and after it is over do not hurry away, and, above all, do not begin your preparations for departure, by shutting up your book, or putting on any article of dress you have removed, before the benediction. If you are invited to accompany a friend to church, be sure you are ready in good season, that you may not keep her waiting when she calls, or cause her to lose any part of the service by detaining her at your house. If you invite a friend to take a seat in your pew, call for her early, give her the most comfortable place, and be sure she has a prayer and hymn-book. If you are invited to stand as god-mother to a friend's child, be at the house of the parents in season to accompany the family to church, and send, the day before, the gift you design for the babe. A silver cup is the usual present, with your little namesake's initials, or full name, engraved upon it. In assisting at a wedding at church, if you are one of the bridesmaids, wear white, a white bonnet but no veil. If you occupy the first place, the bride's, it is in better taste to be married in a simple dress and bonnet, and don your full dress when you return home to receive your friends. In such ceremonies the wedding-party all meet in the vestry, and go to the altar together.[A] [A] For further particulars, see chapter on Bridal Etiquette. At a funeral, enter the church quietly, and, unless you belong to the mourners, wait until they leave the church before you rise from your seat. Never attempt to speak to any of the afflicted family. However heartfelt your sympathy, it will not be welcome at that time. If, when entering a crowded church, a gentleman sees you and offers his seat, acknowledge his civility, whether accepted or declined, by a bow, and a whispered "thank you." Many, who claim the name of lady, and think they are well-bred, will accept such an act of politeness without making the slightest acknowledgement. If the service has commenced, do not speak; a courteous inclination of the head will convey your sense of obligation. Remember, as an imperative, general rule, in whatever church you may be, whether at home or abroad, conform to the mode of worship whilst you are in that church. If you find, in these modes, forms which are disagreeable to you, or which shock your own ideas of religion, avoid a second visit, but do not insult the congregation, by showing your contempt or disapproval, whilst you are among them. Silence, quiet attention, and a grave, reverential demeanor, mark the Christian lady in church. CHAPTER XVIII. BALL ROOM ETIQUETTE. FOR THE HOSTESS. When you have decided upon what evening you will give your ball, send out your invitations, a fortnight before the evening appointed. To ladies, word them:-- Mrs. L---- requests the pleasure of Miss G----'s company on Wednesday evening, Jan. 17th, at 9 o'clock. _Dancing._ The favor of an early answer is requested. To gentlemen:-- Mrs. L----'s compliments to Mr. R---- for Wednesday evening, Jan. 17th, at 9 o'clock. _Dancing._ The favor of an early answer is requested. If you are unmarried, put your mother's name with your own upon the cards. If you have a father or grown-up brother, let the invitations to the gentlemen go in his name. In making your list for a ball, do not set down _all_ of your "dear five hundred friends." The middle-aged, (unless they come as chaperons,) the serious, and the sober-minded, will not accept your invitation, and the two last named may consider it insulting to be invited to so frivolous an amusement. By the way, I do not agree with the straight-laced people, who condemn all such amusements. I agree with Madame Pilau. When the curé of her parish told her he was writing a series of sermons against dancing, she said to him: "You are talking of what you do not understand. _You_ have never been to a ball, _I_ have; and I assure you there is no sin in the matter worthy of mention or notice." If you really wish for dancing, you will accommodate your guests to your rooms, inviting one third more than they will hold, as about that number generally disappoint a ball-giver. If you wish to have a rush of people, and do not mind heat, crowding, and discomfort, to insure an immense assembly, (a ball to be talked about for its size only,) then you may invite every body who figures upon your visiting list. Over one hundred is a "large ball," under that a "ball," unless there are less than fifty guests, when it is merely a "dance." The directions given in chapter 5th for the arrangement of the dressing-rooms will apply here, but your parlor, or ball room, requires some attention. Have the carpets taken up two days before the evening of the ball, and the floor waxed. A smooth, polished floor is an absolute necessity for pleasant dancing. At one end of your ball room, have a space partitioned off for the musicians. Leave, for their use, plenty of room, as silence or discord will come from a crowded orchestra. If your house is double, and you use the rooms on each side, place the musicians in the hall. Four pieces of music is enough for a private ball, unless your rooms are very large. For one room a piano, violin, and violoncello makes a good band. You must have your rooms well ventilated if you wish to avoid fainting and discomfort. To secure a really brilliant ball, pay considerable attention to the arrangement of your ball room. In Paris this arrangement consists in turning the room, for the evening, into a perfect garden. Every corner is filled with flowers. Wreaths, bouquets, baskets, and flowering-plants in moss-covered pots. With brilliant light, and taste in the details of arranging them, this profusion of flowers produces an exquisitely beautiful effect, and harmonizes perfectly with the light dresses, cheerful faces, and gay music. The pleasure of your guests, as well as the beauty of the rooms, will be increased by the elegance of your arrangements; their beauty will be heightened by brilliant light, and by judicious management a scene of fairy-like illusion may be produced. Not only in the ball room itself, but in the hall, supper-room, and dressing-rooms, place flowers. A fine effect is produced, by placing a screen, covered with green and flowers, before the space set apart for the musicians. To hear the music proceeding from behind this floral embankment, and yet have the scraping and puffing men invisible, adds very much to the illusion of the scene. In the dressing-rooms have, at least, two servants for each. Let them take the cloaks and hoods, and put a numbered ticket upon each bundle, handing the duplicate number to the lady or gentleman owning it. It is best to have the supper-room upon the same floor as the ball room. The light dresses, worn upon such occasions, suffer severely in passing up and down a crowded staircase. Have a number of double cards written or printed with a list of the dances, arranged in order, upon one side, and a space for engagements upon the other. Attach a small pencil to each. Let a waiter stand at the entrance to the ball room, and hand a card to each guest as they pass in. The first strain of music must be a march; then follows a quadrille, then a waltz. Other dances follow in any order you prefer until the fourteenth, which should be the march which announces supper. If you throw open the supper-room, early, and the guests go out when they wish, the march may be omitted. Twenty-one to twenty-four dances are sufficient. Have an interval of ten minutes after each one. The supper-room should be thrown open at midnight, and remain open until your last guest has departed. Let it be brilliantly lighted, and have plenty of waiters in attendance. There can be no rule laid down for the supper. It may be hot or heavily iced. It may consist entirely of confectionary, or it may include the bill of fare for a hotel table. One rule you must observe; have abundance of everything. Other entertainments may be given upon economical principles, but a ball cannot. Light, attendance, supper, every detail must be carefully attended to, and a ball must be an expensive luxury. At a ball-supper every one stands up. The waiters will hand refreshment from the tables to the gentlemen, who, in turn, wait upon the ladies. You must bring forth your whole array of smiles, when you perform the part of hostess in a ball room. As your guests will come dropping in at all hours, you must hover near the door to greet each one entering. There will be many strangers amongst the gentlemen. Miss G. will bring her fiancée. Miss L., her brother, just returned, after ten years' absence, from India. Miss R. introduces her cousin, in the city for a week. Miss M., as a belle, will, perhaps, take the liberty of telling some ten or twelve of her most devoted admirers where she may be seen on the evening of your ball, and, though strangers, they will, one after another, bow over your hand. To each and every one you must extend the amiable greeting due to an invited guest. If you are the only lady of the house, your duties will, indeed, be laborious. You must be everywhere at the same moment. Not a guest must pass unwelcomed. You must introduce partners to all the wall-flowers. You must see that every set is made up before the music commences. Each guest must be introduced to a proper partner for every dance, and not one frown, one pettish word, one look of fatigue, one sigh of utter weariness must disturb your smiling serenity. You must be ready to chat cheerfully with every bore who detains you, when crossing the room, to make up a set of quadrilles in a minute's time; listen patiently to the sighing lover, whose fair one is engaged fifty times during twenty dances; secure a good dancer for each longing belle; do the same for the beaux; yet you must never be hurried, worried, or fatigued. If there are several ladies, a mother and two or three daughters, for instance, divide the duties. Let one receive the guests, another arrange the sets, a third introduce couples, and a fourth pair off the talkers. A brother or father will be a treasure in a ball room, as the standing of sets can be better managed by a gentleman than a lady. None of the ladies who give the ball should dance until every fair guest has a partner. One of your duties will be to see that no young ladies lose their supper for want of an escort to ask them to go out. You may give the hint to an intimate gentleman friend, if there is no brother or father to take the duty, introduce him to the disconsolate damsel, and send her off happy. If all the guests go to the supper-room when it is first thrown open, you must be the last to leave the ball room. For the hostess to take the lead to the supper-room, leaving her guests to pair off, and follow as they please, is in very bad taste. If you announce supper by a march, many of your guests will remain in the ball room, to promenade, avoid the crowd at the first table, and indulge in a tête-à-tête conversation. These will afterwards go out, in pairs, when the first crush in the refreshment-room is over. If, by accident or negligence, you miss an introduction to any of your gentlemen guests, you may still speak to them if you wish. It is your privilege as hostess to introduce yourself, and invite any gentleman to dance with you, or offer to introduce him to a partner. In the latter case he ought to mention his name, but if he omits to do so, you may ask it. There has been a custom introduced in some of our large cities lately, which is an admirable one for a private ball. It is to hire, for the evening, a public hall. This includes the dressing-room, supper-room, every comfort, and saves you from the thousand annoyances which are certain to follow a ball in a private house. You hire the hall and other rooms, the price including light, hire a band of music, and order a supper at a confectioners, hiring from his establishment all the china, glass, and silver you will want. In this case you must enclose in every invitation a ticket to admit your friend's party, to prevent loungers from the street coming in, uninvited. You will, perhaps, find the actual outlay of money greater, when you thus hire your ball room, but you will save more than the difference in labor, annoyance, and the injury to your house. You secure a better room than any parlor, you have the floor waxed and polished without the trouble of taking up your carpets. You save all the dreadful labor of cleaning up the house the next day, as well as that of preparation. You can, if you wish, invite a few friends to a late dinner with you, and all proceed to the ball room together. You must be the first to enter the room, the last to leave it, and every duty is the same as if you were at home; the ball room is, in fact, your own house, for the evening. If you wish your guests to come in costume for a fancy ball, name the character of the entertainment in your invitation. CHAPTER XIX. BALL ROOM ETIQUETTE. FOR THE GUEST. As in every other case where hospitality is extended to you by invitation, you must send your answer as soon as possible, accepting or declining the civility. In preparing a costume for a ball, choose something very light. Heavy, dark silks are out of place in a ball room, and black should be worn in no material but lace. For a married lady, rich silk of some light color, trimmed with flowers, lace, or tulle; white silk plain, or lace over satin, make an exquisite toilette. Jewels are perfectly appropriate; also feathers in the _coiffure_. For the young lady, pure white or light colors should be worn, and the most appropriate dress is of some thin material made over silk, white, or the same color as the outer dress. Satin or velvet are entirely out of place on a young lady. Let the _coiffure_ be of flowers or ribbons, never feathers, and but very little jewelry is becoming to an unmarried lady. All ladies must wear boots or slippers of satin, white, black, or the color of the dress. White are the most appropriate; black, the most becoming to the foot. White kid gloves, full trimmed, a fine lace trimmed handkerchief, and a fan, are indispensable. Be very careful, when dressing for a ball, that the hair is firmly fastened, and the _coiffure_ properly adjusted. Nothing is more annoying than to have the hair loosen or the head-dress fall off in a crowded ball room. Your first duty, upon entering the room, is to speak to your hostess. After a few words of greeting, turn to the other guests. At a private ball, no lady will refuse an introduction to a gentleman. It is an insult to her hostess, implying that her guests are _not gentlemen_. It is optional with the lady whether to continue or drop the acquaintance after the ball is over, but for that evening, however disagreeable, etiquette requires her to accept him for _one_ dance, if she is disengaged, and her hostess requests it. At a public ball, it is safest to decline all introductions made by the master of ceremonies, though, as before, such acquaintances are not binding after the evening is over. Be very careful how you refuse to dance with a gentleman. A prior engagement will, of course, excuse you, but if you plead fatigue, or really feel it, do not dance the set with another gentleman; it is most insulting, though sometimes done. On the other hand, be careful that you do not engage yourself twice for the same quadrille. In a polka or valse, you may do this, saying, "I will dance the second half with you, but have a prior engagement for the first." Then, after a few rounds with your first partner, say to him that you are engaged for the remainder of the dance, resume your seat, and your second partner will seek you. Let your manner in a ball room be quiet. It looks very badly to see a lady endeavoring to attract attention by her boisterous manner, loud talking, or over-active dancing. Do not drag through dances as if you found them wearisome; it is an insult to your partner, but while you are cheerful and animated, be lady-like and dignified in your deportment. At the end of each dance, your partner will offer his arm, and conduct you to a seat; then bow, and release him from further attendance, as he may be engaged for the next dance. When invited to dance, hand your ball card to the gentleman, who will put his name in one of the vacant places. If you wish to go to the supper-room, accept the invitation that will be made, after the dances whilst it is open, but do not remain there long. You may be keeping your escort from other engagements. If you are accompanied by a gentleman, besides your father or brother, remember he has the right to the first dance, and also will expect to take you in to supper. Do not let any one else interfere with his privilege. If you wish, during the evening, to go to the dressing-room to arrange any part of your dress, request the gentleman with whom you are dancing to escort you there. He will wait for you at the door, and take you back to the ball-room. Do not detain him any longer than is necessary. Never leave the ball room, for any such purpose, alone, as there are always gentlemen near and round the door, and it looks very badly to see a lady, unattended, going through a crowd of gentlemen. It is best at a ball, to dance only every other dance, as over-fatigue, and probably a flushed face, will follow too much dancing. Decline the intermediate ones, on the plea of fatigue, or fear of fatigue. Never go into the supper-room with the same gentleman twice. You may go more than once, if you wish for an ice or glass of water, (surely no lady wants two or three _suppers_,) but do not tax the same gentleman more than once, even if he invites you after each dance. No lady of taste will carry on a flirtation in a ball room, so as to attract remark. Be careful, unless you wish your name coupled with his, how you dance too often with the same gentleman. If you are so unfortunate as, forgetting a prior engagement, to engage yourself to two gentlemen for the same dance, decline dancing it altogether, or you will surely offend one of them. Never press forward to take the lead in a quadrille, and if others, not understanding the figures, make confusion, try to get through without remark. It is useless to attempt to teach them, as the music, and other sets, will finish the figure long before you can teach and dance it. Keep your temper, refrain from all remark, and endeavor to make your partner forget, in your cheerful conversation, the annoyances of the dance. There is much that is exhilarating in the atmosphere of a ball room. The light, music, company, and even dancing itself, are all conducive to high spirits; be careful that this flow of spirits does not lead you into hoydenism and rudeness. Guard your actions and your tongue, that you may leave the room as quietly and gracefully as you enter it. Avoid confidential conversation in a ball room. It is out of season, and in excessively bad taste. Be modest and reserved, but avoid bashfulness. It looks like a school-girl, and is invariably awkward. Never allow your partner, though he may be your most intimate friend, to converse in a low tone, or in any way assume a confidential or lover-like air at a ball. It is in excessively bad taste, and gives annoyance frequently, as others suppose such low-toned remarks may refer to them. Dance as others do. It has a very absurd look to take every step with dancing-school accuracy, and your partner will be the first one to notice it. A quadrille takes no more steps than a graceful walk. Never stand up to dance in a quadrille, unless you are perfectly familiar with the figures, depending upon your partner to lead you through. You will probably cause utter confusion in the set, annoy the others forming it, and make yourself appear absurd. No young lady should go to a ball, without the protection of a married lady, or an elderly gentleman. Never cross a ball room alone. Never remain in a ball room until all the company have left it, or even until the last set. It is ill-bred, and looks as if you were unaccustomed to such pleasures, and so desirous to prolong each one. Leave while there are still two or three sets to be danced. Do not accept any invitation for these late dances, as the gentleman who invites you may find out your absence too late to take another partner, and you will thus deprive him of the pleasure of dancing. CHAPTER XX. PLACES OF AMUSEMENT. Do not accept an invitation to visit any place of public amusement, with a gentleman with whom you are but slightly acquainted, unless there is another lady also invited. You may, as a young lady, go with a relative or your fiancée, without a chaperon, but not otherwise. Having received an invitation which it is proper for you to accept, write an answer immediately, appointing an hour for your escort to call for you, and be sure that you are ready in good season. To arrive late is not only annoying to those near your seat, whom you disturb when you enter, but it is ill-bred; you will be supposed to be some one who is unable to come early, instead of appearing as a lady who is mistress of her own time. If the evening is cloudy, or it rains, your escort will probably bring a carriage; and let me say a few words here about entering and leaving a carriage. How to get in is difficult, but of less importance than getting out; because if you stumble in, no one sees you, but some one who may happen to be in the carriage; but how to get out is so important, that I will illustrate it by a short diplomatic anecdote:-- "The Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt," says M. Mercy d'Argenteau, an ambassador of the last century, "having been desired by the Empress of Austria to bring her three daughters to court, in order that her Imperial Majesty might choose one of them for a wife to one of her sons, drove up in her coach to the palace gate. Scarcely had they entered the presence, when, before even speaking to them, the empress went up to the second daughter, and, taking her by the hand, said, 'I choose this young lady.' The mother, astonished at the suddenness of her choice, inquired what had actuated it. 'I watched the young ladies get out of their carriage,' said the empress. 'Your eldest daughter stepped on her dress, and only saved herself from falling by an awkward scramble; the youngest jumped from the coach to the ground, without touching the steps; the second, just lifting her dress in front, so as she descended to show the point of her shoe, calmly stepped from the carriage to the ground, neither hurriedly nor stiffly, but with grace and dignity: she is fit to be an empress; her eldest sister is too awkward, her youngest too wild.'" THE THEATRE--Here you must wear your bonnet, though you may throw aside your cloak or shawl, if you desire it. Your escort will pass to your seats first, and then turn and offer his hand to lead you to your own. Once seated, give your attention entirely to the actors whilst the curtain is up--to your companion when it is down. Do not look round the house with your glass. A lady's deportment should be very modest in a theatre. Avoid carefully every motion, or gesture that will attract attention. To flirt a fan, converse in whispers, indulge in extravagant gestures of merriment or admiration, laugh loudly or clap your hands together, are all excessively vulgar and unlady-like. Never turn your head to look at those seated behind you, or near you. If you speak to your companion while the curtain is up, lower your voice, that you may not disturb others interested in the conversation on the stage. THE OPERA--Here you should wear full dress, an opera cloak, and either a head-dress, or dressy bonnet of some thin material. Your gloves must be of kid, white, or some very light tint to suit your dress. Many dress for the opera as they would for the theatre; but the beauty of the house is much enhanced by each lady contributing her full dress toilette to the general effect. If you go to the dressing-room, leave your hood and shawl in the care of the woman in waiting, whom you must fee when she returns them to you. If you do not wish to go to the dressing-room, allow your escort to take off your shawl or cloak, and throw it over the back of the seat. As your opera cloak must be light enough to keep on all the evening, though you may throw it open, you must wear over it a heavier cloak or a shawl. Throw this off in the lobby, just before you enter your box. Your gloves you must keep on all the evening. Avoid handling the play bills, as the printing ink will soil your gloves in a few minutes, making your hands appear very badly for the rest of the evening. You should be in your seat at the opera before the overture commences. Never converse during the performance. Even the lowest toned remark will disturb a real lover of music, and these will be near you on all sides. Exclamations of admiration, "Exquisite!" "Beautiful!" or "Lovely!" are in the worst taste. Show your appreciation by quiet attention to every note, and avoid every exclamation or gesture. In our new opera houses there are rooms for promenade, and between the acts your escort may invite you to walk there. You may accept the invitation with perfect propriety. He will leave the box first and then offer his hand to you. In the lobby take his arm, and keep it until you return to the box. If you have taken your cloak or shawl to your seat, leave them there during your promenade. Return to your seat when the gong sounds the recall, that you may not disturb others after the next act commences. In walking up and down in the promenading saloon, you may pass and repass friends. Bow the first time you meet them, but not again. If you meet your gentlemen friends there, bow, but do not stop to speak. They may join you for once round the room, then allow them to leave you. Your escort will feel justly offended if you allow any other gentlemen to engross your attention entirely when he has invited you to the entertainment. CONCERTS--Here, as at the opera, you may wear a bonnet or not, as you will. Go early to the hall, unless you have secured a seat, and then, be in time for the first song. If you are unavoidably late, enter quietly, and take a seat near the door. It is very rude to push forward to the front of the hall, and either crowd those upon the benches, or force some gentleman to offer you his place. If the hall is so crowded that even the back seats are full, and a gentleman offers you his place, you should thank him before accepting it. Again, I repeat, do not converse, or disturb those around you by exclamations or gesticulations. LECTURES--Two ladies may attend a lecture, unaccompanied by a gentleman, without attracting attention. The dress, bonnet, and cloak, worn in the street, should be worn in a lecture-room, as these are, by no means, occasions for full dress. If you return at an early hour from any place of amusement, invite your escort into the house upon your arrival there, and lay aside your bonnet and shawl. If you keep them on, he will conclude that you expect him to shorten his visit. If it is late when you reach home, he will probably decline your invitation to enter. If, however, he accepts it, do not lay aside your shawl, and he will soon leave you. If he asks permission to call in the morning, you must, unless prevented by an imperative engagement, remain at home to see him. Upon your way home from the theatre, concert, or opera, speak warmly of the pleasure of the evening, and, at parting, thank him for that pleasure. Show by your manner that you have heartily enjoyed the entertainment you owe to his civility. If you are weary, do not allow him to see it. If disappointed, conceal that also. You will be able to find _some_ good points in the performance; speak of these and ignore the bad ones. If at the theatre, opera, or in a concert-room, you see an acquaintance, you are not expected to recognize her, unless near enough to speak. A lady must not bow to any one, even her own sister, across a theatre or concert-room. CHAPTER XXI. ACCOMPLISHMENTS. In the present age, when education is within the reach of all, both rich and poor, every lady will endeavor to become, not only well educated, but accomplished. It is not, as some will assert, a waste of time or money. Not only the fingers, voice, and figure are improved, but the heart and intellect will become refined, and the happiness greatly increased. Take the young lady after a solid basis has been laid in her mind of the more important branches of education, and rear upon that basis the structure of lighter education--the accomplishments. To cultivate these, disregarding the more solid information, is to build your castle without any foundation, and make it, not only absurd, but unsteady. The pleasure of hearing from a lady a _cavatina_ executed in the most finished manner, will be entirely destroyed, if her first spoken words after the performance are vulgar, or her sentence ungrammatical. A lady without her piano, or her pencil, her library of French, German, or Italian authors, her fancy work and tasteful embroideries, is now rarely met with, and it is right that such arts should be universal. No woman is fitted for society until she dances well; for home, unless she is perfect mistress of needlework; for her own enjoyment, unless she has at least one accomplishment to occupy thoughts and fingers in her hours of leisure. First upon the list of accomplishments, comes the art of conversing well. It is always ready. Circumstances in society will constantly throw you into positions where you can use no other accomplishment. You will not have a musical instrument within reach, singing would be out of place, your fancy work at home, on many occasions, and then you can exert your most fascinating as well as useful accomplishment, the art of conversing well. Little culture, unfortunately, is bestowed upon this accomplishment, which, beyond all others, promotes the happiness of home, enlivens society, and improves the minds of both speaker and listener. How many excellent women are deficient in the power of expressing themselves well, or, indeed, of expressing themselves at all! How many minds "cream and mantle" from the want of energy to pour themselves out in words! On the other hand, how some, equally well-intentioned, drown the very senses in their torrent of remarks, which dashes, like a water-fall, into a sombre pool of _ennui_ below! One lady will enter society, well-dressed, well-looking, polite; she does not intend to chill it by her presence; yet her absence is found a relief. She takes her place as if she considered it sufficient to dress and look well. She brings no stock to the community of ideas. Her eyes return no response to the discourse which is going on. When you have once glanced at her, she becomes a mere expletive in the company. Another one will be found a talker. She is like a canary bird; when others begin to speak, she hurries in her remarks, in an accompaniment. Her voice must be uppermost; conversation becomes a contest who can speak the most rapidly. The timid and modest retire from the encounter--she has the field to herself. She goes on, without mercy; the voice of a syren would fatigue, if heard continually. Others revolt at the injustice of the monopoly, and the words fall on ears that would be deaf if they could. These are extreme cases; there are many other minor errors. The higher qualities of conversation must undoubtedly be based upon the higher qualities of the mind; then it is, indeed, a privilege to commune with others. To acquire the power of thus imparting the highest pleasure by conversational powers, attention must be paid to literature. I am supposing the solid foundation of a good education already laid, but by literature, I do not mean only that class of it which is taught at school. Reading, at the present day, is too much confined to light literature. I would not speak against this. The modern novels, and the poets of all ages, are good reading, but let them be taken in moderation, and varied by something more solid. Let them be the dessert to the more substantial _dinner_ of history, travels, and works of a like nature. Independent of the strength and polish given to the mind by a thorough course of reading, there is another reason why a lady should devote some portion of her time to it; she cannot do without it. She may, lacking this, pass through life respectably, even elegantly; but she cannot take her part in a communing with superior minds; she may enjoy, in wondering, the radiance of their intelligence; but the wondering must be composed, in part, of amazement at her own folly, in not having herself sought out the treasure concealed in the fathomless depths of books. She cannot truly enjoy society, with this art neglected. She may, for a few brief years, be the ornament of the drawing-room; but it must be, like many other ornaments there, in still life; she can never be the companion of the intellectual; and the time is gone by, when women, with all their energies excited, will be contented to be the mere plaything of brother, husband, or father. Still it is not to the erudite, nor to the imaginative only, that it is given to please in conversation. The art of imparting our ideas easily and elegantly to others, may be improved by ourselves, if there are opportunities of mingling in good society, with little study. The mind must first be cultivated; but it should not abash those who are conscious of moderate talents, or imperfect cultivation, from taking a due part in conversation, on account of their inferiority. It is a very different thing to shine and to please; to shine in society is more frequently attempted than compassed: to please is in the power of all. The effort to shine, when fruitless, brings a certain disgrace, and engenders mortification; all good people are inclined to take the will for the deed, when they see a desire to please. A gentle, deferential, kind manner, will disarm even the most discerning from criticising too severely the deficiencies of the inexperienced; confidence, disrespect of others, volubility, eagerness to dispute, must irritate the self-love of others, and produce an averseness to acknowledge talent or information, where they may even happen to exist. It is wiser and safer for a young lady, in general, to observe the good, old-fashioned rule of being addressed first; but then she must receive the address readily, meeting it half way, repaying it by enlarging a little upon the topic thus selected, and not sinking into a dull silence, the moment after a reply is given. Some young ladies start, as if thunderstruck, when spoken to, and stare as if the person who pays them that attention, had no right to awaken them from their reverie. Others look affronted, possibly from shyness, and begin a derogatory attack upon the beauty of their dress by twitching the front breadth--or move from side to side, in evident distress and consternation. Time remedies these defects; but there is one less curable and less endurable--that of pertness and flippancy--the loud remarks and exclamations--the look of self-sufficiency and confidence. But these offensive manifestations spring from some previous and deep-seated defects of character, and are only to be repelled by what, I fear, they will frequently encounter--the mortification of inspiring disgust. Neither is the lengthy, prosy, didactic reply, consistent with the submission and simplicity of youth; egotism, and egotism once removed, that is, the bringing into the topic one's own family and relations, are also antidotes to the true spirit of conversation. In general, it is wiser, more in good taste, safer, more becoming, certainly more in accordance with good breeding, to avoid talking of persons. There are many snares in such topics; not merely the danger of calumniating, but that of engendering a slippery conscience in matters of fact. A young girl, shy and inexpert, states a circumstance; she feels her deficiency as a narrator, for the power of telling a story, is a power to be acquired only by practice. She is sometimes tempted to heighten a little the incidents, in order to get on a little better, and to make more impression. She must of course defend her positions, and then she perils the sanctity of truth. Besides, few things narrow the intellect more than dwelling on the peculiarities, natural or incidental, of that small coterie of persons who constitute our world. It is, in general, a wise rule, and one which will tend much to insure your comfort through life, to avoid disclosures to others of family affairs. I do not mean to recommend reserve, or art; to friends and relations, too great frankness can hardly be practised; but, with acquaintance, the less our own circumstances are discussed, the happier, and the more dignified will our commerce with them continue. On the same principle, let the concerns of others be touched upon with delicacy, or, if possible, passed over in silence; more especially those details which relate to strictly personal or family affairs. Public deeds are, of course, public property. But personal affairs are private; and there is a want of true good breeding, a want of consideration and deference, in speaking freely of them, even if your friend is unconscious of the liberty taken. It seems paradoxical to observe that the art of listening well forms a part of the duty of conversation. To give up the whole of your attention to the person who addresses himself to you, is sometimes a heavy tax, but it is one which we must pay for the privileges of social life, and an early practice will render it an almost involuntary act of good breeding; whilst consideration for others will give this little sacrifice a merit and a charm. To listen well is to make an unconscious advance in the power of conversing. In listening we perceive in what the interest, in what the failure of others consists; we become, too, aware of our own deficiencies, without having them taught through the medium of humiliation. We find ourselves often more ignorant than we could have supposed possible. We learn, by a very moderate attention to the sort of topics which please, to form a style of our own. The "art of conversation" is an unpleasant phrase. The power of conversing well is least agreeable when it assumes the character of an _art_. In listening, a well-bred lady will gently sympathize with the speaker; or, if needs must be, differ, as gently. Much character is shown in the act of listening. Some people appear to be in a violent hurry whilst another speaks; they hasten on the person who addresses them, as one would urge on a horse--with incessant "Yes, yes, very good--indeed-- proceed!" Others sit, on the full stare, eyes fixed as those of an owl, upon the speaker. Others will receive every observation with a little hysterical giggle. But all these vices of manner may be avoided by a gentle attention and a certain calm dignity of manner, based upon a reflective, cultivated mind. Observation, reading, and study, will form the groundwork for good powers of conversation, and the more you read, study, and see, the more varied and interesting will be your topics. A young lady should consider music as one branch of her education, inferior, in importance, to most of those studies which are pointed out to her, but attainable in a sufficient degree by the aid of time, perseverance, and a moderate degree of instruction. Begun early, and pursued steadily, there is ample leisure in youth for the attainment of a science, which confers more cheerfulness, and brings more pleasure than can readily be conceived. A young lady should be able to play with taste, correctness, and readiness, upon the general principle that a well educated woman should do all things well. This, I should suppose, is in the power of most persons; and it may be attained without loss of health, of time, or any sacrifice of an important nature. She should consider it as an advantage, a power to be employed for the gratification of others, and to be indulged with moderation and good sense for her own resource, as a change of occupation. Consider in this light, music is what Providence intended it to be--a social blessing. The whole creation is replete with music,--a benignant Power has made the language of the feathered tribe harmony; let us not suppose that He condemns his other creatures to silence in the song. Music has an influence peculiar to itself. It can allay the irritation of the mind; it cements families, and makes a home, which might sometimes be monotonous, a scene of pleasant excitement. Pursued as a recreation, it is gentle, rational, lady-like. Followed as a sole object, it loses its charm, because we perceive it is then over-rated. The young lady who comes modestly forward, when called upon as a performer, would cease to please, were she, for an instant, to assume the air and confidence of a professional musician. There is a certain style and manner--confined now to second-rate performers, for the highest and most esteemed dispense with it--there is an effort and a dash, which disgust in the lady who has bad taste enough to assume them. And, whilst I am on this topic, let me remark that there is a great deal in the _choice_ of music, in the selection of its character, its suitability to your feelings, style, and taste, and this especially with respect to vocal music. There is no doubt that a good Italian style is the best for instruction, and that it produces the most careful and accomplished singers. Suppose a case. Your parents, most fair reader, have paid a high price to some excellent professor, to instruct you--and, with a fair ear, and a sufficient voice, you have been taught some of those elaborate songs which are most popular at the opera. A party is assembled--music is one of the diversions. Forth you step, and, with a just apprehension of the difficulties of your task, select one of those immortal compositions which the most eminent have made their study; you execute it wonderfully, only just falling a _little_ short of all the song should be; only just provoking a comparison, in every mind, with a high standard, present in the memory of every cultivated musician near you. A cold approval, or a good-natured "bravo!" with, believe me, though you do not hear it, a thorough, and, often, expressed conviction that you had better have left the thing alone, follows the effort which has merely proclaimed the fact that, spite of time and money spent upon the cultivation of your voice, you are but a second-rate singer. But, choose a wiser, a less pretending, a less conspicuous path. Throw your knowledge into compositions of a less startling, less aspiring character. Try only what you can compass. Be wise enough not to proclaim your deficiencies, and the critics will go away disarmed, even if they are not charmed. But if there be _any_ voice, _any_ feeling, _any_ science, the touching melody, made vocal by youth and taste, will obtain even a far higher degree of encomium than, perhaps, it actually merits. You will please--you will be asked to renew your efforts. People will not be afraid of cadenzas five minutes long, or of bravuras, every note of which makes one hope it may be the last. It is true that, to a person who loves music, the performance of one of the incomparable songs of Bellini, Rosini, Flotow, or Mozart, is an actual delight--but; when attempted by a young amateur, it should be, like many other delights, confined to the private circle, and not visited upon society in general. Do not suppose that I mean to recommend poor music, or feeble, ephemeral compositions. What is good need not, of necessity, be always difficult. Ballad music is rich in songs adapted for the private performer--and there are many, in Italian, of great beauty, which, though they would not be selected for a concert-room, or for brilliant display, are adapted for ladies. Music is the greatest, best substitute for conversation. It has many merits, in this light. It can never provoke angry retort; it can never make enemies; it can injure no one's character by slander; and in playing and singing one can commit no indiscretion. Music is a most excellent amusement, and, in society, an indispensable one. It aids conversation by occasionally interrupting it for a short period, to be renewed with a new impetus. It makes the most delightful recreation for the home circle, varying the toil and trouble of the father's or husband's working day, by the pleasures of the evening made by music's power to glide smoothly and swiftly. There are but few persons who are entirely without a love for music, even if they do not understand it. They will be borne along upon the waves of a sweet melody to high, pure thoughts, often to delicious memories. The piano is, at the present day, the most popular instrument in society. The harp has ceased to be fashionable, though it is sometimes heard. The latter is a most beautiful accompaniment for the voice, but requires a large room, as, in a small one, it will sound stringy and harsh. The guitar, while it makes a very pleasant accompaniment for the voice, has also the advantage of being easily carried from place to place. It requires as much judgment to select proper instrumental pieces for a parlor performance, as you would display in a choice of songs. Page after page of black, closely printed notes, will drive those who see them from the piano. They may be executed in the most finished style, but they are not suited to general society. In their place, for practice, or for a musical soirée, where every one puts forth her best musical powers, they are appropriate, and will give pleasure, but they are not suited for a mixed party. When asked to play, choose, if you will, a brilliant, showy piece, but let it be short. It is better still to make no attempt at display, but simply try to please, selecting the music your own judgment tells you is best suited to your audience. Avoid the loud, thumping style, and also the over-solemn style. Be sure, before you accept any invitation to play, that you know perfectly the piece you undertake. It is better to play the simplest airs in a finished, faultless manner, than to play imperfectly the most brilliant variations. Avoid movement at the piano. Swinging the body to and fro, moving the head, rolling the eyes, raising the hands too much, are all bad tricks, and should be carefully abstained from. With respect to drawing, modeling, or any pursuits of the same nature, so much depends on taste and opportunity, and they are so little the accomplishments of society that they require but few of those restrictions which music, in its use and abuse, demands. Drawing, like music, should be cultivated early. Its advantages are the habits of perseverance and occupation, which it induces; and the additional delight which it gives to the works, both of nature and of art. Like music, it gives independence--independence of society. The true lover of the arts has a superiority over the indifferent, and, if she be not better prepared for society, is much better fitted for retirement than those who are not so happily endowed with tastes, when in moderation, so innocent and beneficial. There is no accomplishment more graceful, pleasing, healthy, and lady-like, than that of riding well. Avoiding, at the same time, timidity and the "fast" style, keeping within the bounds of elegant propriety, gracefully yielding to the guidance of your escort, and keeping your seat easily, yet steadily, are all points to be acquired. To ride well is undoubtedly an admirable qualification for a lady, as she may be as feminine in the saddle as in the ball room or home circle. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that to become an accomplished horse-woman a lady must unsex herself. But she must have a reserve in her manner, that will prevent contamination from the intercourse which too much riding may lead to. To hunt, or follow the field sports, in a pursuit which is the track of blood, disgusts the true admirer of gentle breeding. And such diversions will certainly result in a coarseness of manner and expression, growing upon the fair equestrian slowly but surely. A harsh voice, loud tone, expressions suited only to manly lips, but unconsciously copied, will follow her devotion to the unfeminine pursuit. Nothing is more revolting than a woman who catches the tone and expressions of men. To hear the slang of jockeyism from female lips, is very offensive, yet ladies who mix in field sports are liable, nay, almost certain, to fall into a style of conversation which is ten times worse than the coarsest terms from the lips of a man. Instances there are, of the fairest of our sex, from a fondness for such diversions, and a habitual participation in such society, becoming hard, bold, and disgusting, even whilst retaining all their female loveliness of person. A lady, unless she lives in the most retired parts of the country, should never ride alone, and even then she will be awkwardly placed, in case of accident, without an escort. In the cities, not only is it unfeminine, but positively dangerous, for a lady to ride unaccompanied by a gentleman, or a man servant. Although it is impossible, within the limits of this little volume, to give many hints upon riding, a few may not be amiss. Like many other accomplishments, a teacher is necessary, if you wish to attain perfection, and no written directions can make you a finished horse-woman, unless you have had tuition and practice. 1. In mounting you are desired, gentle Amazon, to spring gracefully into your saddle, with the slight assistance of a hand placed beneath the sole of the shoe, instead of scrambling uncouthly to your "wandering throne," as Miss Fanshawe wittily calls it, from a high chair, as is frequently done by those who have not been properly instructed. To mount in the orthodox manner, you should stand nearly close to the horse, level with the front of the saddle, and taking the reins slackly in your right hand, you should place that hand on the nearest pommel, to secure your balance in rising, and with your left hand gather up the front of the habit, so as to leave the feet clear. The gentleman should place himself firmly, near, but not so near to you as to impede your rising, and with the same view must hold his head well back, as should he lose his hat from a whisk of your habit the effect produced is not good. You should then present your left foot, and the gentleman placing one hand beneath its sole, and the other above, so as to possess a safe hold, should, with nice judgment, give just such assistance as will enable you easily, with a spring, to vault gracefully into the saddle. You will then arrange your right leg comfortably over the pommel, your cavalier will then place your left foot in the stirrup and arrange the flow of the habit-skirt, and all is complete. All this, though so seemingly simple and easy, requires some little practice to effect neatly and gracefully. 2. Secondly, when riding with a gentleman, remember that you are best placed on the _left_ side; because in that position the graceful flow of your habit is seen to the greatest advantage, while it does not inconvenience the gentleman by getting entangled with his stirrup, nor does it receive the splashes of his horse. 3. But when you have a double attendance of cavaliers, if you be at all a timid rider, it may become discreet to "_pack_" you (forgive the homely phrase) between the two, since, in this position, you are the most thoroughly protected from your own horse's shying, or from other horses or vehicles approaching you too closely, being thus forced to take that part of the road to which the better judgment of your companions inevitably guides you. If you be an accomplished equestrian, you will prefer being outside, and (as has been said) to the left. Sit erect in the middle of your saddle, turning your face full towards the head of your horse. Cling as closely as possible to the saddle, but avoid stooping forward, or using your hands to keep you in your seat. Nervous motions on horseback are not only ungraceful, but dangerous, as your horse will not make any allowance for the delicacy of your nerves, and may prove his objections to a jerking hand, or a twitching rein, in a most decided and disagreeable manner. The riding-dress, or habit, is best made to fit the figure tightly, with tight sleeves. It may be open in the front, over a neatly fitting chemisette, or buttoned close to the throat, with a neat linen collar and cuffs. The loose sacque is ungraceful, but a basque is most becoming on horseback. Gauntlet gloves, of leather, are the most suitable, and must be loose enough to give your hand perfect freedom, yet not so loose as to interfere with its motions. Do not wear the skirt too long; it will be dangerous in case of accident, and it may prove annoying to your horse. Your habit must be made of a material sufficiently heavy to hang gracefully, and not move too much with the wind. For a winter habit, a warmly-lined basque, trimmed at the throat and hands with fur, is an elegant and appropriate dress, and a round cap of the same cloth as the habit, with a band, and pieces to cover the ears, of fur to match the dress trimmings, makes a handsome and appropriate dress. In summer, your hat should be of fine straw, and slouched to shade the face; in winter, of felt, or, if you prefer, a close cap of cloth. The hat may be trimmed with feathers or knots of ribbon, and the shape should be one to protect the complexion, at the same time graceful and becoming. Avoid any display in a riding dress. Choose a material of some dark or neutral tint, and never use showy trimmings. Curls, or any flowing loose style of wearing the hair, will be found exceedingly troublesome on horseback. Arrange it neatly and compactly under your hat, for if a stray curl or lock annoys you, or is blown across your eyes by the wind, your hands will be too fully occupied to remedy the difficulty. Your whip should be light and small, tasteful if you will, but not showy. At the period for which these hints are intended, the Modern Languages should form a portion of acquirement. As in music, an intelligent and assiduous girl may, I believe, acquire an adequate degree of proficiency in French, German, and Italian, without having been abroad, though a foreign tour will be of the greatest use in the acquisition of the accent and niceties of each tongue. With respect to French, it is no doubt essential to comfort to understand it; it is one of the attributes of a lady to speak it well; still, it is not indispensable to speak it so well that the American lady is mistaken for a Parisian. This, which but seldom happens, can only be acquired, in most cases, by a residence abroad. But French is thoroughly and grammatically taught in America. It is only the habit of speaking, the idioms and niceties, which cannot be acquired except by converse with a native. There are hundreds of competent instructors in this country, French ladies and gentlemen amongst the number, who form classes for conversation and familiarizing their pupils with these very idioms. After availing herself of such advantages, a young lady will find that a very short residence abroad will improve and facilitate her French conversation. Much, however, will depend upon how you use the opportunities within your reach. There are many opportunities of practice in large towns; and foreigners give all facilities, by their readiness to converse, their good-nature in listening, and in helping the beginner by kind hints. If a young lady, with simplicity, good breeding, and good taste, endeavors to speak whenever she has an opportunity, words will come as if by intuition. Do not think of by-standers and lookers-on; think only of the individual to whom you are addressing yourself. If possible, be not abashed by one or two errors at the first plunge--swim on till you have confidence. The effort, I grant, is great, and it may be obviated by a foreign education; but where this is impossible, the freedom acquired will more than repay the exertion. In foreign literature, walk carefully, and if you have an older, wiser head than your own to point out the best paths, improve the advantage. One cannot help deeming it a great era in education that German is cultivated as well as Italian and French, and that stores of literature are opened, to vary the delights of intellect, and to give freshness and interest to the studies of youth. The rapture with which the works of Schiller are perused in the original, seems to repay the hours devoted to German; and I am sure the perusal of Tasso, or of the Aristodemo of Monti, would reward the study of Italian, were not the acquisition of that exquisite language of itself a source of poetic pleasure. The modern French writers have increased an everlasting responsibility in corrupting the sources of amusement, open to the young readers, and it is remarkable that most of the distinguished French authors seem to have felt that they had erred, and to have retrieved in some of their works the tendencies of their other productions. Take for instance, Madame de Stael; her books cannot be judged altogether; the effect of some of her eloquent and almost incomparable writings varies in an extraordinary degree. Whilst "Delphine" is unfit for the perusal of a modest woman, her "L'Allemagne" is finely written throughout, and her criticisms and analyses of German writers are full of instruction as well as interest. Still the works open to readers of French are numerous. The tragedies of Corneille and Racine are forcible and finished, and should be read because classical. The "Alzire" of Voltaire and his "Zaire" with the dramas of Casimir de la Vigne are also worthy of perusal. It is not an inspiriting kind of reading, but it is rich in sentiment, and perfectly unexceptionable in moral tone. Although the scepticism of most German writers renders this literature dangerous to a young mind, there are fields of pure, noble writing open in that language. The works of Schiller, for example. His mind was originally noble, his heart good, his love to mankind, and his enquiry after truth were sincere. In early life, he wavered; and the besetting scepticism of the Germans dimmed, for a time, his perceptions of all that is most sublime, as well as true, in our finite knowledge. He was chastened--he suffered--he believed. He died an early but a bright instance that great genius may exist with true and humble piety, and that the mind is never so powerful as when illumined by divine light. His works are a magnificent library in themselves--and I could almost say, be contented to learn German and to read Schiller. Some of his works are open to objection, his "Bride of Messina," portions of "The Robbers," are better omitted from your collection, but "Wallenstein" and "Maria Stuart" are noble and admirable productions. On this subject, and, indeed, on the whole of German literature, Madame de Stael is an excellent guide in her "L'Allemagne," to which I refer the young German student, who is sincerely desirous of gleaning the good, and avoiding the evil in German compositions. Italian literature furnishes a delightful theme for comment. It is singular that an enslaved, and, during many ages, a depraved and degraded people, should have possessed the purest poetry, the least exceptionable drama, in Europe. There is little to exclude, and much to recommend, in this beautiful language. The works of Tasso abound with high sentiment; the "Inferno" of Dante is a sublime picture of eternal retribution, softened with most touching pictures of human woe. Happy are those who have leisure to pursue extensively the acquisition of Italian literature, they may read and commit to memory without fear of an insidious meaning beneath the polished verse, or the prose which has all the charm of poetry. Spanish literature will require the same judicious pruning which is necessary in French and German, but of all languages, it is the most musical for speech, and singing. A lady in society must, if she would not grow utterly weary in company, know how to dance. It has been the practice among many excellent people to represent the ball room as a "pitfall covered with flowers;" a sheet of breaking ice; above, all gayety and motion; below, all darkness and danger. It may be that to some minds the ball room may be replete with temptations; but there are minds which find temptations everywhere. The innocent may be innocent, nay, the pious may feel devout, even in a ball room. There is nothing immoral or wrong in dancing; it is the tendency of youth to dance--it is the first effort of a child--the first natural recreation. It seems so natural that I confess I am always doubtful of the sincerity of those young ladies who profess to dislike the ball room. In the present day, you must understand how to move gracefully through quadrilles, to dance polka, Schottische, Varsovienne, and waltz. To these you may add great variety of dances, each season, probably, bringing a new one. "Dancing," says Mr. Sheldrake, "is one of the most healthy, as well as one of the most pleasing amusements that can be practised by the young. If it is learned from those who are well qualified to teach it, and practised, as it ought to be, consistently with the instructions given, it will contribute more to improve the health, as well as the form of the human frame, than any other exercise. For the discovery and promulgation of the true and correct principles according to which dancing should be taught, the world is indebted to France, a country which has long taken the lead in the elegant arts. In France, dancing was first raised to the dignity of a science, a royal academy being founded for the purpose of teaching and perfecting it, in the reign of Louis Quatorze. In this academy were trained many of the most distinguished dancers of both sexes." One of the most celebrated, Madame Simonet, gave the following account to Mr. Sheldrake of the mode of instruction pursued in the academy:--"All the pupils, before they were permitted to attempt to dance, were completely instructed in what were called the _preparatory exercises_; that is, a system of exercises, which endued all their limbs with strength, firmness, elasticity, and activity; when they had acquired these properties, they began to dance. "In these preparatory exercises, the motions were of the most simple kind, the object being to teach the pupil, gradually and separately, all those movements which, when combined, and rapidly executed, constitute dancing." Madame Simonet thus described those elementary instructions, as gone through by herself:--"She successively learned to stand flat and firm upon both her feet, with her limbs quite straight, and the whole person perfectly upright, but not stiff; then to lift one foot from the ground, and to keep it so for some time without moving any part of her body; she then replaced that foot on the ground, and raised the other in the same manner. These simple actions were repeated till the pupils were quite familiar with them; they were then directed to keep the body quite erect, but not stiff, and bearing firmly upon one leg, to raise the other from the ground, gradually and slowly, by bending the upper joint of the limb, at the same time making the knee straight, and putting the toe to its proper extent, but _no more_. The foot, after it had been kept in this state for some time, was returned to the ground from whence it was taken, and the other foot treated in the same manner; when quite familiarized to these actions, they were directed to walk (march, as some people will call it) slowly, performing the same motions with the feet alternately." The exercises which followed these, were upon the turning out of the feet, the balancing of the body, and other attitudes, which need not be particularized. Mr. Sheldrake gives several examples of persons trained upon these initiatory principles to the profession of dancing, who have lived in health to a great age. "This," says he, "is not the chance lot of a few; for I have, through life, been accustomed to see many persons of the same profession; I have communicated my own observations to many others, and all have agreed in remarking, that those who follow this profession have, very generally, excellent health, which very many of them carry into extreme old age. This indisputable fact can only be accounted for by supposing that the preparatory exercises which these persons go through, are a modification of what I have called regulated muscular tension, or action, and the early and constant practice of which lays a firm foundation for that high health which accompanies them through life. It is upon the same principle that a soldier is never seen with spinal curvature, or other personal deformity, or a stage dancer of either sex with a deformed person; it is, perhaps, impossible that such things should exist, for the plain reason, that the exercises which they begin to practice early in life, and continue regularly through its whole course, render it impossible for them to become so. "The inference to be drawn from these incontrovertible facts is, that if we, in very early life, teach young children to practice similar exercises, and follow them steadily afterwards, we shall confirm them in excellent health, and prevent the accession of those evils which so often cause deformity to the figure, and destruction to the constitution, at later periods of life. I do not propose to make every boy a soldier, or every girl a dancer upon the stage, but to adopt the principles, by the application of which those persons are trained to the successful practices of their several occupations, and so to modify them, that they may qualify other classes of society to follow _their_ different pursuits with equal success; and I am not without hopes that this undertaking will contribute something towards producing this desirable effect." Dancing is an exercise which has been practiced by mankind from the most remote ages. With the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Persians, the founders of the three great empires of the ancient world, dancing was the favorite exercise or accomplishment, and the practice was not less prevalent among their successors in power and importance, the Greeks and Romans. The Jews, also, we learn from Scripture, were strongly attached to the exercise at all periods of their history. At the present day, almost every people that exist, whether barbarous or civilized, has its own form of dancing. It is this universality of the exercise that makes dancing a subject of importance. Being so extensively practiced, it must be the instrument either of good or evil to the human race. It is one of the most healthful and elegant amusements, and cannot be too highly recommended. Among a rude and dissolute people it may degenerate into something worthy of condemnation; but all the blessings we have are similarly liable to abuse, and it would be most unjust to condemn a cheerful domestic amusement, merely because it has, at times, been degraded by people of low, vulgar, immoral tastes. By all physicians, dancing, when pursued in moderation, is recommended as highly conducive to bodily health; and it may be truly said, that, allied with music, nothing is more conducive to _mental_ health, more calculated to drive away melancholy, and put the whole temper into good humor. Dancing is the poetry of motion. It must be performed with ease and grace, and always with a perfect regard for propriety of movement. As an art it is taught by professed masters; and one of the leading rules given to the learner is to raise and lower herself gracefully on the elastic part of her feet, and to keep perfect time to the music. Dancing is really a simple and elegant gliding on the toes, which bend more or less to accommodate the steps, and prevent harsh, ungraceful motion. The most popular dances of the present day, are, first, the quadrille. These are of French origin, comparatively tranquil in their character, and generally danced once or more in every party. They are danced by four couples, one standing on each side of a square. There are many sets of quadrilles, the figures in each varying from the others. But there are five figures in each set. The plain, fancy, Lancers, Polka, Mazourka, and German, are among the most popular. In plain quadrilles, a lady takes no steps, merely walking gracefully through the figures, but her feet must keep perfect time to the music, and she must know the changes of position perfectly. A quadrille may be very properly described as a conversation dance, as there are long pauses between the figures, when the dancers must have a fund of small talk ready for their partners. When moving in the figures, hold out your skirt a little with the right hand, merely to clear the ground, and prevent the possibility of treading upon it. Next come the round dances, the _Valse_, Polka, Schottische, Varsovienne, and Redowa. The Waltz is danced both _à troistemps_ and _deuxtemps_. In the waltz, the position is a most important point. You may so lean upon your partner's arm, and so carry your figure, that the prudish can find but little fault, but you can also make the dance a most immodest one. I cannot, within the limits of my book, go into a long argument as to the propriety of these round dances. Opinions differ, and I am not writing a sermon, but giving, as far as is in my power, hints to ladies in society. It is, therefore, enough for me to know that these dances are tolerated, and that, even were I so inclined, _I_ could not exclude them. To return to the position. Stand a little to the right of your partner, that, in clasping your waist, he may draw you upon his arm to his shoulder, not his breast; the last position is awkward. By observing the first, you have your head free; turn it a little towards the left shoulder; need I say, never lay it upon your partner's shoulder? Throw the head and shoulders a little back, not too much to be consistent with easy grace, place one hand upon your partner's shoulder, and the other in his disengaged hand. So, you are ready to start. The waltz may be danced to very fast time, or to slow music. The last is the most graceful, and there is not so much danger of giddiness. Grace can only be gained by a perfect timing of the steps to the music, and also evenness of step. It is, when properly timed with perfect step, and easy, gliding motion, the most graceful of dances. The Germans, who dance for the sake of _dancing_, will only allow a certain number of waltzers on the floor at one time, and these waltz in streams, all going down one side of the room and up the other, thus rendering collisions impossible. An English writer, in a recent work published on etiquette, speaks of waltzing thus:-- "It is perhaps useless to recommend flat-foot waltzing in this country, where ladies allow themselves to be almost hugged by their partners, and where men think it necessary to lift a lady almost off the ground, but I am persuaded that if it were introduced, the outcry against the impropriety of waltzing would soon cease. Nothing can be more delicate than the way in which a German holds his partner. It is impossible to dance on the flat foot unless the lady and gentleman are quite free of one another. His hand, therefore, goes no further round her waist than to the hooks and eyes of her dress, hers, no higher than to his elbow. Thus danced, the waltz is smooth, graceful, and delicate, and we could never in Germany complain of our daughter's languishing on a young man's shoulder. On the other hand, nothing is more graceless and absurd, than to see a man waltzing on the tips of his toes, lifting his partner off the ground, or twirling round and round with her like the figures on a street organ. The test of waltzing in time, is to be able to stamp the time with the left foot. The waltz is of German origin, but where it is still danced in Germany in the original manner, (as, for instance, among the peasants of the Tyrol,) it is a very different dance. It is there very slow and graceful; the feet are thrown out in a single long step, which Turveydrop, I presume, would call a _jeté_. After a few turns, the partners waltz alone in the same step, the man keeping the time by striking together his iron-shod heels, until with a shout and clapping of hands he again clasps his partner and continues in the same slow measure with her." The position for the polka, redowa, and other round dances, should be the same as that for the waltz, and for the steps, they can only be acquired from a dancing teacher, and are impossible to describe properly. One of the most delightful accomplishments which a lady can possess, and one which is unfortunately but little cultivated, is the art of reading aloud well; reading with expression, taste, animation, and correctness; and this art once acquired, let her also be able to recite well. Long lectures may be given upon elocution, but the advice can be condensed into two directions. First, be sure you pronounce, accent, and enunciate every word correctly; then, throw your whole soul into the words. Study your author carefully, that you may know precisely what he means by each expression, and then try to bury your personal identity, to become, for the time, the character you represent. One of the most delightful ways to spend a social evening, is to devote it to dramatic literature. Invite only guests who read well, or who are really interested listeners, and select a play, or scenes from several plays, and cast the parts among your guests. All jealousy must be put aside, and to-night's Hamlet must condescend to direct Richard to "Stand by, my lord, and let the coffin pass," to-morrow. After a few meetings, the peculiar talent of each reader will be recognized, and you can select your tragedy hero, comedy hero, queen, chambermaid, and other members of the force, with a view to the display of each one's best powers. Vary the entertainment by reciting monologues and dialogues. A whole play will often be found tiresome; it is best to select several scenes, keeping up the thread of the plot, and introducing the best characters, and leave out what is mere interlude, and dispense with some of the subordinate characters. Leave one end of the room entirely vacant for the readers. You will find it more interesting to have the readers stand, and use some little motion; the words will flow more easily, the expressions come more forcibly if the appropriate gesture is made. Love scenes will, of course, require delicate handling, and embracing can be easily omitted; neither would I recommend the action of a dueling scene, or a murder, but merely to add gesture enough to give interest to both readers and audience. You will find some little difficulty from bashfulness, and the "don't like to" people at first, but soon you will discover with delight how many of your friends possess the talent for reading well, and never knew it themselves. You will do well to take a few lessons in elocution, but you need not fear to read if you have never made the accomplishment a study. With a correct knowledge of your own language, and a love for fine writing, you will soon read well. Give to every part you undertake, the full effect intended by the writer. Do not throw all your energy, your whole soul, into a leading part at one time, and slight a subordinate character at another. If you have but five words to read, read them as they would be spoken were you the character you represent for the time. To hear a splendidly written, tragic burst of passion read in a weak, whining voice, is no worse than to have a few simple words from a servant's lips delivered with the gesture and emphasis suited to a Medea or Lady Macbeth. I shall be condemned by many serious and well-judging persons, if I say one word in favor of private theatricals; yet, as it appears to me, there are in these diversions some advantages which are not to be found to excuse the waltz, or the polka, or the ballet, or the hunting field. In private theatricals there is the possibility of _some_ benefit. The study of the finest dramatists, especially of Shakespeare, is not likely to demoralize the mind, or to cool the enthusiasm for what is good. We can scarcely know too well those works which have tended more to form character than any collection of any kind whatsoever. Shakespeare, Sheridan, Bulwer,--but I cannot go through the list of fine dramatic writers whose works elevate the mind and taste. The plays of Sheridan, Knowles, and Bulwer, are, in most instances, well adapted for private representations--the most exquisite delineations of female character may be found in the dramatic library, and high, pure, manly thoughts, may be traced, line after line, to the same source. Private theatricals should, however, be regulated with much judgment. I see no reason to restrict too severely talent of this kind where it exists, any more than to crush a dawning taste for the other fine arts. What we have to do is to raise and direct it; never to let it occupy too much time, nor to become the business of life; never to let it infringe upon duties; never to allow it to lead us into an unreasonable, and, therefore, criminal expense. Our ancestors were content to strew their stage at the end of their halls with rushes, and to hang up the name of the scene, instead of a scene, before each act. The best preparations, which generally render private theatricals both laborious and expensive, add but little to the pleasure of the beholders, whose attention is fixed upon the actors, and who can always see far finer scenes at a minor theatre than at any private theatricals. Were we content with greater simplicity in our amusements, how much vain ostentation, heart-sickening expense, self-recrimination, and trouble, might be avoided! As a valid objection to private theatricals, it has been urged that they are apt to encourage a taste for the green-room of the public theatre in young men and boys; in women the risk is less, for few women are ever known to go on the stage except from necessity. I own this objection to theatricals is the greatest that can be urged. It can only be answered in mitigation that, where there exists a taste of the kind, it is better that it should be indulged at home, instead of at the theatre, with the modest inmates of a well-governed house, instead of with professional actors. Like all other amusements, the abuse is probable, but the power of restraint rests within ourselves. Under the same head as private theatricals may come dramatized charades and proverbs, so much in fashion at the present time. These last have some great advantages over the standard plays; they are better suited to a parlor; they do not provoke comparison between the young actors, and the favorite public idols; they require but little scenery and arrangement; they are short; and they do not require so many subordinate characters. Impromptu charades and proverbs are delightful, and are the occasion for much merriment; the mistakes, the absurd contrasts between character and costume, the scenery--a deep, hanging wood, the court of Louis Quatorze or the deck of a man of war, being improvised at a moment's notice, only add to the merry enjoyment. One rule you must observe if you join in these amusements: never to carry your gayety into romping. Merry and laughing you may be, yet never forget you are a lady. You may personate a newly-caught Irish chambermaid, use the broadest brogue, wear the commonest dress, throw yourself heartily and thoroughly into the part, losing your personal identity almost entirely, and yet you may retain that nameless charm, which will place you in the mind of each of the audience as a lady of refinement. You must also be perfectly good-natured and self-sacrificing; ready to play the smallest parts with the same interest you would throw into the principal ones. Try to throw out all the good points in the parts taken by the other members of the company. If you play an insignificant part, play it well, with all the grace you can, make the most of it, but do not try to raise it to the first place. Yield gracefully the prominent position to those who claim it in the plot of the play, and never try by conspicuous dress or by play, to go beyond the position set down for you. Another delightful accomplishment, and one which will aid you if you are studying drawing and painting, is that of arranging _tableaux vivants_. Mrs. Severn gives the following hints upon this subject: "Perhaps there is no intellectual amusement in fashionable life, the nature of which is so little understood, as the _tableau vivant_; it being generally considered as only a vehicle for display, whereas its real purpose is to arrange scientifically a combination of natural objects, so as to make a good picture according to the rules of art. "A _tableau vivant_ is literally what its name imports--a living picture composed of living persons; and, when skilfully arranged and seen at a proper distance, it produces all the effect of a real picture. It is said, that the first living picture was contrived by a profligate young German nobleman, who having, during the absence of his father, sold one of the celebrated pictures belonging to the old castle, which was an heir-loom, to conceal the deficiency, placed some of his companions behind the frame, so as to imitate the missing picture, and to deceive his father, who passed through the room without being conscious of his loss. "A _tableau vivant_ may be formed in two ways: it may consist of a group of persons, who take some well-known subject in history or fiction to illustrate, and who form a group to tell the story according to their own taste; or, it may be a copy, as exact as circumstances will permit, of some celebrated picture. The first plan, it may be easily imagined, is very rarely effective; since, as we find that even the best masters are often months, or even years, before they can arrange a group satisfactorily on canvas, it is not probable that persons who are not artists should succeed in making good impromptu pictures. Indeed, it has been observed, that artists themselves, when they have to arrange a _tableau vivant_, always prefer copying a picture to composing one. "Copying a real picture, by placing living persons in the positions of the figures indicated in the picture, appears, at first sight, an easy task enough; and the effect ought to be easily attained, as there can be no bad drawing, and no confused light and shade, to destroy the effect of the grouping. There are, however, many difficulties to conquer, which it requires some knowledge of art to be aware of. Painting being on a flat surface, every means are taken to give roundness and relief to the figures, which qualities of course are found naturally in a _tableau vivant_. In a picture the light is made effective by a dark shadow placed near it; diminished lights or demi-tints are introduced to prevent the principal light appearing a spot; and these are linked together by artful shades, which show the outline in some places, and hide it in others. The colors must also be carefully arranged, so as to blend or harmonize with each other. A want of attention to these minute points will be sufficient to destroy the effect of the finest picture, even to those who are so unacquainted with art as to be incapable of explaining why they are dissatisfied, except by an involuntary liking or disliking of what they see. "The best place for putting up a _tableau vivant_ is in a door-way, with an equal space on each side; or, at least, some space on both sides is necessary; and if there is a room or a passage between the door selected for the picture and the room the company is to see it from, so much the better, as there should be a distance of at least four yards between the first row of the spectators and the picture. It must be remembered that, while the tableau is being shown, nearly all the lights must be put out in the room where the company is assembled; and, perhaps, only one single candle, properly placed, in the intervening space between the company and the tableau, must be left slightly to illuminate the frame. In the above-mentioned door-way a frame, somewhat smaller than the original picture, must be suspended, three, four, or even five feet from the floor, as may suit the height of the door; or, if the door is not very high, the frame may be put one or two feet behind, to gain space; but care must be taken to fill up the opening that would, in that case, show between the door-way and the frame; also a piece of dark cloth ought to be put from the bottom of the frame to the ground, to give the appearance of the picture hanging on the wall. The most important thing is, that the chairs or tables ought to be placed behind the frame, so that the persons who are to represent the tableau may sit or stand as nearly in the position, with regard to the frame, as the figures appear to do in the real picture they are trying to imitate, and at about two feet from the frame, so that the light which is attached to the back of the frame may fall properly on the figures. In order to accomplish this, great study and contrivance are required, so that the shades may fall in precisely the same places as in the original picture; and sometimes the light is put on one side, sometimes on the other, and often on the top; and sometimes shades of tin or paper are put between the lights and the tableaux, to assist in throwing a shadow over any particular part. The background is one of the most important parts, and should be made to resemble that of the picture as nearly as possible; if it is dark, coarse cloth absorbs the light best; but whether it is to be black, blue, or brown, must depend on the tint of the picture; should the background be a light one, colored calico, turned on the wrong side, is generally used. If trees or flowers form the background, of course real branches or plants must be introduced to imitate those in the picture. Even rocks have been imitated; and spun glass has often successfully represented water. A thin, black gauze, black muslin, or tarlatan veil, should be fastened to the top of the frame, on the _outside_ of it, through which the tableau is to be seen. "Care ought to be taken to conceal the peculiarities of the different materials used in the draperies, and it is even sometimes necessary to cover the stuffs used for the purpose with a gauze of a different color, so as to imitate the broken and transparent colors found in most good pictures. This, carefully attended to, will give a quietness and simplicity to the whole, which will greatly add to the illusion." The next subject upon the list of accomplishments, should be filled by some words upon fancy sewing. Under this head will come--Crochet, Knitting, Tapestry work, Embroidery, Chenille work, Netting, Canvas work, Berlin wool work, Frame work, Braiding, Bead work, etc. Small social gatherings will be much more entertaining, the time will pass much more quickly, and the conversation flows more freely if the fingers are employed with some light work. Pretty presents--nay, beautiful ones--may be made in this way, when the fingers would otherwise be idle, and these will have an additional value in being the work of your own hands. From the most remote ages needlework has been, not only a source of pecuniary advantage for poor women, but also of pleasant pastime for the rich. It is one of the most elegant of the imitative art, and from time immemorial it has been an amusement for otherwise idle fingers, from the cottage to the palace. I have not space for a long disquisition upon the uses and pleasures of fancy work; every woman has moments when such pretty playwork will be a valuable recreation. The taste for fancy work increases daily, and can be made not only ornamental, but useful. A ladies' wardrobe consists of so many, and such varied objects, that the evenings of an entire winter may be spent in making various useful garments, which are, at the same time, suitable for company sewing. Opera hoods, wool shawls, sleeves, Sontags, and other ladies' articles, may be varied by embroidering smoking caps, slippers, or handkerchiefs for gentlemen. Embroidering on canvas, or tapestry work, opens a large field for taste and skill in execution. Beautiful articles for presents, chair covers, sofa cushions, slippers, may be worked in the otherwise idle moments spent in familiar society, and the fingers will soon acquire skill and astonishing rapidity. The German ladies have constantly on hand a piece of netting or other fancy work, which they carry from place to place, and take out when conversing; and so far from entirely engrossing their thoughts, they chat more readily and freely with their fingers thus employed. American ladies will find the custom worth imitating. Many tedious hours will be smoothly, pleasantly passed, with the mind free, but the fingers pleasantly occupied. An evening passed in sewing or knitting, with one good reader to entertain the industrious workers, will be found very pleasant. I have known a circle of young people meet every week to work in this way, the reader being changed twice or three times in the course of the evening, and these meetings have proved so pleasant, that scarcely any member failed to plead "prior engagement" if invited out upon the evening appointed to read and sew. It was formerly objected by the adversaries to mental cultivation in women, that the acquirement of book learning would make them neglect needlework; but so far from this being the case, the present, which is often called the age of learning, is preëminently a working age. Never were fingers more actively engaged than those of the rising female generation; braiding, embroidery, Berlin work, knitting, netting, and crochet, are all in full play. A long neglected work has been recently revived, called by the French "La Frivolité." It is very pretty evening work, partly because it does not impede conversation, for it may be carried on almost without looking at it, and partly because no other work shows to so much advantage the grace and delicacy of the hands. The most simple form of this work was anciently known under the name of Tatting, but that only consisted of a series of loops in a straight line, which were used for trimming linen articles, and which was not so pretty as La Frivolité, which has varieties which are a good imitation of point, and may be used for collars and sleeves. I give a few specimens of pretty work for evening sewing, and refer the reader to "The Ladies' Handbook of Embroidery," published by G. G. Evans, for a full, complete description of every kind of fancy work, with specimens, patterns, and clear, plain directions. NETTED CUFFS--These cuffs are very pretty, and easy to make. They are in plain netting, and will require white, and five shades of scarlet wool. Set on thirty-five stitches of the white wool. Net five rows, then take a mesh a very little larger, and widen by netting two stitches in every stitch. Then net with the smallest mesh the two lightest shades, one row of each, and two rows of the other three shades. Then graduate the shades back again to white, narrowing the first row of white with the larger mesh. Net ten rows with the smaller mesh, widen again, repeat the shades of red, narrow again, and finish with the five rows of white. KNITTED OPERA CAP. MATERIALS REQUIRED--Half an ounce of white and half an ounce of shaded Berlin wool will be sufficient. Cast on a hundred stitches with white wool, and knit and pearl alternately for four rows. _Shaded wool_--Knit one row plain; next row bring forward, and take two together to the end. _White wool_--Knit and pearl alternately four rows. _Shaded wool_--Knit plain six rows. _White wool_--Knit a row, decreasing it by taking the first two stitches together, and the last two. Pearl a row. Knit a row, decreasing it as before. Pearl a row. _Shaded wool_--Knit a row, decreasing at the beginning and end. Next row, bring forward and take two together to the end. _White wool_--Knit a row, decreasing at both ends. Pearl a row. Knit a row, decreasing as before. Pearl a row. FOR THE PATTERN IN THE CENTRE OF THE CAP. SHADED WOOL--_1st row_--Slip one. Knit two plain stitches (_a._) Wool forward. Knit one. Wool forward. Knit two together. Knit one. Knit two together. Repeat from (_a._) _2nd row_--Pearled. _3rd row_--Slip one. Knit two plain stitches (_b._) Wool forward. Knit three plain stitches. Wool forward. Slip one. Knit two together. Pass the slipped stitch over the knitted ones. Repeat from (_b._) _4th row_--Pearled. _5th row_--Slip one. Knit two plain stitches, (_c._) Wool forward. Knit two together. Knit one. Knit two together. Wool forward. Knit one. Repeat from (_c._) _6th row_--Pearled. _7th row_--Slip one. Knit two plain stitches (_d._) Wool forward. Slip one. Knit two together. Pass the slipped stitch over the knitted ones. Wool forward. Knit three plain stitches. Repeat from (_d._) _8th row_--Pearled. Repeat the last eight rows. _White wool_--Knit and pearl alternately for four rows; decrease at the beginning and ending of the two plain rows. _Shaded wool_--Knit one plain row; decrease at the beginning and ending. Next row; bring the wool forward, knit two together to the end of the row. _White wool_--Knit and pearl alternately for four rows; decrease at the beginning and ending of the two plain rows. Knit eighteen plain stitches, run a piece of cotton through the remaining sixty-two stitches. Pearl and knit alternately, decreasing at the beginning and ending of every plain row, until you have four stitches remaining; cast them off; then take up eighteen stitches on the opposite sides, and work a piece to correspond; leaving forty-four centre stitches on the cotton. Take up the centre stitches on a needle pointed at both ends, draw the cotton out; then pick up fourteen stitches at each end of the needle. _Shaded wool_--Knit two plain rows. _White wool_--Knit one plain row. Next row; wool forward, knit two together to the end of the row. _Shaded wool_--Knit two plain rows and cast off. Join the two points together at the back of the cap. Fold the front at the first pattern row, and hem it to form the scallop at the edge. Pick up eighty stitches at the back of the cap. AN ECONOMICAL POINT COLLAR. It is well known that worked muslin collars, particularly if the work is good, very soon wear out; as the work is too heavy for the muslin, which, when it has been washed two or three times, becomes full of slits and holes, though the work is still as good as ever. When this is the case, cut the muslin off the work with a pair of sharp scissors, and lay the work on the pattern of a collar cut in paper, so as to fill the whole of the pattern. The work may be taken from two or three collars; the arrangement of it must depend upon taste. When the cut-out work is properly arranged, it must be tacked or basted to the paper pattern; and this is best done with colored thread, that no mistake may arise when the basting threads are to be drawn out. Four or six threads are then drawn from one piece of work to another, with a needle and cotton, so as to attach them together, and the loose threads are then overcast like button-holes, so as to imitate the uniting threads of point lace. When well done, with a sufficient quantity of the uniting threads, to make the work firm, these collars are handsome, and will wash and wear well. KNITTED VEILS. It is now customary to knit white veils of what is called Lady Betty's wool, for babies to put over their faces when they are carried out in cold weather, instead of pocket-handkerchiefs, which were formerly used for the purpose, though they were very unfit for it. Knitted veils in black silk or worsted are also worn by grown-up persons. The veils for babies are very simple in their construction; they consist of oblong pieces of knitting of any width and depth that may be required, with knitted lace at the bottom and sides, and a string case at the top. The following pattern is the most common: Knit and pearl alternately four rows, so that there may be two of each; then bring forward and take two together an entire row. This pattern is repeated through the entire veil; and it must be observed, that as many stitches must be cast on as will make it of the necessary width. The needles should be of the smallest size, of bone. Any lace will do; but the following pattern, though not new, is both pretty and suitable; and has, besides, the important recomendation of being very easy. Cast on eleven stitches and knit a row plain, then begin the pattern. _1st row_--Knit three; bring forward and take two together; knit one, take two together; put the thread twice round the needle, take two together, and knit one. _2nd row_--Knit two, pearl one, knit one, put the thread twice round the needle, take two together, bring forward, and knit five. _3rd row_--Knit three, bring forward, take two together, knit one, bring forward, knit two, pearl one, bring forward, take two together, and knit two. _4th row_--Knit two, bring forward, knit five, bring forward, take two together, knit five. _5th_ row--Knit three, bring forward, and take two together, knit the rest plain. _6th row_--Cast off four, and knit the rest plain. HINTS TO CROCHET-WORKERS. Examine carefully the form of the needle, and _try_ the hook, to ascertain that it is perfectly smooth. Some are so sharp and ill-made as to tear the cotton. Select those which are not of uniform thickness up to the hook; the best are those which are thinner there than an inch farther up. Where the needle is not proportionally fine near the hook, it is almost impossible to keep the work even. Chain stitch ought to be done rather loosely, as working on it afterwards contracts it, and is apt to give it a puckered appearance. It is often advisable to use a needle one size larger for making the chain than for the rest of the work, especially in edgings. It will be found much easier to work the succeeding rows when this precaution is taken. Crochet needles should be kept in a housewife similar to those used for ordinary needles. The slightest soil or rust should be effaced with fine sandpaper. ORNAMENTAL NET FOR THE HAIR. Take two pieces of fine silk braid, scarlet or royal blue, and a No. 3 bone crochet hook. Make a chain of eight stitches, unite the ends, and then D. C. the first round, putting two stitches into each loop; there will now be sixteen stitches and in the next round one long must be worked into every stitch, and two chain between each long; the round will now consist of forty-eight stitches, and we commence the pattern, or diamonds. _3rd round_--Three long, two chain, four long with two chain after each, and these long put into every second loop; repeat. _4th round_--Five long, two chain, five long with two chain after each, and these long put into every second loop with the exception of the fifth or last of them, which must skip two stitches instead of one; repeat. _5th round_--Seven long, two chain, seven long with two chain after each, and each of these long put into every second stitch; repeat. _6th round_--Five long, two chain, five long with two chain after each, and each of these long put into every other stitch, three long, two chain, five long again with two chain after each, and each put into every second stitch; repeat from beginning. _7th round_--Three long, two chain, five long with two chain after each and worked in every third loop, five long, two chain, five long again with two chain after each, and these long worked as aforesaid in every third loop; repeat from beginning. _8th round_--One long, two chain, five long with two chain after each and these long put into every third stitch, seven long, two chain, again five long, &c. &c.; repeat from beginning. _9th round_--Six long with two chain after each and work in every third stitch, (five long, twelve long with two chain after each, these long put in every third stitch); repeat the pattern in brackets. _10th round_--Nine long with two chain after them, these long being worked in every second loop, (three long, two chain, nineteen long with two chain after them, and the long worked in every second loop); repeat the pattern in brackets. _11th, 12th, and 13th rounds_--A long and two chain all round, and the long being worked alternately in every second and third loop; care being taken to bring one into the position to complete each diamond as it is come to. A crochet edging, begun with braid, and the last two or three rows worked with gold twist as nearly the size of the braid as may be, and a cord and tassels, finish off this elegant head-dress. The cord should be run in and out through the thirteenth round. We, however, prefer a single-crochet band of some fifty stitches long and six or eight wide, worked in the same material as the net, to a cord, and this band may be finished off with a piece of gold fringe instead of tassels at the ends, or with a scallop of edging crocheted in gold twist. DRESS GLOVE BANDS; FULL OR FRILLED SHAPE. Take three pieces of fine embroidery chenille, and a No. 3 bone crochet hook. Make a chain of about forty stitches, or one long enough to go round the wrist; Dc one row. _3rd row_--Two long, one chain and miss a stitch--repeat this all along. Then one row Dc. _6th row_--Long crochet worked _very_ loosely, so much so as to leave these stitches _at least_ half an inch high; two stitches to be put into every second or third loop and one in each of the others all the way along; fasten off. Join the chenille now on to the first row, and work a similar row or frill to the one just directed, so that there be one on each side. Run a narrow velvet through the holes of the third row and affix wider velvet ends, or chenille tassels to each extremity. Finish off with a button and loop, and flute the frill on each side over the finger to make it set. We need scarcely say that the chenille used should be selected to match or agree with the evening dress, and that the velvet must match the chenille. These bands may be made to look very handsome by working a row of Dc loosely and evenly along the edge of each frill with gold or silver twist, and running a band of gold or silver braid or trimming through the holes in the third row instead of velvet. Then small bullion tassels to match the twist will form a suitable and elegant finish. These bands may be worked round and slid over the hand like muffatees, or made open as we have directed and buttoned, like the glove. The buttons should be covered with crochet, and the loops crocheted. KNITTED UNDER HABIT SHIRT. Three ounces of Three thread White Fleecy Wool. Pair of No. 10 Bone Knitting Pins. Cast on forty-five stitches. Knit three rows. _4th row_--Knit ten; Ã� make two and knit two together; knit one; Ã� knit the last six stitches. _5th row_--Knit, dropping the second of each of the two made stitches all along. Knit eight rows. _14th row_--Knit ten; Ã� make one and knit two together Ã� repeat until six remain; knit three; make one; knit three. _15th row_--Knit six; Ã� make one and knit two together Ã� repeat until ten remain, which knit. Repeat these two rows three times more each, only not enlarging one (as in the end of row fourteen), _every_ time, but only once in four rows, merely knitting the six in the intervening rows. _22nd row_--Knit. Knit the next seven rows. _30th row_--Same as _14th_. _31st_ row--Same as _15th_. Keep on alternately knitting eight open, and then eight knitted rows, and enlarging one stitch at the end in every fourth row until there are a hundred and twenty-four rows. Then decrease one stitch at the beginning or front in every other row for thirty-two rows, still continuing the pattern as before, and still enlarging one stitch in every fourth row, at the end or back. This shapes one side of the neck. Now knit forty-eight rows without increase or decrease at either end, continuing the pattern or alternation of eight open and eight plain knitted rows. This forms the back of the neck and the bottom of the back of the habit-shirt. In the next thirty-two rows we diminish one in every fourth row, by knitting two together at the back, while at the same time in every fourth row, at the back, we knit two together, and make one in order to form a series of holes, or pattern parallel to that on the other side caused by enlarging in every fourth row. We also cast on one, at the opposite end, in every other row, to shape the second side of the neck. We then knit one hundred and twelve rows, having each ten knitted stitches in the front of the habit-shirt, as on the opposite side, and six at the back, and decreasing one in every fourth row, at the back, and continuing the pattern, and also the series of holes at the back. Knit eight rows. Knit ten stitches, Ã� make two and knit two together; Ã� knit six at end. Knit all, dropping the second of each of the two made stitches. Knit two rows; cast off. Now, with same needles, pick up the stitches all along the right front of the habit-shirt; knit two rows and cast off. Do the same on the left front. Then pick up those of the neck, and do the same, shaping it, if necessary, by knitting two together occasionally. These finishing-off rows look pretty done in pale pink or blue wool. Button-holes may be made thus:--in the front or where the ten stitches are, and about once in thirty rows, knit three; cast off four; knit three instead of knitting the ten as usual. Next row, when we get back to the ten stitches, knit three; cast on four; knit three. INFANT'S KNITTED SOCKS. Half an ounce of White Lamb's Wool. Three No. 13 Knitting Needles. Cast on Thirty stitches. _1st row_--Knit. _2nd row_--Knit two; make or enlarge one stitch by picking up one from the previous row and knitting it; knit all the rest. _3rd row_--Knit. Repeat second and third rows alternately four times more each of them. _12th row_--Knit two; make a stitch according to directions above given; knit rest until four remain; knit two together; knit two. _13th row_--Knit. Repeat these two rows alternately three times more each. _20th row_--Knit two; enlarge one as before directed; knit rest until two remain; enlarge one; knit two. _21st row_--Knit. Repeat these two rows alternately three more times each. _28th row_--Knit. _29th row_--Knit fourteen stitches, and leave the other upon the needle. Take up the third needle and knit twenty rows more, of fourteen stitches each. _49th row_--Knit two together; knit twelve; on same needle, and with same wool, cast on twenty-seven stitches. _50th row_--Knit. _51st row_--Knit two; knit two together; knit rest until four remain; knit two together; knit two. _52nd row_--Knit. Repeat these two rows alternately twice more each. _57th row_--Knit two; make one in manner directed; knit rest until four remain; knit two together; knit two. _58th row_--Knit. Repeat these two rows alternately three times more each. _65th row_--Knit all until four remain; knit two together; knit two. _66th row_--Knit. Repeat these two rows alternately four more times each. _75th row_--Knit. _76th row_--Cast off. This completes the slipper portion of the sock. We now begin the instep-piece. Take the wool and knit off ten stitches from the needle on which the twenty-seven stitches were left; knit these ten from the toe-end, or that where the twenty rows of fourteen stitches each has been made; leave the remaining seventeen stitches still on the same needle. Knit twenty rows of ten stitches, and in every other one pick up the edge-stitch of the toe-piece and knit it with the tenth stitch, so as to unite these two portions, viz: the toe and the instep. With each stitch of the twentieth row, an edge-stitch of the side at the toe-end of the slipper must be picked up, knitted and cast off, and a neat and entire union of the toe of the slipper and the instep piece formed. This instep piece is to be ribbed in rows of four, viz: four rows in which the plain side is uppermost, and four rows in which the pearled side is uppermost. We now commence the leg portion of the sock. With the needle which has been left in the first side of the slipper carefully pick up the edge-stitches all along the instep-piece and side of the slipper; when this is done, there should be about fifty on the needle. Take the wool and knit all along, including the picked up stitches, and the seventeen originally on the needle. Knit two rows. _4th row_--Knit two; Ã� make two (not by picking up, but in the ordinary way, by passing the wool twice over the needle), and knit two together; knit one; Ã� repeat. _5th row_--Knit all; casting off one of each of the double made stitches. Now knit twenty rows ribbed like the instep-piece. _26th row_--Ã� Knit one; make one and knit two together; Ã� repeat all round. _27th row_--Knit. _28th row_--Knit two; Ã� make one and knit two together; knit one; Ã� repeat. _29th, 30th, and 31st rows_--Knit. _32nd row_--Cast off. Take a wool needle, thread it with wool, and sew up the sock neatly, stitch for stitch, from the top of the leg to the point of the sole; then sew the toe; turn it; put on a little rosette of raveled wool; run a ribbon in and out through the holes at rows 4 and 5, of the leg portion, and it is completed. As this is intended for an Infant's Sock, we have ordered white wool, that being most useful; should it, however, be wished to knit socks for an older baby, the slipper may be made of Cerise, Scarlet, Pale Blue, Green, or Straw-colored wool; and the 26th, 27th, and 28th rows, of the leg portion, and the casting-off done in the color of the slipper; while the instep-piece and the rest of the sock are made in white wool. The sock may also be enlarged by casting on extra stitches in the beginning, and adding a couple of rows to each of the divisions of the slipper part, and enough to the toe to preserve its form and symmetry. Almost any of the open anti-maccassar patterns may be used for knitting the sock and instep-piece, if a light lace-like appearance is desired. The well-known rose-leaf pattern looks particularly pretty. CHAPTER XXII. SERVANTS. An English writer, speaking of servants, says:-- "There is no question but that we should seek to perform _all_ our duties without hope of recompense; and yet, as regards our treatment of servants, we should be especially careful that, in endeavoring to make their bodily comfort and mental improvement an object of consideration, we do not allow ourselves to dwell on the hope of gratitude or affection from them in return. Many have done so, and having, with that view, been tempted to accord unwise indulgences and to overlook serious faults, they have found that, far from gaining the love of their servants, they have incurred their contempt; and when they have perceived that their favors, unappreciated, have led but to new encroachments, they have hardened their hearts and rushed into an opposite extreme. Then they have considered their servants as mere machines, from which labor must be extorted by all available means. "A man servant is rarely grateful, and seldom attached. He is generally incapable of appreciating those advantages which, with your cultivated judgment, you know to be the most conducive to his welfare. Do you accord to him regular hours, a stated allowance of work; do you refrain from sending him out because it is wet and he is unwell; do you serve yourself rather than ring for him at dinner time; he will rarely have the grace to thank you in his heart for your constant consideration. Hear him! He will thus describe a comfortable place:--'There were very few in the family; when they went out of a night, we made it up of a morning; we had nice hot suppers, and the cook made a good hash for breakfast, and we always got luncheon between that and dinner; and we were all very comfortable together, and had a friend in when we liked. Master swore at us sometimes, but often made us a present for it when he had been very violent; a good-hearted man as ever lived, and mistress was quite the lady, and never meddled with servants. It was a capital place!' "Servants' sympathies are with their equals. They feel for a poor servant run off his legs, and moped to death; they have no feeling for a pains-taking mistress, economical both from principle and scanty means; they would (most of them) see her property wasted, and her confidence abused without compunction. It is the last effort of a virtue in a servant if, without any _private reason_, he should discharge his duty by informing you of the injury which you are enduring at the hands of his fellow servant. It is an effort of virtue, for it will bring down many a bitter taunt and hard word upon his faithful head. '_I_ never got a servant out of a place by telling tales on him,' will be said to him. Directly a servant departs, we all know, tongues, tied before, are loosed, to gain our favor by apparent candor. When it can avail us nothing, we are told. We all know this, and have said, 'Be silent now, you should have mentioned this at the time.' Supposing, then, you have the _rara avis_, the servant that 'speaks at the time,' be chary of him, or let me say _her_, (the best servants are women.) Oh! as you value her, let her not suppose you cannot part with her. Treat her with confidence, but with strict impartiality; reprove when necessary, mildly, but decidedly; lest she should presume (power is so tempting), and compel you, if you would retain your freedom, to let her go. "There is one thing a man servant values beyond all that your kindness and your consideration can do for him--his liberty; liberty to eat, drink, and be merry, with your things in the company of his own friends; liberty to get the housemaid to clean his candlesticks, and bring up his coals; and the housemaid wishes for liberty to lie in bed in the morning, because she was up so late talking to John in the pantry; liberty to wear flounces and flowers. The cook desires liberty too. For this liberty, if you grant it, they will despise you; if you deny it, they will respect you. Aim at their esteem; despair of their love or gratitude; make your place what the best class of servants will value, and, though in their heart, they may not thank you for it, you will gain, perhaps, one servant out of twenty who will keep gross imposition and gross immorality at bay. "These remarks can never be intended to deny the warm attachment of female servants to the children of their employers. Deep love, no doubt, is lavished by many a woman on the babe she has nursed. There is a great deal to be said on the chapter of nurses which would require to be dealt with by itself. Much wisdom is required in the administration of a nursery, to which few general rules would apply. Cruel is the tyranny the nurse frequently practises on the parent, who often refrains from entering her nursery, not from want of love to her children, but positive dread of the sour looks which greet her. Let her be firm, let no shrinking from grieving her darling, who would 'break his heart if his Nanna went,' deter her from discharging the encroaching servant. "I know a lady who was quietly informed by her nurse that she must have a 'specified hour' for visiting her children, for that her entering without ceremony was most inconvenient. The poor young lady, who was fully persuaded her delicate infant would die, if removed to a stranger's hands, meekly obeyed, and though tortured by the cries of the poor sickly baby, never dared to intrude lest the nurse should abandon it. This is a true history, and the sequel may as well be given: that the nurse remained seven years, at the end of which time, having become insupportable, though really devoted to the children, she gave warning, and, though it cost her mistress bitter tears and much resolution, she was suffered to depart, and then peace entered that house. "On the choice of servants much of the comfort of the young housekeeper depends. It often happens that her choice has been determined by appearance rather than the value of character. If such be the case, she will have many difficulties to encounter. It is, in the present day, hardly safe to take a servant if there be a single objection to character, however it may be glossed over by the person referred to on this point; for there is now an unhealthy disposition to pass over the failings of servants who have left their places, and to make them perfect in the eyes of others. In respect to sobriety, many people will not acknowledge that a servant had had the vice of drinking, but will cover the unpleasant truth in such gentle and plausible terms that it becomes difficult to comprehend how far the hint is grounded, or not. Be assured when a lady or gentleman hesitates on this point, or on that of honesty, it is wiser not to engage a servant. Nor are you deviating from Christian charity in not overlooking a dereliction of so material a sort. The kindest plan to the vast community of domestic servants is to be rigid in all important points, and having, after a due experience, a just confidence in them, to be somewhat indulgent to errors of a more trivial nature. "If all young housekeepers were strict upon the subject of dress, much misery to servants would be saved, much temptation avoided, and self-reproach prevented. Instead of this kind, and wise, and matronly particularity, a type of the good, old-fashioned common sense of our grandmothers, ladies now countenance their ladies'-maids in discontinuing caps, or, if they have caps, in wearing flowers and lace, flowered gowns, and other items of little apparent moment in detail, but of much importance to a community as serviceable to the public when well managed and respectable, as they are odious and noxious when immoral or insolent. After these cruel indulgences, ladies marvel when they find servants rise above their station and that they will not bear even a mild reproof; they wonder that a plain, useful servant is nowhere to be met with. There is now no medium between the fine lady with mittens and flowers who dresses your hair, and the dirty sloven of a lodging-house. All housemaids must now be upper housemaids; cooks must be cooks and housekeepers. The homely housemaid--that invaluable character in her way--is indeed difficult to be found; and, at a time when cleanliness is at its zenith, the rarity is to discover any one who will clean. All, except the raw country girl, expect to have deputies; and, if we go on to perfection in this unhealthy system, we shall soon have no working servants above twenty years of age. The consequence is, that a greater number of servants are kept in every household than formerly in similar families; many of these menials are corrupted by congregating together and by idleness. The loud and crying complaints of the worthlessness of this class are but too justly founded. That they are more mercenary than ever, is owing to the pernicious system which lifts them up above their condition, but fails to elevate them in the moral standard. In the scale of virtue they sink every day lower and lower; in the outward attributes they are, as they consider it, raised in character and improved in appearance. "But is it so? The beauty of every thing is fitness. Is the half-fine, unlady-like, yet lady-like creature, who answers to your dressing-room bell, half so respectable as the old-fashioned, plainly dressed, careful, homely maiden of your young days? Is it not with a feeling of disgust that you turn from the attempted finery, and sigh for plain collars, and caps undecked by flowers, again? I think, among the best-bred, the most sensible, and, indeed, the most highly born people of a superior stamp, this disgust is so strong that, in some families, a grave and suitable costume is introduced for the female servants, and the effect is satisfactory, both on the appearance and on the mode of thinking of these persons. But this wise, and therefore kind plan, is far from being general; and I have heard that a lady's-maid complained to her mistress that she found herself the subject of ridicule, owing to her not wearing silks, and indeed satins, as the other ladies'-maids did. "It becomes the duty of ladies of influence to rise above the silly vanity which, I fear, affects some of them, of seeing their ladies'-maids as smart as ladies, and to oppose innovations on the decencies of society, so pernicious to the class upon whom much of our comfort depends. In setting out in life, a young married lady ought to be more than ordinarily strict in these matters, for her inexperience will certainly be taken advantage of to some extent. If she be rich enough to have a housekeeper, let her endeavor to select one of strict religious faith, plain in attire, grave, but kind, and of good sense, and even intelligence; for cultivation of mind will never, whatever may be stated, detract from the utility of a servant. It is absurd to attribute to the diffusion of knowledge the deterioration of servants; it is rather owing to the scanty amount of knowledge among them. Most superficial is the education about which so much is said and written; were servants more thoroughly grounded in many branches of knowledge, they would be wiser, less rapacious, more systematic, and better contented than they are. They are wretched reasoners, generally losing sight of their own true interest, and grasping at that which is unreal and visionary. If they were better educated, this would not be the case; they would be less vain, less credulous; they would know what qualities to respect; they would weigh better the advantage of their lot; and they would work better as servants. They would give mind, where now they only give hands; and their acquirements, taken from school as they are in very early youth, are not ever likely to be such as to make the routine of their work distasteful to them, from over refinement or cultivation. "It is always desirable to have, if possible, servants of one faith. But if it so happens that you have a Roman Catholic servant and a Protestant in your service, you are bound to allow each the free exercise of her religion, and you ought not to respect them if, out of interest, they will conform to yours. An exercise of authority on this point amounts, in my opinion, to an act of tyranny, and it can only tend to promote insincerity, and, perhaps, engender scepticism in its object. Nothing is, indeed, so dangerous as to unsettle the faith of the lower classes, who have neither time nor opportunity of fairly considering subjects of religious controversy. "While on the subject of servants, I must deprecate the over-indulgence of the present system towards them. Formerly they were treated with real kindness, but it was the kindness that exacted duty in return, and took a real interest in the welfare of each servant. The reciprocal tie in former times between servant and master was strong, now it is wholly gone. The easy rule of masters and mistresses proceeds far more from indifference than from kindness of heart; for the real charity is to keep servants steadily to their duties. They are a class of persons to whom much leisure is destruction; the pursuits of their idle hours are seldom advantageous to them, and theirs are not minds which can thrive in repose. Idleness, to them, is peculiarly the root of all evil, for, if their time is not spent in vicious amusements, it is often passed in slander, discontent, or vanity. In writing thus, I do not recommend a hard or inconsiderate system to servants. They require, and in many instances they merit, all that can be done to alleviate a situation of servitude. They ought not to be the slaves of caprice or the victims of temper. Their work should be measured out with a just hand; but it should be regularly exacted in as much perfection as can be expected in variable and erring human nature. "Another point on which I would recommend firmness is that of early hours. In this respect example is as important as precept; but, however uncertain you may be yourself, I would not relax a rule of that kind. For every comfort during the day depends upon the early rising of your servants. Without this, all their several departments are hurried through or neglected in some important respect. "Your mode of address to servants must be decisive, yet mild. The authoritative tone I do not recommend. It is very unbecoming to any young person, and it rarely attains the end desired; but there is a quiet dignity of deportment which few servants ever can resist. This should be tempered with kindness, when circumstances call it forth, but should never descend to familiarity. For no caution is more truly kind than which confines servants strictly to their own sphere. "Much evil results from the tendency, more especially of very young, or of very old mistresses of families, to partiality. Commonly, one servant becomes the almost avowed favorite; and it is difficult to say whether that display of partiality is the more pernicious to the servant who is the object of it, or to the rankling and jealous minds of the rest of the household. It is true that it is quite impossible to avoid entertaining a greater degree of confidence in some servants than in others; but it should be shown with a due regard to the feelings of all. It is, of course, allowable towards those who take a decidedly responsible and confidential situation in a household. Still, never let such persons assume the reins of government; let them act the part of helmsman to the vessel, but not aspire to the control of the captain. "It is generally wise and right, after a due experience of the principles and intentions of servants, to place confidence in their honesty, and to let them have the comfort of knowing that you do so. At the same time, never cease to exercise a system of supervision. The great principle of housekeeping is regularity; and without this (one of the most difficult of the minor virtues to practice) all efforts to promote order must be ineffectual. I have seen energetic women, clever and well-intentioned, fail in attaining a good method, owing to their being uncertain in hours, governed by impulse, and capricious. I have seen women, inferior in capacity, slow, and apathetic, make excellent heads of families, as far as their household was concerned, from their steadiness and regularity. Their very power of enduring monotony has been favorable to their success in this way, especially if they are not called upon to act in peculiar and difficult cases, in which their actual inferiority is traceable. But these are not the ordinary circumstances of life. "In closing these remarks on the management of servants, let me exhort you never to forget that they are fellow-laborers, in the life of probation, with ourselves; let us not embitter their lives by harshness, or proffer to them temptation from carelessness and over-indulgence. Since all that is given us of this world's goods is but in trust, let us regard our servants as beings for whose conduct, while under our control, we are more or less responsible. It is true that, if they come to us with morals wholly depraved, it is not likely that the most strenuous exertions can amend them; but many waver between good and evil. Let us endeavor to excite in their minds a respect for virtue, to give them motives for industry, inducements to save their wages. Those who have large households should not deem the morals of the meanest of their servants beneath their investigation, or too obscure for their influence to reach." Some attention is absolutely necessary, in this country, to the training of servants, as they come here from the lowest ranks of English and Irish peasantry, with as much idea of politeness as the pig domesticated in the cabin of the latter. Opening the door seems a simple act, yet few servants perform it in a proper, respectful manner. Let your servant understand that the door must be opened immediately after the bell rings. Visitors, from neglect of this rule, will often ring several times, and finally leave the door. I have known an instance when in a case of severe illness the patient lost the visit of the doctor, who, after ringing some minutes, was obliged to pay other visits, and could not return to the sufferer's house until several hours later. When opening the door some servants hold it ajar and hold a long parley with the person on the steps, as if afraid they wished to enter for the purpose of murder or theft. Train them to answer the door promptly, speak politely to any one who may be there, excuse you, if necessary, to visitors in courteous terms, or, if you are in, show the callers into the parlor, take their card, and come back quickly with your answer. CHAPTER XXIII. ON A YOUNG LADY'S CONDUCT WHEN CONTEMPLATING MARRIAGE. The following chapter, met with in a recent perusal of an English work for young ladies, strikes me as so admirable, and so appropriate in this place, that I quote the chapter entire: "The difficulties and trials of life have only just begun when a young lady fancies herself to be of sufficient importance to become the theme of animadversion. She knows little of the true importance of self-control, until she experiences the first indications of preference shown her by the other sex. "Such indications are often manifested, whilst she to whom they are directed, is wholly unprepared to analyze her own feelings, before her opinions upon what she has seen are by any means developed; before she has even considered adequately, on what her happiness depends; before she has discernment to reject what is frivolous, or wisdom to prefer what is good. This is more especially the case in the highest and lowest classes, in which, by a strange analogy, they either rush into the marriage state whilst children, or wait until the bloom and hopes of youth have forever passed away, in order to form interested matches. The matured period of five-and-twenty to thirty, is passed by the lower classes in the single state in labor to gain subsistence; after thirty, or even forty, we often find them marrying. But the majority have sealed their own fate before the age of twenty. "In high life, the same haste to dispose of daughters prevails as among the lowest classes. At seventeen, most of our belles of fashion expect to receive proposals. If they do not marry within a few years after their introduction, they have a mortified sense of having lost time--that the expectations of friends and of parents have not been fulfilled; that others have 'gone off' before them. The next ten years are often a period of subdued vexation, and the sweetness and contentment of the original character is impaired. About seven or eight and twenty, the views of life are sobered--the expectations chastened--a renovation takes place--women again become agreeable; their minds must in the lapse of time, even with a miserable store of observation, have improved. They then often marry--and, if the union be not a mere effort of despair, if it be based on sound and holy principles, and on good sense, there is, for both parties engaged, a great likelihood of happiness. "But, it may be naturally contended, that there come not to _all_ young ladies the opportunities of which I write; that indications of preference arrive not to all. I am inclined to believe that, with good temper, pleasing manners, and respectable connections, there exists, in modern society, very few young ladies who have not received under various circumstances, some marks of preference, more or less decided. Beauty and plainness are arbitrary, not positive, terms. Unless there be any actual deformity, any great infirmity, in which case I think it were cruel to pre-suppose the likelihood of such indications, there is no one, that I hardly ever met with, who has not had, on some grounds, her partizans and admirers. The plain are often particularized as elegant; tastes vary: even a sour look I have heard admired as sensible, cold manners eulogized as correct. Opinion, however it may generally verge to the correct, springs from so many sources, it is so governed by association of ideas, such trifles may guide it, that I am never surprised at the latitude given to personal encomium nor at the endless variety and incongruity of human judgment. It is well that all have a chance of being approved, admired, beloved, and it remains for them to avail themselves of those possibilities which contribute so much to happiness. For we are sympathizing beings, and a law of our nature makes us look for a return of sympathy. We are sent here to form ties, and to love, and to be loved, whether the term applies to parental, or filial, or fraternal love--or whether it respects the less sure and more fitful experiences of love, in its ordinary sense. "I do not blame the parents who instil into their children of both sexes a desire to be married. I think those who teach the young a different lesson deceive them. Marriage, with all its chances, its infelicities, its sacrifices, is seldom so infelicitous, so uncertain, so full of sacrifice, as the single state. Life must have some objects, and those objects must be progressive. The mind is happier and healthier with such interests, even if sorrow comes along with them, than in its solitude, its desolate freedom from care, when having, as the phrase is, no troubles of the conjugal sort to disturb its tranquillity. I therefore do not censure those who desire to see their daughters happily and suitably established in life. It is the indiscreet and vulgar haste, the indelicacy, the low mercenary views, and the equally low ambition to compass a splendid match, which is blameable and revolting in the parental conduct. "Many are, however, blessed with guides and guardians of very different characters; with parents, whose lofty natures not only reject such unworthy notions, but somewhat incline to the extreme of repelling all advances for their daughters. In either case, the conduct of a young lady may be the same. It is she who must form her own destiny in points on which none can effectually aid her. It is she who is to be the happy wife, or the wretched victim; and it is to her that these observations of admonition and of warning are addressed. Let us suppose her young, of course, attractive in appearance, of good birth, and some fortune. I here except heiresses, who, being anomalies, deserve a particular paragraph for themselves. But let us suppose that no obstacle of family or connection interferes to check the approach of a suitor. "The eyes of her family and of her young friends are upon her, when a young lady receives the first indications of preference. She is generally ashamed of it. This is the first sentiment of a modest and ingenuous mind, and it is one indication, in my opinion, of the impropriety of early marriages. Nature seems still to wish to keep the young and blushing girl apart from that connection which entails grave and arduous duties. But Nature's voice is far less often heard than that of her adversary, expediency. I must, therefore, shape my injunctions to that which exists, not to that which we would wish to exist. "Almost sinking under this painful sense of shame, this novel disturbance of her usual set of feelings, a young girl catches at the first reed to save herself from observation and detection. I mean detection of her perception of that which others may or may not see. She seizes upon ridicule. She pretends to laugh at one, whom sometimes her youthful romantic fancy dwells upon in a very different sense. She laughs at the foibles, supposed or real, of her admirer: she plays a dangerous game. If any of those to whom she imparts her witticisms are malevolently disposed or thoughtless, she runs a risk either of wounding the feelings of a man whom she does not like, or of losing the regard of one whom she might in time not only esteem, but love. "Another effect of such attentions as awaken a consciousness in a young lady's mind, is the gratification of vanity, perhaps until then latent in her heart. The first preference is apt to upset the reason of its object as of him who shows it. The word vanity does not seem to imply danger. Vanity is generally considered an innocent failing; but it is innocent only as some kinds of food are to a healthy subject. On a weak, or even on an inexperienced mind, it acts, sometimes, fatally for the vain. A girl is either carried away by admiration so as to be flippant and foolish, or she is blinded by her vanity to the failings of the man who first admires her. She is intoxicated with the notion of an offer of marriage; she imagines, in her simplicity, effervesced as it is by the infusion of flattered vanity, that she has inspired such an attachment as will never be recovered, should she prove adverse to it. Many an engagement has been formed under this conviction, and fulfilled only to prove its fallacy, for the love which was supposed too strong to survive disappointment, has expired in the fruition of its hopes. "To guard against either of these risks to happiness, a well-educated girl should endeavor, in this, to exercise her judgment. She should be sincere. She is blameable to ridicule the attentions which are meant as complimentary to her. They ought to be at least regarded with respect. "Should they not be acceptable, she is inexcusable to requite them with levity and disdain. Let her reflect how she would like such conduct herself. Besides, she is often making a bitter enemy; perhaps she is exciting fierce and unamiable sentiments in one who otherwise might have been regarded as a mild and worthy individual. Let her be undeceived if she supposes that in thus doing she is carrying herself with dignity, or acquiring any added admiration from others. She ceases, in thus acting, to support the characteristics of a gentlewoman, which are mildness, courtesy, and reserve. If she cherishes, in spite of her pretended disgust, a secret partiality for the individual who distinguishes her, if she is lowering the esteem of a man whom she prefers, she not only incurs the hazard of losing his regard, but she is scattering ridicule on one whom she afterwards avows as her choice. In that case, she is lowering herself, or she is sowing the seeds of distrust in the minds of those who know her--she is, perhaps, frustrating and delaying her own happiness. Let her act with candor, with consideration, with good sense, and all this web which her folly would weave around her will not embarrass her. Let her not madly and obstinately resist the advice of those on whose affection to her, and on whose good judgment, experience has taught her to rely. Let her be a child in nothing except humility; let her listen to counsels; yet her own heart must decide for her--none can know so well as herself its secret throbs, or the impression of dislike or of regard which has been made upon it. "I am, I confess, an enemy to trying to like a person, as I have rarely seen such a mental process end in happiness to either party. If an advantageous proposal offer itself, it is wiser decidedly to refuse it, than to trust to the slow growth of affection, upon a foundation of original dislike. And the trials of married life are such,--its temptations to irritability and contention are so manifold, its anxieties so unforseen and so complicated, that few can steer their difficult course safely and happily, unless there be a deep and true attachment, to contend with all the storms which may arise in the navigation. "Deeply impressed with this conviction, should it be the lot of any young lady in whom I were interested to form a real, well-grounded attachment to a man whose circumstances were indifferent, I should counsel her, provided she can depend on the character and exertions of the object so beloved, to risk the event of an engagement--to trust to time and Providence, and to marry whenever means were afforded,--convinced as I am, that patience, and trust, and true affection, raise the character, and are acceptable in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. But in such a case, she must school her mind to meet the anxieties which attend limited means. She must prepare herself, by habits of diligence and economy, to become a poor man's wife. She must learn the difficult art of doing well upon a little. She must not, be she in any rank of life, think to indulge with impunity to herself in every refinement and luxury when she is single; and, upon her marriage, imagine that she can attain the practice of economy by wishing it. Such metamorphoses are out of reason--out of nature. She must endeavor before the bond which ties her to poverty is framed, to understand the duties of housekeeping, the mysteries of needle-work. She must lay down to herself rules of expenditure suitable, in part, to her future condition in life. Many a wife, thus commencing, has laid the foundations of future fortune, at least independence, to her husband, by keeping his mind at peace, during his progress up the steep ascent to professional, or clerical, or literary fame. Many a home has been cheered by domestic forbearance, and placid submission to circumstances, even in the higher classes, during the life-time of a father, or in the course of those long expectancies, in which the fortitude and principle of many of the aristocracy are tried and proved. But the self-denial, the cheerfulness, the good management, the strict principle, are formed at an earlier period than that in which a young lady gives her hand to him whom she has chosen, in spite of the frown of fortune, as her husband. "Of this let the young be assured; there are few situations in life, in which a man, young, and in health, cannot meliorate his circumstances, if he possess energy and if he be stimulated by a true affection. The clergyman, with humble stipend, often hopeless from want of interest, has leisure--he has had education. He may, if he desires to assist himself, have recourse to literary labor, or to tuition. If he make not such exertion, during the course of an engagement, what hope can there be of him in future life? "The young lawyer, however tedious his advancement, however few his opportunities, may also distinguish himself in a literary career. Innumerable are the subjects open to one of such a profession. How few avail themselves of the chance! Upon this rely, the man truly in love will make the effort. To the military man, though perhaps he may be less qualified, the same course is open, in a degree. Some of our best travels, some of our most amusing literary productions, have been the compositions of military men. And the advantage of this mode of aiding a small fortune is, that a man not only does not lower, but he raises his position by it, if his works are moral, written in a gentlemanly spirit, and affording information. However deep the attachment, however agreeable the object, if a man be indisposed to help himself to independence and competence, I should counsel no woman to continue an engagement formed in the expectation of 'times mending.' When I advocate the indulgence of attachment, it is to worthy, not to unworthy, objects. "I now come to speak of moral character. Hard is the contest between affection and expediency, when it is raised by the question of circumstances. But harder still is it, when its result is to be decided upon an inquiry into moral conduct. I know not a more cruel situation than that when the heart is bestowed on one whom the judgment could not approve. I know not one which should be more strictly guarded against, not only by parents and friends, but (for I would impress on every young lady how much she may prove the best guardian of her own happiness) by the female heart itself. "With every vigilance, with little to blame, little to repent, such cases will occur in this world. The feelings are interested, but the judgment distrusts. Happy is it for those who know the combat between affection and principle only in single life, and have not the misery of encountering so severe a destiny when it can no longer be remedied--who know not how to fulfill the vow to honor what is proved to be unworthy--and yet still must love,--for the affections once given, are little in our own power. "In such a case occurring to the young, in, perhaps, a first attachment, I think they must be guided by friends. I am _not_ an advocate for the interference of friends: where it is much a question of a long and contingent engagement--a question of being married at once, or of waiting, in some uncertainty--a question of ease or discomfort, of limited means or luxury--in such instances, if the moral character be unexceptionable, it is the duty of parents to point out all the risk, all the disadvantages, but to leave the heart to form its own decisions. Let them not seek to wrench the affections from the channel in which they flowed, when fresh from their source. They cannot know how deep the channel is--they cannot know if ever those pure and beautiful waters will flow in peace again when once hastily turned aside. But in cases of moral character, of right or wrong, the affair is wholly different, and the strictest parental authority ought, upon due inquiry, to be exercised. "Submission and self-control are then the duty of the young sufferer--for a sufferer she truly _is_;--no page of her after-history could unfold a bitterer pang. But peace and hope come at last--the struggle, though violent, leaves behind it none of that corroding sorrow, which would have accompanied the acquiescence of parents in a union unblessed by a Providence, whose will is that all should be pure, even as He above is pure. Had your fond wishes been granted, young and trusting being, how fearful would have been your condition! For there is no suspicion so revolting to an innocent mind as that which unseats love from his throne in our affections, and places another in his stead. Be assured of this--little can you know of the moral conduct of the other sex; little is it desirable that you should know. But whenever improprieties are so flagrant as to be matters of conversation; when the good shun, and the pitying forbear to excuse; be assured some deeper cause than you can divine exists for the opprobrium. Think not that your empire over affections thus wasted can be a real one. It is transient, it will not last--it will not bring reformation--it will never be adequately requited. Throw yourself on the judgment of those whose interest in you has been life-long, or of such as you know truly regard your happiness; conquer the unhallowed preference; pray for support and guidance; trust in Him who 'catereth for the sparrow.' "But, when the commencement of life is chilled by so cruel a sorrow--when the blight has fallen on the bud--we must not only look up to heavenly aid, we must take every means of care for an unfortunate, and, when once the judgment is convinced of the unworthiness of the object, a blameable attachment. How often, in the Psalms, in the Gospels, the word 'Help' is reiterated! We are to help ourselves--we must work for our heavenly peace on earth--the mental discipline, to prosper, must be aided by divine grace, but its springs must be from our own hearts. And, to fulfill the will of God in this, as in the other events of life, let us take such means as may aid us in the work of self-government. "In the first place, let employment be resorted to by the sorrowing, do not indulge in tears; do not sit alone: abstain, for a time, from music; abstain from the perusal of poetry, or works of imagination. They still more soften the feelings and open up the sources of grief. Read works of _fact_--endeavor to occupy yourself with the passing events of the world. And, when the overburdened heart cannot be comforted, or its thoughts diverted--for there will be moments too mournful to be resisted--go forth into the fields, go to the houses of the poor--see the goodness and mercy of God--see too, the patience and long-suffering of the poor, who may often set the rich an example of fortitude. Occupy yourself, if you can, with children; their freshness, their joyful unconsciousness, the elasticity of their spirits, will sustain and draw you from yourself, or have recourse to the soothing calmness of the aged. Hear them converse upon the affairs of life; how they appreciate the importance of each passing event, as a traveler does the ruts and inequalities of the road he has traversed. How their confidence in the effect of time sustains you! and you turn from them, reflecting on all that the happiest of them must necessarily have endured. Be assured of your own recovery, under an influence so certain. "Avoid young persons of your own age. If possible, except to a sister, whose deep interest in you will probably teach her a superior lesson, never confide in young friends, a similar trial as that to which I have referred. In general, your resolution will be weakened, your feelings re-excited, your confidence in your best advisers will be shaken. For the young usually take the part of the rejected lover--they delight in that dangerous species of sympathy which flatters with hope. They are naturally incredulous as to the delinquencies of a man who is agreeable, and in love; they incline to the notion of the hard-heartedness of fathers, uncles, and elder brothers; and even, if they happen to possess good sense, or to exercise the rare quality of prudence in such matters, the very communication of any sorrow, or the recital of any feelings, gives not only a merely temporary relief, but deadens that sorrow and strengthens those feelings, which grow every time they are imparted. If you wish to recover--and, if you have a sound and well-disposed mind, you _will_ wish to recover--you must, after the first burst of grief is over, speak but rarely of a theme too painful and delicate to bear the contact of rude minds--too dangerous to dwell upon with those of a kindlier and loftier nature. "To your female relations--to your mother, more especially, too great an openness cannot be practiced on these points, but openness does not imply a perpetual recurrence to a theme, which must wear out patience and exhaust all but maternal sympathy, in time. For maternal sympathy is exhaustless; be generous, and restrain, from that very reflection, the continual demand upon its flow. The first person to consult, the last to afflict--a mother--should not be the victim of her daughter's feelings. Her judgment should not be weakened by the incessant indulgence of a daughter's sorrows. "I would, on many grounds, caution the young against hasty engagements. It seems extraordinary that the welfare of a life should often be determined upon the acquaintance of a few weeks. The principles, it is true, may be ascertained from the knowledge of others, the manners may please, the means and expectations may all be clearly understood. But the temper--that word of unspeakable import--the daily habits, the power of constancy--these are not to be known without a long and severe examination of the motives, and a daily observation of the conduct, of others. Very little suffices to mar the happiness of married life, if that little proceed in the character of a man, from a rooted selfishness. "It is true, in regard to this defect, that much may be done by a wife to meliorate a vice of character which is, in some, only the result of never having had their feelings developed. But if there exist not this excuse--if, in spite of ties, which are dearer to an affectionate mind than existence; you find a man preferring his own comfort to that of those whom he professes to love--if you find him imperious to his servants, dictatorial to sisters, on cool terms with brothers, there is little hope that the mental disease will ever be rooted out, so as to leave a healthy character of mind. Examine well into this point; for a hasty temper may be remedied, and even endured--but the deep, slow, sullen course of a selfish nature wears away hope, imparts a cankering care, and, with it, often disgust. No defect is so little to be resisted as selfishness. It creeps into every detail; it infects the minutest affairs of life as well as the greatest concerns. It depresses the humble sufferer from its baneful effects; it irritates the passions of the unamiable. Study well the character in trifles; nor venture to risk your bark on the sea of matrimony, unless you know well how far this man, whom you might prefer, is free from this deadly infection. View him, if possible, in his home, before you pledge your faith with his--or, if that be not practicable, reflect upon the general course of his actions, of his sentiments, and endeavor dispassionately to judge them, as best you may." CHAPTER XXIV. BRIDAL ETIQUETTE. In preparing a bridal outfit, it is best to furnish the wardrobe for at least two years, in under-clothes, and one year in dresses, though the bonnet and cloak, suitable for the coming season, are all that are necessary, as the fashions in these articles change so rapidly. If you are going to travel, have a neat dress and cloak of some plain color, and a close bonnet and veil. Avoid, as intensely vulgar, any display of your position as a _bride_, whilst traveling. Take, first, the weddings at church. In this case none are invited to the ceremony excepting the family, and the reception is at the house of the bride's mother, or nearest relative, either on the wedding-day or upon her return from the bridal tour. In sending out the invitations, let the card of the bridegroom and that of the bride be tied together with a white ribbon, and folded in the note paper upon which is printed the name of the bride's mother, with the date of the reception-day, thus:-- MRS. JOHN SAUNDERS. At home, Thursday, Oct. 16th, from 11 till 2. No. 218, ---- st. of course the hours and dates vary, but the form is the same. If there is no bridal reception upon the wedding day, the cards are worded:-- MR. AND MRS. JAMES SMITH. At home, Wednesdays, On, and after, June 6th. No. 17, ---- st. Tie the card with the bride's maiden name upon it to this one. Enclose the invitation in a white envelope, and tie it with white satin ribbon. If you send cake, have it put in a white box, and place the note outside the cover, tying it fast with white satin ribbon. The bride's dress must be of white entirely. If she is married in the morning, a plain white silk, white mantle, and white bonnet, full trimmed with orange flowers, with a plain veil, is the most suitable dress, and she may wear a richer one at her reception, when she returns from her bridal tour. As soon as the carriages come, let the bridesmaids, and relatives set off first.--Last, the bride with her parents. The bride, her parents, and the bridesmaids go immediately to the vestry, where they meet the bridegroom, and the groomsmen. The father of the bride gives her his arm and escorts her to the altar, the bridegroom walking on the other side. Then follow the bridesmaids and groomsmen in couples. When they reach the altar the bridegroom removes his right hand glove, but the bride keeps hers on until the clergyman takes the ring. The first bridesmaid then removes the left hand glove, and it is not resumed. The bridesmaids should wear white dresses, white mantles, and bonnets, but not veils or orange flowers. The bride and groom leave the church first, after the ceremony is over, and take the carriage with the parents of the bride, and the others follow in the order in which they came. If there is a breakfast or morning reception, the bride will not change her dress until she retires to put on her traveling attire. If the wedding takes place in the evening at church, to be followed by a full dress reception at home, the bride should wear a white lace dress over satin, or any other material to suit her own taste, a veil, falling from her head to her feet, fastened to the hair by a coiffure of orange flowers; white kid gloves, and white satin slippers. A bouquet, if carried, should contain only white flowers. The bridesmaids may wear white, or some thin, light-colored material over white, a head-dress of flowers, and carry bouquets of mixed flowers. When the wedding takes place at home, let the company assemble in the front drawing-room, and close the doors between that and the back room. In the back room, let the bride, bridegroom, bridesmaids, and groomsmen, the parents of the bride, and the clergyman, assemble. The clergyman should stand in the centre of the room, the bride and groom before him, the bridesmaids ranged beside the bride, the groomsmen beside the bridegroom. Then open the doors and let the ceremony begin. This arrangement saves that awkwardness attendant upon entering the room and taking the position before a large company. After the ceremony is over, the parents of the bride speak to her first; then her near relatives, and not until then the other members of the company. It is not usual now to have dancing, or even music, at a wedding, and the hour is named upon the cards, at which the guests are expected to retire. A very pretty effect is produced in the wedding group, if the bride wears pure white, and the bridesmaids white, with flowers and trimmings of a different color. Thus, one in white, with a head-dress and trimming of green leaves; another, white, with blue ribbons and forget-me-nots; another, white, with pink roses and ribbons. If the wedding is in the morning, the bride and family may wear full dress; in that case the shutters should be closed and the rooms lighted as in the evenings. Let the supper be laid early, and ready when the ceremony is over, that the guests may pass into the dining-room, if they wish, as soon as they have spoken to the bride. If a morning wedding, let the table be set as for an evening wedding. If the bride gives a reception at her own house, after her return from her bridal tour, she should not wear her wedding-dress. If in the evening, a supper should be set. If a morning reception, let her wear a handsome light silk, collar and sleeves of lace. Wine and cake are sufficient to hand to each guest at a morning reception. At an evening reception let the bride wear full dress, but not her wedding-dress. At parties given to a newly married couple, the bridesmaids and groomsmen are always invited, and the whole party are expected to wear the same dresses as at the wedding. CHAPTER XXV. HINTS ON HEALTH. The universal remark of travelers visiting America, as well as the universal complaint of Americans themselves, relates to the ill health of the fairer portion of the community. Look where you will, go to any city in the vast Union, the remark and complaint will be made everywhere. With every natural advantage of climate, yet from North to South, East to West the cry resounds. Foreigners, admiring the dark-eyed girls of the southern states or the blondes of the northern ones, will remark, with comments upon beauty:-- "But she looks delicate, poor thing!--Not strong? Ah! I thought not, none of the American women are, and how soon these young beauties fade!" It seems to me, amongst the subjects treated of in my present work, that a few words on health will not come amiss. "Light and sunshine are needful for your health. Get all you can; keep your windows clean. Do not block them up with curtains, plants, or bunches of flowers;--these last poison the air, in small rooms. "Fresh air is needful for your health. As often as you can, open all your windows, if only for a short time in bad weather; in fine weather, keep them open, but never sit in draughts. When you get up, open the windows wide, and throw down the bed-clothes, that they may be exposed to fresh air some hours, daily, before they are made up. Keep your bed-clothes clean; hang them to the fire when you can. Avoid wearing at night what you wear in the day. Hang up your day-clothes at night. Except in the severest weather, in small, crowded sleeping-rooms, a little opening at the top of the window-sash is very important; or you will find one window pane of perforated zinc very useful. You will not catch cold half so easily by breathing pure air at night. Let not the beds be directly under the windows. Sleeping in exhausted air creates a desire for stimulants. "Pure water is needful for your health. Wash your bodies as well as your faces, rubbing them all over with a coarse cloth. If you cannot wash thus every morning, pray do so once a week. Crying and cross children are often pacified by a gentle washing of their little hands and faces--it soothes them. Babies' heads should be washed carefully, every morning with soap. No scurf should be suffered to remain upon them. Get rid of all slops and dirty water at once. Disease, and even death, is often the consequence of our own negligence. Wash your rooms and passages at least once a week, use plenty of clean water; but do not let your children stay in them while they are wet, it may bring on croup or inflammation of the chest. If you read your Bibles, which it is earnestly hoped you do, you will find how cleanliness, both as to the person and habitation, was taught to the Jews by God himself; and we read in the 4th chapter of Nehemiah that when they were building their second temple, and defending their lives against their foes, having no time for rest, they contrived to put off their clothes for washing. It is a good old saying, that _cleanliness is next to godliness_. See Heb. x. 22. "Wholesome food is needful for your health. Buy the most strengthening. Pieces of fresh beef and mutton go the farthest. Eat plenty of fresh salt with food; it prevents disease. Pray do not let your children waste their pennies in tarts, cakes, bull's eyes, hardbake, sour fruit, &c., they are very unwholesome, and hurt the digestion. People would often, at twenty years of age, have a nice little sum of money to help them on in the world, if they had put in the savings' bank the money so wasted; Cocoa is cheaper and much more nourishing than _tea_. None of these liquids should be taken _hot_, but lukewarm; when hot they inflame the stomach, and produce indigestion. "We are all made to breathe the pure air of heaven, and therefore much illness is caused by being constantly in-doors. Let all persons make a point, whenever it is possible, of taking exercise in the _open air_ for at least an hour and a half _daily_. _Time_ would be saved in the long run by the increased energy and strength gained, and by the warding off of disease." Let it not be supposed that it is not the duty of every young lady to take due care of her health, and to preserve in all its power of utility every portion of vigor which has been bestowed on her. With many young ladies, it appears to be a maxim to do everything in their power to destroy the health which is so much wanted in the real business of life, and which forms so important a requisite to happiness. In the first place, as to hours--they never leave the ball-room until utterly exhausted, and scarcely fit to crawl to bed. The noon-day sleep, the scarcely touched breakfast, that most important meal, are followed by preparations for the succeeding night's pleasures, or in head-aching morning calls, driving about in a close carriage, or lounging on a sofa, in an over-heated room, reading novels. Dressing follows; the warm wrapper or dress is thrown aside; over the tightly drawn corsets is fastened a flimsy dress, with an inch of sleeve; the neck laid bare; thin stockings drawn on, in place of thick ones, and the consumption-seeker goes forth to the ball-room again. "At times, you miss from the gay assemblage some former ornament--you inquire about her--she has taken cold. Inflammation of the lungs, caught it in an accidental draught of air by one of these fair half-dressed beings, carried off, not long since, one of the gayest and fairest of the belles of the season--after an illness of three days. "Preservation of the health ought, from an early stage of existence, to be enforced as a duty upon the young. To walk daily; to have daily recourse, in summer, even twice a day, to the sponging with cold water, or the shower-bath;--to eat sufficiently of plain, nutritious food; to keep the mind calm--these are _duties_;--they should be habitually exercised. Care should be taken not to come out heated, with a shawl just pinned across the shoulders, from a heated room. Where there is delicacy of the lungs or windpipe, yet not sufficient to render a withdrawal from evening parties necessary, the use of a respirator at night is desirable. It is usual to have recourse to this valuable invention only when disease is actually existing--as a preventive, it is neglected. Yet, preserving the temperature of a warm room, it is an excellent precaution, and can easily be assumed when the shawl or cloak is put on. The atmosphere of a city is destructive where there is any pulmonary delicacy, and who shall say, where there is _not_ pulmonary delicacy? In this climate, there is a tendency to it, more or less, in almost every family,--at all events, it is too easily induced in our predisposed constitutions, by cold, aided by the debilitating effect of heated rooms and an artificial mode of existence, and accelerated also, most decidedly, by bared shoulders. For, in this climate, it is scarcely ever safe to lay bare that portion of the frame, the back and chest in which the lungs are seated; and, although custom may greatly lead to diminish the injurious effects, the sudden chill may strike, and may never be recovered. "During every season, certain people have 'head colds,' coughs, and 'feverish colds.' These are produced by certain states of climate acting on certain states of constitution. At particular seasons such complaints abound--at others they abound still more; and again, from some singularity, they prevail so much that people say, there is an _Influenza_. "Influenza has been long known in the world. It has often visited Europe; and made its appearance on our shores with greater severity than at present. It has sometimes been very severe, and left many persons ill for a year or two. "The symptoms of influenza need not be dwelt on, as they have been so generally felt by our readers or their friends. It varies in different people, to be sure, both in kind and in degree. Considering the number of people it attacks, it may be looked on as an innocent disease; but, on the other hand, looking at the increase it has made in the number of deaths, it is an exceedingly serious one after all. "In simple cases--confinement to a pure and temperate air, warm drinks, and a warm bath, or, at least, a warm foot-bath, with an extra blanket, and a little more rest than usual, keeping to mild food, and toast and water, and taking, if necessary, a dose of aperient medicine,--is all that is required. In serious cases, the domestic treatment must become professional. Mustard plasters to the back relieve the headache. Squills find other medicines 'loosen' the outstanding cough. Bark and wine, and even cold baths are sometimes requisite for the weakness left behind. But these things can only be used with discrimination by a regular professional man. "Supposing that the seeds of disease have not been laid in childhood, and that there is no particular predisposition to any malady in the constitution, a young woman enters life with every fair prospect of enjoying tolerable health;--yet, how variable, and delicate, and complaining, do the majority of women become! What a vast expense is incurred, during the course of their lives, in physicians, medicine, change of air, baths abroad and at home, and journeys! How few women can walk,--or can suppress nervous feelings,--or can eat like reasonable beings: how many suffer, or say they suffer from debility, headaches, dyspepsia, a tendency to colds, eternal sore throats, rheumatic attacks, and the whole list of polite complaints! With all our modern wisdom, with all our books on health, our smatterings of physiological science, our open carriages, sponging baths, and attention to diet, women now are a far more feeble race than our grandmothers, or even our mothers, were. What daughter can walk half as far as her mother can? What young woman can take the active part that her mother did? In most families, the order of things is reversed. It is not a child trembling for her mother's health, and fearing, lest her parent, no longer young, should be fatigued; but it is the mother who is always striving to spare her child exertions which she can herself perfectly well undergo, but which the enfeebled child of modern self-indulgence dare not encounter. "Yes! we are a self-indulgent race, this present generation. Witness our easily excited feelings; witness our late hours of rising, our sofas and easy chairs, our useless days and dissipated nights! Witness our pallid faces, our forms, sometimes attenuated and repulsive while yet in early life, age marching, not creeping, on before his time; or witness our over-fed and over-expanded forms, enfeebled by indolence, and suffering the worst species of debility--the debility of _fat_. Witness our doing those things by deputy which our grandmothers did themselves; witness our host of scents and perfumed waters on our dressing-tables; our over-refinement, which amounts to an enervating puerility, and our incapacity of parting with one accustomed indulgence, even at the bidding of the learned and disinterested adviser? "'In the education of women,' writes a modern physician, 'too little attention is given to subdue the imaginative faculty, and to moderate sensibility; on the contrary, they are generally fostered; and, instead of a vigorous intellect and healthy condition of mind, we find imagination and sentiment predominant over the reasoning faculties, and laying the foundation of hysterical, hypochondriacal, and even maniacal diseases.'[B] It is, in fact, this want of judgment in the management of early life that produces so much misery when women are called upon to perform an important part in society, and when all that exertion can do is required at their hands. [B] "The Sick-Room," by Dr. A. T. Thomson. "The duration of sleep should not, in the adult, exceed six or eight hours; women injure their health greatly by excess in this respect. On rising, all women should use some mode of cold or tepid bath; and, indeed, in this respect the practice of the present day is admirable; there is every facility for the bath. To some, the use of the shower-bath is deleterious, and to all inconvenient, and not likely to be resorted to except when positively ordered. Dr. Combe recommends for _general_ use the tepid or warm bath, as being much more suitable than the cold bath, 'especially in the winter for those who are not robust, and full of animal heat.' When the constitution is not sufficiently vigorous to ensure reaction after the cold bath, by producing a warm glow over the surface, 'its use,' observes the same admirable writer, 'inevitably does harm.' But he enforces, that 'in order to promote a due exhalation from the skin, the warm, the tepid, or the shower-bath, as a means of preserving health, ought to be in as common use as a change of apparel, for it is equally a measure of necessary cleanliness.' He inclines to the use of the tepid bath, as likely to be the most generally efficacious. "I have known the most beneficial effects from a modification of this advice, namely, from using a sponging-bath, into which you pour a jug of warm water, and in which you stand, whilst you sponge the body and limbs profusely with cold water. A strong friction should be employed after this process, either with horsehair gloves or with a large coarse towel, and few persons will find the use of the sponging-bath disagree with them when thus employed. It is, indeed, incredible, when we consider the importance of the exhalation performed by the skin, to what extent ablution is neglected, not only, as Dr. Combe specifies, in charitable institutions and seminaries for the young, but by ladies, in ordinary circumstances, to whom the use of the bath could be productive of no inconvenience. In nervous complaints, which are more or less the besetting evil of womankind, the bath, in its various forms, becomes an invaluable aid. "In the formation of those habits which are necessary for the preservation of health, another circumstance, which, from its importance to health, cannot be deemed trifling should be mentioned. It is a general practice that beds should be made as soon as the occupants have left their rooms, and before the air has been freely admitted to play upon the recent depositary of the human frame; but this should be avoided. The bed-linen and blankets should be taken off, and the windows opened, so that, for an hour or more, a thorough ventilation should be procured. "Upon another point, the inconsistency and mental blindness of women are almost inconceivable--the insufficiency of their dress to resist the attacks of our variable climate. How few women clothe themselves like rational beings! Although, in latter years, they have wisely adopted the use of warm dresses, and, more especially, of the valuable Scottish plaid, yet how commonly they neglect the aid of flannel in preserving them not only from cold, but in securing a necessary circulation of vitality in the skin! 'The necessary effect of deficient circulation in the skin,' remarks Dr. Combe, 'is to throw a disproportionate mass of blood inwards; and when this condition exists, insufficient clothing perpetuates the evil, until internal disease is generated, and health is irrecoverably lost.' How common is the complaint among young women, especially those of sedentary habits, of chilliness, cold feet, and other symptoms of deficient circulation! and yet how impossible would it often be--for women are usually obstinate on this head--to induce them to exchange the thin silk stocking for a warm merino one, or to substitute a proper walking shoe for the paper-like articles which they designate by that name! Hence arise many diseases, which are, by insensible degrees, fostered in the system by the unequal distribution of the blood oppressing the internal organs. The habitual tendency to that chilliness which has been referred to should never be disregarded, 'laying, as it does,' says Dr. Combe, 'the foundation of tubercles in the lungs, and other maladies, which show themselves only when arrived at an incurable stage.' 'All those who value health, and have common sense, will therefore take warning from signs like these, and never rest until equilibrium of action be restored.' Warm clothing, exercise in the open air, sponging with tepid water and vinegar, or the warm bath, the use of a flesh-brush or hair-glove, are adapted to remedy these serious and threatening evils. "But, whilst insufficiency of clothing is to be deprecated, excessive wrapping up should also be avoided. Great differences exist between the power of generating heat and resisting cold in individuals, and it is therefore impossible to prescribe general rules upon the subject of clothing. The best maxim is, not to dress in an invariable way in all cases, but to put on clothing sufficient in the individual case, to protect the body effectively against the sensation of cold.[C] [C] Dr. Combe. "The insufficiency of warmth in the clothing of females constitutes only one part of its injurious effects. The tightness of dress obstructs the insensible perspiration hurtfully, and produces an irregular circulation. Every part and function of the human frame are linked together so closely, that we cannot act wrongly towards one organ without all suffering, nor act rightly without all sharing the benefit of our judgment and good sense. "The mischief arising from cold or wet feet is admitted by all persons who have given the subject of health even the most casual consideration. In conversing with very aged people, you will generally find a disregard of diet, and very different notions and practices upon the subject of exercise and ablution; but they all agree in the necessity of keeping the feet dry. I remember inquiring of a venerable clergyman, who, up to the age of ninety-six, had enjoyed a fair proportion of health, after a youth of delicacy. I asked him what system he pursued. 'Now,' was his reply, 'I never took much care what I ate; I have always been temperate. I never minded the weather; but I always took care to keep my feet dry and well shod.' Wet and damp are, indeed, more unwholsome when applied to the feet than when they affect other parts; 'because they receive a greater supply of blood to carry on a high degree of perspiration, and because their distance from the heart, or centre of circulation, diminishes the force with which this is carried on, and thus leaves them more susceptible from external causes.'[D] [D] Dr. Combe. "God, in his infinite benevolence, has given to his creatures other means of acquiring a healthy warmth than by clothing; he has endowed us with the power of exercise--that blessing which women of weak judgment and indolent natures are so prone to neglect and disparage. Most ladies appear to think that the privilege of walking is only intended for persons of inferior condition. They busy themselves, in their in-door occupations all the morning, take a hearty luncheon, and drive out in their carriages until dinner-time. It is partly owing to such customs as these that a rapid deterioration takes place in the physical state of our sex, in their looks, and in their power of utility, and enjoyment of happiness. God never intended us to be inactive. "The chief purpose of the muscles with which we are endowed, is to enable us to carry into effect the volitions of the mind; and, whilst fulfilling this grand object, the active exercise of the muscles is conducive to the well-being of many other important functions. The processes of digestion, respiration, secretion, absorption, and nutrition, are promoted, and the healthful condition of the whole body influenced. The mind also is depressed or exhilarated by the proper or improper use of muscular exercise; for man is intended for a life of activity: nor can his functions ever go on so properly as when he duly exercises those organs with which Nature has endowed him. The evils arising from want of exercise are numerous:--the circulation, from the absence of due stimulus, becomes languid, the appetite and digestion are weakened, the respiration is imperfect, and the blood becomes so ill-conditioned, that when distributed through the body it is inadequate to communicate the necessary stimulus to healthy and vigorous action. These points being established, it now becomes a consideration in what mode, or at what periods, ladies, in society, can most advantageously avail themselves of that privilege which is granted to so many, denied, comparatively, to so few. "Much is said on the benefits of walking before breakfast, and to a person in full vigor it may, there is no doubt, be highly salutary; whilst, to the delicate, it will prove more hurtful than beneficial, producing a sense of weariness which destroys all the future pleasures of the day. I am disposed to think, however, from observation, that walking before breakfast may be rendered beneficial almost to any one by degrees. Most persons walk too far the first day; they are proud of the effort, become, nevertheless, exhausted, and dare not repeat it. A first walk before breakfast should not exceed a quarter of a mile; it should be extended, very gradually, and, in delicate women, with great care, lest over-fatigue should ensue. It is, however, so valuable a habit, such a saving of time, so refreshing, so soothing, that many sacrifices of inclination should be made to procure it; in a gay season the freshness and seclusion of a morning's walk is peculiarly needed, and when it becomes so difficult to take exercise in the subsequent part of the day, the afternoon being too short, and the evening too much occupied. And the morning's walk, stolen from the hour given to a species of repose which seldom rests, may be, without the reproach of indolence, followed by the afternoon's siesta--a practice much to be commended, and greatly conducive to rest of nerves and invigoration of the frame, when used in moderation. "Exercise may be taken, by the robust, at any time, even after eating heartily, but the delicate ought to avoid that risk; they should resort to it only when the frame is vigorous enough to bear it, and this is usually from one to four or five hours after eating. The morning is, therefore, the best time; but exercise ought not to be delayed until some degree of exhaustion has taken place from want of food, as in that case it dissipates rather than renovates the remaining strength, and impairs digestion. Exercise immediately before meals is therefore, unless very gentle, injurious; if it has been violent, before eating rest should intervene. 'Appetite,' says Dr. Combe, 'revives after repose.' "Of all modes of exercise, that which nature has bestowed upon us, walking, is decidedly the most salutary; and the prevailing system of substituting horse and carriage exercise almost entirely for it, is far from being advantageous to the present generation. Walking, which has for its aim some pleasing pursuit, and, therefore, animates the mind, is efficacious to the majority. Gardening, which is a modification of walking, offers many advantages both to the delicate and the strong, and it is a species of exercise which we can adjust to our powers. In a continued walk you must go on--you must return; there is no appeal, even if you have gone too far, and would willingly give up any further exertion. But, while gardening, you are still at home--your exertions are devoted to objects the most interesting, because progressive; hope and faith form a part of your stimulus. The happy future, when flowers shall bloom around you, supersedes in your thoughts the vexatious present or the mournful past. About you are the budding treasures of spring, or the gorgeous productions of summer, or the rich hues of those beauties which autumn pours forth most lavishly before it departs,--and is succeeded by winter. Above you are the gay warblers, who seem to hail you as you mingle in the sylvan scenes which are not all theirs, but which you share and appropriate. The ruffled temper, the harassed mind, may find a solace in the occupation of gardening, which aids the effect of exercise and the benign influence of fresh air. Stores of future and never-dying interest are buried in the earth with every seed, only to spring up again redoubled in their value. A lady, as a writer in the 'Quarterly Review' observes, should 'not only _have_ but know her plants.' And her enjoyment of those delights is truly enhanced by that personal care, without which few gardens, however superintended by the scientific gardener, can prosper, and which bless as they thrive; her plants bestow health on the frame which is bowed down to train them--they give to her the blessing of a calm and rational pleasure--they relieve her from the necessity of excitement--they promote alike, in the wealthy and the poor, these gentle exertions which are coupled with the most poetical and the sweetest of associations. "Exercise on horseback is not equally attainable with the two modes which I have just specified; when it is, the accelerated circulation, the change of scene and of ideas, are highly beneficial. Where the lungs are weak, it is thought by the learned to possess a great advantage over walking, as it does not hurry the breathing. The gentleness of the exercise enables a delicate person to enjoy the advantage of open air and motion for a much longer period than could be endured in the action of walking. From the tendency of horse exercise to equalize the circulation and stimulate the skin, it is invaluable, too, for the nervous and dyspeptic portion of young women, among whom, unhappily, such complaints are but too prevalent. "Dancing, which is the most frequent mode of exercise with ladies in great cities, practiced, as it is, in heated rooms, and exhausting from its violence, often does more harm than good, from producing languor and over-fatigue. Unhappily there are but few modes of exercise in-doors adapted for women. If, from any circumstances, they are confined to their homes, and they become feverish and languid from want of exercise, it never occurs to them to throw open the windows and to walk about, or to make use of battledore and shuttlecock, or any other mode of exertion. They continue sitting, reading, or walking, or lounging, or sleeping, or gossiping,--whilst the bloom of health is rapidly giving place to the wanness and debility of the imprisoned frame. "It is often the custom of young women to declare that they cannot walk, sometimes from indolence, no doubt, and want of habit, occasionally from real inability. But if we investigate the causes of this real inability, we shall often find it to proceed from an improper choice of time in taking exercise, or from a defective judgment in the manner of taking it. Many women exhaust and fatigue themselves with the duties of their house, and by a thousand trying occupations, including that which forms a serious item in the day's work, namely, running up and down stairs, and then discover that they cannot walk. Others go to extremes, and walk for a certain distance, whether they feel fatigued or not by such exertions. 'It is only,' observes Dr. Combe, 'by a diffusion of the laws of exercise as a part of useful education, that individuals can be enabled to avoid such mistakes,' To be beneficial, exercise should always be proportioned to the strength and to the constitution of an individual. When it causes extreme fatigue or exhaustion, it is hurtful; it ought to be resumed always after a period of rest, and adopted regularly, not, as too many persons are in the habit of doing, once in four or five days. The average walk which a young woman in good health and in ordinary circumstances, may take, without undue and injurious fatigue, is from four to five miles a-day. From this rule I except the _very_ young. It has been found by experience that until twenty-two or three the strength is not completely matured. The rate of mortality, as it has been proved by statistical tables, increases in all classes of society from fourteen until the age of twenty-three, when it begins to decrease. "Another precaution which I would recommend to those who have the regulation of families under their care, relates to the subject of ventilation. The heated state of our rooms in ordinary occupation is one great source of all those mischiefs which arise from catching cold, a subject on which Mr. Abernethy was wont to declare, that 'a very useful book might be written.' There are some houses into which one can never enter with impunity, from the want of due ventilation. Housemaids, more especially, have an insupportable objection to opening windows, on account of the dust which flies in and settles upon the furniture. This evil--for the soiling of furniture certainly may be called an evil--may easily be obviated by fastening a muslin blind against the open window, or by pinning a large piece of coarse muslin against it, so that the dusty particles will be excluded. "Generally our ordinary sitting-rooms are tolerably well ventilated by the opening and shutting of doors, the size of the fire-place, &c., but in our bed-rooms the vitiation of the air is far greater, owing to these rooms being wholly closed during the seven or eight hours in which we sleep in them, and, also, owing to the mass of curtains with which we usually take care to surround our beds. In this respect we are, indeed, improved, by the introduction of French bedsteads, which are among the most valuable of modern suggestions. But, notwithstanding this improvement, and many others which reflection and science have contributed to introduce, we incur much suffering from our ignorance and prejudice on the subject of ventilation. For generations, society has experienced the evil effects of the want of ventilation, and has felt in towns its results in the form of fevers, general ill-health, cutaneous and nervous diseases; and yet the most direful ignorance continues on this subject. Hospitals are among the few well-ventilated buildings which are erected, because an idea prevails that ventilation is essential for the sick, but it seems to have been forgotten that what is essential for the recovery of health is equally necessary for its preservation. 'Were,' says Dr. Combe, 'a general knowledge of the structure of man to constitute a regular part of a liberal education, such inconsistencies as this would soon disappear, and the scientific architect would speedily devise the best means for supplying our houses with pure air, as he has already supplied them with pure water.'" CHAPTER XXVI. MISCELLANEOUS. There are many little pieces of rudeness, only too common, which, while they evince ill-breeding, and are many of them extremely annoying, yet they are met with every day, and in persons otherwise well-bred. As they come under no particular head, they will merely be mentioned here, as habits carefully to avoid. It is rude to look over the shoulder of a person who is either reading or writing, yet it is done every day. To stand with the arms a-kimbo, the hands on the hips, or with the arms crossed, while conversing, is exceedingly unlady-like. Avoid restless movements either with the hands, or feet; to sit perfectly quiet, without stiffness, easily, yet at the same time almost motionless, is one of the surest proofs of high-breeding. If you wish to make yourself agreeable to any one, talk as much as you please about his or her affairs, and as little as possible about your own. Avoid passing before persons seated in the same room with yourself. If you must rise to move from place to place, endeavor to pass behind the chairs of your companions. Above all, never pass between two persons who are conversing together. Avoid personal remarks; they evince a want of judgment, good taste, kindness, and politeness. To exchange glances or significant smiles with a third person, whilst engaged in a conversation with a second, is a proof of low-breeding. Suppressed laughter, shrugging of the shoulders, rolling of the eyes, and significant glances are all marks of ill-breeding. If you meet a gentleman at the foot of a flight of stairs, do not go up before him. Stop, bow, and motion to him to precede you. He will return your bow, and run up, leaving you to follow him. Never whisper, or make any confidential communication in company. Keep private remarks for private occasions. Accepting presents from gentlemen is a dangerous thing. It is better to avoid any such obligations, and, if you make it a rule _never_ to accept such presents, you will avoid hurting any one's feelings, and save yourself from all further perplexity. In meeting your elderly friends in the street, look at them long enough to give them an opportunity of recognizing you; and if they do so, return their salutations respectfully, not with the familiar nod you would give to one of your own age. Never remain seated, whilst a person older than yourself is standing before you, talking to you. Never lounge on a sofa, while there are those in the room, whose years give them a better claim to this sort of indulgence. Never tease a person to do what she has once declined. Never refuse a request or invitation in order to be urged, and accept afterwards. Comply at once. If the request is sincere, you will thus afford gratification; if not, the individual making it deserves to be punished for insincerity, by being taken at her word. It is not polite when asked what part of a dish you will have, to say, "Any part--it is quite indifferent to me;" it is hard enough to carve for one's friends, without choosing for them. It is not polite to entertain a visitor with your own family history, or the events of your own household. It is not polite for married ladies to talk, in the presence of gentlemen, of the difficulty they have in procuring domestics, and how good-for-nothing they are when procured. It is not polite to put food upon the plate of a guest without asking leave, or to press her to eat more than she wants. It is not polite to stare under ladies' bonnets, as if you suspected they had stolen the linings from you, or wore something that was not their own. Never affect a foolish reserve in a mixed company, keeping aloof from others as if in a state of mental abstraction. If your brain is so full and so busy that you cannot attend to the little civilities, cheerful chit-chat, and light amusements of society, keep out of it. Never read in company. You may open a book to look over the engravings, if you will, but do not attend to the letter-press until you are alone. Never jest upon serious subjects. Avoid scandal. If another person attempts to open a conversation upon scandalous matters, check her. Say gravely that it is painful for you to hear of the faults or misfortunes of others, where your counsel and assistance can be of no service. Many persons, whose tongues never utter a scandalous word, will, by a significant glance, a shrug of the shoulders, a sneer, or curl of the lip, really make more mischief, and suggest harder thoughts than if they used the severest language. This is utterly detestable. If you have your tongue under perfect control, you can also control your looks, and you are cowardly, contemptible, and wicked, when you encourage and countenance slander by a look or gesture. Never speak of gentlemen by their first name unless you are related to them. It is very unlady-like to use the surname, without the prefix, Mr. To hear a lady speak of Smith, Brown, Anderson, instead of Mr. Anderson or Mr. Smith sounds extremely vulgar, and is a mark of low breeding. Avoid eccentricity either in dress, conversation, or manner. It is a form of vanity, as it will attract attention, and is therefore in bad taste. Never act as if in a hurry. Ease of action need not imply laziness, but simply polite self-possession. Never laugh at your own wit. That is the part of those who hear you, and if you take their duty from them, they may omit to join you in your laugh. Do not indulge in ridicule. It is coarse and unlady-like as well as unfeeling. Like every other personality, it should be carefully avoided. Never handle any ornament or article of furniture in the room in which you are a visitor. Do not lean your head against the wall. You leave an indelible mark upon the paper, or, if the wall is whitewashed, you give your hair a dingy, dusty look, by bringing it into contact with the lime. Never lean forward upon a table. Let neither hands nor arms rest there heavily. To bestow flattery upon a person to his face, betrays a want of delicacy; yet, not less so, rudely to rebuke his errors or mention his faults, and not have a tender regard for his feelings. It is not improper, and may sometimes be very kind to mention to an individual what yourself and others think of his conduct or performances, when it is for his interest or usefulness to know it. To express to a friend deserved approbation is generally proper. Nothing but a quick perception of the feelings of others, and a ready sympathy with them, can regulate the thousand little proprieties that belong to visits of condolence and congratulation. There is one hint, however, as regards the former, which may perhaps be useful, and that is, not to touch upon the cause of affliction, unless the mourner leads the way to it; and if a painful effort is made to appear cheerful, and to keep aloof from the subject, do not make the slightest allusion that could increase this feeling. When at table to _press_ your guests to take more than they have inclination for, is antiquated and rude. This does not, however, prevent your recommending particular dishes to their attention. Everything like compulsion is quite exploded. It is a great mistake to suppose that the best music is the most difficult of execution. The very reverse, generally speaking, is the case. Music of a high order certainly demands high gifts and attainments on the part of the performer. But the gifts of nature may be possessed by the amateur as well as by the professor; and the attainments of art may be the result of moderate study and application. A young lady possessed of a sweet and tunable voice, a good ear, intelligence, and feeling, may cultivate music in its grandest and most beautiful forms, and may render its practice a source of the purest enjoyment, not only to herself but to her domestic and social circle. The various ceremonies observed in refined society are very useful in settling little points, on which there might otherwise be much doubt and perplexity; but they should never be so strenuously insisted upon as to make an accidental omission of them a ground of resentment, and an apology should always be accepted in their place. Your enjoyment of a party depends far less on what you find there, than on what you carry with you. The vain, the ambitious, the designing, will be full of anxiety when they go, and of disappointment when they return. A short triumph will be followed by a deep mortification, and the selfishness of their aims defeats itself. If you go to see, and to hear, and to make the best of whatever occurs, with a disposition to admire all that is beautiful, and to sympathize in the pleasures of others, you can hardly fail to spend the time pleasantly. The less you think of yourself and your claims to attention, the better. If you are much attended to, receive it modestly, and consider it as a happy accident; if you are little noticed, use your leisure in observing others. It were unjust and ungrateful to conceive that the amusements of life are altogether forbidden by its beneficent Author. They serve, on the contrary, important purposes in the economy of human life, and are destined to produce important effects both upon our happiness and character. They are, in the first place, in the language of the Psalmist, "the wells of the desert;" the kind resting-places in which toil may relax, in which the weary spirit may recover its tone, and where the desponding mind may resume its strength and its hopes. It is not, therefore, the use of the innocent amusements of life which is dangerous, but the abuse of them; it is not when they are occasionally, but when they are constantly pursued; and when, from being an occasional indulgence, it becomes an habitual desire. Women in the middle rank are brought up with the idea that if they engage in some occupations, they shall lose "their position in society." Suppose it to be so; surely it is wiser to quit a position we cannot honestly maintain, than to live dependent upon the bounty and caprice of others; better to labor with our hands, than eat the bread of idleness; or submit to feel that we must not give utterance to our real opinions, or express our honest indignation at being required to act a base or unworthy part. And in all cases, however situated, every female ought to learn how all household affairs are managed, were it only for the purpose of being able to direct others. There cannot be any disgrace in learning how to make the bread we eat, to cook our dinners, to mend our clothes, or even to clean the house. Better to be found busily engaged in removing the dust from the furniture, than to let it accumulate there until a visitor leaves palpable traces where his hat or his arm have been laid upon a table. Never put temptation in a servant's way; never be severe for trifling offences, such as accidentally breaking anything, but reserve your severity for those offences which are moral evils, such as a want of truth, general laxity of principle, &c. The orders given to servants should be clear and definite; and they should be trained as much as possible to perform their duties regularly, so that every morning they may know pretty nearly what will be expected of them during the day. It is a great point to live, when you are alone, as if you expected company; that is to say, to have everything so neat and orderly that you need not be ashamed of any one seeing your table. It is very little more trouble, and certainly no more expense; and the advantages in point of comfort are unspeakable. If a foolish girl, by dint of squeezing and bracing with busk and bones, secures the conventional beauty of a wasp waist, she is tolerably certain to gain an addition she by no means bargained for, a _red nose_, which, in numberless instances, is produced by no other cause than the unnatural girth, obstructing circulation, and causing stagnation of the blood, in that prominent and important feature. Often, in assemblages of the fair, we have seen noses faultless in form, but tinged with the abhorred hue, to which washes and cosmetics have been applied in wild despair; but in vain! If the lovely owners had known the cause, how speedily the effect would have vanished! for surely the most perverse admirer of a distorted spine and compressed lungs, would deem the acquisition of a dram-drinker's nose, too heavy a condition to be complied with. A well-bred woman will not demand as a right what she may have a claim to expect from the politeness of the other sex, nor show dissatisfaction and resentment if she fancies herself neglected. For want of good breeding some females are exorbitant in their expectations, and appear unthankful even when everything is done which true politeness demands. Young women should guard against this unamiable defect. A well-bred person will take care not to use slang words and expressions. There never has been a time, at least in late years, when there have not been some two or three cant vulgarisms in vogue among all the blackguards of the country. Sometimes these phrases have been caught up from some popular song or farce; sometimes, we believe, they have had their origin "where assembles the collective wisdom of the country." A dozen of these terse but meaningless sayings now dance before our recollection, for who has not heard them, even to loathing? But from whatever source they may have been drawn, or whatever wit there might be in their original position, the obtrusion of them into decent society is an unwarrantable piece of impertinence. A habit of inserting into familiar conversation such phrases as "You know," "You perceive," "You understand," "Says he," "Says she," is, so far as those matters extend, a sign of a want of good breeding. With regard to any specific rules for dressing, we do not pretend to arbitrate in such matters. Let a true sense of propriety, of the fitness of things, regulate all your habits of living and dressing, and it will produce such a beautiful harmony and consistency of character as will throw a charm around you that all will feel, though few may comprehend. Always consider well whether the articles of dress, which you wish to purchase, are suited to your age, your condition, your means; to the climate, to the particular use to which you mean to put them; and let the principles of good taste keep you from the extremes of the fashion, and regulate the form, so as to combine utility and beauty, whilst the known rules of harmony in colors save you from shocking the eye of the artist by incongruous mixtures. "Manners," says the eloquent Edmund Burke, "are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws depend. The law can touch us here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or sooth, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarise or refine, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in. They give their whole form and colors to our lives. According to their quality they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them." FOUR IMPORTANT RULES. "Order is heaven's first law." 1. A suitable place for everything, and everything in its place. 2. A proper time for everything, and everything done in its time. 3. A distinct name for everything, and everything called by its name. 4. A certain use for everything, and everything put to its use. Much time would be saved; many disputes avoided; numerous articles kept from being lost or injured, and constant confusion and disorder prevented, by the strict observance of these four important rules. Dispense with ornaments altogether rather than wear mock jewelry. Depend upon it, silvery hair is better adapted to the faded cheeks of middle age, than are tresses of nut-brown or coal-black, or any of the mysterious shades produced by a dirty decoction called Hair-dye. The habitual use of very thin shoes invariably makes the feet tender, and a host of other inconveniences arise therefrom. If you are tempted to purchase tight shoes, don't, for several reasons; but one may suffice--you will not wear them more than twice. If you are not quite certain of the line between neatness and the reverse, be over-scrupulous about your under garments. The edge of a soiled petticoat, or the glimpse of a rent stocking is singularly disenchanting. Men of sense--I speak not of boys of eighteen to five and twenty, during their age of detestability--men who are worth the trouble of falling in love with, and the fuss and inconvenience, of being married to, and to whom one might, after some inward conflicts, and a course perhaps of fasting and self-humiliation, submit to fulfil those ill-contrived vows of obedience which are exacted at the altar, such men want, for their wives, companions, not dolls; and women who would suit such men are just as capable of loving fervently, deeply, as the Ringlettina, full of song and sentiment, who cannot walk, cannot rise in the morning, cannot tie her bonnet-strings, faints if she has to lace her boots, never in her life brushed out her beautiful hair, would not for the world prick her delicate finger with plain sewing; but who can work harder than a factory girl upon a lamb's-wool shepherdess, dance like a dervise at balls, ride like a fox-hunter, and, whilst every breath of air gives her cold in her father's house, and she cannot think how people can endure this climate, she can go out to parties in February and March, with an inch of sleeve and half-a-quarter of boddice. All circumstances well examined, there can be no doubt Providence has willed that man should be the head of the human race, even as woman is its heart; that he should be its strength, as she is its solace; that he should be its wisdom, as she is its grace; that he should be its mind, its impetus, and its courage, as she is its sentiment, its charm, and its consolation. Too great an amelioration could not be effected, in our opinion, in the system generally adopted, which, far from correcting or even compensating the presumed intellectual inequality of the two sexes, generally serves only to increase it. By placing, for example, dancing and needle-work at the extreme poles of female study, the one for its attraction and the other for its utility, and by not filling the immense interval with anything more valuable than mere monotonous, imperfect, superficial, and totally unphilosophical notions, this system has made of the greater number of female seminaries, establishments which may be compared alike to nursery-grounds for coquettes and sempstresses. It is never remembered that in domestic life conversation is of more importance than the needle or choregraphy; that a husband is neither a pacha nor a lazzarone, who must be perpetually intoxicated or unceasingly patched; that there are upon the conjugal dial many long hours of calm intimacy, of cool contemplation, of cold tenderness; and that the husband makes another home elsewhere if his own hearth offers him only silence; or what is a hundred times worse, merely frivolous and monotonous discourse. Let the woman play the gossip at a given moment, that is all very well; let her superintend the laundry or the kitchen at another, that is also very well; but these duties only comprise two-thirds of her mission. Ought care not to be taken that during the rest of her time she could also be capable of becoming to her husband a rational friend, a cheerful partner, an interesting companion, or, at least, an efficient listener, whose natural intelligence, even if originally inferior to his own, shall, by the help of education, have been raised to the same level! Pascal says: "Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. And we have never heard of any mental trouble arising from this quarter. Though they do not cost much. 1. They help one's own good nature. Soft words soften our own soul. Angry words are fuel to the flame of wrath, and make it blaze more fiercely. 2. Kind words make other people good natured. Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. There is such a rush of all other kinds of words in our days, that it seems desirable to give kind words a change among them. There are vain words, and idle words, and hasty words, and spiteful words, and silly words, and empty words, and profane words, and boisterous words, and warlike words. Kind words also produce their own image on men's souls. And a beautiful image it is. They smooth, and quiet, and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used." A writer in the New York Observer, speaking of the necessity of guarding the tongue, says:-- "It is always well to avoid saying everything that is improper; but it is especially so before children. And here parents, as well as others, are often in fault. Children have as many ears as grown persons, and they are generally more attentive to what is said before them. What they hear, they are very apt to repeat; and, as they have no discretion, and not sufficient knowledge of the world to disguise anything, it is generally found that 'children and fools speak the truth.' See that boy's eyes glisten while you are speaking of a neighbor in a language you would not wish to have repeated. He does not fully understand what you mean, but he will remember every word; and it will be strange if he does not cause you to blush by the repetition. "A gentleman was in the habit of calling at a neighbor's house, and the lady had always expressed to him great pleasure from his calls. One day, just after she had remarked to him, as usual, her happiness from his visit, her little boy entered the room. The gentleman took him on his knee, and asked, 'Are you not glad to see me, George?' 'No, sir,' replied the boy. 'Why not, my little man?' he continued. 'Because mother don't want you to come,' said George. 'Indeed! how do you know that, George?' Here the mother became crimson, and looked daggers at her little son. But he saw nothing, and therefore replied, 'Because, she said yesterday, she wished that old bore would not call here again.' That was enough. The gentleman's hat was soon in requisition, and he left with the impression that 'great is the truth, and it will prevail.' "Another little child looked sharply in the face of a visitor, and being asked what she meant by it, replied, 'I wanted to see if you had a drop in your eye; I heard mother say you had frequently.' "A boy once asked one of his father's guests who it was that lived next door to him, and when he heard his name, inquired if he was not a fool. 'No, my little friend,' replied the guest, 'he is not a fool, but a very sensible man. But why did you ask that question?' 'Because,' replied the boy, 'mother said the other day, that you were next door to a fool; and I wanted to know who lived next door to you.'" The best way to overcome the selfishness and rudeness you sometimes meet with on public occasions, is, by great politeness and disinterestedness on your part; overcome evil with good, and you will satisfy your own conscience, and, perhaps, touch theirs. Contending for your rights stirs up the selfish feelings in others; but a readiness to yield them awakens generous sentiments, and leads to mutual accommodation. The more refined you are, and the greater have been your advantages, the more polite and considerate you should be toward others, the more ready to give place to some poor, uneducated girl, who knows no better than to push herself directly in your way. Politeness is as necessary to a happy intercourse with the inhabitants of the kitchen, as with those of the parlor; it lessens the pains of service, promotes kind feelings on both sides, and checks unbecoming familiarity; always thank them for what they do for you, and always ask rather than command their services. Of late years, the wearing of jewelry, in season and out of season, both by matrons and unmarried females, has increased vastly. It is an indication that the growing wealth of the people is not accompanied by a corresponding refinement; but that the love of vulgar show, the low pride of ostentation, takes the place of a pure and elevated taste. The emulation with fashionable dames, now-a-days, so far from being, as with the Spartan women, to excel each other in household virtues, is to wear the largest diamonds. And, in this ambition, they forget fitness, beauty, taste, everything but the mere vulgar desire to shine. To be gracefully and elegantly attired, in short, is secondary to the desire to be a sort of jeweler's walking show-card. We do not oppose the use of diamonds and pearls altogether, as some persons might imagine from these remarks. A few diamonds, judiciously worn, look well, on proper occasions, on married women. But young girls rarely, or never, improve their appearance by the use of these dazzling jewels; and, as a general rule, the simpler the costume of a woman in her teens, the better. Women are usually pretty, up to the age of twenty, at least. Consequently, at this period of life, there are few whom an elaborate attire does not injure; a simple dress, or a rose-bud in the hair, is frequently all that is required; and more only spoils that combination of youthfulness, grace, and modesty, which it should be the highest ambition of the girl to attain; because, if she did but know it, it is her highest charm. Instead of this, however, we see gay females, scarcely freed from the nursery, wearing enormous jeweled ear-drops, or sporting on the finger, a diamond ring as large as a sixpence. Sometimes, too, ladies pretending to be well-bred, descend to receive a morning visitor of their own sex, glittering like a jeweler's case, with costly gems. In all this, we repeat, there is neither refinement nor elegance, but simply vulgar ostentation. Female dress has ceased to be a means of beautifying the person or displaying the wearer's taste, and has become instead, a mere brag of the husband's or father's wealth. A knowledge of domestic duties is beyond all price to a woman. Every one of the sex ought to know how to sew, and knit, and mend, and cook, and superintend a household. In every situation of life, high or low, this sort of knowledge is of great advantage. There is no necessity that the gaining of such information should interfere with intellectual acquirement or even elegant accomplishment. A well-regulated mind can find time to attend to all. When a girl is nine or ten years old, she should be accustomed to take some regular share in household duties, and to feel responsible for the manner in which her part is performed--such as her own mending, washing the cups and putting them in place, cleaning silver, or dusting and arranging the parlor. This should not be done occasionally, and neglected whenever she finds it convenient--she should consider it her department. When older than twelve, girls should begin to take turns in superintending the household--making puddings, pies, cakes, &c. To learn effectually, they should actually do these themselves, and not stand by and see others do them. Many a husband has been ruined for want of these domestic qualities in a wife--and many a husband has been saved from ruin by his wife being able to manage well the household concerns. It is a mark, not only of ill-breeding, but of positive want of feeling and judgment, to speak disparagingly of a physician to one of his patients. Many persons, visiting an invalid friend, will exclaim loudly against the treatment pursued, recommend a different doctor, and add to the sufferings of the patient by their injudicious remarks upon the medicines or practice used. It is too much the fashion, in conversation, to use exaggerated expressions which are opposed to _truth_, without the person employing them being aware of it, from the mere force of habit. Why need we say splendid for pretty, magnificent for handsome, horrid for unpleasant, immense for large, thousands, or myriads, for any number more than two? This practice is pernicious, for the effect is to deprive the person who is guilty of it, from being believed, when she is in earnest. No one can trust the testimony of an individual who, in common conversation, is indifferent to the import, and regardless of the value of words. Politeness is very essential to the right transaction of that great business of woman's life, _shopping_. The variety afforded by the shops of a city renders people difficult to please; and the latitude they take in examining and asking the price of goods, which they have no thought of buying, is so trying to the patience of those who attend upon them, that nothing but the most perfect courtesy of demeanor can reconcile them to it. Some persons behave, in shopping, as if no one had any rights, or any feelings, but the purchasers; as if the sellers of goods were mere automatons, put behind the counter to do their bidding; they keep them waiting, whilst they talk of other things, with a friend; they call for various goods, ask the price, and try to cheapen them, without any real intention of buying. A lady who wants decision of character, after hesitating and debating, till the poor trader's patience is almost exhausted, will beg him to send the article to her house, for her to examine it there; and, after giving him all this trouble, she will refuse to purchase it, without any scruple or apology. Some think they have a right to exchange articles at the place where they were bought; whereas that privilege should be asked as a favor, only by a good customer,--and then but rarely. RECEIPTS. FOR THE COMPLEXION. COLD CREAM, 1.--Take 2½ ounces of sweet oil of almonds, 3 drachms of white wax, and the same of spermaceti, 2½ ounces of rose-water, 1 drachm of oil of bergamot, and 15 drops each of oil of lavender, and otto of roses. Melt the wax and spermaceti in the oil of almonds, by placing them together in a jar, which should be plunged into boiling water. Heat a mortar (which should, if possible, be _marble_) by pouring boiling water into it, and letting it remain there until the mortar is uniformly heated; the water is to be poured away, and the mortar dried well. Pour the melted wax and spermaceti into the warm mortar, and add rose-water gradually, while the mixture is constantly stirred or whisked with an egg-whisp, until the whole is cold, and, when nearly finished, add the oils and otto of roses. In the absence of a mortar, a basin plunged into another containing boiling water will answer the purpose. COLD CREAM, 2.--Take 10 drachms of spermaceti, 4 drachms of white wax, half a pound of prepared lard, 15 grains of subcarbonate of potash, 4 ounces of rose-water, 2 ounces of spirits of wine, and ten drops of otto of roses. Proceed as above. Some persons prefer orange-flower-water instead of rose-water, in which case use the same proportions. Cold cream is a useful local application to hard and dry parts of the skin, to abrasions and cracks. When spread thickly upon rag, it is an excellent application to blistered surfaces or burns, or may be used to protect exposed parts from the influence of the sun. GRANULATED COLD CREAM.--Take white wax and spermaceti, of each one ounce; almond oil 3 ounces, otto of rose, as much as you please. Dissolve the wax and spermaceti in the almond oil, by means of heat, and when a little cool, pour the mixture into a large wedgwood mortar previously warmed, and containing about a pint of warm water. Stir briskly until the cream is well divided, add the otto, and _suddenly_ pour the whole into a clean vessel containing 8 or 12 pints of _cold water_. Separate the cream by straining through muslin, and shake out as much water as possible. WHITE CAMPHORATED OINTMENT, 1.--Take 3 ounces 2 drachms of powdered carbonate of lead (cerussa), 45 grains of powdered camphor. Mix, and then stir into 5 ounces of melted lard. This is applied to burns and contusions with very good effect, and is much used in Austria. The surface must not be abraded when it is applied. WHITE CAMPHORATED OINTMENT, 2.--Take 4 ounces of olive oil, 1 ounce of white wax, 22 grains of camphor, and 6 drachms of spermaceti. Melt the wax and spermaceti with the oil, and when they have cooled rub the ointment with the camphor, dissolved in a little oil. Sometimes the white wax is omitted, and lard substituted for it. It is useful in chaps, fissures, abrasions, and roughness of the skin. PITCH POMADE, 1.--Take 1 drachm of pitch, and 1 ounce of lard. Mix well, and apply twice a day to the affected parts. This is used for ringworm, and scald head. TO SOFTEN THE SKIN, AND IMPROVE THE COMPLEXION.--If flowers of sulphur be mixed in a little milk, and, after standing an hour or two, the milk (without disturbing the sulphur) be rubbed into the skin, it will keep it soft, and make the complexion clear. It is to be used before washing. TO REMOVE BLACK STAINS FROM THE SKIN.--Ladies that wear mourning in warm weather are much incommoded by the blackness it leaves on the arms and neck, and which cannot easily be removed, even by soap and warm water. To have a remedy always at hand, keep, in the drawer of your wash-stand, a box, containing a mixture in equal portions of cream of tartar, and oxalic acid (POISON). Get, at a druggist's, half an ounce of each of these articles, and have them mixed and pounded together in a mortar. Put some of this mixture into a cup that has a cover, and if, afterwards, it becomes hard, you may keep it slightly moistened with water. See that it is always closely covered. To use it, wet the black stains on your skin with the corner of a towel, dipped in water (warm water is best, but is not always at hand). Then, with your finger, rub on a little of the mixture. Then _immediately_ wash it off with water, and afterwards with soap and water, and the black stains will be visible no longer. This mixture will also remove ink, and all other stains from the fingers, and from _white_ clothes. It is more speedy in its effects if applied with warm water. No family should be without it, but care must be taken to keep it out of the way of young children, as, if swallowed, it is poisonous. PASTES. ALMOND.--Take 1 ounce of bitter almonds, blanch and pound them to a fine powder, then add 1 ounce of barley flour, and make it into a smooth paste by the addition of a little honey. When this paste is laid over the skin, particularly where there are freckles, it makes it smooth and soft. PALATINE.--Take 8 ounces of soft-soap, of olive oil, and spirits of wine, each 4 ounces, 1½ ounce of lemon-juice, sufficient silver-sand to form into a thick paste, and any perfume that is grateful to the person. Boil the oil and soap together in a pipkin, and then gradually stir in the sand and lemon-juice. When nearly cool add the spirit of wine, and lastly the perfume. Make into a paste with the hands, and place in jars or pots for use. This paste is used instead of soap, and is a valuable addition to the toilette, as it preserves the skin from chapping, and renders it smooth and soft. AMERICAN COSMETIC POWDER.--Calcined magnesia applied the same as ordinary toilette powders, by means of a swan's-down ball, usually called a "puff." MALOINE.--Take 4 ounces of powdered marsh-mallow roots, 2 ounces of powdered white starch, 3 drachms of powdered orris-root, and 20 drops of essence of jasmine. Mix well, and sift through fine muslin. This is one of the most agreeable and elegant cosmetics yet known for softening and whitening the skin, preserving it from chapping, and being so simple that it may be applied to the most delicate or irritable skin. This receipt has never before been published, and we know that only six bottles of it have been made. OXIDE OF ZINC is sprinkled into chaps and fissures to promote their cure. YAOULTA.--Take 1 ounce of white starch, powdered and sifted, ½ a drachm of rose pink, 10 drops of essence of jasmine, and 2 drops of otto of roses. Mix and keep in a fine muslin bag. This exquisite powder is to be dusted over the face, and, being perfectly harmless, may be used as often as necessity requires. It also imparts a delicate rosy tinge to the skin preferable to rouge. CRÃ�ME DE L'ENCLOS.--Take 4 ounces of milk, 1 ounce of lemon-juice, and 2 drachms of spirit of wine. Simmer over a slow fire, and then bring it to the boil, skim off the scum, and when cold apply it to the skin. It is much used by some persons to remove freckles and sun-burnings. WASHES AND LOTIONS. MILK OF ROSES, 1.--Take 2 ounces of blanched almonds; 12 ounces of rose-water; white soft-soap, or Windsor soap; white wax; and oil of almonds, of each 2 drachms; rectified spirit, 3 ounces; oil of bergamot, 1 drachm; oil of lavender, 15 drops; otto of roses, 8 drops. Beat the almonds well, and then add the rose-water gradually so as to form an emulsion, mix the soap, white wax, and oil together, by placing them in a covered jar upon the edge of the fire-place, then rub this mixture in a mortar with the emulsion. Strain the whole through very fine muslin, and add the essential oils, previously mixed with the spirit. This is an excellent wash for "sunburns," freckles, or for cooling the face and neck, or any part of the skin to which it is applied. MILK OF ROSES, 2.--This is not quite so expensive a receipt as the last; and, at the same time is not so good. Take 1 ounce of Jordan almonds; 5 ounces of distilled rose-water; 1 ounce of spirit of wine; ½ a drachm of Venetian soap, and 2 drops of otto of roses. Beat the almonds (previously blanched and well dried with a cloth) in a mortar, until they become a complete paste, then beat the soap and mix with the almonds, and afterwards add the rose-water and spirit. Strain through a very fine muslin or linen, and add the otto of roses. The common milk of roses sold in the shops, frequently contains salt of tartar, or pearlash, combined with olive oil and rose-water, and therefore it is better to make it yourself to ensure it being good. FRENCH MILK OF ROSES.--Mix 2½ pints of rose-water with ½ a pint of rosemary-water, then add tincture of storax and tincture of benzoin, of each 2 ounces; and _esprit de rose_, ½ an ounce. This is a useful wash for freckles. GERMAN MILK OF ROSES.--Take of rose-water and milk of almonds, each 3 ounces; water 8 ounces; rosemary-water 2 ounces; and spirit of lavender ½ an ounce. Mix well, and then add ½ an ounce of sugar of lead. This is a dangerous form to leave about where there are children, and should never be applied when there are any abrasions, or chaps on the surface. MILK OF ALMONDS.--Blanch 4 ounces of Jordan almonds, dry them with a towel, and then pound them in a mortar; add 2 drachms of white or curd soap, and rub it up with the almonds for about ten minutes or rather more, gradually adding one quart of rose-water, until the whole is well mixed, then strain through a fine piece of muslin, and bottle for use. This is an excellent remedy for freckles and sunburns, and may be used as a general cosmetic, being applied to the skin after washing by means of the corner of a soft towel. ANTI-FRECKLE LOTION, 1.--Take tincture of benzoin, 2 ounces; tincture of tolu, 1 ounce; oil of rosemary, ½ a drachm. Mix well and bottle. When required to be used, add a teaspoonful of the mixture to about a wine-glassful of water, and apply the lotion to the face or hands, &c., night and morning, carefully rubbing it in with a soft towel. ANTI-FRECKLE LOTION, 2.--Take 1 ounce of rectified spirit of wine; 1 drachm of hydrochloric acid (spirit of salt); and 7 ounces of water. Mix the acid gradually with the water, and then add the spirit of wine; apply by means of a camel's-hair brush, or a piece of flannel. GOWLAND'S LOTION.--Take 1½ grains of bichloride of mercury, and 1 ounce of emulsion of bitter almonds; mix well. Be careful of the bichloride of mercury, because it is a poison. This is one of the best cosmetics for imparting a delicate appearance and softness to the skin, and is a useful lotion in acne, ringworm, hard and dry skin, and sun-blisterings. COLD CREAM.--Sweet almond oil, 7 lbs. by weight, white wax, ¾ lb., spermaceti, ¾ lb., clarified mutton suet, 1 lb., rose-water, 7 pints, spirits of wine, 1 pint. Directions to mix the above:--Place the oil, wax, spermaceti, and suet in a large jar; cover it over tightly, then place it in a saucepan of boiling water, (having previously placed two or more pieces of fire-wood at the bottom of the saucepan, to allow the water to get underneath the jar, and to prevent its breaking) keep the water boiling round the jar till all the ingredients are dissolved; take it out of the water, and pour it into a large pan previously warmed and capable of holding 21 pints; then, with a wooden spatula, stir in the rose-water, cold, as quickly as possible, (dividing it into three or four parts, at most,) the stirring in of which should not occupy above five minutes, as after a certain heat the water will not mix. When all the water is in, stir unremittingly for thirty minutes longer, to prevent its separating, then add the spirits of wine, and the scent, and it is finished. Keep it in a cold place, in a white glazed jar, and do not cut it with a _steel_ knife, as it causes blackness at the parts of contact. Scent with otto of roses and essential oil of bergamot to fancy. For smaller quantities, make ounces instead of pounds. PALM SOAP.--I make it in the following manner:--Cut thin two pounds of yellow soap into a double saucepan, occasionally stirring it till it is melted, which will be in a few minutes if the water is kept boiling around it; then add quarter of a pound of palm oil, quarter of a pound of honey, three pennyworth of true oil of cinnamon; let all boil together another six or eight minutes; pour out and stand it by till next day; it is then fit for immediate use. If made as these directions it will be found to be a very superior soap. CURE FOR CHAPPED HANDS.--Take 3 drachms of gum camphor, 3 drachms of white beeswax, 3 drachms of spermaceti, 2 ounces of olive oil,--put them together in a cup upon the stove, where they will melt slowly and form a white ointment in a few minutes. If the hands be affected, anoint them on going to bed, and put on a pair of gloves. A day or two will suffice to heal them. TO WHITEN THE NAILS.--Diluted sulphuric acid, 2 drachms; tincture of myrrh, 1 drachm; spring water, 4 ounces. Mix. First cleanse with white soap, and then dip the fingers into the mixture. TO WHITEN THE HANDS.--Take a wine-glassful of eau de Cologne, and another of lemon-juice; then scrape two cakes of brown Windsor soap to a powder, and mix well in a mould. When hard, it will be an excellent soap for whitening the hands. FOR THE TEETH. TO REMOVE TARTAR FROM THE TEETH.--1st. The use of the tooth-brush night and morning, and, at least, rinsing the mouth after every meal at which animal food is taken. 2nd. Once daily run the brush lightly two or three times over soap, then dip it in salt, and with it clean the teeth, working the brush up and down rather than--or as well as--backwards and forwards. This is a cheap, safe, and effectual dentrifice. 3rd. Eat freely of common cress, the sort used with mustard, under the name of small salad; it must be eaten with salt only. If thus used two or three days in succession it will effectually loosen tartar, even of long standing. The same effect is produced, though perhaps not in an equal degree, by eating strawberries and raspberries, especially the former. A leaf of common green sage rubbed on the teeth is useful both in cleansing and polishing, and probably many other common vegetable productions also. CARE OF THE TEETH.--The water with which the teeth are cleansed should be what is called lukewarm. They should be well but gently brushed both night and morning; the brush should be neither too hard nor too soft. The best tooth-powders are made from cuttle-fish, prepared chalk, and orris-root commingled together in equal quantities. SIMPLE MEANS OF REMOVING TARTAR FROM THE TEETH.--In these summer months, tartar may be effectually removed from the teeth, by partaking daily of strawberries. TOOTH POWDER.--Powdered orris-root, ½ an ounce; powdered charcoal, 2 ounces, powdered Peruvian bark, 1 ounce; prepared chalk, ½ an ounce; oil of bergamot, or lavender, 20 drops. These ingredients must be well worked up in a mortar, until thoroughly incorporated. This celebrated tooth-powder possesses three essential virtues, giving an odorous breath, cleansing and purifying the gums, and preserving the enamel; the last rarely found in popular tooth-powders. TOOTH-POWDER.--One of the best tooth-powders that can be used may be made by mixing together 1½ ounces prepared chalk, ½ ounce powder of bark, and ¼ ounce of camphor. A CHEAP BUT GOOD TOOTH-POWDER.--Cut a slice of bread as thick as may be, into squares, and burn in the fire until it becomes charcoal, after which pound in a mortar, and sift through a fine muslin; it is then ready for use. CHEAP AND INVALUABLE DENTIFRICE.--Dissolve 2 ounces of borax in three pints of water; before quite cold, add thereto one tea-spoonful of tincture of myrh, and one table-spoonful of spirits of camphor; bottle the mixture for use. One wine-glass of the solution, added to half a pint of tepid water, is sufficient for each application. This solution, applied daily, preserves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous adhesion, produces a pearl-like whiteness, arrests decay, and induces a healthy action in the gums. INVALUABLE DENTIFRICE.--Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of boiling water; before quite cold, add one tea-spoonful of tincture of myrrh, and one table-spoonful of spirits of camphor; bottle the mixture for use. One wine-glassful of this solution, added to half a pint of tepid water, is sufficient for each application. FOR THE HAIR. LOSS OF HAIR.--The most simple remedy for loss of hair, is friction to the scalp of the head, using for the purpose an old tooth-brush, or one of which the bristles have been softened by soaking in boiling water. The shape of the instrument adapts it to be inserted readily and effectually between the hair, where it should be rubbed backwards and forwards over the space of an inch or so at a time. In addition to the friction, which should be used once or twice a day, the head may be showered once a day with cold water, carefully drying it with soft, spongy towels. POMATUM.--Take of white mutton suet 4 pounds, well boiled in hot water, (3 quarts,) and washed to free it from salt. Melt the suet, when dried, with 1½ pounds of fresh lard, and 2 pounds of yellow wax. Pour into an earthen vessel, and stir till it is cold; then beat into it 30 drops of oil of cloves, or any other essential oil whose scent you prefer. If this kind of pomatum is too hard, use less wax. At times numbers of loose hairs come away in the brushing or combing. Such cases as these will generally be found remedial. Wilson recommends women with short hair to dip their heads into cold water every morning, and afterwards apply the brush until a glow of warmth is felt all over the scalp. Those who have long hair are to brush it till the skin beneath becomes red, when a lotion is to be applied, as here specified. Eau de Cologne 2 oz. Tincture of Cantharides ½ oz. Oil of Nutmegs ½ drachm. Oil of Lavender 10 drops. To be well mixed together. Another is composed of:-- Mezereon bark in small pieces 1 oz. Horse-Radish root in small pieces 1 oz. Boiling distilled Vinegar ½ pint. Let this infusion stand for a week, and then strain through muslin for use. If irritating to the skin, these lotions can be made weaker, or less frequently applied than might otherwise be necessary. Either of them, or distilled vinegar alone, may be rubbed into a bald patch with a tooth-brush. The same lotions may also be used if the hair is disposed to become gray too early; as they invigorate the apparatus situated beneath the skin, and enable it to take up coloring matter. Dyeing of the hair is a practice which ought never to be resorted to. Those who are unwilling or unable to discontinue the practice of applying some kind of dressing to the hair, should, at least, content themselves with a simple, yet good material. The best olive oil is most suitable for the purpose, scented with otto of roses or bergamot; the latter, as many persons know, is the essence of a species of mint. The same scents may also be used for pomatum, which should be made of perfectly pure lard, or marrow. HAIR OILS, &c.--When used moderately, oils, ointments, &c., tend to strengthen the hair, especially when it is naturally dry. When used in excess, however, they clog the pores, prevent the escape of the natural secretions, and cause the hair to wither and fall off. The varieties of "oils," "Greases," "ointments," rivaling each-other in their high sounding pretensions, which are daily imposed upon public credulity, are interminable. We add one or two of the most simple. FOR THICKENING THE HAIR.--To one ounce of Palma Christi oil, add a sufficient quantity of bergamot or lavender to scent it. Apply it to the parts where it is most needed, brushing it well into the hair. AN OINTMENT FOR THE HAIR.--Mix two ounces of bear's grease, half an ounce of honey, one drachm of laudanum, three drachms of the powder of southernwood, three drachms of the balsam of Peru, one and a half drachms of the ashes of the roots of bulrushes, and a small quantity of the oil of sweet almonds. MACASSAR OIL.--It is said to be compounded of the following ingredients:--To three quarts of common oil, add half-a-pint of spirits of wine, three ounces of cinnamon powder, and two ounces of bergamot; heat the whole in a large pipkin. On removing from the fire, add three or four small pieces of alkanet root, and keep the vessel closely covered for several hours. When cool, it may be filtered through a funnel lined with filtering paper. Whether oils are used or not, the hair ought night and morning to be carefully and elaborately brushed. This is one of the best preservatives of its beauty. The following is recommended as an excellent Hair Oil:--Boil together half-a-pint of port wine, one pint and a-half of sweet oil, and half-a-pound of green southernwood. Strain the mixture through a linen rag several times; adding, at the last operation, two ounces of bear's grease. If fresh southernwood is added each time it passes through the linen, the composition will be improved. POMADE VICTORIA.--This highly-praised and excellent pomade is made in the following way--and if so made, will be found to give a beautiful gloss and softness to the hair:--Quarter of a-pound of honey and half-an-ounce of bees' wax simmered together for a few minutes and then strain. Add of oil of almonds, lavender, and thyme, half-a-drachm each. Be sure to continue stirring till quite cold, or the honey and wax will separate. LEMON POMATUM.--Best lard, two pounds; suet, half-a-pound; dissolve with a gentle heat, and mix them well together. Then add four ounces of orange-flower water, and four ounces of rose-water, and mix them well together before adding, or they will separate. Having done this, add a quarter of an ounce of essence of lemon; half-a-drachm of musk, and half-a-drachm of oil of thyme. TO COLOR POMATUM.--Yellow, by palm oil or annatto; red, by alkanet root; and green, by guaiacum, or the green leaves of parsley. BANDOLINE FOR THE HAIR, (A FRENCH RECEIPT).--To one quart of water put ½ ounce of quince pips, boil it nearly an hour, stirring it well, strain it through a fine muslin, let it stand twenty-four hours, and then add fourteen drops of the essential oil of almonds. A dessert-spoonful of brandy may be added, if required to keep a long time. BANDOLINE FOR THE HAIR.--Take of castor oil, two ounces; spermaceti, one drachm; oil of bergamot, one drachm; mix with heat and strain; then beat in six drops otto of roses. If wished colored, add half-a-drachm of annatto. ANOTHER.--I furnish you with an excellent form of Bandoline, much more quickly made than others. Have a small packet of powdered gum dragon by you, and when you require any fresh bandoline, take a tea-spoonful of the powder, and pour enough of boiling water on it to make a small bottle full. Scent with otto of roses. CURLING FLUID.--Place two pounds of common soap, cut small, into three pints of spirits of wine, with eight ounces of potash, and melt the whole, stirring it with a clean piece of wood. Add, on cooling, essence of amber, vanilla, and neroli, of each quarter of an ounce. The best method of keeping _ringlets_ in curl, is the occasional application of the yolk of an egg, and the hair, afterwards, well washed in lukewarm water. Apply the egg with a tooth or hair-brush. FOR THE LIPS. VERY EXCELLENT LIP-SALVE.--Take four ounces of butter, fresh from the churn, cut it small, put it into a jar, cover it with good rose-water, and let it remain for four or five days; then drain it well, and put it into a small and very clean saucepan, with one ounce of spermaceti, and one of yellow beeswax sliced thin, a quarter of an ounce of bruised alkanet root, two drachms of gum benzoin, and one of storax, beaten to powder, half an ounce of loaf sugar, and the strained juice of a moderate sized lemon. Simmer these gently, keeping them stirred all the time, until the mixture looks very clear, and sends forth a fine aromatic odour; then strain it through a thin doubled muslin, and stir to it from twelve to twenty drops of essential oil of roses, and pour it into small gallipots, from which it can easily be turned out when cold, and then be rubbed against the lips, which is the most pleasant way of using it, as it is much firmer than common lip-salve, and will be found more healing and infinitely more agreeable. When butter cannot be had direct from the churn, any which is quite fresh may be substituted for it, after the salt has been well washed and soaked out of it, by working it with a strong spoon in cold water, in which it should remain for a couple of days or more, the water being frequently changed during the time. ROSE LIP-SALVE.--8 ounces sweet almond oil, 4 ounces prepared mutton suet, 1½ ounces white wax, 2 ounces spermaceti, 20 drops otto; steep a small quantity of alkanet root in the oil, and strain before using. Melt the suet, wax, and spermaceti together, then add the coloric oil and otto. LIP-SALVES.--A good lip-salve may be made as follows:--Take an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, cold drawn; a drachm of fresh mutton suet; and a little bruised alkanet root: and simmer the whole together in an earthen pipkin. Instead of the oil of sweet almonds you may use oil of Jasmin, or oil of any other flower, if you intend the lip-salve to have a fragrant odour.--2. Take a pound of fresh butter; a quarter of a pound of beeswax; four or five ounces of cleansed black grapes, and about an ounce of bruised alkanet root. Simmer them together over a slow fire till the wax is wholly dissolved, and the mixture becomes of a bright red color; strain, and put it by for use. 3. Oil of almonds, spermaceti, white wax, and white sugar-candy, equal parts, form a good white lip-salve. SUPERIOR LIP-SALVE.--White wax, two and a half ounces; spermaceti, three quarters of an ounce; oil of almonds, four ounces. Mix well together, and apply a little to the lips at night. ANOTHER.--A desert spoonful of salad oil in a saucer, hold it over a candle, and drop melted wax over it till the oil is thinly covered, when they are incorporated, pour it into boxes.--(Wax taper will do.) FOR CORNS. CURE FOR CORNS.--Place the feet for half an hour, two or three nights successively, in a pretty strong solution of common soda. The alkali dissolves the indurated cuticle, and the corn falls out spontaneously, leaving a small excavation, which soon fills up. TO REMOVE CORNS.--Get four ounces of white diachylon plaster, four ounces of shoemaker's wax, and sixty drops of muriatic acid or spirits of salt. Boil them for a few minutes in an earthen pipkin, and when cold, roll the mass between the hands and apply a little on a piece of white leather. A CERTAIN CURE FOR SOFT CORNS.--Dip a piece of soft linen rag in turpentine, and wrap it round the toe on which the soft corn is, night and morning; in a few days the corn will disappear; but the relief is instantaneous. PERFUMES. TO MAKE EAU DE COLOGNE.--Rectified spirits of wine, four pints; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of rosemary, half a drachm; oil of Neroli, three quarters of a drachm; oil of English lavender, one drachm; oil of oranges, one drachm. Mix well and then filter. If these proportions are too large, smaller ones may be used. EAU DE COLOGNE.--Oil of neroli, citron, bergamot, orange, and rosemary, of each twelve drops; cardamom seeds, one drachm; spirits of wine, one pint. Let it stand for a week. LAVENDER WATER.--Oil of lavender, 2 drachms; oil of bergamot, ½ drachm; essence of musk, 1 drachm; spirits of wine, 13 ounces; water, 5 ounces. Let it stand for a week. FOR KEEPING THE WARDROBE IN ORDER. TO CLEAN KID GLOVES.--Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm water, in which steep a small piece of new flannel. Place the glove on a flat, clean, and unyielding surface--such as the bottom of a dish, and having thoroughly soaped the flannel (when squeezed from the lather), rub the kid till all dirt be removed, cleaning and resoaping the flannel from time to time. Care must be taken to omit no part of the glove, by turning the fingers, &c. The gloves must be dried in the sun, or before a moderate fire, and will present the appearance of old parchment. When quite dry, they must be gradually "pulled out," and will look new. ANOTHER.--First see that your hands are clean, then put on the gloves and wash them, as though you were washing your hands, in a basin of spirits of turpentine, until quite clean; then hang them up in a warm place, or where there is a good current of air, which will carry off all smell of the turpentine. This method was brought from Paris, and thousands of dollars have been made by it. TO CLEAN COLORED KID GLOVES.--Have ready on a table a clean towel, folded three or four times, a saucer of new milk, and another saucer with a piece of brown soap. Take one glove at a time, and spread it smoothly on the folded towel. Then dip in the milk a piece of clean flannel, rub it on the soap till you get off a tolerable quantity, and then, with the wet flannel, commence rubbing the glove. Begin at the wrist, and rub lengthways towards the end of the fingers, holding the glove firmly in your right-hand. Continue this process until the glove is well cleaned all over with the milk and soap. When done, spread them out, and pin them on a line to dry gradually. When nearly dry, pull them out evenly, the crossway of the leather. When quite dry, stretch them on your hands. White kid gloves may also be washed in this manner, provided they have never been cleaned with India-rubber. TO CLEAN WHITE OR COLORED KID GLOVES.--Put the glove on your hand, then take a small piece of flannel, dip it in camphene, and well, but gently, rub it over the glove, _taking care not to make it too wet_, when the dirt is removed, dip the flannel (or another piece if that is become too dirty) into pipe-clay and rub it over the glove; take it off, and hang it up in a room to dry, and in a day or two very little smell will remain; and if done carefully they will be almost as good as new. In colored ones, if yellow, use gamboge after the pipe-clay, and for other colors match it in dry paint. TO CLEAN WHITE KID GLOVES.--Stretch the gloves on a clean board, and rub all the soiled or grease-spots with cream of tartar or magnesia. Let them rest an hour. Then have ready a mixture of alum and Fuller's earth (both powdered), and rub it all over the gloves with a brush (a clean tooth-brush or something similar), and let them rest for an hour or two. Then sweep it all off, and go over them with a flannel dipped in a mixture of bran and finely powdered whiting. Let them rest another hour; then brush off the powder, and you will find them clean. TO CLEAN LIGHT KID GLOVES.--Put on one glove, and having made a strong lather with common brown soap, apply it with a shaving brush, wiping it off immediately with a clean towel, then blow into the glove, and leave it to dry. AN EXCELLENT PASTE FOR GLOVES.--Liquor of ammonia half an ounce, chloride of potash ten ounces, curd soap one pound, water half a pint; dissolve the soap in the water, with a gentle heat, then as the mixture cools, stir in the other ingredients. Use it, by rubbing it over the gloves until the dirt is removed. TO WASH THREAD LACE.--Rip off the lace, carefully pick out the loose bits of thread, and roll the lace very smoothly and securely round a clean black bottle, previously covered with old white linen, sewed tightly on. Tack each end of the lace with a needle and thread, to keep it smooth; and be careful in wrapping not to crumple or fold in any of the scallops or pearlings. After it is on the bottle, take some of the _best_ sweet oil and with a clean sponge wet the lace thoroughly to the inmost folds. Have ready in a wash-kettle, a strong _cold_ lather of clear water and white Castile soap. Fill the bottle with cold water, to prevent its bursting, cork it well, and stand it upright in the suds, with a string round the neck secured to the ears or handle of the kettle, to prevent its knocking about and breaking while over the fire. Let it boil in the suds for an hour or more, till the lace is clean and white all through. Drain off the suds, and dry it on the bottle in the sun. When dry, remove the lace from the bottle and roll it round a wide ribbon-block; or lay it in long folds, place it within a sheet of smooth, white, paper, and press it in a large book for a few days. TO WASH A WHITE LACE VEIL.--Put the veil into a strong lather of white soap and very clear water, and let it simmer slowly for a quarter of an hour. Take it out and squeeze it well, but be sure not to rub it. Rinse it in two cold waters, with a drop or two of liquid blue in the last. Have ready some very clear and weak gum-arabic water, or some thin starch, or rice-water. Pass the veil through it, and clear it by clapping. Then stretch it out even, and pin it to dry on a linen cloth, making the edge as straight as possible, opening out all the scallops, and fastening each with pins. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin smoothly over it, and iron it on the wrong side. TO WASH A BLACK LACE VEIL.--Mix bullock's gall with sufficient hot water to make it as warm as you can bear your hand in. Then pass the veil through it. It must be squeezed, and not rubbed. It will be well to perfume the gall with a little musk. Next rinse the veil through two cold waters, tinging the last with indigo. Then dry it. Have ready in a pan some stiffening made by pouring boiling water on a very small piece of glue. Pat the veil into it, squeeze it out, stretch it, and clap it. Afterwards pin it out to dry on a linen cloth, making it very straight and even, and taking care to open and pin the edge very nicely. When dry, iron it on the wrong side, having laid a linen cloth over the ironing-blanket. Any article of black lace may be washed in this manner. TO CLEAN WHITE SATIN AND FLOWERED SILKS.--1. Mix sifted stale bread crumbs with powder blue, and rub it thoroughly all over, then shake it well, and dust it with clean, soft cloths. Afterwards, where there are any gold or silver flowers, take a piece of crimson ingrain velvet, rub the flowers with it, which will restore them to their original lustre. 2. Pass them through a solution of fine hard soap, at a hand heat, drawing them through the hand. Rinse in lukewarm water, dry and finish by pinning out. Brush the flossy or bright side with a clean clothes-brush, the way of the nap. Finish them by dipping a sponge into a size, made by boiling isinglass in water, and rub the wrong side. Rinse out a second time, and brush, and dry near a fire, or in a warm room. Silks may be treated in the same way, but not brushed. TO CLEAN WHITE SILK.--Dissolve some of the best curd soap in boiling water, and when the solution is as hot as the hand can bear, pass the silk through it thoroughly, handling it gently, not to injure the texture. If there are any spots, these may be rubbed carefully until they disappear. The article must then be rinsed in lukewarm water. TO IRON SILK.--Silk cannot be ironed smoothly, so as to press out all the creases, without first sprinkling it with water, and rolling it up tightly in a towel, letting it rest for an hour or two. If the iron is in the least too hot, it will injure the color, and it should first be tried on an old piece of the same silk. TO WASH SILK.--Half a pint of gin, four ounces of soft soap, and two ounces of honey, well shaken; then rub the silk, with a sponge (wetted with the above mixture), upon a table, and wash through two waters, in which first put two or three spoonfuls of ox gall, which will brighten the colors, and prevent their running. The silks should not be wrung, but well shaken and hung up smoothly to dry, and mangled while damp. The writer has had _green_ silk dresses washed by this receipt, and they have looked as well as new. TO RENOVATE BLACK SILK.--Slice some uncooked potatoes, pour boiling water on them; when cold sponge the right side of the silk with it, and iron on the wrong. TO KEEP SILK.--Silk articles should not be kept folded in white paper, as the chloride of lime used in bleaching the paper will probably impair the color of the silk. Brown or blue paper is better--the yellowish smooth India paper is best of all. Silk intended for a dress should not be kept in the house long before it is made up, as lying in the folds will have a tendency to impair its durability by causing it to cut or split, particularly if the silk has been thickened by gum. We knew an instance of a very elegant and costly thread-lace veil being found, on its arrival from France, cut into squares (and therefore destroyed) by being folded over a pasteboard card. A white satin dress should be pinned up in blue paper, with coarse brown paper outside, sewed together at the edges. TO RESTORE VELVET.--When velvet gets plushed from pressure, holding the reverse side over a basin of boiling water will raise the pile, and perhaps it may also succeed in the case of wet from rain. TO IRON VELVET.--Having ripped the velvet apart, damp each piece separately, and holding it tightly in both hands, stretch it before the fire, the wrong side of the velvet being towards the fire. This will remove the creases, and give the surface of the material a fresh and new appearance. Velvet cannot be ironed on a table, for, when spread out on a hard substance, the iron will not go smoothly over the pile. TO CLEAN ERMINE AND MINIVAR FUR.--Take a piece of soft flannel, and rub the fur well with it (but remember that the rubbing must be always against the grain); then rub the fur with common flour until clean. Shake it well, and rub again with the flannel till all the flour is out of it. I have had a Minivar boa for four years. It has never been cleaned with anything but flour, and is not in the least injured by the rubbing. It was a school companion who told me that her aunt (a Russian lady) always cleaned her white furs with flour, and that they looked quite beautiful. It has one advantage--the lining does not require to be taken out, and it only requires a little trouble. Ermine takes longer than Minivar. The latter is very easily done. TO PERFUME LINEN.--Rose-leaves dried in the shade, or at about four feet from a stove, one pound; cloves, carraway-seeds, and allspice, of each one ounce; pound in a mortar, or grind in a mill; dried salt, a quarter of a pound; mix all these together, and put the compound into little bags. TO RESTORE SCORCHED LINEN.--Take two onions, peel and slice them, and extract the juice by squeezing or pounding. Then cut up half an ounce of white soap, and two ounces of fuller's earth; mix with them the onion juice, and half a pint of vinegar. Boil this composition well, and spread it, when cool, over the scorched part of the linen, leaving it to dry thereon. Afterwards wash out the linen. TO WHITEN LINEN THAT HAS TURNED YELLOW.--Cut up a pound of fine white soap into a gallon of milk, and hang it over the fire in a wash-kettle. When the soap has entirely melted, put in the linen, and boil it half an hour. Then take it out; have ready a lather of soap and warm water; wash the linen in it, and then rinse it through two cold waters, with a very little blue in the last. TO WASH CHINA CRAPE SCARFS, &c.--If the fabric be good, these articles of dress can be washed as frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been employed among other colors in the patterns. In cleaning them, make a strong lather of boiling water--suffer it to cool; when cold, or nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately in cold hard water, in which a little salt has been thrown (to preserve the colors), rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the open air; pin it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not in any part be folded together; the more rapidly it dries, the clearer it will be. TO CLEAN EMBROIDERY AND GOLD LACE.--For this purpose no alkaline liquors are to be used; for while they clean the gold, they corrode the silk, and change its color. Soap also alters the shade, and even the species of certain colors. But spirit of wine may be used without any danger of its injuring either color or quality; and, in many cases, proves as effectual for restoring the lustre of the gold as the corrosive detergents. But, though spirits of wine is the most innocent material employed for this purpose, it is not in all cases proper. The golden covering may be in some parts worn off; or the base metal with which it has been alloyed may be corroded by the air, so as to leave the particles of the gold disunited; while the silver underneath, tarnished to a yellow hue, may continue a tolerable color to the whole, so it is apparent that the removal of the tarnish would be prejudicial, and make the lace or embroidery less like gold than it was before. It is necessary that care should be taken. TO REMOVE STAINS OF WINE OR FRUIT FROM TABLE LINEN.--A wine stain may sometimes be removed by rubbing it, while wet, with common salt. It is said, also, that sherry wine poured immediately on a place where port wine has been spilled, will prevent its leaving a stain. A _certain_ way of extracting fruit or wine stains from table-linen is to tie up some cream of tartar in the stained part (so as to form a sort of bag), and then to put the linen into a lather of soap and cold water, and boil it awhile. Then transfer it wet to a lukewarm suds, wash and rinse it well, and dry and iron it. The stains will disappear during the process. Another way, is to mix, in equal quantities, soft soap, slackened lime, and pearl-ash. Rub the stain with this preparation, and expose the linen to the sun with the mixture plastered on it. If necessary, repeat the application. As soon as the stain has disappeared, wash out the linen immediately, as it will be injured if the mixture is left in it. STAIN MIXTURE.--Take an ounce of sal-ammoniac (or hartshorn) and an ounce of salt of tartar--mix them well, put them into a pint of soft water, and bottle it for use, keeping it very tightly corked. Pour a little of this liquid into a saucer, and wash in it those parts of a white article that have been stained with ink, mildew, fruit, or red wine. When the stains have, by this process, been removed, wash the article in the usual manner. CHEMICAL RENOVATING BALLS--for taking out grease, paint, pitch, tar, from silks, stuffs, linen, woolen, carpets, hats, coats, &c., without fading the color or injuring the cloth:--¼ ounce of fuller's earth, ¼ ounce of pipe-clay, 1 ounce salt of tartar, 1 ounce beef gall, 1 ounce spirits of wine. Pound the hard parts and mix the ingredients well together. Wet the stain with cold water, rub it well with this ball, then sponge it with a wet sponge and the stain will disappear. TO PREVENT COLORED THINGS FROM RUNNING.--Boil ¼ pound of soap till nearly dissolved, then add a small piece of alum and boil with it. Wash the things in this lather, but do not soap them. If they require a second water put alum to that also as well as to the rinsing and blue water. This will preserve them. TO REMOVE STAINS FROM MOURNING DRESSES.--Take a good handful of fig-leaves, and boil them in two quarts of water until reduced to a pint. Squeeze the leaves and put the liquor into a bottle for use. The articles, whether of bombasin, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a sponge dipped in the liquor, when the effect will be instantly produced. If any reason exists to prevent the substance from being wetted, then apply French chalk, which will absorb the grease from the finest texture without injury. TO SHRINK NEW FLANNEL.--New flannel should always be shrunk or washed before it is made up, that it may be cut out more accurately, and that the grease which is used in manufacturing it may be extracted. First, cut off the list along the selvage edges of the whole piece. Then put it into warm (not boiling) water, without soap. Begin at one end of the piece, and rub it with both hands till you come to the other end; this is to get out the grease and the blue with which new white flannel is always tinged. Then do the same through another water. Rinse it through a clean, lukewarm water; wring it lengthways, and stretch it well. In hanging it out on a line do not suspend it in festoons, but spread it along the line straight and lengthways. If dried in festoons, the edges will be in great scollops, making it very difficult to cut out. It must be dried in the sun. When dry let it be stretched even, clapped with the hands, and rolled up tight and smoothly, till wanted. GUM ARABIC STARCH.--Get two ounces of fine, white gum arabic, and pound it to powder. Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a pint or more of boiling water (according to the degree of strength you desire), and then, having covered it, let it set all night. In the morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for use. A table-spoonful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, will give to lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness to which nothing else can restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for thin white muslin and bobinet. TO WASH WHITE THREAD GLOVES AND STOCKINGS.--These articles are so delicate as to require great care in washing, and they must not on any account be rubbed. Make a lather of white soap and _cold_ water, and put it into a saucepan. Soap the gloves or stockings well, put them in, and set the saucepan over the fire. When they have come to a hard boil, take them off, and when cool enough for your hand, squeeze them in the water. Having prepared a fresh cold lather, boil them again in that. Then take the pan off the fire, and squeeze them well again, after which they can be stretched, dried, and then ironed on the wrong side. TO CLEAN SILK STOCKINGS.--First wash the stockings in the usual manner, to take out the rough dirt. After rinsing them in clean water, wash them well in a fresh soap liquor. Then make a third soap liquor, which color with a little stone-blue; then wash the stockings once more, take them out, wring them, and particularly dry them. Now stove them with brimstone, and draw on a wooden leg two stockings, one upon the other, observing that the two fronts or outsides are face to face. Polish with a glass bottle. The two first liquors should be only lukewarm, but the third as hot as you can bear your hand in. Blondes and gauzes may be whitened in the same manner, but there should be a little gum put in the last liquor before they are stoved. TO TAKE OUT MILDEW FROM CLOTHES.--Mix some soft soap with powdered starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon, lay it on the part with a brush, let it be exposed in the air day and night, until the stain disappears. Iron-moulds may be removed by the salt of lemons. Many stains in linen may be taken out by dipping linen in sour buttermilk, and then drying it in the sun; afterwards wash it in cold water several times. Stains caused by acids may be removed by tying some pearlash up in the stained part; scrape some soap in cold, soft water, and boil the linen till the stain is out. BLEACHING STRAW.--Straw is bleached, and straw bonnets cleaned, by putting them into a cask into which a few brimstone matches are placed lighted. The fumes of the sulphur have the effect of destroying the color, or whitening the straw. The same effect may be produced by dipping the straw into the chloride of lime dissolved in water. TO WASH MOUSELINE-DE-LAINE.--Boil a pound of rice in five quarts of water, and, when cool enough, wash in this, using the rice for soap. Have another quantity ready, but strain the rice from this and use it with warm water, keeping the rice strained off for a third washing which, at the same time, stiffens and also brightens the colors. TO BLEACH A FADED DRESS.--Wash the dress in hot suds, and boil it until the color appears to be gone; then rinse it and dry it in the sun. Should it not be rendered white by these means, lay the dress in the open air, and bleach it for several days. If still not quite white, repeat the boiling. INDELIBLE MARKING INK, WITHOUT PREPARATION.--1½ drachms nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), 1 ounce distilled water, ½ ounce strong mucilage of gum arabic, ¾ drachm liquid ammonia; mix the above in a clean glass bottle, cork tightly, and keep in a dark place till dissolved, and ever afterwards. Directions for use:--Shake the bottle, then dip a clean quill pen in the ink, and write or draw what you require on the article; immediately hold it close to the fire, (without scorching) or pass a hot iron over it, and it will become a deep and indelible black, indestructible by either time or acids of any description. MIXTURE FOR REMOVING INK STAINS AND IRON-MOULDS.--Cream of tartar and salts of sorrel, one ounce each; mix well, and keep in a stoppered bottle. TO WASH HAIR-BRUSHES.--Never use soap. Take a piece of soda, dissolve it in warm water, stand the brush in it, taking care that the water only covers the bristles; it will almost immediately become white and clean; stand it to dry in the open air with the bristles downwards, and it will be found to be as firm as a new brush. TO CLEAN HEAD AND CLOTHES-BRUSHES.--Put a table-spoonful of pearl-ash into a pint of boiling water. Having fastened a bit of sponge to the end of a stick, dip it into the solution, and wash the brush with it; carefully going in among the bristles. Next pour over it some clean hot water, and let it lie a little while. Then drain it, wipe it with a cloth, and dry it before the fire. Lola Montez in her "Arts of Beauty" gives the following receipts for complexion, hair, &c:-- FOR THE COMPLEXION.--"Infuse wheat-bran, well sifted, for four hours in white wine vinegar, add to it five yolks of eggs and two grains of ambergris, and distill the whole. It should be carefully corked for twelve or fifteen days, when it will be fit for use. "Distill two handfuls of jessamine flowers in a quart of rose-water and a quart of orange-water. Strain through porous paper, and add a scruple of musk and a scruple of ambergris." TO GIVE ELASTICITY OF FORM.-- "Fat of the stag or deer 8 oz. Florence oil (or olive oil) 6 oz. Virgin wax 3 oz. Musk 1 grain. White brandy ½ pint. Rose-water 4 oz. "Put the fat, oil, and wax into a well glazed earthen vessel, and let them simmer over a slow fire until they are assimilated; then pour in the other ingredients, and let the whole gradually cool, when it will be fit for use. There is no doubt but that this mixture, frequently and thoroughly rubbed upon the body on going to bed, will impart a remarkable degree of elasticity to the muscles. In the morning, after this preparation has been used, the body should be thoroughly wiped with a sponge, dampened with cold water." FOR THE COMPLEXION.--"Take equal parts of the seeds of the melon, pumpkin, gourd, and cucumber, pounded till they are reduced to powder; add to it sufficient fresh cream to dilute the flour, and then add milk enough to reduce the whole to a thin paste. Add a grain of musk, and a few drops of the oil of lemon. Anoint the face with this, leave it on twenty or thirty minutes, or overnight if convenient, and wash off with warm water. It gives a remarkable purity and brightness to the complexion. "Infuse a handful of well sifted wheat bran for four hours in white wine vinegar; add to it five yolks of eggs and two grains of musk, and distill the whole. Bottle it, keep carefully corked fifteen days, when it will be fit for use. Apply it over night, and wash in the morning with tepid water." TOOTH-POWDER.-- "Prepared chalk 6 oz. Cassia powder ½ oz. Orris-root 1 oz. "These should be thoroughly mixed and used once a day with a firm brush. "A simple mixture of charcoal and cream of tartar is an excellent tooth-powder." TO WHITEN THE HAND.--"Both Spanish and French women--those, at least, who are very particular to make the most of these charms--are in the habit of sleeping in gloves which are lined or plastered over with a kind of pomade to improve the delicacy and complexion of their hands. This paste is generally made of the following ingredients:-- "Take half a pound of soft soap, a gill of salad oil, an ounce of mutton tallow, and boil them till they are thoroughly mixed. After the boiling has ceased, but before it is cold, add one gill of spirits of wine, and a grain of musk. "If any lady wishes to try this, she can buy a pair of gloves three or four sizes larger than the hand, rip them open and spread on a thin layer of the paste, and then sew the gloves up again. There is no doubt that by wearing them every night they will give smoothness and a fine complexion to the hands. Those who have the means, can send to Paris and purchase them ready made. "If the hands are inclined to be rough and to chap, the following wash will remedy the evil. Lemon-juice 3 oz. White wine vinegar 3 oz. White brandy ½ pint." FOR THE HAIR.--"Beat up the white of four eggs into a froth, and rub that thoroughly in close to the roots of the hair. Leave it to dry on. Then wash the head and hair clean with a mixture of equal parts of rum and rose-water." "HONEY-WATER.-- "Essence of ambergris 1 dr. Essence of musk 1 dr. Essence of bergamot 2 drs. Oil of cloves 15 drops. Orange-flower water 4 oz. Spirits of wine 5 oz. Distilled water 4 oz. "All these ingredients should be mixed together, and left about fourteen days, then the whole to be filtered through porous paper, and bottled for use. "This is a good hair-wash and an excellent perfume." "TO REMOVE PIMPLES.--There are many kinds of pimples, some of which partake almost of the nature of ulcers, which require medical treatment; but the small red pimple, which is most common, may be removed by applying the following twice a-day:-- "Sulphur water 1 oz. Acetated liquor of ammonia ¼ oz. Liquor of potassa 1 gr. White wine vinegar 2 oz. Distilled water 2 oz." "TO REMOVE BLACK SPECKS OR 'FLESHWORMS.'--Sometimes little black specks appear about the base of the nose, or on the forehead, or in the hollow of the chin which are called 'fleshworms,' and are occasioned by coagulated lymph that obstructs the pores of the skin. They may be squeezed out by pressing the skin, and ignorant persons suppose them to be little worms. They are permanently removed by washing with warm water, and severe friction with a towel, and then applying a little of the following preparation:-- "Liquor of potassa 1 oz. Cologne 2 oz. White brandy. 4 oz. "The warm water and friction alone are sometimes sufficient." "TO REMOVE FRECKLES.--The most celebrated compound ever used for the removal of freckles was called Unction de Maintenon, after the celebrated Madame de Maintenon, mistress and wife of Louis XIV. It is made as follows:-- "Venice soap 1 oz. Lemon-juice ½ oz. Oil of bitter almonds ¼ oz. Deliquidated oil of tartar ¼ oz. Oil of rhodium 3 drops "First dissolve the soap in the lemon-juice, then add the two oils, and place the whole in the sun till it acquires the consistence of ointment, and then add the oil of rhodium. Anoint the freckly face at night with this unction, and wash in the morning with pure water, or, if convenient, with a mixture of elder-flower and rose-water. "TO REMOVE TAN.--An excellent wash to remove tan is called Crème de l'Enclos, and is made thus: "New milk ½ pint. Lemon-juice ¼ oz. White brandy ½ oz. "Boil the whole, and skim it clear from all scum. Use it night and morning. "A famous preparation with the Spanish ladies for removing the effects of the sun and making the complexion bright, is composed simply of equal parts of lemon-juice and the white of eggs. The whole is beat together in a varnished earthen pot, and set over a slow fire, and stirred with a wooden spoon till it acquires the consistence of soft pomatum. This compound is called Pommade de Seville. If the face is well washed with rice-water before it is applied, it will remove freckles, and give a fine lustre to the complexion." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcriber's Note: Minor punctuation errors (e.g. missing, misprinted or misplaced punctuation) have been corrected without note. Inconsistent hyphenation (e.g. ball room, ball-room; bon-bons, bonbons), spelling (e.g. visiters, visitors) and capitalization (e.g. neroli, Neroli) have not been corrected. Many of the "Receipts" are nearly identical. This has not been changed. The following changes were made to the text: p. 31: admissable to admissible (black lace mittens are admissible) p. 44 and 45: soiree to soirée p. 45: oclock to o'clock (Thursday evening next, at 8 o'clock) p. 137: left to right (On the upper right hand corner of your envelope) p. 160: violincello to violoncello (a piano, violin, and violoncello) p. 203: á to à (_à troistemps_) p. 204: missing "of" added (the most graceful of dances) p. 214: guaze to gauze (with a gauze of a different color) p. 221: kneedles to needles (needles should be of the smallest size) p. 235: extra close quote removed (entered that house.) p. 244: extra "the" removed (in the highest and lowest classes) p. 260: returnes to returns (she returns from her bridal tour) p. 278: double quotes to single quotes ('Appetite,' says Dr. Combe, 'revives after repose.') p. 305: extra "a" removed (containing a mixture in equal portions) p. 307: CRÃ�ME to CRÃ�ME (CRÃ�ME DE L'ENCLOS.) p. 318: extra "of" removed (four ounces of butter) p. 326: inpair to impair (impair the color) p. 339: Crême to Crème (is called Crème de l'Enclos) p. 340: acquired to acquires (till it acquires) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 43418 ---- Transcriber's note. Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired. A list of other changes made can be found at the end of the book. Mark up: _italics_ =bold= =MADAME LANORMAND'S FORTUNE-TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.= This is the greatest book ever published on these subjects, and contains plain and correct rules for foretelling what is going to happen. It treats on the art of telling fortunes by the hands or Palmistry, as practiced by the Gypsies.--On Moles.--The Birth of Children, and Foretelling Events by the Moon's Age and the days of the week; and How to know if your love for a person will be returned.--Also, on Charms, Spells, and Incantations.--Fast of St. Agnes.-The Nine Keys.--Magic Rose.--Cupid's Nosegay.--The Ring and Olive Branch.--Love's Cordial.--The Witch's Chain.--Love Letters.--Strange Bed.--To see a Future Husband.--The Lover's Charm.--How soon you will marry.--How to tell a person's character by Cabalistic Calculations.--How to tell Fortunes by Tea Leaves and Coffee Grounds; by the White of an Egg.--How to Choose a Husband by the Hair.--Lucky Days, etc., etc. It also contains a complete Dictionary of all Dreams, arranged alphabetically, and with a clear interpretation of each.--Also, Hymen's Lottery, and all good and bad Omens.--Also, the only true copy of the Oraculum ever published in this country; it is the Oracle that foretold to Alexander the Great, his successes; it was found by MADAME LANORMAND, in 1801, in one of the Royal Egyptian Tombs; it was given by her to Napoleon the First, who always consulted it previous to any of his undertakings. =Mailed for 20 Cents.= =THE SHOWMAN'S GUIDE; OR, THE BLACK ART FULLY EXPOSED AND LAID BARE.= This book contains most of the marvelous things in Ancient or Modern Magic, and is the Text Book for all showmen. It shows How to knock a Tumbler through a Table.--To drive one Tumbler through another.--How to make the Protean Liquid.--To make a Watch stop or go at the word of command.--How to walk barefooted on a hot iron bar.--To discover any Card in a pack by its weight or smell.--To turn Water into Wine.--How to eat Fire.--To Dip the Hand into Water without wetting it.--How to Fill a Glass with two different Liquids, without mixing them.--How to Light a Candle by a Glass of Water.--To Freeze Water by shaking it.--To break a Stone with a Blow of the Fist.--To tear a Handkerchief into pieces and to make it whole again.--How to fire a loaded Pistol at the Hand without hurting it.--To change a bowl of Ink into clear Water with Fish swimming in it.--To produce Candies, Nuts, etc., from a handkerchief, and many other tricks too numerous to mention. =Mailed for 25 Cents.= =THE MAGICIAN'S GUIDE; OR, CONJURING MADE EASY.= This work was written by the celebrated HOUDIN, who, being prompted by an honest desire to instruct those who wish to be initiated into the depths and mysteries of his art, laid bare all his professional secrets, and has treated the subject in the most eminently successful manner. By a series of lessons he has thoroughly explained the principles of the higher science. Numerous illustrations, together with full and explicit directions, make success sure, and he who desires to be the sought after and honored guest at every party or entertainment, has but to study this book. It treats on all kinds of Magic, Legerdemain, and Prestidigitation; Galvanism, Magnetism and Electricity, and is illustrated with 33 first class engravings. =Mailed for 25 Cents.= OUR KNOWLEDGE BOX: OR, OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES. _A COMPENDIUM OF VALUABLE INFORMATION, AND AN INDISPENSABLE HAND-BOOK FOR THE USE OF EVERYBODY: THE BEST COLLECTION OF RARE AND VALUABLE RECIPES EVER PUBLISHED._ GEO. BLACKIE & CO., Publishers, _746 BROADWAY, NEW YORK._ CONTENTS. PAGE. Secrets of the Liquor Trade 3 Druggists' Department 8 Manufacturers' Department 14 The Toilet, Perfumery, Etc. 27 Hunters' and Trappers' Secrets 34 The Fine Arts and Sciences 36 Farmers' Department 43 Confectioners' Department 46 Valuable Miscellaneous Recipes for the Household and every day Requirements 48 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by CHAS. MCARTHUR, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. OUR KNOWLEDGE BOX. SECRETS OF THE LIQUOR TRADE. _Cider Without Apples._--To each gallon of cold water, put 1 lb. common sugar, ½ oz. tartaric acid, 1 tablespoonful of yeast, shake well, make in the evening, and it will be fit for use next day. I make in a keg a few gallons at a time, leaving a few quarts to make into next time; not using yeast again until the keg needs rinsing. If it gets a little sour make a little more into it, or put as much water with it as there is cider, and put it with the vinegar. If it is desired to bottle this cider by manufacturers of small drinks, you will proceed as follows: Put in a barrel 5 gallons hot water, 30 lbs. brown sugar, ¾ lb. tartaric acid, 25 gallons cold water, 3 pints of hop or brewers' yeast worked into paste with ¾ lb. flour, and 1 pint water will be required in making this paste, put altogether in a barrel, which it will fill, and let it work 24 hours--the yeast running out at the bung all the time, by putting in a little occasionally to keep it full. Then bottle, putting in 2 or 3 broken raisins to each bottle, and it will nearly equal Champagne. _Cider Champagne, No. 1._--Good cider, 20 gallons; spirits, 1 gallon; honey or sugar, 6 lbs. Mix, and let them rest for a fortnight; then fine with skimmed milk, 1 quart. This, put up in champagne bottles, silvered and labeled, has often been sold for Champagne. It opens very sparkling. _Cider--To Keep Sweet._--1st. By putting into the barrel before the cider has begun to work, about half a pint of whole fresh mustard seed tied up in a coarse muslin bag. 2d. By burning a little sulphur or sulphur match in the barrel previous to putting in the cider. 3d. By the use of ¾ of an ounce of the bi-sulphite of lime to the barrel. This article is the preserving powder sold at rather a high price by various firms. _To Neutralize Whiskey to make various Liquors._--To 40 gallons of whiskey, add 1½ lbs. unslacked lime; ¾ lb. alum, and ½ pint of spirits of nitre. Stand 24 hours and draw it off. _Madeira Wine._--To 40 gallons prepared cider, add, ¼ lb. tartaric acid; 4 gallons spirits; 3 lbs. loaf sugar. Let it stand 10 days, draw it off carefully; fine it down, and again rack it into another cask. _Sherry Wine._--To 40 gallons prepared cider, add, 2 gallons spirits; 3 lbs. of raisins; 6 gallons good sherry, and ½ ounce oil bitter almonds, (dissolved in alcohol). Let it stand 10 days, and draw it off carefully; fine it down and again rack it into another cask. _Port Wine._--To 40 gallons prepared cider, add, 6 gallons good port wine; 10 quarts wild grapes, (clusters); ½ lb. bruised rhatany root; 3 oz. tincture of kino; 3 lbs. loaf sugar; 2 gallons spirits. Let this stand ten days; color if too light, with tincture of rhatany, then rack it off and fine it. This should be repeated until the color is perfect and the liquid clear. _To correct a bad Taste and sourness in Wine._--Put in a bag the root of wild horse-radish cut in bits. Let it down in the wine, and leave it there two days; take this out, and put another, repeating the same till the wine is perfectly restored. Or fill a bag with wheat; it will have the same effect. _To restore Flat Wine._--Add four or five pounds of sugar, honey, or bruised raisins, to every hundred gallons, and bung close. A little spirits may also be added. _To restore Wine that has turned sour or sharp._--Fill a bag with leek-seed, or of leaves or twisters of vine, and put either of them to infuse in the cask. _Ginger Wine._--Take one quart of 95 per cent. alcohol, and put into it one ounce of best ginger root (bruised and not ground), five grains of capsicum, and one drachm of tartaric acid. Let stand one week and filter. Now add one gallon of water, in which one pound of crushed sugar has been boiled. Mix when cold. To make the color, boil ½ ounce of cochineal, ¾ ounce of cream tartar, ½ ounce of saleratus, and ½ ounce alum in a pint of water till you get a bright red color. _French Brandy._--Pure spirits, 1 gallon; best French brandy, or any kind you wish to imitate, 1 quart; loaf sugar, 2 ounces; sweet spirits of nitre, ½ ounce; a few drops of tincture of catechu, or oak bark, to roughen the taste if desired, and color to suit. _Gin._--Take 100 gallons of clean, rectified spirits; add, after you have killed the oils well, 1½ ounces of the oil of English juniper, ½ ounce of angelica essence, ½ ounce of the oil bitter almonds, ½ ounce of the oil of coriander, and ½ ounce of the oil of caraway; put this into the rectified spirit and well rummage it up; this is what the rectifiers call strong gin. To make this _up_, as it is called by the trade, add 45 pounds of loaf-sugar, dissolved; then rummage the whole well up together with 4 ounces of roche alum. For finings there may be added two ounces of salts of tartar. _Aromatic Schiedam Schnapps, to imitate._--To 25 gallons good common gin, 5 over proof, add 15 pints strained honey; 2 gallons clear water; 5 pints white-sugar syrup; 5 pints spirit of nutmegs mixed with the nitric ether; 5 pints orange-flower water; 7 quarts pure water; 1 ounce acetic ether; 8 drops of oil of wintergreen, dissolved with the acetic ether. Mix all the ingredients well; if necessary, fine with alum and salt of tartar. _St. Croix Rum._--To 40 gallons p. or n. spirits, add 2 gallons St. Croix Rum; 2 oz. acetic acid; 1½ ounce butyric acid; 3 pounds loaf sugar. _Pine-Apple Rum._--To 50 gallons rum, made by the fruit method, add 25 pine-apples sliced, and 8 pounds white sugar. Let it stand two weeks before drawing off. _Irish or Scotch Whiskey._--To 40 gallons proof spirits, add 60 drops of creosote, dissolved in 1 quart of alcohol; 2 oz. acetic acid; 1 pound loaf sugar. Stand 48 hours. _Rum Shrub._--Tartaric acid, 5 pounds; pale sugar, 100 pounds; oil lemon, 4 drs.; oil orange, 4 drs.; put them into a large cask (80 gallons), and add water, 10 gallons. Rummage till the acid and sugar are dissolved, then add rum (proof), 20 gallons; water to make up 55 gallons in all; coloring one quart or more. Fine with 12 eggs. The addition of 12 sliced oranges will improve the flavor. _Bourbon Whiskey._--To 100 gallons pure proof spirit, add 4 ounces pear oil; 2 ounces pelargonif ether; 13 drs. oil of wintergreen, dissolved in the ether; 1 gallon wine vinegar. Color with burnt sugar. _Strong Beer, English Improved._--Malt, 1 peck; coarse brown sugar, 6 pounds; hops, 4 ounces; good yeast, 1 teacup; if you have not malt, take a little over 1 peck of barley, (twice the amount of oats will do, but are not as good,) and put it into an oven after the bread is drawn, or into a stove oven, and steam the moisture from them. Grind coarsely. Now pour upon the ground malt 3½ gallons of water at 170 or 172° of heat. The tub in which you scald the malt should have a false bottom, 2 or 3 inches from the real bottom; the false bottom should be bored full of gimlet holes, so as to act as a strainer, to keep back the malt meal. When the water is poured on, stir them well, and let it stand 3 hours, and draw off by a faucet; put in 7 gallons more of water at 180 to 182°; stir it well, and let it stand 2 hours, and draw it off. Then put on a gallon or two of cold water, stir it well, and draw it off; you should have about 5 or 6 gallons. Put the 6 pounds of coarse brown sugar in an equal amount of water; mix with the wort, and boil 1½ to 2 hours with the hops; you should have eight gallons when boiled; when cooled to 80° put in the yeast, and let it work 18 to 20 hours, covered with a sack; use sound iron hooped kegs or porter bottles, bung or cork tight, and in two weeks it will be good sound beer, and will keep a long time; and for persons of a weak habit of body, and especially females, 1 glass of this with their meals is far better than tea or coffee, or all the ardent spirits in the universe. If more malt is used, not exceeding ½ a bushel, the beer, of course, would have more spirit, but this strength is sufficient for the use of families or invalids. _Root Beer._--For 10 gallons beer, take 3 pounds common burdock root, or 1 ounce essence of sassafras; ½ pound good hops; 1 pint corn, roasted brown. Boil the whole in 6 gallons pure water until the strength of the materials is obtained; strain while hot into a keg, adding enough cold water to make 10 gallons. When nearly cold, add clean molasses or syrup until palatable,--not sickishly sweet. Add also as much fresh yeast as will raise a batch of 8 loaves of bread. Place the keg in a cellar or other cool place, and in 48 hours you will have a keg of first-rate sparkling root beer. _Superior Ginger Beer._--Ten pounds of sugar; 9 ounces of lemon juice; ½ a pound of honey; 11 ounces of bruised ginger root; 9 gallons of water; 3 pints of yeast. Boil the ginger half an hour in a gallon of water; then add the rest of the water and the other ingredients, and strain it when cold. Add the white of an egg, beaten, and ½ an ounce of essence of lemon. Let it stand 4 days, then bottle, and it will keep many months. _Spruce Beer._--Take of the essence of spruce half a pint; bruised pimento and ginger, of each four ounces; water, three gallons. Boil five or ten minutes, then strain and add 11 gallons of warm water, a pint of yeast, and six pints of molasses. Allow the mixture to ferment for 24 hours. _To Cure Ropy Beer._--Put a handful or two of flour, and the same quantity of hops, with a little powdered alum, into the beer and rummage it well. _To give Beer the appearance of Age._--Add a few handfuls of pickled cucumbers and Seville oranges, both chopped up. This is said to make malt liquor appear six months older than it really is. _How to make Mead._--The following is a good receipt for Mead:--On twenty pounds of honey pour five gallons of boiling water; boil, and remove the scum as it rises; add one ounce of best hops, and boil for ten minutes; then put the liquor into a tub to cool; when all but cold add a little yeast, spread upon a slice of toasted bread; let it stand in a warm room. When fermentation is set up, put the mixture into a cask, and fill up from time to time as the yeast runs out of the bunghole; when the fermentation is finished, bung it down, leaving a peg-hole which can afterwards be closed, and in less than a year it will be fit to bottle. _Stomach Bitters, equal to Hostetter's, for one-fourth its cost._--European Gentian root, 1½ ounce; orange peel, 2½ ounces; cinnamon, ¼ ounce; aniseseed, ½ ounce; coriander seed, ½ ounce; cardamon seed, 1/8 ounce; unground Peruvian bark, ½ ounce; gum kino, ¼ ounce; bruise all these articles, and put them into the best alcohol, 1 pint; let it stand a week and pour off the clear tincture: then boil the dregs a few minutes in 1 quart of water, strain, and press out all the strength; now dissolve loaf sugar, 1 pound, in the hot liquid, adding 3 quarts cold water, and mix with spirit tincture first poured off, or you can add these, and let it stand on the dregs if preferred. _Soda Syrup, with or without Fountains._--The common or more watery syrups are made by using loaf or crushed sugar, 8 pounds; pure water, 1 gallon, gum arabic, 2 ounces, mix in a brass or copper kettle; boil until the gum is dissolved, then skim and strain through white flannel, after which add tartaric acid, 5½ oz., dissolved in hot water; to flavor, use extract of lemon, orange, rose, pine-apple, peach, sarsaparilla, strawberry, etc., ½ ounce to each bottle, or to your taste. _Bead for Liquor._--The best bead is the orange-flower water bead, (oil of neroli,) 1 drop to each gallon of brandy. _Another method_:--To every 40 drops of sulpuric acid, add 60 drops purest sweet oil in a glass vessel; use immediately. This quantity is generally sufficient for 10 gallons spirit. _Another_:--take 1 ounce of the purest oil sweet almonds; 1 ounce of sulphuric acid; put them in a stone mortar, add, by _degrees_, 2 ounces white lump sugar, rubbing it well with the pestle till it becomes a paste; then add small quantities of spirits of wine till it comes into a liquid. This quantity is sufficient for 100 gallons. The first is strongly recommended as the best. _Coloring for Liquors._--Take 2 pounds crushed or lump sugar, put it into a kettle that will hold 4 to 6 quarts, with ½ tumbler of water. Boil it until it is _black_, then take it off and cool with water, stirring it as you put in the water. _Wax Putty for Leaky Casks, Bungs, etc._--Spirits turpentine, 2 pounds; tallow, 4 pounds; solid turpentine, 12 pounds. Melt the wax and solid turpentine together over a slow fire, then add the tallow. When melted, remove far from the fire, then stir the spirits turpentine, and let it cool. _Cement for the Mouths of Corked Bottles._--Melt together ¼ of a pound of rosin, a couple of ounces of beeswax. When it froths stir it with a tallow candle. As soon as it melts, dip the mouths of the corked bottles into it. This is an excellent thing to exclude the air from such things as are injured by being exposed to it. DRUGGISTS' DEPARTMENT. _Arnica Liniment._--Add to one pint of sweet oil, two tablespoonfuls of tincture of arnica; or the leaves may be heated in the oil over a slow fire. Good for wounds, stiff joints, rheumatic, and all injuries. _Ayer's Cherry Pectoral._--Take four grains of acetate of morphia, 2 fluid drachms of tincture of bloodroot, 7 fluid drachms each of antimonial wine and wine of ipecacuanha, and 3 fluid ounces of syrup of wild cherry. Mix. _Balm Gilead._--Balm-gilead buds, bottled up in new rum, are very healing to fresh cuts or wounds. No family should be without a bottle. _Blackberry Cordial._--To one quart of blackberry juice, add one pound of white sugar, one tablespoonful of cloves, one of allspice, one of cinnamon, and one of nutmeg. Boil all together fifteen minutes; add a wineglass of whiskey, brandy or rum. Bottle while hot, cork tight, and seal. This is almost a specific in diarrhea. One dose, which is a wineglassful for an adult--half that quantity for a child--will often cure diarrhea. It can be taken three or four times a day if the case is severe. _Brandreth's Pills._--Take two pounds of aloes, one pound of gamboge, four ounces of extract of colocynth, half a pound of castile soap, two fluid drachms of oil of peppermint, and one fluid drachm of cinnamon. Mix, and form into pills. _Brown's Bronchial Troches._--Take one pound of pulverized extract of licorice, one and a half pounds of pulverized sugar, four ounces of pulverized cubebs, four ounces of pulverized gum arabic, and one ounce of pulverized extract of conium. Mix. _Bryan's Pulmonic Wafers for Coughs, Colds, Etc._--Take white sugar, seven pounds; tincture of syrup of ipecac, four ounces: antimonial wine, two ounces; morphine, ten grains; dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, with ten or fifteen drops sulphuric acid; tincture of bloodroot, one ounce; syrup of tolu, two ounces; add these to the sugar, and mix the whole mass as confectioners do for lozenges, and cut into lozenges the ordinary size. Use from six to twelve of these in twenty-four hours. They sell at a great profit. _Candied Lemon or Peppermint, for Colds._--Boil one and a half pounds of sugar in a half pint of water, till it begins to candy round the sides; put in eight drops of essence; pour it upon buttered paper, and cut it with a knife. _Camphor Balls_, for rubbing on the hands, to prevent chaps, etc.--Melt three drachms of spermaceti, four drachms of white wax, and one ounce of almond oil; stir in three drachms of powdered camphor. Pour the compound into small gallipots, so as to form small hemispherical cakes. They may be colored with alkanet, if preferred. _Camphorated Oil._--This is another camphor liniment. The proportions are the same as in the preceding formula, substituting olive oil for the alcohol, and exposing the materials to a moderate heat. As an external stimulant application it is even more powerful than the spirits; and to obtain its full influence the part treated should be also covered with flannel and oil silk. It forms a valuable liniment in chronic rheumatism and other painful affections, and is specially valuable as a counter-irritant in sore or inflamed throats and diseased bowels. Camphor constitutes the basis of a large number of valuable liniments. Thus, in cases of whooping-cough and some chronic bronchitic affections, the following liniment may be advantageously rubbed into the chest and along the spine. Spirits of camphor, two parts; laudanum, half a part; spirits of turpentine, one part; castile soap in powder, finely divided, half an ounce; alcohol, 3 parts. Digest the whole together for three days, and strain through linen. This liniment should be gently warmed before using. A powerful liniment for old rheumatic pains, especially when affecting the loins, is the following: camphorated oil and spirits of turpentine, of each two parts; water of hartshorn, one part; laudanum, one part; to be well shaken together. Another very efficient liniment or embrocation, serviceable in chronic painful affections, may be conveniently and easily made as follows: Take of camphor, one ounce; cayenne pepper, in powder, two teaspoonfuls; alcohol, one pint. The whole to be digested with moderate heat for ten days, and filtered. It is an active rubificant; and after a slight friction with it, it produces a grateful, thrilling sensation of heat in the pained part, which is rapidly relieved. _Camphor Tablet for Chapped Hands, etc._--Melt tallow, and add a little powdered camphor and glycerine, with a few drops of oil of almonds to scent. Pour in molds and cool. _Camphorated Eye-Water._--Sulphate of copper, 15 grains; French bolo, 15 grains; camphor, 4 grains; boiling water, 4 oz. Infuse, strain, and dilute with 2 quarts of cold water. _Canker-Cure._--Take one large teaspoonful of water, two teaspoonfuls of honey, two of loaf sugar, three of powdered sage, two of powdered gold-thread, and one of alum. Stir up all together; put into a vessel, and let it simmer moderately over a steady fire. An oven is better. Then bottle for use. Give a teaspoonful occasionally through the day. _Cephalic Snuff._--Dried asarbacca leaves, three parts; majoram, one part, lavender flowers, one part; rub together to a powder. _Certain Cure for Headache and all Neuralgic Pains._--Opodeldoc, spirits of wine, sal ammoniac, equal parts. To be applied as any other lotion. _Chamomile Pills._--Aloes, twelve grains; extract chamomile, thirty-six grains; oil of chamomile, three drops; make into twelve pills: two every night, or twice a day. _Chlorine Pastiles for Disinfecting the Breath._--Dry chloride of lime, two drachms; sugar, eight ounces; starch, one ounce, gum tragacanth, one drachm; carmine, two grains. Form into small lozenges. 2. Sugar flavored with vanilla, 1 ounce; powdered tragacanth, 20 grains; liquid chloride of soda sufficient to mix; add two drops of any essential oil. Form a paste and divide into lozenges of 15 grains each. _Cholera Morbus._--Take two ounces of the leaves of the bene plant, put them in half a pint of cold water and let them soak an hour. Give two tablespoonfuls hourly, until relief is experienced. _Cholera Remedy._--Spirits of wine, one ounce; spirits of lavender, quarter ounce; spirits of camphor, quarter ounce; compound tincture of benzoin, half an ounce; oil of origanum, quarter ounce; twenty drops on moist sugar. To be rubbed outwardly also. 2. Twenty-five _minims_ of diluted sulphuric acid in an ounce of water. _Corn Remedy._--Soak a piece of copper in strong vinegar for twelve or twenty-four hours. Pour the liquid off, and bottle. Apply frequently, till the corn is removed. 2. Supercarbonate of soda, one ounce, finely pulverized, and mix with half an ounce of lard. Apply on a linen rag every night. _Cough Compound._--For the cure of coughs, colds, asthma, whooping cough and all diseases of the lungs; One spoonful of common tar, three spoonfuls of honey, the yolk of three hen's eggs, and half a pint of wine; beat the tar, eggs and honey well together with a knife, and bottle for use. A teaspoonful every morning, noon and night, before eating. _Cough Syrup._--Put one quart hoarhound to one quart water, and boil it down to a pint; add two or three sticks of licorice and a tablespoonful of essence of lemon. Take a tablespoonful of the syrup three times a day, or as often as the cough may be troublesome. The above receipt has been sold for $100. Several firms are making much money by its manufacture. _Cure for Diarrhea._--The following is said to be an excellent cure for the above distressing complaint: Laudanum, two ounces; spirits of camphor, two ounces; essence of peppermint, two ounces; Hoffman's anodyne, two ounces; tincture of cayenne pepper, two drachms; tincture of ginger, one ounce. Mix all together. Dose, teaspoonful in a little water, or a half teaspoonful repeated in an hour afterward in a tablespoonful of brandy. This preparation it is said, will check diarrhea in ten minutes, and abate other premonitory symptoms of cholera immediately. In cases of cholera, it has been used with great success to restore reaction by outward application. _Digestive Pills._--Rhubarb, two ounces; ipecacuanha, half an ounce; cayenne pepper, quarter of an ounce; soap, half an ounce; ginger, quarter of an ounce; gamboge, half an ounce. Mix, and divide into four grain pills. _Dried Herbs._--All herbs which are to be dried should be washed, separated, and carefully picked over, then spread on a coarse paper and keep in a room until perfectly dry. Those which are intended for cooking should be stripped from the stems and rubbed very fine. Then put them in bottles and cork tightly. Put those which are intended for medicinal purposes into paper bags, and keep them in a dry place. _Dysentery Specific_, (particularly for bloody dysentery in Adults and Children.)--Take one pound gum arabic, one ounce gum tragacanth, dissolved in two quarts of soft water, and strained. Then take one pound of cloves, half a pound of cinnamon, half a pound allspice, and boil in two quarts of soft water, and strain. Add it to the gums, and boil all together over a moderate fire, and stir into it two pounds of loaf sugar. Strain the whole again when you take it off, and when it is cool, add to it half a pint sweet tincture rhubarb, and a pint and a half of best brandy. Cork it tight in bottles, as the gums will sour, if exposed. If corked properly it will keep for years. _Anti-Bilious Pills._--Compound extract of colocynth, 60 grains; rhubarb, 30 grains; soap, 10 grains. Make into 24 pills. Dose 2 to 4. 2. Compound extract of colocynth, 2 drachms; extract of rhubarb, half a drachm; soap, 10 grains. Mix, and divide into 40 pills. Dose, 1, 2, or 3. 3. Scammony, 10 to 15 grains; compound extract of colocynth, 2 scruples; extract of rhubarb, half a drachm; soap, 10 grains; oil of caraway, 5 drops. Make into 20 pills. Dose, 1 or 2, as required. _Great Pain Extractor._--Spirits of ammonia, one ounce; laudanum, one ounce; oil of organum, one ounce; mutton tallow, half-pound; combine the articles with the tallow when it is nearly cool. _Godfrey's Cordial._--Sassafras, six ounces; seeds of coriander, caraway and anise, of each one ounce; infuse in six pints of water; simmer the mixture till reduced to four pints; then add six pounds of molasses; boil a few minutes; when cold, add three fluid ounces of tincture of opium. For children teething. _Hydrophobia, to Prevent._--Elecampane, one drachm; chalk, four drachms; Armenian bole, three drachms; alum, ten grains; oil of aniseseed, five drops. _Infant's Syrup._--The syrup is made thus: one pound best box raisins, half an ounce of aniseseed, two sticks licorice; split the raisins, pound the aniseseed, and cut the licorice fine; add to it three quarts of rain water, and boil down to two quarts. Feed three or four times a day, as much as the child will willingly drink. The raisins are to strengthen, the anise is to expel the wind, and the licorice as a physic. _Basilicon Ointment._--Good resin, five parts; lard, eight parts; yellow wax, two parts. Melt, and stir together till cool. _Cancer Ointment._--White arsenic, sulphur, powdered flowers of lesser spearwort, and stinking chamomile, levigated together and formed into a paste with white of egg. _Elder Flower Ointment._--Lard, twenty-five pounds; prepared mutton suet, five pounds; melt in an earthen vessel; add elder flower water, three gallons. Agitate for half an hour, and set it aside; the next day gently pour off the water, remelt the ointment, add benzoic acid three drachms; otto of roses, twenty drops; essence of bergamot and oil of rosemary, of each, thirty drops; again agitate well, let it settle for a few minutes, and pour off the clear into pots. _Eruption Ointment, for Frosted Feet, etc._--Chrome yellow, and hog's lard. _Foot Ointment_ (for all domestic animals).--Equal parts of tar, lard and resin, melted together. _Golden Ointment._--Orpiment, mixed with lard to the consistence of an ointment. _Pile Ointment._--Powdered nutgall, two drachms; camphor, one drachm; melted wax, one ounce; tincture of opium, two drachms. Mix. _Swaim's Vermifuge._--Wormseed, two ounces: valerian, rhubarb, pink-root, white agaric, of each, one and a half ounces; boil in sufficient water to yield three quarts of decoction, and add to it thirty drops of oil of tansy, and forty-five drops of oil of cloves, dissolved in a quart of rectified spirits. Dose, one teaspoonful at night. _For Tetter, Ringworm, and Scald Head._--One pound simple cerate; sulphuric acid, one-quarter of a pound; mix together, and ready for use. _Tincture for Wounds._--Digest flowers of St. Johnswart, one handful, in half a pint of rectified spirits, then express the liquor and dissolve it in myrrh, aloes, and dragon's blood, of each one drachm, with Canada balsam, half an ounce. _Tonic._--The following is the tonic used by reformed drunkards to restore the vigor of the stomach. Take of gentian root, half an ounce; valerian root, one drachm; best rhubarb root, two drachms; bitter orange peel, three drachms; cardamom seeds, half an ounce; and cinnamon bark, one drachm. Having bruised all the above together in a mortar (the druggist will do it if requested), pour upon it one and a half pints of boiling water and cover up close; let it stand till cold; strain, bottle, and cork securely; keep in a dark place. Two tablespoonfuls may be taken every hour before meals, and half that quantity whenever the patient feels that distressing sickness and prostration so generally present for some time after alcoholic stimulants have been abandoned. _Whooping Cough._--Mix a quarter of a pound of ground elecampane root in half a pint of strained honey and half a pint of water. Put them in a glazed earthen pot, and place it in a stone oven, with half the heat required to bake bread. Let it bake until about the consistency of strained honey, and take it out. Administer in doses of a teaspoonful before each meal, to a child; if an adult, double the dose. _Wild Cherry Bitters._--Boil a pound of wild cherry bark in a quart of water till reduced to a pint. Sweeten and add a little rum to preserve, or, if to be used immediately, omit the rum. Dose, a wineglassful three times a day, on an empty stomach. _A Certain Cure for Drunkenness._--Sulphate of iron, 5 grains; magnesia, 10 grains peppermint water, 11 drachms; spirits of nutmeg, 1 drachm; twice a day. This preparation acts as a tonic and stimulant, and so partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and moral prostration that follows a sudden breaking off from the use of stimulating drinks. MANUFACTURERS' DEPARTMENT. _Indelible Ink for Marking Clothing._--Nitrate of silver, five scruples; gum arabic, two drachms; sap green, one scruple; distilled water, one ounce; mix together. Before writing on the article to be marked, apply a little of the following: carbonate of soda, one-half ounce; distilled water, four ounces; let this last, which is the mordant, get dry; then, with a quill pen, write what you require. _Imitation Gold._--16 parts platina; 7 parts copper; 1 part zinc. Put in a covered crucible, with powdered charcoal, and melt together till the whole forms one mass, and are thoroughly incorporated together. Or, take 4 oz. platina, 3 oz. silver, 1 oz. copper. _Imitation Silver._--11 oz. refined nickel; 2 oz. metalic bismuth. Melt the compositions together three times, and pour them out in ley. The third time, when melting, add 2 oz. pure silver. Or take ¼ oz. copper, 1 oz. bismuth, 2 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. common salt, 1 oz. arsenic, 1 oz. potash, 2 oz. brass, and 3 oz. pure silver. Melt all together in a crucible. _Recipe for Making Artificial Honey._--To 10 lbs. sugar add 3 lbs. water, 40 grains cream tartar, 10 drops essence peppermint, and 3 lbs. strained honey. First dissolve the sugar in water, and take off the scum; then dissolve the cream of tartar in a little warm water, which you will add with some little stirring; then add the honey; heat to a boiling point, and stir for a few minutes. _Vinegar._--Take forty gallons of soft water, six quarts of cheap molasses, and six pounds of acetic acid; put them into a barrel (an old vinegar barrel is best), and let them stand from three to ten weeks, stirring occasionally. Add a little "mother" of old vinegar if convenient. Age improves it. _Soft Soap._--Dissolve fifteen pounds of common cheap hard soap in fifteen gallons of hot water, and let it cool. Then dissolve fifteen pounds of sal soda in fifteen gallons of hot water; add six pounds of unslaked lime, and boil twenty minutes. Let it cool and settle, and then pour off the clear liquor very carefully and mix it with the soap solution. It improves it very much to add one quart of alcohol after mixing the two solutions. Smaller quantities can be made in the same proportions. If too strong, add water to suit. _Babbit's Premium Soap._--5 gals, strong ley; 5 gals water; 5 lbs. tallow; 1 lb. potash; 2 lbs. sal soda; ½ lb. rosin; 1 pt. salt; 1 pt. washing fluid. Let the water boil; then put in the articles, and boil half an hour. Stir it well while boiling, and then run into moulds. It will be ready for use as soon as cold. The above preparations are for 100 pounds of soap. _Celebrated Recipe for Silver Wash._--One ounce of nitric acid, one ten-cent piece, and one ounce of quick-silver. Put in an open glass vessel and let it stand until dissolved; then add one pint of water, and it is ready for use. Make it into a powder by adding whiting, and it may be used on brass, copper, German silver, etc. _Cement for Aquaria._--Many persons have attempted to make aquarium, but have failed on account of the extreme difficulty in making the tank resist the action of water for any length of time. Below is a recipe for a cement that can be relied upon; it is perfectly free from anything that injures the animals or plants; it sticks to glass, metal, wood, stone, etc., and hardens under water. A hundred different experiments with cements have been tried, but there is nothing like it. It is the same as that used in constructing the tanks of the Zoological Gardens, London, and is almost unknown in this country. One part, by measure, say a gill, of litharge; one gill of plaster of Paris; one gill of dry, white sand, one-third of a gill of finely-powdered resin. Sift and keep corked tight until required for use, when it is to be made into a putty by mixing in boiled oil (linseed) with a little patent dryer added. Never use it after it has been mixed (that is, with the oil) over fifteen hours. This cement can be used for marine as well as fresh water aquaria, as it resists the action of salt water. The tank can be used immediately, but it is best to give it three or four hours to dry. _Cement for Attaching Metal to Glass._--Take two ounces of a thick solution of glue, and mix it with one ounce of linseed-oil varnish, and half an ounce of pure turpentine; the whole are then boiled together in a close vessel. The two bodies should be clamped and held together for about two days after they are united, to allow the cement to become dry. The clamps may then be removed. _Cement for Mending Broken China._--Stir plaster of Paris into a thick solution of gum arabic, till it becomes a viscous paste. Apply it with a brush to the fractured edges, and draw the parts closely together. _Cement for Mending Steam Boilers._--Mix two parts of finely powdered litharge with one part of very fine sand, and one part of quicklime which has been allowed to slack spontaneously by exposure to the air. This mixture may be kept for any length of time without injury. In using it a portion is mixed into paste with linseed oil, or, still better, boiled linseed oil. In this state it must be quickly applied, as it soon becomes hard. _Cheap White House Paint._--Take skim milk, two quarts, eight ounces fresh slaked lime, six ounces linseed oil; two ounces white Burgundy pitch, three pounds Spanish white. Slake the lime in water, expose it to the air, and mix in about one-quarter of the milk, the oil, in which the pitch is previously dissolved, to be added, a little at the time; then the rest of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish white. This quantity is sufficient for thirty square yards, two coats, and costs but a few cents. If the other colors are wanted, use, instead of Spanish white, other coloring matter. _Composition for House-Roofs._--Take one measure of fine sand, two of sifted wood-ashes, and three of lime, ground up with oil. Mix thoroughly, and lay on with a painter's brush, first a thin coat and then a thick one. This composition is not only cheap, but it strongly resists fire. _Diamond Cement._--Isinglass, one ounce; distilled vinegar, five and a half ounces; spirits of wine, two ounces; gum ammoniacum, half an ounce; gum mastic, half an ounce. Mix well. _French Polish._--To one pint of spirits of wine, add a quarter of an ounce of gum copal, a quarter of an ounce of gum arabic, and one ounce of shellac. Let the gums be well bruised, and sifted through a piece of muslin. Put the spirits and the gums together in a vessel that can be closely corked; place them near a warm stove, and frequently shake them; in two or three days they will be dissolved; strain the mixture through a piece of muslin, and keep it tightly corked for use. _Furniture Oil for Polishing and Staining Mahogany._--Take of linseed oil, one gallon; alkanet root, three ounces; rose pink, one ounce. Boil them together ten minutes, and strain so that the oil be quite clear. The furniture should be well rubbed with it every day until the polish is brought up, which will be more durable than any other. _Glue for ready Use._--To any quantity of glue use common whiskey instead of water. Put both together in a bottle, cork tight, and set it away for three or four days, when it will be fit for use without the application of heat. _A Quart of Ink, for a Dime._--Buy extract of logwood, which may be had at three cents an ounce, or cheaper by the quantity. Buy also, for three cents, an ounce of _bi-chromate of potash_. Do not make a mistake, and get the simple chromate of potash. The former is orange red, and the latter clear yellow. Now, take half an ounce of extract of logwood and ten grains of bi-chromate of potash, and dissolve them in a quart of hot rain water. When cold, pour it into a glass bottle, and leave it uncorked for a week or two. Exposure to the air is indispensable. The ink is then made, and has cost five to ten minutes' labor, and about three cents, beside the bottle. The ink is at first an intense steel blue, but becomes quite black. _An Excellent Substitute for Ink._--Put a couple of iron nails into a teaspoonful of vinegar. In half an hour pour in a tablespoonful of strong tea, and then you will have ink enough for a while. _Ink, First-Rate Black._--Take twelve pounds of bruised galls, five pounds of gum Senegal, five pounds of green sulphate of iron, and twelve gallons of rain water. Boil the galls with nine gallons of water for three hours, adding fresh water to replace what is lost by evaporation. Let the decoction settle, and draw off the clear liquor; add to it a strained solution of the gum; dissolve also the sulphate of iron separately, and mix the whole. _Ink, Blue._--Chinese blue, three ounces; oxalic acid, (pure,) three-quarters of an ounce; gum arabic, powdered, one ounce; distilled water, six pints. Mix. _Ink, Cheap Printing._--Take equal parts of lampblack and oil; mix and keep on the fire till reduced to the right consistency. This is a good ink for common purposes, and is very cheap. We have used it extensively ourselves. _Ink, Copying._--Dissolve half an ounce of gum and twenty grains of Spanish licorice in thirteen drachms of water, and add one drachm of lampblack, previously mixed with a teaspoonful of sherry. _Ink, Indelible._--To four drachms of lunar caustic, in four ounces of water, add 60 drops of nutgalls, made strong by being pulverized and steeped in soft water. The mordant, which is to be applied to the cloth before writing, is composed of one ounce of pearlash, dissolved in four ounces of water, with a little gum arabic dissolved in it. Wet the spot with this; dry and iron the cloth; then write. _Ink, Indelible Marking._--One and a half drachms of nitrate of silver, one ounce of distilled water, half an ounce of strong mucilage of gum arabic, three-quarters of a drachm of liquid ammonia. Mix the above in a clean glass bottle, cork tightly, and keep in a dark place till dissolved, and ever afterwards. Directions for use: Shake the bottle, then dip a clean quill pen in the ink, and write or draw what you require on the article; immediately hold it close to the fire (without scorching), or pass a hot iron over it, and it will become a deep and indelible black, indestructible by either time or acids of any description. _Ink, Indestructible._--On many occasions it is of importance to employ an ink indestructible by any process, that will not equally destroy the material on which it is applied. For black ink, twenty-five grains of copal, in powder, are to be dissolved in two hundred grains of oil of lavender, by the assistance of a gentle heat, and are then to be mixed with two and a half grains of lampblack and half a grain of indigo. This ink is particularly useful for labelling phials, &c., containing chemical, substances of a corrosive nature. _Ink for Marking Linen with Type._--Dissolve one part of asphaltum in four parts of oil of turpentine, and lamp-black or black-lead, in fine powder, in sufficient quantity to render of proper consistency to print with type. _Ink Powder for Immediate Use._--Reduce to powder ten ounces of gall-nuts, three ounces of green copperas, two ounces each of powdered alum and gum arabic. Put a little of this mixture into white wine, and it will be fit for immediate use. _Ink Stains._--The moment the ink is spilled, take a little milk, and saturate the stain, soak it up with a rag, and apply a little more milk, rubbing it well in. In a few minutes the ink will be completely removed. _Red Ink._--Take of the raspings of Brazil wood, quarter of a pound, and infuse them two or three days in colorless vinegar. Boil the infusion one hour and a half over a gentle fire, and afterward filter it while hot, through paper laid in an earthenware cullender. Put it again over the fire, and dissolve in it first half an ounce of gum arabic, and afterward of alum and white sugar each half an ounce. Care should be taken that the Brazil wood be not adulterated with the Braziletto or campeachy wood. _Transfer Ink._--Mastic in tears, four ounces; shellac, six oz.; Venice turpentine, half an ounce; melt together; add wax, half a pound; tallow, three ounces. When dissolved, further add hard tallow soap (in shavings), three ounces; and when the whole is combined, add lampblack, two ounces. Mix well, cool a little, and then pour it into molds. This ink is rubbed down with a little water in a cup or saucer, in the same way as water-color cakes. In winter, the operation should be performed near the fire. _Indian Glues._--Take one pound of the best glue, the stronger the better, boil it and strain it very clear; boil also four ounces of isinglass; put the mixture into a double glue pot, add half a pound of brown sugar, and boil the whole until it gets thick; then pour it into thin plates or molds, and when cold you may cut and dry them in small pieces for the pocket. The glue is used by merely holding it over steam, or wetting it with the mouth. This is a most useful and convenient article, being much stronger than common glue. It is sold under the name of Indian glue, but is much less expensive in making, and is applicable to all kinds of small fractures, etc.; answers well on the hardest woods, and cements china, etc., though, of course, it will not resist the action of hot water. For parchment and paper, in lieu of gum or paste, it will be found equally convenient. _Japanese Cement._--Intimately mix the best powdered rice with a little cold water, then gradually add boiling water until a proper consistence is acquired, being particularly careful to keep it well stirred all the time; lastly, it must be boiled for one minute in a clean saucepan or earthern pipkin. This glue is beautifully white and almost transparent, for which reason it is well adapted for fancy paper work, which requires a strong and colorless cement. _Liquid Blacking._--Mix a quarter of a pound of ivory-black, six gills of vinegar, a tablespoonful of sweet oil, and two large spoonfuls of molasses. Stir the whole well together, and it will then be fit for use. _Liquid Glue._--Dissolve one part of powdered alum, one hundred and twenty parts of water; add one hundred and twenty parts of glue, ten of acetic acid, and forty of alcohol, and digest. Prepared glue is made by dissolving common glue in warm water, and then adding acetic acid (strong vinegar) to keep it. Dissolve one pound of best glue in one and a half pints of water, and add one pint of vinegar. It is then ready for use. _Magic Copying Paper._--To make black paper, lampblack mixed with cold lard; red paper, Venetian red mixed with lard; blue paper, Prussian blue mixed with lard; green paper, Chrome green mixed with lard. The above ingredients to be mixed to the consistency of thick paste, and to be applied to the paper with a rag. Then take a flannel rag, and rub until all color ceases coming off. Cut your sheets four inches wide and six inches long; put four sheets together, one of each color, and sell for twenty-five cents per package. The first cost will not exceed three cents. Directions for writing with this paper: Lay down your paper upon which you wish to write; then lay on the copying paper, and over this lay any scrap of paper you choose; then take any hard pointed substance and write as you would with a pen. _Mahogany Stain._--Break two ounces of dragon's blood in pieces, and put them in a quart of rectified spirits of wine; let the bottle stand in a warm place, and shake it frequently. When dissolved, it is fit for use, and will render common wood an excellent imitation of mahogany. _Marine Glue._--Dissolve four parts of India-rubber in thirty-four parts of coal tar naptha, aiding the solution with heat and agitation. The solution is then thick as cream, and it should be added to sixty-four parts of powdered shellac, which must be heated in the mixture till all is dissolved. While the mixture is hot it is poured on plates of metal, in sheets like leather. It can be kept in that state, and when it is required to be used, it is put into a pot and heated till it is soft, and then applied with a brush to the surfaces to be joined. Two pieces of wood joined with this cement can scarcely be sundered. _Parchment._--Paper parchment may be produced by immersing paper in a concentratic solution of chloride of zinc. _Amalgam of Gold._--Place one part of gold in a small iron saucepan or ladle, perfectly clean, then add 8 parts of mercury, and apply a gentle heat, when the gold will dissolve; agitate the mixture for one minute, and pour it out on a clean plate or stone slab. For gilding brass, copper etc. The metal to be gilded is first rubbed over with a solution of nitrate of mercury, and then covered with a very thin film of the amalgam. On heat being applied the mercury volatilizes, leaving the gold behind. A much less proportion of gold is often employed than the above, where a very thin and cheap gilding is required, as by increasing the quantity of the mercury, the precious metal may be extended over a much larger surface. A similar amalgam prepared with silver is used for silvering. _Amalgam for Mirrors._--Lead and tin, each 1 oz; bismuth, 2 oz; mercury, 4 oz.; melt as before, and add the mercury. These are used to silver mirrors, glass globes, etc., by warming the glass, melting the amalgam, and applying it. _Annealing Steel._--1. For a small quantity. Heat the steel to a cherry red in a charcoal fire, then bury in sawdust, in an iron box, covering the sawdust with ashes. Let stay until cold.--2. For a larger quantity, and when it is required to be very "soft." Pack the steel with cast iron (lathe or planer) chips in an iron box, as follows: Having at least ½ or ¾ inch in depth of chips in the bottom of the box, put in a layer of steel, then more chips to fill spaces between the steel, and also the ½ or ¾ inch space between the sides of box and steel, then more steel; and lastly, at least 1 inch in depth of chips, well rammed down on top of steel. Heat to and keep at a red heat for from two to four hours. Do not disturb the box until cold. _To make Bell Metal._--1. Melt together under powdered charcoal, 100 parts of pure copper, with 20 parts of tin, and unite the two metals by frequently stirring the mass. Product very fine.--2. Copper 3 parts; tin 1 part; as above. Some of the finest church bells in the world have this composition.--3. Copper 2 parts: tin 1 part; as above.--4. Copper 72 parts; tin 26½ parts; iron 1½ parts. The bells of small clocks or pendules are made of this alloy in Paris. _Brass to Make._ 1. _Fine Brass._--2 parts of copper to 1 part of zinc. This is nearly one equivalent each of copper and zinc, if the equivalent of the former metal be taken at 63-2; or 2 equivalents of copper to 1 equivalent of zine, if it be taken with Liebig and Berzelius, at 31-6. 2. Copper 4 parts, zinc 1 part. An excellent and very useful brass. _Cleansing Solution for Brass._--Put together two ounces sulphuric acid, an ounce and a half nitric acid, one dram saltpetre and two ounces rain water. Let stand for a few hours, and apply by passing the article in and out quickly, and then washing off thoroughly with clean rain water. Old, discolored brass chains treated in this way will look equally as well as when new. The usual method of drying as in sawdust. _To Cover Brass with beautiful Luster Colors._--One ounce of cream of tartar is dissolved in one quart of hot water, to which is added half an ounce of tin salt (protochloride of tin) dissolved in four ounces of cold water. The whole is then heated to boiling, the clear solution decanted from a trifling precipitate, and poured under continual stirring into a solution of three ounces hyposulphite of soda in one-half a pint of water, whereupon it is again heated to boiling, and filtered from the separated sulphur. This solution produces on brass the various luster-colors, depending on the length of time during which the articles are allowed to remain in it. The colors at first will be light to dark, gold yellow, passing through all the tints of red to an irridescent brown. A similar series of colors is produced by sulphide of copper and lead, which, however, are not remarkable for their stability; whether this defect will be obviated by the use of the tin solution, experience and time alone can show. _Bronzing Gun-Barrels._--The so-called butter of zinc used for bronzing gun-barrels is made by dissolving zinc in hydrochloric acid till no more free acid is left; which is secured by placing zinc in the acid until it ceases to be dissolved. The liquid is then evaporated until a drop taken out and placed on a piece of glass solidifies in cooling, when it is mixed with 2 parts of olive oil for every three parts of the liquid. The barrels must be cleansed and warmed before applying the so-called butter, which put on with a piece of linen rag. _Bronzing Fluid._--For brown: Iron filings, or scales, 1 lb.; arsenic, 1 oz.; hydrochloric acid, 1 lb.; metallic zinc, 1 oz. The article to be bronzed is to be dipped in this solution till the desired effect be produced. _Bronze, Green._--Acetic acid, diluted, 4 lbs; green veriter, 2 oz.; muriate of ammonia, 1 oz.; common salt, 2 oz.; alum, ½ oz.; French berries, ½ lb.; boil them together till the berries have yielded their color, and strain. Olive bronze, for brass or copper.--Nitric acid, 1 oz.; hydrochloric acid, 2 oz.; titanium or palladium, as much as will dissolve, and add three pints of distilled water. _To Soften Cast-Iron, for Drilling._--Heat to a cherry red, having it lie level in the fire, then with a pair of cold tongs put on a piece of brimstone, a little less in size than you wish the hole to be when drilled, and it softens entirely through the piece; let it lie in the fire until a little cool, when it is ready to drill. _To Weld Cast-Iron._--Take of good clear white sand, three parts; refined solton, one part; fosterine, one part; rock-salt, one part; mix all together. Take 2 pieces of cast-iron, heat them in a moderate charcoal-fire, occasionally taking them out while heating, and dipping them into the composition, until they are of a proper heat to weld; then at once lay them on the anvil, and gently hammer them together, and, if done carefully by one who understands welding iron, you will have them nicely welded together. One man prefers heating the metal, then cooling it in the water of common beans, and heat it again for welding. _To recut old Files and Rasps._--Dissolve 4 oz. of saleratus in 1 quart of water, and boil the files in it for half an hour; then remove, wash and dry them. Now have ready, in a glass or stoneware vessel, 1 quart of rain water, into which you have slowly added 4 oz. of best sulphuric acid, and keep the proportions for any amount used. Immerse the files in this preparation for from six to twelve hours, according to fineness or coarseness of the files; then remove, wash them clean, dry quickly, and put a little sweet oil on them to cover the surface. If the files are coarse, they will need to remain in about twelve hours, but for fine files six to eight hours is sufficient. This plan is applicable to blacksmiths', gunsmiths', tinners', coppersmiths' and machinists' files. Copper and tin workers will only require a short time to take the articles out of their files, as the soft metals with which they become filled are soon dissolved. Blacksmiths' and saw-mill files require full time. Files may be recut three times by this process. The liquid may be used at different times if required. Keep away from children, as it is poisonous. _Twist, Browning for Gun-Barrels._--Take spirits of nitre ¾ oz.; tincture of steel, ¾ oz.: (if the tincture of steel cannot be obtained, the unmedicated tincture of iron may be used, but it is not so good) black brimstone, ¼ oz.; blue vitriol, ½ oz.; corrosive sublimate, ¼ oz.; nitric acid, 1 dr. or 60 drops; copperas, ¼ oz.; mix with 1½ pts. of rain water, keep corked, also, as the other, and the process of applying is also the same. _Gun Metal._--1. Melt together 112 lbs. of Bristol brass, 14 lbs. of spelter, and 7 lbs. of block tin.--2. Melt together 9 parts of copper and 1 part of tin; the above compounds are those used in the manufacture of small and great brass guns, swivels, etc. _Chinese Method of Mending Holes in Iron._--The Chinese mend holes in cast-iron vessels as follows: They melt a small quantity of iron in a crucible the size of a thimble, and pour the molten metal on a piece of felt covered with wood-ashes. This is pressed inside the vessel against the hole, and as it exudes on the other side it is struck by a small roll of felt covered with ashes. The new iron then adheres to the old. _Common Pewter._--Melt in a crucible 7 lbs. of tin, and when fused throw in 1 lb. of lead, 6 oz. of copper and 2 oz. of zinc. This combination of metal will form an alloy of great durability and tenacity; also of considerable luster. _Best Pewter._--The best sort of pewter consists of 100 parts of tin, and 17 of regulus of antimony. _Hard Pewter._--Melt together 12 lbs. of tin, 1 lb. of regulus of antimony, and 4 oz. of copper. _To Mend Broken Saws._--Pure silver, 19 parts: pure copper, 1 part: pure brass, 2 parts; all are to be filed into powder and intimately mixed. Place the saw level upon the anvil, the broken edges in close contact, and hold them so: now put a small line of the mixture along the seam, covering it with a large bulk of powdered charcoal; now with a spirit lamp and a jeweler's blow-pipe, hold the coal-dust in place, and blow sufficient to melt the solder mixture: then with a hammer set the joint smooth, if not already so, and file away any superfluous solder; and you will be surprised at its strength. _Solder, to Adhere to Brass or Copper._--Prepare a soldering solution in this way: Pour a small quantity of muriatic acid on some zinc filings, so as to completely cover the zinc. Let it stand about an hour, and then pour off the acid, to which add twice its amount of water. By first wetting the brass or copper with this preparation, the solder will readily adhere. _Common Solder._--Put into a crucible 2 lbs. of lead, and when melted throw in 1 lb. of tin. This alloy is that generally known by the name of solder. When heated by a hot iron and applied to tinned iron with powdered rosin, it acts as a cement or solder. _Tempering Steel._--For tempering many kinds of tools, the steel is first hardened by heating it to a cherry red, and plunging it into cold water. Afterward the temper is drawn by moderately heating the steel again. Different degrees of hardness are required for different purposes, and the degree of heat for each of these, with the corresponding color, will be found in the annexed table: Very pale straw color, 430°--the temper required for lancets. A shade of darker yellow, 450°--for razors and surgical instruments. Darker straw-yellow, 470°--for penknives. Still darker yellow, 490°--chisels for cutting iron. A brown yellow, 500°--axes and plane-irons. Yellow, slightly tinged with purple, 520°--table-knives and watch-springs. _Tempering Liquid._--1. To 6 quarts of soft water put in corrosive sublimate, 1 oz.; common salt, 2 handfuls; when dissolved it is ready for use. The first gives toughness to the steel, while the latter gives the hardness. Be careful with this preparation, as it is a dangerous poison.--2. Salt, ½ teacup; saltpetre, ½ oz.; alum, pulverized, 1 tea-spoon; soft water, 1 gallon; never heat over a cherry red, nor draw any temper.--3. Saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, and alum, of each 2 oz.; salt, 1½ lbs.; water, 3 gallons, and draw no temper.--4. Saltpetre and alum, each 2 oz.; sal-ammoniac, ½ oz.; salt, 1½ lbs.; soft water, 2 gallons. Heat to a cherry red, and plunge in, drawing no temper. _Bayberry, or Myrtle Soap._--Dissolve two and a quarter pounds of white potash in five quarts of water, then mix it with ten pounds of myrtle wax, or bayberry tallow. Boil the whole over a slow fire till it turns to soap, then add a teacup of cold water; let it boil ten minutes longer; at the end of that time turn it into tin molds or pans, and let them remain a week or ten days to dry; then turn them out of the molds. If you wish to have the soap scented, stir into it an essential oil that has an agreeable smell, just before you turn it into the molds. This kind of soap is excellent for shaving, and for chapped hands: it is also good for eruptions on the face. It will be fit for use in the course of three or four weeks after it is made, but it is better for being kept ten or twelve months. _Chemical Soap_, (for taking Oil, Grease, etc., from Cloth).--Take five pounds castile soap, cut fine; one pint alcohol; one pint soft water; two ounces aquafortis; one and a half ounces lampblack; two ounces of saltpetre; three ounces potash; one ounce of camphor; and four ounces of cinnamon, in powder. First dissolve the soap, potash and saltpetre, by boiling; then add all the other articles, and continue to stir until it cools; then pour into a box and let it stand twenty-four hours and cut into cakes. _Cold Soap._--Mix twenty-six pounds of melted and strained grease with four pailfuls of ley, made of twenty pounds of white potash. Let the whole stand in the sun, stirring it frequently. In the course of the week, fill the barrel with weak ley. _Genuine Erasive Soap._--Two pounds of good castile soap; half a pound of carbonate of potash; dissolve in half a pint of hot water. Cut the soap in thin slices, and boil the soap with the potash until it is thick enough to mould in cakes; also add alcohol, half an ounce; camphor, half an ounce; hartshorn, half an ounce; color with half an ounce of pulverized charcoal. _Hard White Soap._--To fifteen pounds of lard or suet, made boiling hot, add slowly six gallons of hot ley, or solution of potash, that will bear up an egg high enough to leave a piece big as a shilling bare. Take out a little, and cool it. If no grease rise it is done. If any grease appears, add ley, and boil till no grease rises. Add three quarts of fine salt, and boil up again. If this does not harden well on cooling, add more salt. If it is to be perfumed, melt it next day, add the perfume, and run it in molds or cut in cakes. _Labor-Saving Soap._--Take two pounds of sal-soda, two pounds of yellow bar soap, and ten quarts of water. Cut the soap in thin slices, and boil together for two hours; strain, and it will be fit for use. Put the clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pail of water in which you boil them, add a pound of soap. They will need no rubbing; merely rinse them out, and they will be perfectly clean and white. _To Make Good Soap._--To make matchless soap, take one gallon of soft soap, to which add a gill of common salt, and boil an hour. When cold, separate the ley from the crude. Add to the crude two pounds of sal-soda, and boil in two gallons of soft water till dissolved. If you wish it better, slice two pounds of common bar soap and dissolve in the above. If the soft soap makes more than three pounds of crude, add in proportion to the sal-soda and water. _To Make Hard Soap from Soft._--Take seven pounds of good soft soap; four pounds sal-soda; two ounces borax; one ounce hartshorn; half a pound of resin; to be dissolved in twenty-two quarts of water, and boiled about twenty minutes. _Whale Oil Soap_ (for the destruction of Insects.)--Render common ley caustic, by boiling it at full strength on quicklime; then take the ley and boil it with as much whale oil foot as it will saponify (change to soap), pour off into molds, and, when cold, it is tolerably hard. Whale oil foot is the sediment produced in refining whale oil, and is worth two dollars per barrel. _Soluble Glass._--Mix ten parts of carbonate of potash, fifteen parts of powdered quartz, and one pound of charcoal. Fuse well together. The mass is soluble in four or five parts of boiling water, and the filtered solution, evaporated to dryness, yields a transparent glass, permanent in the air. _To Make Eggs of Pharaoh's Serpents._--Take mercury and dissolve it in moderately diluted nitric acid by means of heat, taking care, however, that there be always an excess of metallic mercury remaining; decant the solution and pour it into a solution of sulpho-cyanide of ammonium or potassium, which may be bought at a good drug store, or of a dealer in chemicals. Equal weights of both will answer. A precipitate will fall to the bottom of the beaker or jar, which is to be collected on a filter and washed two or three times with water, when it is put in a warm place to dry. Take for every pound of this material one ounce of gum tragacanth which has been soaked in hot water. When the gum is completely softened it is to be transferred to a mortar, and the pulverized and dried precipitate gradually mixed with it by means of a little water, so as to present a somewhat dry pill mass, from which by hand pellets of the desired size are formed, put on a piece of glass, and dried again; they are then ready for use. _Tracing Paper._--In order to prepare a beautiful transparent, colorless paper, it is best to employ the varnish formed with Demarara resin in the following way: The sheets intended for this purpose are laid flat on each other, and the varnish spread over the uppermost sheet with a brush, until the paper appears perfectly colorless, without, however, the liquid thereon being visible. The first sheet is then removed, hung up for drying, and the second treated in the same manner. After being dried, this paper is capable of being written on, either with chalk or pencil, or steel pens. It preserves its colorless transparency without becoming yellow, as is frequently the case with that prepared in any other way. _Unsurpassable Blacking._--Put one gallon of vinegar into a stone jug, and one pound of ivory-black well pulverized, half a pound of loaf sugar, half an ounce of oil of vitriol, and seven ounces of sweet oil. Incorporate the whole by stirring. 2. Take twelve ounces each of ivory-black and molasses; spermaceti oil, four ounces; and white wine vinegar, two quarts. Mix thoroughly. This contains no vitriol, and therefore will not injure the leather. The trouble of making it is very little, and it would be well to prepare it for one's self, were it only to be assured that it is not injurious. _Varnish for Iron Work._--To make a good black varnish for iron work, take eight pounds of asphaltum and fuse it in an iron kettle; then add five gallons of boiled linseed oil, one pound of litharge, half a pound of sulphate of zinc (add these slowly, or it will fume over), and boil them for about three hours. Now add one and a half pounds of dark gum amber, and boil for two hours longer, or until the mass will become quite thick when cool, after which it should be thinned with turpentine to due consistency. THE TOILET, PERFUMERY, ETC. _Hair Restorers and Invigorators._--There are hundreds; Lyon's, Wood's, Barry's, Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, Driscol's, Phalon's, Haskel's, Allen's, Spaulding's, etc. But, though all under different names, are similar in principle, being vegetable oils dissolved in alcohol, with the addition of spirit of soap, and an astringent material, such as tincture of catechu, or infusion of bark. The best is to dissolve one ounce of castor oil in one quart of 95 alcohol, and add one ounce of tincture of cantharides, two ounces of tincture of catechu, two ounces of lemon juice, two ounces of tincture of cinchona; and to scent it, add oil of cinnamon, or oil of rosemary, or both. _To Make the Hair Soft and Glossy._--Put one ounce of castor oil in one pint of bay rum or alcohol, and color it with a little of the tincture of alkanet root. Apply a little every morning. _Instantaneous Hair Dye._--Take one drachm of nitrate of silver, and add to it just sufficient rain water to dissolve it, _and no more_; then take strong spirit of ammonia, and gradually pour on the solution of silver, until it becomes as clear as water, (_the addition of the ammonia at first makes it brown_); then wrap round the bottle two or three covers of blue paper, to exclude the light--otherwise it will spoil. Having made this, obtain two drachms of gallic acid; put this into another bottle which will contain one-half pint; pour upon it hot water, and let it stand until cold--when it is fit for use. _Directions to Dye the Hair._--First wash the head, beard, or moustaches with soap and water; afterwards with clean water. Dry, and apply the gallic acid solution, with a clean brush. When it is almost dry, take a small tooth comb, and with a fine brush, put on the teeth of the comb a little of the silver solution, and comb it through the hair, when it will become a brilliant jet black. Wait a few hours; then wash the head again with clean water. If you want to make a brown dye, add double or treble the quantity of water to the silver solution, and you can obtain any shade of color you choose. _To Prevent Gray Hair._--When the hair begins to change color, the use of the following pomade has a beneficial effect in preventing the disease extending, and has the character of even restoring the color of the hair in many instances: Lard, 4 ounces: spermaceti, 4 drachms: oxide of bismuth, 4 drachms. Melt the lard and spermaceti together, and when getting cold stir in the bismuth; to this can be added any kind of perfume, according to choice. It should be used whenever the hair requires dressing. It must not be imagined that any good effect speedily results; it is, in general, a long time taking place, the change being very gradual. _Liquid Rouge for the Complexion._--Four ounces of alcohol, two ounces of water, twenty grains of carmine; twenty grains of ammonia, six grains of oxalic acid, six grains of alum--mix. _Vinegar Rouge._--Cochineal, three drachms; carmine lake, three drachms; alcohol, six drachms; mix, and then put into one pint of vinegar, perfumed with lavender; let it stand a fortnight, then strain for use. _Pearl Powder for Complexion._--Take white bismuth, one pound; starch powder, one ounce; orris powder, one ounce. Mix and sift through lawn. Add a drop of otto of roses or neroli. _Pearl Water for the Complexion._--Castile soap, one pound; water, one gallon. Dissolve, then add alcohol, one quart; oil of rosemary and oil of lavender, each two drachms. Mix well. _Complexion Pomatum._--Mutton grease, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces; powdered French chalk, two ounces; mix. _Feuchtwanger's Tooth Paste._--Powdered myrrh, two ounces; burnt alum, one ounce; cream tartar, one ounce; cuttlefish bone, four ounces: drop lake, two ounces; honey, half a gallon; mix. _Spanish Vermilion for the Toilette._--Take an alkine solution of bastard saffron, and precipitate the color with lemon juice; mix the precipitate with a sufficient quantity of finely powdered French chalk and lemon juice, then add a little perfume. _Fine Tooth Powder._--Powdered orris root, one ounce; peruvian bark, one ounce; prepared chalk, one ounce; myrrh, one-half ounce. _To Make Brown Teeth White._--Apply carefully over the teeth, a stick dipped in strong acetic or nitric acid, and immediately wash out the mouth with cold water. To make the teeth even, if irregular, draw a piece of fine cord betwixt them. _Superior Cologne Water._--Alcohol, one gallon: add oil of cloves, lemon, nutmeg and bergamot, each one drachm; oil neroli, three and a half drachms; seven drops of oils of rosemary, lavender and cassia; half a pint of spirits of nitre; half a pint of elder-flower water. Let it stand a day or two, then take a cullender and at the bottom lay a piece of white cloth, and fill it up, one-fourth of white sand, and filter through it. _Smelling Salts._--Super carbonate of ammonia, eight parts; put it in coarse powder into a bottle, and pour out lavender oil one part. _Oil of Roses--for the Hair._--Olive oil, two pints: otto of roses, one drachm; oil of rosemary, one drachm; mix. It may be colored by steeping a little alkanet root in the oil (by heat) before scenting it. _Arnica Hair Wash._--When the hair is falling off and becoming thin, from the too frequent use of castor, Macassar oils, &c., or when premature baldness arises from illness, the arnica hair wash will be found of great service in arresting the mischief. It is thus prepared: take elder water, half a pint; sherry wine, half a pint; tincture of arnica, half an ounce; alcoholic ammonia, 1 drachm--if this last named ingredient is old, and has lost its strength, then two drachms instead of one may be employed. The whole of these are to be mixed in a lotion bottle, and applied every night to the head with a sponge. Wash the head with warm water twice a week. Soft brushes only must be used during the growth of the young hair. _Ammoniacal Pomatum for Promoting the Growth of Hair._--Take almond oil, quarter of a pound; white wax, half an ounce; clarified lard, three ounces; liquid ammonia, a quarter fluid ounce; otto of lavender, and cloves, of each one drachm. Place the oil, wax and lard in a jar, which set in boiling water; when the wax is melted, allow the grease to cool till nearly ready to set, then stir in the ammonia and the perfume, and put into small jars for use. Never use a hard brush, nor comb the hair too much. Apply the pomade at night only. _Bandoline for the Hair._--This mixture is best made a little at a time. Pour a tablespoonful of boiling water on a dozen quince seeds, and repeat when fresh is required. _Artificial Bear's Grease._--Bear's grease is imitated by a mixture of prepared veal suet and beef marrow. It may be scented at pleasure. The following are some of the best compounds sold by that name: 1. Prepared suets, 3 ounces; lard, 1 ounce; olive oil, 1 ounce; oil of cloves, 10 drops; compound tincture of benzoin, 1 drachm. Mix. 2. Lard, 1 pound; solution of carbonate of potash, 2 ounces. Mix. 3. Olive oil, 3 pints; white wax, 3 ounces; spermaceti, 1 ounce; scent with oil of roses and oil of bitter almonds. _Bears' Oil._--The best description of lard oil, properly perfumed, is far preferable to any other kind of oil. _Cosmetic Soap, for Washing the Hands._--Take a pound of castile soap, or any other nice old soap; scrape it fine; put it on the fire with a little water, stir it to a smooth paste; turn it into a bowl; or any kind of essence; beat it with a silver spoon till well mixed; thicken it with Indian meal, and keep it in small pots, closely covered; exposure to the air will harden it. _Cosmetic Wash for the Hair._--Red wine, one pound; salt, one drachm; sulphate of iron, two drachms; boil for a few minutes, add common verdigris, one drachm; leave it on the fire two minutes; withdraw it, and add two drachms of powdered nutgall. Rub the hair with the liquid, in a few minutes dry it with a warm cloth, and afterwards wash with water. _To Remove Dandruff._--Take a thimbleful of powdered refined borax, let it dissolve in a teacupful of water, first brush the head well, then wet a brush and apply it to the head. Do this every day for a week, and twice a week for a few times, and you will effectually remove the dandruff. _To Make the Complexion Fair._--Take emulsion of bitter almonds, one pint; oxymuriate of quicksilver, two and a half grains; sal ammonia, one drachm. Use moderately for pimples, freckles, tanned complexions. _Eau de Cologne--Cologne Water._--Oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, oil of lemon, oil of neroli, each one ounce; oil of cinnamon, half an ounce; spirit of rosemary, fifteen ounces; highly rectified spirits, eight pints. Let them stand fourteen days; then distil in a water bath. 2. Essential oils of bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange-peel and rosemary, each twelve drops; cardamon seeds, one drachm, rectified spirits, one pint. It improves by age. _Eau de Rosieres._--Spirits of roses, 4 pints; spirits of jessamine, one pint; spirits of orange flowers, one pint; spirits of cucumber, two and a quarter pints; spirits of celery seed, two and a quarter pints; spirits of angelica root, two and three quarter pints; tincture of benzoin, three quarters of a pint; balsam of Mecca, a few drops. _Eau de Violettes._--Macerate five ounces of fine orris root in a quart of rectified spirits, for some days, and filter. _Esprit de Bouquet._--Oil of lavender, oil of cloves and oil of bergamot, each two drachms; otto of rose, and oil of cinnamon, each, twenty drops; essence of musk, one drachm; rectified spirits, one pint. Mix. _Essence of Ambergris._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; ambergris, 24 grains. Let it stand for three days in a warm place, and filter. _Essence of Bergamot._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; bergamot-peel, four ounces: as above. _Essence of Cedrat._--Essence of bergamot, one ounce; essence of neroli, two drachms. _Essence of Cloves._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; bruised cloves, one ounce. _Essence for the Headache._--Spirits of wine, two pounds; roche alum, in fine powder, two ounces; camphor, four ounces; essence of lemon, half an ounce; strong water of ammonia, four ounces. Stop the bottle close, and shake it daily, for three or four days. _Essence of Lavender._--Essential oil of lavender, three and a half ounces; rectified spirits, two quarts; rose water, half a pint; tincture of orris, half a pint. _Essence of Lemon._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; fresh lemon-peel, four ounces. _Essence of Musk._--Take one pint proof spirit, and add two drachms musk. Let it stand a fortnight, with frequent agitation. _Essence of Neroli._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; orange-peel, cut small, three ounces; orris root in powder, one drachm; musk, two grains. _Essence for Smelling Bottles._--Oil of lavender and essence of bergamot, each one drachm; oil of orange-peel, eight drops; oil of cinnamon, four drops; oil of neroli, two drops; alcohol and strongest water of ammonia, each two ounces. _Essence of Verbena Leaf._--Take rectified spirits of wine, half a pint; otto of verbena, half a drachm; otto of bergamot, one drachm; tincture of tolu, quarter of an ounce. Mix them together, and it is ready for use. This sweet scent does not stain the handkerchief and is very economical. _Essence of Violets._--Spirits of wine, half a pint; orris root, one ounce. Other essences in the same manner. _Eye Water._--Take one pint of rose water, and add one teaspoonful each of spirits of camphor and laudanum. Mix and bottle. To be shaken and applied to the eyes as often as necessary. Perfectly harmless. _Honey Water._--Rectified spirits, eight pints; oil of cloves, oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, each half an ounce; musk, eight grains; yellow sandus shavings, four ounces; digest for eight days and add two pints each of orange flower and rose water. _Lavender Water._--Oil of lavender, four ounces; spirit, three quarts; rose water, one pint. Mix and filter. _Lisbon Water._--To rectified spirit, one gallon, add essential oils of orange-peel and lemon-peel, of each three ounces, and otto of roses, one quarter of an ounce. _Odoriferous Lavender Water._--Rectified spirit, five gallons; essential oil of lavender, twenty ounces; oil of bergamot, five ounces; essence of ambergris, half an ounce. 2. Oil of lavender, three drachms; oil of bergamot, twenty drops; nerolic, six drops; otto of roses, six drops; essence of cedrat, eight drops; essence of musk, twenty drops; rectified spirit, twenty-eight fluid ounces; distilled water, four ounces. _Queen of Hungary's Water._--Spirit of rosemary, four pints; orange flower water, one quarter of a pint; essence of neroli, four drops. FACE PAINTS. _Almond Bloom._--Boil one ounce of Brazil dust in three pints of distilled water, and strain; add six drachms of isinglass, 2 drachms of cochineal, one ounce of alum, and eight drachms of borax; boil again and strain through a fine cloth. _Fine Carmine._--(prepared from cochineal) is used alone, or deduced with starch, &c. And also the coloring matter of safflower and other vegetable colors, in the form of pink saucers, &c. _Face Powder._--Starch, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces. _Face Whites._--French chalk is one of the most innocent; finely powdered. White starch is also used. _Rouge._--Mix vermillion with enough gum tragacanth dissolved in water to form a thin paste; add a few drops of almond oil, place the mixture in rouge pots, and dry by a very gentle heat. _Turkish Rouge._--Take half pint alcohol and one ounce of alkanet; macerate ten days and pour off the liquid, which should be bottled. This is the simplest and one of the best articles of the kind. _Caution._--White lead, and all cosmetic powders containing it should never be applied to the skin, as it is the most dangerous article that could be used. _Mouth Pastiles, for Perfuming the Breath._--Extract of licorice, three ounces; oil of cloves, one and a half drachms; oil of cinnamon, fifteen drops. Mix, and divide into one-grain pills, and silver them. 2. Catechu, seven drachms; orris powder, forty grains; sugar, three ounces; oil of rosemary, (or of clove, peppermint, or cinnamon,) four drops. Mix, and roll flat on an oiled marble slab, and cut into very small lozenges. _Oil for the Hair._--A very excellent ready-made oil for the hair which answers all common purposes, is made by mixing one part brandy with three parts of sweet oil. Add any scent you prefer. _Oil of Roses._--Fine olive oil, one pint; otto of roses, sixteen drops. If required red, color with alkanet root, and strain before adding the otto. For common sale essence of bergamot or of lemon is often substituted, wholly or in part, for the expensive otto. HUNTERS' AND TRAPPERS' SECRETS. The following secret applies to _all_ animals, as every animal is attracted by the peculiar odor in a greater or less degree; but it is best adapted to land animals, such as Foxes, Minks, Sables, Martins, Wolves, Bears, Wild Cats, &c., &c. Take one half pound strained honey, one quarter drachm musk, three drachms oil of lavender, and four pounds of tallow, mix the whole thoroughly together, and make it into forty pills, or balls, and place one of these pills under the pan of each trap when setting it. The above preparation will most wonderfully attract all kinds of animals, and trappers and others who use it will be sure of success. _To Catch Foxes._--Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, each equal parts, and rub them over the trap before setting it. Set in the usual way. _To Catch Mink._--Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, and rub over the trap. Bait with fish or birds. _To Catch Muskrat._--In the female muskrat near the vagina is a small bag which holds from 30 to 40 drops. Now all the trapper has to do, is to procure a few female muskrats and squeeze the contents of a bag into a vial. Now, when in quest of muskrats, sprinkle a few drops of the liquid on the bushes over and around the trap. This will attract the male muskrats in large numbers, and if the traps are properly arranged, large numbers of them may be taken. In trapping Muskrats, steel traps should be used, and they should be set in the paths and runs of the animal, where they come upon the banks, and in every case the trap should be set under the water, and carefully concealed; and care should be taken that it has sufficient length of chain to enable the animals to reach the water after being caught, otherwise they are liable to escape by tearing or gnawing off their legs. _To Catch Beaver._--In trapping for beaver, set the trap at the edge of the water or dam, at the point where the animals pass from deep to shoal water, and always beneath the surface, and fasten it by means of a stout chain to a picket driven in the bank, or to a bush or tree. A flat stick should be made fast to the trap by a cord a few feet long, which, if the animal chanced to carry away the trap, would float on the water and point out its position. The trap should then be baited with the following preparation, called "_The Beaver Medicine_." This is prepared from a substance called castor, and is obtained from the glandulous pouches of the _male_ animal. The contents of five or six of these castor bags are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves and thirty grains of cinnamon in fine powder, and the whole well stirred together with as much whiskey as will give it the consistency of mixed mustard. This preparation must be left closely corked up, and in four or five days the odor becomes powerful; and this medicine smeared upon the bits of wood, &c., with which the traps are baited, will attract the beaver from a great distance, and wishing to make a close inspection, the animal puts its legs into the trap and is caught. The same caution in regard to length of chain should be observed for Beaver, as for Otters, Muskrats, &c., for unless they can reach the water they are liable to get out of the trap and escape. _Chinese Art of Catching Fish._--Take Cocculus Indicus, pulverize and mix with dough, then scatter it broadcast over the water, as you would sow seed. The fish will seize it with great avidity, and will instantly become so intoxicated that they will turn belly up on top of the water, by dozens, hundreds, or thousands, as the case may be. All that you now have to do, is to have a boat, or other convenience to gather them up, and as you gather put them in a tub of clean water and presently they will be as lively and healthy as ever. This means of taking fish, and the manner of doing it, has, heretofore, been known to but few. The value of such knowledge admits of no question. This manner of taking fish does not injure the flesh in the least. _Secret Art of Catching fish._--Put the oil of rhodium on the bait, when fishing with the hook, and you will always succeed. _To Catch Fish._--Take the juice of smallage or lovage, and mix with any kind of bait. As long as there remain any kind of fish within many yards of your hook, you will find yourself busy pulling them out. _To Catch Abundance of Eels, Fish, &c._--Get over the water after dark, with a light and a dead fish that has been smeared with the juice of stinking glawdin--the fish will gather round you in large quantities, and can easily be scooped up. THE FINE ARTS AND SCIENCES. _To Transfer Engravings to Plaster Casts._--Cover the plate with ink, polish its surface in the usual way, then put a wall of paper round; then pour on it some fine paste made with plaster of Paris. Jerk it to drive out the air bubbles, and let it stand one hour, when you have a fine impression. _The New and Beautiful Art of Transferring on to Glass._--Colored or plain Engravings, Photographs, Lithographs, Water Colors, Oil Colors, Crayons, Steel Plates, Newspaper Cuts, Mezzotinto, Pencil, Writing, Show Cards, Labels,--or in fact anything. _Directions._--Take glass that is perfectly clear--window glass will answer--clean it thoroughly; then varnish it, taking care to have it perfectly smooth; place it where it will be entirely free from dust; let it stand over night; then take your engraving, lay it in clear water until it is wet through (say ten or fifteen minutes), then lay it upon a newspaper, that the moisture may _dry from the surface_, and still keep the other side damp. Immediately varnish your glass the _second_ time, then place your engraving on it, pressing it down firmly, so as to exclude every particle of air; next rub the paper from the back, until it is of uniform thickness--so thin that you can see through it, then varnish it the _third_ time, and let it dry. _Materials Used for the Above Art._--Take two ounces balsam of fir, to one ounce of spirits of turpentine; apply with a camel's hair brush. _To Make Wax Flowers._--The following articles will be required to commence wax work: 2 lbs. white wax, ¼ lb. hair wire, 1 bottle carmine, 1 ultramarine blue, 1 bottle chrome yellow, 2 bottles chrome green, No. 1; 2 bottles chrome green, No. 2; 1 bottle rose pink, 1 bottle royal purple, 1 bottle scarlet powder, 1 bottle balsam fir, 2 dozen sheets white wax. This will do to begin with. Now have a clean tin dish and pour therein a quart or two of water; then put in about 1 lb. of the white wax and let it boil; when cool enough, so the bubbles will not form on top, it is ready to sheet, which is done as follows:--Take half of a window pane, 7×9, and, after having washed it clean, dip into a dish containing weak soap-suds; then dip into the wax and draw out steadily and plunge it into the suds, when the sheet will readily come off. Lay it on a cloth or clean paper to dry. Proceed in like manner until you have enough of the white; then add enough of the green powder to make a bright color, and heat and stir thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed; then proceed as for sheeting white wax. The other colors are rubbed into the leaves after they are cut out, rubbing light or heavy according to shade. For patterns you can use any natural leaf, forming the creases in wax with the thumb nail or a needle; to put the flowers together or the leaves on to the stem, hold in the hand until warm enough to stick. If the sheeted wax is to be used in Summer, put in a little balsam of fir to make it hard. If for Winter, none will be required. You can make many flowers without a teacher; but one to assist, in the commencement, would be a great help; though the most particular thing about it is to get the wax sheeted. The materials I have suggested can be procured at any drug store, and will cost from $3 to $4.50. _How to Charm Those Whom You Meet and Love._--When you desire to make any one "Love" you with whom you meet, although not personally acquainted with him, you can very readily reach him and make his acquaintance, if you observe the foregoing instructions, in addition to the following directions: Suppose you see him coming towards you in an unoccupied mood, or is recklessly, or passively walking past you, all that remains for you to do at that moment is to concentrate your thought and send it into him as before explained; and, to your astonishment, if he was passive, he will look at you, and now is your time to send a thrill to his heart, by looking him carelessly, though determinately, into his eyes, and praying with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, that he may read your thought, and receive your true Love, which God designs we should bear one another. This accomplished, and you need not and must not wait for a cold-hearted, fashionable, and popular Christian introduction; neither should you hastily run into his arms, but continue operating in this psychological manner; not losing any convenient opportunity to meet him at an appropriate place, when an unembarrassed exchange of words will open the door, to the one so magnetized. At this interview, unless prudence sanction it, do not shake hands, but let your manners and loving eyes speak with Christian charity and ease; wherever, or whenever you meet again, at the first opportunity grasp his hand, in an earnest, sincere and affectionate manner, observing at the same time, the following important directions, viz.:--As you take his bare hand in yours, press your thumb gently, though firmly, between the bones of the thumb and forefinger of his hand, and at the very instant when you press thus on the blood vessels, (which you can before ascertain to pulsate,) look him earnestly and lovingly, though not pertly or fiercely, into his eyes, and send all your heart's, mind's and soul's strength into his organization, and he will be your friend, and if you find him not to be congenial, you have him in your power, and by carefully guarding against evil influences, you can reform him to suit your own purified, Christian, and loving taste. _Mesmerism._--If you desire to mesmerise a person, who has never been put into that state, nor in the least affected, the plan is to set him in an easy posture, and request him to be calm and resigned. Take him by both hands, or else by one hand and place your other gently on his forehead. But with whatever part of his body you choose to come in contact, be sure to always touch two points, answering to the _positive_ and _negative_ forces. Having taken him by both hands, fix your eyes upon his, and, if possible, let him contentedly and steadily look you in the face. Remain in this position until his eyes close. Then place both your hands on his head, gently pass them to his shoulders, down the arms, and off at the ends of his fingers. Throw your hands outward as you return them to his head, and continue these passes till he can hear no voice but yours. He is then entirely in the mesmeric state. When a person is in the mesmeric state, whether put there by yourself or some one else, you can awake him by the upward passes: or else do it by an impression, as follows: Tell him, "I will count _three_, and at the same instant I say _three_, I will slap my hands together, and you will be wide awake and in your perfect senses. Are you ready?" If he answers in the affirmative, you will proceed to count "_one_, TWO, THREE!" The word _three_ should be spoken suddenly, and in a very loud voice, and at the same instant the palms of the hands should be smitten together. This will instantly awake him. _To Make Magic Photographs._--Take, in the first place, an ordinary print--a card-picture, for instance--on albumen paper, beneath the negative in the usual way, and, when sufficiently printed, let it be carefully washed in the dark room, so as to remove all the free nitrate of silver, etc. Now immerse it in the following solution, also in the dark room: saturated solution bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), one ounce; hydrochloric acid, one drachm. The saturated solution is previously prepared by putting into water more bichloride of mercury than it will dissolve by shaking in about twelve hours. The print will gradually be bleached in this liquid, in the ordinary meaning of the word--that is, it will disappear; but the fact is, the print is still there--its color alone is changed, a double salt having been formed of mercury and silver, which is white, as many of our readers, who have been in the habit of intensifying with a mercurial salt, are aware. As soon as the print has quite disappeared, the paper is thoroughly washed and dried in the dark room; it is also preserved between folds of orange-colored paper, in order to keep it from the action of light, for the surface is still in some measure sensitive to light. The bleaching of the print--that is, its conversion into a white salt--is effected more quickly by keeping it in motion in the mercurial solution. As we said before, the print has not been bleached in reality--the substance which originally formed it is still there, together with a new substance, a salt of mercury. But the two salts of silver and mercury may be easily brought out and made visible by several solutions, such as sulphide of ammonium, solution of hydrosulphuric acid; in fact, any of the soluble sulphides, ammonia and hyposulphite of soda. The latter salt is used in preference to the others. Small pieces of blotting-paper, therefore, of the same size as the prints, are cut out and steeped in a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda and then dried. The magic photographs are packed as before stated, between folds of orange-colored paper; the papers dipped in hyposulphite of soda are the developers, and may be packed between two sheets of common writing-paper. The development of the image is effected in the following manner: place the albumen paper which contains the whitened print on a pane of glass, print side upward; on this lay the dry piece of blotting-paper that has been previously dipped in hyposulphite of soda. Moisten the latter thoroughly, then place over it a pane of glass, and upon this a weight, to bring the two pieces of paper into intimate contact. In a very short time the picture will appear in all its original detail, and of a sepia tone. _Writing on the Arm._--The conjurer's explanation was a great lesson in "spiritualism." I next asked him to elucidate the trick of writing on the arm. On the occasion of my visit to Mr. Forster, when the raps indicated the second pellet, he required the "spirit" present to write the initials on his bare arm. Mr. Forster placed his arm under the table for a moment, then rested it in front of a lamp burning on the table, and quickly rolled up the sleeve of his coat. The skin was without stain or mark. He passed his hand over it once or twice, and the initials of the names I had written on the second pellet seemed to grow on the arm in letters of crimson. "It's a trick I do every night. It goes with the audience like steam," said the conjurer. "Very simple. Well, suppose a name. What name would you like?" "Henry Clay," I replied. Down went the conjurer's arm under the table. In a few seconds he raised it and exposed the bare forearm without mark upon it. He doubled up his fist tightly so as to bring the muscles of the arm to the surface, and rubbed the skin smartly with his open hand. The letters "H. C." soon appeared upon it in well-defined writing of a deep red color. "There you have it, gentlemen; that's the blood-red writing. Very simple. All you have to do is take a lucifer match, and write on your arm with the wrong end of it. If you moisten the skin with a little salt water first, all the better. Then wet the palm of the other hand, rub your arm with it. Send up the muscles and the blood-red writing will come out. It will fade away in less than no time. If you look under the table, you will see that I have a little piece of pointed wood. I can move my arm under that and write the letters without using the other hand. But that's a trick which wants practice." _Electrical Psychology._--The most easy and direct mode to produce electro psychological communication is to take the individual by the hand, in the same manner as though you were going to shake hands. Press your thumb on the _Ulnar nerve_, which spreads its branches to the ring and little finger, an inch above the knuckle, and in range of the ring finger. Lay the ball of the thumb flat so as to cover the minute branches of this nerve of motion and sensation. When you first take him by the hand, request him to place his eyes upon yours, and to keep them fixed, so that he may see every emotion of your mind expressed in the countenance. Continue this pressure for a half a minute or more. Then request him to close his eyes, and with your fingers gently brush downward several times over the eyelids. Throughout the whole process feel within yourself a fixed determination to close them, so as to express that determination fully in your countenance and manner. Then place your hand on the top of his head and press your thumb firmly on the organ of Individuality, bearing partially downward, and with the other thumb still pressing the ulnar nerve, tell him--_you can not open your eyes!_ Remember, that your manner, your expression of countenance, your motions, and your language must all be of the most positive character. If he succeed in opening his eyes, try it once or twice more, because impressions, whether physical or mental, continue to deepen by repetition. In case, however, that you cannot close his eyes, nor see any effect produced upon them, you should cease making any further efforts, because you have now fairly tested that his mind and body both stand in a positive relation as it regards the doctrine of impressions. If you succeed in closing the subject's eyes by the above mode, you may then request him to put his hands on his head, or in any other position you choose, and tell him, _you can not stir_ them! In case you succeed, request him to be seated, and tell him, _you can not rise!_ If you are successful in this, request him to put his hands in motion, and tell him, _you can not stop them!_ If you succeed, request him to walk the floor, and tell him, _you can not cease walking!_ And so you may continue to perform experiments involving muscular motion and paralysis of any kind that may occur to your mind, till you can completely control him, in arresting or moving all the voluntary parts of his system. _How to Make Persons at a Distance Think of You._--Let it be particularly remembered that "Faith" and concentration of thought are positively needful to accomplish aught in drawing others to you or making them think of you. If you have not the capacity or understanding how to operate an electric telegraph battery, it is no proof that an expert and competent person should fail doing so; just so in this case; if faith, meditation, or concentration of thought fail you, then will you also fail to operate upon others. First, you must have an yearning for the person you wish to make think of you; and secondly, you must learn to guess at what time of day or night he may be unemployed, passive, so that he be in a proper state to receive the thought which you dispatch to him. If he should be occupied in any way, so that his nervous forces were needed to complete his task, his "Human Battery," or thought, would not be in a recipient or passive condition, therefore your experiment would fail at that moment. Or if he were under heavy narcotics, liquors, tobacco, or gluttonous influences, he could not be reached at such moments. Or, if he were asleep, and you operated to affect a wakeful mind or thought, you would fail again at the moment. To make a person at a distance think of you, whether you are acquainted with him or not, matters not; I again repeat, find out or guess at what moment he is likely to be passive; by this I mean easy and careless: then, with the most fervent prayer, or yearning of your entire heart, mind, soul and strength, desire he may think of you; and if you wish him to think on any particular topic in relation to you, it is necessary for you to press your hands, when operating on him, on such mental faculties of your head as you wish him to exercise towards you. This demands a meagre knowledge of Phrenology. His "Feeling Nature," or "Propensities," you cannot reach through these operations, but when he once thinks of you, (if he does not know you he imagines such a being as you are,) he can easily afterwards be controlled by you, and he will feel disposed to go in the direction where you are, if circumstances permit, and he is his own master, for, remember, circumstances alter cases. I said, you cannot reach his "Feeling," but only his "Thinking Nature," truly, but after he thinks of you once, his "Feeling Nature," or propensities, may become aroused through his own organization. In conclusion on this topic, let me say, that if you wish the person simply to think of you, one operation may answer; but on the contrary, if you wish him to meet you, or go where you are, all you have to do is to persevere in a lawful and Christian manner to operate, and I assure you, in the course of all natural things, that is, if no accident or very unfavorable circumstances occur, he will make his way towards you, and when he comes within sight, or reaching distance of you, it will be easy to manage him. _How to Make Large Noses Small._--Dr. Cid, an inventive surgeon of Paris, noticed that elderly people, who for a long time have worn eyeglasses supported on the nose by a spring, are apt to have this organ long and thin. This he attributes to the compression which the spring exerts on the arteries by which the nose is nourished. The idea occurred to him that the hint could be made useful. Not long afterward, a young lady of fifteen years consulted him, to see if he could restore to moderate dimensions her nose, which was large, fleshy, and unsightly. The trait, he found, was hereditary in her family, as her mother and sister were similarly afflicted. This was discouraging, as hereditary peculiarities are particularly obstinate. But the doctor determined to try his method; he took exact measurements, and had constructed for her a "lunette pince-nez"--a spring and pad for compressing the artery--which she wore at night and whenever she could conveniently in daytime. In three weeks a consolatory diminution was evident, and in three months the young lady was quite satisfied with the improvement in her features. _Jockey Tricks._--_How to make a horse appear as though he was badly Foundered._--Take a fine wire and fasten it tight around the fetlock, between the foot and the heel, and smooth the hair over it. In twenty minutes the horse will show lameness.--Do not leave it on over nine hours.--_To make a horse lame._--Take a single hair from his tail, put it through the eye of a needle, then lift the front leg, and press the skin between the outer and the middle tendon or cord, and shove the needle through, cut off the hair each side and let the foot down; the horse will go lame in twenty minutes.--_How to make a horse stand by his food and not take it._--Grease the front teeth and the roof of the mouth with common beef tallow, and he will not eat until you wash it out; this in conjunction with the above will consummate a complete founder.--_How to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind._--Saw between the upper teeth to the gums.--_How to put a young countenance on a horse._--Make a small incision in the sunken place over the eye, insert the point of a goose quill and blow it up; close the external wound with thread and it is done.--_To cover up the heaves._--Drench the horse with one-fourth pound of common bird shot, and he will not heave until they pass through him.--_To make a horse appear as if he had the glanders._--Melt four ounces of fresh butter and pour it into his ear.--_To distinguish between distemper and glanders._--The discharge from the nose in glanders will sink in water; in distemper it floats.--_How to make a true pulling horse baulk._--Take tincture of cantharides one ounce, and corrosive sublimate one drachm; mix, and bathe his shoulder at night.--_How to nerve a horse that is lame._--Make a small incision about half way from the knee to the joint on the outside of the leg, and at the back part of the shin bone you will find a small white tendon or cord, cut it off and close the external wound with a stitch, and he will walk off on the hardest pavement and not limp a particle. _To Bore Holes in Glass._--Any hard steel tool will cut glass with great facility when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill-bow may be used, or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus easily smoothed by a flat file. Flat window glass can readily be sawed by a watch spring saw by aid of this solution. In short, the most brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as brass by the use of cutting tools kept constantly moist with camphorized oil of turpentine. _To Etch upon Glass._--Procure several thick, clear pieces of crown glass, and immerse them in melted wax, so that each may receive a complete coating, or pour over them a solution of wax in benzine. When perfectly cold draw on them, with a fine steel point, flowers, trees, houses, portraits, etc. Whatever parts of the drawing are intended to be corroded with the acid, should be perfectly free from the least particle of wax. When all these drawings are finished the pieces of glass must be immersed one by one in a square leaden box or receiver, where they are to be submitted to the action of hydrofluoric acid gas, made by acting on powdered fluor-spar by concentrated sulphuric acid. FARMERS' DEPARTMENT. _How to get New Varieties of Potatoes._--When the vines are done growing and are turned brown; the seed is ripe: then take the balls and string with a large needle and strong thread; hang them in a dry place where they will gradually dry and mature, without danger or injury from frost. In the month of April, soak the ball for several hours from the pulp; when washed and dried, they are fit for sowing in rows, in a bed well prepared in the garden; they will sprout in a fortnight; they must be attended to like other vegetables. When about two inches high, they may be thinned and transplanted into rows. As they increase in size, they should be hilled. In the autumn many of them will be of the size of a walnut, and from that to a pea. In the following spring they should be planted in hills, placing the large ones together,--they will in the second season attain their full size, and will exhibit several varieties of form, and may then be selected to suit the judgment of the cultivator. I would prefer gathering the balls from potatoes of a good kind. The first crops from seeds thus obtained will be productive, and will continue so for many years, gradually deteriorating, until they will need a renewal by the process. _To Destroy Rats._--Fill any deep smooth vessel of considerable capacity to within six inches of the top with water, cover the surface with bran, and set the vessel in a place most frequented by these pests. In attempting to get at the bran they will fall in and be drowned. Several dozen have been taken by this simple method at a time. _To Kill Rats in Barn and Rick._--Melt hog's lard in a bottle plunged in water of temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit: introduce into it half an ounce of phosphorus for every pound of lard; then add a pint of proof spirits or whiskey; cork the bottle firmly after its contents have been to 150 degrees, taking it out of the water and agitating till the phosphorus becomes uniformly diffused, making a milky looking fluid. The spirit may be poured off on the liquor cooling; and you then have a fatty compound, which, after being warmed gently, may be incorporated with a mixture of wheat flour, or sugar, flavored with oil of rhodium, or oil of anise-seed, etc., and the dough, on being made into pellets, should be laid at the rat holes; being luminous in the dark, and agreeable both to the palates and noses, it is readily eaten, and proves certainly fatal. The rats issue from their holes and seek for water to quench their burning thirst, and they commonly die near the water. _Rat Poison._--Flour, six pounds; sugar, one pound; sulphur, four pounds; phosphorus, four pounds. _To Banish and Prevent Mosquitoes from Biting._--Dilute a little of the oil of thyme with sweet oil, and dip pieces of paper in it. Hang in your room, or rub a little on the hands and face when going to bed. _To Keep Milk Sweet in the Hottest Weather._--Put a spoonful of horse-radish in a pan of milk; this will keep it sweet for several days longer than without. RECIPES FOR HORSES. _Blistering Liniment._--Powdered Spanish flies, one ounce; spirits turpentine, six ounces. Rub on the belly for pain in the bowels, or on the surface for internal inflammation. _Cathartic Powder._--To cleanse out horses in the spring, making them sleek and healthy; black sulphuret of antimony, nitre, and sulphur, each equal parts. Mix well together, and give a tablespoonful every morning. _Cough Ball for Horses._--Pulverized ipecac, three-quarters of an ounce; camphor, two ounces; squills, half an ounce. Mix with honey to form into mass, and divide into eight balls. Give one every morning. _Diuretic Balls._--Castile soap scraped fine, powdered resin, each three teaspoonfuls; powdered nitre, four teaspoonfuls; oil of juniper, one small teaspoonful; honey, a sufficient quantity to make into a ball. _To prevent Horses being Teased by Flies._--Boil three handfuls of walnut leaves in three quarts of water; sponge the horse (before going out of the stable) between and upon the ears, neck and flank. _To Prevent Botts._--Mix a little wood-ashes with their drink daily. This effectually preserves horses against the botts. _Liniment for Galled Backs of Horses._--White lead moistened with milk. When milk cannot be procured, oil may be substituted. One or two ounces will last two months or more. _Remedy for Strains in Horses._--Take whiskey, one half pint: camphor, one ounce; sharp vinegar, one pint. Mix. Bathe the parts affected. _Another._--Take opodeldoc, warm it, and rub the strained part two or three times a day. _Lotion for Blows, Bruises, Sprains, etc._--One part laudanum, two parts oil origanum, four parts water ammonia, four parts oil of turpentine, four parts camphor, thirty-two parts spirits of wine. Put them into a bottle, and shake them until mixed. _Fever Ball._--Emetic tartar and camphor, each half an ounce; nitre, two ounces. Mix with linseed meal and molasses to make eight balls. Give one twice a day. _Liniment for Sprains, Swellings, etc._--Aqua ammonia, spirits camphor, each, two ounces; oil origanum and laudanum, each, half an ounce. Mix. _Lotion for Mange._--Boil two ounces tobacco in one quart water: strain; add sulphur and soft soap, each, two ounces. _Purgative Ball._--Aloes, one ounce; cream tartar and castile soap, one quarter of an ounce. Mix with molasses to make a ball. CONFECTIONERS' DEPARTMENT. _Ginger Candy._--Boil a pound of clarified sugar until, upon taking a drop of it on a piece of stick, it will become brittle when cold. Mix and stir up with it, for a common article, about a teaspoonful of ground ginger; if for a superior article, instead of the ground ginger add half the white of an egg, beaten up previously with fine sifted loaf sugar, and twenty drops of strong essence of ginger. _Ginger Lozenges._--Dissolve in one-quarter of a pint of hot water half an ounce of gum arabic; when cold, stir it up with one and a half pounds of loaf sugar, and a spoonful of powdered ginger, or twelve drops of essence of ginger. Roll and beat the whole up into a paste; make it into a flat cake, and punch out the lozenges with a round stamp; dry them near the fire, or in an oven. _Peppermint Lozenges._--Best powdered white sugar, seven pounds; pure starch, one pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage. _Peppermint, Rose or Hoarhound Candy._--They may be made as lemon candy. Flavor with essence of rose or peppermint or finely powdered hoarhound. Pour it out in a buttered paper, placed in a square tin pan. _To Clarify Sugar for Candies._--To every pound of sugar, put a large cup of water, and put it in a brass or copper kettle, over a slow fire, for half an hour; pour into it a small quantity of isinglass and gum Arabic, dissolved together. This will cause all impurities to rise to the surface; skim it as it rises. Flavor according to taste. All kinds of sugar for candy, are boiled as above directed. When boiling loaf sugar, add a tablespoonful of rum or vinegar, to prevent its becoming too brittle whilst making. Loaf sugar when boiled, by pulling and making into small rolls, and twisting a little, will make what is called little rock, or snow. By pulling loaf sugar after it is boiled, you can make it as white as snow. _Common Twist Candy._--Boil three pounds of common sugar and one pint of water over a slow fire for half an hour, without skimming. When boiled enough take it off; rub the hands over with butter; take that which is a little cooled, and pull it as you would molasses candy, until it is white; then twist or braid it, and cut it up in strips. _Fine Peppermint Lozenges._--Best powdered white sugar, 7 pounds; pure starch, 1 pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage. _Everton Taffee._--To make this favorite and wholesome candy, take 1½ pounds of moist sugar, 3 ounces of butter, a teacup and a half of water and one lemon. Boil the sugar, butter, water, and half the rind of the lemon together, and when done--which will be known by dropping into cold water, when it should be quite crisp--let it stand aside till the boiling has ceased, and then stir in the juice of the lemon. Butter a dish, and pour it in about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The fire must be quick, and the taffee stirred all the time. _Candy Fruit._--Take 1 pound of the best loaf sugar; dip each lump into a bowl of water, and put the sugar into your preserving kettle. Boil it down and skim it until perfectly clear, and in a candying state. When sufficiently boiled, have ready the fruits you wish to preserve. Large white grapes, oranges separated into small pieces, or preserved fruits, taken out of their syrup and dried, are very nice. Dip the fruits into the prepared sugar while it is hot; put them in a cold place; they will soon become hard. _Popped Corn._--Dipped in boiling molasses and stuck together forms an excellent candy. _Molasses Candy._--Boil molasses over a moderately hot fire, stirring constantly. When you think it is done, drop a little on a plate, and if sufficiently boiled it will be hard. Add a small quantity of vinegar to render it brittle and any flavoring ingredient you prefer. Pour in buttered tin pans. If nuts are to be added strew them in the pans before pouring out the candy. _Liquorice Lozenges._--Extract of liquorice, 1 pound, powdered white sugar, 2 pounds. Mix with mucilage made with rosewater. _Fig Candy._--Take 1 pound of sugar and 1 pint of water, set over a slow fire. When done, add a few drops of vinegar and a lump of butter, and pour into pans in which split figs are laid. _Puds in Candy._--Can be made in the same manner, substituting stoned raisins for the figs. Common molasses candy is very nice with all kinds of nuts added. _Scotch Butter Candy._--Take 1 pound of sugar, 1 pint of water: dissolve and boil. When done add 1 tablespoonful of butter, and enough lemon juice and oil of lemon to flavor. _Icing for Cakes._--Beat the whites of two small eggs to a high froth; then add to them a quarter of a pound of white, ground, or powdered sugar; beat it well until it will lie in a heap; flavor with lemon or rose. This will frost the top of a common-sized cake. Heap what you suppose to be sufficient in the centre of the cake, then dip a broad-bladed knife in cold water, and spread the ice evenly over the whole surface. _Saffron Lozenges._--Finely powdered hay-saffron, 1 ounce; finely powdered sugar, 1 pound; finely powdered starch, 8 ounces. Mucilage to mix. _Chocolate Cream._--Chocolate, scraped fine, ½ ounce; thick cream, 1 pint; sugar (best), 3 ounces; heat it nearly to boiling, then remove it from the fire, and mill it well. When cold add the whites of four or five eggs; whisk rapidly and take up the froth on a sieve; serve the cream in glasses, and pile up the froth on the top of them. _Candied Lemon or Peppermint for Colds._--Boil 1½ pounds sugar in a half pint of water, till it begins to candy around the sides; put in 8 drops of essence; pour it upon buttered paper, and cut it with a knife. VALUABLE MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, FOR THE HOUSEHOLD AND EVERY DAY REQUIREMENTS. _Alum in Starch._--For starching muslins, ginghams, and calicoes, dissolve a piece of alum the size of a shellbark, for every pint of starch, and add to it. By so doing the colors will keep bright for a long time, which is very desirable when dresses must be often washed, and the cost is but a trifle. _Cider Yeast._--Take cider from sour apples before it ferments, scald, skim thoroughly, and pour, while hot, upon flour enough to make a stiff batter. When cool, add yeast of any kind, and let it rise, stirring it down as often as it tries to run over for several days, then put it in a cool place (where it will not freeze), and you will have something equal to the best hop yeast. It will keep until May without any further labor. _To Destroy Cockroaches._--The following is said to be effectual: These vermin are easily destroyed, simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the peelings in the morning, and renew them at night. _Fire Kindlers._--Take a quart of tar and three pounds of resin, melt them, bring to a cooling temperature, mix with as much sawdust, with a little charcoal added, as can be worked in; spread out while hot upon a board, when cold break up into lumps of the size of a large hickory nut, and you have, at a small expense, kindling material enough for a household for one year. They will easily ignite from a match and burn with a strong blaze, long enough to start any wood that is fit to burn. _Remedy against Moths._--An ounce of gum camphor and one of the powdered shell of red pepper are macerated in eight ounces of strong alcohol for several days, then strained. With this tincture the furs or cloths are sprinkled over, and rolled up in sheets. Instead of the pepper, bitter apple may be used. This remedy is used in Russia under the name of the Chinese tincture for moths. _Substitute for Yeast._--Boil one pound of flour, one quarter pound of brown sugar and a little salt in two gallons of water for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle and cork close, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four hours. _To make Ley._--Have a large tub or cask and bore a hole on one side for a tap, near the bottom; place several bricks near the hole and cover them with straw. Fill the barrel with strong wood ashes. Oak ashes are strongest, and those of appletree wood make the whitest soap. Pour on boiling water until it begins to run, then put in the tap and let it soak. If the ashes settle down as they are wet, fill in until full. _Tomato Wine._--Take ripe, fresh tomatoes, mash very fine, strain through a fine sieve, sweeten with good sugar, to suit the taste, set it away in an earthen or glass vessel, nearly full, cover tight, with exception of a small hole for the refuse to work off through during its fermentation. When it is done fermenting it will become pure and clear. Then bottle, and cork tight. A little salt improves its flavor; age improves it. _To Color Brown on Cotton or Woolen._--For ten pounds of cloth boil three pounds of catechu in as much water as needed to cover the goods. When dissolved, add four ounces of blue vitriol; stir it well; put in the cloth and let it remain all night; in the morning drain it thoroughly; put four ounces of bi-chromate of potash in boiling water sufficient to cover your goods; let it remain 15 minutes; wash in cold water; color in iron. _To Cleanse and Brighten Faded Brussels Carpet._--Boil some bran in water and with this wash the carpet with a flannel and brush, using fuller's earth for the worst parts. When dry, the carpet must be well beaten to get out the fuller's earth, then washed over with a weak solution of alum to brighten the colors. Some housekeepers cleanse and brighten carpets by sprinkling them first with fine salt and then sweeping them thoroughly. _To give Stoves a Fine, Brilliant Appearance._--A teaspoonful of pulverized alum mixed with stove polish will give a stove a fine luster, which will be quite permanent. _Method of Keeping Hams in Summer._--Make bags of unbleached muslin; place in the bottom a little good sweet hay; put in the ham, and then press around and over it firmly more hay; tie the bag and hang up in a dry place. Ham secured in this way will keep for years. _How to Cause Vegetables and Fruits to Grow to an Enormous Size and also to Increase the Brilliancy and Fragrancy of Flowers._--A curious discovery has recently been made public in France, in regard to the culture of vegetable and fruit trees. By watering with a solution of sulphate of iron, the most wonderful fecundity has been attained. Pear-trees and beans, which have been submitted to this treatment, have nearly doubled in the size of their productions, and a noticeable improvement has been remarked in their flavor. Dr. Becourt reports that while at the head of an establishment at Enghien, or the sulphurous springs, he had the gardens and plantations connected with it watered, during several weeks of the early Spring, with sulphurous water, and that not only the plantations prospered to a remarkable extent, but flowers acquired a peculiar brilliancy of coloring and healthy aspect which attracted universal attention. _Drying Corn._--With a sharp knife shave the corn from the ear, then scrape the cob, leaving one-half the hull clinging to the cob. Place a tin or earthen vessel two-thirds full of this "milk of corn" over a kettle of boiling water, stir frequently until dry enough to spread upon a firm cloth without sticking, when the wind and sun (away from dust and flies) will soon complete the process. To prepare for the table, put in cold water, set it where it will become hot, but not boil, for two hours; then season with salt and pepper, boil for ten minutes; add of butter and white sugar a tablespoonful of each just before ready to serve. _To Destroy Lice on Chickens._--The following will kill lice on the first application: Put six cents worth of cracked _Coculus Indicus_ berries into a bottle that will hold a half pint of alcohol: fill the bottle with alcohol, and let it stand twenty-four hours. When the hen comes off with the young chickens, take the mixture, and with a small cotton rag, wet the head of each chicken enough to have it reach through the little feathers to the skin; also, with the same rag, wet the hen under her wings. Be careful that no child, nor any one else uses it, because it a _deadly poison_. _Cracked Wheat._--For a pint of the cracked grain, have two quarts of water boiling in a smooth iron pot over a quick fire; stir in the wheat slowly; boil fast and stir constantly for the first half hour of cooking, or until it begins to thicken and "pop up;" then lift from the quick fire, and place the pot where the wheat will cook slowly for an hour longer. Keep it covered closely, stir now and then, and be careful not to let it burn at the bottom. Wheat cooked thus is much sweeter and richer than when left to soak and simmer for hours, as many think necessary. White wheat cooks the easiest. When ready to dish out, have your moulds moistened with cold water, cover lightly, and set in a cool place. Eat warm or cold with milk and sugar. _How to Have Green Pea Soup in Winter._--Sow peas thickly in pots and boxes, say six weeks before the soup is wanted. Place them in a temperature of 60° or so, close to the glass in a house or pit. Cut the plants as soon as they attain a height of from three to six inches, and rub them through a sieve. The shoots alone will make a fair soup. Mixed with dry peas, also passed through a sieve, no one could scarcely distinguish color or flavor from that of real green pea soup. There is, however, considerable difference in the flavor of pea leaves, as well as of the peas themselves. The best marrows, such as Ne Plus Ultra and Veitche's Perfection, yield the most piquant cuttings. Also the more light the plants receive the higher the flavor, plants drawn up or at all blanched, being by no means comparable with those well and strongly grown. In the spring, a few patches or rows may be sown in open quarters expressly for green cuttings. These are most perfect and full flavored when four inches high. When too long, the flavor seems to have run to wood, and the peculiar aroma of green peas is weaker. There is yet another mode of making green pea soup at any season at very short notice. Chip the peas by steeping them in water and leaving them in a warm place for a few days. Then slightly boil or stew, chips and all, and pass them through a sieve. The flavor is full and good, though such pea soup lacks color. It is astonishing how much the mere vegetation of seeds develops their more active and predominant flavor or qualities; a fact that might often be turned to useful account in the kitchen in the flavoring of soups or dishes, with turnips, celery, parsley, etc. _Composition for Restoring Scorched Linen._--Boil, to a good consistency, in half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of fuller's earth, an ounce of hen's dung, half an ounce of cake soap, and the juice of two onions. Spread this composition over the whole of the damaged part; and if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads actually consumed, after suffering it to dry on, and letting it receive a subsequent good washing or two, the place will appear full as white and perfect as any other part of the linen. _To Remove Indelible Ink Stains._--Soak the stained spot in strong salt water, then wash it with ammonia. Salt changes the nitrate of silver into chloride of silver, and ammonia dissolves the chloride. _To Cook Cauliflower._--Choose those that are close and white and of middle size, trim off the outside leaves, cut the stalk off flat at the bottom, let them lie in salt and water an hour before you boil them. Put them into boiling water with a handful of salt in it, skim it well and let it boil slowly till done. Fifteen minutes will suffice for a small one, and twenty will be long enough for a large one. If it is boiled a minute or two after it is done the flavor will be impaired. _To Pickle String Beans._--Place them in a pan with alternate layers of salt and leave them thus for 24 hours. Drain them and place them in a jar with allspice, cloves, pepper and a little salt. Boil enough vinegar to cover them, pour over them and let them stand till the next day, boil the vinegar the second time, and pour it on again. The next day boil the vinegar for the last time, pour it over the beans, and when quite cold, cover the jar tightly and set in a cool closet. _How to Cause a Baby to Thrive and Grow._--Try the milk first drawn from a cow that is fresh, add one-quarter water, and a little sugar. If the milk constipates, sweeten it with molasses, or mix with it a small quantity of magnesia. Abjure soothing syrups, and for colic give catnip or smellage tea. Give the baby a tepid bath at night as well as in the morning, rubbing him well with the hand. After the bath, let him feed and then sleep. We find open air the best of tonics for babies. Ours takes his naps out of doors in the shade during the warm weather, and his cheeks are two roses. _To Can Gooseberries without Breaking them._--Fill the cans with berries, and partly cover with water, set the jars into a vessel of water, and raise the temperature to the boiling point. Boil eight minutes, remove from the kettle, cover with boiling water, and seal immediately. If sugar is used, let it be pure white, and allow eight ounces to a quart of berries. Make into a syrup, and use in the cans instead of water. The glass cans with glass tops, a rubber and a screw ring, we have found the simplest and most perfect of the many kinds offered for sale in the market. _Ready Mode of Mending Cracks in Stoves, Pipes and Iron Ovens._--When a crack is discovered in a stove, through which the fire or smoke penetrates, the aperture may be completely closed in a moment with a composition consisting of wood ashes and common salt made up into paste with a little water, and plastered over the crack. The good effect is equally certain, whether the stove, etc., be cold or hot. _To Keep Milk from Turning Sour._--Add a little sub-carbonate of soda, or of potash. This by combining with, and neutralizing the acetic acid formed, has the desired effect, and keeps the milk from turning sooner than it otherwise would. The addition is perfectly harmless, and does not injure the taste. _Strawberry Vinegar._--Put four pounds of very ripe strawberries, nicely dressed, into three quarts of the best vinegar, and let them stand three or four days; then drain the vinegar through a jelly-bag, and pour it on the same quantity of fruit. Repeat the process in three days for a third time. Finally, to each pound of the liquor thus obtained, add one pound of fine sugar. Bottle, and let it stand covered, but not tightly corked, one week; then cork it tight, and set it in a cool, _dry_ place, where it will not freeze. Raspberry vinegar is made the same way. _Cider Vinegar._--After cider has become too sour for use, set it in a warm place, put to it occasionally the rinsings of the sugar basin or molasses jug, and any remains of ale or cold tea; let it remain with the bung open, and you will soon have the best of vinegar. _To Give Luster to Silver._--Dissolve a quantity of alum in water, so as to make a pretty strong brine, and skim it carefully; then add some soap to it, and dip a linen rag in it, and rub over the silver. _To Make Water-Proof Porous Cloth._--Close water-proof cloth fabrics, such as glazed oil-cloth, India-rubber, and gutta-percha cloth are completely water-proof, but do not permit perspiration and the exhaled gases from the skin to pass through them, because they are air-tight as well as water-tight. Persons who wear air-tight garments soon become faint, if they are undergoing severe exercise, such as that to which soldiers are exposed when on march. A porous, water-proof cloth, therefore, is the best for outer garments during wet weather, for those whose duties or labor causes them to perspire freely. The best way for preparing such cloth is by the following process: Take 2¼ pounds of alum and dissolve this in 10 gallons of boiling water; then in a separate vessel dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 gallons of water, and mix the two solutions. The cloth is now well handled in this liquid, until every part of it is penetrated; then it is squeezed and dried in the air, or in a warm apartment, then washed in cold water and dried again, when it is fit for use. If necessary, the cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before being washed. The liquor appears curdled, when the alum and lead solutions are mixed together. This is the result of double decomposition, the sulphate of lead, which is an insoluble salt, being formed. The sulphate of lead is taken up in the pores of the cloth, and it is unaffected by rains or moisture, and yet it does not render the cloth air-tight. Such cloth is also partially non-inflammable. A solution of alum itself will render cloth, prepared as described, partially water-proof, but it is not so good as the sulphate of lead. Such cloth--cotton or woolen--sheds rain like the feathers on the back of a duck. _To Cleanse Carpet._--1 teaspoonful liquid ammonia in one gallon warm water, will often restore the color of carpets, even if produced by acid or alkali. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with the carpet down, and a few drops are visible, this will remove it. Or, after the carpet is well beaten and brushed, scour with ox gall, which will not only extract grease but freshen the colors--1 pint of gall in 3 gallons of warm water, will do a large carpet. Table floor-cloths may be thus washed. The suds left from a wash where ammonia is used, even if almost cold, cleanses these floor-cloths well. _To Keep Hams._--After the meat has been well cured by pickle and smoke, take some clean ashes from bits of coal; moisten them with a little water so that they will form a paste, or else just wet the hams a little, and rub on the dry ashes. Rubbed in thoroughly they serve as a capital insect protector, and the hams can be hung up in the smoke-house or wood-chamber without any danger of molestation. _A Cold Cement for Mending Earthenware_, says a recent English work, reckoned a great secret among workmen, is made by grating a pound of old cheese, with a bread grater, into a quart of milk, in which it must be left for a period of fourteen hours. It should be stirred quite often. A pound of unslaked lime, finely pulverized in a mortar, is then added, and the whole is thoroughly mixed by beating. This done, the whites of 25 eggs are incorporated with the rest, and the whole is ready for use. There is another cement for the same purpose which is used hot. It is made of resin, beeswax, brick-dust, and chalk boiled together. The substances to be cemented must be heated, and when the surfaces are coated with cement, they must be rubbed hard upon each other, as in making a glue-joint with wood. _How to Make Cucumber Vines Bear Five Crops._--When a cucumber is taken from the vine let it be cut with a knife, leaving about the eighth of an inch of the cucumber on the stem, then slit the stem with a knife from the end to the vine, leaving a small portion of the cucumber on each division, and on each separate slit there will be a new cucumber as large as the first. _White Cement._--Take white (fish) glue, 1 lb. 10 oz.; dry white lead, 6 oz.; soft water, 3 pts.; alcohol, 1 pt. Dissolve the glue by putting it in a tin kettle or dish, containing the water, and set this dish in a kettle of water, to prevent the glue from being burned; when the glue is all dissolved, put in the lead and stir and boil until it is thoroughly mixed; remove from the fire, and when cool enough to bottle, add the alcohol, and bottle while it is yet warm, keeping it corked. This last recipe has been sold about the country for from twenty-five cents to five dollars, and one man gave a horse for it. _Bruises on Furniture._--Wet the part in warm water; double a piece of brown paper five or six times, soak in the warm water, and lay it on the place; apply on that a warm, but not hot, flatiron till the moisture is evaporated. If the bruise be not gone repeat the process. After two or three applications the dent will be raised to the surface. If the bruise be small, merely soak it with warm water, and hold a red-hot iron near the surface, keeping the surface continually wet--the bruise will soon disappear. _To Prevent Iron Rust._--Kerosene applied to stoves or farming implements, during summer, will prevent their rusting. _To Color Sheep Skins._--Unslaked lime and litharge equal parts, mixed to a thin paste with water, will color buff--several coats will make it a dark brown; by adding a little ammonia and nitrate of silver a fine black is produced. Terra japonica will impart a "tan color" to wool, and the red shade is deepened by sponging with a solution of lime and water, using a strong solution of alum water to "set" the colors; 1 part crystallized nitrate silver, 8 parts carbonate ammonia, and 1½ parts of soft water dyes brown; every additional coat darkens the color until a black is obtained. _Remedy for Bums._--Take one teacup of lard and the whites of two eggs; work together as much as it can be, then spread on cloths and apply. Change as often as necessary. _How Summer Suits should be Washed._--Summer suits are nearly all made of white or buff linen, pique, cambric, or muslin, and the art of preserving the new appearance after washing is a matter of the greatest importance. Common washerwomen spoil everything with soda, and nothing is more frequent than to see the delicate tints of lawns and percales turned into dark blotches and muddy streaks by the ignorance and vandalism of a laundress. It is worth while for ladies to pay attention to this, and insist upon having their summer dresses washed according to the directions which they should be prepared to give their laundresses themselves. In the first place, the water should be tepid, the soap should not be allowed to touch the fabric; it should be washed and rinsed quick, turned upon the wrong side, and hung in the shade to dry, and when starched (in thin boiled but not boiling starch) should be folded in sheets or towels, and ironed upon the wrong side as soon as possible. But linen should be washed in water in which hay or a quart bag of bran has been boiled. This last will be found to answer for starch as well, and is excellent for print dresses of all kinds, but a handful of salt is very useful also to set the colors of light cambrics and dotted lawns; and a little ox gall will not only set but brighten yellow and purple tints, and has a good effect upon green. _How to Fasten Rubber to Wood and Metal._--As rubber plates and rings are now-a-days used almost exclusively for making connections between steam and other pipes and apparatus, much annoyance is often experienced by the impossibility or imperfection of an air-tight connection. This is obviated entirely by employing a cement which fastens alike well to the rubber and to the metal or wood. Such cement is prepared by a solution of shellac in ammonia. This is best made by soaking pulverized gum shellac in ten times its weight of strong ammonia, when a slimy mass is obtained, which in three to four weeks will become liquid without the use of hot water. This softens the rubber, and becomes, after volatilization of the ammonia, hard and impermeable to gases and fluids. _Renewing Maroon Colors on Wool._--Wash the goods in very weak lye; then rinse thoroughly in clear water; thus you have a beautiful, _even_ color, although your goods may have been much faded and stained. Though the color thus obtained may not be the exact shade as when new, it is, however, a very pretty one. The above will not answer for other than all woolen goods of a maroon color. _To make Waterproof Cloth out of thick Ducking._--The following French recipe is given: Take two pounds four ounces of alum, and dissolve it in ten gallons of water. In like manner dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in a similar quantity of water, and mix the two together. They form a precipitate of the sulphate of lead. The clear liquor is now withdrawn, and the cloth immersed one hour in the solution, when it is taken out and dried in the shade, washed in clean water and dried again. _How to Stop a Pinhole in Lead Pipe._--Take a ten-penny nail, place the square end upon the hole, and hit it two or three slight blows with a hammer, and the orifice is closed as tight as though you had employed a plumber to do it at a cost of a dollar or more. _To Build a Chimney that Will Not Smoke._--The _Scientific American_ gives the following hints to those who would "build a chimney which will not smoke":--The chief point is to make the throat not less than four inches broad and twelve long; then the chimney should be abruptly enlarged to double the size, and so continued for one foot or more; then it may be gradually tapered off as desired. But the inside of the chimney, throughout its whole length to the top, should be plastered very smooth with good mortar, which will harden with age. The area of a chimney should be at least half a square foot, and no flues less than sixty square inches. The best shape for a chimney is circular, or many-sided, as giving less friction, (brick is the best material, as it is a non-conductor,) and the higher above the roof the better. _To Prevent Turners' Wood Splitting._--Small pieces of valuable wood, such kinds as are used for turning, etc., are very liable to split readily--that is, outward from the centre. To prevent this, soak the pieces, when first cut, in _cold_ water for 24 hours, then boil in hot water for two or three hours, and afterward dry slowly and under cover. This will be found useful in making handsome mantel, toilet, and other articles from sumac, cherry, and other woods that never grow very large. _To Remove Dry Paint on Windows._--The most economical way to remove dry paint from the panes is to make a small swab having a handle some eight inches long, dip it in a little diluted oxalic acid, and rub off the paint with a swab. _Everlasting Fence Posts._--I discovered many years ago that wood could be made to last longer than iron in the ground, but thought the process so simple and inexpensive that it was not worth while making any stir about it. I would as soon have poplar, basswood, or quaking ash as any other kind of timber for fence posts. I have taken out basswood posts after having been set seven years, which were as sound when taken out as when they were first put in the ground. Time and weather seemed to have no effect on them. The posts can be prepared for less than two cents a piece. This is the recipe: Take boiled linseed oil and stir in it pulverized charcoal to the consistency of paint. Put a coat of this over the timber, and there is not a man that will live to see it rotten. _How to Test the Richness of Milk._--Procure any long glass vessel--a cologne bottle or long phial. Take a narrow strip of paper, just the length from the neck to the bottom of the phial, and mark it off with one hundred lines at equal distances; or into fifty lines and count each as two, and paste it upon the phial, so as to divide its length into a hundred equal parts. Fill it to the highest mark with milk fresh from the cow, and allow it to stand in a perpendicular position twenty-four hours. The number of spaces occupied by the cream will give you its exact percentage in the milk without any guess work. _To Remove Stains._--The stains of ink on cloth, paper, or wood may be removed by almost all acids: but those acids are to be preferred which are least likely to injure the texture of the stained substance. The muriatic acid, diluted with five or six times its weight of water, may be applied to the spot, and after a minute or two may be washed off, repeating the application as often as may be necessary. But the vegetable acids are attended with less risk, and are equally effectual. A solution of the oxalic, citric (acid of lemons), or tartareous acids in water may be applied to the most delicate fabrics, without any danger of injuring them; and the same solutions will discharge writing but not printing ink. Hence they may be employed in cleaning books which have been defaced by writing on the margin, without impairing the text. Lemon-juice and the juice of sorrels will also remove ink stains, but not so easily as the concrete acid of lemons or citric acid. _To Prevent Snow-water or Rain from Penetrating the Soles of Shoes or Boots in Winter._--This simple and effectual remedy is nothing more than a little beeswax and mutton suet, warmed in a pipkin until in a liquid state. Then rub some of it lightly over the edges of the sole where the stitches are, which will repel the wet, and not in the least prevent the blacking from having the usual effect. _An Easy Method of Preventing Moths in Furs or Woolens._--Sprinkle the furs or woolen stuffs, as well as the drawers or boxes in which they are kept, with spirits of turpentine; the unpleasant scent of which will speedily evaporate on exposure of the stuffs to the air. Some persons place sheets of paper, moistened with spirits of turpentine, over, under, or between pieces of cloth, etc., and find it a very effectual mode. _To make Sea-water fit for Washing Linen at Sea._--Soda put into sea-water renders it turbid; the lime and magnesia fall to the bottom. To make sea-water fit for washing linen at sea, as much soda must be put in it, as not only to effect a complete precipitation of these earths, but to render the sea-water sufficiently laxivial or alkaline. Soda should always be taken to sea for this purpose. _To Destroy Insects._--When bugs have obtained a lodgment in walls or timber, the surest mode of overcoming the nuisance is to putty up every hole that is moderately large, and oil-paint the whole wall or timber. In bed-furniture, a mixture of soft soap, with snuff or arsenic, is useful to fill up the holes where the bolts or fastenings are fixed, etc. French polish may be applied to smoother parts of the wood. _Poultice for Burns and Frozen Flesh._--Indian-meal poultices, covered with young hyson tea, moistened with hot water, and laid over burns or frozen parts, as hot as can be borne, will relieve the pain in five minutes; and blisters, if they have not, will not arise. One poultice is usually sufficient. _Cracked Nipples._--Glycerine and tannin, equal weights, rubbed together into an ointment, is very highly recommended, as is also mutton tallow and glycerine. _To take the Impression of any Butterfly in all its Colors._--Having taken a butterfly, kill it without spoiling its wings, which contrive to spread out as regularly as possible in a flying position. Then, with a small brush or pencil, take a piece of white paper; wash part of it with gum-water, a little thicker than ordinary, so that it may easily dry. Afterwards, laying your butterfly on the paper, cut off the body close to the wings, and, throwing it away, lay the paper on a smooth board with the fly upwards; and, laying another paper over that, put the whole preparation into a screw-press, and screw down very hard, letting it remain under that pressure for half an hour. Afterwards take off the wings of the butterfly, and you will find a perfect impression of them, with all their various colors, marked distinctly, remaining on the paper. When this is done, draw between the wings of your impression the body of the butterfly, and color it after the insect itself. _To take the Stains of Grease from Woolen or Silk._--Three ounces of spirits of wine, three ounces of French chalk powdered, and five ounces of pipe-clay. Mix the above ingredients, and make them up in rolls about the length of a finger, and you will find a never-failing remedy for removing grease from woolen or silken goods. N. B.--It is applied by rubbing on the spot either dry or wet, and afterwards brushing the place. _Easy and Safe Method of Discharging Grease from Woolen Cloths._--Fuller's earth or tobacco pipe-clay, being put wet on an oil-spot, absorbs the oil as the water evaporates, and leaves the vegetable or animal fibres of the cloth clean on being beaten or brushed out. When the spot is occasioned by tallow or wax, it is necessary to heat the part cautiously by an iron or the fire while the cloth is drying. In some kinds of goods, blotting-paper, bran, or raw starch, may be used with advantage. _To take out Spots of Ink._--As soon as the accident happens, wet the place with juice of sorrel or lemon, or with vinegar, and the best hard white soap. _To take Iron-moulds out of Linen._--Hold the iron-mould on the cover of a tankard of boiling water, and rub on the spot a little juice of sorrel and a little salt; and when the cloth has thoroughly imbibed the juice, wash it in lye. _To take out Spots on Silk._--Rub the spots with spirits of turpentine; this spirit exhaling, carries off with it the oil that causes the spot. _To take Wax out of Velvet of all Colors except Crimson._--Take a crumby wheaten loaf, cut it in two, toast it before the fire, and, while very hot, apply it to the part spotted with wax. Then apply another piece of toasted bread hot as before, and continue this application until the wax is entirely taken out. _To Bleach Straw._--Straw is bleached by the vapors of sulphur, or a solution of oxalic acid or chloride of lime. It may be dyed with any liquid color. _Windows, to Crystallize._--Dissolve epsom-salts in hot ale, or solution of gum arabic, wash it over the window, and let it dry. If you wish to remove any, to form a border or centre-piece, do it with a wet cloth. _Wax for Bottling._--Rosin, 13 parts; wax, 1 part; melt and add any color. Used to render corks and bungs air-tight by _melting the wax_ over them. _Whitewash._--Slack half a bushel of lime with boiling water, and cover the vessel to retain the steam. Strain the liquor, and add one peck of salt previously dissolved in warm water, 3 lbs. of rice boiled and ground to a paste, Spanish whiting, 8 oz.; glue, 1 lb.; mix and add hot water, 5 gallons; let it stand a few days, and apply hot. It makes a brilliant wash for inside or outside works. _To Purify Water for Drinking._--Filter river-water through a sponge, more or less compressed, instead of stone or sand, by which the water is not only rendered more clean, but wholesome; for sand is insensibly dissolved by the water, so that in four or five years it will have lost a fifth part of its weight. Powder of charcoal should be added to the sponge when the water is foul or fetid. Those who examine the large quantity of terrene matter on the inside of tea-kettles, will be convinced all water should be boiled before drunk, if they wish to avoid being afflicted with gravel or stone, etc. _To Purify the Muddy Waters of Rivers or Pits._--Make a number of holes in the bottom of a deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and above this some clean sand; sink this tub in the river or pit, so that only a few inches of the tub will be above the surface of the water; the river or pit water will filter through the sand, and rise clear through it to the level of the water on the outside, and will be pure and limpid. _Method of Making Putrid Water Sweet in a Night's Time._--Four large spoonfuls of unslacked lime, put into a puncheon of ninety gallons of putrid water at sea, will, in one night, make it as clear and sweet as the best spring-water just drawn; but, unless the water is afterwards ventilated sufficiently to carbonize the lime, it will be a lime-water. Three ounces of pure unslacked lime should saturate 90 gallons of water. _To Keep Apples from Freezing._--Apples form an article of chief necessity in almost every family; therefore, great care is taken to protect them from frost; it being well known that they, if left unprotected, are destroyed by the first frost which occurs. They may be kept in the attic with impunity throughout the winter, by simply covering them over with a linen cloth; be sure you have _linen_, for woolen or other cloth is of _no avail_. _To Preserve Grapes._--Take a cask or barrel which will hold water, and put into it, first a layer of bran, dried in an oven, or of ashes well dried and sifted; upon this place a layer of grapes well cleaned, and gathered in the afternoon of a dry day, before they are perfectly ripe; proceed thus with alternate layers of bran or ashes and grapes, till the barrel is full, taking care that the grapes do not touch each other, and to let the last layer be of bran or ashes; then close the barrel so that the air may not penetrate, which is an essential point. Grapes thus packed will keep for nine or even twelve months. To restore them to freshness, cut the end of the stalk of each bunch of grapes, and put it into red wine, as you would flowers into water. White grapes should be put into white wine. _To Increase the Laying of Eggs._--The best method is to mix with their food, every other day, about a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper to each dozen fowl. Whilst upon this subject, it would be well to say, that if your hens lay soft eggs, or eggs without shells, you should put plenty of old plaster, egg-shells, or even oyster-shells broken up, where they can get at it. _To Preserve Meats._--Beef to pickle for long keeping. First, thoroughly rub salt into it, and let it remain in bulk for twenty-four hours to draw off the blood. Second, take it up, letting it drain, and pack as desired. Third, have ready a pickle prepared as follows: for every 100 pounds of beef use 7 pounds salt; saltpetre and cayenne pepper each, 1 ounce; molasses, 1 quart; and soft water, 8 gallons; boil and skim well, and when cold pour over the beef. Another method is to use 5 pounds salt, 1 pound brown sugar, and ¼ oz. of saltpetre, to each 100 pounds; dissolve the above in sufficient water to cover the meat, and in two weeks drain all off, and make more same as first. It will then keep through the season. To boil for eating, put into boiling water; for soups, into cold water. _Flies, to Destroy._--Boil some quassia-chips in a little water, sweeten with syrup or molasses, and place it in saucers. It is destructive to flies, but not to children. _Walnuts, to Pickle._--Take 100 young walnuts, lay them in salt and water for two or three days, changing the water every day. (If required to be soon ready for use, pierce each walnut with a larding pin that the pickle may penetrate). Wipe them with a soft cloth, and lay them on a folded cloth for some hours. Then put them in a jar, and pour on them sufficient of the above spiced vinegar, hot, to cover them. Or they may be allowed to simmer gently in strong vinegar, then put into a jar with a handful of mustard-seed, 1 oz. of ginger, ¼ oz. mace, 1 oz. allspice, 2 heads of garlic, and 2 split nutmegs; and pour on them sufficient boiling vinegar to cover them. Some prefer the walnuts to be gently simmered with the brine, then laid on a cloth for a day or two till they turn black, put into a jar, and hot spiced vinegar poured on them. _To Pickle Cucumbers and Gherkins._--Small cucumbers, but not too young, are wiped clean with a dry cloth, put into a jar, and boiling vinegar, with a handful of salt, poured on them. Boil up the vinegar every three days, and pour it on them, till they become green: then add ginger and pepper, and tie them up close for use, or cover them with salt and water (as above) in a stone jar; cover them, and set them on the hearth before the fire for two or three days, till they turn yellow; then put away the water, and cover them with hot vinegar, and set them near the fire, and keep them hot for eight or ten days, till they become green; then pour off the vinegar, cover them with hot spiced vinegar, and cover them close. _Mushroom Ketchup._--Pickled mushrooms, 4 lbs.: salt, 2 lbs. Sprinkle it on the mushrooms; and, when they liquefy, remove the juice; acid pimento, 6 oz.; cloves, 1 oz.; boil gently and strain: the remaining liquor, if any, may be treated with pepper, mace and ginger for a second quality. _Tomato Ketchup._--Proceed as for mushroom ketchup, and add a little Chili pepper vinegar. _To Take Fac-Similes of Signatures._--Write your name on a piece of paper, and while the ink is wet sprinkle over it some finely-powdered gum arabic, then make a rim round it, and pour on it some fusible alloy, in a liquid state. Impressions may be taken from the plates formed in this way, by means of printing-ink and the copperplate-press. _To Copy Letters without a Press._--A black copying ink, which flows easily from the pen, and will enable any one to obtain very sharp copies without the aid of a press, can be prepared in the following manner: One ounce of coarsely broken extract of logwood and two drachms of crystallized carbonate of soda are placed in a porcelain capsule with eight ounces of distilled water, and heated until the solution is of a deep red color, and all the extract is dissolved. The capsule is then taken from the fire. Stir well into the mixture one ounce of glycerine of specific gravity of 1.25, fifteen grains of neutral chromate of potash, dissolved in a little water, and two drachms of finely pulverized gum arabic, which may be previously dissolved in a little hot water so as to produce a mucilaginous solution. The ink is now complete and ready for use. In well closed bottles it may be kept for a long time without getting mouldy, and, however old it may be, will allow copies of writing to be taken without the aid of a press. It does not attack steel pens. This ink cannot be used with a copying press. Its impression is taken on thin moistened copying paper, at the back of which is placed a sheet of writing paper. _To Obtain Fresh Blown Flowers in Winter._--Choose some of the most perfect buds of the flowers you would preserve, such as are latest in blowing and ready to open; cut them off with a pair of scissors, leaving to each, if possible, a piece of stem about three inches long; cover the end of the stem immediately with sealing wax, and when the buds are a little shrunk and wrinkled, wrap each of them up separately in a piece of paper, perfectly clean and dry, and lock them up in a dry box or drawer; and they will keep without corrupting. In winter, or at any time when you would have the flowers blow, take the buds at night and cut off the end of the stem sealed with wax, and put the buds into water wherein a little nitre or salt has been diffused, and the next day you will have the pleasure of seeing the buds open and expanding themselves, and the flowers display their most lively colors, and breathe their agreeable odors. _Cheap Ice Cream._--Sweet milk, two quarts. Scald the milk, pour over four eggs, and stir well. Cool off and add sugar and essence of lemon or vanilla. Pour into a deep, narrow tin pail. Cover, and set into a wooden pail. Fill up the space between the two vessels with pounded ice and salt. In half an hour it will be fit for use. Keep thus in the ice till wanted to use. _To Take Impressions from Coins._--Make a thick solution of isinglass in water, and lay it hot on the metal; let it remain for twelve hours, then remove it, breathe on it and apply gold or silver-leaf on the wrong side. Any color may be given to the isinglass instead of gold or silver, by simple mixture. _To Print Pictures from the Print Itself._--The page or print is soaked in a solution first of potass, and then of tartaric acid. This produces a perfect diffusion of crystals of bitartrate of potass through the texture of the unprinted part of the paper. As this salt resists oil, the ink roller may now be passed over the surface, without transferring any of its contents, except to the printed paper. _To Preserve Steel Knives from Rust._--Never wrap them in woolen cloths. When they are not to be used for some time, have them made bright and perfectly dry; then take a soft rag, and rub each blade with dry wood ashes.--Wrap them closely in thick brown paper, and lay them in a drawer or dry closet. A set of elegant knives, used only on great occasions, were kept in this way for over a hundred years without a spot of rust. _To Plate and Gild without a Battery._--A very useful solution of silver or gold for plating or gilding without the aid of a battery may be made as follows: Take say, 1 ounce of nitrate of silver, dissolved in one quart of distilled or rain water. When thoroughly dissolved, throw in a few crystals of hyposulphite of soda, which will at first form a brown precipitate, but which eventually becomes redissolved if sufficient hyposulphite has been employed. A slight excess of this salt must, however, be added. The solution thus formed may be used for coating small articles of steel, brass, or German silver, by simply dipping a sponge in the solution and rubbing it over the surface of the article to be coated. I have succeeded in coating steel very satisfactorily by this means, and have found the silver so firmly attached to the steel (when the solution has been carefully made) that it has been removed with considerable difficulty. A solution of gold may be made in the same way, and applied as described. A concentrated solution either of gold or silver thus made, may be used for coating parts of articles which have stripped or blistered, by applying it with a camel hair pencil to the part, and touching the spot at the same time with a thin clean strip of zinc. _To make a Clock for 25 Cents._--First you get a sheet of stout millboard, such as is used by bookbinders. This will cost you from six to ten cents. Get size twenty-seven by twenty-two inches. Draw two lines the longest way equally distant from the edge and each other. This divides it into three parts of the same size. Now from the top measure off ten inches for the face, and then with your knife partly cut the board through the rest of the lines below the face, and bend them back and glue together by putting a strip of cloth over the edges where they meet. Mark out the face of your clock, and make a hole for the hands. Go to your tinman, and he will make you a funnel-shaped spout, which you must glue on the bottom. Then make a spool like a cone--running to a point on one end--and eight inches across on the other. Wind a string on this cone, commencing at the large end, and winding down just as you would a top. Tie to the end a conical ink bottle filled with sand. Make some wooden hands, and put them on the face. Then fill your box, now made, with sand, and when it is hung up the sand will run out slowly at the bottom, and as the sand goes out the weights lower, and turn the wheel, which makes the hands go around. It will depend upon the size of the hole at the bottom as to how fast it runs. You can paint it, and make it quite an ornament and curiosity in your house. TRICKS AND DIVERSIONS WITH CARDS. By Professor HARTZ. An entirely new work, and contains all the tricks and deceptions with Cards as practiced by this celebrated Prestidigitator. To lovers of the marvelous this book will be a perfect god-send. They will find popularly explained, simplified, and adapted for Home Amusements, all Tricks performed by Sleight of Hand, by Mental Calculation, by Memory, by Arrangements of the Cards, by the aid of confederates, and by Mechanical Contrivances. It explains fully, How to make the pass, giving a diagram showing the position of the fingers; How to force a card; How to smuggle a card; To slip a card; To carry away a card; and place a card. There are all the requirements necessary for a first class Prestidigitator. It also contains over one hundred marvelous and ingenious tricks as practiced by this wonderful Professor, and which justly entitled him to be called the "King of Cards." To make this valuable book even more complete, there has been added a complete Exposee of all the Card Tricks used by Professional Gamblers to cheat their unwary victims. It is also illustrated with many handsome engravings. =Mailed for 30 cents.= THE AMERICAN VENTRILOQUIST. Contains simple and full directions by which any one may acquire this amusing art. Also, numerous examples for practice, and instructions for making the Magic Whistle, for imitating Birds, Animals, and peculiar sounds of all kinds. Any boy who wishes to obtain an art by which he can develope a wonderful amount of astonishment, mystery and fun, should learn _Ventriloquism_, as he easily can, by following the simple secret as given in this book. =Mailed for 15 cents.= THE GREAT NORTHERN WIZARD'S HAND-BOOK OF MAGIC. A Book of Wonders and Mysteries Unveiled. It shows how to perform the most wonderful Tricks, Experiments and Feats. It exhibits the Wonders of Natural Magic; Wonders of Chemistry; Wonders of Electricity; Wonders of Coin Handling; Wonders of White Magic; Wonders of Galvanism; Wonders of Magnetism; Wonders of Legerdemain; Wonders of Sleight of Hand; Wonders of Jugglery; Wonders of Mechanics; and Wonders of Figures. Also, the Art of Making Fireworks, and many other wonderful Tricks, Experiments and Feats. =Mailed for 20 Cents.= THE GUIDE TO POLITENESS: A HAND-BOOK OF GOOD MANNERS. This book treats on the Modern Customs of good Society in both Public and Private Life. It is culled from the very best authorities on Social Intercourse, and shows you how to act in any emergency, and how to enter, without embarrassment, any society or gathering. Contents:--Dress; Introductions; Cards; Shaking Hands; Letters and Presents; Conversation; Morning Calls; Dinners; Carving; Balls; Evening Parties; Riding and Driving; The Promenade; Boating; Staying with Friends; and many useful and valuable hints. =Mailed for 20 Cents.= The Lovers' Hand-Book Series. =No. 1. LOVE-MAKING SECRETS, AND THE ART OF BEING POPULAR WITH THE LADIES.= This book will gladden the hearts of thousands of both sexes, and will cause many hearts and hands to be united in wedlock. No Maiden's heart can resist, if the instructions are followed in the manner here indicated. Full and practical directions are given How to Woo and Win the most beautiful, most reserved, most romantic, most religious, most bashful, most poetic, most perverse, or, most refined girl that ever attempted to bewilder an unfortunate man. It tells you, also, How to Court an Actress, Old Maid, Heiress, or Widow; When Men and Women are adapted for Marriage; How to choose a Wife, and live happily in the Nuptial state, and gives important counsels to the newly married pair. =Mailed for 20 cents.= =No. 2. CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE TO A LOVER.= This book treats on the _qualifications and essential characteristics necessary in a good Wife_, and is a complete guide for the selection of a partner. The reader will find many things, both new and strange, regarding Love. Many prudish persons may think the _Mysteries of Sparking_ too dark and solemn a subject to be treated in this manner, but after perusing this work, they will say to the daring author, "_well-done_." Study this book first, and do your Courting afterwards, and you need never fear marrying a false, dissolute, shiftless or ill-tempered woman. =Mailed for 20 cents.= =No. 3. BASHFULNESS: ITS CAUSE AND CURE.= A book that will be welcomed with joy by thousands. It shows, How ease and elegance of Manner can be quickly gained; How to remove diffidence, that peace-destroying want of confidence which troubles so many; How to cure Bashfulness in all its forms; whether caused by lack of education, ignorance of the ways of society, ill-dress, or ill-health, and points out clearly How to acquire elegance and fluency of expression; ease and polish of manner; and a graceful, pleasing and dignified bearing; also, How to please by delicate flattery of eye and manner; How to be well informed and cultivated; How to be popular with the Ladies; and many other points absolutely necessary to the _Bashful Lover_. =Mailed for 20 cents.= =No. 4. VIGOR, BEAUTY, AND ELEGANCE,= AND THE SCIENCE AND ART OF DRESSING WITH TASTE. This is the best work ever published on Beauty and Development. By following its precepts the Homely become Handsome; the Weak become Strong and Vigorous; the Rude, Clumsy and Uncultivated become Elegant and Refined; the Lean become Plump; the Corpulent become Slender. It shows, How to become Good-Looking; How to improve the Complexion; make the Skin White and Soft; remove Freckles, Warts and Corns; make the Eyes Beautiful; prevent the Hair from Falling Out; prevent Gray Hair; promote the Growth of the Beard; cure Baldness; remove Superfluous Hair. Also, How to Preserve the Teeth; How to have White Hands and Beautiful Nails; How to increase the Memory; prolong Life; cure Nervous Ailments; How to Dress cheaply, yet elegantly, and acquire a graceful carriage. To which is added a list of Colors arranged in harmonious groups, showing all those that make agreeable combinations. This book will be found an essential companion for all those who desire to become beautiful, elegant and graceful. =Mailed for 25 cents.= Corrections. The first line indicates the original, the second the correction. p. 16: quarter of an ounce of gum arabic a quarter of an ounce of gum arabic p. 18: them two or three days in colorless venegar. them two or three days in colorless vinegar. p. 43: to be corroded with the acid, should be ferfectly to be corroded with the acid, should be perfectly p. 45: cream tartar and castile soap, one uarter of an ounce. cream tartar and castile soap, one quarter of an ounce. p. 49: A little salt improves it flavor; A little salt improves its flavor; p. 52: Our's takes his naps out of doors in the shade Ours takes his naps out of doors in the shade p. 53: The suphate of lead is taken up The sulphate of lead is taken up p. 59: N. B.--It it applied by rubbing N. B.--It is applied by rubbing 26754 ---- file made using scans of public domain works at the University of Georgia.) [Illustration: C. A. BOGARDUS CHAMPION QUICKSHOT OF THE WORLD.] ONE THOUSAND SECRETS OF WISE AND RICH MEN REVEALED C. A. BOGARDUS Champion Quick Shot of the World 1907 DE LUXE · EDITION · LIMITED SPRINGFIELD, MO. COPYRIGHTED 1898 BY C. A. BOGARDUS REVISED AND ENLARGED 1907 FOURTEENTH EDITION Transcriber's Note: This ebook does not contain any text that matches "The Art Department between pages 132-133," as listed in the Contents. CONTENTS. Chapter. Page. I. Quick Shooting Records of C. A. Bogardus 7 II. Medical Department 10 Accidents and Emergencies--What to Do 19 The Mind Cure 24 Poisons and Their Antidotes 25 III. Ink Department 27 IV. Cosmetic Department 32 V. Live Stock Department 35 How to tell the Age of Horses, Cattle, etc. 39 VI. Hog Department 43 VII. Poultry Department 51 VIII. Chemical Department 54 IX. Miscellaneous Department 61 What to Invent, and How to Protect Your Invention 78 Candy--Directions for Making all Kinds of 85 X. Coin Department--Illustrated List and Tables of Values of Rare Coins 95 Loisette's System of Memory 107 Useful Tables of Mnemonics 111 Facts Worth Knowing 121 Art Department between pages 132-133 Gems of Thought from Poor Richard's Almanac, etc. 135 Robert Burns 147 XI. Oratorical Department 149 Patrick Henry's Speech 149 Abraham Lincoln's Speech 152 Wm. J. Bryan's Speeches 153 Speeches of C. A. Bogardus 164 Address Delivered at Farmington, Iowa 165 Speech at Decatur, Indiana 169 Speech at Jacksonville, Ill. 174 What Next 189 ANNOUNCEMENT. SPRINGFIELD, MO., August 28th, 1907. TO THE PUBLIC: In as much as the former editions of this book have been so well liked, excepting the type being so small, it has been mentioned by many that a correction in that particular would be well. I have revised and enlarged the book and it now appears from larger type. C. A. B. PREFACE. Agesilaus, king of Sparta, being asked what things he thought most proper for _boys to learn_, replied: "Those things which they should _practice_ when they become _men_." His reply was in perfect harmony with the good judgment of mankind, and cannot fail to be appreciated by all who have good common sense. If Agesilaus lived at the present time, the question would most probably have included both boys and girls, and undoubtedly his reply would be so worded as to apply to men and women. Mankind, especially of the United States, has two great duties. First, that of self-support and education. Second, that of governmental support and national enlightenment. While I have thus divided man's responsibility in two parts, it might not be improper to obliviate the dividing line and say that man's duties are all under one comprehensive head, viz.: "Mankind's duty is to man." However, in the preparation of this volume the dividing line is recognized and two general departments are presented; that of domestic or household economy, and national or political economy. The former department is a compilation of useful household formulas so arranged and worded as to form a neat and concise household receipt book. Frequent reference to its pages will impart such information as will enable the reader to save money and at the same time enjoy life. Department number two treats on social questions that are now knocking at humanity's intellectual threshold for admission and solution. Records show that less than one-thirtieth part of the time of man in general is consumed in productive pursuits, yet some people toil diligently three-fifths of their time and receive only a scanty living. To assist in making clear the road to private and national prosperity is therefore the motive which actuates me in the publication of this book. C. A. B. CHAPTER I. QUICK SHOOTING RECORDS. From the time I was twelve years old I was considered a very fine shot with a rifle, although I did but very little shooting, and, in fact, did not know that I was any more than a common marksman; yet in any contests while a boy I always won. One day in June, 1884, while passing a shooting gallery, my friends called me in for a match to pay for shots: I beat them all shooting, my score was 11 consecutive bull's eyes, while none of my friends had made half that score. The boys said I did well, to which I jestingly remarked that "that was common shooting for me; just throw up an apple and I will hit it." The apple was thrown up, and I hit it, which was as much of a surprise to me as it was to any of the rest. I then borrowed a 22-calibre Stevens rifle and practiced shooting at objects thrown in the air, first shooting at tomato cans, afterwards at smaller objects, and finally at marbles and various other small objects. By practicing half an hour a day, within a month I could hit 70 per cent of the glass balls which were thrown in the air. On July 4, 1884, I shot a match with James Robinson, at Pratt, Kansas; conditions, 10 glass balls each at 21 foot rise, he using a shot gun, I a rifle; I lost with a score of 4 to 6. This is the only match I ever lost with a rifle against a shot gun. The trouble with me was, this being my first match, I was thinking more about the stake money than the shooting. Besides the stake money which I lost, I had to treat all the boys who attended the match; they all laughed and had a good time at my expense. The next day after my shoot with Robinson, I sent to P. Power & Son, of Cincinnati, for a 32-calibre Winchester repeating rifle. I continued practicing with the Winchester for about six weeks, when I challenged G. W. Washburn of Kingman, Kansas, to a match. (Mr. W. was at that time champion of Kingman County.) He to use a shot gun at glass balls from a Moles rotary trap, 21 yards rise, I to use a 32-calibre Winchester, balls from a straight trap, 10-1/2 yards rise, 50 balls each. In the toss up I won and preferred to shoot second. The score was a tie on 47 balls; we shot the tie off at 10 balls each; again we tied on ten balls straight. The match was continued at 10 balls more each. By this time things had become a little exciting. Over $1500 was bet; many were betting $4 to $1 against me, thinking that I would lose my nerve and go to missing. Mr. W. walked to the score for the third time and broke 9 balls out of 10 shot at; it then came my turn to shoot, and I hit nine balls in succession when I was interrupted by a big fellow who offered to bet $25 I would miss the 10th ball; this bet was accepted, and it turned out that the fellow had just spoken in time to lose his $25, for the 10th ball had not got eight feet from the trap when I broke it. I won this match with a score of 67 against 66 out of 70 balls shot at. I then went to shooting at glass balls with rifle against a shot gun, and in the past 20 years I have competed against 206 good trap shots and have not lost a match. I will mention only a few of them. In the summer of '85, in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, an expert shooter came over from Cold Water, Kansas, to shoot with me. We had a match at target, distance 90 feet, with 22-calibre Stephens rifle; he used globe and peep sight, I used open sights. The score stood in my favor 114 to 107 out of a possible 120, at a quarter-inch bull's eye. The next day we shot a match at 100 glass balls, he using a shot gun, I a rifle. The score stood 99 to 94 in my favor. I will mention a match which I had in Omaha, Nebraska, in August, 1886. There was nothing very striking about this match because of fine shooting; I only mention it to show how unfair people sometimes are toward strangers. I have forgotten the man's name, but he was a barber working on Tenth street; he held a championship medal that he had won in Dakota with a Winchester rifle at glass balls. He challenged me to shoot three matches: First, 100 glass balls hanging still from the limb of a tree, fifty yards distance. Second match at 100 balls, 10 yards rise, thrown by hand. Third match, each to shoot 100 glass balls laid on the ground in a circle 200 feet in circumference, balls two feet apart, shooter to stand in the center of the circle, the one who broke the balls in the shortest time to win, but neither of us was allowed more than 133 shots in which to break the 100 balls. I had heard a good deal said of this man, over Nebraska everywhere he was spoken of as a fine shot, and in the first match I was really afraid of being beaten, for I never had practiced a great amount at stationary targets, but on the whole I was not afraid, for the party who won two out of the series of matches was to be declared the winner. In the first match I broke 100 balls in 206 shots, while my opponent broke 82 in the same number of shots; this made me easy winner of the first match. In the second match all kinds of tricks were resorted to, to beat me. My opponent's friends tried to rattle me by offering to bet that I would miss certain balls, but when they failed in this, the party throwing the balls would first throw a ball four feet high, then one 20 feet high, while my opponent's were thrown uniformly. Notwithstanding the fact that I was treated very unfair, the score stood a tie on 83 balls out of 100. In the third match at 100 balls in shortest time, I won easily, breaking the 100 balls in two minutes and three seconds, shooting 127 shots, while my opponent broke 61 balls in 133 shots, time four minutes, forty-two seconds. In Fort Smith, Arkansas, March 21, 1889, I shot on time at 100 glass balls against five men with shot guns, I using a 32-calibre Winchester rifle. I broke 100 balls in ninety-five seconds, while the five men broke 100 balls in three minutes and two seconds. Ravena, Ohio, July 4, 1890, I broke 250 glass balls in four minutes and sixteen seconds. At Newark, N.Y., July 4, 1891, I broke 81 glass balls in seventy-four seconds, 31 of which I broke in sixteen seconds, which is far the best record ever made with a rifle. In all of the matches I had assistants to load. I have hit 39 44-calibre cartridge shells out of 110 thrown up, 67 22-calibre cartridge shells out of 110 thrown up. The most difficult feat I ever performed was hitting 7 balls thrown up at one time. This I did at Shelby, Michigan, October 24, 1889, using a 44-calibre Winchester rifle loaded with shot cartridges. On July 4, 1893, I hit 1000 wooden balls with 22-calibre Marlin rifle in 17-1/4 minutes, which is 9.25 minutes quicker than the feat has ever been accomplished by any other person. I have thrown an object into the air and hit it 12 times before it struck the ground, I using an automatic shot gun. In concluding this article, I will suggest to those learning to shoot, that as a workman is known by the kind of tools he uses, it is equally true of the marksman. In order to do good shooting a good gun must be used. As a repeating rifle I have never seen the equal of the Marlin, model '92. When the gun is kept in good repair, used with well loaded cartridges, it is absolutely sure to repeat, a thing that I cannot say of any other repeating rifle. Although others are good, I consider the Marlin the _best_. C. A. BOGARDUS, _Champion Quick Shot of the World._ CHAPTER II. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.[1] BOGARDUS' LINIMENT.--Take two ozs. Oil Cajeput, one oz. Oil Sassafras, one oz. Oil Cloves, one oz. Oil Organum, 1/2-oz. Oil Mustard, one oz. Tinc. Capsicum, two ozs. Gum Camphor, one-half Gallon of Alcohol. Use as other liniments for any ache or pain. For sore throat or hoarseness, saturate a towel with the liniment, place it over the mouth, let it remain so for 4 or 5 hours, and you will be cured. For croup, bathe throat and chest with the liniment. Give one-fourth teaspoonful of liniment in one teaspoonful of warm water every 5 to 10 minutes till relieved. Also, let the child breathe the fumes of the liniment. I especially recommend this liniment for general family use. [1] NOTE--It is not pretended that in every instance the formulas are absolutely those used to make the medicines as indicated herein; but in every instance the medicines are equally good, when made according to instructions. HEALING SALVE.--One lb. Lard, 1/2 lb. Resin, 1/2 lb. Sweet Elder bark. Simmer over a slow fire 4 hours, or until it forms a hard, brown salve. This is for the cure of cuts, bruises, boils, old sores and all like ailments. Spread on a cotton cloth and apply to the parts affected. SPECIFIC INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM.--One oz. Salt Petre, pulverized; one pint Sweet Oil. Bathe the parts affected three times a day with this mixture and a speedy cure will be the result. ANOTHER SALVE.--One oz. Sheep's Tallow, Beeswax one oz., one-half oz. Sweet Oil, one-half oz. Red Lead, two ozs. Gum Camphor. Fry all these together in a stone dish. Continue to simmer for 4 hours. Spread on green basswood leaves or paper and apply to the sore. MAGNETIC OINTMENT.--One lb. Elder Bark, one lb. Spikenard Root, one lb. Yellow Dock Root. Boil in two gallons of water down to one, then press the strength out of the bark and roots and boil the liquid down to one-half gallon. Add 8 lbs. of best Resin, one lb. Beeswax, and Tallow enough to soften. Apply to the sores, etc., by spreading on linen cloth. OINTMENT STRAMONIUM.--One lb. Stramonium Leaves, three lbs. Lard, one-half lb. Yellow Wax. Boil the Stramonium Leaves in the Lard until they become pliable, then strain through linen. Lastly add the wax previously melted and stir until they are cold. This a useful anodyne application in irritable ulcers, painful hemorrhoids, and in cutaneous eruptions. CATHARTIC PILLS.--One-half oz. extract Colacinth, in powder, three drms. Jolop in powder, three drms. Calomel, two scru. Gamboge in powder. Mix these together and with water form into mass and roll into 180 pills. Dose, one pill as a mild laxative, two in vigorous operations. Use in all bilious diseases when purges are necessary. FOR HEARTBURN--LOZENGES.--One oz. Gum Arabic, one oz. pulverized Licorice Root, one-fourth oz. Magnesia. Add water to make into lozenges. Let dissolve in mouth and swallow. ANOTHER COUGH CURE--(GOOD).--Take the white of an egg and pulverized sugar; beat to a froth. Take a tablespoonful every hour for 3 or 4 hours. TETTER OINTMENT.--One oz. Spirits Turpentine, one ounce Red Precipitate in powder, one oz. Burgundy Pitch in powder, one lb. Hog's Lard. Melt all these ingredients over a slow fire until the ointment is formed. Stir until cold. Spread on a linen rag and apply to the parts affected. A SURE CURE FOR PILES.--Confection of Senna, two ozs., Cream of Tartar one oz., Sulphur one oz., Syrup of Ginger, enough to make a stiff paste; mix. A piece as large as a nut is to be taken as often as necessary to keep the bowels open. One of the best remedies known. DIPHTHERIA.--Take a clean clay tobacco pipe, put a live coal in it, then put common tar on the fire and smoke it, inhaling and breathing back through the nostrils. FEVER AND AGUE.--Quinine one scru., Elixir Vitriol one drm. Dissolve the Quinine in the Elixir and Tinc. of Black Cohash fourteen drops. Dose: 20 drops in a little water once an hour. CORNS.--A SURE CURE AND PAINLESS ERADICATION.--Extract of Cannabis Indicus ten grs., Salicylic Acid 6 grs., Collodion one oz. Mix and apply with a camel's hair pencil so as to form a thick covering over the corn for 3 or 4 nights. Take a hot foot bath and the corn can easily be removed with the aid of a knife. MAGIC OIL.--One gallon Sweet Oil, two ozs. Oil Hemlock, two ozs. Oil Organum, two ozs. Chloroform, four ozs. Spirits Ammonia. Mix. Let it stand 24 hours and it is ready for use. Dose, internally, one teaspoonful for adults. Bathe the affected parts well. This is a great remedy for aches and pains, Rheumatism, Neuralgia, and all nervous and inflammatory diseases. CURE FOR SORE THROAT IN ALL ITS DIFFERENT FORMS.--Two ozs. Cayenne Pepper, one oz. common Salt, one-half pint of Vinegar. Warm over a slow fire and gargle the throat and mouth every hour. Garlic and Onion poultice applied to the outside. Castor Oil, one spoonful to keep the bowels open. DROPS OF LIFE.--One oz. Gum Opium, one drm. Gum Kino, forty grs. Gum Camphor, one-half ounce Nutmeg powdered, one pint French Brandy. Let stand from one to ten days. Dose, from 30 to 40 drops for an adult; children, half doses. This is one of the most valuable preparations in the Materia Medica, and will in some dangerous hours, when all hope is fled, and the system is racked with pain, be the soothing balm which cures the most dangerous disease to which the human body is liable--flux, dysentery and all summer complaints. CATARRH, POSITIVE CURE.--Carbolic Acid, ten to twenty drops; Vaseline, one to two ozs. Mix and use with an atomizer 3 or 4 times per day. COUGH DROPS.--Tinc. Aconite 5 drops, Tinc. Asclepias one drm., Glycerine two ozs., Syrup of Wild Cherry. Mix and take a teaspoonful every 40 minutes until relieved. EYE WATER.--Table Salt and White Vitriol, each one teaspoonful. Heat them on earthen dish until dry. Now add them to soft water one-half pint. White Sugar one teaspoonful, Blue Vitriol a piece as large as a common pea. Should this be too strong add a little more water. Apply to the eye 3 or 4 times a day. TO REMOVE TAPE WORM.--Let the patient miss two meals. Give two teaspoonfuls powdered Kamala. Should the bowels not move within two and-a half hours, give another teaspoonful of the Kamala. You may follow this in two hours by from half to one oz. Castor Oil. This is a positive cure for Tape Worm. It will not make the patient sick. In buying the drug be sure and get Kamala, not Camellea. Kamala is in appearance like quite red brick dust, and is nearly tasteless, whereas Camellea is of a yellowish color. A SURE CURE FOR SMALL POX.--A gentleman contributes to the _Chicago News_ the following as a sure and never failing cure for small pox: One ounce Cream of Tartar dissolved in pint of boiling water, to be drank when cold at intervals. It can be taken at any time, and as a preventive as well as a curative. It is known to have cured in thousands of cases without a failure. TO STRENGTHEN AND INVIGORATE THE SYSTEM.--Two drms. Essential Salt of the Round Leaf Cornel, one scru. Extract Rhubarb, one scru. Ginger Powder. Make into pills, and take for a dose 2 or 3 twice a day. GONORRHEA.--Balsam of Copabia one oz., Oil of Cubebs two drms., Laudanum one dram, Mucilage of Gum Arabic two ozs., Sweet Spirits Nitre half oz., Compound Spirits Lavender three drms., Camphor Water four ozs., White Sugar two drms., Oil of Partridge Berry five drops. Mix. Dose, a tablespoonful 3 or 4 times a day. SURE CORN CURE.--One-half ounce Tincture of Iodine, one-half ounce Chloride or Antimony, 12 grains Iodide of Iron. Mix. Pare the corn with a sharp knife; apply the lotion with a pencil brush. Put up in one ounce bottles. Sell for 25 to 40 cents. This sells to everybody. (See price of labels.) N.B.--The law imposing stamp duty on medicines, compounds, perfumes, cosmetics, etc., has been repealed. RUSSIA SALVE.--Take equal parts of Yellow Wax and Sweet Oil, melt slowly, carefully stirring; when cooling stir in a small quantity of Glycerine. Good for all kinds of wounds, etc. PARADISE LINIMENT.--Take a gill of Alcohol, one-fourth ounce Tincture Capsicum, one-half ounce Paradise Seed, cracked, and put all together. For rheumatism, sprains, lameness, etc. COURT PLASTER.--This plaster is a kind of varnished silk, and its manufacture is very easy. Bruise a sufficient quantity of Isinglass, and let it soak in a little warm water for twenty-four hours. Expose it to heat over the fire until the greater part of the water is dissipated and supply its place by proof Spirits of Wine, which will combine with the Isinglass. Strain the whole through a piece of open linen, taking care that the consistency of the mixture shall be such that when cool it may form a trembling jelly. Extend a piece of black or flesh-colored silk on a wooden frame, and fix it in that position by means of tacks or twine. Then apply the Isinglass, after it has been rendered liquid by a gentle heat, to the silk with a brush of fine hair (badger's is the best). As soon as this coating is dried, which will not be long, apply a second, and afterward, if the article is to be very superior, a third. When the whole is dry, cover it with two or three coatings of the Balsam of Peru. This is the genuine court plaster. It is pliable and never breaks, which is far from being the case with spurious articles sold under the same name. A CERTAIN CURE FOR DRUNKENNESS.--Sulphate of Iron five grains, Magnesia ten grains, Peppermint water eleven drachms, Spirits of Nutmeg, one drachm, twice a day. This preparation acts as a tonic and stimulant, and so partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and mental prostration that follows a sudden breaking off from the use of stimulating drinks. FRENCH LUSTRAL.--Take Castor Oil three ozs., Alcohol one and one-half ozs., Ammonia one-sixteenth of an oz., well shaken and mixed together; perfume to suit--Bergamont or any other perfume. Splendid hair dressing. Three ounce bottles, twenty-five cents. LUNG MEDICINE.--Take Black Cohosh one-half oz., Lobelia one-fourth oz., Canker root three-fourths oz., Blackberry Root three-fourths of an oz., Sarsaparilla one oz., Pleurisy Root one-half oz., steeped in three pints of water. Dose, one tablespoonful three times a day, before eating. Sure cure for spitting blood. TOOTHACHE DROPS.--Four ounces pulverized Alum, fourteen ozs. Sweet Spirits of Nitre. Put up in one oz. bottles. Retails readily at 25 cents per bottle. This is the most effective remedy for toothache that was ever discovered, and is a fortune to any one who will push its sale. It sells at every house. MAGNETIC TOOTHACHE DROPS.--Take equal parts of Camphor, Sulphuric Ether, Ammonia, Laudanum, Tincture of Cayenne, and one-eighth part of Oil of Cloves. Mix well together. Saturate with the liquid a small piece of cotton, and apply to the cavity of the diseased tooth, and the pain will cease immediately. Put up in long drachm bottles. Retail at 25 cents. This is a very salable preparation, and affords a large profit to the manufacturer. GREEN MOUNTAIN SALVE.--Take one pound Beeswax, one pound of soft Butter, and one and one-half pounds soft Turpentine, twelve ounces Balsam Fir. Melt and strain. Use to heal fresh wounds, burns, scalds and all bad sores. WARTS AND CORNS--TO CURE IN TEN MINUTES.--Take a small piece of Potash and let it stand in the open air until it slacks, then thicken it to a paste with pulverized Gum Arabic, which prevents it from spreading where it is not wanted. LINIMENT--GOOD SAMARITAN.--Take 98 per cent Alcohol two quarts, and add to it the following articles: Oils of Sassafras, Hemlock, Spirits of Turpentine, Tincture Cayenne, Catechu, Guaic (guac), and Laudanum, of each one ounce, Tincture of Myrrh four ounces, Oil of Organum two ounces, Oil of Wintergreen one-half ounce. Gum Camphor two ounces, and Chloroform one and one-half ounce. This is one of the best applications for internal pains known. It is superior to any other enumerated in this work. PLAIN COURT PLASTER, that will not stick and remains flexible: Soak Isinglass in a little warm water for twenty-four hours, then evaporate nearly all the water by gentle heat. Dissolve the residue with a little Proof Spirits of Wine, and strain the whole through a piece of open linen. The strained mass should be a stiff jelly when cool. Stitch a piece of silk or sarcenet on a wooden frame with tacks or thread. Melt the jelly and apply it to the silk thinly and evenly with a badger hair brush. A second coating must be applied after the first has dried. When the both are dry apply over the whole surface two or three coatings of Balsam of Peru. This plaster remains quite pliable, and never breaks. A CURE FOR CANCER (AS USED BY A NEW YORK PHYSICIAN WITH GREAT SUCCESS).--Take Red Oak Bark, and boil it to the thickness of molasses, then mix with sheep's tallow of equal proportion. Spread it on leaves of Linnwood green, and keep the plaster over the ulcer. Change once in eight hours. DAVIS' PAIN KILLER--One quart proof Alcohol, one drm., Chloroform, one oz. Oil Sassafras, one oz. Gum Camphor, one drm. Spirits of Ammonia, two drms. Oil of Cayenne. Mix well and let stand 24 hours before using. AUGUST FLOWER.--Powdered Rhubarb one oz., Golden Seal one-fourth oz., Aloes one drachm, Peppermint Leaves two drms., Carbonate of Potash two drms., Capsicum five grs., Sugar five ozs., Alcohol three ozs., Water ten ozs., Essence of Peppermint twenty drops. Powder the drugs and let stand covered with Alcohol and water, equal parts for seven days. Filter and add through the filter enough diluted Alcohol to make one pint. BLOOD PURIFIER--B.B.B.--Fluid Extract Burdock one oz., Fluid Extract Sarsaparilla one oz., Fluid Extract Yellow Dock one oz., Fluid Extract Senna one oz., Syrup eight ozs., Alcohol two ozs. Mix. BOSCHEE'S GERMAN SYRUP.--Wine of Tar two ozs., Fluid Extract Squills one oz., Tinct. Opium two drms., Fluid Extract Sanguinarie two drms., Syrup of Sugar eight ozs. Mix. CENTAUR LINIMENT.--Oil Speke one oz., Oil Wormwood one oz., Oil Sassafras one oz., Oil Organum one oz., Oil Cinnamon one oz., Oil Cloves one drm., Oil Cedar one drm., Sulphur. Ether one oz., Aqua Ammonia one oz., Tinc. Opium one oz., Alcohol one gal. Mix. This is an excellent liniment and good whenever a liniment is needed. CASTORIA.--Pumpkin Seed one oz., Cenria Leaves one oz., Rochelle Salts one oz., Anise Seed one-half oz., Bi. Carb. Soda one oz., Worm Seed one-half oz. Mix and thoroughly rub together in an earthen vessel, then put into a bottle and pour over it four ozs. water and one oz. Alcohol, and let stand four days, then strain off and add Syrup made of White Sugar, quantity to make one pint, then add one-half oz. Alcohol drops and five drops Wintergreen. Mix thoroughly and add to the contents of the bottle and take as directed. HARTER'S IRON TONIC.--Calisaya Bark two ozs., Citrate of Iron two ozs., Gentian two ozs., Cardamon Seed two ozs., Syrup two ozs., Alcohol two ozs., Water eight ozs. Mix. HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS.--Fluid Extract Ipecac one-half oz., Fluid Extract Squills one oz., Chloroform one-fourth oz., Wine of Tar one oz., Tinct. Opium, one-fifth oz., Fluid Extract of Mullen one oz., Syrup enough to make one pint. GODFREY'S CORDIAL.--Tinct. Opium six ozs., Molasses four pints, Alcohol eight ozs., Water six pints, Carbonate Potash four drms., Oil Sassafras cut with Alcohol one drm. Dissolve the Potash in water, add the Molasses; heat over a gentle fire till it simmers, remove the scum, add the other ingredients, the oil dissolved in the Alcohol. HALL'S HONEY OF HOARHOUND AND TAR.--Wine of Tar one oz., Fluid Extract of Hoarhound one oz., Tinct. Opium one drm., Syrup Orange Peel one-half oz., Honey three ozs., Syrup enough to make one pint. HOOD'S SARSAPARILLA.--Fluid Extract Sarsaparilla one oz., Fluid Extract Yellow Dock one oz., Fluid Extract Poke Root, one-half oz., Iodide of Potash one-half oz., Syrup Orange Peel one oz., Alcohol four ozs., Syrup enough to make one pint. HAMLIN'S WIZARD OIL.--Oil Sassafras two ozs., Oil Cedar one oz., Gum Camphor one oz., Sulph. Ether two ozs., Chloroform two ozs., Tinct. Capsicum one oz., Aqua Ammonia two ozs., Oil Turpentine one oz., Tinct. Quassia three ozs., Alcohol half a gallon. Mix and you have a fine liniment. HOP BITTERS.--Hops four ozs., Orange Peel two ozs., Cardamon two drms., Cinnamon one drm., Cloves one-half drm., Alcohol eight ozs., Sherry Wine two pints, Simple Syrup one pint. Water sufficient. Grind the drugs, macerate in the Alcohol and Wine for one week, percolate and add enough syrup and water to make one gallon. HOSTETTER'S BITTERS.--Gentian Root (ground) one-half oz., Cinnamon Bark one-half oz., Cinchona Bark (ground) one-half oz., Anise Seed one-half oz., Coriander Seed (ground) one-half oz., Cardamon Seed one-eighth oz., Gum Kino one-fourth oz., Alcohol one pint. Water four quarts, Sugar one lb. Mix and let stand for one week, pour off the fluid, boil the drug for a few minutes in one quart of water, strain off and add the first fluid, and then the sugar and water. INJECTION BROU.--Water four ozs., Nitrate Silver twenty grs., Tinct. Opium one-half oz., Sulph. Bismuth and Hydratis two oz. Mix. JAYNE'S EXPECTORANT.--Syrup Squills two ozs., Tinct. Tolu one oz., Spirits Camphor one drm., Tinct. Digitalis one drm., Tinct. Lobelia one drm., Wine of Ipecac two drms., Tinc. Opium two drms., Antimonia two grains. Mix. JAYNE'S TONIC VERMIFUGE.--L. santonnie twenty grs., Fluid Extract Pink Root three drms., Fluid Extract Senna two drms., Simple Elixir two ozs., Syrup two ozs. Mix. Take tablespoonful night and morning. MUSTANG LINIMENT.--Linseed Oil fourteen ozs., Aqua Ammonia two ozs., Tinct. Capsicum one-fourth oz., Oil Organum one-fourth oz., Turpentine one oz., Oil Mustard, one-fourth oz. Mix. S.S.S. FLUID.--Extract Phytolacca one oz., Fluid Extract Sarsaparilla one oz., Iodide Potash one oz., Extract Fluid Xanthoxylon one-half oz., Culiver's Root Fluid Extract one oz., Acetate Potash one oz., Cinnamon Tinct. one-fourth oz., Tinct. Cardamon Seed one oz., Alcohol four ozs., Sugar one-half pound, Water thirty-six ozs. Mix. SMITH'S TONIC.--Fowler's Solution of Arsenic two drms., Culiver's Root one oz., Syrup Orange Peel four ozs., Simple Syrup twelve ozs. Mix. Then add Chinchonia forty grains dissolved in Aromatic Sulph. Acid. Shake to mix well. SOZODONT FRAGRANT.--Tinct. Soap Bark two ozs., Tinct. Myrrh one drm., Glycerine one-half oz., Water one and one-half ozs., Essence Cloves ten drops, Essence Wintergreen ten drops, Tinct. Cochineal enough to color. Mix. Accompanying the above is a powder composed of prepared Chalk, Orris Root, Carbonate Magnesia, of each equal parts. Mix. SHAKER'S CUTIVE SYRUP.--Fluid Extract Blue Flag twenty drops, Fluid Extract Culiver's Root twenty drops, Fluid Extract Poke Root twenty drops, Fluid Extract Butternut twenty drops, Fluid Extract Dandelion twenty drops, Fluid Extract Prince Pine ten drops, Fluid Extract Mandrake five drops, Fluid Extract Gentian five drops, Fluid Extract Calcium five drops, Fluid Extract Black Cohoes thirty drops, Tinct. Aloe thirty drops, Tinct. Capsicum ten drops, Tinct. Sassafras thirty drops, Borax one drm., Salt three-fourths drm., Syrup three ozs., Water eight ozs. AYER'S CHERRY PECTORAL.--Take four grains of Acetate of Morphia, two fluid drachms of Tincture of Bloodroot, three fluid drachms each of Antimonial Wine and Wine of Ipecacuanha, and three fluid ounces Syrup of Wild Cherry. Mix. BROWN'S BRONCHIAL TROCHES.--Take one pound pulverized Extract of Licorice, one and one-half pounds Pulverized Sugar, four ounces pulverized Cubebs, four ounces pulverized Gum Arabic, and one ounce of pulverized Extract of Conium. Mix. SUCCUS ALTERNS (McDADE'S).--Fluid Extract Starlinga one oz., Fluid Extract Sarsaparilla one oz., Fluid Extract Phytolacca Decandra one-half oz., Fluid Extract Lappa Minor one oz., Fluid Extract Xanthoxylon one-half oz., Syrup fourteen ozs., Mix. Teaspoonful three times a day. SEVEN SEALS OF GOLDEN WONDER.--Oil Cajeput two drms., Sassafras one-half oz., Oil Organum one drm., Oil Hemlock one drm., Oil Cedar one drm., Tincture Capsicum one-fourth oz., Alcohol enough to make one pint. WAKEFIELD'S WINE BITTERS.--Cinchona Bark four ozs., Gentian Bark two ozs., Juniper Berries one oz., Orange Peel one oz., Lemon Peel fresh sliced one-fourth oz., California Port Wine four pints, Alcohol one pint, Water three pints. Digest or let stand ten days, then filter and add wine enough to preserve measure. ST. JACOB'S OIL.--Camphor Gum one oz., Chloral Hydrate one oz., Chloroform one oz., Sulphate Ether one oz., Tinct. Opium (non-aqueous) one-half oz., Oil Organum one-half oz., Oil Sassafras one-half oz., Alcohol one-half gallon. Dissolve Gum Camphor with Alcohol and then add the oil, then the other ingredients. R.R.R.--Alcohol two pints, Oil Sassafras two ozs., Oil Organum twi ozs., Camphor Spirits one-half oz., Tinct. Opium one oz., Chloroform one oz. Mix. PISO'S CONSUMPTION CURE.--Tartar Emetic four grains, Tinc. Tolu one-half oz., Sulphate Morphia four grains, Fluid Extract Lobelia two drms., Chloroform one drm., Fluid Extract Cannabis Indica two drms., Essence Spearmint ten drops, Hot Water eight ozs., Sugar four ozs., Dissolve the Morphia and Tartar Emetic in hot water and add the rest. WARNER'S TIPPECANOE BITTERS.--Cardamon Seed two ozs., Nutmeg one drm., Grains of Paradise one drm., Cloves one oz., Cinnamon two ozs., Ginger one oz., Orange Peel one oz., Lemon Peel one oz., Alcohol one gallon, Water one gallon, Sugar three pounds. Mix and let stand for six or seven days and filter. Then add enough water to make four gallons. WARNER'S SAFE CURE.--Take of Smart Weed four pounds, boil for one hour with one gallon soft water, adding warm water to supply waste by evaporation; then strain off and add Acetate Potash four ozs., Sugar four pounds. Boil again till sugar is dissolved, then add Alcohol eight ozs., and flavor with Oil of Wintergreen cut with Alcohol. WAKEFIELD'S BLACKBERRY BALSAM.--Blackberries crushed two pounds, Boiling Water four ozs., Sugar four ozs., Jamaica Ginger four grs., Alcohol two ozs. Mix and add Syrup enough to make sixteen ozs. ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. WHAT TO DO. If an artery is cut, red blood spurts. Compress it above the wound. If a vein is cut, dark blood flows. Compress it below and above. If choked, go upon all fours and cough. For slight burns, dip the part in cold water; if the skin is destroyed, cover with varnish or linseed oil. For apoplexy, raise the head and body; for fainting, lay the person flat. Send for a physician when a serious accident of any kind occurs, but treat as directed until he arrives. SCALDS AND BURNS.--The following facts cannot be too firmly impressed on the mind of the reader, that in either of these accidents the _first_, _best_ and _often the only remedies required_, are sheets of wadding, fine wool, or carded cotton, and in the default of these, violet powder, flour, magnesia or chalk. The object for which these several articles are employed is the same in each instance; namely, to exclude the air from injured part; for if the air can be effectually shut out from the raw surface, and care is taken not to expose the tender part till the new cuticle is formed, the cure may be safely left to nature. The moment a person is called to a case of scald or burn, he should cover the part with a sheet, or a portion of a sheet, of wadding, taking care not to break any blister that may have formed, or stay to remove any burnt clothes that may adhere to the surface, but as quickly as possible envelope every part of the injury from all access of the air, laying one or two more pieces of wadding on the first, so as to effectually guard the burn or scald from the irritation of the atmosphere; and if the article used is wool or cotton, the same precaution, of adding more material where the surface is thinly covered, must be adopted; a light bandage finally securing all in their places. Any of the popular remedies recommended below may be employed when neither wool, cotton nor wadding are to be procured, it being always remembered that that article which will best exclude the air from a burn or scald is the best, quickest, and least painful mode of treatment. And in this respect nothing has surpassed cotton loose or attached to paper as in wadding. _If the Skin is Much Injured_ in burns, spread some linen pretty thickly with chalk ointment, and lay over the part, and give the patient some brandy and water if much exhausted; then send for a medical man. If not much injured, and very painful, use the same ointment, or apply carded cotton dipped in lime water and linseed oil. If you please, you may lay cloths dipped in ether over the parts, or cold lotions. Treat scalds in same manner, or cover with scraped raw potato; but the chalk ointment is the best. In the absence of all these, cover the injured part with treacle, and dust over it plenty of flour. BODY IN FLAMES.--Lay the person down on the floor of the room, and throw the table cloth, rug or other large cover over him, and roll him on the floor. DIRT IN THE EYE.--Place your forefinger upon the cheek-bone, having the patient before you; then slightly bend the finger, this will draw down the lower lid of the eye, and you will probably be able to remove the dirt; but if this will not enable you to get at it, repeat this operation while you have a netting needle or bodkin placed over the eyelid; this will turn it inside out, and enable you to remove the sand or eyelash, etc., with the corner of a fine silk handkerchief. As soon as the substance is removed, bathe the eye with cold water, and exclude the light for a day. If the inflammation is severe, let the patient use a refrigerant lotion. LIME IN THE EYE.--Syringe it well with warm vinegar and water in the proportion of one ounce of vinegar to eight ounces of water; exclude light. IRON OR STEEL SPICULAE IN THE EYE.--These occur while turning iron or steel in a lathe, and are best remedied by doubling back the upper or lower eyelid, according to the situation of the substance, and with the flat edge of a silver probe, taking up the metallic particle, using a lotion made by dissolving six grains of sugar of lead and the same of white vitriol, in six ounces of water, and bathing the eye three times a day till the inflammation subsides. Another plan is--Drop a solution of sulphate of copper (from one to three grains of the salt to one ounce of water) into the eye, or keep the eye open in a wineglassful of the solution. Bathe with cold lotion, and exclude light to keep down inflammation. DISLOCATED THUMB.--This is frequently produced by a fall. Make a clove hitch, by passing two loops of cord over the thumb, placing a piece or rag under the cord to prevent it cutting the thumb; then pull in the same line as the thumb. Afterwards apply a cold lotion. CUTS AND WOUNDS.--Clean cut wounds, whether deep or superficial, and likely to heal by the first intention, should always be washed or cleaned, and at once evenly and smoothly closed by bringing both edges close together, and securing them in that position by adhesive plaster. Cut thin strips of sticking plaster, and bring the parts together; or if large and deep, cut two broad pieces, so as to look like the teeth of a comb, and place one on each side of the wound, which must be cleaned previously. These pieces must be arranged so that they will interlace one another; then, by laying hold of the pieces on the right side with one hand, and those on the other side with the other hand, and pulling them from one another, the edges of the wound are brought together without any difficulty. _Ordinary Cuts_ are dressed by thin strips, applied by pressing down the plaster on one side of the wound, and keeping it there and pulling in the opposite direction; then suddenly depressing the hand when the edges of the wound are brought together. CONTUSIONS are best healed by laying a piece of folded lint, well wetted with extract of lead, or boracic acid, on the part, and, if there is much pain, placing a hot bran poultice over the dressing, repeating both, if necessary, every two hours. When the injuries are very severe, lay a cloth over the part, and suspend a basin over it filled with cold lotion. Put a piece of cotton into the basin, so that it shall allow the lotion to drop on the cloth, and thus keep it always wet. HEMORRHAGE, when caused by an artery being divided or torn, may be known by the blood issuing out of the wound in leaps or jerks, and being of a bright scarlet color. If a vein is injured, the blood is darker and flows continuously. To arrest the latter, apply pressure by means of a compress and bandage. To arrest arterial bleeding, get a piece of wood (part of a broom handle will do), and tie a piece of tape to one end of it; then tie a piece of tape loosely over the arm, and pass the other end of the wood under it; twist the stick round and round until the tape compresses the arm sufficiently to arrest the bleeding, and then confine the other end by tying the string around the arm. A compress made by enfolding a penny piece in several folds of lint or linen should, however, be first placed under the tape and over the artery. If the bleeding is very obstinate, and it occurs in the _arm_, place a cork underneath the string, on the inside of the fleshy part, where the artery may be felt beating by anyone, if in the _leg_, place a cork in the direction of a line drawn from the inner part of the knee towards the outer part of the groin. It is an excellent thing to accustom yourself to find out the position of these arteries, or, indeed, any that are superficial, and to explain to every person in your house where they are, and how to stop bleeding. If a stick cannot be got, take a handkerchief, make a cord bandage of it, and tie a knot in the middle; the knot acts as a compress, and should be placed over the artery, while the two ends are to be tied around the thumb. Observe _always to place the ligature between the wound and the heart_. Putting your finger into a bleeding wound, and making pressure until a surgeon arrives, will generally stop violent bleeding. BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE, from whatever cause, may generally be stopped by putting a plug of lint into the nostrils; if this does not do, apply a cold lotion to the forehead; raise the head, and place over it both arms, so that it will rest on the hands; dip the lint plug, _slightly moistened_, into some powdered Gum Arabic, and plug the nostrils again; or dip the plug into equal parts of powdered Gum Arabic and alum, and plug the nose. Or the plug may be dipped in Friar's balsam, or tincture of Kino. Heat should be applied to the feet; and, in obstinate cases, the sudden shock of a cold key, or cold water poured down the spine, will instantly stop the bleeding. If the bowels are confined take a purgative. Injections of alum solution from a small syringe into the nose will often stop hemorrhage. VIOLENT SHOCKS will sometimes stun a person, and he will remain unconscious. Untie strings, collars, etc.; loosen anything that is tight, and interferes with the breathing; raise the head; see if there is bleeding from any part; apply smelling salts to the nose, and hot bottles to the feet. IN CONCUSSION, the surface of the body is cold and pale, and the pulse weak and small, the breathing slow and _gentle_, and the pupil of the eye generally contracted or small. You can get an answer by speaking loud, so as to rouse the patient. Give a little brandy and water, keep the place quiet, apply warmth, and do not raise the head too high. If you tickle the feet, the patient feels it. IN COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN from any cause, such as apoplexy, or a piece of fractured bone pressing on it, there is loss of sensation. If you tickle the feet of the injured person he does not feel it. You cannot arouse him so as to get an answer. The pulse is slow and labored; the breathing deep, labored, and _snorting_; the pupil enlarged. Raise the head, loosen strings or tight things, and send for a surgeon. If one cannot be got at once, apply mustard poultices to the feet and thighs, leeches to the temples, and hot water to the feet. CHOKING.--When a person has a fish bone in the throat, insert the forefinger, press upon the root of the tongue, so as to induce vomiting; if this does not do, let him swallow a large piece of potato or soft bread; and if these fail, give a mustard emetic. FAINTING, HYSTERICS, ETC.--Loosen the garments, bathe the temples with water or eau-de-Cologne; open the window, admit plenty of fresh air, dash cold water on the face, apply hot bricks to the feet, and avoid bustle and excessive sympathy. DROWNING.--Attend to the following _essential rules_: 1. Lose no time. 2. Handle the body gently. 3. Carry the body face downwards, with the head gently raised, and never hold it up by the feet. 4. Send for medical assistance immediately, and in the meantime act as follows: 5. Strip the body; rub it dry, then wrap it in hot blankets, and place it in a warm bed in a warm room. 6. Cleanse away the froth and mucous from the nose and mouth. 7. Apply warm bricks, bottles, bags of sand, etc., to the arm pits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet. 8. Rub the surface of the body with the hands inclosed in warm, dry worsted socks. 9. If possible, put the body into a warm bath. 10. To restore breathing, put the pipe of a common bellows into one nostril, carefully closing the other, and the mouth; at the same time drawing downwards, and pushing gently backwards, the upper part of the windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; blow the bellows gently, in order to inflate the lungs, till the breast is raised a little; then set the mouth and nostrils free, and press gently on the chest; repeat this until signs of life appear. The body should be covered from the moment it is placed on the table, except the face, and all the rubbing carried on under the sheet or blanket. When they can be obtained, a number of tiles or bricks should be made tolerably hot in the fire, laid in a row on the table, covered with a blanket, and the body placed in such a manner on them that their heat may enter the spine. When the patient revives, apply smelling-salts to the nose, give warm wine or brandy and water. _Cautions._--1. Never rub the body with salt or spirits. 2. Never roll the body on casks. 3. Continue the remedies for twelve hours without ceasing. HANGING.--Loosen the cord, or whatever it may be by which the person has been suspended. Open the temporal artery or jugular vein, or bleed from the arm; employ electricity, if at hand, and proceed as for drowning, taking the additional precaution to apply eight or ten leeches to the temples. APPARENT DEATH FROM DRUNKENNESS--Raise the head, loosen the clothes, maintain warmth of surface, and give a mustard emetic as soon as the person can swallow. APOPLEXY AND FITS GENERALLY.--Raise the head; loosen all tight clothes, strings, etc.; apply cold lotions to the head, which should be shaved; apply leeches to the temples, bleed, and send for a surgeon. SUFFOCATION FROM NOXIOUS GASES, ETC.--Remove to the fresh air; dash cold vinegar and water in the face, neck, and breast; keep up the warmth of the body; if necessary, apply mustard poultices to the soles of the feet and to the spine, and try artificial respirations as in drowning, with electricity. LIGHTNING AND SUNSTROKE.--Treat the same as apoplexy. MIND CURE. THE MIND CURE, otherwise known in its various subdivisions as metaphysics, Christian science, mental science, etc., is a species of delusion quite popular at the present time. Every era of the world has cherished similar delusions, for the mass of the human race, even in what are considered the educated classes, are so unfamiliar with the processes of exact reasoning that they fall a ready prey to quacks of all kinds. The fundamental idea of the mind cure system is that there is no such thing as sickness. Disease, says one of their apostles, is an error of the mind, the result of fear. Fear is only faith inverted and perverted. God, who is all good Himself, and who made everything good, cannot have been the author of any disease. As disease, therefore, is not a creation, it has no existence, and when the healer has succeeded in impressing this fact upon the mind of the patient, the cure is effected. It is curious to note into what utter absurdities the need for consistency carries these apostles. Poisons, they say, would be quite harmless if the fear of them was removed, but we have yet to find the "mental science" teacher who will undertake to prove this by herself taking liberal doses of aconite and strychnine. The illnesses of children are explained by the hypothesis of hereditary fear. The majority of the teachers of this new faith are women, many of whom, no doubt, are sincere in their belief; but it may be safely stated that the men engaged as the so-called physicians of the new practice are, with few exceptions, unprincipled quacks, who have gone into the business for the money they can make by duping the ignorant. As far as there is any truth underlying the vagaries of mind cures, and their boasts of remarkable cases of healing, it may be admitted that the mind has much influence over the body. This fact has been recognized by intelligent physicians for centuries. And that the peculiar modern type of nervous diseases, which are so largely caused by excessive stimulus of the nerves and the imagination, should be amendable to cure through the imagination, is not strange. It will be noted that this mental cure has effected its miracles mainly among women, where it has the emotional temperament to work on, and almost wholly in the ranks of the wealthy and well-to-do, where there is little or no impoverishment of the system by insufficient food and excessive toil to hinder its effects. We have not heard, nor are we likely to hear, of an epidemic disease checked by the mind cure, or of the healing of acute affections or organic troubles through its agency. Nor do we hear of its seeking to carry its message of healing into the houses of the suffering poor in large cities, where hunger, exposure and foul airs open wide the door to fevers and all deadly diseases, nor yet into the hospitals for contagious or incurable affections. In the presence of such realities it would prove, as its votaries probably understand, a too-painful mockery. Intelligently analyzed, therefore, this new revelation amounts to nothing more than a quite striking proof of the remarkable influence of the mind over the nervous system. Beyond this, the craze, in attempting to disprove the existence of disease, and to show that poisons do not kill, is simply running against the plain and inevitable facts of life, and can safely be left to perish through its own rashness. While it must be admitted that many upright and worthy people are followers of this faith, it can be asserted that to say "disease is only a mental derangement" is carrying the idea of the power of mind over matter entirely too far. POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. Always send immediately for a medical man. Save all fluids vomited, and articles of food, cups, glasses, etc., used by the patient before taken ill, and lock them up. As a rule give emetics after poisons that cause sleepiness and raving; chalk, milk, eggs, butter and warm water, or oil, after poisons that cause vomiting and pain in the stomach and bowels, with purging; and when there is no inflammation about the throat, tickle it with a feather to excite vomiting. Vomiting may be caused by giving warm water, with a teaspoonful of mustard to the tumblerful, well stirred up. Sulphate of zinc (white vitriol) may be used in place of the mustard, or powdered alum. Powder of ipecacuanha, a teaspoonful rubbed up with molasses, may be employed for children. _Tartar emetic should never be given_, as it is excessively depressing, and uncontrolable in its effects. The stomach pump can only be used by skillful hands, and even then with caution. _Opium and Other Narcotics._--After vomiting has occurred, cold water should be _dashed_ over the face and head. The patient must be kept awake, walked about between two strong persons, made to grasp the handles of a galvanic battery, dosed with strong coffee, and vigorously slapped. _Belladonna_ is an antidote for opium and for morphia, etc., its active principles; and, on the other hand, the latter counteract the effects of belladonna. But a knowledge of medicine is necessary for dealing with these articles. _Strychnia._--After emetics have been freely and successfully given, the patient should be allowed to breathe the vapor of sulphuric ether, poured on a handkerchief and held to the face, in such quantities as to keep down the tendency to convulsions. Bromide of potassium, twenty grains at a dose, dissolved in syrup, may be given every hour. _Alcoholic Poisoning_ should be combated by emetics, of which the sulphate of zinc given as above directed, is the best. After that, strong coffee internally, and stimulation by heat externally, should be used. _Acids_ are sometimes swallowed by mistake. Alkalies, lime water, magnesia, or common chalk mixed with water, may be freely given, and afterward mucilaginous drinks, such as thick gum water or flaxseed tea. _Alkalies_ are less frequently taken in injurious strength or quantity, but sometimes children swallow lye by mistake. Common vinegar may be given freely, and then castor or sweet oil in full doses--a tablespoonful at a time, repeated every half hour or two. _Nitrate of Silver_ when swallowed is neutralized by common table salt freely given in solution in water. The salts of _mercury_ or _arsenic_ (often kept as bedbug poison), which are powerful irritants, are apt to be very quickly fatal. Milk or the whites of eggs may be freely given, and afterward a very thin paste of flour is neutralized. _Phosphorus_ paste, kept for roach poison or in parlor matches, is sometimes eaten by children, and has been wilfully taken for the purpose of suicide. It is a powerful irritant. The first thing to be done is to give freely of magnesia and water; then to give mucilaginous drinks, as flaxseed tea, gum water or sassafras pith and water; and lastly to administer finely-powdered bone-charcoal, either in pill or in mixture with water. In no case of poisoning should there be any avoidable delay in obtaining the advice of a physician, and, meanwhile, the friends or by-standers should endeavor to find out exactly what has been taken, so that the treatment adopted may be as prompt and effective as possible. CHAPTER III. INK DEPARTMENT. RED INK.--Two ounces Cochineal, bruised; pour over it one quart Boiling Water, let it stand eight hours. Boil two ounces Brazil Wood in one pint of Water, let it stand eight hours and then add the two together. Dissolve one-half ounce Gum Arabic in one-half pint Hot Water; add all together and let stand four days. Strain and bottle for use. BLUE INK.--Six parts Persian Blue, one quart Oxalic Acid; triturate with little Water to smoothe paste, add Gum Arabic and the necessary quantity of Water. INDELIBLE INK TO MARK LINEN.--One and a half ounces Nitrate of Silver dissolved in six ounces Liquor Ammonia Fortis, one ounce Archill, for coloring; one-half ounce Gum Arabic. Mix. FOR YELLOW.--Write with Muriate of Antimony; when dry wash with Tincture of Galls. BLACK.--Write with a Solution of Green Vitriol and wash with Tincture of Galls. BLUE.--Nitrate of Cobate, wash with Oxalic Acid. YELLOW.--Subacetate of Lead, wash with Hydrochloric Acid. GREEN.--Arsenate of Potash, wash with Nitrate of Copper. PURPLE.--Solution of Gold and Muriate of Tin. BLACK.--Perchloride of Mercury, the wash is Hydrochloric of Tin. BLACK INK.--Extract of Logwood one ounce, Bicromate of Potash one-quarter ounce. Pulverize and mix in a quart of soft hot water. This makes a beautiful jet black ink, which will not spoil by freezing. COPYING INK.--One-half gallon of soft water, one ounce Gum Arabic, one ounce Brown Sugar, one ounce clean Copperas, three ounces powdered Nut Gall. Mix and shake occasionally from 7 to 10 days and strain. The best copying ink made. BLACK INK.--Shellac four ounces, Borax two ounces, Water one quart; boil till dissolved and add two ounces Gum Arabic, dissolved in a little hot water; boil and add enough of a well triturated mixture of equal parts of Indigo and Lampblack to produce a copper color. After standing several hours draw off and bottle. GREEN INK.--Dissolve 180 grains Bichromate of Potash in one fluid ounce of Water; add while warm one-half ounce Spirits of Wine, then decompose the mixture with concentrated sulphuric acid until it assumes a brown color; evaporate this liquid until its quantity is reduced one-half, dilute it with two ounces distilled water, filter it, add one-half ounce Alcohol, followed by a few drops of strong sulphuric acid; it is now allowed to rest, and after a time it assumes a beautiful green color. Add a small quantity Gum Arabic and it is ready for use. BEAUTIFUL BLUE WRITING FLUID.--Dissolve Basic or Soluble Prussian Blue in pure water. This is the most permanent and beautiful blue ink known. VIOLET COPYING INK.--For blue violet dissolve in 300 parts of boiling water, Methyl Violet, 5 B, Hofman's Violet, 3 B, or Gentiana Violet, B. For reddish violet dissolve in a similar quantity of water Methyl Violet BR. A small quantity of sugar added to these inks improves their copying qualities. If the writing when dry retains a bronzy appearance, more water must be added. NEW INVISIBLE INK.--C. Wideman communicates a new method of making an invisible ink to _Die Natur_. To make the writing or drawing appear which has been made upon paper it is sufficient to dip it in water. On drying the traces disappear again, and reappear again at each succeeding immersion. The ink is made by intimately mixing Linseed Oil one part. Water of Ammonia twenty parts, Water 100 parts. The mixture must be agitated each time before the pen is dipped into it, as a little of the oil may separate and float on top, which would, of course, leave an oily stain upon the paper. BUCHER'S CARMINE INK.--Pure Carmine, twelve grains, Water of Ammonia three ounces, dissolve, then add Powdered Gum eighteen grains. One-half drachm of Powdered Drop Lake may be substituted for the Carmine, where expense is an object. BRILLIANT RED INK.--Brazil Wood two ounces, Muriate of Tin one-half drachm, Gum Arabic one drachm. Boil down in 32 ounces water to one-half, and strain. WHITE INK.--Mix pure freshly precipitated Barium Sulphate, or "Flake White," with Water containing enough Gum Arabic to prevent the immediate settling of the substance. Starch or Magnesium Carbonate may be used in a similar way. They must be reduced to palpable powders. INDELIBLE INK FOR MARKING LINEN.--Add Caustic Alkali to a saturated solution of Corpous Chloride until no further precipitate forms; allow the precipitate to settle, draw off the supernatant liquid with a siphon and dissolve the hydrated copper oxide in the smallest quantity of Ammonia. It may be mixed with about 6 per cent of Gum Dextrine for use. TO WRITE SECRET LETTERS.--Put five cents' worth Citrate of Potassa in an ounce vial of clear cold water. This forms an invisible fluid. Let it dissolve and you can use on paper of any color. Use quill pen in writing. When you wish the writing to become visible hold it to red hot stove. BLACK COPYING INK OR WRITING FLUID.--Take two gallons of Rain Water, and put into it Gum Arabic one-fourth pound, Brown Sugar one pound, clean Copperas one-fourth pound, Powdered Nutgall three-fourths pound; mix, and shake occasionally for ten days, and strain; if needed sooner let it stand in an iron kettle until the strength is obtained. This ink will stand the action of the atmosphere for centuries if required. TO MAKE RUBBER STAMP INK.--Dissolve Aniline in hot Glycerine, and strain while hot or warm. COMMERCIAL WRITING INK.--Galls one ounce, Gum one-half ounce, Cloves one-half ounce, Sulphate of Iron, one-half ounce, Water eight ounces. Digest by frequent shaking till it has sufficient color. This is a good durable ink and will bear diluting. TRAVELERS' INK.--White Blotting Paper is saturated with Aniline Black, and several sheets are pasted together, so as to form a thick pad. When required for use a small piece is torn off and covered with a little water. The black liquid which dissolves out is a good writing ink. A square inch of paper will produce enough ink to last for a considerable writing, and a few pads would be all that an exploring party need carry with them. As water is always available the ink is readily made. This is a perfectly original and new recipe. Any enterprising man can make a large income out of its manufacture. INDELIBLE MARKING INK WITHOUT A PREPARATION.--Dissolve separately one ounce of Nitrate of Silver and one and one-half ounces of Sub-Carbonate of Soda (best washing soda) in rain water. Mix the solutions and collect and wash the precipitate in a filter; while still moist rub it up in a marble or hardwood mortar with three drachms of Tartaric Acid, add two ounces of Rain Water, mix six drachms White Sugar and ten drachms powdered Gum Arabic, one-half ounce Archill and Water to make up six ounces in measure. It should be put up in short drachm bottles and sold at twenty-five cents. This is the best ink for marking clothes that has ever been discovered. There is a fortune in this recipe, as a good marking ink is very salable. INVISIBLE INK.--Sulphuric Acid one quart, Water twenty parts; mix together and write with a quill pen, which writing can be read only after heating it. HORTICULTURAL INK.--Copper one part, dissolve in Nitric Acid ten parts and add Water ten parts; used to write on zinc or tin labels. GOLD INK.--Honey and Gold Leaf equal parts, Turpentine until the Gold is reduced to the finest possible state of division, agitate with thirty parts Hot Water and allow it to settle. Decant the Water and repeat the washing several times; finally dry the Gold and mix it with a little Gum Water for use. SILVER INK.--For silver ink the process is the same as gold, substituting Silver Leaf for the Gold leaf. INDELIBLE INK FOR GLASS OR METAL.--Borax one ounce, Shellac two ounces, Water eighteen fluid ounces; boil in a covered vessel, add of thick Mucilage one ounce; triturate it with Levigated Indigo and Lamp Black q.s. to give it a good color. After two hours' repose decant from the dregs and bottle for use. It may be bronzed after being applied. Resists moisture, chlorine and gases. BROWN INK.--A strong decoction of Catechu. The shade may be varied by the cautious addition of a little weak solution of bicromate of potash. LUMINOUS INK.--Shines in the dark. Phosphorous one-half drachm, Oil Cinnamon one-half ounce; mix in a vial, cork tightly, heat it slowly until mixed. A letter written in this ink can only be read in a dark room, when the writing will have the appearance of a fire. TICKETING INK FOR GROCERS, ETC.--Dissolve one ounce of Gum Arabic in six ounces of Water and strain; this is the Mucilage; for a _black color_ use Drop Black, powdered and ground with the mucilage to extreme fineness; for _blue_, Ultra-Marine is used in the same manner; for _green_, Emerald Green; for _white_, Flake White; _red_, Vermillion, Lake or Carmine; for _yellow_, Chrome Yellow. When ground too thick they are thinned with a little water. Apply to the cards with a small brush. The cards may be sized with a thin glue, afterward varnished, if it is desired to preserve them. COMMON INK.--To one gallon boiling Soft Water add three-fourths ounce Extract of Logwood; boil two minutes; remove from the fire and stir in forty-eight grains Bichromate of Potash and eight grains Prussiate of Potash. For ten gallons use six and one-half ounces Logwood Extract, one ounce Bichromate of Potash, and eighty grains Prussiate Potash; strain. Six cents should buy the former and twenty-five cents the latter. RED INK.--In an ounce phial put one teaspoonful Aqua Ammonia, Gum Arabic size of two or three peas, and six grains No. 40 Carmine. Fill up with soft water and it is soon ready for use. INK FOR MARKING PACKAGES.--Take Lamp Black and mix thoroughly with sufficient Turpentine to make it thin enough to flow from the brush. Powdered Ultra-Marine instead of Lamp Black, makes a fine blue marking mixture for the same purpose. CHAPTER IV. COSMETIC DEPARTMENT. LIQUID FOR CURLING THE HAIR.--Two ounces scrapings of lead, half ounce Litharge, one-quarter ounce Gum Camphor. Boil all in one pint of soft water for half an hour. Let it cool; pour off liquid and add to it one drachm Rosemary Flowers. Boil all again and strain, when it is ready for use. Apply about once a week. HAIR OIL.--One gallon Cologne Spirits, 90 per cent proof, one pint Castor Oil, one ounce Oil Cinnamon. Mix well and it is ready for use. POWDER FOR THE COMPLEXION.--Half ounce Tincture of Elder Blossoms, half ounce Beef Marrow, half pint Orange Flower Water, one Cassia Buds, two ounces Bitter Almonds, four drachms Spirits Oriental Roses. Mix, and apply it in the evening and wash it off in the morning. PASTE TO PRODUCE WHISKERS.--One ounce of Oil of Paricada, two ounces Southern Wood Bark, one ounce Dog's Lard. Fry over a slow fire until it forms a paste. Apply to the face once a day until the whiskers begin to grow. TO CLEAN THE TEETH.--Castile Soap and Cigar Ashes applied with a soft rag is one of the best tooth preparations known. TO MAKE THE HAIR SOFT AND GLOSSY.--One pint Alcohol, four ounces Castor Oil. Mix, and flavor with Bergamot. Apply frequently with the hands. TO REMOVE FRECKLES.--Use Oxolate of Copper Ointment. HAIR TONIC.--Sugar of Lead five grains, Sulphate Quinine two grains, Muriat of Ammonia one drachm, Glycerine six ounces, Distilled Water six ounces. Mix and apply two or three times per day. HAIR DYES. NO. 1.--Distilled Water six ounces, Alcohol one ounce, Pyrogalic Acid one drachm. The Acid must be dissolved in the Alcohol before the water is added. NO. 2.--Aqua Ammonia one ounce, Water one ounce, Nitrate of Silver two drachms. Dissolve the Silver in water and add the Ammonia. Cork tight and keep in a cool place. NO. 3.--Water four ounces, Sulphate of Potash half ounce. Mix. To dye the hair or whiskers, have them free from dirt or soap suds. They should be a little damp. Add carefully No. 1, using care not to allow the dye to touch the skin. When somewhat dry apply No. 2; in about three minutes apply No. 3. Use care not to allow any of these preparations to touch the skin. TO BEAUTIFY THE TEETH AND MAKE THE BREATH SMELL SWEET AND PLEASANT.--One ounce Chlorate of Lime in a pint of Soft Water, and let it stand 24 hours. Then pour off the clear water and add forty drops of Essence of Rose. TO MAKE THE CHEEKS AND LIPS ROSY.--Use a little Red Carmine. PERFUMERY.--Oils of Rosemary and Lemon each a half ounce, Bergamot and Lavender half drachm, Cinnamon four drops, Cloves and Rose each two drops, Alcohol one quart. Mix and let stand one week. HAIR RESTORATIVE.--Sugar of Lead, Borax and Lac Sulphur each one ounce, Aqua Ammonia half ounce, Alcohol one gill. Mix and let stand 20 hours, then add Bay Rum one gill, fine Table Salt one tablespoonful, Soft Water three pints, Essence of Bergamot half ounce. NEW YORK BARBER'S STAR HAIR OIL.--Castor Oil six and one-half pints, Alcohol one and one-half pints, Oil of Citronella one-half ounce, Lavender one-fourth ounce. Mix well, put in four ounce bottles, retail for 25 cents. CELEBRATED MOTH AND FRECKLE LOTION.--For the skin and complexion; a great secret. Distill two handfuls Jessamine Flowers in a quart of Rose Water and a quart of Orange Water. Strain through porous paper and add a scruple of Musk and a scruple of Ambergris. Bottle and label. Splendid wash for the skin. IMPERIAL ONGUENT FOR FORCING WHISKERS AND MUSTACHE TO GROW.--Made as follows: Two drachms of Benzoin Comp., two drachms Tincture of Cantharides, six ounces of Castor Oil, nine and one-fourth ounces Alcohol, one drachm Oil of Bergamot. Mix well, bottle and label. Apply the Onguent night and morning. Circulation should be stimulated with a rough towel. CURLOLINE, FOR MAKING THE HAIR CURL.--One pound Olive Oil, one drachm Oil of Origanum, one and one-half drachms Oil of Rosemary. Mix well, bottle and label. Apply two or three times weekly. Will curl the straightest hair if not cut too short. HAIR RESTORATIVE AND INVIGORATOR.--For a trifling cost. Sugar of Lead, Borax and Lac Sulphur of each one ounce, Aqua Ammonia one-half ounce, Alcohol one gill. mix and let stand for fourteen hours; then add Bay Rum one gill, fine Table Salt one tablespoonful, Soft Water three pints, Essence of Bergamot one ounce. This preparation not only gives a beautiful gloss, but will cause hair to grow upon bald heads arising from all common causes, and turning gray hair to a dark color. _Manner of Application._--When the hair is thin or bald, make two applications daily, until this amount is used up. Work it into the roots of the hair with a soft brush or the ends of the fingers, rubbing well each time. For gray hair one application daily is sufficient. JOCKEY CLUB.--Spirits of Wine five gallons, Orange Flower Water one gallon, Balsam of Peru four ounces, Essence of Bergamot eight ounces. Essence of Musk eight ounces, Essence of Cloves four ounces, Essence of Neroli two ounces. Mix. LADIES' OWN.--Spirits of Wine one gallon, Otto of Roses twenty drops, Essence of Thyme one-half ounce, Essence of Neroli one-fourth ounce, Essence of Vanilla one-half ounce, Essence of Bergamot one-fourth ounce, Orange Flower Water six ounces. UPPER TEN.--Spirits of Wine four quarts, Essence of Cedrat two drachms, Essence of Violets one-fourth ounce, Essence of Neroli one-half ounce, Otto of Roses twenty drops, Orange Flower Essence one ounce, Oil of Rosemary thirty drops, Oils of Bergamot and Neroli each one-half ounce. CHAPTER V. LIVE STOCK DEPARTMENT. Each and Every Recipe in This Department Has Been Tested by the Most Eminent Veterinary Surgeons in the United States, and Pronounced by Them as the Best. WOUNDS AND CUTS.--Take four ounces Lard, Beeswax four ounces, Resin three ounces, Vaseline four to six ounces. Melt these together and add Carbolic Acid half ounce. This is excellent. COLIC.--Gum Camphor one ounce, Cayenne one ounce, Gum Myrrh one ounce, powdered Gum Quaial one ounce, Sassafras Bark one ounce, Spirits of Turpentine one ounce, Oil of Origanum one-quarter ounce, Oil Hemlock half ounce, Pulverized Opium half ounce, good alcohol two quarts. Mix and let stand ten to twelve days and filter. Dose from one to four teaspoonfuls in a pint of milk. Keep this on hand. It is the best colic cure known. LINIMENT TO KILL PAIN.--One gallon Alcohol, one ounce Tincture Cayenne, two ounces Tincture Gum Camphor, two ounces Tincture Ammonia, one-half ounce Chloroform. Mix well and let stand twelve hours. BEST CONDITION POWDERS.--Fenugreek, Cream of Tartar, Gentian, Sulphur, Saltpetre, Resin, Black Antimony and Ginger each two ounces, Cayenne Pepper one ounce. Pulverize and mix thoroughly. Dose, two tablespoonfuls once a day in feed. BRITTLE AND CONTRACTED HOOFS.--Take Castor Oil, Barbadoes, Tar and Soft Soap. Equal parts of each. Melt all together and stir while cooling, and apply a little to the hoof three or four times a week. CONTRACTED HOOF AND SORE FEET.--Take equal parts of Soft Fat, Yellow Wax, Linseed Oil, Venice Turpentine and Norway Tar; first melt the wax, then add the others, mixing thoroughly. Apply to the edge of the hair once a day. CRACKED HEELS.--Tar eight ounces, Beeswax one ounce, Resin one ounce, Alum one ounce, Tallow one ounce, Sulphate of Iron one ounce, Carbolic Acid one drachm. Mix and boil over a slow fire. Skim off the filth and add two ounces of the scrapings of Sweet Elder. EYE WATER.--White Vitriol and pure Saltpetre of each one scruple, pure soft water eight ounces. Mix. This should be applied to the inflamed lids three or four times a day, and if the inflammation does not lessen in one or two days it may be injected directly into the eye. The writer has used this for his own eyes, reduced one-half with water, and dropped directly into the eye, which would cause the eye to smart considerably for about five minutes, when he should bathe the eye with cold water for a few minutes, and by repeating this three or four times a day, it has given the best of satisfaction. It does nicely, many times, to just close the eye and bathe the outside freely. CURE FOR SWEENEY.--Alcohol and Spirits of Turpentine each eight ounces, Camphor Gum, pulverized Cantharides and Capsicum each one ounce, Oil of Spike three ounces. Mix. Bathe with hot iron. FARCY.--Nitrate of Potash four ounces, Black Antimony two ounces, Sulphite of Soda one ounce, Elecampane two ounces. Mix. Dose, one tablespoonful once or twice a day. FARCY AND GLANDERS.--Iodide of Potassium one and one-quarter drachms, Copperas one-half, Ginger one drachm, Gentian two drachms, powdered Gum Arabic and Syrup to form a ball; or, take one-half ounce Sulphite Soda, five grains powdered Cantharides. Mix, and give at night in cut feed for several weeks; give at the same time every morning and noon three drachms powdered Gentian, two drachms powdered Blue Vitriol, give the medicines for a long time; feed well. This is the best treatment that can be given for this disease. WOLF'S LINIMENT.--One quart Alcohol, two ounces Tincture Arnica, one ounce Oil Hemlock, one ounce Oil of Spike. Mix well and let stand twenty-four hours. This will cure any burn, scald, bruise, sprain or any like ailment; also aches and pains of all kinds. Apply by wetting a flannel cloth and wrapping it around the diseased parts. CUTS, WOUNDS AND SORES.--Take of Lard four ounces, Beeswax four ounces, Resin two ounces, Carbolic Acid one-quarter ounce. Mix the first three and melt, add Carbolic Acid, stirring until cool. This is excellent for man as well as beast. FOR POLL EVIL.--Rock Salt one ounce, Blue Vitriol one ounce, Copperas one-half ounce. Pulverize and mix well. Fill a goose quill with the powder and push to the bottom of the pipe. Have a stick at the top of the quill and push the powder out of the quill, leaving it at the bottom of the pipe. Repeat in four days, and in two or three days you can remove the pipe without any trouble. CURE FOR SCRATCHES.--Sweet Oil three ounces, Borax one ounce, Sugar of Lead one ounce. Mix and apply twice daily after washing thoroughly with castile soap, giving time for legs to dry. GREAT ARABIAN HEAVE REMEDY.--Give your horse a teaspoonful of Lobelia once a day for a week and then once a week, and you will hardly know he ever had the heaves. Try it. BOTS.--Take new Milk two quarts, Syrup one quart, mix and give the whole, and in fifteen or twenty minutes after give two quarts of warm, strong Sage tea; half an hour after the tea give one quart of raw Linseed Oil, or if the Oil cannot be had give Lard instead. DIURETICS.--Take Balsam Copaiba two ounces, Sweet Spirits of Nitre three ounces, Spirits of Turpentine two ounces, Oil of Juniper two ounces, Tincture of Camphor two ounces. Mix; shake the bottle before pouring the medicine. Dose for adult horse, two tablespoonfuls in a pint of milk, repeated every four to six hours, if necessary. This is a reliable preparation for kidney difficulties. FOUNDER.--Vinegar three pints, Capsicum one-half drachm, Tincture of Aconite Root fifteen drops. Mix and boil down to one quart; when cool give it as a drench. Blanket the horse well; after the horse has perspired for an hour or more, give one quart of raw Linseed Oil. This treatment will be found good for horses foundered by eating too much grain. MANGE.--Oil Tar one ounce, Lac Sulphur one and one-half ounces, Whale Oil two ounces. Mix. Rub a little on the skin wherever the disease appears, and continue daily for a week, then wash off with castile soap and warm water. POLL EVIL AND FISTULA.--Tincture of Opium one drachm, Potash two drachms, Water one ounce; mix, and when dissolved inject into the pipes with a small syringe, having cleansed the sore with soap-suds; repeat every two days until pipes are completely destroyed. CONDITION POWDER.--Take Antimony Crude one ounce, Lobelia gr. one ounce, Ginger two ounces, Sulphur Flour three ounces, Berberry gr. one ounce, Cream Tartar four ounces, Saltpetre Flour four ounces; well mixed. Dose, one tablespoonful each day in wet feed. Best in the market; will sell well. FOR BONE SPAVIN.--Hog's Lard half pint, best Oil Origanum one and a half ounces, Oil Cajeput two ounces, pulverized Cantharides half ounce. Mix, and apply each morning for four mornings, heating it in with hot iron each time, then discontinue its use for three days, after which use as before for five mornings. Wait about eight or ten days and if not gone repeat as before. ARABIAN HORSE TAMER'S SECRET.--Take Oil of Cummin, Oil of Rhodium and Horse Castor. Keep separate in air-tight bottles. Rub a little of the Oil of Cummin on your hand and approach the horse on the windward side, so that he can smell the Cummin. The horse will then let you come up to him without trouble. Rub your hand gently on the horse's nose, getting a little oil on it. He will then follow you. Give him a little of the Castor on a piece of Loaf Sugar or Apple; get a few drops of the Rhodium on his tongue, and he is your servant. He will follow you like a pet dog. CURE FOR SPAVIN AND RINGBONE.--Cantharides one ounce, Mercurial Ointment half ounce, Corrosive Sublimate a half drachm, Turpentine one and a half ounces, Tincture Iodine one ounce, Gum Euphorbium four ounces. Mix well with one pound of Lard. For spavin or ringbone, cut the hair away and grease the part well with the ointment, rubbing it in well. In two days grease the parts with Lard; wash it off in two days more, and again apply the ointment. So continue until a cure is effected, which will be in a short time. For bog Spavin, wind gall, curb or splint, apply the ointment every six days. JOCKEY TRICKS.--How to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered.--Take a fine wire and fasten it tightly around the fetlock, between the foot and the heel, and smooth the hair over it. In twenty minutes the horse will show lameness. Do not leave it on over nine hours. To make a horse lame.--Take a single hair from its tail, put it through the eye of a needle, then lift the front leg and press the skin between the outer and middle tendon or cord, and shove the needle through, cut off the hair each side and let down the foot. The horse will go lame in twenty minutes. How to make a horse stand by his food and not take it.--Grease the front teeth and the roof of the mouth with common beef tallow, and he will not eat until you wash it out. This, in conjunction with the above, will consummate a complete founder. How to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind.--Saw between the upper teeth to the gums. How to put a young countenance on a horse.--Make a small incision in the sunken place over the eye, insert the point of a goose quill and blow it up; close the external wound with a thread, and it is done. To cover up the heaves.--Drench the horse with one-fourth pound of common bird-shot, and he will not heave until they pass through him. To make a horse appear as if he had the glanders.--Melt four ounces fresh Butter and pour into his ear. To distinguish between glanders and distemper.--The discharge from the nose in glanders will sink in water; in distemper it floats. How to make a true pulling horse balk.--Take Tincture of Cantharides one ounce, and Corrosive Sublimate one drachm; mix and bathe his shoulder at night. How to serve a horse that is lame.--Make a small incision about half way from the knee to the joint on the outside of the leg, and at the back part of the shin bone you will find a small, white tendon or cord; cut it off and close the external wound with a stitch, and he will walk off on the hardest pavement and not limp a particle. HOW TO TELL THE AGE OF A HORSE.--The safest way of determining the age of a horse is by the appearance of the teeth, which undergo certain changes in the course of years. Eight to fourteen days after birth, the first middle nippers of the set of milk teeth are cut; four to six weeks afterwards the pair next to them, and finally, after six or eight months, the last. All these milk teeth have a well defined body and neck, and a slender fang, and on their front surface grooves or furrows, which disappear from the middle nippers at the end of one year, from the next pair in two years, and from the incisive teeth (cutters) in three years. At the age of two the nippers become loose and fall out, in their places appear two permanent teeth, with deep, black cavities, and full, sharp edges. At the age of three, the next pair fall out. At four years old, the corner teeth fall out. At five years old, the horse has his permanent set of teeth. The teeth grow in length as the horse advances in years, but at the same time his teeth are worn away by use about one-twelfth of an inch every year, so that the black cavities of the center nippers below disappear in the sixth year, those of the next pair in the seventh year, and those of the corner teeth in the eighth year. Also the outer corner of upper and lower jaw just meet at eight years of age. At nine years old, cups leave the two center nippers above, and each of the two upper corner teeth has a little sharp protrusion at the extreme outer corner. At the age of ten the cups disappear from the adjoining teeth. At the age of eleven, the cups disappear from the corner teeth above, and are only indicated by brownish spots. The oval form becomes broader, and changes, from the twelfth to the sixteenth year, more and more into a triangular form, and the teeth lose, finally, with the twentieth year, all regularity. There is nothing remaining in the teeth that can afterwards clearly show the age of the horse, or justify the most experienced examiner in giving a positive opinion. The tushes, or canine teeth, conical in shape, with a sharp point, and curved, are cut between the third and fourth year, their points become more and more rounded until the ninth year, and after that, more and more dull in the course of years, and lose, finally, all regular shape. Mares seldom have tusks; if any, they are very faintly indicated. Frequent reference to the chart for telling the horse's age will thoroughly acquaint one with this valuable bit of knowledge. AGE OF SHEEP AND GOATS.--At one year old they have eight front teeth of uniform size. At two years the two middle ones are supplanted by two large ones. At three a small tooth appears on each side. At four there are six large teeth. At five all the front teeth are large, and at six all begin to get worn. AGE OF CATTLE.--A cow's horn is supposed to furnish a correct indication of the age of the animal, but this is not always true. For ordinary purposes, however, the following will be found approximately correct: At two years of age a circle of thicker matter begins to form on the animal's horns, which becomes clearly defined at three years of age, when another circle begins to form, and an additional circle every year thereafter. The cow's age then can be determined by adding two to the number of circles. The rings on a bull's horns do not show themselves until he is five years old--so in the case of a bull five must be added to the number of rings. Unless the rings are clear and distinct these rules will not apply. Besides, dishonest dealers sometimes file off some of the rings of old cattle. CHAPTER VI. HOG DEPARTMENT. THE DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER OF THE HOG. In all histories of animals, the hog stands a natural phenomenon, and alone in relation to his appetite and physical constitution. The hog is the only kind of animal known to man that can feed on any kind of food. The stomach of the hog is adapted both to flesh and grass, which is not the case with any other animal in all the history of animals. Another peculiarity of his nature is his great ferociousness; perhaps the hog is more valiant than any animal known. The ferocious and warlike disposition (perhaps) is one among the reasons of this animal's great health. There are very few diseases among animals that the hog is subject to; in fact, it (the Cholera) is the only disease to be greatly feared among that order of animals; and as this great and valuable remedy is found and demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt, the farmer may go on raising and feeding his hogs with the full assurance that his labors will not be lost. He can improve his hogs with confidence and assurance that health and prosperity will be the rich reward of his labors. There is more money made in the culture and growing of hogs than any animal in the known world; notwithstanding the great loss by Cholera, there is no one but what will say amen to this fact. Even Boone County loses $100,000.00 worth of hogs with the Cholera, annually. There are 114 counties in the State of Missouri. Now make the calculation of the great saving of money by this invaluable discovery for the prevention and cure of the above disease. We see that if all farmers and traders in hogs had this book, and carried out its instructions, it would save $11,400,000.00 for the State of Missouri, which amount would soon enable Missouri or any other State that observes this book's instructions to be the richest State in the Union. There is no farmer but that will become wealthy if he uses economy, industry and has the Stephen's Remedy for Hog Cholera. SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE, HOG CHOLERA. 1st. Gentleness and sluggishness. 2d. You will see the hog moving around with his nose close to the ground, with a kind of a forced cough, hair looking dead and kind of a reddish color; then they quit eating and soon die. These symptoms are generally of a slow progress, but certain death if Stephen's Cholera Remedy is not used. These symptoms are set forth both in dry and purging Hog Cholera. On the first appearance, this disease is more fatal, from the fact that nature teaches the brute, by unlearned laws, natural medical aid; but this disease is so powerful and destructive there is something more necessary than the animal can generally get at. We now propose to give the cause and the whole cause of the fearful disease caused Hog Cholera: The system of both man and brute is made up and composed of a living animalcule so small that it cannot be discovered with the eye, it being so delicate; but, by the use of the microscope, it can be readily seen and realized. In good health, with this animal, this animalcule is the life and spirit of the hog, causing the functions throughout the whole system to perform nature's intended designs--regular digestion, and a perfect circulation throughout the whole animal nature; but when this valuable animal is ranging in certain localities where he has no resort to certain material, the system becomes of an impure character, and this delicate animalcule commanding a rapid growth, feeds upon the nutriment of the body of the hogs and consequently destroys life without a counteracting remedy of speedy effect. The liver is the seat of worms or animalcule; it is also the king or main spring of digestion of both man and beast; when the hog begins to droop, the worm is rapidly growing; and, without something to destroy this worm, the hog will die. In certain localities the hog never has this disease. Now, this is full and ample evidence that it is the locality in relation to feed that keeps this fearful disease from the hog. In my travels I have observed, the localities and health of this valuable animal depends on what range or food he gets. The Author, having traveled through different countries and localities, observing at the same time the health of this animal, gave rise to this great discovery as a perfect remedy for health. This remedy will both prevent and cure this disease, when the disease has not too strong a hold, and the liver and blood fevered too much by the worm. The liver, being the seat of digestion, must not be disturbed; if its digestion is disturbed, secretions are located--the system depending on the liver as the clock or watch depends on its mainspring for time; therefore, knowing the disease and remedy, end experiencing the facts, the Author is fully satisfied that his remedy, both as a preventative and cure, is all that it claims to be, and is undoubtedly the most valuable discovery for the health of the swine that has ever been known or found out. The reasons and cause of Hog Cholera having been explained, the Author now proposes to give the PREVENTION AND CURE OF HOG CHOLERA. We are aware of the fact that the talent, ingenuity and skill of man has been employed in searching out some remedy as a preventative and cure for this lamentable disease; and there have been some preventions used that have been valuable in that direction. For instance, the simple article called ashes is a healthy article for stock, which many people use, but it never cured one case of Cholera. I have no doubt but it has been beneficial for the general health of hogs. Of all remedies, simple ones when they will cure are the best; and this remedy is as simple and as easily used as it is possible in the use of any remedy. The effective remedy is simply old lime and sand, with arsenic. Now, I am aware that the nature of man is to look for some great and unknown article as a remedy for such a great curse as Hog Cholera; but, considering the cause of the disease being the animalcule, reader, you see that it requires something to prevent the excess, or destroy the increase of this minute animal. Now, we see readily that the Old Lime, Sand and Arsenic does the work without a doubt, and the hog is healthy and clear of disease. Now, reader, you have the remedy; the next thing is how to use it. In the first place drive your wagon to some sandbar and haul a wagon load of sand; throw it out where you feed your hogs; to one wagon load of sand, put one bushel of old slacked lime; throw your feed on that for your hogs, and about every three months replenish with the same. If your hogs have the Cholera, separate the sick from the well ones, and have a trough, and put some of the sand and lime in it, with about one-half of a thimbleful of arsenic to the hog; then pour some rich slop on this preparation so that the hogs will eat it; milk would be preferable if you have it. This preparation once every other day will soon have your hogs healthy and sound; it destroys the worms, then the hog is all right. To your healthy hogs give one-half thimbleful of arsenic in slop to every hog, once per month. This is all the arsenic you must use; you must not mix the arsenic with the lime and sand, or the hog may not get it. After using this remedy, your hogs that are not yet complaining with Cholera will never take it; you may rely on it. I have tried this valuable remedy until I am perfectly satisfied; where the Cholera was killing out the gang every day, it put a stop to it at once; and not only for myself, but many others under my notice. I have never seen Cholera bother hogs, where this Stephen's Remedy was used as above stated. You will ask, what is to be done where pigs have it? In answer to that, reader, just get a trough and put in the remedy, and pour the slop to their mother, and the milk will be just as effective to the pigs as the remedy is with the sow. This Stephen's Remedy for Hog Cholera, if studied and observed, will be worth from $100.00 to $1,000.00 to every farmer or hog trader, where Cholera has ever been; and there is no trouble or expense to have the benefit of it. This very little book is worth its weight in gold. The countries where they have no Hog Cholera are rocky and hilly, sandy and limy, where the hog can get this remedy, and Providence has so taught the animal that nature dictates to him the remedy. See the dog, when he is sick, he knows how to take an emetic, vomit, and get well; so it is with the hog, if he can find this remedy he hardly ever takes Cholera. In addition to those cures as a prevention of the disease, use Asafetida, as follows: Cut in small pieces about one ounce; melt it in water or grease, pour it in rich slop. Feed it to about ten hogs, once per week in Hog Cholera season, more or less according to number of hogs. If you will keep up these remedies your swine will keep healthy. Keep the sick ones and well ones separate. If you have clover keep the sick ones on it, it is healthy for hogs. ON TREATMENT. A little further advice concerning the treatment of hogs when penned for fattening; hogs should be penned on rolling ground if possible; they fatten better and consume less corn; they should be salted twice a week. The way to salt is as follows: If there is no decaying stump in the pen, haul a rotten log and pour salt on it, and the hogs will use all the salt and waste none; and the demands of nature will have them use just enough and no more; this preparation will save 2-1/2 bushels of corn to every hog, which is $1.00--quite an item where you have a large pen of hogs. Salt your stock hogs in the same way. When you have used Stephen's Remedies one year, you would not be without this knowledge for any small amount, for your hogs will be healthy and prosperous. If the reader has only one hog per year, it will pay him to buy this book in relation to the breed of hogs. I don't know that I could enlighten you on this subject, for the world's attention is directed to that information, and perhaps, reader, you are as well posted on that subject as your humble writer. For the western country, as a hardy and profitable stock of thrifty hogs, the Berkshire mixed or crossed with the Poland China, would be my choice, but every man has his own notions concerning the breed of his stock. The main point is to keep them healthy. Please fathom these instructions, which will cost you no more hard labor. Now, reader, the Author has endeavored, in his plain and simple manner, and in as few words as possible, to explain the cause of Hog Cholera, its effects, symptoms, and its cure and prevention, which have been demonstrated by the Author, and not only by him but by divers others under his instruction. Before the Author wrote this book, he sold these receipts at from $10.00 to $50.00; but seeing the great loss of labor and perplexity in relation to Hog Cholera, and the pressing necessity throughout our land, alone induced the Author of this work to write a book and set such a low price on it as to enable every poor widow, that has even a pet pig, to be in possession of one as a security for its health. ADVICE TO THE YOUNG MAN. When the young man leaves his father's home to plan out his course as a farmer it is very necessary for him to observe two grand points: 1st. To so live, act and speak, as the Apostle Paul says, "void of offense both to God and man;" and in these words there is a world of thought. This constitutes our noblest characters in this life and the life to come. 2nd. In relation to finance, or making and saving of money. Purchase a good farm, just as much land as you can cultivate well, and no more; don't have one surplus acre; don't do like some people, raise every kind of stock and never have anything for market; but when you raise hogs, raise nothing else for market but hogs; and raise all you can fatten--that is, all you can raise corn to make fat; and by this rule to have one or two car loads for sale every fall; you will become wealthy if you live to be old. In relation to managing your fields, be sure not to exhaust your soil; if you are in timber land, sow wheat every other year on your corn-fields; this will keep your land constantly improving from ordinary land to rich land. If you live in prairie country where your wheat will not pay, never sow oats unless you let your hogs take them before cutting. Always have one clover field for your hogs to run on in the hard months of summer and fall. Now, reader, in conclusion, I will give you certificates of the most prominent men in our vicinity, who tried and experienced the Stephen's Hog Cholera Remedy, and became convinced of its great value and benefit to man; and that all men may have confidence and rely on this remedy as a fact, these men have gone before the Justice of the Peace and sworn to the facts as they exist. You will see their certificates on the following pages. Now, reader, hoping we may both be greatly benefited by this little work, I bid you God speed. Good-bye. HOG CHOLERA. This is to certify that I bought one of Dr. J. H. Stephen's Hog Cholera books in 1880, when my hogs were dying with that disease. I went home and followed the directions of the book. I cured my hogs and prevented the rest from having the disease. I here state I have followed Dr. Stephen's book's directions for fifteen years, feeding and raising hogs, with Cholera around me, and have kept my hogs healthy ever since. You need not be afraid of Hog Cholera if you have one of the books. The remedy will not cost more than one dollar a year for one hundred hogs. No one that has hogs can afford to do without it. I was living in Monroe county when I bought the book. I am now living in Brunswick, Chariton county, Mo., with Hog Cholera all around me. I am not afraid of it. If you doubt this, write to me. REUBEN YOUNG. Witness, B. G. YOUNG. October 15, 1895. A VALUABLE DISCOVERY FOR EVERYBODY. In 1870 my hogs, and many of those of my neighbors, died with Hog Cholera; it also broke out again in '71. Dr. Stephens, of Centralia, discovered a never failing cure for Hog Cholera. I used his remedy, it being no expense or trouble, and I never lost a hog, while every one of my neighbors lost a large portion of their hogs by disease. My hogs running with them, I am satisfied that I would have lost them, had it not been for this great remedy of Stephens, that I used. I am satisfied that this remedy will either cure or prevent Hog Cholera in any case. I am an old farmer, and would not be without this sure remedy for any reasonable sum of money. I conscientiously and unhesitatingly advise every farmer to not fail to get at least a farm right, and save your hogs from that dreadful destructive disease; for the remedy will cure and prevent Hog Cholera in any case. I have experienced this fact, and the benefit of it is the reason I set so high a value on it. I am a sojourner near Cairo, Randolph county, Mo. Was born in Kentucky and emigrated to Missouri in an early day. THOMAS PATRICK. June 24, 1872. VALUABLE NOTICE. I hereby state a valuable fact. My hogs were dying with Cholera in the fall of 1871; I offered the lot for a certain sum of money. They were dying every day with Hog Cholera, in Boone County. I finally offered them for a mere nominal sum, not being one-fifth part of the value of the hogs, had not the Cholera been among them, and they dying every day. Dr. J. H. Stephens of Centralia, Mo., said he could cure them, and Mr. R. E. Edwards, of Centralia, Mo., having faith in Dr. Stephens, bought the hogs. To my own knowledge, the hogs were cured and fatted up, and made well; and I say for the benefit of the public, that I believe that Dr. Stephens can either cure or prevent Hog Cholera on any man's farm. I advise all farmers to get his great and valuable remedy; it may save you thousands of dollars. Given under my hand this June 22nd, 1872. This is for no benefit of mine, but alone for the benefit of the public. This is a fact. E. T. BENNETT, Trustee of the M.E. Church, Centralia. Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 22nd day of June, 1872. J. M. WEST, J.P. TO ALL MY FRIENDS, AND THEN TO STRANGERS. Centralia, Boone Co., July 3, 1872. Dr. Stephens, of this place, I believe, has discovered at last the great remedy both to cure and to prevent Hog Cholera. This disease has made its ravages among hogs in every State like cholera among men, but I hope and believe from experience, that Dr. Stephens has, after all the remedies have been tried, discovered the great and only reliable remedy, I am satisfied from theory and experience that his remedy will both cure and prevent Hog Cholera. I bought a lot of hogs, every one of which had the Cholera, on the faith that Dr. Stephens would cure them. I bought the hogs of E. T. Bennett, living in our town. They were dying every day, and I bought them at a mere nominal sum, it not being, perhaps, one-fifth or sixth part of the value of said hogs. I called on Dr. Stephens, and he instructed me what to do. The remedy cost me but a trifle and I cured every one, and my hogs fattened and did well--other hogs dying all over town--mine cured sound and remained healthy. I am not afraid of Hog Cholera any more; at least I am satisfied I can cure it with Dr. Stephens' great remedy. This remedy I never before heard of for Hog Cholera; but I have experienced the fact. The great value is, it costs you, to prevent 1,000 hogs from having it one year with three hours' labor, but $1.00. My advice is, don't fail to obtain this valuable remedy at any cost. This is a fact that I believe is worth more, and a greater saver of money to the United States than any discovery that has been made in the 19th century. R. F. EDWARDS, Sup't. of the M.E. Sunday School, Centralia, Mo. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 3rd day of July, 1872. JAMES M. WEST, J.P. CHAPTER VII. POULTRY DEPARTMENT. THE TREATMENT OF FOWLS. In the rearing of poultry for profit it may safely be stated that dry, well-aired, warm poultry houses are necessary. To keep fowls in poorly ventilated, damp, cold quarters is a waste of time and money, as nearly all diseases of fowls are traceable to improperly kept poultry houses. It may also be stated that 99 per cent of the sickness in fowls has its origin in filth, hence cleanliness is essential in raising good poultry. The hen house should be cleaned as often as the barn. DISEASES OF FOWLS AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. Apoplexy.--This disease is usually caused by over feeding in confined quarters. The bird may be noticed moping for some days, but usually the trouble is not noticed until the bird falls and dies with hardly a struggle. Remedy.--Open the largest of the veins under the wing, press on the vein between the opening and the body until the blood flows freely. Vertigo.--Like apoplexy, is caused by over feeding and lack of exercise. The fowl runs in a circle with but partial control of the limbs. Remedy.--Hold the head of the bird under a stream of cold water. Give ten grains of jalap and reduce the amount of feed. Crop-Bound.--Is caused by irregular feeding. A hungry bird fills his crop to such a degree that the contents, when moistened, becomes a dense compact mass. Remedy.--Puncture the upper part of the crop, loosen the mass by degrees, with a blunt instrument. If the incision is large, sew up the slit and feed the bird soft food for ten days. Diarrhoea.--Remedy.--Five grains powdered chalk, 5 grains turkey rhubarb, 5 grains cayenne pepper. Roup.--This is a very contagious disease. The well fowls should immediately be separated from the sick ones, and the old quarters thoroughly disinfected. Use the following remedy. One-half ounce balsam copaiba, one-quarter ounce liquorice powder, one-half drachm piperine. This is enough for thirty doses. Enclose each dose in a small capsule; give two or three doses per day. If this does not furnish relief in two days, kill the fowl and burn or bury it. The symptoms of this disease are first, a thick opaque and peculiarly offensive smelling discharge from the nostrils. Froth appears at the inner corner of the eyes, the lids swell and often the eyes are entirely closed; the sides of the face become much swollen, and the bird rapidly declines and dies. Gapes.--Is caused by parasitic worms in the wind pipe, or from a small tick-like parasite lodged on the head of the chicken when between two and four months old. Examine the head of the bird, with a pocket lens, and if the parasite is found, destroy them with the following: One ounce mercurial ointment, one-half ounce petroleum (crude), one-half ounce flower of sulphur. Mix by heating, and apply when just warm. When gapes is caused by worms in the wind pipe, use spirits of turpentine, it is applied by dipping the end of a feather in the turpentine, then inserting it in the bird's mouth at the root of the tongue; generally one operation is all that is required. To prevent and cure chicken cholera, renovate the coops thoroughly then saturate the apartments with kerosene oil. Then grease the chicken under the wings and wherever the feathers are off, use the formula mentioned for gapes when caused by parasite (on the head), repeat the greasing process in two weeks, then once a month until the time of heavy frost in the fall. The following is an elegant internal treatment. Dissolve four ounces of hyposulphate of soda in one gallon of water and add corn meal to make a heavy dough, and give an ordinary feed of this twice a day for six days, and then once a week through the summer months. In severe cases give one teaspoonful of the water (without meal) three or four times a day until out of danger. This is the best known remedy for chicken cholera. Poultry Lousiness.--Appears only in poorly kept fowls. Sprinkle the fowls and nests with Scotch snuff or flower of sulphur. In addition thoroughly cleanse the hen house and coop with a solution of four pounds of potash to a gallon of water or with strong soap suds. CHAPTER VIII. CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. HOW TO IMITATE GOLD.--Take the following metals and melt them in a covered crucible; sixteen ounces Virgin Platina, twenty-four ounces pure copper. SILVER.--Forty ounces Nickel, twenty ounces Copper, thirty ounces Block Tin. ARTIFICIAL GOLD.--Sixteen parts of Virgin Platina and seven parts Copper and one of Zinc. Put these in a crucible with powdered charcoal, and melt them together till the whole forms a mass, and are thoroughly incorporated together. This also makes a gold of extraordinary beauty and value. It is not possible by any tests that chemists know of to distinguish it from pure virgin gold. All I ask of men is to use it for good and lawful purposes, for the knowledge that I here give you will bring you a rich and permanent reward without using it for unlawful purposes. MANHEIM, OR JEWELER'S GOLD.--Three parts of Copper, one part of Zinc, and one part of Block Tin. If these are pure and melted in a covered crucible containing charcoal, the resemblance will be so good the best judges cannot tell it from pure gold without analyzing it. BEST PINCHBACK GOLD.--Five ounces of pure Copper and one ounce of Zinc. This makes gold so good in appearance that a great deal of deception by its use in the way of watches and jewelry has been successfully practiced for several hundred years back. SILVER FLUID.--For silvering brass and copper articles of every description.--Take an ounce of precipitated Silver to half an ounce of Cyanate of Potash and quarter of an ounce of Hyper Sulphate of Soda. Put all into a quart of water, add a little whitening and shake before using. Apply with a soft rag. This knowledge alone is worth one hundred dollars. ORIGINAL AND GENUINE SILVER PLATING.--Galvanism Simplified.--Dissolve one ounce of Nitrate of Silver in Crystal in twelve ounces of soft water. Then dissolve in the water two ounces of Cyanate of Potash. Shake the whole together and let it stand until it becomes clear. Have ready some half-ounce vials, and fill them half full with Paris White or fine Whiting, then fill up the bottles with the liquid, and it is ready for use. The Whiting does not increase the coating power; it only helps to clean the articles and to save the silver fluid by half filling the bottles. The above quantity of materials will only cost about $1.50, so that the fluid will only cost about three cents a bottle. POWDER FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING TIN, BRITANNIA AND BRASSWARE.--Take one-half pound ground Pumice Stone and one-quarter pound Red Chalk, mix them evenly together. This is for tin brass. For silver and fine ware, take one-half pound Red Chalk, and one-quarter pound Pumice Stone, mix evenly; use these articles dry with a piece of wash leather. It is one of the best cleaning powders ever invented, and very valuable. SILVER POLISH FOR TIN, BRASS AND METALLIC ARTICLES.--Quicksilver, Tinfoil or Rottenstone, equal parts, all pulverized together. Roll up in balls, show as you go, and sell for 10 cents a ball. ANOTHER.--Fine.--Four pounds Whiting, one-quarter ounce Oxalic Acid, one-half ounce Cream Tartar. Stir all together, then add slowly three ounces Mercury stirring briskly all the time so it will mix. This is good, 25 cents a ball. KANGAROO CEMENT.--Rubber one ounce, pack tightly as possible in a bottle and cover it with Bi-Sulphate of Carbon. When the rubber is dissolved you will have the best cement in the world. There is a fortune in this to an energetic man, as it sells at 25 cents a drachm; and costs but little to make it. This is the cement used by shoemakers to put invisible patches on shoes. HOW TO EAT FIRE.--Anoint your tongue with liquid Storax, and you may put hot iron or fire coals into your mouth, and without burning you. This is a very dangerous trick to be done, and those who practice it ought to use all means they can to prevent danger. We never saw one of those fire-eaters that had a good complexion. IMITATION SILVER.--Eleven ounces refined Nickel, two ounces Metallic Bismuth. Melt the composition three times, and pour them out in ley. The third time, when melting, add two ounces of pure silver. IMITATION GOLD.--Four ounces of Platina, three ounces of Silver, one ounce of Copper. OROIDE GOLD.--The best article is made by compounding four parts pure Copper, one and three-fourths part pure Zinc, one-fourth part Magnesia, one-tenth part Sal-Ammoniac, one-twelfth part Quick Lime, and one part Cream Tartar. Melt the Copper first, then add as rapidly as possible the other articles in the order named. HOW TO INCREASE THE WEIGHT OF GOLD.--Take your bar of Gold and rub it long and carefully with thin Silver, until the Gold absorbs the quantity of Silver that you require. Then prepare a strong solution of Brimstone and Quicklime. Now put the Gold into a vessel with a wide mouth. Now let them boil until the Gold attains the right color, and you have it, but do not use this knowledge for an ill purpose. MASON'S FROZEN PERFUME.--This perfume is in a solid, transparent form, and by rubbing on the handkerchief it imparts an exquisite perfume; by carrying it in the pocket it perfumes the entire wearing apparel; by keeping it in a drawer or box all articles therein obtain the benefits of this perfume. Solidified perfumes are superior to all liquid, as they cannot spill or waste in any manner, but will last for years. Perhaps no article of luxury had such a sale as this, and as the sales have steadily increased since its introduction, no other proof of its excellence is needed. FREEZING MIXTURE.--Take four parts Nitric Acid, six parts Nitrate Ammonia, and nine parts phosphate of Soda. Having first prepared a vessel of galvanized iron four inches wide, twenty-four inches long, and twelve inches deep, have it a little wider at the top than at the bottom. Now make another vessel eight inches wide, twenty-eight inches long and fourteen inches high. Put the small vessel inside the larger one, fill the small one nearly full of as cool water as you can procure, put the freezing mixture in the large vessel around the smaller one, set this in as cool a place as possible. If you will have a faucet at the lower edge of the larger vessel and first fill the large vessel with the following it will greatly assist in freezing. Equal parts of Sal-Ammonia and Nitre dissolved in its own weight of water. In ten to fifteen minutes pour this off and put in the freezing mixture. NOTE.--I have used the above description of a vessel to give you an idea of how to operate. Any sized vessel made in the same proportion will work as well. IMPROVED TROY STARCH ENAMEL.--Melt five pounds of Refined Paraffine Wax in a tin boiler or pan over a slow fire; use care in melting. When melted remove the vessel from the fire and add 200 drops of Oil of Citronelli. Take some new round tin pie pans, and oil them with sweet oil as you would for pie baking, but do not use lard. Put these pans on a level table, and pour in enough of the hot wax to make a depth in each pan equal to about the thickness of one-eighth of an inch. While hot, glance over the pans to see that they are level. As this is very essential, please remember it. If the pans are not level, the cakes will be all thicknesses, which should not be so. Then let them cool, but not too fast. Watch them closely, and have a tin stamp ready to stamp the cakes out about the size of an ordinary candy lozenge. This stamp should be about eight inches long, larger at the top than at the bottom, so that the cakes can pass up through the stamp as you are cutting them out of the pans. Lay the cakes in another pan to cool. Before they become very hard, separate them from each other; if not, it will be difficult to do so when they become very hard. Do not neglect this. Have boxes made at any paper box maker's in any large city. They cost about from one to two cents each; sliding boxes are the best. Have your labels printed, and commence business at once. Put 24 to 30 cakes in each box, and retail for 25 cents. Wholesale for $1.50 per dozen. _Directions for Use._--To a pint of boiling starch stir in one cake or tablet. This gives an excellent lustre to linen or muslin, and imparts a splendid perfume to the clothes, and makes the iron pass very smoothly over the surface. It requires but half the ordinary labor to do an ironing. It is admired by every lady. It prevents the iron from adhering to the surface, and the clothes remain clean and neat much longer than by any other method. BRILLIANT SELF-SHINING STOVE POLISH.--This is one of the greatest inventions of the age. It has been the result of a large amount of study on the part of the inventor to perfect a polish that would work easily and satisfactorily in a perfect dry state, thereby obviating the disagreeable task of mixing and preparing. A good stove polish is an absolute necessity in every family. It is only a question, then, of offering the best to make a sale. To prove that this polish is the best is an easy task. All you have to do is to have a box open and a piece of rag to begin operations. You now approach the stove and apply the polish. The result will be so startlingly beautiful that no further words will be necessary. If the stove is not convenient, anything will do to experiment with. You can produce on a piece of wood, a scrap of paper or a potato, a lustre equal to a burnished mirror. Now make the following points just as strong as you can: That this polish requires no water or mixing like the various cake or powder polishes. 2. That it is self-shining and no labor is required. 3. That no dust or smell of any kind rises from its use. And, lastly, that it has no equal in the world. RECIPE.--Take Plumbago (Black Lead) finely pulverized, and put in two ounce wood boxes, nicely labeled, and sell for ten or fifteen cents a box. Wholesale to stores and agents at $6.00 a hundred. Costs less than three cents a box to manufacture. _Directions for Use._--Use a damp woolen rag, dip in the box, and apply to the stove. Then polish with a dry cloth, and a most beautiful polish will appear. TO FROST WINDOW PANES.--Take Epsom Salts and dissolve in beer. Apply with a brush and you have the finest window frosting known. THE HOUSEKEEPER'S FRIEND, or ELECTRIC POWDER.--This is one of the most salable articles of the day and staple as flour--something that every housekeeper will buy. It is used for gold and silver plated ware, German silver, brass, copper, glass, tin, steel, or any material where a brilliant lustre is required. Is put up in two ounce wood boxes, costs three cents to manufacture, sells at retail for 25 cents, to agents and stores for $12.00 per 100 boxes. RECIPE.--To four pounds best quality Whiting, add one-half pound Cream Tartar and three ounces Calcined Magnesia; mix thoroughly together, box and label. _Directions._--Use the polish dry with a piece of chamois skin or Canton flannel, previously moistened with water or alcohol, and finish with the polish dry. A few moments' rubbing will develop a surprising lustre, different from the polish produced by any other substance. RECIPE.--Follow the same directions as in "Starch Enamel," and perfume as follows: Take two ounces Oil Lemon Grass and one-half ounce Oil of Cloves, and one-fourth ounce Oil of Lavender flowers; mix them well together. For this amount of perfume you require about four quarts of the liquid paraffine. Pour the oils into the melted paraffine while warm, stirring it well while pouring. Stamp into square cakes and put into neatly printed envelopes. Sell for ten cents a cake, cost two cents. Agents can sell 100 cakes a day. THE LIGHTNING INK ERASER.--The great Lightning Ink Eraser may be used instead of a knife or scraper for erasing in order to rectify a mistake or clean off a blot, without injury to the paper, leaving the paper as clean and good to write upon as it was before the blot or mistake was made, and without injury to the printer's ink upon any printed form or ruling upon any first-class paper. Take of Chloride of Lime one pound, thoroughly pulverized, and four quarts of Soft Water. The above must be thoroughly shaken when first put together. It is required to stand twenty-four hours to dissolve the Chloride of Lime. Then strain through a cotton cloth, after which add a teaspoonful of Acetic Acid (No. 8 commercial) to every ounce of Chloride of Lime Water. The eraser is used by reversing the penholder in the hand, dipping the end in the fluid, and applying it, without rubbing, to the blot to be erased. When the ink has disappeared, absorb the fluid into a blotter, and the paper is immediately ready to write upon. Put up in common ink bottles and retail for 25 cents each. THE MAGIC ANNIHILATOR.--To make one gross eight-ounce bottles--aqua ammonia one gallon, soft water eight gallons, best white soap four pounds, saltpetre eight ounces. Shave the soap fine, add the water, boil until the soap is dissolved, let it get cold, then add the saltpetre, stirring until dissolved. Now strain, let the suds settle, skim off the dry suds, add the ammonia, bottle and cork at once. Cost about $7.25 per gross; sells for $72.00. It will do everything claimed for it and more, too. It is no mixture of soap suds as some may suppose, but a pure scientific, chemical preparation. If you wish to make a small quantity for trial, take aqua ammonia two ounces, soft water one quart, saltpetre one teaspoonful. Shave the soap fine, mix all, shake well, and let settle a day or two to dissolve the soap. _What It Will Do._--It will remove all kinds of grease and oil spots from every variety of wearing apparel, such as coats, pants, vests, dress goods, carpets, etc., without injury to the finest silks or laces. It will shampoo like a charm, raising the lather in proportion to the amount of dandruff and grease in the hair. A cloth wet with it will remove all grease from door-knobs, window sills, etc., handled by kitchen domestics in their daily routine of kitchen work. It will remove paint from a board, I care not how hard or dry it is, if oil is used in the paint, yet it will not injure the finest textures. Its chemical action is such that it turns any oil or grease into soap, which is easily washed out with clear cold water. For cleaning silver, brass and copper ware it can't be beat. It is certain death to bed bugs, for they will never stop after they have encountered the Magic Annihilator. _Directions for Use._--For grease spots, pour upon the article to be cleaned a sufficient quantity of the Magic Annihilator rubbing well with a clean sponge, and applying to both sides of the article you are cleaning. Upon carpets and coarse goods, where the grease is hard and dry, use a stiff brush and wash out with clear cold water. Apply again if necessary. One application is all that is needed for any fresh grease spots, but for old or dried a second may be required. For shampooing take a small quantity of the Magic Annihilator with an equal quantity of water, apply to the hair with a stiff brush, brushing into the pores of the scalp, and wash out with clear water. You will be surprised at the silk gloss of your hair. For cleaning silver ware, etc., buy five cents' worth of whitening, mix a small quantity with the magic annihilator, and apply with a rag, rubbing briskly. For killing bed bugs, apply to the places they frequent, and they will leave in short order. You will find it useful in many other ways. (See price list of labels.) CHAPTER IX. MISCELLANEOUS DEPARTMENT. FIRE-PROOF PAINT.--Take a sufficient quantity of Water for use; add as much Potash as can be dissolved therein. When the water will dissolve no more Potash, stir into the solution first, a quantity of flour paste of consistency of painter's size; second a sufficiency of pure clay to render it of the consistency of cream. Apply with a painter's brush. N.B.--The above will admit of any coloring you please. WATER-PROOF AND FIRE-PROOF CEMENT FOR ROOFS OF HOUSES.--Slack Stone Lime in a large tub or barrel with boiling water, covering the tub or barrel to keep in the steam. When thus slacked pass six quarts through a fine sieve. It will then be in a state of fine flour. To this add one quart Rock Salt and one gallon of Water. Boil the mixture and skim it clean. To every five gallons of this skimmed mixture add one pound of Alum and one-half pound Copperas; by slow degrees add three-fourths pound Potash and four quarts fine Sand or Wood Ashes sifted. Both of the above will admit of any coloring you please. It looks better than paint and is as durable as slate. PAINT FOR ROUGH WOODWORK.--Six pounds melted Pitch, one pound Linseed Oil, and one pound Yellow Ochre. SUPERIOR PAINT FOR BRICK HOUSES--To Lime Whitewash add, for a fastener, Sulphate of Zinc, and shade with any color you choose, as Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, etc. It outlasts oil paint. ART OF ETCHING ON COPPER.--Having obtained a piece of fine Copper, which will be well polished, make a mixture of Beeswax and a small quantity of Resin; melt these together, and when thoroughly incorporated by stirring, take a camel's hair brush and cover the plate, which must previously be warmed by the fire, with an even coating of the mixture. When the mixture becomes hardened upon the plate, sketch the desired object upon the surface, then take an etching point, a large needle fixed in a handle will do, and cut through the wax to the surface of the copper, taking care to make the lines as distinct as possible. This being done, raise a border of wax all around the plate, then pour strong Nitric Acid on the plate to the depth of an inch. The Acid will eat away the copper in those places which have been bared by the etching point. From time to time pour off the acid and wash the plate to see how the work is going on. Stop up with wax those places that appear to be etched deep enough, pour Acid upon the others, and let it remain until the process is completed. This done, melt off the wax clean the plate, and the etching is ready for the press. This is an employment from which a good remuneration may be derived. MAHOGANY FURNITURE VARNISH.--Take of Proof Alcohol one quart, cut therein all the Gum Shellac it will take, add two ounces of Venice Turpentine, and coloring to suit. This makes a beautiful polish and will wear for years. WATER-PROOF FOR LEATHER.--Take Linseed Oil one pint, Yellow Wax and White Turpentine each two ounces, Burgundy Pitch two ounces, melt and color with Lamp Black. TO TAKE STAINS OUT OF MAHOGANY.--Mix Spirits of Salts six parts, Salt of Lemons one part, then drop a little on the stains, and rub them till they disappear. CEMENTS.--Cements of various kinds should be kept for occasional use. Flour paste answers very well for slight purposes; if required stronger than usual, boil a little Glue or put some powdered Resin in it. White of Egg, or a solution of Glue and a strong Gum Water are good cements. A paste made of Linseed Meal dries very hard and adheres firmly. A soft cement is made of Yellow Wax, melted with its weight of Turpentine, and a little Venetian Red to give it color. This when cool is as hard as soap, and is very useful to stop up cracks, and is better to cover the corks of bottles than sealing wax or hard cement. The best cement for broken china or glass is that sold under the name of Diamond cement; it is colorless and resists moisture. This is made by soaking Isinglass in water until it is soft, and then dissolving it in Proof Spirits; add to this a little Gum Ammoniac or Galbonam or Mastic, both dissolved in as little Alcohol as possible. When the cement is to be used, it must be gently liquified by placing the vial containing it in boiling water. The vial must be well closed with a good cork, not glass stopper, as they become forced. It is applied to the broken edges by a camel's hair pencil. When objects are not to be exposed to the moisture, the White of an Egg alone is mixed with finely powdered Quicklime, will answer very well; Shellac dissolved in water is better. A very strong cement for all earthenware is made by boiling slices of Skim-Milk Cheese and Water into a paste, then grinding the Quicklime in a marble mortar, or on a slab with a mallet. TO MEND IRON.--Mix finely some sifted Lime with the White of an Egg till a thin sort of paste is formed, then add some Iron Filings. Apply this to the fracture and the vessel will be found nearly as sound as ever. PATENT GLUE.--One pound fine Isinglass and one pint Rain Water, boil and prepare an ordinary glue, then add slowly, stirring continually, two ounces Nitric Acid, bottle and it is fit for use. It will permanently adhere to wood, leather, paper and everything else. It sells for twenty-five cents an ounce; by keeping it secret Spaulding has made a fortune out of it; read his advertisement. Truly it is a young fortune to a good peddler. PATENT BLACKING.--One gallon Alcohol, one ounce Sulphuric Acid, one and one-half pounds Gum Shellac; let stand 48 hours, then add one-fourth pound of Ivory Black. Let stand 24 hours, then carefully pour off the top. This is ready for use and is water-proof. This recipe cost $50; is for the polish of all leather. It sells in four ounce bottles at $1 per bottle. STENCIL CUTTING.--Take a thin copper or brass plate, lay flat on the side, then take a sharp edged steel, write thereon the same as common writing, but press sufficiently hard to cut through the plate. To mark, lay the plate thus cut upon the cloth, and apply ink by means of a brush to the back of the plate, and it will wet the cloth where the cut is made by the writing. A little practice will enable a person to cut beautifully. There is money to be made at this. Some make $10 a day. GLUE FOR CEMENTING PAPER AND LEATHER.--Take Isinglass and Parchment each one ounce, Sugar Candy and Gum Tragacanth each two drachms, add to them one ounce Water, and boil the whole together till the mixture appears (when cold) of the consistency of Glue; then pour it into any form you please. If this glue be wet with the tongue, and rubbed on the edge of paper, silk or leather that are to be cemented, they will, on being laid together, pressed tightly and suffered to dry, be as firmly united as other parts of the substance. It is fine to seal letters. NEW ENGLAND SOAP.--Take three pounds of hard, white soap, shave it up fine, dissolve it in ten quarts boiling water; add one ounce Salts of Tartar, three ounces Borax; then take the same from the fire and set it away to cool; as soon as it becomes cool enough to bear your hand in, add one ounce liquid Ammonia; stir each article as you put it in. TO HARDEN WOOD.--One often desires to impart the hardness of Oak to shutters, doors, etc., made of soft wood. This is easily done by giving them a first coating of common gray paint, and then sifting some very fine sand over it. When dry a coat of paint is laid on, after which the surface becomes so hard that it will resist the action of sun and rain, for many years without undergoing the slightest alteration. WASHING FLUID.--Two pounds crude Potash, one ounce Sal Ammoniac, one-half ounce Saltpetre, two gallons Rain Water, one pint for eight gallons of Water, and one pound Soap. Put the clothes to soak over night and rinse in the morning. This has been sold for $5 for some time. LIQUID CEMENT.--Cut Gum Shellac in 70 per cent Alcohol, put it in vials, and it is ready for use. Apply it to the edge of the broken dish with a feather, and hold it in a spirit lamp as long as the cement will simmer, then join together evenly, and when cold the dish will break in another place first, and is as strong as new. TO CLEAN WINE DECANTERS.--Use a little Pearl Ash or Soda, and some Cinders and Water. Rinse them out with water. TO CLEAN CHINA.--Use a little of Fuller's Earth and Soda or Pearl Ash with Water. BURNING FLUID.--Four quarts Alcohol, one pint Spirits of Turpentine; mix well. It is the best in use. FLY POISON.--Sugar half ounce, half ounce thoroughly ground Black Pepper. Make it to thin paste and place it on paper where the flies do congregate. FURNITURE POLISH.--Best Vinegar one pint, Turpentine half pint. Mix and apply with a brush. PATENT SOAP.--Half pint Turpentine, three pints Sal Soda, three pounds grease, two pounds Resin Soap, forty gallons Water. Boil one hour and it is fit for use. This is a great soap. Keep it to yourself. RAT, MOUSE AND ROACH EXTERMINATOR.--One pint Alcohol, one-fourth ounce Cayenne Pepper, one ounce powdered Anise Seed, one-fourth ounce Saltpetre, one-fourth ounce White Lead, four ounces Essence of Hops. Steam this slowly for an hour, then add thirty drops Quassia. Let stand 48 hours, and add one gallon of Water; bottle for use. To use, saturate bread, meat, etc., and lay it in their frequented places. In two nights not one will be seen. It sells for $1.00 per 4-ounce bottle; or drive them away yourself for $5 a farm or $2 a house. TO CLEAN BRITIANNIA WARE.--Britiannia ware should be washed with a woolen cloth and sweet oil, then washed in water and suds, and rubbed with soft leather and whiting. Thus treated it will retain its beauty to the last. THE ART OF PAINTING GLASS.--The only difference between ordinary painting and painting on glass is, that in the latter all transparent colors are used instead of opaque ones and the color is ground up with Turpentine and Varnish instead of Oil. In painting upon glass it is necessary to place the picture between the artist and the light to enable him to see the effect, the light having the property of casting a yellowish tinge upon all colors so exposed. To persons having a knowledge of coloring, this art is easily learned, and affords a handsome remuneration. OIL PASTE FOR BLACKING BOOTS AND SHOES.--Two ounces Oil of Vitriol, four ounces Tanner's Oil, mix and let stand forty-eight hours, then add five ounces Molasses and one pound Ivory Black; stir well and then put up for sale. This has been the fortune of Mason, of Philadelphia. CRYSTAL CEMENT.--Dissolve one pound of White Glue in one and one-half pints of hot water, then cut one ounce Gum Shellac in one and one-half pints Alcohol, and mix with the glue, then stir in two ounces of dry White Lead, and add one ounce of Turpentine. This makes the best cement of anything that has been discovered. It will stand heat, and articles will break in another place sooner than where put together. This is a fortune to an enterprising man. FOR CLEANING MARBLE.--Muriatic Acid two lbs., Acetic Acid one-half lb., Verdigris one-quarter ounce. Mix and apply with a brush. Wash the stone after with sponge and water. After the stone is clean rub it smooth with Pumice Stone, keeping it wet with water. After some little practice you can clean an old, dirty tombstone so that a marble cutter cannot detect it from being new work. A NEW ART, OR THE LIGHTNING INTEREST RULES.--Reduce the whole time to months and set it down in figures; divide the number of days by three, and set the quotient down to the right of the months, and multiply that by the quotient of the money divided by two; the answer will be the interest at six per cent. To change to any other rate, multiply the interest by it and divide by six. $160--one year, seven months, twenty-one days, at six per cent. $160--2--$80 x 197--$15.76 at 6. Parties in New York are teaching this rule at $5 a scholar. BOTTLE WAX.--_Black._--Black Resin six and one-half pounds, Beeswax one-half pound, finely powdered Ivory Black one and one-half pounds. Melt together. _Red._--As the last, but substitute Venetian Red or Red Lead for the Ivory Black. LIQUID MUCILAGE.--Fine clean Glue one pound, Gum Arabic ten ounces, Water one quart. Melt by heat in glue kettle or water bath; when entirely melted, add slowly ten ounces strong Nitric Acid, set off to cool. Then bottle, adding a couple of cloves to each bottle. BLUING FOR CLOTHES.--Take one ounce of soft Prussian Blue, powder it and put in a bottle with a quart of clear Rainwater, and add one-fourth ounce of Oxalic Acid. A teaspoonful is sufficient for a large washing. SWAIN'S VERMIFUGE.--Wormseed two ounces, Valerian, Rhubarb, Pink-Root, White Agaric, of each one and one-fourth ounces. Boil in sufficient water to yield three quarts of decoction and add to it 30 drops of Oil of Tansy and 45 drops of Oil of Cloves; dissolve in a quart of rectified spirits. Dose one tablespoonful at night. TO MAKE PADS.--A piece of fine Woolen Cloth saturated with ink, makes an excellent pad, but it is customary to place sheet cotton underneath and muslin over the cloth, bringing the muslin down around the edges and fasten by tacking on a binding of Tin or Morocco Leather strips. TO MAKE WAX FLOWERS.--The following articles will be required to commence wax work: two pounds White Wax, one-fourth pound Hair Wire, one bottle Carmine, one Ultramarine Blue, one bottle Chrome Yellow, two bottles Chrome Green, No. 1, two bottles Chrome Green No. 2, one bottle each of Rose Pink, Royal Purple, Scarlet Powder and Balsam Fir, two dozen sheets White Wax. This will do to begin with. Now have a clean tin dish, and pour therein a quart or two of water; then put in about one pound of the White Wax, and let it boil. When cool enough, so the bubbles will not form on top, it is ready to sheet, which is done as follows: Take half a window pane, 7x9, and after having washed it clean dip into a dish containing weak soap-suds; then dip into the Wax, and draw out steadily, and plunge it into the suds, when the sheet will readily come off. Lay it on a cloth or clean paper to dry. Proceed in like manner until you have enough of the white; then add enough of the green powder to make a bright color, and heat and stir thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed, then proceed as for sheeting white wax. The other colors are rubbed into the leaves after they are cut out, rubbing light or heavy according to shade. For patterns you can use any natural leaf, forming the creases in wax with thumb nail or needle. To put the flowers together, or the leaves on the stem, hold in the hand until warm enough to stick. If the sheeted wax is to be used in summer, put in a little Balsam of Fir to make it hard. If for winter, none will be required. You can make many flowers without a teacher, but one to assist in the commencement would be a great help, though the most particular thing about it is to get the wax sheeted. The materials I have suggested can be procured at any drug store, and will cost from $3.00 to $4.50. PORTABLE LEMONADE.--Tartaric Acid one ounce, White Sugar two pounds, Essense of Lemon one-fourth ounce; powder and keep dry for use. One dessert spoonful will make a glass of lemonade. TO NEUTRALIZE WHISKY TO MAKE VARIOUS LIQUORS.--To forty gallons of Whisky add one and one-half pounds unslacked Lime, three-fourths of a pound of Alum, and one-half pint Spirits of Nitre. Stand twenty-four hours and draw it off. MADEIRA WINE.--To four gallons prepared Cider, add one-fourth pound Tartaric Acid, four gallons of Spirits, three pounds Loaf Sugar. Let stand ten days, draw it off carefully. Fine it down, and again rack it in another cask. SHERRY WINE.--To forty gallons prepared Cider add two gallons Spirits, three pounds of Raisins, six gallons good Sherry and one-half ounce Oil of Bitter Almonds, dissolved in Alcohol. Let it stand ten days, draw it off carefully. Fine it down, and again rack it in another cask. ARTIFICIAL HONEY.--Take eight pounds of White Sugar, add two quarts of Water, boil four minutes, then add one pound of Bee's Honey. Strain while hot. Flavor with a drop of Oil of Peppermint and a drop of the Oil of Rose. PORT WINE.--To forty gallons prepared Cider add six gallons good Port Wine, ten quarts Wild Grapes, clusters, one-half pound bruised Rhatany Root, three ounces Tincture of Kino, three pounds Loaf Sugar, two gallons Spirits. Let this stand ten days. Color, if too light with Tincture of Rhatany, then rack it off and fine it. This should be repeated until the color is perfect and the liquid clear. CLEANING COMPOUND.--Mix one ounce of Borax and one ounce Gum Camphor with one quart of boiling water. When cool add one pint of Alcohol, bottle and cork tightly. When wanted for use, shake well and sponge the garments to be cleaned. This is an excellent mixture for cleaning soiled black cashmere and woolen dresses, coat collars and black felt hats. SHAVING SOAP.--Good white Soap in fine shavings, three pounds; Balm Soap, one pound; Soft Water, three-fourths of a pound; Soda, one ounce. Melt carefully over a slow fire in an earthen vessel; then add Oil of Lavender sixty drops, Oil of Lemon forty drops; mix well and make into forms. LEATHER CEMENT.--Take Gutta Percha cut in Chloroform to right consistency for use. Equal to Cook's best for putting patches on leather, cloth shoes or boots. Well worth $100. TO FASTEN PAPER TO TIN.--Take good clear pale yellow Glue, break it into rather small pieces, and let it soak a few hours in cold water. Pour off the supernatant water, place the glue thus softened in a wide-mouthed bottle; add sufficient Glacial Acid to cover the Glue, and facilitate the solution by standing the bottle in warm water. This Acetic will stick almost anything. HUNTERS' AND TRAPPER'S SECRET.--Take equal parts of Oil of Rhodium, Anise Oil, Sweet Oil and Honey, and mix well. Put a few drops on any kind of bait. For musk-rats use sweet apples or vegetables for bait. For mink use a chicken's head or a piece of fresh meat. FIRE KINDLERS--To make very nice fire kindlers take Resin, any quantity, and melt it, putting in for each pound being used two or three ounces or Tallow, and when all is hot stir in Pine Sawdust to make very thick, and while very hot spread it out about one inch thick, upon boards which have fine Sawdust sprinkled upon them to prevent it from sticking. When cold break up into lumps about an inch square. But if for sale take a thin board and press upon it while yet warm, to lay it off into inch squares. This makes it break regularly, if you press the crease sufficiently deep. Grease the marked board to prevent it sticking. RED SEALING WAX.--Purchase four pounds Shellac, one and one-half pounds Veneer Turpentine, three pounds finest Cinnabar, and four ounces Venetian; mix the whole well together and melt over a very slow fire. Pour it on a thick, smooth glass, or any other flat smooth surface, and make it into three, six or ten sticks. FURNITURE POLISH.--Equal parts Sweet Oil and Vinegar and a pint of Gum Arabic finely powdered. Shake the bottle and apply with a rag. It will make furniture look as good as new. BLACK SEALING WAX.--Purchase the best Black Resin three pounds, Beeswax one-half pound, and finely powdered Ivory Black one pound. Melt the whole together over a slow fire, and make it into sticks. CEMENT FOR LEATHER.--Virgin India Rubber dissolved in Bisulphide of Carbon. Add Bisulphide until of proper consistency to apply. After applying hold a moderately warm iron over the patch. AROMATIC SCHIEDAM SCHNAPPS, to imitate.--To twenty-five gallons good common Gin, five over proof, add fifteen pints strained Honey, two gallons clear Water, five pints White Sugar Syrup, five pints Spirits of Nutmeg, mixed with Nitric Ether, five pints Orange Flower Water, seven quarts pure Water, one ounce Acetic Ether, eight drops Oil of Wintergreen dissolved with the Acetic Ether. Mix all the ingredients well; if necessary, fine with Alum and Salt of Tartar. CHAMPAGNE CIDER.--Good Cider, pale, one hogshead, Spirits three gallons, Honey or Sugar twenty pounds. Mix and let them stand for two weeks; then fine with skimmed Milk one-half gallon. This will be very pale, and a similar article, when bottled in champagne bottles and silvered and labeled, has often been sold to the ignorant for champagne. CIDER WITHOUT APPLES.--To one gallon of cold Water add dark brown Sugar one pound, Tartaric Acid one-half ounce, Yeast three tablespoonfuls. Shake well together. ST. CROIX RUM.--To forty gallons p. or n. Spirits add two gallons St. Croix Rum, two ounces Acetic Acid, one and one-half ounces Butyric Acid, three pounds Loaf Sugar. IRISH OR SCOTCH WHISKY.--To forty gallons proof Spirits add sixty drops Creosote dissolved in one quart of Alcohol, two ounces Acetic Acid, one pound Loaf Sugar. Stand forty-eight hours. FRENCH BRANDY.--Pure Spirits one gallon, best French Brandy for any kind you wish to imitate, one quart, Loaf Sugar two ounces, Sweet Spirits Nitre one-half ounce, a few drops of Tincture of Catechu or Oak Bark, to roughen the taste, if desired, and color to suit. ENGLISH GIN.--Plain Malt Spirits one hundred gallons, Spirits of Turpentine one pint, Bay Salt seven pounds. Mix and distill. The difference in the flavor of Gin is produced by varying the proportion of Turpentine, and by occasionally adding a small quantity of Juniper Berries. FRENCH FURNITURE POLISH.--Alcohol 98 per cent one pint, Gum Copal and Shellac of each one ounce, Dragon's Blood. Mix and dissolve by setting in a warm place. TO TAKE FAC-SIMILES OF SIGNATURES.--Write your name on a piece of paper, and while the ink is wet sprinkle over it some finely powdered Gum Arabic, then make a rim around it and pour on it some Fusible Alloy in a liquid state. Impressions may be taken from the plates formed in this way by means of printing ink and a copperplate press. CHEMICAL COMPOUND.--Aqua Ammonia two ounces, soft Water one quart, Saltpetre one teaspoonful, Shaving Soap in shavings one ounce. Mix all together. Dissolve the Soap well, and any grease or dirt that cannot be removed with this preparation nothing else need be tried for it. DISTILLING WHISKY FROM MOLASSES.--Take five gallons of Molasses, mix thoroughly with twenty-five gallons soft Water in a barrel. Stir in one-half gallon Brewer's Yeast; let it set from five to seven days in a warm place, say 70 degrees. During this time fermentation will proceed, which is known by a bubbling sensation. When this subsides it is ready for distilling. To distill use a common washing boiler, with the top well closed and a hole in the same, or thimble soldered on for the steam to pass through a pipe. Connect a tin pipe, say two inches in diameter and ten feet long with a short elbow end to the boiler; let the other end incline downward. Fill the boiler one-half full of the fermented wort, boil slowly and regularly until there is no taste of spirits left. The atmosphere condenses the steam. In this case if it should not entirely condense it lengthen or enlarge the pipe. The liquid thus obtained is low wines, and to use the same process of running proof spirits can be obtained. To continue this daily any given amount of molasses, etc., can be mixed, say one barrel each day. Five quarts can be obtained from four quarts of common molasses. Intoxicating liquors of any and all kinds are the father of crime, the mother of abomination, the devil's best friend, and God's worst enemy. INK POWDER.--Powdered Nut Galls four ounces, Copperas three ounces, Logwood one ounce, Gum Arabic one-half ounce. Sufficient for one quart of water. FLORIDA WATER.--Dissolve in one-half gallon of 90 per cent Alcohol, one ounce each of Oil of Lavender, Oil of Bergamot and Oil of Lemon and Oil of Cloves and Cinnamon, one drachm each; add one gallon of Water and filter. MOLASSES CANDY.--Boil Molasses over a moderately hot fire, stirring constantly. When you think it is done drop a little on a plate, and if sufficiently boiled it will be hard. Add a small quantity of Vinegar to render it brittle and any flavoring ingredient you prefer. Pour in buttered tin pans. If nuts are to be added strew them in the pans before pouring out the candy. TO MAKE EGGS OF PHARAOH'S SERPENTS.--Take Mercury and dissolve it in moderately diluted Nitric Acid by means of heat, take care, however, that there be always an excess of Metallic Mercury remaining. Decant the solution and pour it in a solution of Sulphocyanide of Ammonia or Potassium, which may be bought at a good drug store or of a dealer in chemicals. Equal weights of both will answer. A precipitate will fall to the bottom of the beaker or jar, which is to be collected on a filter, and washed two or three times with water, when it is put in a warm place to dry. Take for every pound of this material one ounce of Gum Tragacanth, which has been soaked in hot water. When the gum is completely softened, it is to be transferred to a mortar, and then pulverized and dried precipitate gradually mixed with it, by means of a little water, so as to present a somewhat dried pill mass, from which, by hand, pellets of the desired size are formed, put on a piece of glass, and dried again. They are then ready for use. BOOT AND SHOE BLACKING.--Ivory Black one pound, Molasses two ounces, Olive Oil four ounces, Oil of Vitriol four ounces, Alcohol eight ounces, Rye Flour one pound. Mix them together in a kettle. ANGLER'S SECRET NO. 1.--Mix the juice of Lovage or Smellage, or spoiled cheese, with any kind of bait. No. 2.--Mullen Seed pulverized and mixed with dough, and sprinkled on the surface of still water, intoxicates fish and makes them turn up on the top of the water. BRISTOL'S TOOTH POWDER.--Prepared Chalk one pound, Castile Soap one-half pound, powdered Yellow Bark two ounces, powdered Gum Myrrh two ounces, powdered Loaf Sugar two ounces, powdered Orris two ounces; mix intimately, after having first pulverized the Castile Soap. ROYAL WASHING POWDER.--Mix any quantity of Soda Ash with an equal portion of Carbonate of Soda--ordinary Soda--crushed into coarse grains. Have a thin solution of Glue, or decoction of Linseed Oil ready, into which pour the Soda until quite thick. Spread it out on boards in a warm apartment to dry. As soon as dry, shake up well, so that it will pack easily into nice square packages. Label neatly. Pound packages cost seven cents; retails for thirty-five cents. EGYPTIAN CEMENT.--For mending china, glass or woodenware: Take one pound of the best White Glue, one-half pound dry White Lead, one quart soft Water, one-half pint Alcohol. Put the three first articles in a dish, and that dish in a pot of boiling water. Let it boil until dissolved, then add the Alcohol, and boil again until mixed. A little Camphor should be added, to preserve it and disguise its composition. Put in small bottles; 25 cents each. "HANDY" WATER PENS.--Take best quality violet Analine, reduce to a thick paste with water; then add Mucilage and mix thoroughly. Apply the paste thus made to the pen, and let it dry twelve hours Any steel pen may be prepared in this way. We always keep in stock the best violet Analine, also a large stock of pens. _Directions for Using._--Start action by dipping into water up to filling. If pen should be greasy, wet point with the tongue. To make the ink flow thick, dip to the filling; if wanted thin or pale, dip only to the eye of the pen after starting. After using throw the water off, but don't wipe it, for it will dry in a minute. ARTIFICIAL OYSTERS.--Grate green corn in a dish; to one pint of this add one egg well beaten, small teacup of flour, half a cup of butter, salt and pepper; mix well together and fry them brown. PASTE THAT WILL NOT SOUR.--Dissolve one-half of an ounce of Alum in a pint of boiling water, add an equal weight of Flour, made smooth in a little cold water, and a few drops of Oil of Cloves, and let the whole come to a boil. Put it into glass or ointment jars. It will keep for months. ESSENCES are made with one ounce of any given oil added to one pint of Alcohol. Peppermint is colored with Tincture Turmeric, Cinnamon with Tincture Red Saunders, Wintergreen with Tincture Kino. TINCTURES are made with one ounce of Gum, Root, or Bark, etc., dried, to each pint of proof spirits and let it stand one week and filter. OLEOMARGARINE MANUFACTURE.--The process by which suet is converted into the substance called oleamargarine is as follows: The crude suet after first being washed in cold water is "rendered," melted, and then drawn off into movable tanks. The hard substance is subjected to a hydraulic pressure of 350 tons, and the oil extracted. The butter is made from the oil thus obtained, while the hard substance remaining is disposed of as stearine. The oil, being carried off into churns, is mixed with milk and from three to five per cent of dairy butter. It is then drawn off in a consistent form, and cooled with broken ice. The latter is soon removed, and the butter worked up with a small portion of salt. When this is done the article is ready for packing and consumption. SILVER PLATING FLUID.--Take one ounce Precipitate Silver to one-half ounce Cyanite of Potash and one-fourth ounce of Hyposulphate of Soda. Put all in a quart of water, add a little Whiting, and shake before using. Apply with a soft rag. Put up in ounce bottles, and retail for 25 cents. The secret is worth $100 to an agent to sell to families. MUCILAGE FOR LABELS.--Dextrine two ounces, Glycerine one drachm, Alcohol one ounce, water six ounces. FIG CANDY.--Take one pound of Sugar and one pint of Water, set over a slow fire. When done add a few drops of Vinegar and a lump of Butter, and pour into a pan in which Figs are laid. RAISIN CANDY.--Can be made in the same manner, substituting stoned raisins for the Figs. Common Molasses Candy is very nice with any kind of nuts added. PEPPERMINT, ROSE, or HOARHOUND CANDY.--These may be made as Lemon Candy. Flavor with Essence of Rose, or Peppermint, or finely powdered Hoarhound. Pour it out in a buttered paper, placed in a square tin pan. COLOGNE.--Take one gallon 95 per cent Alcohol or Cologne Spirits, two ounces Oil of Bergamot, one-half ounce Orange, one-half ounce Oil of Cedar, one-half drachm Oil of Nevio, one-half drachm Oil Rosemary. Mix well and it is fit for use. A nice article. BAY RUM, EQUAL TO THE BEST IMPORTED.--Oil of Bay, fine, one and one-half drachms, Oil of Neroli (bigard) ten drops, Ether Acetic two drachms, Alcohol deod. (strong) three pints, Water, two and one-fourth pints, Caromel sufficient to tinge. Let it stand two weeks and filter. COPYING PAD.--White Gelatine four ounces, Water eight ounces, Glycerine eight ounces, Gum Dextrine two ounces. Always use these same proportions for any amount. Melt the Gelatine in the water at a gentle heat, add to it the Glycerine, in which the Gum Dextrine has been thoroughly incorporated. Now stir all together until thoroughly mixed and then pour into pans of the desired size, to the depth of one-half inch. _Recipe for Ink to Be Used._--Violet Analine forty grains, Gum Arabic twelve grains, Alcohol one-fourth ounce, Water one-half ounce. Dissolve the Gum in the Water and Alcohol, then add the Analine. Shake in a bottle from time to time until the Analine is dissolved. _To work the Copying Pad._--Write with ink on any good paper, press the written surface on the pad and allow it to remain two minutes; then take off and the writing will remain, from which impressions may be taken by laying on plain paper, and smoothing with the hand. As soon as the last impression is taken be sure and wash off with a wet sponge. TO BORE HOLES IN GLASS.--Any hard steel tool will cut glass with great facility when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill bow may be used, or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus easily smoothed by a flat file. Flat window glass can be readily sawed by a watch spring saw by aid of this solution. In short the most brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as brass by the use of cutting tools kept constantly moist with Camphorized Oil of Turpentine. TO ETCH UPON GLASS.--Procure several thick, clear pieces of crown glass; and immerse them in Melted Wax, so that they may receive a complete coating, or pour over them a solution of Wax in Benzine. When perfectly cold draw on them with a fine steel point, flowers, trees, houses, portraits, etc. Whatever parts of the drawings are intended to be corroded with the acid should be perfectly free from the least particle of wax. When all these drawings are finished the pieces of glass must be immersed one by one in a square leaden box or receiver, where they are to be submitted to the action of Hydroflouric Acid Gas, made by acting on Powdered Flour-Spar by Concentrated Sulphuric Acid. When the glasses are sufficiently corroded, they are to be taken out, and the wax is to be removed by first dipping them in warm and then in hot water, or by washing with turpentine or benzine. Various colors may be applied to the corroded parts of the glass, whereby a fine painting may be executed. In the same manner sentences and initials of names may be etched on wine-glasses, tumblers, etc. RUBBER HAND STAMPS.--Set up the desired name and address in common type, oil the type, and place a guard about one-half inch high around the form. Now mix Plaster of Paris to the desired consistency, pour in and allow it to set. Have your Vulcanized Rubber all ready, as made in long strips three inches wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, cut off the size of the intended stamp. Remove the plaster cast from the type, and place both the cast and the rubber in a screw press, applying sufficient heat to thoroughly soften the rubber, then turn down the screw hard, and let it remain until the rubber receives the exact impression of the cast and becomes cold, when it is removed, neatly trimmed with a sharp knife, and cemented to the handle, ready for use. COMMON TWIST CANDY.--Boil three pounds of common Sugar and one pint of water over a slow fire for half an hour without skimming. When boiled enough take it off, rub your hands over with butter; take that which is a little cooled and pull it as you would molasses candy, until it is white; then twist or braid it and cut it up in strips. STICKY FLY PAPER.--Boiled Linseed Oil and Rosin; melt and add honey. Soak the paper in a strong solution of Alum, then dry before applying the above. KISS-ME-QUICK.--Spirits one gallon, Essence of Thyme one-fourth ounce, Essence of Orange Flowers two ounces, Essence of Neroli one-half ounce, Otto of Roses thirty drops, Essence of Jasmine one ounce, Essence of Balm Mint one-half ounce, Petals of Roses four ounces, Oil of Lemon twenty drops, Calorous Aromaticus one-half ounce, Essence Neroli one-fourth ounce. Mix and strain. HOW TO TEST THE RICHNESS OF MILK.--Procure any long glass vessel--a cologne bottle or long phial. Take a narrow strip of paper, just the length from the neck to the bottom of the phial, and mark it off with 100 lines at equal distances, or into fifty lines, and count each as two, and paste upon the phial so as to divide its length into 100 equal parts. Fill it to the highest mark with milk fresh from the cow, and allow it to stand in a perpendicular position 24 hours. The number of spaces occupied by the cream will give you its exact percentage in the milk without any guess work. FINE PEPPERMINT LOZENGES.--Best powdered White Sugar seven pounds, pure Starch one pound, Oil of Peppermint to flavor. Mix with Mucilage. HOW TO FASTEN RUBBER TO WOOD AND METAL.--As rubber plates and rings are nowadays used almost exclusively for making connections between steam and other pipes and apparatus, much annoyance is often experienced by the impossibility or imperfection of an air-tight connection. This is obviated entirely by employing a cement which fastens alike well to the rubber and to the metal or wood. Such cement is prepared by a solution of Shellac in Ammonia. This is best made by soaking pulverized Gum Shellac in ten times its weight of strong Ammonia, when a slimy mass is obtained, which in three or four weeks will become liquid without the use of hot water. This softens the rubber and becomes, after volatilization of the Ammonia, hard and impermeable to gases and fluids. TO TRANSFER PRINTED MATTER AND PRINT FROM IT AGAIN.--Take your picture or print and soak it for a short time in a weak solution of Caustic Potash, then remove it carefully, and let it dry on a sheet of clean paper. Then take a piece of copper, zinc, or steel, which has previously been well cleaned, and dip it into hot white wax. Let the first coat set, then dip again. Having got the plate thoroughly coated and set, lay the matter to be transferred on the plate, and rub it gently all over on the back; now raise it up, and it will be transferred on to the wax on the plate. Now take needles of a different thickness, and scrawl all over the wax, following the lines of the engraving. Having got the picture all traced out, pour upon it some weak acid if you use zinc, which is too soft to print many from, therefore it is better to use copper or steel. If you use copper, make the following solution to pour over it: Verdigris four parts, Salt four parts, Sal Ammoniac four parts, Alum one part, Water sixteen parts, Sour Vinegar twelve parts. Dissolve by heat. For steel, use Pyroligneous Acid five parts, Alcohol one part, Nitric Acid one part. Mix the first two, then add the Nitric Acid. Pouring the preparations over the plates where the traces of the pictures are, it will eat into the metal plate without affecting the wax. Let it stand till it has eaten a sufficient depth, then wash the plate with cold water, dry it and place it near the fire till all the wax is melted off. You can now print as many as you please from the plate by rubbing on it printer's ink, so as to fill all the fine spaces; which, when done, wipe it over smoothly with clean cloths to remove the superfluous ink which is on the face of the plate. Now take damp paper or cardboard, and press it on the plate, either with a copying press or the hand, and you get a fine impression, or as many as you want by repeating the inking process. I would recommend beginners to try their skill with valueless prints before attempting to make transfers of fine engravings, as the picture to be transferred is destroyed by the process. I.X.L. BAKING POWDER.--Take one pound Tartaric Acid in Crystals, one and one-half pounds Bi-Carbonate of Soda, and one and one-half pounds of Potash Starch. Each must be powdered separately, well dried by a slow heat, well mixed through a sieve. Pack hard in tinfoil, tin or paper glazed on the outside. The Tartaric Acid and Bi-Carbonate of Soda can of course be bought cheaper of wholesale druggists than you can make them, unless you are doing things on a large scale, but Potato Starch any one can make. It is only necessary to peel the potatoes and to grate them up fine into vessels of water, to let them settle, pour off the water, and make the settlings into balls, and dry them. With these directions anyone can make as good baking-powder as is sold anywhere. If he wants to make it very cheap, he can take Cream of Tartar and common Washing (Carbonate) Soda, instead of the articles named in the recipe, but this would be advisable only where customers insist on excessively low prices in preference to quality of goods. EVERLASTING FENCE POSTS.--I discovered many years ago that wood could be made to last longer than iron in the ground, but thought the process so simple and inexpensive that it was not worth while to make any stir about it. I would as soon have poplar, basswood, or quaking ash as any other kind of timber for fence posts. I have taken out basswood posts after having been set seven years, which were as sound when taken out as when they were first put in the ground. Time and weather seem to have no effect on them. The posts can be prepared for less than two cents apiece. This is the recipe: Take boiled Linseed Oil and stir it in pulverized Charcoal to the consistency of paint. Put a coat of this over the timber, and there is not a man that will live to see it rot. LIQUID GLUE.--To one ounce of Borax in one pint of boiling water, add two ounces of Shellac, and boil until the Shellac is dissolved. TO MEND TINWARE BY THE HEAT OF A CANDLE.--Take a phial about two-thirds full of Muriatic Acid and put into it little bits of Sheet Zinc as long as it dissolves them; then put in a crumb of Sal Ammoniac and fill up with water and it is ready to use. Then with the cork of the phial, wet the place to be mended with the preparation; then put a piece of Zinc over the hole and hold a lighted candle or spirit lamp under the place, which melts the solder on the tin, and causes the zinc to adhere without further trouble. Wet the zinc also with the solution; or a little solder may be put on instead of the zinc or with the zinc. TO WHITEN AND SOFTEN THE HANDS.--Take one-half lb. Mutton Tallow, one ounce Camphor Gum, one ounce Glycerine; melt, and when thoroughly mixed, set away to cool. Rub the hands with this every night. A BRANDING INK.--A waterproof branding ink, good for marking sheep: Shellac two ounces, Borax two ounces, Water twenty-four ounces, Gum Arabic two ounces, Lamp Black sufficient. Boil the Borax and Shellac in the water till they are dissolved, and withdraw them from the fire. When the solution becomes cold, complete 25 ounces with water, and add Lamp Black enough to bring the preparation to a suitable consistency. When it is to be used with a stencil it must be made thicker than when it is used with a brush. The above gives black ink. For red ink substitute Venetian Red for Lamp Black; for blue Ultramarine; and for green a mixture of Ultramarine and Chrome Yellow. FRENCH POLISH, or DRESSING FOR LEATHER.--Mix two pints best Vinegar with one pint soft water. Stir into it one-fourth pound Glue, broken up, one-half pound Logwood chips, one-fourth ounce finely powdered Indigo, one-fourth ounce best soft Soap, and one-fourth Isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire, and let it boil ten minutes or more; then strain, bottle and cork. When cold it is fit for use. Apply with a sponge. NEW YORK BARBER'S STAR HAIR OIL.--Castor Oil six and one-half pints, Alcohol one and one-half pints, Citronella and Lavender Oil, each one-half ounce. BARBER'S SHAMPOOING MIXTURE.--Soft Water one pint, Sal Soda one ounce, Cream Tartar one-fourth ounce. Apply thoroughly to the hair. CRUCIBLES.--The best crucibles are made of a pure fire clay, mixed with finely ground cement of oil crucibles, and a portion of black lead or graphite; some pounded coke may be mixed with the plumbago. The clay should be prepared in a similar way as for making pottery ware. The vessels, after being formed, must be slowly dried, and then properly baked in a kiln. _Black Lead Crucibles_ are made of two parts of Graphite and one of Fire Clay, mixed with Water into a paste, pressed in moulds, and well dried, but not baked hard in the kiln. This compound forms excellent small or portable furnaces. WHAT TO INVENT, AND HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INVENTION. WHAT TO INVENT.--Cheap, useful articles that will sell at sight. Something that everyone needs, and the poorest can afford. Invent simple things for the benefit of the masses, and your fortune is made. Some years back a one-armed soldier amassed a fortune from a single toy--a wooden ball attached to a rubber string. They cost scarcely anything, yet millions were sold at a good price. A German became enormously rich by patenting a simple wooden plug for beer barrels. "What man has done, man may do." HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INVENTION.--Patent it. If you do not, others will reap the benefits that rightfully belong to you. A PATENT IS A PROTECTION given to secure the inventor in the profits arising from the manufacture and sale of an article of his own creation. TO WHOM LETTERS PATENT ARE GRANTED.--Section 4886 of the Revised Statutes of the United States provides that: "Any person who has invented or discovered any new and useful art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, not known or used by others in this country, and not patented or described in any printed publication in this or any foreign country, before his invention or discovery thereof, and not in public use, or on sale for more than two years prior to his application, unless the same is proved to have been abandoned, may, upon the payment of the fees required by law, and other due proceedings had, obtain a patent therefor." And section 4888 of the same Statute enacts: Section 4888. Before any inventor or discoverer shall receive a patent for his invention or discovery, he shall make application therefor, in writing, to the Commissioner of Patents, and shall file in the Patent Office a written description of the same, and of the manner and process of making, constructing, compounding, and using it, in such full, clear, concise and exact terms, as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, and use the same; and in case of a machine, he shall explain the principle thereof and the best mode in which he has contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions; and he shall particularly point out and distinctly claim that part, improvement or combination which he claims as his invention or discovery. The specification and claim shall be signed by the inventor and attested by two witnesses. It is also required by law that when "The case admits of drawings," it shall be properly illustrated; and also, if the Commissioner requires it, that a model shall be furnished in cases capable of such demonstration. The cost of obtaining Letters Patent in ordinary cases is: First, Government fees, $15; counsel fees, including drawings, $25; second, or final Government fees, to be paid within six months from date of allowance, $20; total, $60. DESIGNS.--A design patent can be obtained for novelties in the shape of configuration of articles, or impressions by any means whatever. These patents are of great value to the trade. The Government fees for a design patent are: On filing every application for a design patent $10.00 On issuing a design patent for 3-1/2 years no further charge. On issuing a design patent for 7 years 5.00 On issuing a design patent for 14 years 20.00 CAVEATS.--A caveat is a confidential communication used in the Patent Office, and it consists of a specification, drawings, oath and petition. The specification must contain a clear description of the intended invention. HOW A COPYRIGHT IS SECURED.--The method by which a copyright is obtained under the revised acts of Congress is as simple and inexpensive as can be reasonably asked. All unnecessary red tape is dispensed with, and the cost to the author who is seeking thus to protect himself in the enjoyment of the profits of his work, is so small as to be scarcely appreciable. This is an example of cheapness and directness toward which all branches of public administration should tend, if a government is to fulfill its proper mission of serving the people without needlessly taxing them. Directions have lately been issued for the guidance of persons wishing to obtain copyrights; and, as many of our readers may not be conversant with the subject, we give a brief abstract of the process. The first thing necessary is to send a printed copy of the title of the work, plainly directed to "Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C." The copyright law applies not only to books, pamphlets and newspapers, but also to maps, charts, photographs, paintings, drawings, music, statuary, etc. If there is a title page, send that; if not, a title must be printed expressly for the purpose, and in both cases the name of the author or claimant of copyright must accompany the title. Use no smaller paper than commercial note. A remittance of one dollar must be made along with the application. This is the whole charge--half of it being for the entry on the record, and the other half for your certificate, which the Librarian will send you promptly by mail. You will of course prepay your postage. Within ten days after your book, or other article, is published, you are required to send two complete copies of the best edition to the Librarian, addressed as before, prepaying postage; or the Librarian will furnish "penalty labels," under which they can be sent free of postage. If this deposit of copies is neglected, the copyright is void, and you are liable to fine of $25. The law requires that on the title page of a copyrighted work, or some part of the drawing, painting, statue, or whatever it may be, there shall be printed these words: "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year ----, by ----, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington;" or, if preferred, this briefer form may be used: "Copyright, 18--, by ----." To this may be added, "Right of translation reserved," or "All rights reserved;" but in that case the Librarian must have been duly notified, so that he may include it in the record. Any person who prints the copyright notice on his work without having obtained a copyright, is liable to a penalty of $1.00. The original term of a copyright runs for twenty-eight years, and it may then be renewed for a further term of fourteen years, either by the author or by his widow or children, application being made not less than six months before the expiration of the right. Trade marks and labels cannot be copyrighted under this law, but are provided for by a separate act, relating to matters of detail, which cannot here be recited, but in regard to which, the Librarian at Washington will give the needed information whenever required. TRADE MARKS, LABELS, PRINTS, ETC.--Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade marks, nor upon mere names of companies or articles, nor upon prints or labels intended to be used with any article of manufacture. If protection for such names or labels is desired, application must be made to the Patent Office, where they are registered at a fee of $6 for labels, and $25 for trade marks. By the word "print" is meant any device, word, or figures (not a trade mark) impressed directly upon the article, to denote the name of the manufacturer, etc. By the word "label" is meant a slip of paper, or other material, to be attached to manufactured articles, or to packages containing them, and bearing the name of the manufacturer, directions for use, etc. WATER ICES.--Some make these with acid, water, flavor, and the whites of eggs. _No good._ The best rules for the amount of sugar is to suit your taste. FRANGIPANNA.--Spirits one gallon, Oil Bergamot one ounce, Oil of Lemon one ounce; macerate for four days, frequently shaking; then add Water one gallon, Orange Flower Water one pint, Essence of Vanilla two ounces. Mix. SILVERING POWDER.--Nitrate of Silver and common Salt, of each thirty grains, Cream of Tartar three and one-half drachms. Pulverize finely, mix thoroughly, and bottle for use. Unequaled for polishing copper and plated goods. EXTRACT OF LEMON.--Three ounces Oil Lemon; cut with 95 proof Alcohol; add one gallon 80 proof Alcohol, and filter through cotton or felt. Put up in two ounce bottles. Sells for 25 cents; jobs at $1.00 and $1.50 according to quality and style of package. BALM OF A THOUSAND FLOWERS.--Deodorized Alcohol one pint, nice white Bar Soap four ounces; shave the soap when put in, stand in a warm place till dissolved, then add Oil of Citronella one drachm, and Oils of Neroli and Rosemary, of each one-half drachm. TIN CANS.--Size of sheet for from 1 to 100 gallons: For 1 gallon 7 by 20 ins. For 3-1/2 gallons 10 by 28 ins. For 5 gallons 12 by 40 ins. For 6 gallons 14 by 40 ins. For 10 gallons 20 by 42 ins. For 15 gallons 30 to 42 ins. For 25 gallons 30 by 56 ins. For 40 gallons 36 by 63 ins. For 50 gallons 40 by 70 ins. For 75 gallons 40 by 84 ins. For 100 gallons 40 by 98 ins. This includes all laps, seams, etc., which will be found sufficiently correct for all practical purposes. MOULDS AND DIES.--Copper, Zinc and Silver in equal proportions, melt together under a coat of powdered charcoal, and mould into the form you desire. Bring them to nearly a white heat, and lay on the thing you would take an impression of, press with sufficient force, and you will get a perfect and beautiful impression. INDESTRUCTIBLE LAMP WICKS.--Steep common wicks in a concentrated aqueous solution of Tungstate of Soda, and then dry thoroughly in an oven. A GOLD PLATE FOR SMALL ARTICLES, WITHOUT A BATTERY.--Digest a small fragment of gold with about ten times its weight of mercury until it is dissolved, shake the amalgam together in a bottle, and after cleansing the articles, coat them uniformly with the amalgam. Then expose them on an iron tray heated to low redness for a few minutes. The mercury volatilizes, leaving the gold attached as a thin coating to the article. The heating should be done in a stove, so that the poisonous mercurial fumes may pass up the chimney. A GELATINE MOULD FOR CASTING PLASTER ORNAMENTS.--Allow twelve ounces of Gelatine to soak for a few hours in water, until it has absorbed as much as it can, then apply heat, by which it will liquify. If the mould is required to be elastic, add three ounces of Treacle, and mix well with the Gelatine. If a little Chrome Alum (precise proportions are immaterial) be added to the Gelatine, it causes it to lose its property of being again dissolved in water. A saturated solution of Bichromate of Potash brushed over the surface of the mould, allowed to become dry and afterwards exposed to sunlight for a few minutes, renders the surface so hard as to be unaffected by moisture. IMITATION OF GROUND GLASS.--The following is from an Antwerp scientific journal. Paint the glass with the following varnishes: Sandarac eighteen drachms, Mastic four drachms, Ether twenty-four ounces, Benzine six to eighteen ounces. The more Benzine the coarser the grain of imitation glass will be. UNSHRINKABLE PATTERNS.--The best mixture for small patterns, that does not shrink in casting, is sixty-nine parts Lead, fifteen and one-half parts Antimony, fifteen and one-half parts Bismuth, by weight. A cheap kind for finished patterns can be made of ten parts Zinc, one part Antimony, one part Tin. TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL MARBLE FOR PAPER WEIGHTS OR OTHER FANCY ARTICLES.--Soak Plaster of Paris in a solution of Alum, bake it in an over, and then grind it to a powder. In using mix it with water, and to produce the clouds and veins stir in any dry color you wish; this will become very hard, and is susceptible of a very high polish. MOLDS OF GLUE AND MOLASSES, SUCH AS RODGERS USES FOR MAKING HIS STATUETTES.--The flexible moulds referred to are prepared as follows: Glue eight pounds, Molasses (New Orleans) seven pounds. Soak the Glue over night in a small quantity of cold water, then melt it by heat over a salt water bath, stir until froth begins to rise, then add and stir in briskly the Molasses previously heated. Continue to heat and stir the mixture for about half an hour; then pour. TO CLARIFY LIQUIDS.--The following composition is said to bleach all colored liquids, and to render bone-black perfectly unnecessary: Albumen three hundred, Neutral Tartrate of Potash two, Alum five, Sal Ammoniac seven hundred parts. The Albumen must of course not be coagulated. The ingredients are first dissolved in a little water and then added to the liquid to be clarified. TO PREVENT STORE WINDOWS FROM STEAMING.--J. F. writes: I am about to have the front show windows of my store inclosed with inside windows. Can you tell any way to prevent the outside windows frosting in cold weather? A. Clean the glass occasionally with a cloth moistened with pure Glycerine, wiping it so as to leave only a trace of the Glycerine adhering to the surface--this on the inside. ARTIFICIAL INDIA RUBBER.--A cheap and useful substitute for Indian rubber is prepared by mixing a thick solution of Glue with Tungstate of Soda and Hydrochloric Acid. A compound of Tungstic Acid and Glue is precipitated, which at a temperature of 86 degrees to 104 degrees F. is sufficiently elastic to admit of being drawn out into very thin sheets. On cooling this mass becomes solid and brittle, but on being heated is again soft and plastic. This new compound can be used for many of the purposes to which rubber is adapted. RUBBER STAMPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.--Many photographers employ a rubber stamp for imprinting the backs of mounts, and in these circumstances a good ink is very essential. Here is the recipe for making one quoted from the _Engineer_, and said to yield an excellent ink which, while not drying on the pad, will yet not readily smear when impressed upon paper: Aniline Red (Violet) one hundred and eighty grains, distilled Water two ounces, Glycerine one teaspoonful, Treacle one-half teaspoonful. The crystals of Aniline are powdered and dissolved in the boiling distilled water, and the other ingredients then added. A GOOD IDEA.--_How to Remove Pain and Soreness from Wounds._ The value of the smoke from burned wool to remove the pain and soreness from wounds of all kinds, or from sores, is great, and it will give immediately relief from the intense pain caused by a gathering. The easiest way to prepare this is to cut all-wool flannel--if you haven't the wool--into narrow strips, take some hot ashes with a few small live coals on a shovel, sprinkle some of the flannel strips on it, and hold the injured member in the smoke for five or ten minutes, using plenty of flannel to make a thick smoke. Repeat as often as seems necessary, though one smoking is usually enough. CHILBLAINS.--We glean two prescriptions from the _British Medical Journal_. They are now being used in this country, and with good results. Lin. Belladonnæ two drachms, Lin. Aconita one drachm, Acid Carbolici six minims, Collod. Flexil one ounce. Mix and apply every night with a camel's hair pencil, Collod. Flexil four drachms, Oleiricini four drachms, Spt. Tereb, four drachms. Use three times daily with camel's hair brush. SAID TO BE GOOD FOR GRIP.--Anything that affords hope of relief from Grip is of interest. Pauline Crayson writes from Cranford, N.J., to _New York Tribune_, saying: "I have found Peroxide of Hydrogen (medicinal) a marvelous remedy in the treatment of grip and influenza. This medicine should be diluted with water and administered internally, and by snuffing through the nostrils or by spraying the nostrils and throat. I believe the good results from this treatment, which I have never known to fail of producing a speedy cure, are due to the destruction of the microbe upon which this disease depends." The remedy is simple and within the reach of everybody, and can easily be tested. STICKS LIKE A BROTHER.--A paste that will adhere to anything.--Prof. Alex. Winchell is credited with the invention of a cement that will stick to anything (_Nat. Drug_). Take two ounces of clear Gum Arabic, one and one-half ounces of fine Starch and one-half ounce of White Sugar. Pulverize the Gum Arabic, and dissolve it in as much water as the laundress would use for the quality of starch indicated. Dissolve the starch and sugar in the gum solution. Then cook the mixture in a vessel suspended in boiling water until the starch becomes clear. The cement should be as thick as tar and keep so. It can be kept from spoiling by dropping in a lump of Gum Camphor, or a little Oil of Cloves or Sassafras. This cement is very strong indeed, and will stick perfectly to glazed surfaces, and is good to repair broken rocks, minerals or fossils. The addition of a small amount or Sulphate of Aluminum will increase the effectiveness of the paste, besides helping to prevent decomposition. DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING ALL KINDS OF CANDY. MOLASSES TAFFY.--New Orleans Molasses one pint, Sugar one and one-half pounds, Water one-half pint (no doctor). Stir all the time to a good light snap. Lemon flavor. Work as above. CREAM TAFFY.--Same as above. When to the ball degree have ready half cup cider vinegar, one-fourth pipe Cream Tartar, dissolve in the Vinegar, four ounces Butter. Add, stir, and work as you do the white taffy. NUT TAFFY.--Use the cream taffy recipe. Just before the candy is done cooking stir in any kind of nut goodies, pour out, and when cool enough not to run, form it into a block, cut or break it with a hammer. GOOD BROWN BUTTER-SCOTCH.--C Sugar, three pounds; Water, one and one-fourth pint; Cream Tartar, one full pipe dissolved in one cup Cider Vinegar; Molasses, one-half pint; Butter, eight ounces (no flavor). Add all except the Vinegar, Cream Tartar and Butter. Boil to medium ball, then add the Cream Tartar in the Vinegar and Butter. Stir all the time carefully. Boil to light snap finish as before in cheap Butter-Scotch. SOUR LEMON DROPS.--Make a batch of barley squares. Just as soon as you pour it on the slab sprinkle over it three-fourths ounce dry Tartaric Acid, two tablespoons Lemon flavor; turn the cold edges in to the center of the batch, work it like bread dough; place this before a hot stove on your table and cut into little pieces with your scissors, or run the batch through a drop machine. All goods that you want to spin out or run through a machine or cut with scissors should be kept warm by a sheet iron stove, on a brick foundation, fitted in the table evenly, and the candy placed in front to keep warm. Should the candy slab, after it is greased, act sticky, not allowing the candy to come up freely, throw a dust of flour over the sticky place after it has been greased. STICK CANDY.--Stick candy is made precisely the same as peppermint clips, by keeping the batch round, and a second person to twist them and keep them rolling until cold. This can be done only by practice. The sticks are then chopped in the desired length by heavy shears. STRAWBERRY.--Same, only flavor with strawberry; color with liquid coloring slightly. MAPLE CARAMELS.--Use one-half Maple Sugar with C Sugar. No flavor. WALNUT CARAMELS.--Same as the first. When done, stir in sufficient nuts to suit. A better caramel can be made with white sugar, and milk instead of water. Still better, by using cream one quart, and when cream cannot be had, condensed milk dissolved in milk works fine. ALMOND BARS.--Same as peanut, only add the Almond nuts in time to allow them to roast a little in the boiling sugar. One-fourth of a pint of New Orleans syrup added to the boiling sugar improves the flavor and color. CHOCOLATE COATING.--Can use sweet confectioners', or confectioners' plain (never use the quarter and one-pound grocery packages, as it contains too much sugar to melt good). Place a small piece of paraffine the size of a hickory-nut and one small teaspoon of lard in a rice cooker, melt, add one-half pound of chocolate, stir until dissolved; dip balls of cream in this chocolate, drop on wax paper to cool, and you have fine hand made chocolate drops. COLD SUGAR ICING.--For dipping cream drops. Confectioners' sugar with the white of eggs and a small amount of dissolved Gum Arabic in water. Make this into a batter. If thick, the drops will be rough; if thin, the drops will be smooth. COCOANUT CREAM ICE.--Two pounds granulated sugar, three-fourths pint water, boil to a light crack; set off, add four ounces glucose (or the amount of cream tartar you can hold on the point of a penknife); set back on the fire, just let come to a boil to dissolve the glucose; set off again, add immediately one-fourth ounce shaved paraffine, six ounces cream dough cut up fine, one grated cocoanut. Stir all until it creams, pour out into a frame on brown paper dusted with flour, mark and cut with a knife when cold. OPERA CREAMS.--Two pounds white sugar, three-fourths pint cow's cream, boil to a soft ball; set off; add two ounces glucose; set on, stir easy until it commences to boil, then pour out, let get three-fourths cold, and stir it until it turns into a cream. Then work into two tablespoons vanilla, line a pan with wax paper, flatten the batch in it, and mark it in squares. Set aside two hours to harden. ITALIAN CREAM OPERAS.--Melt four ounces butter with four ounces plain chocolate. Take a batch of the opera cream; when cooked, add the above, stir it in the kettle until it creams, then pan and work it as you do the operas. BUTTER CREAMS.--One and one-half pounds white sugar, and one-half pound C. sugar, three-fourths pound glucose, one-fourth pint molasses, one and one-fourth pint water; boil to the hard snap, add six ounces butter, set off until it melts; set on and let boil, to well mix the butter; pour out. Have one pound hard cream dough thoroughly warmed, just so you can handle it. When the batch is cold enough on the stove to handle, place the warm cream lengthwise on the center of it and completely wrap the cream up in it. Place this on your table before your heater, spin out in long strips, have some one to mark them heavy or good. When cold, break where marked. BOSTON CHIPS.--Three pounds of white sugar, one-half pipe cream tartar, one and one-fourth pints water; boil with a lid over it to the hard snap; pour; pull this only half as much as any other candy; for too much pulling takes out all the gloss when done; flavor it on the hook; wear your gloves, place it before your heater on the table, flatten out and spin out into thin ribbons, break off and curl them up in little piles. Strawberry chips can be made the same way, adding a pinch of cochineal paste. DATE OR FIG SQUARES.--Can be made by cutting them fine, scatter them thick over the greased stone, and pour over them a batch of barley square candy. Mark and cut with a knife. PINE TREE TAR COUGH CANDY.--First have one tablespoon oil of tar dissolved in two tablespoons of alcohol. Cook to a hard snap twenty pounds sugar (white), three quarts water, three pounds glucose; pour out; scatter over (while cooling) twenty drops of tar, two tablespoons oil of capsicum, three tablespoons oil of wintergreen; work all well into the batch (do not pull this on the hook). Place before your heater on the table and spin it out in large round sticks. Have some one to keep them rolling until cold. Cut into sticks about three and one-half inches long. Wrap them in printed labels. DATE AND FIG CREAMS.--Seed dates, cut a piece out of the end V shape, insert a white or pink cream ball, press it in, and stick a clove in the end; it looks like a pear. Cut figs in strips, place the seedy side around a piece of cream dough. The hand made cream can be made into various varieties of candy to suit your fancy. FACTORY CREAM DOUGH.--This recipe is worth twenty-five dollars to any candy maker. When the cream is first done it appears flaky and coarse; but the next morning it is fine, and the longer it sets the better it is. When made up it never gets stale or hard. Never use flour to roll out cream with when you can get the XXX lozenge sugar. Forty pounds granulated sugar, five quarts water; boil to a stiff ball; set off; add quickly twelve pounds of glucose. Do not stir. Set on the fire, let it come to a boil until you see even the scum boiled in (do not allow the glucose to cook in the sugar). Pour out, wait only until you can lay the back of your hand on the top of batch. (Never let it get colder, it is better to cream while hot than cold like other goods). Cream it with two garden hoes, or cream scrapers. Add while creaming one-fourth pint scant measure of glycerine. No need of kneading it, scrape into your tub for use. (If A sugar is used the cream is sticky.) IMITATION HAND-MADE CHOCOLATE.--Take a suitable hand made. Make your plaster paris prints. Take a quantity of the above cream, melt in a bath, flavor and mould. Dip. A NUMBER ONE CHOCOLATE DROP.--Moulding cream; granulated sugar, twenty pounds; water, three quarts. Boiled to a thread, set off, add three pounds of glucose dissolved; pour, let get cold. Cream, melt, add pinch of glucose to one pint simple syrup; four tablespoonfuls of glycerine. Stir. Mould. CHEAP CHOCOLATES.--Quick work. Make a batch of the above number one. Exactly the same process. After the glucose is dissolved in the batch do not pour out, but add five pounds of the hard factory cream in pieces. Stir, flavor, melt. Set this kettle in a kettle of boiling water, have a boy to stir and watch it; do not allow it to get so thin as to simmer, only thin enough to run into your starch prints. This cream saves time and labor. TO WORK OVER SCRAPS OF CANDY.--To thirty pounds of scraps use one gallon water; stir until it boils; set off, for it would never melt any more by boiling; continue stirring until all is dissolved. Set aside until cold. Skim off the top. This can be worked into hoar-hound or dark penny goods, pop-corn bricks, etc. TO COOK OVER MAPLE SUGAR.--To sixty pounds broken up maple, add water (according to the hard or soft grain of the sugar) enough to dissolve. Stir until melted. If the grain was soft, add fifteen pounds granulated sugar; if the hard grain, only add that amount of C. sugar. Boil to 244 degrees by thermometer, or good ball. Take out some in porcelain sauce pan, grain until cloudy (to make quick work always have a small portion in the same sauce pan for the next stirring). Pour in moulds greased, or put in a tub of cold water. ARTIFICIAL MAPLE SUGAR.--Dark C. sugar (driest), two pounds; water, one-third pint; butter, two ounces, melted; flavor with maple flavor; boil to a ball, cream in the pan. Pour before it gets too stiff. MOLASSES POP-CORN BALLS.--Always sift your corn after it is popped. For home use, add butter and lemon flavor to your syrup. This is too expensive for retail and factory use, though some use lard sparingly. Boil molasses to a stiff ball, wet your tub, put in your corn; now with a dipper pour over your candy and stir with a paddle through the corn, wet your hands in cold water, make your balls and wrap in wax paper, twisting the ends close to the balls. FOR WHITE OR RED.--Sugar and glucose half and half, water, to melt and boil as above. Work the same. To make six hundred bricks a day and pop this corn, put a coarse sieve in a box or barrel bottom, instead of the natural bottom. Sift your corn. Have your popper made with a swinging wire, hanging from the ceiling down over the furnace to save labor. Have a stout, thick, wide board for the floor of your press; make a stout frame the width that two brick will measure in length; as long as twelve bricks are thick, and have your boards six or eight inches wide. Put your frame together; now make a stout lid of one-inch lumber to fit in your frame; have four cleats nailed crosswise to make it stout, and a 2×4 piece nailed lengthwise across the top of these (shorter than the lid is); now for a lever get a hard 2×4, six to eight feet long; fasten the ends of this lever to the floor, giving it six inches of the rope to play in. Now you are ready; wet your flour board and dust it with flour; do the lid and frame the same. To every thirty pounds melted scraps of candy use two pounds of butter. (You can't cut the bricks without it.) Cook to a hard ball. To three-fourths tub of corn, pour three small dippers of syrup; pour this when mixed in your frame on the flour board, put on the lid, with the lever press once the center, once each end, and once more the center; take out the lid, lift the frame, dump out on the table. When two-thirds cool, cut lengthwise with a sharp, thin knife, then cut your bricks off crosswise. Penny pop-corn bricks are made the same way. CANDY PENNY POP-CORN PIECES.--Cook a batch of glucose to a light snap, flavor well, pour thin. While hot place your pop-corn sheet hard down on the candy, mark deep cut and wrap. I have put boys on this work in the shop at five dollars a week pay, and knew them to clear for the proprietor from five to twenty dollars daily for several months; one to pop corn, one to cook syrup, one to press, and one to cut them, girls to wrap and box. TO SHELL COCOANUTS.--Take the nut in the left hand with the three eyes up; strike from the nut down with your hatchet; peel with a knife or spoke shave, cut them into four pieces, cover them with water, set on the furnace, and let come to a good boil. If the nuts are sour, strain and add fresh cold water quickly so as the heat will not darken them, and repeat. If very sour scrape the insides out. Grate them, taking out one pieces at a time, as the air does them no good. RED CENTER.--Take two-thirds, pour thin; color the remaining one-third red with the liquor color; place this on the half of the two-thirds, and turn the other up over on top, roll out flat with a roller, cool, cut. The same goods cooked to a soft ball may be made into balls to be coated in red sugar after throwing them in hot sugar syrup; also to be dipped in melted cream, or brown the cocoanut balls on top with burnt sugar. Chocolate glaze cream coating eats well over these goods, or dip the balls as you like. FLAVORINGS.--To any kind of oils take eight times in bulk the amount of Alcohol: stir, let set in a warm place a short time; can be used if needed immediately. HOME MADE MAPLE SUGAR.--To two pounds of maple (bricks, not cakes) 1 pint water, one-third pipe cream of tartar (or four ounces of glucose is best); boil slow to a smooth degree, cool, skim. White sugar can be used. To keep molasses from sugaring in the barrel; when making the molasses, to every barrel add twenty pounds of glucose, stir it in. To lighten the color and aid the flavor of rank, dark molasses, do the same as above. To allow molasses to cool slowly makes it dark. It should be stirred lively until cool. Also to improve sour, rank molasses, take the molasses, for instance, ten gallons; take five pounds dry C sugar, five pounds glucose, water two quarts. Boil the sugar and glucose until thoroughly dissolved; add the molasses, boil five minutes. You can make fine syrup this way. TO MAKE A CANDY HOUSE.--House for a show window. Take any design you fancy, of card board. Cut out the windows; place this on your candy slab. Now with a lead pencil mark out your design, and as many of each piece as you need (it is a good idea to make an extra piece so if you break one you can go ahead). Now take of the icing sugar and fill your paper funnel as if for cake icing, and overline the pencil marks you made on the stone. When done you find you have a frame that will hold hot candy. Boil a batch of Barley Square goods (mentioned in this book), and pour on some in a dipper; take this and pour in your icing sugar frame or patterns you made on the stone, when half cold, so as not to run; run a thin knife under them carefully, lift them and lay them in a different place on the stone; when you have moulded all cut off the icing sugar that sticks to the candy. Then put your candy house together, sides first, and take pieces of lemon stick candy, dip them in the hot candy, and stick in the bottom and top corners of your house; hold them a few seconds to cool, then finish likewise. When done, take your icing sugar and funnel paper and on the outside corners of the candy house put icing sugar and the windows finish the same. Candies, if desired, can be stuck on with the icing sugar, etc. The icing sugar should be stiff for a nice job, and will hide the corners. Candy pyramids can be made this way also. TO MAKE A DELICIOUS CANDY COCOANUT CAKE.--Have your cake layers cold. Place in your rice steamer one-half grated cocoanut and a chunk of hand-made cream the size of your fist; stir until mixed and you can spread it; do not melt it more than necessary. This cake will not dry out if made with factory cream. I gave this recipe to two London practical cake bakers; they said it beat any cake recipe they had ever received. Put your mind to work and with a little practice you will get up candies of your own invention, from the knowledge you derive here in this book. ICE CREAM.--I will give only the best recipe, my own improvement, as workmen will find all my private recipes in this book to be different from others, as well as first-class. Two quarts thick cream, one pound A sugar, one-fourth ounce French gelatine, yolks of three eggs; add one quart of the cream and gelatine, set on the fire; stir; do not let boil; melt; set off, add the eggs and sugar stirred up together with a little of the cream, stirring all the time; set on, let get hot; set off, add the other quart of cream; stir, strain, freeze. Break your ice fine; use salt from one pint to one quart. Flavor after it is frozen. FAIR GROUND LEMONADE.--Take one barrel water; dissolve in one quart of warm water twenty-five cents worth citric acid; dissolve two dollars' worth A sugar in one gallon water. Stir all together. A few cut up pieces of lemon can be added for appearance sake. JAP COCOANUT.--One pound XXX confectioner's sugar, dampened a little; one and one-half pounds glucose; stir when cooked to a soft ball; add all the grated cocoanut it will stick together; boil, stir to the lightest crack. LEMON ICE.--Seven lemons, the juice only, juice of three oranges. Take one pint water, dissolve in one-half ounce of French sheet gelatine; then add whites of two eggs, one and one-fourth pounds A sugar, dissolved; add all together with three pints cold water; freeze as for ice cream. Keep machine running briskly until finished. ORANGE ICE.--The same by changing the fruit proportionately. THE ADULTERATIONS USED BY CERTAIN FACTORIES.--(Please never try to make use of the following, for I never would print it for that purpose, only to expose the stuff.) Grape sugar, which looks like cheap suet melted, and is so hard as to be chopped with an ax, though it dissolves readily. Terra alba, white clay, which is fine as sugar, and is sieved into cream work or on candy, and worked into it. Rice flour, ground rice mixed into cocoanut goods; cerealine, ground, prepared corn mixed into cocoanut. Glucose has the name of being an adulteration, though I fail, from seventeen years' experience, to find it such; it contains nothing outside of the acid to make it so, and that is in so small a portion as to be harmless. It is an article that is of greater value to man than the inexperienced give it credit for. If I had time I could argue this question satisfactorily to any unprejudiced person. Gamboge is a bad article for candy, yellow, cheap, hurtful color. Ground cocoanut shells are used mostly in adulterating pepper, etc. "Who is to blame for adulterating goods?" I claim three parties--first, the proprietor; next, candy makers; and next, the ignorant class of people that want sixteen cents' worth of boiled sugar for eight cents, when they do not stop to think it could not possibly be made for less than eight cents, all told. Germany and France have strong laws against all adulterations. Soon America will prohibit the same, and bless God when the day and law we so much need will come. HOW TO ORNAMENT CAKES.--You need four cups of confectioners' finest sugar, whites of two eggs. Beat the eggs just a little, add the sugar gradually, juice one lemon; beat this stiff, until the sugar will bend when you hold the paddle up. Now take a sheet of thick writing paper, fold it into a funnel shape, hold it in your left hand; fill this with the icing, prepared as above, about two-thirds full, fold in the top and place both thumbs on it, cut off a little of the small end of the funnel to allow the icing to come out when you press with your thumbs. Next, with a knife, cover your cake with icing sugar smoothly; if it sticks to the knife, wet it a little. Let dry half hour; then with a lead pencil make leaves or designs, and with your paper funnel ice your pencil designs. Colored icing looks well. TAKING LEAF PHOTOGRAPHS--A very pretty amusement, especially for those who have just completed the study of botany, is the taking of leaf photographs. One very simple process is this: At any druggist's get an ounce of Bichromate of Potassium. Put this into a pint bottle of water. When the solution becomes saturated--that is, the water is dissolved as much as it will--pour off some of the clear liquid into a shallow dish; on this float a piece of ordinary writing paper till it is thoroughly moistened, let it dry in the dark. It should be a bright yellow. On this put the leaf, under a piece of black soft cloth and several sheets of newspaper. Put these between two pieces of glass (all the pieces should be of the same size) and with spring clothespins fasten them together. Expose to a bright sun, placing the leaf so that the rays will fall upon it as nearly perpendicular as possible. In a few moments it will begin to turn brown; but it requires from half an hour to several hours to produce a perfect print. When it has become dark enough, take it from the frame, and put it into clear water, which must be changed every few minutes until the yellow part becomes white. Sometimes the leaf veinings will be quite distinct. By following these directions it is scarcely possible to fail, and a little practice will make perfect. CURIOUS THINGS.--1. To apparently burn water, fill a glass lamp with water, and put into it for a wick a piece of Gum Camphor. The lamp should not be quite full, and the camphor may be left to float upon the surface of the water. On touching a lighted match to the Camphor, up shoots a clear, steady flame, and seems to sink below the surface of the water, so that the flame is surrounded by the liquid. It will burn a long time. If the Camphor be ignited in a large dish of water it will commonly float about while burning. 2. To change the faces of a group to a livid, deathly whiteness, and to destroy colors, wet a half teacupful of common salt in Alcohol and burn it on a plate in a dark room. Let the salt soak a few minutes before igniting. The flame will deaden the brightest colors in the room, and the dresses of the company will seem to be changed. Let each one put his face behind the flame, and it will present a most ghastly spectacle to those who stand before it. This is serviceable in tableau where terror of death is to be represented. The change wrought by the flame, when the materials are properly prepared, is very surprising. 3. Wet a piece of thick wrapping paper, then dry near the stove. While dry, lay it down upon a varnished table or dry woolen cloth, and rub it briskly with a piece of India rubber. It will soon become electrified, and if tossed against the wall or the looking glass will stick some time. Tear tissue-paper into bits, one-eighth of an inch square, and this piece of electrified paper will draw them. Or take a tea-tray and put it on three tumblers. Lay the electric paper on it, and on touching the tray you will get a little spark. Let the paper lay on the tray, and on touching the tray again you will get another spark, but of the opposite kind of electricity. Replace the paper and you will get another, and so on. 4. To produce a spectrum, burn magnesium wire in a dark room, and as soon as the flame is extinguished, let each one try to look into the other's faces. The spectrum of the extinguished light is clearly seen. MURIATE OF TIN. TIN LIQUOR.--If druggists keep it, it is best to purchase of them already made, but if you prefer, proceed as follows: Get at a tinner's shop block tin, put it into a shovel and melt it. After it is melted, pour it from the height of four or five feet into a pail of clear water. The object of this is to have the tin in small particles, so that the Acid can dissolve it. Take it out of the water and dry it; then put it in a strong brass bottle. Pour over it Muriatic Acid twelve ounces, then slowly add sulphuric acid eight ounces. The Acid should be added about a tablespoonful at a time, at intervals of five or eight minutes, for if you add it too rapidly you run the risk of breaking the bottle by heat. After you have all the Acid in, let the bottle stand until the ebullition subsides; then stop it up with beeswax or glass stopper, and set it away; and it will keep good for a year or more, or it will be fit for use in twenty-four hours. THE CENTENNIAL ILLUMINATING OIL.--_Recipe for Making One Gallon._--Take seven-eighths gallon Benzine or crude Petroleum, add to it one-half ounce Gum Camphor, one-half ounce Alcohol, one-half pint common Salt, one-half ounce Oil of Sassafras. Stir and mix it well for about five minutes. Let is stand for twenty-four hours and it is ready for use. It is better to buy the Benzine from Pittsburgh, Pa., as the druggists usually charge two or three times the wholesale price. CHAPTER X. COIN DEPARTMENT. Complete and standard list of American silver and copper coins which command a premium: UNITED STATES SILVER DOLLARS. [Illustration: LIBERTY 1794] 1794 Flowing Hair $ 20 00 1794 Flowing Hair, Fine 30 00 1795 Flowing Hair 1 25 1796 Fillet Head 1 25 1796 Fillet Head 1 60 1797 Fillet Head, 6 Stars Facing 1 60 1797 Fillet Head, 7 Stars Facing 1 60 1798 Fillet Head, 13 Stars, Small Eagle 1 50 1798 Fillet Head, 15 Stars, Small Eagle 2 00 1798 13 Stars, Large Eagle 1 10 1799 5 Stars Facing 1 40 1799 6 " " 1 10 1800 Spread Eagle 1 15 1801 Spread Eagle 1 30 1802 Spread Eagle 1 30 1802 over 1801, Spread Eagle 1 35 1803 Spread Eagle 1 35 1804 DOLLAR. [Illustration: Obverse] [Illustration: Reverse] 1804 Excessively Rare $500 00 1840 Liberty Seated 1 05 1841 Liberty Seated 1 05 1844 Liberty Seated 1 05 1845 Liberty Seated 1 05 1848 Liberty Seated 1 15 1849 Liberty Seated 1 05 1851 Liberty Seated 23 00 1852 Liberty Seated 23 00 1853 Liberty Seated 1 10 1854 Liberty Seated 2 50 1855 Liberty Seated 1 60 1856 Liberty Seated 1 50 1857 Liberty Seated 1 50 1858 Liberty Seated 23 00 1861 Liberty Seated 1 05 1862 Liberty Seated 1 05 1863 Liberty Seated 1 05 1864 Liberty Seated 1 05 1865 Liberty Seated 1 05 1866 Liberty Seated 1 05 1867 Liberty Seated 1 05 1868 Liberty Seated 1 05 1869 Liberty Seated 1 05 1879 Trade Dollar 1 05 1880 Trade Dollar 1 05 1881 Trade Dollar 1 05 1882 Trade Dollar 1 05 1883 Trade Dollar 1 05 1884 Trade Dollar 1 05 UNITED STATES PATTERN DOLLARS. [Illustration: 1836] 1836 C. Gobrecht's Name in Field $ 9 00 1836 Flying Eagle 4 00 1838 Flying Eagle 17 00 1839 Flying Eagle 13 50 HALF DOLLARS. [Illustration: LIBERTY 1794] 1794 Flowing Hair, Fair $ 2 00 1794 Flowing Hair, Good 3 00 1795 Flowing Hair 60 1796 Fillet Head, 15 Stars 17 50 1796 Fillet Head, 16 Stars 20 00 1797 Fillet Head, 15 Stars 18 00 1801 Fillet Head 2 00 1802 Fillet Head 2 00 1803 Fillet Head 55 1804 Fillet Head 7 50 1805 Fillet Head 55 1805 over 1804, Fillet Head 60 1806 Fillet Head, if Extra Fine 55 1807 Fillet Head, if Extra Fine 55 1807 Head to Left, if Extra Fine 55 1815 Head to Left, Fair 1 50 1815 Head to Left, Good 2 00 1815 Head to Left, Fine 2 50 1820 over 1819 55 1836 Liberty Cap, Milled Edge 1 50 1836 Liberty Cap, Milled Edge, Fine 1 75 1838 Liberty Cap 12 00 (Having "O" mark underneath bust, and meaning New Orleans Mint, under head like above cut. Ordinary 1838 half dollars without this mint mark are not wanted.) 1851 Liberty Seated $ 55 1851 Liberty Seated, Fine 65 1852 Liberty Seated, Fair 1 40 1852 Liberty Seated, Good 1 75 1852 Liberty Seated, Fine 2 00 1879 Liberty Seated, Fine 55 QUARTER DOLLARS. [Illustration: LIBERTY 1796] 1796 Fillet Head, Fair $ 1 50 1796 Fillet Head, Good 2 00 1804 Fillet Head, Fair 1 50 1804 Fillet Head, Good 2 00 1805 Fillet Head, Good 30 1806 Fillet Head, Good 30 1807 Head to Left 30 1815 Head to Left, Fine 35 1818 Head to Left, Fine 30 1819 Head to Left, Fine 30 1820 Head to Left, Fine 30 1821 Head to Left, Fine 30 1822 Head to Left, Fine 30 1823 Head to Left, Fair 16 00 1823 Head to Left, Good 21 00 1824 Head to Left, Fair 35 1824 Head to Left, Good 60 1824 Head to Left, Fine 1 00 1827 Head to Left, Fair 17 50 1827 Head to Left, Good 22 00 1853 (without Arrows and Rays) 2 50 TWENTY CENT PIECES. 1876 $ 25 1877 1 75 1878 1 75 [Illustration: LIBERTY 1796] [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA] DIMES. 1796 Fillet Head, Fair $ 75 1796 Fillet Head, Good 1 50 1797 13 Stars, Fair 1 10 1797 13 Stars, Good 2 00 1797 16 Stars, Fair 1 25 1796 16 Stars, Good 2 00 1798 Fillet Head, Fair 90 1798 Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1800 Fillet Head, Fair 1 00 1800 Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1801 Fillet Head, Fair 1 00 1801 Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1802 Fillet Head, Fair 1 25 1802 Fillet Head, Good 2 00 1803 Fillet Head, Fair 75 1803 Fillet Head, Good 1 25 1804 Fillet Head, Fair 1 25 1804 Filled Head, Good 2 22 1805 Filled Head, Good 20 1807 Filled Head, Good 25 1809 Head to Left, Fair 20 1809 Head to Left, Good 50 1809 Head to Left, Fine 75 1811 Head to Left, Fair 25 1811 Head to Left, Good 50 1811 Head to Left, Fine 75 1814 Head to Left, Fine 15 1820 Head to Left, Fine 15 1821 Head to Left, Small Date, Fine 15 1822 Head to Left, Fair 50 1822 Head to Left, Good 75 1822 Head to Left, Fine 1 00 1824 Head to Left, Fine 15 1828 Head to Left, Fine 15 [Illustration: 1846] [Illustration: ONE DIME] 1846 Liberty Seated $ 25 [Illustration: LIBERTY 1794] [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA] HALF DIMES. 1794 Flowing Hair, Fair $ 1 10 1794 Flowing Hair, Good 2 00 1794 Flowing Hair, Fine 3 00 1795 Flowing Hair, Fair 30 1795 Flowing Hair, Good 60 1796 15 Stars, Fillet Head, Fair 1 50 1796 15 Stars, Fillet Head, Good 2 00 1797 15 Stars, Fillet Head, Fair 1 10 1797 15 Stars, Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1797 16 Stars, Fillet Head, Fair 1 00 1797 16 Stars, Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1800 Fillet Head, Fair 40 1800 Fillet Head, Good 75 1801 Fillet Head, Fair 1 00 1801 Fillet Head, Good 2 00 1802 Fillet Head, Fair 20 00 1802 Fillet Head, Good 40 00 1802 Fillet Head, Fine 75 00 1803 Fillet Head, Fair 1 00 1803 Fillet Head, Good 1 75 1805 Fillet Head, Fair 1 60 1805 Fillet Head, Good 2 25 1838 Liberty Seated, without stars, Fair 08 1838 Liberty Seated, without stars, Good 20 1838 Liberty Seated, without stars, Fine 30 1846 Liberty Seated, Fair 75 1846 Liberty Seated, Good 1 00 1846 Liberty Seated, Fine 1 50 [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1873] SILVER THREE CENT PIECES. 1855 Large Star in Center $ 10 1863 Large Star in Center 40 1864 Large Star in Center 50 1865 Large Star in Center 30 1866 Large Star in Center 30 1867 Large Star in Center 30 1868 Large Star in Center 30 1869 Large Star in Center 25 1870 Large Star in Center 20 1871 Large Star in Center 20 1872 Large Star in Center 20 1873 Large Star in Center 75 NICKEL, FIVE CENT PIECES. 1877 $ 25 [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1877] NICKEL, THREE CENT PIECES. 1877 $ 40 COPPER TWO CENT PIECES. 1872 $ 05 1873 90 COPPER CENTS. [Illustration: LIBERTY 1793] [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE CENT 1/100] 1793 Liberty Cap $ 1 25 1794 15 1795 Liberty Cap 10 1796 Liberty Cap 15 1796 Fillet Head 15 1797 Fillet Head 08 1798 Fillet Head 05 1799 Fillet Head 3 00 1799 Fillet Head 6 00 1800 Fillet Head 05 1801 Fillet Head 05 1804 Fillet Head 2 00 1804 Fillet Head, Fine 2 75 1805 Fillet Head 08 1806 Fillet Head 06 1807 Fillet Head 03 [Illustration: 1808] [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE CENT] 1808 Head to Left $ 10 1809 Head to Left 40 1809 Head to Left, Fine 75 1810 Head to Left 05 1811 Head to Left 25 1812 Head to Left 03 1813 Head to Left 15 1814 Head to Left 05 1817 Head to Left, 15 Stars 05 1821 Head to Left 08 1823 Head to Left 12 1857 Head to Left, Large Date 06 1857 Head to Left 06 1857 Head to Left, Small Date 06 [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1856] EAGLE NICKEL CENTS. 1856 Fair $ 55 1856 Good 80 1856 Fine 1 10 HALF CENTS. [Illustration: LIBERTY 1795] [Illustration: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HALF CENT] 1793 Liberty Cap $ 1 00 1794 Liberty Cap 25 1795 Lettered Edge 20 1795 Thin Die 20 1796 Liberty Cap 7 50 1797 Liberty Cap 25 1797 Lettered Edge 85 1800 Fillet Head 05 1802 Fillet Head 60 1803 Fillet Head 05 1805 Fillet Head 06 1806 Fillet Head 06 1807 Fillet Head 06 1808 Fillet Head 06 1810 Head to Left 18 1811 Head to Left 60 1831 Head to Left 2 00 1836 Head to Left 3 00 1840 Head to Left 1 75 1841 Head to Left 1 75 1842 Head to Left 2 50 1843 Head to Left 3 00 1844 Head to Left 2 00 1845 Head to Left 1 75 1846 Head to Left 1 75 1847 Head to Left 2 50 1848 Head to Left 3 00 1849 Head to Left, Small Date 3 00 1849 Head to Left, Large Date 06 1850 Head to Left 05 1852 Head to Left 2 50 1854 Head to Left 05 1856 Head to Left 15 1857 Head to Left 08 AMERICAN SILVER AND COPPER COINS NOT ISSUED BY THE UNITED STATES MINT. SILVER COINAGE. DOLLARS.--First coinage, 1794; none issued 1805 to 1835, inclusive, and 1837. HALF-DOLLARS.--First coinage, 1794; none issued 1798, 1799, 1816. QUARTER-DOLLARS.--First coinage, 1796; none issued 1794, 1795, 1797 to 1804, 1808 to 1814, inclusive, 1816, 1817, 1826, 1829, 1830. DIMES.--First coinage, 1796; none issued 1794, 1795, 1799, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1812, 1813, 1815 to 1819, inclusive, 1826. HALF-DIMES.--First coinage, 1794; none issued 1798, 1799, 1801, 1806 to 1828, inclusive. The coinage of half-dimes was discontinued in 1873 by Act of Congress. THREE-CENT PIECES (SILVER).--First coinage, 1851; and then the dates follow in succession until 1873, when the coinage of them was discontinued. COPPER CENTS. COPPER CENTS.--First coinage, 1793, none issued 1815; they then follow to 1857, when the coinage was changed to nickel. The nickel cent of 1856 was only a pattern, which continued during this year up to 1864, inclusive. The bronze cent was introduced in this year. In 1865 the nickel cent was discontinued, and up to date the bronze cents are issued. HALF-CENTS.--First coinage, 1793; none issued 1798, 1799, 1801, 1812 to 1824, inclusive; 1827, 1837, 1838, 1839; in 1857 the issue of half-cents was discontinued. In 1864 the two-cent piece in bronze was introduced, and discontinued in 1873, by Act of Congress. In 1865 the three-cent nickel piece was first issued. In 1866 the five-cent piece was first issued; a very few were struck in 1865 as pattern. In 1883 the die was changed to that of the current issue with liberty head. Although upwards of five million coins of the 1883 nickels without the words "cents" were issued, they will in the course of a few years command a premium. At present they are still quite common. LOISETTE'S SYSTEM OF MEMORY. So much has been said about Loisette's memory system, the art has been so widely advertised, and so carefully guarded from all the profane who do not send five or many dollars to the professor, that a few pages showing how every man may be his own Loisette, may be both interesting and valuable. In the first place, the system is a good one, and well worth the labor of mastering, and if the directions are implicitly followed there can be no doubt that the memory will be greatly strengthened and improved, and that mnemonic feats, otherwise impossible, may be easily performed. Loisette, however, is not an inventor, but an introducer. He stands in the same relation to Dr. Pick that the retail dealer holds to the manufacturer; the one produced the article; the other brings it to the public. Even this statement is not quite fair to Loisette, for he has brought much practical common sense to bear upon Pick's system, and in preparing the new art of mnemonics for the market, in many ways he has made it his own. If each man would reflect upon the method by which he himself remembers things, he would find his hand upon the key of the whole mystery. For instance, the author was once trying to remember the word _blythe_. There occurred to my mind the words "Bellman," "Belle," and then the verse --the peasant upward climbing Hears the bells of _Buloss_ chiming. "Barcarole," "Barrack," and so on, until the word "blythe" presented itself with a strange insistence, long after I had ceased trying to recall it. On another occasion, when trying to recall the name "Richardson," I got the words "hay-rick," "Robertson," "Randallstown," and finally "wealthy," from which naturally I got "rich" and "Richardson" almost in a breath. Still another example: trying to recall the name of an old schoolmate, "Grady," I got "Brady," "grave," "gaseous," "gastronome," "gracious," and I finally abandoned the attempt, simply saying to myself that it began with a "G," and there was an "a" sound after it. The next morning, when thinking of something entirely different, this name "Grady" came up in my mind with as much distinctness as though some one had whispered it in my ear. This remembering was done without any conscious effort on my part, and was evidently the result of the exertion made the day before, when mnemonic processes were put to work. Every reader must have had similar experience, which he can recall, and which will fall in line with the examples given. It follows, then, that when we endeavor, without the aid of any system, to recall a forgotten fact or name, our memory presents to us words of a similar sound or meaning in its journey toward the goal to which we have started it. This goes to show that our ideas are arranged in groups in whatever secret cavity or recess of the brain they occupy, and that the arrangement is one not alphabetical exactly and not entirely by meaning, but after some fashion partaking of both. If you are looking for the word "meadow" you may reach "middle" before you come to it, or "Mexico," or many words beginning with the "m" sound, or containing the "dow," as "window" or "dough," or you may get "field" or "farm"--but you are on the right track, and if you do not interfere with your intellectual process you will finally come to the idea which you are seeking. How often have you heard people say: "I forget his name; it is something like Beadle or Beagle--at any rate it begins with a B." Each and all of these were unconscious Loisettians, and they were practicing blindly, and without proper method or direction, the excellent system which he teaches. The thing, then, to do--and it is the final and simple truth which Loisette teaches--is to travel over this ground in the other direction--to cement the fact which you wish to remember to some other fact or word which you know will be brought out by the implied conditions--and thus you will always be able to travel from your given starting point to the thing which you wish to call to mind. [Illustration: _a_ _b_ _c_ _d_ _e_] To illustrate: let the broken line in the annexed diagram represent a train of thought. If we connect the idea "_a_" with "_e_" through the steps _b_, _c_ and _d_, the tendency of the mind ever afterward will be to get to _e_ from _a_ that way, or from any of the intermediates that way. It seems as though a channel were cut in our mindstuff along which the memory flows. How to make it flow this way will be seen later on. Loisette, in common with all mnemonic teachers, uses the old devise of representing numbers by letter--and as this is the first and easiest step in the art, this seems to be the most logical place to introduce the accepted equivalents of the Arabic numerals: 0 is always represented by _s_, _z_ or _c_ soft. 1 is always represented by _t_, _th_ or _d_. 2 is always represented by _n_. 3 is always represented by _m_. 4 is always represented by _r_. 5 is always represented by _l_. 6 is always represented by _sh, j, ch_ soft or _g_ soft. 7 is always represented by _g_ hard, _kc_ hard, _q_ or final _ng_. 8 is always represented by _f_ or _v_. 9 is always represented by _p_ or _b_. All the other letters are used simply to fill up. Double letters in a word count only as one. In fact, the system goes by sound, not by spelling--for instance, "this" or "dizzy" would stand for _ten_; "catch" or "gush" would stand for 76, and the only difficulty is to make some word or phrase which will contain only the significant letters in the proper order, filled out with non-significants into some guise of meaning or intelligibility.[2] Suppose you wish to get some phrase or word that would express the number 3,685, you arrange the letters this way: +-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | 3 | ^ | 6 | ^ | 8 | ^ | 5 | +-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | a | m | a | sh | a | f | a | l | | e | | e | j | e | v | e | | | i | | i | ch | i | | i | | | o | | o | g | o | | o | | | u | | u | | u | | u | | | h | | h | | h | | h | | | w | | w | | w | | w | | | x | | x | | x | | x | | | y | | y | | y | | y | | +-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ You can make out "image of law," "my shuffle," "matchville," etc., etc., as far as you like to work it out. [2] You can remember the equivalents by noting the fact that _z_ is the first letter of "zero" and _c_ of "cipher;" _t_ has but one stroke, _n_ has two, _m_ has three. The script _f_ is very like 8, the script _p_ like 9; _r_ is the last letter of four, _l_ is the Roman numeral for _fifty_, which suggests _five_. The others may be retained as memorizing these two nonsense lines: Six _shy_ _J_ewesses c_h_ase _G_eorge Seven great _k_ings _c_ame _q_uarreli_ng_. Now, suppose you wish to memorize the fact that $1,000,000 in gold weighs 3,685 pounds, you go about it in this way, and here is the kernel and crux of Loisette's system: "How much does $1,000,000 in gold weigh?" "Weigh--scales." "Scales--statue of Justice." "Statue of Justice--_image of law_." The process is simplicity itself. The thing you wish to recall, and that you fear to forget, is the weight; consequently you cement your chain of suggestion to the idea which is most prominent to your mental question. What do you weigh with? Scales. What does the mental picture of scales suggest? The statue of Justice, blindfolded and weighing out award and punishment to man. Finally, what is this statue of Justice but the image of law? And the words "image of law," translated back from the significant letters _m_, _g_ soft, _f_ and _l_, give you 3--6--8--5, the number of pounds in $1,000,000 in gold. You bind together in your mind each separate step in the journey, the one suggests the other, and you will find a year from now that the fact will be as fresh in your memory as it is to-day. You cannot lose it. It is chained to you by an unbreakable mnemonic tie. Mark, that it is not claimed that "weight" will of itself suggest "scales" and "scales" "statue of Justice," etc., but that, once having passed your attention up and down the ladder of ideas, your mental tendency will be to take the same route, and get to the same goal again and again. Indeed, beginning with the weight of $1,000,000, "image of law" will turn up in your mind without your consciousness of any intermediate station on the way, after some iteration and reiteration of the original chain. Again, so as to fasten the process in the reader's mind even more firmly, suppose that it were desired to fix the date of the battle of Hastings (A.D. 1066) in the memory; 1066 may be represented by the words "the wise judge" (_th_ equals 1, _s_ equals 0, _j_ equals 6, _dg_ equals 6; the others are non-significants); a chain might be made thus: Battle of Hastings--arbitrament of war. Arbitrament of war--arbitration. Arbitration--judgment. Judgment--the wise judge. Make mental pictures, connect ideas, repeat words and sounds, go about it in any way you please, so that you will form a mental habit of connecting the "battle of Hastings" with the idea of "arbitrament of war," and so on for the other links in the chain, and the work is done. Loisette makes the beginning of his system unnecessarily difficult, to say nothing of his illogical arrangement in the grammar of the art of memory, which he makes the first of his lessons. He analyzes suggestion thus: 1. Inclusion. 2. Exclusion. 3. Concurrence. All of which looks very scientific and orderly, but is really misleading and badly named. The truth is that one idea will suggest another. 1. By likeness or opposition of meaning, as "house" suggests "room" or "door," etc., or "white" suggests "blacks," "cruel," "kind," etc. 2. By likeness of sound, as "harrow" and "barrow;" "Henry" and "Hennepin." 3. By mental juxtaposition, a peculiarity different in each person and depending upon each one's own experiences. Thus "St. Charles" suggests "railway bridge" to me, because I was vividly impressed by the breaking of the Wabash bridge at that point. "Stable" and "broken leg" come near each other in my experience, so do "cow" and "shot-gun" and "licking." Out of these three sorts of suggestions it is possible to get from any one fact to any other in a chain certain and safe, along which the mind may be depended upon afterward always to follow. The chain is, of course, by no means all. Its making and its binding must be accompanied by a vivid, methodically directed attention, which turns all the mental light gettable in a focus upon the subject passing across the mind's screen. Before Loisette was thought of this was known. In the old times in England, in order to impress upon the minds of the rising generation the parish boundaries in the rural districts, the boys were taken to each of the landmarks in succession, the position and bearings of each pointed out carefully, and, in order to deepen the impression, the young people were then and there vigorously thrashed, a mechanical method of attracting the attention which was said never to have failed. This system has had its supporters in many of the old-fashioned schools, and there are men who will read these lines who can recall, with an itching sense of vivid expression, the 144 lickings which were said to go with the multiplication table. In default of a thrashing, however, the student must cultivate as best he can an intense fixity of perception upon every fact or word or date that he wishes to make permanently his own. It is easy. It is a matter of habit. If you will you can photograph an idea upon your cerebral gelatine so that neither years nor events will blot it out or overlay it. You must be clearly and distinctly aware of the thing you are putting into your mental treasure-house, and drastically certain of the cord by which you have tied it to some other thing of which you are sure. Unless it is worth your while to do this, you might as well abandon any hopes of mnemonic improvement, which will not come without the hardest kind of hard work, although it is work that will grow constantly easier with practice and reiteration. You need, then: 1. Methodic suggestion. 2. Methodic attention. 3. Methodic reiteration. And this is all there is to Loisette, and a great deal it is. Two of them will not do without the third. You do not know how many steps there are from your hall-door to your bed-room, though you have attended to and often reiterated the journey. But if there are twenty of them, and you have once bound the word "nice," or "nose," or "news," or "hyenas," to the fact of the stairway, you could never forget it. The Professor makes a point, and very wisely, of the importance of working through some established chain, so that the whole may be carried away in the mind--not alone for the value of the facts so bound together, but for the mental discipline so afforded. Here, then, is the "President Series," which contains the name and the date of inauguration of each President from Washington to Cleveland. The manner in which it is to be mastered is this: Beginning at the top, try to find in your mind some connection between each word and the one following it. See how you can at some future time make one suggest the next, either by suggestion of sound or sense, or by mental juxtaposition. When you have found this dwell on it attentively for a moment or two. Pass it backward and forward before you, and then go on to the next step. The chain runs thus, the names of the Presidents being in small caps, the date word in italics: President Chosen as the first word as the one most apt to occur to the mind of any one wishing to repeat the names of the Presidents. Dentist Presi_dent_ and _dent_ist. Draw What does a dentist do? _To give up_ When something is drawn from one it is given up. This is a date phrase meaning 1789. Self-sacrifice There is an association of thought between giving and self-sacrifice. WASHINGTON Associate the quality of self-sacrifice with Washington's character. Morning wash _Wash_ington and _wash_. Dew Early witness and dew. Flower beds Dew and flowers. _Took a bouquet_ Flowers and bouquet. Date phrase (1707.) Garden Bouquet and garden. Eden The first garden. Adam Juxtaposition of thought. ADAMS Suggestion by sound. Fall Juxtaposition by thought. Failure Fall and failure. _Deficit_ Upon a failure there is usually a deficit. Date word (1801.) Debt The consequence of a deficit. Bonds Debt and bonds. Confederate bonds Suggestion by meaning. Jefferson Davis Juxtaposition of thought. JEFFERSON. Now, follow out the rest for yourself, taking about ten at a time, and binding those you do last to those you have done before each time, before attacking the next bunch. 1 | 2 | 3 ----------------------+--------------------+------------------ JEFFERSON | _the fraud_ | _the heavy shell_ Judge Jeffreys | painted clay | mollusk bloody assize | baked clay | unfamiliar word bereavement | tiles | dictionary _too heavy a sob_ | TYLER | Johnson's parental grief | Wat Tyler | JOHNSON mad son | poll tax | son MADISON | compulsory | bad son Madeira | _free will_ | dishonest boy first-rate wine | free offering | _thievish boy_ frustrating | burnt offering | take _defeating_ | poker | give feet | POLK | GRANT toe the line | end of dance | award row | termination "ly" | school premium MUNROE | _adverb_ | examination row | part of speech | cramming boat | part of a man | _fagging_ steamer | TAYLOR | laborer _the funnel_ | measurer | hay field windpipe | theodolite | HAYES throat | _Theophilus_ | hazy quinzy | fill us | clear QUINZY ADAMS | FILLMORE | _vivid_ quince | more fuel | brightly lighted fine fruit | _the flame_ | camp fire _the fine boy_ | flambeau | war field sailor boy | bow | GARFIELD sailor | arrow | Guiteau jack tar | PIERCE | murderer JACKSON | hurt | prisoner stone wall | _feeling_ | prison fare indomitable | wound | _half fed_ _tough make_ | soldier | well fed oaken furniture | cannon | well read bureau | BUCHANAN | author VAN BUREN | rebuke | ARTHUR rent | official censure | round table side-splitting | _to officiate_ | tea table _divert_ | wedding | tea cup annoy | linked | _half full_ harrassing | LINCOLN | divide HARRISON | link | cleave Old Harry | stroll | CLEVELAND the tempter | sea shore | ----------------------+--------------------+------------------ It will be noted that some of the date words, as "free will," only give three figures of the date, 845; but it is to be supposed that if the student knows that many figures in the date of Polk's inauguration he can guess the other one. The curious thing about this system will now become apparent. If the reader has learned the series so that he can say it down from first President to Cleveland, he can with no effort, and without any further preparation, say it _backward_, from Cleveland up to the commencement. There could be no better proof that this is the natural mnemonic system. It proves itself by its works. -------------------+------------------+------------- | 0--hoes | -------------------+------------------+------------- 1--wheat |34--mare |67--jockey 2--hen |35--mill |68--shave 3--home |36--image |69--ship 4--hair |37--mug |70--eggs 5--oil |38--muff |71--gate 6--shoe |39--mob |72--gun 7--hook |40--race |73--comb 8--off |41--hart |74--hawker 9--bee |42--horn |75--coal 10--daisy |43--army |76--cage 11--tooth |44--warrior |77--cake 12--dine |45--royal |78--coffee 13--time |46--arch |79--cube 14--tower |47--rock |80--vase 15--dell |48--wharf |81--feet 16--ditch |49--rope |82--vein 17--duck |50--wheels |83--fame 18--dove |51--lad |84--fire 19--tabby |52--lion |85--vial 20--hyenas |53--lamb |86--fish 21--hand |54--lair |87--fig 22--nun |55--lily |88--fife 23--name |56--lodge |89--fib 24--owner |57--lake |90--pies 25--nail |58--leaf |91--putty 26--hinge |59--elbow |92--pane 27--ink |60--chess |93--bomb 28--knife |61--cheat |94--bier 29--knob |62--chain |95--bell 30--muse |63--sham |96--peach 31--mayday |64--chair |97--book 32--hymen |65--jail |98--beef 33--mama |66--judge |99--pope |------------------| | 100--diocese | -------------------+------------------+----------- The series should be repeated backward and forward every day for a month, and should be supplemented by a series of the reader's own making, and by this one, which gives the numbers from 0 to 100, and which must be chained together before they can be learned. By the use of this table, which should be committed as thoroughly as the President series, so that it can be repeated backwards and forwards, any date, figure or number can be at once constructed, and bound by the usual chain to the fact which you wish it to accompany. When the student wishes to go farther and attack larger problems than the simple binding of two facts together, there is little in Loisette's system that is new, although there is much that is good. If it is a book that is to be learned, as one would prepare for an examination, each chapter is to be considered separately. Of each a _precis_ is to be written in which the writer must exercise all of his ingenuity to reduce the matter in hand to its final skeleton of fact. This he is to commit to memory both by the use of the chain and the old system of interrogation. Suppose after much labor through a wide space of language one boils a chapter to an event down to the final irreducible sediment: "Magna Charta was exacted by the barons from King John at Runnymede." You must now turn this statement this way and that way, asking yourself about it every possible and impossible question, gravely considering the answers, and, if you find any part of it especially difficult to remember, chaining it to the question which will bring it out. Thus, "What was exacted by the barons from King John at Runnymede?" "Magna Charta." "By whom was Magna Charta exacted from King John at Runnymede?" "By the barons." "From whom was," etc., etc.? "King John." "From what king," etc., etc.? "King John." "Where was Magna Charta," etc., etc.? "At Runnymede." And so on and so on, as long as your ingenuity can suggest questions to ask, or points of view from which to consider the statement. Your mind will be finally saturated with the information and prepared to spill it out at the first squeeze of the examiner. This, however, is not new. It was taught in the schools hundreds of years before Loisette was born. Old newspaper men will recall in connection with it Horace Greeley's statement that the test of a news item was the clear and satisfactory manner in which a report answered the interrogatories, "What?" "When?" "Where?" "Who?" "Why?" In the same way Loisette advises the learning of poetry, _e.g._, "The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold." "Who came down?" "How did the Assyrian come down?" "Like what animal did?" etc. And so on and so on, until the verses are exhausted of every scrap of information to be had out of them by the most assiduous cross-examination. Whatever the reader may think of the availability or value of this part of the system, there are so many easily applicable tests of the worth of much that Loisette has done, that it may be taken with the rest. Few people, to give an easy example, can remember the value of +-- the ratio between the circumference and the diameter of the circle--beyond four places of decimals, or at most six--3,141,592+. Here is the value to 108 decimal places: 3. 14159265·3589793238·4626433832·7950288419·7169399375·1058209749· 4459230781·6406286208·9986280348·2534211706·79 82148086 By a very simple application of the numerical letter values these 108 decimal places can be carried in the mind and recalled about as fast as you can write them down. All that is to be done is to memorize these nonsense lines: Mother Day will buy any shawl. My love pick up my new muff. A Russian jeer may move a woman. Cables enough for Utopia. Get a cheap ham pie by my cooley. The slave knows a bigger ape. I rarely hop on my sick foot. Cheer a sage in a fashion safe. A baby fish now views my wharf. Annually Mary Ann did kiss a jay. A cabby found a rough savage. Now translate each significant into its proper value and you have the task accomplished. "Mother Day," _m_ equals 3, _th_ equals 1, _r_ equals 4, _d_ equals 1, and so on. Learn the lines one at a time by the method of interrogatories. "Who will buy any shawl?" "Which Mrs. Day will buy a shawl?" "Is Mother Day particular about the sort of shawl she will buy?" "Has she bought a shawl?" etc., etc. Then cement the end of each line to the beginning of the next one, thus, "Shawl"--"warm garment"--"warmth"--"love"--"my love," and go on as before. Stupid as the work may seem to you, you can memorize the figures in fifteen minutes this way so that you will not forget them in fifteen years. Similarly you can take Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and turn fact after fact into nonsense lines like these which you cannot lose. And this ought to be enough to show anybody the whole art. If you look back across the sands of time and find out that it is that ridiculous old "Thirty days hath September," which comes to you when you are trying to think of the length of October--if you can quote your old prosody, "O datur ambiguis," etc. with much more certainty than you can serve up your Horace; if in fine, jingles and alliterations, wise and otherwise, have stayed with you, while solid and serviceable information has faded away, you may be certain that here is the key to the enigma of memory. You can apply it yourself in a hundred ways. If you wish to clinch in your mind the fact that Mr. Love lives at 485 Dearborn Street, what is more easy than to turn 485 into the words "rifle" and chain the ideas together, say thus: "Love--happiness--good time--picnic--forest--wood rangers--range--rifle range--_rifle_--fine weapon--costly weapon--dearly bought--DEARBORN." Or if you wish to remember Mr. Bowman's name, and you notice he has a mole on his face which is apt to attract your attention when you next see him, cement the ideas thus: "Mole, mark, target, archer, Bowman." FACTS WORTH KNOWING. HANDY FACTS TO SETTLE MANY ARGUMENTS London plague in 1665. Telephone invented 1861. There are 2,750 languages. Two persons die every second. Sound moves 743 miles per hour. Chinese invented paper 170 B.C. A square mile contains 640 acres. A barrel of pork weighs 200 pounds. Hawks can fly 150 miles in one hour. Watches were first constructed in 1476. Chinese in United States in 1880, 105,613. Rome was founded by Romulus, 752 B.C. Gold was discovered in California in 1848. Phonograph invented by T. A. Edison, 1877. The first balloon ascended from Lyons, France, 1783. The first fire insurance office in America, Boston, 1724. Jet is found along the coast of Yorkshire, Eng., near Whitby. Napoleon I. crowned emperor 1804; died at St. Helena, 1820. Electric light invented by Lodyguin and Kossloff, at London, 1874. Harvard is the oldest college in the United States: established 1638. War declared with Great Britain, June 19, 1812; peace Feb. 18, 1815. Until 1776 cotton spinning was performed by the hand spinning-wheel. Measure 209 feet on each side and you will have a square acre within an inch. Postage stamps first came into use in England in the year 1840; in the United States in 1847. The highest range of mountains are the Himalayas, the mean elevation being from 16,000 to 18,000 feet. Envelopes were first used in 1839. Telescopes were invented in 1590. Iron horseshoes were made in 481. A barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds. A hand (horse measure) is four inches. A rifle ball moves 1,000 miles per hour. First steamer crossed the Atlantic, 1819. Assassination of Lincoln, April 14, 1865. German empire re-established, Jan. 18, 1871. Storm clouds move thirty-six miles an hour. First subscription library, Philadelphia, 1731. Dark Ages, from the 6th to the 14th century. The Latin tongue became obsolete about 580. The great London fire occurred Sept. 26, 1666. The value of a ton of pure gold is $602,799.21. Ether was first used for surgical purposes in 1844. Ignatius Loyola founded the order of Jesuits, 1541. First authentic use of organs, 755; in England, 951. The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652. Cork is the bark taken from a species of the oak tree. Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752. Glass windows (colored) were used in the 8th century. Authentic history of China commenced 3,000 years B.C. Introduction of homoepathy into the United States, 1825. Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century. Medicine was introduced into Rome from Greece, 200 B.C. First electric telegraph, Paddington to Brayton, Eng., 1835. The Chaldeans were the first people who worked in metals. First life insurance, in London, 1772; in America, Philadelphia, 1812. Egyptian pottery is the oldest known; dates from 2,000 B.C. Julius Cæsar invaded Britain, 55 B.C.; assassinated, 44 B.C. Soap was first manufactured in England in the 16th century. The largest free territorial government is the United States. First photographs produced in England, 1802; perfected, 1841. First marine insurance, A.D. 533; England, 1598; America, 1721. Professor Oersted, Copenhagen, discovered electro-magnetism, in 1819. First American express, New York to Boston--W. F. Harnden. Glass windows were first introduced into England in the 8th century. Chicago is little more than fifty years old, and is the eighteenth city of the world. Glass was made in Egypt, 3000 B.C.; earliest date of transparent glass, 719 B.C. First public schools in America were established in the New England States about 1642. The largest inland sea is the Caspian, between Europe and Asia, being 700 miles long and 270 miles wide. The term "Almighty Dollar" originated with Washington Irving, as a satire on the American love for gain. The highest natural bridge in the world is at Rockbridge, Virginia, being 200 feet high to the bottom of the arch. The largest circulation of paper money is that of the United States, being 700 millions, while Russia has 670 millions. The largest insurance company in the world is the Mutual Life of New York City, having cash assets of $108,000,000. The largest empire in the world is that of Great Britain, being 8,557,658 square miles, and more than a sixth part of the globe. The first electrical signal ever transmitted between Europe and America passed over the Field submarine cable on Aug. 5, 1858. The longest tunnel in the world is St. Gothard, on the line of the railroad between Luzerne and Milan, being nine and one-half miles in length. The loftiest active volcano is Popocatapetl. It is 17,784 feet high, and has a crater three miles in circumference and 1,000 feet deep. Burnt brick was known to have been used in building the Tower of Babel. They were introduced into England by the Romans. The most remarkable echo known is that in the castle of Simonetta, two miles from Milan. It repeats the echo of a pistol sixty times. The largest volcano in the world is Etna. Its base is 90 miles in circumference; its cone 11,000 feet high. Its first eruption occurred 474 B.C. The largest tree in the world, as yet discovered, is in Tulare County, California. It is 275 feet high and 106 feet in circumference at its base. The largest desert is Sahara, in Northern Africa. Its length is 3,000 miles and breadth 900 miles; having an area of 2,000,000 square miles. The largest suspension bridge is in Brooklyn. The length of the main span is 1,595 feet 6 inches. The entire length of the bridge is 5,989 feet. The first deaf and dumb asylum was founded in England by Thomas Braidwood, 1760; and the first in the United States was at Hartford, 1817. The largest diamond in the world is the Braganza, being a part of the Portuguese jewels. It weighs 1,880 carats. It was found in Brazil in 1741. The grade of titles in Great Britain stands in the following order from the highest: A Prince, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Knight. The largest number of cattle ever received in one year was that of Chicago in the year 1884, being 1,874,984 beeves, 30,223 calves, 5,640,625 hogs, 749,917 sheep and 15,625 horses. It required 9,000 trains of 31 cars each, which, if coupled together, would reach 2,146 miles. The "Valley of Death," in the island of Java, is simply the crater of an extinct volcano, filled with carbonic-acid gas. It is half a mile in circumference. The city of Amsterdam, Holland, is built upon piles driven into the ground. It is intersected by numerous canals, crossed by nearly three hundred bridges. Coal was used as fuel in England as early as 852, and in 1234 the first charter to dig for it was granted by Henry III. to the inhabitants of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Tobacco was discovered in San Domingo in 1496; afterwards by the Spaniards in Yucatan in 1520. It was introduced in France in 1560, and into England in 1583. The present national colors of the United States were not adopted by Congress until 1777. The flag was first used by Washington at Cambridge, January 1, 1776. Paris was known as Lutetia until 1184, when the name of the great French capital was changed to that which it has borne ever since. The longest span of wire in the world is used for a telegraph in India over the river Ristuah. It is over 6,000 feet, and is stretched between two hills 1,200 feet high. The largest library in the world is in Paris, founded by Louis XIV. It contains 1,400,000 volumes, 175,000 manuscripts, 300,000 maps and charts, and 150,000 coins and medals. The tallest man was John Hale, of Lancashire, England, who was nine feet six inches in height. His hand was seventeen inches long and eight and one-half inches broad. In round numbers, the weight of $1,000,000 in standard gold coin is 1-3/4 tons; standard silver coin, 26-3/4 tons; subsidiary silver coin, 25 tons; minor coins, 5-cent nickel, 100 tons. The largest stationery engine in the world is at the zinc mines at Friedenville, Pa. The number of gallons of water raised every minute is 17,500. The driving wheels are 35 feet diameter and weigh 40 tons each. The cylinder is 110 inches in diameter. The part of United States territory most recently acquired is the island of San Juan, near Vancouver's Island. It was evacuated by England at the close of November, 1873. The highest monument in the world is the Washington monument, being 555 feet. The highest structure of any kind is the Eiffel Tower, Paris, finished in 1889 and 989 feet high. It is claimed that crows, eagles, ravens and swans live to be 100 years old; herons, 59; parrots, 60; pelicans and geese, 50; skylarks, 30; sparrow hawks, 40; peacocks, canaries and cranes, 24. The greatest cataract in the world is Niagara, the height of the American falls being 165 feet. The highest fall of water in the world is that of the Yosemite in California, being 2,550 feet. The most ancient catacombs are those of the Theban kings, begun 4,000 years ago. The catacombs of Rome contain the remains of about 6,000,000 human beings; those of Paris, 3,000,000. The quickest passage ever made across the Atlantic was that of the steamer Lucania, of the Cunard line, being 5 days 7 hours and 23 minutes from New York to Queenstown; the distance being 2,850 miles. There has been no irregularity in the recurrence of leap year every four years since 1800, and will be none until 1900, which will be a common year, although it will come fourth after the preceding leap year. The first English newspaper was the _English Mercury_, issued in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was issued in the shape of a pamphlet. The _Gazette_ of Venice was the original model of the modern newspaper. The Mormon Church in Utah shows a membership of 127,294--23,000 families. The church has 12 apostles, 58 patriarchs, 3,885 seventies, 3,153 high priests, 11,000 elders, 1,500 bishops and 4,400 deacons, being an office for each six persons. A "monkey wrench" is not so named because it is a handy thing to monkey with, or for any kindred reason. "Monkey" is not its name at all, but "Moncky." Charles Moncky, the inventor of it, sold his patent for $2,000, and invested the money in a house in Williamsburg, King's County, N.Y., where he now lives. The Union arch of the Washington Aqueduct is the largest in the world, being 220 feet; 20 feet in excess of the Chester arch across the Dee in England, 68 feet longer than that of the London bridge; 92 feet longer than that at Neuilly on the Seine, and 100 feet longer than that of Waterloo bridge. The height of the Washington arch is 100 feet. The largest ship ever built, the Great Eastern, recently broken to pieces and sold to junk dealers, was designed and constructed by Scott Russell, at Maxwell, on the Thames. Work on the giant vessel was commenced in May, 1854. She was successfully launched January 13, 1858. The launching alone occupied the time from November 3, 1857, until the date above given. Her total length was 600 feet; breadth, 118 feet; total weight when launched 12,000 tons. Her first trip of any consequence was made to New York in 1859-60. The most extensive mines in the world are those of Freiberg, Saxony. They were begun in the twelfth century, and in 1835 the galleries, taken collectively, had reached the unprecedented length of 123 miles. A new gallery, begun in 1838, had reached a length of eight miles at the time of the census of 1878. The deepest perpendicular mining shaft in the world is located at Prizilram, Bohemia. It is a lead mine; it was begun 1832. January, 1880, it was 3,280 feet deep. The deepest coal mine in the world is near Tourney, Belgium; it is 3,542 feet in depth, but, unlike the lead mine mentioned above, it is not perpendicular. The deepest rock-salt bore in the world is near Berlin, Prussia; it is 4,185 feet deep. The deepest hole ever bored into the earth is the artesian well at Pottsdam, which is 5,500 feet in depth. The deepest coal mines in England are the Dunkirk colleries of Lancashire, which are 2,824 feet in depth. The deepest coal shaft in the United States is located at Pottsville, Pa. In 1885 it had reached a depth of 1,576 feet. From this great depth 400 cars, holding four tons each, are hoisted daily. The deepest silver mine in the United States is the Yellow Jacket, one of the great Comstock system at Virginia City, Nevada; the lower levels are 2,700 feet below the hoisting works. FATE OF THE APOSTLES.--The following brief history of the fate of the Apostles may be new to those whose reading has not been evangelical: St. Matthew is supposed to have suffered martyrdom or was slain with the sword at the city of Ethiopia. St. Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria, in Egypt, till he expired. St. Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in Greece. St. John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil at Rome and escaped death. He afterward died a natural death at Ephesus in Asia. St. James the Great was beheaded at Jerusalem. St. James the Less was thrown from a pinnacle or wing of the temple and then beaten to death with a fuller's club. St. Philip was hanged up against a pillar at Hieropolis, a city of Phrygia. St. Bartholomew was flayed alive by the command of a barbarous king. St. Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached unto the people until he expired. St. Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Caromandel, in the East Indias. St. Jude was shot to death with arrows. St. Simon Zealot was crucified in Persia. St. Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded. St. Barnabas was stoned to death by Jews at Salania. St. Paul was beheaded at Rome by the tyrant Nero. The capital of the United States has been located at different times at the following places: At Philadelphia from September 5, 1774, until December, 1776; at Baltimore from December 20, 1776, to March, 1777; at Philadelphia from March 4, 1777, to September, 1777; at Lancaster, Pa., from September 27, 1777, to September 30, 1777; at York, Pa., from September 30, 1777, to July, 1778; at Philadelphia from July 2, 1778, to June 30, 1783; at Princeton, N.J., June 30, 1783, to November 20, 1783; Annapolis, Md., November 26, 1783, to November 30, 1784; Trenton, from November, 1784, to January, 1785; New York from January 11, 1785, to 1790; then the seat of government was removed to Philadelphia, where it remained until 1800, since which time it has been in Washington. THE SINGLE TAX. This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George in 1879, and has grown steadily in favor. Single tax men assert as a fundamental principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth; therefore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the only rightful source of public revenue, and they would therefore abolish all taxation--local, State and National--except a tax upon the rental value of land exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to be divided among local, State and general governments, as the revenue from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and State governments. The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land, and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on use or improvements, but on ownership of land, taking what would otherwise go to the landlord as owner. In accordance with the principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by public ownership and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of railroads, leaving their use equally free to all. The single tax system would, they claim, dispense with a hoard of tax-gatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost; give us with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the States of the Union; abolish all taxes on private uses of money; take the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. It would call upon men to contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural opportunities they monopolize, and make it unprofitable for speculators to hold land unused, or only partly used, thus opening to labor unlimited fields of employment, solving the labor problem and abolishing involuntary poverty. VALUE OF FOREIGN COINS. Proclaimed by Law, January 1, 1891. --------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------ | COUNTRY. | Monetary | STANDARD. | Value in | | Units | | U.S. Money --------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------ Argentine Republic |Peso |Gold and Silver |$ .96 5-10 Austria |Florin |Silver | .38 1-10 Belgium |Franc |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 Bolivia |Boliviano |Silver | .77 1-10 Brazil |Milreis |Gold | .54 6-10 Canada |Dollar |Gold | 1.00 Chili |Peso |Gold and Silver | .91 2-10 China |Tael |Silver | 1.27 Cuba |Peso |Gold and Silver | .92 6-10 Denmark |Crown |Gold | .26 8-10 Ecuador |Peso |Silver | .77 1-10 Egypt |Piaster |Gold | .04 9-10 France |Franc |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 Great Britain |Pound Sterling|Gold | 4.86 6-100 Greece |Drachma |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 German Empire |Mark |Gold | .23 8-10 Hayti |Gourde |Gold and Silver | .96 5-10 India |Rupee |Silver | .36 6-10 Italy |Lira |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 Japan |Yen |Silver | .85 8-10 Liberia |Dollar |Gold | 1.00 Mexico |Dollar |Silver | .83 7-10 Netherlands |Florin |Gold and Silver | .40 2-10 Norway |Crown |Gold | .26 8-10 Peru |Sol |Silver | .77 1-10 Portugal |Milreis |Gold | 1.08 Russia |Rouble |Silver | .61 7-10 Sandwich Islands |Dollar |Gold | 1.00 Spain |Peseta |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 Sweden |Crown |Gold | .26 8-10 Switzerland |Franc |Gold and Silver | .19 3-10 Tripoli |Mahbub |Silver | .69 5-10 Turkey |Piaster |Gold | .04 4-10 U.S. of Columbia |Peso |Silver | .79 5-10 Venezuela |Bolivar |Gold and Silver | .15 4-10 --------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------ The largest producing farm in the world lies in the southwest corner of Louisiana, owned by a northern syndicate. It runs one hundred miles north and south. The immense tract is divided into convenient pastures, with stations of ranches every six miles. The fencing alone cost nearly $50,000. The "Seven Wonders of the World" are seven most remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, Pharos of Alexandria, Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Mausoleum of Artemisia, and Colossus of Rhodes. The seven sages flourished in Greece in the 6th century B.C. They were renowned for their maxims of life and as the authors of the mottoes inscribed in the Delphian Temple. Their names are: Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander, Clebolus and Thales. The estimated number of Christians in the world is over 408,000,000; of Buddhists, 420,000,000; of the followers of Brahma, 180,000,000; of Mohammedans, 150,000,000; of Jews, 8,000,000; of atheists, deists, and infidels, 85,000,000; of pagans, 50,000,000, and of the 1,100 other minor creeds, 123,000,000. In 1775 there were only 27 newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was the _Pennsylvania Journal_, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, the _American Weekly Mercury_, in 1719. The next in age, but the first in importance, was the _Pennsylvania Packet_, established by John Dunlop in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent. GEMS OF THOUGHT. POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC BY Benjamin Franklin. POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC. COURTEOUS READER: I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed. For though I have been, if I may say it without vanity, an _eminent_ author of _Almanacs_ annually now for a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way, for what reason I know not, have ever been very sparing in their applauses; and no other author has taken the least notice of me; so that did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me. I concluded at length that the people were the best judges of my merit, for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated, with _as Poor Richard says_ at the end of it. This gives me some satisfaction, as it showed, not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great activity. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at a vendue of merchant's goods. The hour of sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man with white locks, "Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Won't these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to do?" Father Abraham stood up and replied: "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for _A word to the wise is enough_, and _Many words won't fill a bushel_, as Poor Richard says." They all joined, desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows: Friends, says he, and neighbors, the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might the more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our IDLENESS, three times as much by our PRIDE and four times as much by our FOLLY; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us; _God helps them that help themselves_, as Poor Richard says in his _Almanac_ of 1733. It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their TIME, to be employed in its service, but idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle employments or amusements that amount to nothing. Sloth, by bringing on disease, absolutely shortens life. _Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears; while the used key is always bright_, as Poor Richard says. _But dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of_, as Poor Richard says. How much more that is necessary do we spend in sleep? Forgetting that _the sleeping fox catches no poultry_, and that _there will be sleeping enough in the grave_, as Poor Richard says. If times be of all things the most precious, _wasting of time must be_, as Poor Richard says, _the greatest prodigality_; since, as he elsewhere tells us, _lost time is never found again_; and what we call _time enough! always proves little enough_. Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so, by diligence, shall we do more with less perplexity. _Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all things easy_, as Poor Richard says; and _He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him_, as we read in Poor Richard; who adds, _Drive thy business! Let not that drive thee!_ and Early to bed and early to rise Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. So what signifies _wishing_ and _hoping_ for better times? We may make these times better if we bestir ourselves. _Industry need not wish_, as Poor Richard says, and _He that lives on hope will die fasting_. _There are no gains without pains; then help, hands! for I have no lands_; or if I have they are smartly taxed. And, as Poor Richard likewise observes, _He that hath a trade hath an estate, and he that hath a calling hath an honor_; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious we shall never starve; for, as Poor Richard says, _At the working-man's house hunger looks in, but dares not enter._ Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter, for _Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them_. What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy, _Diligence is the mother of good luck_, as Poor Richard says, _and God gives all things to industry_ Then plough deep while the sluggards sleep, And you shall have corn to sell and to keep, says Poor Dick. Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow; which makes Poor Richard say, _One to-day is worth two to-morrows_; and farther, _Have you somewhat to do tomorrow? Do it to-day!_ If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you then your own master? _Be ashamed to catch yourself idle_, as Poor Richard says. When there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, your country, and your gracious king, be up by peep of day! _Let not the sun look down and say, "Inglorious here he lies!"_ Handle your tools without mittens! remember that _The cat in gloves catches no mice!_ as poor Richard says. 'Tis true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; for _Constant dropping wears away stones_; and _By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable_; and _Little strokes fell great oaks_; as Poor Richard says in his _Almanac_, the year I cannot just now remember. Methinks I hear some of you say, "Must a man afford himself no leisure?" I will tell, thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, _Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure_; and _Since thou are not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour!_ Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says, _A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things._ Do you imagine that sloth will afford you more comfort than labor? No! for as Poor Richard says, _Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease. Many, without labor, would live by their wits only, but they'll break for want of stock_ (i.e. capital); whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect. _Fly pleasures, and they'll follow you. The diligent spinner has a large shift_; and Now I have a sheep and a cow, Everybody bids me good morrow. All which is well said by Poor Richard. But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and careful, and oversee our own affairs _with our own eyes_, and not trust too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says, I never saw an oft removed tree, Nor yet an oft removed family, That throve so well as those that settled be. And again, _Three removes are as bad as a fire_; and again, _Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee_; and again, _If you would have your business done, go; if not, send._ And again, He that by the plough would thrive, Himself must either hold or drive. And again, _The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands_; and again, _Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge_; and again, _Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open._ Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many; for, as the Almanac says, _In the affairs of this world men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it_; but a man's own care is profitable; for saith Poor Dick, _Learning is to the studious and Riches to the careful_; as well as, _Power to the bold, and Heaven to the virtuous._ And further, _If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself._ And again, he adviseth to circumspection and care, even in the smallest matters; because, sometimes, _A little neglect may breed great mischief_; adding, _for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost_; being overtaken and slain by the enemy; all for want of a little care about a horseshoe nail! So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our industry more certainly successful. _A man may_, if he knows not how to save as he gets, _keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last. A fat kitchen makes a lean will_, as Poor Richard says; and Many estates are spent in the getting, Since women for tea[3] forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting. [3] Tea at this time was a costly drink, and was regarded as a luxury. If you would be wealthy, says he in another Almanac, _Think of saving as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich; because her outgoes are greater than her incomes._ Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for, as Poor Dick says,-- Women and wine, game and deceit, Make the wealth small and the wants great. And farther, _What maintains one vice would bring up two children._ You may think, perhaps, that a _little_ tea, or a _little_ punch now and then; a diet a _little_ more mostly; clothes a _little_ more finer; and a _little_ more entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember what Poor Richard says, _Many a little makes a mickle_; and further, _Beware of little expenses_; _A small leak will sink a great ship_; and again,-- Who dainties love, shall beggars prove; and moreover, _Fools make feasts and wise men eat them_. Here are you all got together at this vendue of fineries knick-knacks. You call them _goods_; but if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may for less than they cost; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must be _dear_ to you. Remember what Poor Richard says: _Buy what thou hast no need of and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries._ And again, _At a great pennyworth, pause a while._ He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain by straitening thee in thy business, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he says, _Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths._ Again, Poor Richard says, _'Tis foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance_; and yet this folly is practiced every day at vendues for want of minding the _Almanac_. _Wise men_, as Poor Richard says, _learn by others' harms_; _Fools scarcely by their own_; but _Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum._[4] Many a one for the sake of finery on the back, has gone with a hungry belly, and half-starved their families. _Silks and satins, scarlets and velvets_, as Poor Richard says, _put out the kitchen fire_. These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcely be called the conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how many _want_ to have them! The artificial wants of mankind thus become more numerous than the natural; and, as Poor Dick says, _For one_ poor _person there are a hundred_ indigent. [4] He's a lucky fellow who is made prudent by other men's perils. By these and other extravagances, the genteel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing; in which case it appears plainly, that _A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees_, as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have had a small estate left them, which they know not the getting of; they think, _'Tis day, and will never be night_, that a _little to be spent out of so much is not worth minding_; (_A child and a fool_, as Poor Richard says, _imagine_ twenty shilling and twenty years can never be spent), but _Always taking out of the meal-tub and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom._ Then, as Poor Dick says, _When the well's dry, they know the_ _worth of water_. But this they might have known before, if they had taken his advice. _If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some_; for _He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing_, and indeed, so does he that lends to such people, _when he goes to get it again_. Poor Dick further advises and says-- Fond pride of dress is, sure a very curse; Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse. And again, _Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy._ When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a piece; but Poor Dick says, _'Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it._ And 'tis as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox. Great estates may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore. 'Tis, however, a folly soon punished; for, _Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt_, as Poor Richard says. And in another place, _Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty and supped with Infancy_. And after all, what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so much is suffered? It cannot promote health or ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune. What is a butterfly? At best He's but a caterpillar drest, The gaudy fop's his picture just, as poor Richard says. But what madness must it be to _run into debt_ for these superfluities! We are offered, by the terms of this vendue, six months' credit; and that, perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it. But, ah! think what you do when you run in debt: _You give to another power over your liberty._ If you cannot pay at the time, you will be ashamed to see your creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor, pitiful, sneaking excuses, and by degrees come to lose our veracity, and sink into base, downright lying; for, as Poor Richard says, _The second vice is lying, the first is running into debt_; and again, to the same purpose, _lying rides upon debt's back_; whereas a free-born Englishman ought not to be ashamed or afraid to see or speak to any man living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. _'Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright!_ as Poor Richard truly says. What would you think of that prince, or that government who should issue an edict forbidding you to dress like a gentleman or gentlewoman, on pain of imprisonment or servitude? Would you not say that you are free, have a right to dress as you please, and that such an edict would be a breach of your privileges, and such a government tyranical? And yet you are about to put yourself under such tyranny, when you run in debt for such dress! Your creditor has authority, at his pleasure, to deprive you of your liberty, by confining you in jail for life, or to sell you for a servant, if you should not be able to pay him.[5] When you have got your bargain you may, perhaps, think little of payment; but _Creditors_ (Poor Richard tells us) _have better memories than debtors_; and in another place says, _Creditors are a superstitious set, great observers of set days and times._ The day comes round before you are aware, and the demand is made before you are prepared to satisfy it; or, if you will bear your debt in mind, the term which at first seemed so long will, as it lessens, appear extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as his shoulders. _Those have a short Lent_, saith Poor Richard, _who owe money to be paid at Easter._ Then since, as he says, _The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor_, disdain the chain, preserve your freedom, and maintain your independency. Be _industrious_ and _free_; be _frugal_ and _free_. At present, perhaps, you may think yourself in thriving circumstances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury; but-- For age and want, save while you may, No morning sun lasts a whole day. [5] At the time when this was written, and for many years afterward, the laws against bankrupts and poor debtors were extremely severe. As Poor Richard says, gain may be temporary and uncertain; but ever, while you live, expense is constant and certain; and _'Tis easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel_, as Poor Richard says; so, _Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt._ Get what you can and what you get hold: 'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead in gold,[6] as Poor Richard says; and, while you have got the Philosopher's stone, sure, you will no longer complain of bad times or the difficulty of paying taxes. [6] In the Middle Ages there was a great search made for the philosopher's stone, as it was called, a mineral which should have the power of turning base metals into gold. This doctrine, my friends, is reason and wisdom; but, after all, do not depend too much upon your own industry and frugality and prudence, though excellent things; for they may all be blasted without the blessing of Heaven; and therefore, ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them. Remember Job suffered, and was afterwards prosperous. And now, to conclude, _Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that_; for it is true, _We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct_, as Poor Richard says. However, remember this, _They that won't be counselled, can't be helped_, as Poor Richard says; and further, that, _If you will not hear reason, she'll surely rap your knuckles._ Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it, and approved the doctrine; and immediately practiced the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon. For the vendue opened, and they began to buy extravagantly, notwithstanding all his cautions, and their own fear of taxes. I found the good man had thoroughly studied my _Almanacs_, and digested all I had dropped on those topics during the course of five-and-twenty-years. The frequent mention he made of me must have tired any one else; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my own which he ascribed to me, but rather the gleanings that I had made of the sense of all ages and nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, though I had at first determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went away resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, _thy_ profit will be as great as mine. I am, as ever, thine to serve thee. July 7, 1757. RICHARD SAUNDERS. THE WATER-MILL. Oh! listen to the water-mill, through all the live-long day, As the clicking of the wheels wears hour by hour away; How languidly the autumn wind doth stir the withered leaves, As on the field the reapers sing, while binding up the sheaves! A solemn proverb strikes my mind, and as a spell is cast, "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." The summer winds revive no more leaves strewn o'er earth and main, The sickle never more will reap the yellow garnered grain; The rippling stream flows on, aye tranquil, deep, and still, But never glideth back again to busy water-mill. The solemn proverb speaks to all, with meaning deep and vast, "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." Oh! clasp the proverb to thy soul, dear loving heart and true, For golden years are fleeting by, and youth is passing, too; Ah! learn to make the most of life, nor lose one happy day, For time will ne'er return sweet joys neglected, thrown away; Nor leave one tender word unsaid, thy kindness sow broadcast-- "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." Oh! the wasted hours of life, that have swiftly drifted by, Alas! the good we might have done, all gone without a sigh; Love that we might once have saved by a single kindly word, Thoughts conceived but ne'er expressed, perishing unpenned, unheard. Oh! take the lesson to thy soul, forever clasp it fast, "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." Work on while yet the sun doth shine, thou man of strength and will, The streamlet ne'er doth useless glide by clicking watermill; Nor wait until to-morrow's light beams brightly on thy way. For all that thou canst call thine own, lies in the phrase, "to-day;" Possessions, power, and blooming health, must all be lost at last-- "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." Oh! love thy God and fellow man, thyself consider last, For come it will when they must scan dark errors of the past; Soon will this fight of life be o'er, and earth recede from view, And heaven in all its glory shine where all is pure and true. Ah! then thou'lt see more clearly still the proverb deep and vast, "The mill will never grind again with water that is past." D. C. MCCALLUM. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but for me, give me liberty or give me death. PATRICK HENRY. The law is a sort of hocus-pocus science, that smiles in yer face while it picks yer pocket; and the glorious uncertainty of it is of mair use to the professors than the justice of it. MACKLIN. OUR MISSION. In calm and stormy weather Our mission is to grow; To keep the angle paramount And bind the brute below. We grow not all in sunshine, But richly in the rain; And what we deem our losses May prove our final gain. The snows and frosts of winter A richer fruitage bring; From battling with the anvil The smith's grand muscles spring. 'Tis by the law of contrast That fine effects are seen; As thus we blend in colors The orange with the green. By action and reaction We reach our perfect growth; Nor by excess of neither, But equipoise of both. The same code binds the human. That governs mother earth; God cradled her in tempest And earthquakes from her birth. Our life is but a struggle For perfect equipoise; Our pains are often jewels, Our pleasures gilded toys. Between the good and evil The monarch will must stand, To shape the final issue By God's divine command. Our mission is to battle With ill in every form-- To borrow strength and volume From contact with the storm. In the beautiful hereafter These blinding mortal tears Shall crystalize in jewels To sparkle in the spheres. With weak and moldish vision We work our way below; But sure our souls are building Much wiser than we know. And when the work is finished The scaffolding then falls; And lo! a radiant temple, With pearl and sapphire walls. A temple far transcending The grandest piles below, Whose dome shall blaze with splendor, In God's eternal glow. Wealth is necessary; let us not disclaim against it; every nation needs it to attain the highest achievements in civilization. But it is a blessing only as a servant, and is destructive as a master. JOHN P. ALTGELD. If I were a young man I should ally myself with some high and at present unpopular cause, and devote my every effort to accomplish its success. JOHN G. WHITTIER. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. Princes and lords may flourish and may fade; A breath can make them, as breath has made; But an honest peasantry, a country's pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied. War preys on two things--life and property: but he preys with a partial appetite. Feasting on life, he licks his jaws and says, "More, by your leave!" Devouring property, he says, between grin and glut, "This is so good that it ought to be paid for!" Into the vacuum of wasted life rush the moaning winds of grief and desolation; in to the vacuum of wasted property rushes the goblin of debt. The wasted life is transformed at length into a reminiscent glory; the wasted property becomes a hideous nightmare. The heroes fallen rise from their bloody cerements into everlasting fame; the property destroyed rises from the red and flame-swept field as a spectral vampire, sucking the still warm blood of the heroic dead and of their posthumous babes to the tenth generation! The name of the vampire is Bond. JOHN CLARK RIDPATH. TO A WATERFOWL. Whither, mid'st falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean side? There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast-- The desert and illimitable air-- Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. And soon that toil shall end; Soon shall thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given And shall not soon depart. He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone Will lead my steps aright. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. ROBERT BURNS (Considered by many the world's greatest Song writer and natural Poet.) While Burns was yet a plow boy he was challenged by two highly educated gentlemen, who were seated awaiting their dinner to be served at an Inn in the town of Ayr. The terms of the challenge was for each to write a verse on the event of their first acquaintance, the one writing the best and most appropriate short rhyme was to have his dinner paid for by the other two. Burns wrote as follows: I Jonnie Peep, Saw two sheep. Two sheep saw me. Half a crown apiece Will pay for their fleece. And I Jonnie Peep go free. On another occasion while drinking at a Bar a hanger on who was notorious for his much drinking and was dubbed the Marquis, asked Burns to write an appropriate epitaph for his grave stone. Burns, quick as flash and without any apparent effort, wrote: Here lies a faulse Marquis: Whose title is shamed If ever he rises It will be to be damned. TO A MOUSE. Wee, sleekit, cowrin' tim'rous beastie. Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie! Thou needna start awa' sae hasty. Wi' bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin and chase thee, Wi murd'ing prattle! I'm truly sorry man's dominion Has broken nature's social union, And justifies that ill opinion Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor earth-born companion And fellow-mortal! I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve; What then? poor beastie, thou maun live! A daimen icker in a thrave 'S a sma' o' request I'll get a blessin' wi' the lave, And never miss 't! Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin! Its silly wa's the win's are strewin'! And naething now to big a new ane O' foggage green! And bleak December's winds ensuin' Baith snell and keen! Thou saw the fields laid bare and waste And weary winter comin' fast. And cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell; Till, crash! the cruel coulter past Out through thy cell. That wee bit heap o'leaves and stibble Has cost thee mony a weary nibble! Now thou's turn'd out for a' thy trouble, But house or hauld, To thole the winter's sleety dribble And cranreuch cauld. But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain; The bes laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft a-gley, And lea 'e us naught but grief and pain For promised joy. Still thou art blest, compared wi' me! The present only toucheth thee, But, och! I backward cast my ee On prospects drear! And forward, though I canna see, I guess and fear. ROBERT BURNS. CHAPTER XI. ORATORICAL DEPARTMENT. The author believes he is here presenting such selections as will be accepted as masterpieces. Mr. Bryan's speech at New Haven, where he was disturbed by students is taken from his book, the First Battle, and is here offered to show the wonderful composure of the speaker, rather than to present a fine or eloquent speech. The New York Sun's editorial, and the resolution of the council of Indians will show the difference of opinion that exists between commercial editors and the men of nature. It is obvious that these students were disturbing a public meeting, and to justify them is to wink at crime, scorn at justice, mock at the freedom of speech and excuse ignorance. Certainly the Indian presents the idea of advancing forward, while the New York Sun man is advancing (?) backward. PATRICK HENRY'S SPEECH. VIRGINIA MUST PREPARE FOR WAR. There is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of Hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that Siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes see not, and having ears hear not the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British Ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not. It will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed by a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission. Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain an enemy in this quarter of the world to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No; she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British Ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? We have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not deceive ourselves longer. We have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned, we have remonstrated, we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the Throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hand of the Ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the Throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, we must fight! An appeal to arms, and to the God of Hosts, is all that is left to us. They tell us that we are weak--unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of Hope until our enemies have bound us hand and foot? We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, are invincible by any force which the enemy can send against us. Besides, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and will raise us friends to fight our battle for us. The battle is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged; their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston. The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it. Let it come! It is in vain to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ear the clash of resounding arms. Our brethren are already in the field! Why are we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!--Speech in Convention, March 25, 1775. ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S SPEECH. SPEECH AT THE DEDICATION OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, NOVEMBER 19, 1863. "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a large sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead have not died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN'S SPEECHES. YALE COLLEGE INCIDENT.--BRYAN SPEAKS UNDER DIFFICULTIES I am glad that there are students here, because I want to say a word to students. Your college has helped to add fame to your city, and those who assemble here are supposed to come in order that they may better equip themselves for the duties of life. I am glad to talk to students, because, my friends, we have a cause which appeals to students. If the syndicates and corporations rule this country, then no young man has a fair show unless he is the favorite of a corporation. (Applause--and yells for McKinley by a cordon of the students.) If the people have a right to govern themselves and exercise that right, then every citizen has an equal chance and every man may achieve what he desires. We wish to leave all the avenues open so that the son of the humblest citizen may aspire to the highest position within the gift of the people. (Applause and yells repeated.) I am not speaking now to the sons who are sent to college on the proceeds of ill-gotten gains. (Enthusiastic applause.) I will wait until these sons have exhausted what their fathers have left them and then appeal to their children who will have to commence life where their grandfathers commenced. (Great applause.) My friends, a just government is best for the great masses of the people. Equal laws and equal opportunities are best for nine out of every ten of us. (Yells again repeated.) Therefore, our cause appeals to every young man who wants to make this Government so good as to deserve the love, confidence and the support of every citizen in this land. We appeal not only to the students; we appeal to business men who have been terrorized by the financial--what may I call it? (Applause.) People have been tyrannized over by financial institutions until in some instances it is more dangerous to raise your voice against the ruling power than it is in an absolute monarchy. (Great applause and yells.) If there is anybody who loves this sort of thing then I shall offend him by speaking of it, but I shall not offend any man who loves liberty and the right of free speech in this country. (Great applause.) The business men have been told that the free coinage of silver would ruin them. If it can ruin them with more rapidity than the gold standard has ruined them, then, my friends, it will be bad, indeed, because the gold standard has increased the number of failures among business men, and every step that has been taken has been followed----(Yells from the students.) I have been so used to talking to young men who earn their own living that I do not know----(Great applause and cheering.) I say, I have been so used to talking to young men who earn their own living that I hardly know what language to use to address myself to those who desire to be known, not as creators of wealth, but as the distributors of wealth which somebody else created. (Great applause and cheering.) If you will show me a young man who has been taught to believe----(More yells and cries of "McKinley.") In all my travels I have not found a crowd that needed talking to so much as this crowd does. (Cries of "That's right.") I came to this city something more than a year ago, and I then learned something of the domination of your financial classes. I have seen it elsewhere, but, my friends, the great mass of the people even of this city, will be better off under bimetallism that permits the nation to grow, than under a gold standard which starves everybody except the money changer and the money owner. We sometimes out West are instructed by your insurance companies. I carry insurance in old line companies and in what are known as the mutual or assessment companies. I carry insurance in fraternal organizations like the United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen, as well as in the old line companies, and I am glad that my assessment companies are satisfied to take my money and give me insurance without attempting to tell me how I must vote. Your old line companies have seen fit to insult the intelligence of the people by attempting to exercise a guardian care, notwithstanding the fact that we are able to look after ourselves without their instructions. You have laboring men also in large numbers in this city. I do not know whether the advocates of the gold standard here who employ men in the shops insist upon telling their employes how to vote. I have in other places found employers who would put in envelopes the pay for the day's work or week's work, and then print on the outside of the envelopes some instructions to the employes. If the manufacturer, employer, or railroad president feels that there must be something on the outside of the envelope as well as upon the inside, let him write on the outside: "You will find within your wages. They are to cover your work. We recognize that the men who have sense enough to do the work we want done have sense enough to vote right, without our telling them how to vote." I notice that in some places they have been organizing sound money clubs, and they have the applicant sign a statement, saying that the free coinage of silver would hurt him in his business as a wage earner. I have wondered why our great financial magnates do not put in their application a statement similar to that. Why don't the heads of these syndicates which have been bleeding the Government make application to sound money clubs and write in their application that the free coinage of silver would hurt them in their business as heads of syndicates? They want people to believe that they are entirely benevolent, that they are philanthropists, and that what they do is done merely because they believe that the people will be benefited by having them run the Government, and they submit to the inconvenience of running the Government in order to help the people, who, they say, will be benefited. (More confusion and applause by the students.) Why is it that the broker or the bond buyer does not write in his application that he has a personal interest in the gold standard? Why is it that these men want to throw upon the wage earners whatever odium there may be in using his vote to protect his personal interests? I believe the wage earner, and the farmer, and the business man, and the professional man, all of these will be benefited by a volume of money sufficient to do business with. If you make money scarce you make money dear. If you make money dear you drive down the value of everything, and when you have falling prices you have hard times. And who prosper by hard times? There are but few, and those few are not willing to admit that they get any benefit from hard times. No party ever declared in its platform that it was in favor of hard times, and yet the party that declares for a gold standard in substance declares for a continuation of hard times. Here a band which had been playing for a drill in another part of the square came nearer and made talking more difficult, and my voice not being in good condition I concluded my remarks by saying: It is hard to talk when all the conditions are favorable, and I must ask you to excuse me from talking any further in the presence of the noises against which we have to contend today. I have since learned that some misunderstood my closing words, and thought I again referred to the students, but this is an error. They were making no disturbance when I finished speaking. I did not even mean to criticize the band, because I was sure that the interruption was not intentional, but my voice being hoarse and the crowd large, it was difficult to make myself heard even when there was perfect quiet. The incident gave rise to a good deal of public discussion. A few papers criticised my language on that occasion and declared that my words provoked the hostile demonstration. As a matter of fact, the hostility was manifested before I began to speak, and it was some minutes before I could obtain a hearing. This is the only speech in which I have inserted the applause, and it is only done here because the interruptions are also quoted. The report is reproduced exactly as it appeared at the time in order that the reader may form his own opinion upon the subject. The following press dispatch appeared in the morning papers of September 3: YALE STUDENTS CRITICISED. Muskogee, I.T., Sept. 29.--At a mass meeting of the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws and Seminoles, held here yesterday, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: Resolved, that we contemplate with deep regret the recent insulting treatment of William J. Bryan by students of a college in the land of the boasted white man's civilization, and we admonish all Indians who think of sending their sons to Yale that association with such students could but prove hurtful alike to their morals and their progress toward the higher standard of civilization. THE "SUN" DEFENDS THE YALE STUDENTS. The New York Sun came to the defense of the boys in an editorial, from which the following is an extract: What did these students really do? On the day that Yale University opened its new college year, Bryan came to New Haven and prepared to address a great crowd at the green adjacent to which are the college buildings of the center of university life, in a town of which the university is the great and distinguishing feature. The students gathered in strong force, as was natural. Practically they were on their own ground. They expressed their feelings against repudiation with the vigor and vociferousness of youth; and they had a right to do it. They ought to have done it; and the sentiment to which they gave utterance was honorable to them. The boys made a great noise, cheering for McKinley and yelling and jeering at repudiation, so that Mr. Bryan could not be heard for several minutes. If they had applauded him incessantly for even a full half hour, would there have been any complaint of their preventing him from starting out in his speech? Has not a crowd in the open air as much right to hiss as to cheer? At what period in our history was that privilege taken from Americans? These dissenting students, the reports agree, did not offer any personal violence to Mr. Bryan or anybody else. They did not throw rotten eggs at him or otherwise assail his dignity, but merely shouted their college cry and yelled derisively. They did not like the cause the speaker represented. They detested and despised both it and him, and they made known their feelings noisily. Speech Concluding Debate on the Chicago Platform. Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen of the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty--the cause of humanity. When this debate is concluded, a motion will be made to lay upon the table the resolution offered in commendation of the administration, and also the resolution offered in condemnation of the administration. We object to bringing this question down to the level of persons. The individual is but an atom; he is born, he acts, he dies; but principles are eternal; and this has been a contest over a principle. Never before in the history of this country has there been witnessed such a contest as that through which we have just passed. Never before in the history of American politics has a great issue been fought out as this issue has been, by the voters of a great party. On the fourth of March, 1895, a few Democrats, most of them members of Congress, issued an address to the Democrats of the nation, asserting that the money question was the paramount issue of the hour; declaring that a majority of the Democratic party had the right to control the action of the party on this paramount issue; and concluding with the request that the believers of free coinage of silver in the Democratic party should organize, take charge of, and control the policy of the Democratic party. Three months later, at Memphis, an organization was perfected and the silver Democrats went forth openly and courageously proclaiming their belief, and declaring that, if successful, they would crystallize into a platform the declaration they had made. Then began the conflict. With a zeal approaching the zeal which inspired the crusaders who followed Peter the Hermit, our silver Democrats went forth from victory unto victory until they are now assembled, not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment already rendered by the plain people of this country. In this contest brother has been arrayed against brother, father against son. The warmest ties of love, acquaintance and association have been disregarded; old leaders have been cast aside when they have refused to give expression to the sentiments of those whom they would lead, and new leaders have sprung up to give direction to this cause of truth. Thus has the contest been waged, and we have assembled here under as binding and solemn instructions as were ever imposed upon representatives of the people. We do not come as individuals. As individuals we might have been glad to compliment the gentleman from New York (Senator Hill,) but we know that the people for whom we speak would never be willing to put him in a position where he could thwart the will of the Democratic party. I say it was not a question of persons; it was a question of principle, and it is not with gladness, my friends, that we find ourselves brought into conflict with those who are now arrayed on the other side. The gentleman who preceded me (ex-Governor Russell) spoke of the State of Massachusetts; let me assure him that not one present in all this convention entertains the least hostility to the people of the State of Massachusetts, but we stand here representing people who are the equals, before the law, of the greatest citizens in the State of Massachusetts. When you (turning to the gold delegates) come before us and tell us that we are about to disturb your business interests, we reply that you have disturbed our business interests by your course. We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited in its application. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day--who begins in the spring and toils all summer--and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the board of trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. We come to speak for this broader class of business men. Ah, my friends, we say not one word against those who live upon the Atlantic coast, but the hardy pioneers who have braved all the dangers of the wilderness, who have made the desert to blossom as the rose--the pioneers away out there (pointing to the West), who rear their children near to Nature's heart, where they can mingle their voices with the voices of the birds--out there where they have erected schoolhouses for the education of their young, churches where they praise their Creator, and cemeteries where rest the ashes of their dead--these people, we say, are as deserving of the consideration of our party as any people in this country. It is for these that we speak. We do not come as aggressors. Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in the defense of our homes, our families, and posterity. We have petitioned, and our petitions have been scorned; we have entreated, and our entreaties have been disregarded; we have begged, and they have mocked when our calamity came. We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. We defy them. The gentleman from Wisconsin has said that he fears a Robespierre. My friends, in this land of the free you need not fear that a tyrant will spring up from among the people. What we need is an Andrew Jackson to stand, as Jackson stood, against the encroachments of organized wealth. They tell us that this platform was made to catch votes. We reply to them that changing conditions make new issues; that the principles upon which Democracy rests are as everlasting as the hills, but that they must be applied to new conditions as they arise. Conditions have arisen, and we are here to meet those conditions. They tell us that the income tax ought not to be brought in here; that it is a new idea. They criticize us for the criticism of the Supreme Court of the United States. My friends, we have not criticized; we have simply called attention to what you already know. If you want criticisms, read the dissenting opinions of the court. There you will find criticisms. They say that we have passed an unconstitutional law; we deny it. The income tax law was not unconstitutional when it was passed; it was not unconstitutional when it went before the Supreme Court for the first time; it did not become unconstitutional until one of the judges changed his mind, and we cannot be expected to know when a judge will change his mind. The income tax is just. It simply intends to put the burden of government justly upon the backs of the people. I am in favor of an income tax. When I find a man who is not willing to bear his share of the burdens of the government which protects him, I find a man who is unworthy to enjoy the blessings of a government like ours. They say that we are opposing national bank currency; it is true. If you will read what Thomas Benton said, you will find he said that, in searching history, he could find but one parallel to Andrew Jackson; that was Cicero, who destroyed the conspiracy of Cataline and saved Rome. Benton said that Cicero only did for Rome what Jackson did for us when he destroyed the bank conspiracy and saved America. We say in our platform that we believe that the right to coin and issue money is a function of government. We believe it. We believe that it is a part of sovereignty, and can no more with safety be delegated to private individuals than we could afford to delegate to private individuals the power to make penal statutes or levy taxes. Mr. Jefferson, who was once regarded as good Democratic authority, seems to have differed in opinion from the gentleman who has addressed us on the part of the minority. Those who are opposed to this proposition tell us that the issue of paper money is a function of the bank, and that the Government ought to go out of the banking business. I stand with Jefferson rather than with them, and tell them, as he did, that the banks ought to go out of the governing business. They complain about the plank which declares against life tenure in office. They have tried to strain it to mean that which is does not mean. What we oppose by that plank is the life tenure which is being built up in Washington, and which excludes from participation in official benefits the humbler members of society. Let me call your attention to two or three important things. The gentleman from New York says that he will propose an amendment to the platform providing that the proposed change in our monetary system shall not affect contracts already made. Let me remind you that there is no intention of affecting those contracts which according to present laws are made payable in gold; but if he means to say that we cannot change our monetary system without protecting those who have loaned money before the change was made, I desire to ask him where, in law or in morals, he can find justification for not protecting the debtors when the act of 1873 was passed, if he now insists that we must protect the creditors. He says he will also propose an amendment which will provide for the suspension of free coinage if we fail to maintain the parity within a year. We reply that when we advocate a policy which we believe will be successful, we are not compelled to raise a doubt as to our own sincerity by suggesting what we shall do if we fail. I ask him, if he would apply his logic to us, why he does not apply it to himself. He says he wants the country to try to secure an international agreement. Why does he not tell us what he is going to do if he fails to secure an international agreement? There is more reason for him to do that than there is for us to provide against the failure to maintain the parity. Our opponents have tried for twenty years to secure an international agreement, and those are waiting for it most patiently who do not want it at all. And now, my friends, let me come to the paramount issue. If they ask us why it is that we say more on the money question than we say upon the tariff question, I reply that, if protection has slain its thousands, the gold standard has slain its tens of thousands. If they ask us why we do not embody in our platform all the things that we believe in, we reply that when we have restored the money of the Constitution all other necessary reforms will be possible; but that until this is done there is no other reform that can be accomplished. Why is it that within three months such a change has come over the country? Three months ago, when it was confidently asserted that those who believe in the gold standard would frame our platform and nominate our candidates, even the advocates of the gold standard did not think that we could elect a president. And they had good reason for their doubt, because there is scarcely a State here today asking for the gold standard which is not in the absolute control of the Republican party. But note the change. Mr. McKinley was nominated at St. Louis upon a platform which declared for the maintenance of the gold standard until it can be changed into bimetallism by international agreement. Mr. McKinley was the most popular man among the Republicans, and three months ago everybody in the Republican party prophesied his election. How is it today? Why, the man who was once pleased to think that he looked like Napoleon--that man shudders today when he remembers that he was nominated on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. Not only that, but as he listens he can hear with ever-increasing distinctness the sound of the waves as they beat upon the lonely shores of St. Helena. Why this change? Ah, my friends, is not the reason for the change evident to any one who will look at the matter? No private character, however pure, no personal popularity, however great, can protect from the avenging wrath of an indignant people a man who will declare that he is in favor of fastening the gold standard upon this country, or who is willing to surrender the right of self-government and place the legislative control of our affairs in the hands of foreign potentates and powers. We go forth confident that we shall win. Why? Because upon the paramount issue of this campaign there is not a spot of ground upon which the enemy will dare to challenge battle. If they tell us that the gold standard is a good thing, we shall point to their platform and tell them that their platform pledges the party to get rid of the gold standard and substitute bimetallism. If the gold standard is a good thing, why try to get rid of it? I call your attention to the fact that some of the very people who are in this convention today and who tell us that we ought to declare in favor of international bimetallism--thereby declaring that the gold standard is wrong and that the principle of bimetallism is better--these very people four months ago were open and avowed advocates of the gold standard, and were then telling us that we could not legislate two metals together, even with the aid of all the world. If the gold standard is a good thing, we ought to declare in favor of its retention and not in favor of abandoning it; and if the gold standard is a bad thing why should we wait until other nations are willing to help us to let go? Here is the line of battle, and we care not upon which issue they force the fight; we are prepared to meet them on either issue or on both. If they tell us that the gold standard is the standard of civilization, we reply to them that this, the most enlightened of all the nations of the earth, has never declared for a gold standard and that both the great parties this year are declaring against it. If the gold standard is the standard of civilization, why, my friends, should we not have it. If they come to meet us on that issue we can tell them that they will search the pages of history in vain to find a single instance where the common people of any land have ever declared themselves in favor of the gold standard. They can find where the holders of fixed investments have declared for a gold standard, but not where the masses have. Mr. Carlisle said in 1878 that this was a struggle between "the idle holders of idle capital" and "the struggling masses, who produce the wealth and pay the taxes of the country"; and, my friends, the question we are to decide is: Upon which side will the Democratic party fight; upon the side of "the idle holders of idle capital" or upon the side of "the struggling masses?" That is the question which the party must answer first, and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. The sympathies of the Democratic party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic party. There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country. My friends, we declare that this nation is able to legislate for its own people on every question, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation on earth; and upon that issue we expect to carry every State in the Union. I shall not slander the inhabitants of the fair State of Massachusetts nor the inhabitants of the State of New York by saying that, when they are confronted with the proposition, they will declare that this nation is not able to attend to its own business. It is the issue of 1776 over again. Our ancestors, when but three millions in number, had the courage to declare their political independence of every other nation; shall we, their descendants, when we have grown to seventy millions, declare that we are less independent than our forefathers? No, my friends, that will never be the verdict of our people. Therefore, we care not upon what lines the battle is fought. If they say bimetallism is good, but that we cannot have it until other nations help us, we reply that, instead of having a gold standard because England has, we will restore bimetallism, and then let England have bimetallism because the United States has it. If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost. Having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. SPEECHES OF C. A. BOGARDUS. "I don't know much about the tariff | "I don't know much about the question, but I think I know enough | money question, but it appears to know that if we buy $20.00 worth | to me that if under the gold of rails of a foreigner, the | standard we borrow $20,000,000 foreigner will have the money and | of a foreigner, when we pay it we will have the rails, but if we | back the foreigner will have the make the rails in America and buy | money and the interest, too, but them of an American, America will | if we coin the silver (which have the money and the rails, too." | is an American product) into | American dollars, borrow ABRAHAM LINCOLN. | $20,000,000 of an American, | when we pay it back America will | have the money and the interest, | too." | | C. A. BOGARDUS. | | "Nothing should ever tempt | "I hope nothing ever will tempt us--nothing will ever tempt us | us to scale the debt of the to scale down the sacred debt | nation through a legal of the nation through a | technicality. Whatever may legal technicality. Whatever may | be the language of the contract be the language of the contract | the United States should the United States will discharge | discharge its obligations all its obligations in the | according to the contract." currency recognized as the best | throughout the civilized world | C. A. BOGARDUS. at the time of payment." | | WM. MCKINLEY. | | | "This word to all when I am dead, | "This word to all while we are Be sure you are right, then go | alive, ahead." | Be sure we are right, then let | drive." DAVID CROCKETT. | | C. A. BOGARDUS. SPEECHES OF C. A. BOGARDUS ADDRESS DELIVERED AT FARMINGTON, IOWA, NOVEMBER 20, 1897, BY C. A. BOGARDUS. SUBJECT: HOW TO READ. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:-- It is not so much the amount of reading that educates us, as it is what we read and the manner it is done that benefits us, for as Poor Richard says: "The used key is always bright," so the well-read book always shows the handling. A small well chosen library carefully read is of vastly more benefit than the large, poorly chosen, unread volumes that adorn the shelves of many homes. Yet I am not sure but that poorly chosen books are better not read than read. A learned doctor once said: "It is not what we eat that sustains life, but is what we digest." We might well paraphrase his words and say it is not what we read that educates us, but it is what we understand. For what we want is not learning, but knowledge; that is the ability to make learning answer its true end as a quickener of intelligence and widener of the intellectual field. We should not read to contradict; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. This being self-evident, we should ever remember that whatever is worth reading at all is worth reading well. Hence, inasmuch as reading matter is always the expression of some author's thoughts, it follows that the object of reading at all is to learn the thoughts of the writer. So we may well aver that to read understandingly requires thought and industry. For reading availeth not unless done understandingly. Therefore, an article is not read, in the full sense of the word, until it is understood. I will close by reading an article from an old scrap-book. When it is read I trust it will accomplish a double mission, viz: that we more thoroughly comprehend the necessity of putting thought into our reading; and that the real virtue in thought is acting in harmony with the knowledge or right. The article to which I refer is entitled "An Angel in a Saloon." I will now read it: "One afternoon in the month of June, 1870, a lady in deep mourning, followed by a little child, entered one of the fashionable saloons in the city of N----. The writer happened to be passing at the time, and prompted by curiosity, followed her in, to see what would ensue. Stepping up to the bar, and addressing the proprietor, who happened to be present, she said: "'Sir, can you assist me? I have no home, no friends, and am not able to work.' "He glanced at her and then at the child, with a mingled look of curiosity and pity. Evidently he was much surprised to see a woman in such a place begging, but without asking any questions gave her some change, and turning to those present, he said: "'Gentlemen, here is a lady in distress. Can't some of you help her a little?' "They cheerfully acceded to the request, and soon a purse of two dollars was made up, and put in her hand. "'Madam,' said the gentleman who gave her the money, 'why do you come to a saloon? It isn't a proper place for a lady, and why are you driven to such a step?' "'Sir,' said the lady, 'I know it isn't a proper place for a lady to be in, and you ask me why I am driven to such a step. I will tell you in one short word,' pointing to a bottle behind the counter, labelled whiskey, 'that is what brought me here--whiskey!' "'I was once happy and surrounded with all the luxuries that wealth could procure, with a fond, indulgent husband. But in an evil hour he was tempted, and not possessing the will to resist the temptation, fell, and in one short year my dream of happiness was over, my home was forever desolate, and the kind husband, and the wealth that some called mine lost, lost, never to return, and all by the accursed wine cup. "'You see before you only the wreck of my former self, homeless and friendless, with nothing left me in this world but this little child,' and weeping bitterly, she affectionately caressed the golden curls that shaded a face of exquisite loveliness. Regaining her composure, and turning to the proprietor of the saloon, she continued: "'Sir, the reason why I occasionally enter a place like this is to implore those who deal in the deadly poison to desist, to stop a business that spreads desolation, ruin, poverty and starvation. Think one moment of your own loved ones, and then imagine them in the situation I am in. I appeal to your better nature, I appeal to your heart,--for I know you possess a kind one,--to retire from a business so ruinous to your patrons. "'Did you know the money you take across the bar is the same as taking the bread out of the mouths of the famished wives and children of your customers? That it strips the clothing from their backs, deprives them of all the comforts of this life and throws unhappiness, misery, crime, and desolation in their once happy homes? Oh! sir, I implore, beseech, and pray you to retire from a business you blush to own you are engaged in before your fellow-men, and enter one that will not only be profitable to yourself but your fellow-creatures also. You will excuse me if I have spoken too plainly, but I could not help it when I thought of the misery, the unhappiness, and the suffering it has caused me.' "'Madam, I am not offended,' he answered in a voice husky with emotion, 'but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have said.' "'Mamma,' said the little child, who meantime had been spoken to by some of the gentlemen present, taking hold of her mother's hand, 'these gentlemen wish me to sing "Little Bessie" for them. Shall I do so?' "They all joined in the request, and placing her in a chair she sang, in a sweet childish voice, the following beautiful song: "'Out in the gloomy night, sadly I roam, I have no mother dear, no pleasant home; Nobody cares for me, no one would cry Even if poor little Bessie should die. Weary and tired I've been wandering all day, Asking for work, but I'm too small, they say; On the damp ground I must now lay my head; Father's a drunkard and mother is dead. "'We were so happy till father drank rum, Then all our sorrow and trouble begun; Mother grew pale and wept every day, Baby and I were too hungry to play; Slowly they faded till one summer night Found their dead faces all silent and white; Then with big tears slowly dropping I said, "Father's a drunkard and mother is dead." "'Oh! If the temperance men only could find Poor, wretched father and talk very kind; If they would stop him from drinking, then I should be so very happy again. Is it too late, temperance men? Please try Or poor little Bessie must soon starve and die! All day long I've been begging for bread,-- Father's a drunkard and mother is dead.' "The game of billiards was left unfinished, the cards thrown aside and the unemptied glass remained on the counter; all had pressed near, some with pity-beaming eyes, entranced with the musical voice and beauty of the child, who seemed better fitted to be with angels above than in such a place. "The scene I shall never forget to my dying day, and the sweet cadence of her musical voice still rings in my ears, and every word of the song as it dropped from her lips sank deep into the hearts of those gathered around her. "With her golden hair falling carelessly around her little shoulders, and looking so trustingly and confidingly upon the gentlemen around her, her beautiful eyes illuminated with a light that seemed not of this earth, she formed a picture of purity and innocence worthy the genius of a poet or painter. "At the close of the song many were weeping; men who had not shed a tear for years, now wept like children. One young man who had resisted with scorn the pleadings of a loving mother and the entreaties of friends to strive to lead a better life, to desist from a course that was wasting his fortune and ruining his health, now approached the child, and taking both hands in his, while tears streamed down his cheeks, exclaimed with deep emotion: "'God bless you, my little angel! You have saved me from ruin and disgrace, from poverty and a drunkard's grave. If there are angels on earth, you are one! God bless you! God bless you! and putting a bill into the hands of the mother said, 'Please accept this trifle as a token of my regard and esteem, for your little girl has done me a kindness I can never repay; and remember, whenever you are in want, you will find in me a true friend,' at the same time giving her his name and address. "Taking her child by the hand she turned to go, but pausing at the door, said: "'God bless you, gentlemen! Accept the heartfelt thanks of a poor, friendless woman for the kindness and courtesy you have shown her.' Before any one could reply she was gone. "A silence of several minutes ensued, which was broken by the proprietor, who exclaimed: "'Gentlemen, that lady was right, and I have sold my last glass of whiskey; if any one of you want more you will have to go elsewhere.' "'And I have drank my last glass of whiskey,' said a young man who had long been given up as utterly beyond the reach of those who had a deep interest in his welfare, as sunk too low ever to reform." SPEECH AT DECATUR, INDIANA, SEPTEMBER 22, 1896. The occasion being a rally in which the Hon. B. F. Shively, candidate for governor, and John R. Brunt, candidate for congress, had spoken over three hours. The Indianapolis Sentinel said of Mr. Bogardus that "he held the closest attention throughout, and closed _amid great cheers and cries of go ahead_." MR. BOGARDUS SPOKE AS FOLLOWS: Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:--That phase of the money question which is before the American people today and upon which we will vote in November is merely shall we, or shall we not, open the mints to the free and unlimited coinage of silver as they are now open to the coinage of gold. Concurrent with, and as a part of the phase, is the declaration that when the metals are so coined that the money made therefrom shall be treated equally under the law, and that the Democratic idea of equal rights to each and special privileges to neither, shall be again incorporated in our national laws. A great many rash, and it seems to me foolish things, are being said concerning the independent bimetallists of our country, to charge the free coinage people with being repudiators and anarchists, is but to put the party making such false statement in the position of a base misrepresenter, and sooner or later the charge must slap its maker in the face. There is no doubt in my mind, but that there is a party in this country who is advocating repudiation, but it is not the Democratic party; it is the Republican party that is advocating it. Webster says repudiation is the act of rejecting or refusing. If a party desires to pay the national debt according to contract it certainly is not advocating repudiation, but if a party desires to violate the contract it desires to repudiate. Now, my friends, let us get right at the facts, before we can tell who the repudiators are; we must know what the contract is, and then we must know what the contesting parties want to do in the premises. I will read you a copy of a U.S. bond: (COPY OF U.S. BOND.) The United States of America are indebted to the bearer in the sum of One Hundred Dollars. This bond is issued in accordance with the provisions of an act of congress, entitled, "An act to authorize the refunding of the National Debt," approved July 14th, 1870, amended by an act approved January 20th, 1871, and is redeemable at the pleasure of the United States, after the first day of July, A.D., 1907, in coin of the standard value of the United States on said July 14th, 1870, with interest in such coin from the day of date hereof, at the rate of four per cent per annum, payable quarterly, on the first day of October, January, April and July of each year. The principal and interest are exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form, by or under State, Municipal or local authority. Washington, July 1st, 1877. J. M. DOTY, Register of the Treasury. Entered (G. W. B.) (Recorded W. S.) Now I am not trying to mislead you when I say that a party who proposes to pay that bond according to contract is not a repudiator, nor am I misleading when I say that a party who attempts to prevent its payment according to contract is a repudiator. The bond, according to its own wording, is payable in coin of the standard value of July 14, 1870. When we learn exactly what that coin is we will then, like Saul of Tarsus, see things in a new light. By the law that was in force on that date silver or gold could be coined into standard money and their standard value was their legal value. The Democratic party desires the privilege of coining the metals according to that law, and then paying the bonds with those coins according to that law. No repudiation there. No, not a particle. (Cheers.) The Republicans do not want to coin silver and gold according to that law, and they do not want to allow the debts to be paid in gold or silver money according to that law. There is repudiation there, yes lots of it; in fact, it is nothing but repudiation. (Great applause.) Do you want to hear about the anarchy part of this question? (Cries of yes! yes!) Very well, let us examine along that line. The Democrats say that the government can coin money and regulate its value and they will accept it in payment of a debt. No anarchy there; no, not a bit. (Laughter.) The Republicans admit that the government can coin money and regulate its value and make it a legal tender. But they openly declare that they won't take it in the payment of a debt unless they want to. There is anarchy there in abundance, yes in great abundance. (Great and continued applause.) Let me ask the Republicans if it is not a little strange that a law savored with such element of anarchy and repudiation, should have been in full force in America from 1792 to 1873, a period of eighty-one years, and have pleased the people so well, that during all that time no political party ever openly advocated its repeal? Is it not, I ask, strange that George Washington, who fought so bravely for independence, should have signed a law for repudiation and anarchy? Strange, ah, very strange! is it not, that General Grant, when he discovered that he had unknowingly signed a bill for the repeal of the law that they now say would be repudiation, should have said he did not know that the law demonetized silver, and if he had known it he would have suffered his right arm to have been cut off before he would have signed the law. My friends, not only do the Republicans advocate repudiation, but it also by proposing a scarce money system is advocating confiscation of the debtor's property, for with a large money basis, money is easier to get than with a small money basis. Careful thought will show that easy money means high prices, and when money is scarce and hard to get prices are low; it therefore follows that President Lincoln was correct when he said: "If a government contract a debt and then contract the money before the debt is paid, it is the most heinous crime a government can commit against its people." We may boast long and strong of the great wisdom of our diplomats and the brilliancy of our statesmen, but whatever they may say will never overshadow the fact that in a people's government the people must vote understandingly, and when we thoroughly analyze this charge of repudiation and anarchy, we will see that it is the same old trick of the burglar crying stop thief to the honest man, while the rogue himself escapes. Much is being said about our money being good abroad, and great fear is expressed by the banker's party that our silver money under bimetallism will only be worth fifty cents on the dollar in foreign countries. Now, my friends, let us use common sense, and we will easily solve the problem as to how to make our silver dollars good abroad, that feature of the question can be accomplished by following this plain easy method, namely, the next time a foreigner presents a bond of a few million dollars for payment, have Uncle Sam hand the gentleman the amount in silver dollars, then let the foreigner attend to making them good abroad. It will be to his interest to procure a law making the silver good in his own country. Now, I want to ask you in the name of common sense, would not you think the foreigner crazy if when we paid him in our silver, he would go to his own country and cry down the very money we had paid him? Oh, no, he would not do that; he would use his influence to have a law passed in favor of bimetallism in his own country. But you may urge that he might not succeed in his effort, and he would have a lot of half value American dollars on hand that would not be good abroad. Very well, the worst thing that could possibly happen to us under circumstances of that kind would be when the foreigner found he could not pass the money abroad he would discover all of a sudden that the money is good in America, and as a matter of fact he would spend his money where it would be taken for goods. So we see that we would thus either force a recognition of our money abroad or else we would control the markets of the world. Then in reality we would pay our debts abroad in American produce at a fair price and keep our money at home, where it belongs, as a medium of exchange. And we would then realize the wisdom of the Hon. Wm. E. Gladstone when he said to the English Parliament that "so far as England was concerned bimetallism to them as a creditor country would compel them to pay more for American produce," but the grand old man in his frank and honest manner added, "so far as America is concerned, it would immediately give her control of the markets of the world." When we lament the fact that under our present financial system the rich are growing richer and the poor are becoming poorer day by day, we hear some one say, "that is true, but the law of the survival of the fittest is to blame for those facts." If you will pardon me for seemingly diverging from the subject I will say something in regard to the abuse of the law of the survival of the fittest. Yes, I admit that under any law, and under any conditions, those who are best suited to the conditions under which they live will get on better than those who are not so well suited by nature to combat for existence and prosperity. Nature has so laid its plans that, at or near the equator in the warm climate tropical fruits grow better than they do in Iceland, while the pine trees, true to nature, thrive best in cold regions. The Polar bear enjoys the snows of Alaska, but would suffocate in the tropical heat of Borneo or Sumatra. True to the law of the survival of the fittest, the elephant and ostrich thrive in sunny Africa, but would perish in Norway's winters. These things are true, because all nature is in perfect harmony with itself. When carefully considered, we find that the reason some things prosper in one place and perish in another is merely that they are fitted for the conditions in which they thrive and are unfitted for the vicious surrounding in which they perish. The lion and tiger prosper among vicious beasts, but the child and lamb survive better where love, mercy and righteousness reign. Let us suppose that Christ and John L. Sullivan were contesting for the pugilistic championship under London prize ring rules, most assuredly Sullivan would win in the first round. But let us change the conditions and make the place of contest the pulpit of a Quaker church, and the subject: "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven," don't you think Sullivan would be quite out of place and Christ would be the victor on that occasion? Suppose a fine pasture, bountiful with grass and water should be well stocked with a few hundred sheep and lambs and lurking around in hidden nooks of the field were a dozen or more Norway wolves; the sheep and the wolves are in the same pasture, I want to ask you, my friend, what kind of stock do you think the farmer will have in that pasture in a few days if he says to himself the law of the survival of the fittest will protect those sheep if they are fit to live, and if they can't survive then I will shear the wolves for my winter's wool. My friends, if that farmer ever got any wool from those wolves he would have to get it from their stomachs; he couldn't shear it from their backs, because it don't grow on that class of animals. What would you think of the farmer's good wife if after the wolves had killed and sucked the warm blood of the last lamb she would in her supreme recognition of the law of the survival of the fittest take from her child's grave the tombstone that had carved thereon the image of a little lamb at rest under the weeping willow and place in its stead a statue of marble with the life-sized image of a wolf with the blood of a lamb streaming from his teeth? No, that would not be the act of a sane mother, nor would the farmer willingly leave the sheep in the pasture with no other protection but the wolves. Under laws recognizing viciousness the most vicious will survive best. Our country and her people are industrious and willing, but we are in debt, having promised to pay American dollars that by the vicious system of contracting the money under the gold standard which makes dollars harder and harder to get, which is only another way of expressing the fact that wages and produce will go lower year by year under the system of greed that is accompanying the gold standard in all countries. But one thing can help the masses of our people out of the bondage of debt, and that thing is higher prices for labor and produce. Higher prices in America will follow either of two causes--foreign famine and war or bimetallism and an increased volume of money. The latter is within our control, the former method no one should desire. Let us not disclaim against the wolves, for scientists tell us that the shepherd dog that so kindly protects the sheep is a direct descendant of the wolf, but he has been domesticated by the law of man. So we see that under the vicious law of the survival of the fittest the wolf as a master was a sheep destroyer, but under the civilized law of the survival of the fittest, the descendant of the vicious wolf as we know, the shepherd dog is a servant of the sheep. Gold is good money, but as a master it is a tyrant. Let us hitch it side by side with silver and paper money, put it all under direct control of the government, and the wealth of this nation will be our servant, but with gold in control our nation's wealth becomes a hard master. The other day, while on the train, in conversation with a rich banker, the subject of the rich and poor came up. He said "there was nothing in the law that tended to make people rich or poor." His idea was that individual prosperity came from each man's ability as a financier. "Why," said he, "don't you know that if the property was all equally divided among the people, the same people who now have it would get it again in a very short time?" I asked him if he was willing to change certain laws about the banking business, then divide the property and money of the United States equally among the people? He said "he did not want to have any such thing done." When I asked him to specifically name his objections to such a transaction, he replied "that it would not be fair to take what he made and give it to some one who had not made it." Then when I reminded him that he had said he would have it all back in a short time, he said that "if the law was changed about banking he would not have the same chance to get it back that he now had to keep it." I told him that I agreed with him on his last statement, but if I should agree with him in his first statement I could not see how the changed law and division of property would affect his ability, and if it did affect it, then I said the banking law must be a part of his ability. Then he replied that "banking laws were something that our congressmen would attend to." At this part of the conversation the train stopped and the banker bade me good-by and with a pleasant smile greeted a crowd that was waiting at the depot to escort him to the opera house, where he was to make a speech in favor of a law allowing the banks to issue all the money and retire the government from the banking business. The fellow was a candidate for congress. As the train left the station I took from my valise a little book of statistics and found that 79 per cent of our Congressmen and 63 per cent of our Senators were either bankers or bank directors, then I thought his last remark was true, that our Congressmen would attend to the banking laws all right, especially from a banker's point of view. I then thought of a path up the mountain side that was so crooked a traveler going up would meet himself coming back. Thanks for your attention. SPEECH DELIVERED AT JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 15, 1897, BY C. A. BOGARDUS. OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:--I am going to request my hearers this evening to be not possessed of party prejudice. If there is any one feature of the human mind that works more disaster to civilization and humanity, than another, that feature is political partyism made blind by prejudice. Prejudice blinds the eye to light and benumbs the mind until reason is shut out. The Bible says, "And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." In examining any proposition we should not proceed to change reasons and facts to suit our thoughts, but rather remove all prejudice from our mind and then change our thoughts to agree with the facts. For my part I would that all voters and their wives and children would form themselves into a party of political truthseekers. When that is done humanity, justice and a pure government of all the people, by all the people and for all the people, will form the armor of our civilization. But as long as blind partyism prevails men will get into heated political discussions that only widen the gulf of misunderstanding. Misleading newspaper articles will make the gulf deeper, and the cunning hand of plutocracy and coercion will widen the waters of the gulf into a vast restless ocean, without even the signs of a rainbow to tell them that the great storm of poverty and human slavery to the money power, that knows no love, no mercy, no justice or Christianity, shall not continue forever and anon. As we stand on a mountain crest and cast our eyes over the wide extent of country, it is the more prominent features that impress themselves on our vision. The lesser details, the waving field, the blooming bush, the evergreen moss, the singing bird and fragrant rose, which attract the attention and admiration of the immediate bystander, are lost to our view by the distance. But the range of forest-clad hills, the winding river, the crystal lake, the wide expanse of fertile plains and snow-capped mountain peaks, determine the landscape and claim our attention. We of the United States are today surrounded by the Anglo-American civilization of the closing days of the 19th century. Let us from this height glance along the road of our nation's journey hither. We can at best only hope to notice the more prominent lines of advance. To carefully trace the growth of all the departments would not only greatly exceed the limited time at our command this evening, but would also confuse us by the multiplicity of subjects demanding our attention. When God created man in his own image and placed him on earth, He gave man dominion over the earth and all the fullness thereof. There is an old maxim which teaches, that through respect for the giver, we should not give, barter or sell away a present. God gave the earth and all that is in it to mankind. May we not here ask, to what mankind was the earth given? And what is meant by man? It is plain to the student that by man is meant all mankind, for all time so long as he shall live, for we find in research of the scripture that "God is not God of the dead, but of the living." I want to ask you in the name of justice and humanity, should a great majority of mankind now, in the strongest and most highly civilized country, give the earth and its abundance to the money corporations, trusts and combines, that are in reality transforming our beloved republic into a "Den of Thieves;" or should we keep possession of the bountiful gift, that our children and the children of the generations to follow will inherit the land, that was so graciously presented to all mankind, by an all wise Providence? One of the uppermost features in our civilization today is our national medium of exchange, called "money." Reasonable men of all parties agree that our money should be sound and honest, and limited only in amount by the necessities and requirements of the citizens of our country, in striving after a nobler and higher civilization in which the greatest good to the greatest number shall be the pinnacle of ultimate achievement. In June of 1896, the representatives of a great party met in national convention in the city of St. Louis, Mo., and outlined a party platform in which we find a plank which says: "We are therefore opposed to the free coinage of silver, except by international agreement with the leading commercial nations of the world, which we pledge ourselves to promote, and until such agreement can be obtained, the existing gold standard must be preserved." As we think of and discuss this or any other proposition, the question foremost in our mind should be: Is that proposition, if adopted, likely to promote the interest of an independent liberty loving, Democratic people, or will it, if adopted, work in an opposite direction? In my judgment, a careful examination of that plank will reveal the fact that it is hypocritical in the extreme, and in itself makes by its own declaration, improbable the very thing it pretends to advocate and pledge itself to support, namely: Bimetallism, by an international agreement with the leading commercial nations of the world. There is no business man, farmer or politician who has ever successfully accomplished any undertaking by adopting the idea most prominent in this plank, which is declaring bimetallism to be right, and then saying that we cannot and will not do anything to procure it if the leading commercial nations of the world do not consent to it. Let us examine this plank in detail, and see if the general proposition of waiting for our common enemy to assist us in helping ourselves is not ridiculous. We notice that the party in drawing up this plank, says: "That they pledge themselves to promote bimetallism by agreement;" then in the next clause, say, "and until such an agreement can be obtained, the existing gold standard must be preserved." Let me illustrate: Suppose this gentleman on my right having a horse fairly worth on the market $100, should say to the young man on my left that he desired to sell the animal. If the young man wished to buy he would ask the price of the horse. I ask, what would the owner receive for his steed, if he should reply, "Well, I ask $100, but if you will not give that much, I will take $25." Now, my gold standard friends, do you not know that the purchaser would take advantage of the seller and only give $25 for the horse. When the party at St. Louis pledged themselves to promote international bimetallism, and then asserted, "until such an agreement can be obtained the existing gold standard must be preserved," they in effect, like the man with the horse, put their business in the other fellow's hands; for was not that clause simply another way of saying to the foreigner, if you will not give us bimetallism we will take the gold standard, although we prefer the bimetallic standard? Fellow citizens, I ask you in the name of American independence, does it not appear as though there was a colored gentleman somewhere in the background? Let us examine further, and we will see that the colored man wears a British coat of arms, and has his American office on Williams street, New York city. We will make no mistakes in our conclusion if we understand the facts, and to more clearly appreciate the full international effect, of the plank under examination, let us draw another picture from human nature. We will imagine you people of Jacksonville to be a little sporty, and that you have in your midst a prize fighter of whom you are quite proud; we will suppose that Springfield has a character of the same kind, and the St. Louis Athletic club should offer $50,000 as a purse for a fistic contest between these two champions, $40,000 to be the reward of the winner and $10,000 to soothe the wounds of the defeated pugilist. We will suppose the fight is arranged and the men go into careful training, the time for the mill has at last arrived, the ring is complete, and all details perfect. A large audience has assembled and betting is liberally indulged in; of course Jacksonville sports back their home man. At the appointed hour the contestants enter the ring. Then you see your Jacksonville man is much the superior in appearance to the Springfield upstart. Your man being the quicker and stronger, has a longer reach, and is the more scientific. (America is quicker and stronger, has a longer reach, and is more scientific than any other nation on earth.) You feel sure your man will win the fight on short notice, in fact you almost pity the man from Springfield, to see that he must compete in a fistic combat with such a giant as the Jacksonville Gladiator. The referee announces that Marquis of Queensbury's rules are to govern, he looks at his watch and announces that in one minute the fight will be on, the fighters raise their hands to position. When just a few seconds of time still remains before the slugging is to commence, your Jacksonville man says to his opponent, hold on, if you don't run, I will. What, I ask you, would you think of your prize fighter then? Think of the United States training for a century for supremacy of American self-government over foreign monarchical governments, then when all things are completed for the final fight of the survival of the fittest, a great party saying to the monarchies of Europe, "we know bimetallism is right, but if you will not consent to it, then we will stick to the gold standard. If you don't run, we will." (Great laughter and applause.) Party prejudice prevailed and through the misrepresentations of the papers and certain unscrupulous politicians the party making those representations carried the election. International bimetallic commissioners were sent to the foreign countries to procure this great international agreement, and did they get it? Facts answer no. Let me again implore you to lay aside party prejudice and look matters squarely in the face, and we will immediately see, that not only did Mr. Wolcott and his party make a signal failure in procuring international bimetallism, but by the very terms of the St. Louis platform it was impossible for him to succeed in his alleged purpose. Now, my friends, let us suppose Mr. Wolcott and his two associates are in England talking with the rich moneyed men for international bimetallism and Mr. Wolcott is dealing out sledge-hammer argument in favor of international bimetallism, using the same argument in England the Bryan Democrats used in the campaign of 1896 in the United States. The financial men of England would then say to Mr. Wolcott, did you say that bimetallism in the United States meant 50-cent dollars? Mr. Wolcott would answer, "Yes, I said that;" whereupon the Englishman would say, "Then international bimetallism would mean international 50-cent dollars." Question No. 2. Mr. Wolcott, did not you say bimetallism in the United States meant repudiation? Yes, would come from Mr. Wolcott. Then the Englishman would reply, "Would not international bimetallism mean international repudiation?" Question No. 3. "Mr. Wolcott, did you not tell the people of the United States that free silver over there meant anarchy and lost confidence?" Again Mr. Wolcott is forced to admit that was just what he said here in 1896. In a triumphant air the Englishman would say international free silver would mean international anarchy and international lost confidence. (Laughter and applause). If Mr. Wolcott should further continue the argument, what could the poor fellow say if the Englishman would draw the Republican platform of '96 on him and read the following: "And until such agreement can be obtained the existing gold standard must be preserved." Johnny Bull would add, "You Americans served notice on us that all we had to do was to stick to the gold standard and you would also stick to it." "Now, we money men of England think we can get more bushels of corn, oats, rye and barley, more days labor of you fellows for what you owe us under the gold standard than we could under international bimetallism. We know it is hard on you, but it is the making of us, and we will stick to the gold standard; and as you said you would stick to it if we did, all we can do for you, Mr. Wolcott, is to serve you a fine wine supper, and tell you to return to America and stick to the gold standard." (Great applause.) My friends, the most ridiculous proceeding I ever heard of was the Republican party sending commissioners abroad to procure international bimetallism with that plank staring them in the face. I want to ask you if you do not think that if Mr. Wolcott would have taken a carload or two of the Republican literature of 1896 and handed out the pamphlets to the Englishmen, saying this is what we think of free silver in the United States, will you help us to have it by an international action? Would not that kind of literature hurt the cause instead of helping it? For my part, I have no objections to the President sending a Senator from Colorado to the foreign countries to advocate bimetallism, but I do insist that he sent the wrong senator. Most certainly Mr. Teller could have gone abroad with a little handful of free silver literature that was left over in the campaign of '96 and accomplished more, in a day's honest consistent work, for bimetallism, than could Senator Wolcott with the tons of gold standard pamphlets published by the Republican party. (Great applause.) A noticeable fact is that one of the greatest job lots of political trickery and deception that was ever attempted in America has been practiced in the United States since the month of June, 1896. Later in the season the so-called Gold-standard Democrats conventioned in Indianapolis; their money plank reads, "We assert the necessity of such intelligent currency reform as will confine the government to its legitimate functions, completely separated from the banking business, and afford to all sections of our country a safe, uniform and elastic bank currency, under government supervision, measured in volume by the need of business." Strange as it may seem, while Mr. Wolcott was abroad, pretendingly for the purpose of procuring bimetallism by international agreement, the President and Secretary of the Treasury were working up a scheme to have the gold standard adopted according to the tenor of the Indianapolis platform. When we consider 7,000,000 voted for international free silver, and 6,500,000 voted for independent free silver, we see the United States has 13,500,000 bimetallists; only 134,000, or less than one per cent, voted the Gold-standard Democratic ticket. Yet, my friends, we today find Mr. Gage trying to overrule the desire of more than ninety-nine per cent and put into law the will of less than one per cent of our voting population. And what amount of money do the gold standard people want? They say they want it safe, uniform and elastic, measured in volume by the need of business. Will you tell me by whose business they wish to measure the volume of money? It cannot be the farmers' business and the merchants' business they would have to measure the volume by, for that would make a double standard of measurement, and they tell us we cannot have but one standard of measurement. Then I ask, whose business will measure the amount under such a law? To me the answer comes back in reverberating tones repeated with emphasis, measured in volume according to the bankers' business, of course. Our philosophers tell us there are two kinds of elasticity--elasticity by compression and elasticity by expansion. Thus an elastic substance after being either compressed or expanded when released, returns to its original shape and size, so when the bankers want money expanded in volume according to the need of their business, they would expand it, and whenever their business ends are best accomplished by contraction; then, of course, contraction is the program with them. While the government is completely separated from the banking business so they can furnish no relief, we might compare that system with an alligator on the banks of a Louisiana river lying out to sun himself; he gets the bankers' elastic idea in his head, and his upper jaw flies over his back, and his mouth is twice as large as when it is closed, elasticity by expansion. (Laughter.) A sweet substance gathers on his open mouth, and the flies light there to eat it (just as the people will gather around the bankers for money when there is no other place to procure it). The flies gather thicker and thicker, and the mouth gets bigger and bigger, more and more elasticity by expansion; finally the alligator, like the banker, happens to think that there is another kind of elasticity, when down comes the upper jaw on the lower jaw and the flies are caught in the trap, and the Government shall go out of the banking business to furnish no relief or escape (cries of good, and cheers). My friends, if I mistake not, every cry of the Republican party from the time of John C. Fremont until the campaign of 1896 has been against banks issuing paper money except that the Government was strictly in the banking business. Have not they always told us, that when state or other banks issue paper money without the Government in the banking business to back up the issue, such money in case of a failure of the issuing bank became wild-cat money, and did they not say to us wild-cat money made paupers? Now they go squarely back on all they have taught us on the money question, and advocate the wild-cat money system themselves according to their own statements. One thing I will concede is, that the Republicans and gold standard Democrats are certainly on their past statements entitled to the $1,000,000 offered by the United States patent office for the invention of a perpetual motion, would not they have a complete and perpetual motion in their bank issuing money with the Government completely separate from the banking business, for we see the bank issue would be made of paper, so we have the perpetual motion in this simple problem. Rags make paper, paper makes money, money makes banks, banks make paupers, and paupers make rags. Rags make paper, paper makes money (great cheer and laughter). Now, my friends, let me read you a plank in a platform that contains the spirit upon which our forefathers freed the thirteen American colonies from England, the spirit on which their descendants maintained American liberty and builded from 3,000,000 population along the Atlantic shores in 1781, a nation of 70,000,000 grand Anglo-Americans, with their half a hundred states and territories extending from the rock bound coast of the pine tree state to the golden gates of California, stretching over a vast area of more than 3,000,000 square miles, with great cities, towns, villages and hamlets, with our colleges and universities that are equaled by none in Europe. I will now read you the money plank of the Chicago platform, which contains the spirit represented by the statute at New York, of liberty enlightening the world. It is as follows: "We demand a free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation. We demand that the standard silver dollar shall be a full legal tender equally with gold, for the payment of all debts public and private, and we favor such legislation as will in the future prevent the demonetization of any kind of legal tender money by private contract." While bimetallism is the theme this evening, you will excuse me for intruding on your time long enough to briefly comment on the spirit of that plank that shines prominently above all other issues in the Chicago platform--it is these simple words, "Without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation." I want to ask you, what would have been the result if our forefathers in 1776 had adopted any other spirit than this? Does not the answer immediately echo that we would be today English? History tells us that while the British red coats with their muskets were invading the colonies, a handful of bold liberty loving men met at Philadelphia and signed the Declaration of Independence. You may read that instrument and you will see that it declares for American liberty from an American point of view, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation. When bold old non-international agreement John Hancock read that declaration, he made a speech to the multitude in front of Liberty hall, in which he implored them to throw aside trivial differences, and on the main question of independence, all good liberty loving people should hang together. Benjamin Franklin replied: "Yes, we must all hang together or we will all hang separate." In Franklin's witticism, I think I can see the solution of our present financial trouble--the good people of all parties must solve the problem, then we must all hang together or we will all hang separately to the tail of the old British lion, and while we voters are thus suspended, the cubs of that lion will devour the young Anglo-American eagles before they scarcely have time to scream for mercy. Not only did that spirit of independence pervade in Philadelphia in 1776, but it was foremost at Bunker Hill. But Benedict Arnold and Major Andre seemed to have taken a different view, and the former fled to English assistance, the latter was executed because of his attempt to do likewise. But the spirit of independence, without waiting for the consent of any other nation, shone forth like a plumed knight or a mighty gladiator on the 19th day of October, 1781, at Yorktown, when the British gave up their swords and surrendered to the liberty loving fathers of America. Do you think Cornwallis would have surrendered to Washington if the Colonial Congress had declared that they would promote independence by international agreement, and until such agreement could be obtained, the existing will of King George must be maintained, and if Washington and his army had fought for English instead of American supremacy? I want to say to you that it was not the international agreement spirit that won in the war of 1812 at New Orleans. General Jackson told his Kentucky riflemen to keep their powder dry and guns well loaded, and when they were close enough to see the white of the enemies' eyes to shoot directly between them. History tells us that the third volley charmed and the British surrendered to the American army once more without an international agreement. In the blackest of the dark days of the late rebellion when the possible, and to a certain extent the seeming probable success of the confederacy was spreading like an appalling cloud over our country, we find it on record that the English were preparing their man-of-war and navy to assist the South when the illustrious Lincoln said, "Hands off," and it was so; suppose Mr. Lincoln had said to England, "Let us have an international agreement that you are not to interfere." Why, my friends, I believe England would have signed such an agreement the day after Mr. Lincoln had acknowledged the independence of the Southern States, and not before. We may as well know that the success of a Republican or Democratic form of government is envied by all the monarchies or empires where the people have less self-government. The gold standard monarchies or empires will never, knowingly, do anything to improve times in a republic and thus create among their subjects a desire to throw off the monarchial yoke of oppression. I know that much has been said against the American republic becoming entangled with the European powers, but I fear that many in treating on this line do not show the real menace of such an entanglement. We all know that the laws of the empires and monarchies are in the interest of the moneyed classes, and we are proud to say that in America our laws are for the masses. Let me tell you by way of comparison why we should keep out of an international agreement entanglement on the money question. I will use the tariff as an illustration. I care not what your politics may be, you will all agree with me that there was one redeeming feature in the McKinley bill. That some good feature was in the Wilson-Gormon act, and the same quality of goodness today shines forth in the present Dingley tariff law. Do you ask what that feature is? I answer it is this: That law was passed by the independent action of the American Congress. If we do not like it we can repeal it, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation on earth. Our Government bonds are all payable in coins of the United States of the standard weight and value of July 14, 1870; that weight was 23.22 grains of gold or 371.25 grains of silver to the dollar. The value of those coins was that they were a legal tender in the payment of debts. If we have an international agreement for bimetallism we can not have it all our own way--the foreigner would be entitled to a voice. Suppose we would fix the ratio at any other than the ratio of July 14th, 1870. Then our dollars would no longer be of the weight that the bonds call for and the foreigner would have the best of us, for our own coins would not be a legal tender in payment of our bonds. Now suppose we wanted to repeal that law, could we repeal it by international agreement? Well, I guess not. The foreigners would never consent to the repeal of a law that was to their advantage. Therein lies the real menace of an international agreement even if we could get it. The only way we could ever get rid of that agreement would be just to back squarely out, then we might properly be called repudiators. We often hear it said that the congress of 1792 used great care to put just a dollar's worth of silver in a silver dollar and dollar's worth of gold in the gold dollar. Now while it is true that according to the law of April 12, 1792, a dollar's worth of silver was put in the silver dollar, the amount of silver became worth a dollar as a creature of law, and it is not true that the silver dollar became worth a dollar because of the value of the silver contained in it. That congress made the dollar just as God made man. God said, "Let us make man," and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. God did not study and bother his mind about taking a man's worth of dust to make a man. No, he took some dust of the ground and formed therefrom a man and by his own authority breathed the breath of life in man's nostrils and man thus became a living soul. God then gave man legal authority over the living creatures of the earth and also gave him authority to replenish the earth. Man's rights came from the power of God. The constitution says congress shall have power to coin money and regulate the value thereof. So congress made the dollar as God made man, and the American congress formed the dollar of the silver and gold of the earth, put the eagle on one side of the coin and breathed into that coin the legal tender law, and the bimetallic dollar became a living soul of prosperity for eighty-one years as long as the silver and gold were allowed to fly side by side; but when in 1873 the wings were clipped from the silver and the legal tender breath shut off, then the gold had to do all the work; it being too weak to do so, adversity came. They tell us that law cannot regulate value and that gold never changes in value. Let us for a moment form ourselves into a party of truthseekers and look up the record as to that proposition. The law of April 2nd, 1792, said 371.75 grains of silver could be freely coined into one dollar, or two halves, or four quarters, or ten dimes, each to be a legal tender at its face value, if not worn, for any amount; that law also said 24.75 grains of gold could be coined into coins of the value of the dollar; of course you understand the gold was in higher denominations than the dollar. Now let us watch carefully as to whether or not the law cannot regulate value and that gold never changes. In 1834 the law said 23.20 grains of gold when coined in American money constituted a dollar. Let me see, the gold has changed all at once and the law regulates the amount of gold that goes in a dollar. In 1837, the law requires 23.22 grains of gold to the dollar, another change. In 1853 the law says that no longer shall it require 371.75 grains of silver to make a dollar's worth of fractional coins, but that 342.22 grains of silver would make two halves, four quarters or ten dimes, and they should be a legal tender in the payment of debts for $5. In '73 the coinage of the standard silver dollar was stopped by law, and silver fell in price. In 1878 the Bland-Allison act allowed the coinage of the standard silver dollar. In 1890 the Sherman act called for more silver coinage and the price of silver immediately advanced. In 1893 the coinage of silver was again stopped and the price of silver dropped, hence we see that the law does regulate values, and that gold does change in value so far even as the dollar is concerned. A teacher once told Benjamin Franklin that a boy told him, if he would take a tub weighing 100 pounds and put 500 pounds of water in it, which only about half filled the tub, the tub and water would weigh 600 pounds, but if he would put a live fish weighing 100 pounds in the tub, the tub, water and fish would not weigh more than 600 pounds. Can you explain that curious contradiction of the law of gravity, asked the teacher of Franklin. Whereupon Mr. Franklin requested his interrogator to call at his office next day. Franklin procured a tub weighing 100 pounds, put in it 500 pounds of water, and the weight was 600 pounds, just as the boy had told the teacher; then Mr. Franklin added a 100-pound live fish and the total weight was 700 pounds. The next day the teacher called on Franklin for his solution of the great problem, whereupon Franklin replied, there was but one solution to the question. "What is that?" anxiously inquired the visitor. "Why," replied Franklin, "the boy lied." My friends, when they tell us the law cannot regulate value and that gold never changes, and when we examine the records and see that gold does change and that law does regulate value, we say there is but one answer to them, and that is just as Franklin answered the teacher about the boy. We hear it said by the Republicans that free silver would drive gold out of the country; our Democratic friends tell us that free silver will not drive gold out of the country. So we see on that point people seem to differ in opinion. For my part I believe that free silver either will drive the gold out or else it will not. I want to ask the Republicans to acknowledge for the sake of argument that silver would not drive the gold out. Now, let us examine the question if silver don't drive the gold out, and we have a block of gold large enough to make into $100, and a block of silver sufficiently large to make into a like amount, if the gold-standard Democratic idea prevails, all the money we could coin would be the $100 from the gold, for silver could not be coined, but if bimetallism prevailed we could coin $100 from the gold and $100 from the silver, making $200, that is, if the silver does not drive out the gold. But the Republicans may urge that free silver would drive out the gold by the gold going at a premium over silver, then we would coin the block of silver into 100 legal tender dollars and the gold would be exchanged for a block of silver say 25 per cent larger than the block that drove it out, and we would coin that block into 125 legal tender dollars, adding it to the silver that stayed at home, making 225 dollars, just $25 more than we would have if the gold did not advance to a premium. But they tell us that would be coining the cheapest metal. Now, honor bright, you Republicans cannot complain of that for the reason I will presently explain. We often hear it urged that during the eighty-one years of bimetallism in the United States only about 8,000,000 silver dollars were coined, and that subsequently to 1873 more than 400,000,000 have been coined. True, there were only about 8,000,000 dollar pieces made of the silver metal, but there were more than $8,000,000 made because of the silver, for as France had a ratio of 15-1/2 to 1 against our ratio of 16 to 1 our gold stayed at home and the silver was at a 3 per cent premium over the gold according to the French ratio, then a $100 block of gold drove a $100 block of silver to France, and drove from France to America a block of gold large enough to make $103. So we had our gold made into $100, and the gold that came from France in exchange for silver made into $103, making a total of $203, whereas we could only have had $200 if one metal had not gone at a premium. History, arithmetic and common sense prove the correctness of this proposition. Abraham Lincoln once said he did not know much about the tariff question, but he thought he knew enough to know that if we bought $20 worth of steel rails of a foreigner the foreigner would have the money and we would have the rails; but if we made the rails in America and bought them of an American, America would have the money and the rails, too. Now, my Republican friends, don't you believe that? I do. I may not know much about the money question, but I think I know enough to know that if under the gold standard we borrow $20,000,000 of a foreigner, when we pay it back the foreigner will have the money and the interest, too, but if we coin the silver, which is an American product, into legal tender dollars, borrow $20,000,000 of an American, when we pay it back it kind of seems to me somehow that America will have the money and the interest, too. What say you, Lincoln Republicans? But another objection is that we would have a great commerce destroying flood of silver in this country. Let us examine that proposition as seekers after the truth. Here comes Mr. Foreigner with a carload or two of silver, the United States mints coin it into legal tender American dollars and hands it back to Mr. Foreigner. Now, Mr. Foreigner will either take that silver money away with him or else he will leave it here. If he takes it away it will not flood this country, will it? Well, if he leaves it here he will either give it to us or buy something with it. Now, if he gives it to us, will not you Republicans be willing to take your share? Won't you Democrats willingly receive your share? And, I ask, is there a gold standard banker in all America who would not, with just a tiny wee bit of persuading, be willing to take the shares of both Republicans and Democrats? Now, if Mr. Foreigner should buy something with this great flood of silver we can see the wisdom of Mr. Gladstone when he said, "If America should adopt bimetallism they would within six weeks control the markets of the world." A favorite expression of our Republican friends is, that because Mexico does not maintain a parity between gold and silver under bimetallism, the United States cannot. When a man tells us that we should pity him. If we examine that question by comparison we will see the party making such a statement is either not sincere, or else he is not posted on the relative strength of the United States and Mexico. Records show that Mexico has 700,000 square miles of land, more than one-half of which is nearly or quite barren desert or waste land, leaving only about 350,000 miles of arable land, 4,981 miles of railway, 27,861 miles of telegraph line and a population of 10,000,000 Indians and Spaniards. The United States has 3,460,000 square miles, over two-thirds of which is arable land, and very productive of the staple articles consumed by the most enlightened nations of the world. We have 170,000 miles of railway, 780,000 miles of telegraph line, and a population of 72,000,000 Anglo-Americans; thus we see we have over ten times as much arable land exclusive of Alaska, thirty-four times as much railway, twenty-nine times as much telegraph line, and over seven times the population of Mexico. In size, wealth, commerce and science, Mexico is not to be compared with the United States. When we compare Mexico with the United States, we are comparing it with the most gigantic country of the nineteenth century. You can form the United States into eighteen states each as large as Spain, or thirty-one states as large as Italy, or sixty-two states as large as England and Wales. What a mighty confederation of land, water, commerce, wealth and people is the United States when we come to think of it. Why, friends, we can take five of the six first-class countries of Europe--France, Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy, then add Mexico--let some mighty smith forge them all together into one vast empire, and you can lay them all down in the United States, west of the Hudson river, twice. Wittingly has it been said that the United States has the natural basis for the greatest continuous government ever established by man. Mexico has less than 100 miles of inland navigation, while the United States has over 35,000 miles. Steam boats can go up the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers over 2,500 miles from the Gulf, thus carrying our seaboard into the very heart of our continent. As to our resources, the crop of 1879, after feeding our population, furnished for export 283,000,000 bushels of grain. This vast crop was raised on 164,215 square miles, or less than one-twelfth of our arable land. It is estimated that if all our arable land was under the plow, it would feed a population of 1,000,000,000 people, and furnish for export 1,000,000,000 bushels of grain food for export. But what can we say of the people of Mexico and the United States? The difference in our population is not alone the difference between 10,000,000 in Mexico and 72,000,000 in the United States, but the difference between 10,000,000 Indians and Spaniards and 72,000,000 Anglo-Americans. Mexicans and Indians are but semi-civilized, and the Spaniards are, generally speaking, a sluggardly, non-advancing people, while the Anglo-Americans of the United States are the most highly civilized people on the earth, wide awake and progressive in science, literature and mechanical inventions. At a recent exposition in Paris where the foremost nations of the world were exhibiting for premiums five gold medals were given for the greatest inventions or discoveries, and how many came to the United States? Only five; that is all. Now to say that because Mexico cannot maintain a parity between gold and silver, America cannot, is just about like saying that a Kentucky race horse cannot beat an English horse because a Mexican donkey cannot do so. My friends, our ability to maintain a parity between gold and silver is our ability to absorb money in our daily and yearly business. Give our country the increased volume of money that bimetallism will give us instead of the necessary contracted volume that the gold standard leaves us, and we will have a genuine lasting wave of prosperity moving westward from New England, starting the shops at increased wages. That wave will meet with joy the western prosperity wave that sets in motion the mining and agricultural interests of a patient and patriotic people, the eastern and western wave will shake hands with the southern cotton growers and northern wheat raisers. From the four quarters of our nation prosperity will spring up from an American point of view without waiting for the aid or consent of any other country, and without international agreement. Then will a mighty people standing for humanity and general prosperity, shout aloud, "We lead, let others follow." I thank you for your attention. Good night. WHAT NEXT? Patrick Henry, the revolutionist, on March 25th, 1775, said: "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided and that is the lamp of Experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past." Patrick, the Irishman, always said, "our hind sight is better than our front sight." Right in the beginning let me say that inasmuch as an open confession is good for the soul, I most emphatically and with one gulp swallow this doctrine in toto. I take it for granted that a vast majority will, without much persuasion, acknowledge that our historical knowledge has been garnered by looking backward. Experience shows that causes, equal to each other, produce equal effects; hence to arrive at a rational conclusion as to what must we do to be saved from Eastern Imperialism or its equal, Western greed, supported by law, let us look at the United States in retrospect. My space is limited. I shall bid for your gratitude by being brief. I consult my watch, a beautiful piece of machinery, and learn that it is three o'clock; it is July 21st, 1902. It has been raining, or rather drizzling for about twenty hours. It is an ideal time for reflection. Near the window where I sit is a large, vacant lot. The grass is fragrant, its surface is smooth and elevated. I remember viewing the same lot eight years ago, just after a similar rain to the one that is now abating. The lot was then a large pond, eighteen inches deep. What a change labor has made on its surface! Looking another direction, I see a lot, now covered with water as it was eight years ago. I will venture the assertion that it will be covered with water a thousand years hence, unless labor improves it as it has the one just mentioned. My library contains several volumes devoted entirely to the history of the United States. They all say that four hundred years ago, what is now the United States was a vast territory of uncultivated land, crossed by the mountain ranges and rivers, that still hold forth. There were also people here, and they had a government. We call it tribe rule, and tribal relations. They were savages. Hence, looking backward as far as history permits, we find the United States a tract of land that was the home of Nature, and Natures, beasts. Inhabited by the roaming Indian, whose government and mechanical ability were as widely different from the present style as the City of Chicago is from old Fort Dearborn, in Lake Michigan swamps of 1811. History recounts that European government had succeeded in governing so that the toiling subjects preferred to come to America, and dwell among Indians, and rule themselves, than to stay in Europe among friends, and be ruled by the old style, European government. Be it remembered that it was not the tangible improvements which were the handiwork of labor, from which the poor of Europe fled. But it was the European laws that oppressed them. It was oppression from which they were fleeing. They did not come to the New Connecticut because it was new, but because it was the only available place for them. They did not come to America because they did not like law, or because they did not want to worship God, but to gain justice and privilege of worship. The poor came to America to earn a living without kingly interference. The king sent rulers not to earn a living, but to _get_ a living. The poor said, "I will go to America and eat bread in the sweat of my face." The ruler said, "Where you go, I will go also, and I will eat bread in the sweat of your face." Thus we see that the oppressed came to America to avoid tyranny, while simultaneously the rulers came over to impose the very rule the toilers were seeking to avoid. So successful were they in their purpose that in 1776, the toiling class (who are always in the majority), concluded that they needed no more European rule, and in seven years of war, the idle rulers were driven from America. In forming the new government, the people, who had so courageously fought to drive out England's "Kingly" rule, commenced to look for formulas for a government. They turned to England for precedents, consequently a government was formed, which in many respects resembled the English government. Especially was this resemblance noticeable in the Supreme Court, for the Judges hold office for life, during good behavior. Right here let me observe that there is no good reason why the inferior courts should not have a life tenure of office, if such a policy is correct for the Supreme Court, and if it is better for inferior courts to hold office for short terms, it is best that the Supreme Court be subject to the same policy. It is ridiculous that our representatives should be made such by popular vote, and the laws they make be construed by a set of judges whose office expires only when the spirit judge has a harp, and the dust judge has a coffin. Popular vote retires the inferior judge, a fashionable funeral retires the supreme judge, but the robe is left as the imperial emblem. It seems to me it is time to abolish the life tenure of office with our Supreme Court, and it is entirely fitting that their robes be hung in the curio hall of some popular museum, as a souvenir of a ridiculous custom no longer desirable in a popular government. Let me here drop a thought. You may have it for what you think it is worth. The expressed will of a majority of the people should be the Supreme Court decision in the United States. Were that the case an income tax would be constitutional, and a tariff between the states and some territory owned and controlled by our government would be unconstitutional. Since the victory at Yorktown, great questions have been argued and settled by the laboring men and inventors; great questions have been argued, but not settled, by the politicians. Washington used candles, we use electric lights. Washington's four men picked the seed from twenty-five pounds of cotton per day; four men in our generation, gin 25,000 pounds per day; Washington traveled with horses and oxen, thirty miles per day; we travel by steam 1,000 miles per day; Washington sent a letter one hundred miles and waited a week for the answer; we telegraph thousands of miles and get an answer within the hour; Washington's voice could be heard a quarter of a mile; we talk and carry on conversation hundreds of miles. Each of these propositions, and thousands of others have been settled by the inventors and toilers. In short and in fine, the difference between the United States with her natural resources of 125 years ago, and the United States of today, with her vast farms, great mines, magnificent cities and half a hundred thousand miles of railroad, and other improvements too numerous to mention, all this difference, I say, is co-extensive with America _before and after_ taking the labor treatment. But what can we say of the politician and his doings during these years, stripped of all ambiguity, when we tell the unpolished, but plain truth, we must say he never advanced one iota until he was routed from his old position by the toiling masses. It is curious to note that every new social, political, and ethical idea hatches in the same mind and is developed by the same crowd that contrives the machinery and builds the cities, railroads, farms, mines, etc. The politicians, except where labor has compelled them to march forward, stand where Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson put them when the Constitution was adopted. Of course there were some steep places in our governmental structure, and where labor has not buoyed up the politician, he has occasionally slid back to the rules of King George the III. As King George had one tax for England at home, and another for the Colonies, so with us, of late, we have one tax for ourselves and another for our possessions. (We should, however, give the politician, due credit for the way he spells colonies.) English style is to commence with a "C." Our modern style necessitates commencing with a "P." Then, the pronunciation is different; in England it is "Colonies," in America, "Possessions." Yet all over the world they mean the same, to-wit, the strong taxing the weak without allowing representation. It is literally true that Henry, Jefferson, Washington, and the Adams argued the slavery question. As long as we retain the Philippine Islands, that question still faces us, for their advent to our possession brought slavery for us to foster, and we are fostering it. The money question was argued one hundred years ago, and it is still up for argument. Politicians still are turning on both wings of the tariff. Republicans hold to the argument that the European manufacturers, because of the low wages paid their workingmen, would undersell our home manufacturers if free trade was adopted by the United States. Democrats contend that Free Trade will work to benefit 99 per cent of our people, where, as they claim, protection benefits only 1 per cent, to the injury of the masses. According to the Chicago Tribune of July 19th, 1902, Europe is afraid that, unless a high tariff law protects it, American manufactures will flood their markets, thus hindering their home industry. Strange, indeed, that in America we should fear free trade with Europe, because they pay low wages, and Europe fears free trade with us, because we pay higher wages. Another peculiar thing is shown in the Tribune article, when it mentions that there is not much fear that European nations will agree on a general tariff law, because, as it says, "Austria might want to admit free the very articles that France, Germany or England might want to shut out." Wonder how much the tariff barons of the United States would pay the Tribune editor for an article in favor of a high protective tariff that would say, "There is not much danger of a general tariff law continuing in the United States, because Texas or Kansas might want to admit free the very things that Massachusetts or Connecticut might want a high tariff imposed on." Let us acknowledge the truth. Tariff laws are class legislation. It is odd, indeed, that we should have such great regard for the interest of the foreigner on the money question, and then so utterly ignore his interests on the tariff question. If our hind sight were not better than our fore sight, it would seem queer to hear politicians advocate the gold standard and a high tariff, and with the same breath rage against the trusts, when the trust is simply the fruit of these two laws. It were as logical to send a highwayman, train robber or an incendiary to Congress to break up bank robbings and general stealing as to send an advocate of the gold standard and protective tariff to Congress to break up the trusts. The inventor and laborer are a congenial team and, under their influence, the world improves and enriches. The politician and money power are another well mated team, and under their rule they get the wealth that the other team produces. The people elect the Representatives; the money power gets the legislation. Lincoln called the United States a government "of the people, for the people, and by the people." We have outgrown Lincoln's time, and there is a suspicion that we are a government of the Trusts, and for the Trusts, by the Representatives. I suggest that inasmuch as our Representatives have become misrepresentatives for the masses, and tools for the classes, it would be wise to adopt pure Democracy and make our laws by direct legislation. Then we will have a government of _all_ the people, by _all_ the people, and for _all_ the people.--If not this plan, what next? 13923 ---- Proofreaders Team THE WHITE HOUSE COOK BOOK _COOKING, TOILET AND HOUSEHOLD RECIPES,_ _MENUS, DINNER-GIVING, TABLE ETIQUETTE,_ _CARE OF THE SICK, HEALTH SUGGESTIONS,_ _FACTS WORTH KNOWING, Etc., Etc._ THE WHOLE COMPRISING A COMPREHENSIVE CYCLOPEDIA OF INFORMATION FOR THE HOME BY MRS. F.L. GILLETTE AND HUGO ZIEMANN, Steward of the White house 1887 TO THE WIVES OF OUR PRESIDENTS, THOSE NOBLE WOMEN WHO HAVE GRACED THE WHITE HOUSE, AND WHOSE NAMES AND MEMORIES ARE DEAR TO ALL AMERICANS, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. PUBLISHERS' PREFACE In presenting to the public the "WHITE HOUSE COOK BOOK," the publishers believe they can justly claim that it more fully represents the progress and present perfection of the culinary art than any previous work. In point of authorship, it stands preëminent. Hugo Ziemann was at one time caterer for that Prince Napoleon who was killed while fighting the Zulus in Africa. He was afterwards steward of the famous Hotel Splendide in Paris. Later he conducted the celebrated Brunswick Café in New York, and still later he gave to the Hotel Richelieu, in Chicago, a cuisine which won the applause of even the gourmets of foreign lands. It was here that he laid the famous "spread" to which the chiefs of the warring factions of the Republican Convention sat down in June, 1888, and from which they arose with asperities softened, differences harmonized and victory organized. Mrs. F.L. Gillette is no less proficient and capable, having made a life-long and thorough study of cookery and housekeeping, especially as adapted to the practical wants of average American homes. The book has been prepared with great care. Every recipe has been _tried_ and _tested_, and can be relied upon as one of the _best_ of its kind. It is comprehensive, filling completely, it is believed, the requirements of housekeepers of all classes. It embodies several original and commendable features, among which may be mentioned the _menus_ for the holidays and for one week in each month in the year, thus covering all varieties of seasonable foods; the convenient classification and arrangement of topics; the simplified method of explanation in preparing an article, in the order of manipulation, thereby enabling the most inexperienced to clearly comprehend it. The subject of carving has been given a prominent place, not only because of its special importance in a work of this kind, but particularly because it contains entirely new and original designs, and is so far a departure from the usual mode of treating the subject. Interesting information is given concerning the _White House_; how its hospitality is conducted, the menus served on special occasions, views of the interior, portraits of all the ladies of the White House, etc. Convenience has been studied in the make-up of the book. The type is large and plain; it is sewed by patent flexible process, so that when opened it will not close of itself, and it is bound in enameled cloth, adapted for use in the kitchen. THE PUBLISHERS. CONTENTS. ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR THE KITCHEN 588 BISCUITS, ROLLS, MUFFINS, ETC. 249 BREAD 238 BUTTER AND CHEESE 219 CAKES 282 CANNED FRUITS 438 CARVING 7 CATSUPS 176 COFFEE, TEA AND BEVERAGES 448 COLORING FOR FRUIT, ETC. 444 CONFECTIONERY 446 CUSTARDS, CREAMS AND DESSERTS 344 DINNER GIVING 600 DUMPLINGS AND PUDDINGS 381 DYEING OR COLORING 591 EGGS AND OMELETS 225 FACTS WORTH KNOWING 566 FILLINGS FOR LAYER CAKES 287 FISH 49 FOR THE SICK 510 FRENCH WORDS IN COOKING 587 FROSTING OR ICING 284 HEALTH SUGGESTIONS 521 HOUSEKEEPERS' TIME-TABLE 542 ICE-CREAM AND ICES 376 MACARONI 216 MANAGEMENT OF STATE DINNER AT WHITE HOUSE 507 MEASURES AND WEIGHTS IN ORDINARY USE 603 MEATS 107 MENUS 478 MISCELLANEOUS 587 MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 543 MODES OF FRYING 48 MUTTON AND LAMB 136 PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS 320 PICKLES 179 PORK 144 POULTRY AND GAME 81 PRESERVES, JELLIES, ETC. 423 SALADS 168 SANDWICHES 236 SAUCES AND DRESSING 156 SAUCES FOR, PUDDING 417 SHELL FISH 67 SMALL POINTS ON TABLE ETIQUETTE 595 SOUPS 27 SOUPS WITHOUT MEATS 41 SPECIAL MENUS 503 TOAST 276 TOILET RECIPES AND ITEMS 577 VARIETIES OF SEASONABLE FOOD 473 VEGETABLES 191 [Illustration: HELEN HERRON TAFT. Copyright, Photo Clinediust, Washington.] WHITE HOUSE COOK BOOK. CARVING. Carving is one important acquisition in the routine of daily living, and all should try to attain a knowledge or ability to do it well, and withal gracefully. When carving use a chair slightly higher than the ordinary size, as it gives a better purchase on the meat, and appears more graceful than when standing, as is often quite necessary when carving a turkey, or a very large joint. More depends on skill than strength. The platter should be placed opposite, and sufficiently near to give perfect command of the article to be carved, the knife of medium size, sharp with a keen edge. Commence by cutting the slices thin, laying them carefully to one side of the platter, then afterwards placing the desired amount on each guest's plate, to be served in turn by the servant. In carving fish, care should be taken to help it in perfect flakes; for if these are broken the beauty of the fish is lost. The carver should acquaint himself with the choicest parts and morsels; and to give each guest an equal share of those _tidbits_ should be his maxim. Steel knives and forks should on no account be used in helping fish, as these are liable to impart a _very_ disagreeable flavor. A fish-trowel of silver or plated silver is the proper article to use. Gravies should be sent to the table very _hot_, and in helping one to gravy or melted butter, place it on a vacant side of the plate, not _pour_ it over their meat, fish or fowl, that they may use only as much as they like. When serving fowls, or meats, accompanied with stuffing, the guests should be asked if they would have a portion, as it is not every one to whom the flavor of stuffing is agreeable; in filling their plates, avoid heaping one thing upon another, as it makes a bad appearance. A word about the care of carving knives: a fine steel knife should not come in contact with intense heat, because it destroys its temper, and therefore impairs its cutting qualities. Table carving knives should not be used in the kitchen, either around the stove, or for cutting bread, meats, vegetables, etc.; a fine whetstone should be kept for sharpening, and the knife cleaned carefully to avoid dulling its edge, all of which is quite essential to successful carving. * * * * * [Illustration] BEEF. HIND-QUARTER. No. 1. Used for choice roasts, the porterhouse and sirloin steaks. No. 2. Rump, used for steaks, stews and corned beef. No. 3. Aitch-bone, used for boiling-pieces, stews and pot roasts. No. 4. Buttock or round, used for steaks, pot roasts, beef _á la mode_; also a prime boiling-piece. No. 5. Mouse-round, used for boiling and stewing. No. 6. Shin or leg, used for soups, hashes, etc. No. 7. Thick flank, cut with under fat, is a prime boiling-piece, good for stews and corned beef, pressed beef. No. 8. Veiny piece, used for corned beef, dried beef. No. 9. Thin flank, used for corned beef and boiling-pieces. FORE-QUARTER. No. 10. Five ribs called the fore-rib. This is considered the primest piece for roasting; also makes the finest steaks. No. 11. Four ribs, called the middle ribs, used for roasting. No. 12. Chuck ribs, used for second quality of roasts and steaks. No. 13. Brisket, used for corned beef, stews, soups and spiced beef. No. 14. Shoulder-piece, used for stews, soups, pot-roasts, mince-meat and hashes. Nos. 15, 16. Neck, clod or sticking-piece used for stocks, gravies, soups, mince-pie meat, hashes, bologna sausages, etc. No. 17. Shin or shank, used mostly for soups and stewing. No. 18. Cheek. The following is a classification of the qualities of meat, according to the several joints of beef, when cut up. _First Class_.--Includes the sirloin with the kidney suet (1), the rump steak piece (2), the fore-rib (11). _Second Class_.--The buttock or round (4), the thick flank (7), the middle ribs (11). _Third Class_.--The aitch-bone (3), the mouse-round (5), the thin flank (8, 9), the chuck (12), the shoulder-piece (14), the brisket (13). _Fourth Class_.--The clod, neck and sticking-piece (15, 16). _Fifth Class_.--Shin or shank (17). [Illustration] VEAL. HIND-QUARTER. No. 1. Loin, the choicest cuts used for roasts and chops. No. 2. Fillet, used for roasts and cutlets. No. 3. Loin, chump-end used for roasts and chops. No. 4. The hind-knuckle or hock, used for stews, pot-pies, meat-pies. FORE-QUARTER. No. 5. Neck, best end used for roasts, stews and chops. No. 6. Breast, best end used for roasting, stews and chops. No. 7. Blade-bone, used for pot-roasts and baked dishes. No. 8. Fore-knuckle, used for soups and stews. No. 9. Breast, brisket-end used for baking, stews and pot-pies. No. 10. Neck, scrag-end used for stews, broth, meat-pies, etc. In cutting up veal, generally, the hind-quarter is divided into loin and leg, and the fore-quarter into breast, neck and shoulder. _The Several Parts of a Moderately-sized, Well-fed Calf_, about eight weeks old, are nearly of the following weights:--Loin and chump, 18 lbs.; fillet, 12-1/2 lbs.; hind-knuckle, 5-1/2 lbs.; shoulder, 11 lbs.; neck, 11 lbs.; breast, 9 lbs., and fore-knuckle, 5 lbs.; making a total of 144 lbs. weight. [Illustration] MUTTON. No. 1. Leg, used for roasts and for boiling. No. 2. Shoulder, used for baked dishes and roasts. No. 3. Loin, best end used for roasts, chops. No. 4. Loin, chump-end used for roasts and chops. No. 5. Rack, or rib chops, used for French chops, rib chops, either for frying or broiling; also used for choice stews. No. 6. Breast, used for roast, baked dishes, stews, chops. No. 7. Neck or scrag-end, used for cutlets, stews and meat-pies. NOTE.--A saddle of muton or double loin is two loins cut off before the carcass is split open down the back. French chops are a small rib chop, the end of the bone trimmed off and the meat and fat cut away from the thin end, leaving the round piece of meat attached to the larger end, which leaves the small rib-bone bare. Very tender and sweet. Mutton is _prime_ when cut from a carcass which has been fed out of doors, and allowed to run upon the hillside; they are best when about three years old. The fat will then be abundant, white and hard, the flesh juicy and firm, and of a clear red color. For mutton roasts, choose the shoulder, the saddle, or the loin or haunch. The leg should be boiled. Almost any part will do for broth. Lamb born in the middle of the winter, reared under shelter, and fed in a great measure upon milk, then killed in the spring, is considered a great delicacy, though lamb is good at a year old. Like all young animals, lamb ought to be thoroughly cooked, or it is most unwholesome. [Illustration] PORK. No. 1. Leg, used for smoked hams, roasts and corned pork. No. 2. Hind-loin, used for roasts, chops and baked dishes. No. 3. Fore-loin or ribs, used for roasts, baked dishes or chops. No. 4. Spare-rib, used for roasts, chops, stews. No. 5. Shoulder, used for smoked shoulder, roasts and corned pork. No. 6. Brisket and flank, used for pickling in salt and smoked bacon. The cheek is used for pickling in salt, also the shank or shin. The feet are usually used for souse and jelly. For family use the leg is the most economical, that is when fresh, and the loin the richest. The best pork is from carcasses weighing from fifty to about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Pork is a white and close meat, and it is almost impossible to over-roast or cook it too much; when underdone it is exceedingly unwholesome. [Illustration] VENISON. No. 1. Shoulder, used for roasting; it may be boned and stuffed, then afterwards baked or roasted. No. 2. Fore-loin, used for roasts and steaks. No. 3. Haunch or loin, used for roasts, steaks, stews. The ribs cut close may be used for soups. Good for pickling and making into smoked venison. No. 4. Breast, used for baking dishes, stewing. No. 5. Scrag or neck, used for soups. The choice of venison should be judged by the fat, which, when the venison is young, should be thick, clear and close, and the meat a very dark red. The flesh of a female deer about four years old, is the sweetest and best of venison. Buck venison, which is in season from June to the end of September, is finer than doe venison, which is in season from October to December. Neither should be dressed at any other time of year, and no meat requires so much care as venison in killing, preserving and dressing. [Illustration:] SIRLOIN OF BEEF. This choice roasting-piece should be cut with one good firm stroke from end to end of the joint, at the upper part, in thin, long, even slices in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, cutting across the grain, serving each guest with some of the fat with the lean; this may be done by cutting a small, thin slice from underneath the bone from 5 to 6, through the tenderloin. Another way of carving this piece, and which will be of great assistance in doing it well, is to insert the knife just above the bone at the bottom, and run sharply along, dividing the meat from the bone at the bottom and end, thus leaving it perfectly flat; then carve in long, thin slices the usual way. When the bone has been removed and the sirloin rolled before it is cooked, it is laid upon the platter on one end, and an even, thin slice is carved across the grain of the upper surface. Roast ribs should be carved in thin, even slices from the thick end towards the thin in the same manner as the sirloin; this can be more easily and cleanly done if the carving knife is first run along between the meat and the end and rib-bones, thus leaving it free from bone to be cut into slices. _Tongue_.--To carve this it should be cut crosswise, the middle being the best; cut in very _thin_ slices, thereby improving its delicacy, making it more tempting; as is the case of all well-carved meats. The root of the tongue is usually left on the platter. [Illustration] BREAST OF VEAL. This piece is quite similar to a fore-quarter of lamb after the shoulder has been taken off. A breast of veal consists of two parts, the rib-bones and the gristly brisket. These parts may be separated by sharply passing the carving knife in the direction of the line from 1 to 2; and when they are entirely divided, the rib-bones should be carved in the direction of the line from 5 to 6, and the brisket can be helped by cutting slices from 3 to 4. The carver should ask the guests whether they have a preference for the brisket or ribs; and if there be a sweetbread served with the dish, as is frequently with this roast of veal, each person should receive a piece. Though veal and lamb contain less nutrition than beef and mutton, in proportion to their weight, they are often preferred to these latter meats on account of their delicacy of texture and flavor. A whole breast of veal weighs from nine to twelve pounds. [Illustration] A FILLET OF VEAL. A fillet of veal is one of the prime roasts of veal; it is taken from the leg above the knuckle; a piece weighing from ten to twelve pounds is a good size and requires about four hours for roasting. Before roasting, it is dressed with a force meat or stuffing placed in the cavity from where the bone was taken out and the flap tightly secured together with skewers; many bind it together with tape. To carve it, cut in even thin slices off from the whole of the upper part or top, in the same manner as from a rolled roast of beef, as in the direction of the figs. 1 and 2; this gives the person served some of the dressing with each slice of meat. Veal is very unwholesome unless it is cooked thoroughly, and when roasted should be of a rich brown color. Bacon, fried pork, sausage-balls, with greens, are among the accompaniments of roasted veal, also a cut lemon. [Illustration] NECK OF VEAL. The best end of a neck of veal makes a very good roasting-piece; it, however, is composed of bone and ribs that make it quite difficult to carve, unless it is done properly. To attempt to carve each chop and serve it, you would not only place _too_ large a piece upon the plate of the person you intend to serve, but you would waste much time, and should the vertebræ have not been removed by the butcher, you would be compelled to exercise such a degree of strength that would make one's appearance very ungraceful, and possibly, too, throwing gravy over your neighbor sitting next to you. The correct way to carve this roast is to cut diagonally from fig. 1 to 2, and help in slices of moderate thickness; then it may be cut from 3 to 4, in order to separate the small bones; divide and serve them, having first inquired if they are desired. This joint is usually sent to the table accompanied by bacon, ham, tongue, or pickled pork, on a separate dish and with a cut lemon on a plate. There are also a number of sauces that are suitable with this roast. [Illustration] LEG OF MUTTON. The best mutton, and that from which most nourishment is obtained is that of sheep from three to six years old, and which have been fed on dry, sweet pastures; then mutton is in its _prime_, the flesh being firm, juicy, dark colored and full of the richest gravy. When mutton is two years old, the meat is flabby, pale and savorless. In carving a roasted leg, the best slices are found by cutting quite down to the bone, in the direction from 1 to 2, and slices may be taken from either side. Some very good cuts are taken from the broad end from 5 to 6, and the fat on this ridge is very much liked by many. The cramp-bone is a delicacy, and is obtained by cutting down to the bone at 4, and running the knife under it in a semicircular direction to 3. The nearer the knuckle the drier the meat, but the under side contains the most finely grained meat, from which slices may be cut lengthwise. When sent to the table a frill of paper around the knuckle will improve its appearance. [Illustration] FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB. The first cut to be made in carving a fore-quarter of lamb is to separate the shoulder from the breast and ribs; this is done by passing a sharp carving knife lightly around the dotted line as shown by the figs. 3, 4 and 5, so as to cut through the skin, and then, by raising with a little force the shoulder, into which the fork should be firmly fixed, it will easily separate with just a little more cutting with the knife; care should be taken not to cut away too much of the meat from the breast when dividing the shoulder from it, as that would mar its appearance. The shoulder may be placed upon a separate dish for convenience. The next process is to divide the ribs from the brisket by cutting through the meat in the line from 1 to 2; then the ribs may be carved in the direction of the line 6 to 7, and the brisket from 8 to 9. The carver should always ascertain whether the guest prefers ribs, brisket, or a piece of the shoulder. [Illustration] HAM. The carver in cutting a ham must be guided according as he desires to practice economy, or have at once fine slices out of the prime part. Under the first supposition, he will commence at the knuckle end, and cut off thin slices toward the thick and upper part of the ham. To reach the choicer portion of the ham, the knife, which must be very sharp and thin, should be carried quite down to the bone through the thick fat in the direction of the line from 1 to 2. The slices should be even and thin, cutting both lean and fat together, always cutting down to the bone. Some cut a circular hole in the middle of a ham gradually enlarging it outwardly. Then again many carve a ham by first cutting from 1 to 2, then across the other way from 3 to 4. Remove the skin after the ham is cooked and send to the table with dots of dry pepper or dry mustard on the top, a tuft of fringed paper twisted about the knuckle, and plenty of fresh parsley around the dish. This will always insure an inviting appearance. _Roast Pig_.--The modern way of serving a pig is not to send it to the table whole, but have it carved partially by the cook; first, by dividing the shoulder from the body; then the leg in the same manner; also separating the ribs into convenient portions. The head may be divided and placed on the same platter. To be served as hot as possible. A Spare Rib of Pork is carved by cutting slices from the fleshy part, after which the bones should be disjointed and separated. A leg of pork may be carved in the same manner as a ham. [Illustration: HAUNCH OF VENISON] HAUNCH OF VENISON A haunch of venison is the _prime_ joint, and is carved very similar to almost any roasted or boiled leg; it should be first cut crosswise down to the bone following the line from 1 to 2; then turn the platter with the knuckle farthest from you, put in the point of the knife, and cut down as far as you can, in the directions shown by the dotted lines from 3 to 4; then there can be taken out as many slices as is required on the right and left of this. Slices of venison should be cut thin, and gravy given with them, but as there is a special sauce made with red wine and currant jelly to accompany this meat, do not serve gravy before asking the guest if he pleases to have any. The fat of this meat is like mutton, apt to cool soon, and become hard and disagreeable to the palate; it should, therefore, be served always on warm plates, and the platter kept over a hot-water dish, or spirit lamp. Many cooks dish it up with a white paper frill pinned around the knuckle bone. A haunch of mutton is carved the same as a haunch of venison. [Illustration] TURKEY. A turkey having been relieved from strings and skewers used in trussing should be placed on the table with the head or neck at the carver's right hand. An expert carver places the fork in the turkey, and does not remove it until the whole is divided. First insert the fork firmly in the lower part of the breast, just forward of fig. 2, then sever the legs and wings on both sides, if the whole is to be carved, cutting neatly through the joint next to the body, letting these parts lie on the platter. Next, cut downward from the breast from 2 to 3, as many even slices of the white meat as may be desired, placing the pieces neatly on one side of the platter. Now unjoint the legs and wings at the middle joint, which can be done very skillfully by a little practice. Make an opening into the cavity of the turkey for dipping out the inside dressing, by cutting a piece from the rear part 1, 1, called the apron. Consult the tastes of the guests as to which part is preferred; if no choice is expressed, serve a portion of both light and dark meat. One of the most delicate parts of the turkey are two little muscles, lying in small dish-like cavities on each side of the back, a little behind the leg attachments; the next most delicate meat fills the cavities in the neck bone, and next to this, that on the second joints. The lower part of the leg (or drumstick, as it is called) being hard, tough and stringy, is rarely ever helped to any one, but allowed to remain on the dish. [Illustration] ROAST GOOSE. To carve a goose, first begin by separating the leg from the body, by putting the fork into the small end of the limb, pressing it closely to the body, then passing the knife under at 2, and turning the leg back as you cut through the joint. To take off the wing, insert the fork in the small end of the pinion, and press it close to the body; put the knife in at fig. 1, and divide the joint. When the legs and wings are off, the breast may be carved in long, even slices, as represented in the lines from 1 to 2. The back and lower side bones, as well as the two lower side bones by the wing, may be cut off; but the best pieces of the goose are the breast and thighs, after being separated from the drumsticks. Serve a little of the dressing from the inside, by making a circular slice in the apron at fig. 3. A goose should never be over a year old; a tough goose is very difficult to carve, and certainly most difficult to eat. FOWLS. First insert the knife between the leg and the body, and cut to the bone; then turn the leg back with the fork, and if the fowl is tender the joint will give away easily. The wing is broken off the same way, only dividing the joint with the knife, in the direction from 1 to 2. The four quarters having been removed in this way, take off the merry-thought and the neck-bones; these last are to be removed by putting the knife in at figs. 3 and 4, pressing it hard, when they will break off from the part that sticks to the breast. To separate the breast from the body of the fowl, cut through the tender ribs close to the breast, quite down to the tail. Now turn the fowl over, back upwards; put the knife into the bone midway between the neck and the rump, and on raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn now the rump from you, and take off very neatly the two side bones, and the fowl is carved. In separating the thigh from the drumstick, the knife must be inserted exactly at the joint, for if not accurately hit, some difficulty will be experienced to get them apart; this is easily acquired by practice. There is no difference in carving roast and boiled fowls if full grown; but in very young fowls the breast is usually served whole; the wings and breast are considered the best parts, but in young ones the legs are the most juicy. In the case of a capon or large fowl, slices may be cut off at the breast, the same as carving a pheasant. [Illustration] ROAST DUCK. A young duckling may be carved in the same manner as a fowl, the legs and wings being taken off first on either side. When the duck is full size, carve it like a goose; first cutting it in slices from the breast, beginning close to the wing and proceeding upward towards the breast bone, as is represented by the lines 1 to 2. An opening may be made by cutting out a circular slice, as shown by the dotted lines at number 3. Some are fond of the feet, and when dressing the duck, these should be neatly skinned and never removed. Wild duck is highly esteemed by epicures; it is trussed like a tame duck, and carved in the same manner, the breast being the choicest part. PARTRIDGES. Partridges are generally cleaned and trussed the same way as a pheasant, but the custom of cooking them with the heads on is going into disuse somewhat. The usual way of carving them is similar to a pigeon, dividing it into two equal parts. Another method is to cut it into three pieces, by severing a wing and leg on either side from the body, by following the lines 1 to 2, thus making two servings of those parts, leaving the breast for a third plate. The third method is to thrust back the body from the legs, and cut through the middle of the breast, thus making four portions that may be served. Grouse and prairie-chicken are carved from the breast when they are large, and quartered or halved when of medium size. [Illustration] PHEASANT. Place your fork firmly in the centre of the breast of this large game bird and cut deep slices to the bone at figs. 1 and 2; then take off the leg in the line from 3 and 4, and the wing 3 and 5, severing both sides the same. In taking off the wings, be careful not to cut too near the neck; if you do you will hit upon the neck-bone, from which the wing must be separated. Pass the knife through the line 6, and under the merry-thought towards the neck, which will detach it. Cut the other parts as in a fowl. The breast, wings and merry-thought of a pheasant are the most highly prized, although the legs are considered very finely flavored. Pheasants are frequently roasted with the head left on; in that case, when dressing them, bring the head round under the wing, and fix it on the point of a skewer. PIGEONS. A very good way of carving these birds is to insert the knife at fig. 1, and cut both ways to 2 and 3, when each portion may be divided into two pieces, then served. Pigeons, if not too large, may be cut in halves, either across or down the middle, cutting them into two equal parts; if young and small they may be served entirely whole. Tame pigeons should be cooked as soon as possible after they are killed, as they very quickly lose their flavor. Wild pigeons, on the contrary, should hang a day or two in a cool place before they are dressed. Oranges cut into halves are used as a garnish for dishes of small birds, such as pigeons, quail, woodcock, squabs, snipe, etc. These small birds are either served whole or split down the back, making two servings. [Illustration] MACKEREL. The mackerel is one of the most beautiful of fish, being known by its silvery whiteness. It sometimes attains to the length of twenty inches, but usually, when fully grown, is about fourteen or sixteen inches long, and about two pounds in weight. To carve a baked mackerel, first remove the head and tail by cutting downward at 1 and 2; then split them down the back, so as to serve each person a part of each side piece. The roe should be divided in small pieces and served with each piece of fish. Other whole fish may be carved in the same manner. The fish is laid upon a little sauce or folded napkin, on a hot dish, and garnished with parsley. BOILED SALMON. This fish is seldom sent to the table whole, being _too_ large for any ordinary sized family; the middle cut is considered the choicest to boil. To carve it, first run the knife down and along the upper side of the fish from 1 to 2, then again on the lower side from 3 to 4. Serve the thick part, cutting it lengthwise in slices in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, and the thin part breadthwise, or in the direction from 5 to 6. A slice of the thick with one of the thin, where lies the fat, should be served to each guest. Care should be taken when carving not to break the flakes of the fish, as that impairs its appearance. The flesh of the salmon is rich and delicious in flavor. Salmon is in season from the first of February to the end of August. SOUPS. Consommé, or Stock, forms the basis of all meat soups, and also of all principal sauces. It is, therefore, essential to the success of these culinary operations to know the most complete and economical method of extracting from a certain quantity of meat the best possible stock or broth. Fresh, uncooked beef makes the best stock, with the addition of cracked bones, as the glutinous matter contained in them renders it important that they should be boiled with the meat, which adds to the strength and thickness of the soup. They are composed of an earthy substance--to which they owe their solidity--of gelatine, and a fatty fluid, something like marrow. _Two ounces_ of them contain as much gelatine as _one pound_ of meat; but, in them, this is so encased in the earthy substance, that boiling water can dissolve only the surface of the whole bones, but by breaking them they can be dissolved more. When there is an abundance of it, it causes the stock, when cold, to become a jelly. The flesh of old animals contains more flavor than the flesh of young ones. Brown meats contain more flavor than white. Mutton is too strong in flavor for good stock, while veal, although quite glutinous, furnishes very little nutriment. Some cooks use meat that has once been cooked; this renders little nourishment and destroys the flavor. It might answer for ready soup, but for stock to keep it is not as good, unless it should be roasted meats. Those contain higher fragrant properties; so by putting the remains of roast meats in the stock-pot you obtain a better flavor. The shin bone is generally used, but the neck or "sticking-piece," as the butchers call it, contains more of the substance that you want to extract, makes a stronger and more nutritious soup, than any other part of the animal. Meats for soup should always be put on to cook in _cold_ water, in a covered pot, and allowed to simmer slowly for several hours, in order that the essence of the meat may be drawn out thoroughly, and should be carefully skimmed to prevent it from becoming turbid, never allowed to _boil fast_ at any time, and if more water is needed, use boiling water from the tea-kettle; cold or lukewarm water spoils the flavor. Never salt it before the meat is tender (as that hardens and toughens the meat), especially if the meat is to be eaten. Take off every particle of scum as it rises, and before the vegetables are put in. Allow a little less than a quart of water to a pound of meat and bone, and a teaspoonful of salt. When done, strain through a colander. If for clear soups, strain again through a hair sieve, or fold a clean towel in a colander set over an earthen bowl, or any dish large enough to hold the stock. As stated before, stock is not as good when made entirely from cooked meats, but in a family where it requires a large joint roasted every day, the bones, and bits and underdone pieces of beef, or the bony structure of turkey or chicken that has been left from carving, bones of roasted poultry, these all assist in imparting a rich dark color to soup, and would be sufficient, if stewed as above, to furnish a family, without buying fresh meat for the purpose; still, with the addition of a little fresh meat it would be more nutritious. In cold weather you can gather them up for several days and put them to cook in cold water, and when done, strain, and put aside until needed. Soup will be as good the second day as the first if heated to the boiling point. It should never be left in the pot, but should be turned into a dish or shallow pan, and set aside to get cold. Never cover it up, as that will cause it to turn sour very quickly. Before heating a second time, remove all the fat from the top. If this be melted in, the flavor of the soup will certainly be spoiled. Thickened soups require nearly double the seasoning used for thin soups or broth. Coloring is used in some brown soups, the chief of which is brown burnt sugar, which is known as caramel by French cooks. Pounded spinach leaves give a fine green color to soup. Parsley, or the green leaves of celery put in soup, will serve instead of spinach. Pound a large handful of spinach in a mortar, then tie it in a cloth, and wring out all the juice; put this in the soup you wish to color green five minutes before taking it up. Mock turtle, and sometimes veal and lamb soups, should be this color. Okras gives a green color to soup. To color soup red, skin six red tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds, and put them into the soup with the other vegetables--or take the juice only, as directed for spinach. For white soups, which are of veal, lamb or chicken, none but white vegetables are used; rice, pearl barley, vermicelli, or macaroni, for thickening. Grated carrot gives a fine amber color to soup; it must be put in as soon as the soup is free from scum. Hotel and private-house stock is quite different. Hotels use meat in such large quantities that there is always more or less trimmings and bones of meat to add to fresh meats; that makes very strong stock, which they use in most all soups and gravies and other made dishes. The meat from which soup has been made is good to serve cold thus: Take out all the bones, season with pepper and salt, and catsup, if liked, then chop it small, tie it in a cloth, and lay it between two plates, with a weight on the upper one; slice it thin for luncheon or supper; or make sandwiches of it; or make a hash for breakfast; or make it into balls, with the addition of a little wheat flour and an egg, and serve them fried in fat, or boil in the soup. An agreeable flavor is sometimes imparted to soup by sticking some cloves into the meat used for making stock; a few slices of onions fried very brown in butter are nice; also flour browned by simply putting it into a saucepan over the fire and stirring it constantly until it is a dark brown. Clear soups must be perfectly transparent, and thickened soups about the consistency of cream. When soups and gravies are kept from day to day in hot weather, they should be warmed up every day, and put into fresh-scalded pans or tureens, and placed in a cool cellar. In temperate weather, every other day may be sufficient. HERBS AND VEGETABLES USED IN SOUPS. Of vegetables the principal ones are carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, green peas, okra, macaroni, green corn, beans, rice, vermicelli, Scotch barley, pearl barley, wheat flour, mushroom, or mushroom catsup, parsnips, beetroot, turnips, leeks, garlic, shallots and onions; sliced onions fried with butter and flour until they are browned, then rubbed through a sieve, are excellent to heighten the color and flavor of brown sauces and soups. The herbs usually used in soups are parsley, common thyme, summer savory, knotted marjoram, and other seasonings, such as bay-leaves, tarragon, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, black and white pepper, red pepper, lemon peel and juice, orange peel and juice. The latter imparts a finer flavor and the acid much milder. These materials, with wine, and the various catsups, combined in various proportions, are, with other ingredients, made into almost an endless variety of excellent soups and gravies. Soups that are intended for the principal part of a meal certainly ought not to be flavored like sauces, which are only intended to give relish to some particular dish. STOCK. Six pounds of shin of beef, or six pounds of knuckle of veal; any bones, trimmings of poultry, or fresh meat; one-quarter pound of lean bacon or ham, two ounces of butter, two large onions, each stuck with cloves; one turnip, three carrots, one head of celery, two ounces of salt, one-half teaspoonful of whole pepper, one large blade of mace, one bunch of savory herbs except sage, four quarts and one-half-pint of cold water. Cut up the meat and bacon, or ham, into pieces of about three inches square; break the bones into small pieces, rub the butter on the bottom of the stewpan; put in one-half a pint of water, the broken bones, then meat and all other ingredients. Cover the stewpan, and place it on a sharp fire, occasionally stirring its contents. When the bottom of the pan becomes covered with a pale, jelly-like substance, add the four quarts of cold water, and simmer very gently for five or six hours. As we have said before, do not let it boil quickly. When nearly cooked, throw in a tablespoonful of salt to assist the scum to rise. Remove every particle of scum whilst it is doing, and strain it through a fine hair sieve; when cool remove all grease. This stock will keep for many days in cold weather. Stock is the basis of many of the soups afterwards mentioned, and this will be found quite strong enough for ordinary purposes. Keep it in small jars, in a cool place. It makes a good gravy for hash meats; one tablespoonful of it is sufficient to impart a fine flavor to a dish of macaroni and various other dishes. Good soups of various kinds are made from it at short notice; slice off a portion of the jelly, add water, and whatever vegetables and thickening preferred. It is best to partly cook the vegetables before adding to the stock, as much boiling injures the flavoring of the soup. Season and boil a few moments and serve hot. [Illustration: FRANCES FOLSOM CLEVELAND.] WHITE STOCK. White stock is used in the preparation of white soups, and is made by boiling six pounds of a knuckle of veal, cut up in small pieces, poultry trimmings, and four slices of lean ham. Proceed according to directions given in STOCK, on opposite page. TO CLARIFY STOCK. Place the stock in a clean saucepan, set it over a brisk fire. When boiling, add the white of one egg to each quart of stock, proceeding as follows: beat the whites of the eggs up well in a little water; then add a little hot stock; beat to a froth and pour gradually into the pot; then beat the whole hard and long; allow it to boil up once, and immediately remove and strain through a thin flannel cloth. BEEF SOUP. Select a small shin of beef of moderate size, crack the bone in small pieces, wash and place it in a kettle to boil, with five or six quarts of _cold_ water. Let it boil about two hours, or until it begins to get tender, then season it with a tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful of pepper; boil it one hour longer, then add to it one carrot, two turnips, two tablespoonfuls of rice or pearl barley, one head of celery, and a teaspoonful of summer savory powdered fine; the vegetables to be minced up in small pieces like dice. After these ingredients have boiled a quarter of an hour, put in two potatoes cut up in small pieces, let it boil half an hour longer; take the meat from the soup, and if intended to be served with it, take out the bones and lay it closely and neatly on a dish, and garnish with sprigs of parsley. Serve made mustard and catsup with it. It is very nice pressed and eaten cold with mustard and vinegar, or catsup. Four hours are required for making this soup. Should any remain over the first day, it may be heated, with the addition of a little boiling water, and served again. Some fancy a glass of brown sherry added just before being served. Serve very hot. VEAL SOUP. (Excellent.) Put a knuckle of veal into three quarts of cold water, with a small quantity of salt, and one small tablespoonful of uncooked rice. Boil slowly, hardly above simmering, four hours, when the liquor should be reduced to half the usual quantity; remove from the fire. Into the tureen put the yolk of one egg, and stir well into it a teacupful of cream, or, in hot weather, new milk; add a piece of butter the size of a hickory nut; on this strain the soup, boiling hot, stirring all the time. Just at the last, beat it well for a minute. SCOTCH MUTTON BROTH. Six pounds neck of mutton, three quarts water, five carrots, five turnips, two onions, four tablespoonfuls barley, a little salt. Soak mutton in water for an hour, cut off scrag, and put it in stewpan with three quarts of water. As soon as it boils, skim well, and then simmer for one and one-half hours. Cut best end of mutton into cutlets, dividing it with two bones in each; take off nearly all fat before you put it into broth; skim the moment the meat boils, and every ten minutes afterwards; add carrots, turnips and onions, all cut into two or three pieces, then put them into soup soon enough to be thoroughly done; stir in barley; add salt to taste; let all stew together for three and one-half hours; about one-half hour before sending it to table, put in little chopped parsley and serve. Cut the meat off the scrag into small pieces, and send it to table in the tureen with the soup. The other half of the mutton should be served on a separate dish, with whole turnips boiled and laid round it. Many persons are fond of mutton that has been boiled in soup. You may thicken the soup with rice or barley that has first been soaked in cold water, or with green peas, or with young corn, cut down from the cob, or with tomatoes, scalded, peeled and cut into pieces. GAME SOUP. Two grouse or partridges, or, if you have neither, use a pair of rabbits; half a pound of lean ham; two medium-sized onions; one pound of lean beef; fried bread; butter for frying; pepper, salt and two stalks of white celery cut into inch lengths; three quarts of water. Joint your game neatly; cut the ham and onions into small pieces, fry all in butter to a light brown. Put into a soup-pot with the beef, cut into strips, add a little pepper. Pour on the water; heat slowly, and stew gently two hours. Take out the pieces of bird, and cover in a bowl; cook the soup an hour longer; strain; cool; drop in the celery and simmer ten minutes. Pour upon fried bread in the tureen. Venison soup made the same, with the addition of a tablespoonful of brown flour wet into a paste with cold water, adding a tablespoonful of catsup, Worcestershire, or other pungent sauce, and a glass of Madeira or brown sherry. CONSOMME SOUP. Take good strong stock (see pages 27 and 30), remove all fat from the surface, and for each quart of the stock allow the white and shell of one egg and a tablespoonful of water, well whipped together. Pour this mixture into a saucepan containing the stock; place it over the fire and heat the contents gradually, stirring often to prevent the egg from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Allow it to boil gently until the stock looks perfectly clear under the egg, which will rise and float upon the surface in the form of a thick white scum. Now remove it and pour it into a folded towel laid in a colander set over an earthen bowl, allowing it to run through without moving or squeezing it. Season with more salt if needed, and quickly serve very hot. This should be a clear amber color. JULIENNE SOUP. Cut carrots and turnips into quarter-inch pieces the shape of dice; also celery into thin slices. Cover them with boiling water; add a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful pepper, and cook until soft. In another saucepan have two quarts of boiling stock (see pages 27 and 30), to which add the cooked vegetables, the water and more seasoning if necessary. Serve hot. In the spring and summer season use asparagus, peas and string beans--all cut into small uniform thickness. CREAM OF SPINACH. Pick, wash and boil enough spinach to measure a pint, when cooked, chopped and pounded into a soft paste. Put it into a stewpan with four ounces of fresh butter, a little grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of salt. Cook and stir it about ten minutes. Add to this two quarts of strong stock (see pages 27 and 30); let boil up, then rub it through a strainer. Set it over the fire again, and, when on the point of boiling, mix with it a tablespoonful of butter, and a teaspoonful of granulated sugar. CHICKEN CREAM SOUP. An old chicken for soup is much the best. Cut it up into quarters, put it into a soup kettle with half a pound of corned ham, and an onion; add four quarts of cold water. Bring slowly to a gentle boil, and keep this up until the liquid has diminished one-third, and the meat drops from the bones; then add half a cup of rice. Season with salt, pepper and a bunch of chopped parsley. Cook slowly until the rice is tender, then the meat should be taken out. Now stir in two cups of rich milk thickened with a little flour. The chicken could be fried in a spoonful of butter and a gravy made, reserving some of the white part of the meat, chopping it and adding it to the soup. PLAIN ECONOMICAL SOUP. Take a cold roast-beef bone, pieces of beefsteak, the rack of a cold turkey or chicken. Put them into a pot with three or four quarts of water, two carrots, three turnips, one onion, a few cloves, pepper and salt. Boil the whole gently four hours; then strain it through a colander, mashing the vegetables so that they will all pass through. Skim off the fat, and return the soup to the pot. Mix one tablespoonful of flour with two of water, stir it into the soup and boil the whole ten minutes. Serve this soup with sippits of toast. Sippits are bits of dry toast cut into a triangular form. A seasonable dish about the holidays. [Illustration: EDITH CAROW ROOSEVELT.] OX-TAIL SOUP. Two ox-tails, two slices of ham, one ounce of butter, two carrots, two turnips, three onions, one leek, one head of celery, one bunch of savory herbs, pepper, a tablespoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of catsup, one-half glass of port wine, three quarts of water. Cut up the tails, separating them at the joints; wash them, and put them in a stewpan with the butter. Cut the vegetables in slices and add them with the herbs. Put in one-half pint of water, and stir it over a quick fire till the juices are drawn. Fill up the stewpan with water, and, when boiling, add the salt. Skim well, and simmer very gently for four hours, or until the tails are tender. Take them out, skim and strain the soup, thicken with flour, and flavor with the catsup and port wine. Put back the tails, simmer for five minutes and serve. Another way to make an appetizing ox-tail soup. You should begin to make it the day before you wish to eat the soup. Take two tails, wash clean, and put in a kettle with nearly a gallon of cold water; add a small handful of salt; when the meat is well cooked, take out the bones. Let this stand in a cool room, covered, and next day, about an hour and a half before dinner, skim off the crust or cake of fat which has risen to the top. Add a little onion, carrot, or any vegetables you choose, chopping them fine first; summer savory may also be added. CORN SOUP. Cut the corn from the cob, and boil the cobs in water for at least an hour, then add the grains, and boil until they are thoroughly done; put one dozen ears of corn to a gallon of water, which will be reduced to three quarts by the time the soup is done; then pour on a pint of new milk, two well-beaten eggs, salt and pepper to your taste; continue the boiling a while longer, and stir in, to season and thicken it a little, a tablespoonful of good butter rubbed up with two tablespoonfuls of flour. Corn soup may also be made nicely with water in which a pair of grown fowls have been boiled or parboiled, instead of having plain water for the foundation. SPLIT PEA SOUP. No. 1. Wash well a pint of split peas and cover them well with cold water, adding a third of a teaspoonful of soda; let them remain in it over night to swell. In the morning put them in a kettle with a close fitting cover. Pour over them three quarts of cold water, adding half a pound of lean ham or bacon cut into slices or pieces; also a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper, and some celery chopped fine. When the soup begins to boil, skim the froth from the surface. Cook slowly from three to four hours, stirring occasionally till the peas are all dissolved, adding a little more boiling water to keep up the quantity as it boils away. Strain through a colander, and leave out the meat. It should be quite quick. Serve with small squares of toasted bread, cut up and added. If not rich enough, add a small piece of butter. CREAM OF ASPARAGUS. For making two quarts of soup, use two bundles of fresh asparagus. Cut the tops from one of the bunches and cook them twenty minutes in salted water, enough to cover them. Cook the remainder of the asparagus about twenty minutes in a quart of stock or water. Cut an onion into thin slices and fry in three tablespoonfuls of butter ten minutes, being careful not to scorch it; then add the asparagus that has been boiled in the stock; cook this five minutes, stirring constantly; then add three tablespoonfuls of dissolved flour, cook five minutes longer. Turn this mixture into the boiling stock and boil twenty minutes. Rub through a sieve; add the milk and cream and the asparagus heads. If water is used in place of stock, use all cream. GREEN PEA SOUP. Wash a small quarter of lamb in cold water, and put it into a soup-pot with six quarts of cold water; add to it two tablespoonfuls of salt, and set it over a moderate fire--let it boil gently for two hours, then skim it clear; add a quart of shelled peas, and a teaspoonful of pepper; cover it, and let it boil for half an hour; then having scraped the skins from a quart of small young potatoes, add them to the soup; cover the pot and let it boil for half an hour longer; work quarter of a pound of butter and a dessertspoonful of flour together, and add them to the soup ten or twelve minutes before taking it off the fire. Serve the meat on a dish with parsley sauce over it, and the soup in a tureen. DRIED BEAN SOUP. Put two quarts of dried white beans to soak the night before you make the soup, which should be put on as early in the day as possible. Take two pounds of the lean of fresh beef--the coarse pieces will do. Cut them up and put them into your soup-pot with the bones belonging to them (which should be broken in pieces), and a pound of lean bacon, cut very small. If you have the remains of a piece of beef that has been roasted the day before, and so much underdone that the juices remain in it, you may put it into the pot and its bones along with it. Season the meat with pepper only, and pour on it six quarts of water. As soon as it boils, take off the scum, and put in the beans (having first drained them) and a head of celery cut small, or a tablespoonful of pounded celery seed. Boil it slowly till the meat is done to shreds, and the beans all dissolved. Then strain it through a colander into the tureen, and put into it small squares of toasted bread with the crust cut off. TURTLE SOUP FROM BEANS. Soak over night one quart of black beans; next day boil them in the proper quantity of water, say a gallon, then dip the beans out of the pot and strain them through a colander. Then return the flour of the beans, thus pressed, into the pot in which they were boiled. Tie up in a thin cloth some thyme, a teaspoonful of summer savory and parsley, and let it boil in the mixture. Add a tablespoonful of cold butter, salt and pepper. Have ready four hard-boiled yolks of eggs quartered, and a few force meat balls; add this to the soup with a sliced lemon, and half a glass of wine just before serving the soup. This approaches so near in flavor to the real turtle soup that few are able to distinguish the difference. PHILADELPHIA PEPPER POT. Put two pounds of tripe and four calves' feet into the soup-pot and cover them with cold water; add a red pepper, and boil closely until the calves' feet are boiled very tender; take out the meat, skim the liquid, stir it, cut the tripe into small pieces, and put it back into the liquid; if there is not enough liquid, add boiling water; add half a teaspoonful of sweet marjoram, sweet basil, and thyme, two sliced onions, sliced potatoes, salt. When the vegetables have boiled until almost tender, add a piece of butter rolled in flour, drop in some egg balls, and boil fifteen minutes more. Take up and serve hot. SQUIRREL SOUP. Wash and quarter three or four good sized squirrels; put them on, with a small tablespoonful of salt, directly after breakfast, in a gallon of cold water. Cover the pot close, and set it on the back part of the stove to simmer gently, _not_ boil. Add vegetables just the same as you do in case of other meat soups in the summer season, but especially good will you find corn, Irish potatoes, tomatoes and Lima beans. Strain the soup through a coarse colander when the meat has boiled to shreds, so as to get rid of the squirrels' troublesome little bones. Then return to the pot, and after boiling a while longer, thicken with a piece of butter rubbed in flour. Celery and parsley leaves chopped up are also considered an improvement by many. Toast two slices of bread, cut them into dice one-half inch square, fry them in butter, put them into the bottom of your tureen, and then pour the soup boiling hot upon them. Very good. TOMATO SOUP. No. 1. Place in a kettle four pounds of beef. Pour over it one gallon of cold water. Let the meat and water boil slowly for three hours, or until the liquid is reduced to about one-half. Remove the meat and put into the broth a quart of tomatoes, and one chopped onion; salt and pepper to taste. A teaspoonful of flour should be dissolved and stirred in, then allowed to boil half an hour longer. Strain and serve hot. Canned tomatoes in place of fresh ones may be used. TOMATO SOUP. No. 2. Place over the fire a quart of peeled tomatoes, stew them soft with a pinch of soda. Strain it so that no seeds remain, set it over the fire again, and add a quart of hot boiled milk; season with salt and pepper, a piece of butter the size of an egg, add three tablespoonfuls of rolled cracker, and serve hot. Canned tomatoes may be used in place of fresh ones. TOMATO SOUP. No. 3. Peel two quarts of tomatoes, boil them in a saucepan with an onion, and other soup vegetables; strain and add a level tablespoonful of flour dissolved in a third of a cup of melted butter; add pepper and salt. Serve very hot over little squares of bread fried brown and crisp in butter. An excellent addition to a cold meat lunch. MULLAGATAWNY SOUP. (As made in India.) Cut four onions, one carrot, two turnips, and one head of celery into three quarts of liquor, in which one or two fowls have been boiled; keep it over a brisk fire till it boils, then place it on a corner of the fire, and let it simmer twenty minutes; add one tablespoonful of currie powder, and one tablespoonful of flour; mix the whole well together, and let it boil three minutes; pass it through a colander; serve with pieces of roast chicken in it; add boiled rice in a separate dish. It must be of good yellow color, and not too thick. If you find it too thick, add a little boiling water and a teaspoonful of sugar. Half veal and half chicken answers as well. A dish of rice, to be served separately with this soup, must be thus prepared: put three pints of water in a saucepan and one tablespoonful of salt; let this boil. Wash well, in three waters, half a pound of rice; strain it, and put it into the boiling water in saucepan. After it has come to the boil--which it will do in about two minutes--let it boil twenty minutes; strain it through a colander, and pour over it two quarts of cold water. This will separate the grains of rice. Put it back in the saucepan, and place it near the fire until hot enough to send to the table. This is also the proper way to boil rice for curries. If these directions are strictly carried out every grain of the rice will separate, and be thoroughly cooked. MOCK TURTLE SOUP, OF CALF'S HEAD. Scald a well-cleansed calf's head, remove the brain, tie it up in a cloth, and boil an hour, or until the meat will easily slip from the bone; take out, save the broth; cut it in small square pieces, and throw them into cold water; when cool, put it in a stewpan, and cover with some of the broth; let it boil until quite tender, and set aside. In another stewpan melt some butter, and in it put a quarter of a pound of lean ham, cut small, with fine herbs to taste; also parsley and one onion; add about a pint of the broth; let it simmer for two hours, and then dredge in a small quantity of flour; now add the remainder of the broth, and a quarter bottle of Madeira or sherry; let all stew quietly for ten minutes and rub it through a medium sieve; add the calf's head, season with a very little cayenne pepper, a little salt, the juice of one lemon, and, if desired, a quarter teaspoonful pounded mace and a dessert-spoon sugar. Having previously prepared force meat balls, add them to the soup, and five minutes after serve hot. GREEN TURTLE SOUP. One turtle, two onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, juice of one lemon, five quarts of water, a glass of Madeira. After removing the entrails, cut up the coarser parts of the turtle meat and bones. Add four quarts of water, and stew four hours with the herbs, onions, pepper and salt. Stew very slowly, do not let it cease boiling during this time. At the end of four hours strain the soup, and add the finer parts of the turtle and the green fat, which has been simmered one hour in two quarts of water. Thicken with brown flour; return to the soup-pot, and simmer gently for an hour longer. If there are eggs in the turtle, boil them in a separate vessel for four hours, and throw into the soup before taking up. If not, put in force meat balls; then the juice of the lemon, and the wine; beat up at once and pour out. Some cooks add the finer meat before straining, boiling all together five hours; then strain, thicken and put in the green fat, cut into lumps an inch long. This makes a handsomer soup than if the meat is left in. Green turtle can now be purchased preserved in air-tight cans. _Force Meat Balls for the Above._--Six tablespoonfuls of turtle meat chopped very fine. Rub to a paste, with the yolk of two hard-boiled eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, and, if convenient, a little oyster liquor. Season with cayenne, mace, half a teaspoonful of white sugar and a pinch of salt. Bind all with a well-beaten egg; shape into small balls; dip in egg, then powdered cracker; fry in butter, and drop into the soup when it is served. MACARONI SOUP. To a rich beef or other soup, in which there is no seasoning other than pepper or salt, take half a pound of small pipe macaroni, boil it in clear water until it is tender, then drain it and cut it in pieces of an inch length; boil it for fifteen minutes in the soup and serve. TURKEY SOUP. Take the turkey bones and boil three-quarters of an hour in water enough to cover them; add a little summer savory and celery chopped fine. Just before serving, thicken with a little flour (browned), and season with pepper, salt and a small piece of butter. This is a cheap but good soup, using the remains of cold turkey which might otherwise be thrown away. GUMBO OR OKRA SOUP. Fry out the fat of a slice of bacon or fat ham, drain it off, and in it fry the slices of a large onion brown; scald, peel and cut up two quarts fresh tomatoes, when in season (use canned tomatoes otherwise), and cut thin one quart okra; put them, together with a little chopped parsley, in a stew-kettle with about three quarts of hot broth of any kind; cook slowly for three hours, season with salt and pepper. Serve hot. In chicken broth the same quantity of okra pods, used for thickening instead of tomatoes, forms a chicken gumbo soup. TAPIOCA CREAM SOUP. One quart of white stock; one pint of cream or milk; one onion; two stalks celery; one-third of a cupful of tapioca; two cupfuls of cold water; one tablespoonful of butter; a small piece of mace; salt, pepper. Wash the tapioca and soak over night in cold water. Cook it and the stock together very gently for one hour. Cut the onion and celery into small pieces, and put on to cook for twenty minutes with the milk and mace. Strain on the tapioca and stock. Season with salt and pepper, add butter and serve. SOUPS WITHOUT MEAT. ONION SOUP. One quart of milk, six large onions, yolks of four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of butter, a large one of flour, one cup full of cream, salt, pepper. Put the butter in a frying pan. Cut the onions into thin slices and drop in the butter. Stir until they begin to cook; then cover tight and set back where they will simmer, but not burn, for half an hour. Now put the milk on to boil, and then add the dry flour to the onions and stir constantly for three minutes over the fire; then turn the mixture into the milk and cook fifteen minutes. Rub the soup through a strainer, return to the fire, season with salt and pepper. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, add the cream to them and stir into the soup. Cook three minutes, stirring constantly. If you have no cream, use milk, in which case add a tablespoonful of butter at the same time. Pour over fried croutons in a soup tureen. This is a refreshing dish when one is fatigued. WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP. Scrape and slice three turnips and three carrots and peel three onions, and fry all with a little butter until a light yellow; add a bunch of celery and three or four leeks cut in pieces; stir and fry all the ingredients for six minutes; when fried, add one clove of garlic, two stalks of parsley, two cloves, salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg; cover with three quarts of water and simmer for three hours, taking off the scum carefully. Strain and use. Croutons, vermicelli, Italian pastes, or rice may be added. VERMICELLI SOUP. Swell quarter of a pound of vermicelli in a quart of warm water, then add it to a good beef, veal, lamb, or chicken soup or broth, with quarter of a pound of sweet butter; let the soup boil for fifteen minutes after it is added. SWISS WHITE SOUP. A sufficient quantity of broth for six people; boil it; beat up three eggs well, two spoonfuls of flour, one cup milk; pour these gradually through a sieve into the boiling soup; salt and pepper. SPRING VEGETABLE SOUP. Half pint green peas, two shredded lettuces, one onion, a small bunch of parsley, two ounces butter, the yolks of three eggs, one pint of water, one and a half quarts of soup stock. Put in a stewpan the lettuce, onion, parsley and butter, with one pint of water, and let them simmer till tender. Season with salt and pepper. When done, strain off the vegetables, and put two-thirds of the liquor with the stock. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with the other third, toss it over the fire, and at the moment of serving add this with the vegetables to the strained-off soup. CELERY SOUP. Celery soup may be made with _white stock_. Cut down the white of half a dozen heads of celery into little pieces and boil it in four pints of white stock, with a quarter of a pound of lean ham and two ounces of butter. Simmer gently for a full hour, then strain through a sieve, return the liquor to the pan, and stir in a few spoonfuls of cream with great care. Serve with toasted bread, and if liked, thicken with a little flour. Season to taste. IRISH POTATO SOUP. Peel and boil eight medium-sized potatoes with a large onion sliced, some herbs, salt and pepper; press all through a colander; then thin it with rich milk and add a lump of butter, more seasoning, if necessary; let it heat well and serve hot. PEA SOUP. Put a quart of dried peas into five quarts of water; boil for four hours; then add three or four large onions, two heads of celery, a carrot, two turnips, all cut up rather fine. Season with pepper and salt. Boil two hours longer, and if the soup becomes too thick add more water. Strain through a colander and stir in a tablespoonful of cold butter. Serve hot, with small pieces of toasted bread placed in the bottom of the tureen. NOODLES FOR SOUP. Beat up one egg light, add a pinch of salt, and flour enough to make a _very stiff_ dough; roll out very thin, like thin pie crust, dredge with flour to keep from sticking. Let it remain on the bread board to dry for an hour or more; then roll it up into a tight scroll, like a sheet of music. Begin at the end and slice it into slips as thin as straws. After all are cut, mix them lightly together, and to prevent them sticking, keep them floured a little until you are ready to drop them into your soup which should be done shortly before dinner, for if boiled _too long_ they will go to pieces. FORCE MEAT BALLS FOR SOUP. One cupful of cooked veal or fowl meat, minced; mix with this a handful of fine bread crumbs, the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs rubbed smooth together with a tablespoon of milk; season with pepper and salt; add a half teaspoon of flour, and bind all together with two beaten eggs; the hands to be well floured, and the mixture to be made into little balls the size of a nutmeg; drop into the soup about twenty minutes before serving. EGG BALLS FOR SOUP. Take the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs and half a tablespoonful of wheat flour, rub them smooth with the yolks of two raw eggs and a teaspoonful of salt; mix all well together; make it in balls, and drop them into the boiling soup a few minutes before taking it up. Used in green turtle soup. EGG DUMPLINGS FOR SOUP. To half a pint of milk put two well-beaten eggs, and as much wheat flour as will make a smooth, rather _thick_ batter free from lumps; drop this batter, a tablespoonful at a time, into boiling soup. _Another Mode._--One cupful of sour cream and one cupful of sour milk, three eggs, well beaten, whites and yolks separately; one teaspoonful of salt, one level teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a spoonful of water, and enough flour added to make a _very stiff_ batter. To be dropped by spoonfuls into the broth and boiled twenty minutes, or until no raw dough shows on the outside. SUET DUMPLINGS FOR SOUP. Three cups of sifted flour in which three teaspoonfuls of baking powder have been sifted; one cup of finely chopped suet, well rubbed into the flour, with a teaspoonful of salt. Wet all with sweet milk to make a dough as stiff as biscuit. Make into small balls as large as peaches, well floured. Drop into the soup three-quarters of an hour before being served. This requires steady boiling, being closely covered, and the cover not to be removed until taken up to serve. A very good form of pot-pie. SOYER'S RECIPE FOR FORCE MEATS. Take 1-1/2 lbs. of lean veal from the fillet, and cut it in long thin slices; scrape with a knife till nothing but the fibre remains; put it in a mortar, pound it ten minutes or until in a purée; pass it through a wire sieve (use the remainder in stock), then take 1 lb. of good fresh beef suet, which skin, shred and chop very fine; put it in a mortar and pound it, then add 6 oz. of panada (that is, bread soaked in milk, and boiled till nearly dry) with the suet; pound them well together, and add the veal, season with 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 teaspoonful of pepper, 1/2 that of nutmeg; work all well together; then add four eggs by degrees, continually pounding the contents of the mortar. When well mixed, take a small piece in a spoon, and poach it in some boiling water, and if it is delicate, firm, and of a good flavor, it is ready for use. CROUTONS FOR SOUP. In a frying pan have the depth of an inch of boiling fat; also have prepared slices of stale bread cut up into little half-inch squares; drop into the frying pan enough of these bits of bread to cover the surface of the fat. When browned, remove with a skimmer and drain; add to the hot soup and serve. Some prefer them prepared in this manner: Take very thin slices of bread, butter them well; cut them up into little squares three-fourths of an inch thick, place them in a baking pan, buttered side up, and brown in a quick oven. FISH STOCK. Place a saucepan over the fire with a good-sized piece of sweet butter and a sliced onion; put into that some sliced tomatoes, then add as many different kinds of fish as you can get--oysters, clams, smelts, pawns, crabs, shrimps and all kinds of pan-fish; cook all together until the onions are well browned; then add a bunch of sweet herbs, salt and pepper, and sufficient water to make the required amount of stock. After this has cooked for half an hour pound it with a wooden pestle, then strain and cook again until it jellies. FISH SOUP. Select a large, fine fish, clean it thoroughly, put it over the fire with a sufficient quantity of water, allowing for each pound of fish one quart of water; add an onion cut fine and a bunch of sweet herbs. When the fish is cooked, and is quite tasteless, strain all through a colander, return to the fire, add some butter, salt and pepper to taste. A small tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce may be added if liked. Serve with small squares of fried bread and thin slices of lemon. LOBSTER SOUP, OR BISQUE. Have ready a good broth made of three pounds of veal boiled slowly in as much water as will cover it, till the meat is reduced to shreds. It must then be well strained. Having boiled one fine middle-sized lobster, extract all the meat from the body and claws. Bruise part of the coral in a mortar, and also an equal quantity of the meat. Mix them well together. Add mace, cayenne, salt and pepper, and make them up into force meat balls, binding the mixture with the yolk of an egg slightly beaten. Take three quarts of the veal broth and put it into the meat of the lobster cut into mouthfuls. Boil it together about twenty minutes. Then thicken it with the remaining coral (which you must first rub through a sieve), and add the force meat balls and a little butter rolled in flour. Simmer it gently for ten minutes, but do not let it come to a boil, as that will injure the color. Serve with small dice of bread fried brown in butter. OYSTER SOUP, No. 1. Two quarts of oysters, one quart of milk, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one teacupful of hot water; pepper, salt. Strain all the liquor from the oysters; add the water, and heat. When near the boil, add the seasoning, then the oysters. Cook about five minutes from the time they begin to simmer, until they "ruffle." Stir in the butter, cook one minute, and pour into the tureen. Stir in the boiling milk and send to table. Some prefer all water in place of milk. [Illustration: IDA SAXTON McKINLEY.] OYSTER SOUP. No. 2. Scald one gallon of oysters in their own liquor. Add one quart of rich milk to the liquor, and when it comes to a boil, skim out the oysters and set aside. Add the yolks of four eggs, two good tablespoonfuls of butter, and one of flour, all mixed well together, but in this order--first, the milk, then, after beating the eggs, add a little of the hot liquor to them gradually, and stir them rapidly into the soup. Lastly, add the butter and whatever seasoning you fancy besides plain pepper and salt, which must both be put in to taste with caution. Celery salt most persons like extremely; others would prefer a little marjoram or thyme; others again mace and a bit of onion. Use your own discretion in this regard. CLAM SOUP. (French Style.) Mince two dozen hard shell clams very fine. Fry half a minced onion in an ounce of butter; add to it a pint of hot water, a pinch of mace, four cloves, one allspice and six whole pepper corns. Boil fifteen minutes and strain into a saucepan; add the chopped clams and a pint of clam-juice or hot water; simmer slowly two hours; strain and rub the pulp through a sieve into the liquid. Return it to the saucepan and keep it lukewarm. Boil three half-pints of milk in a saucepan (previously wet with cold water, which prevents burning) and whisk it into the soup. Dissolve a teaspoonful of flour in cold milk, add it to the soup, taste for seasoning; heat it gently to near the boiling point; pour into a tureen previously heated with hot water, and serve with or without pieces of fried bread--called _croutons_ in kitchen French. CLAM SOUP. Twenty-five clams chopped fine. Put over the fire the liquor that was drained from them, and a cup of water; add the chopped clams and boil half an hour; then season to taste with pepper and salt and a piece of butter as large as an egg; boil up again and add one quart of milk boiling hot, stir in a tablespoon of flour made to a cream with a little cold milk, or two crackers rolled fine. Some like a little mace and lemon juice in the seasoning. MODES OF FRYING The usual custom among professional cooks is to entirely immerse the article to be cooked in boiling fat, but from inconvenience most households use the half-frying method of frying in a small amount of fat in a frying pan. For the first method a shallow iron frying kettle, large at the top and small at the bottom, is best to use. The fat should half fill the kettle, or an amount sufficient to float whatever is to be fried; the heat of the fat should get to such a degree that, when a piece of bread or a teaspoonful of the batter is dropped in it, it will become brown almost instantly, but should not be so hot as to burn the fat. Some cooks say that the fat should be smoking, but my experience is, that is a mistake, as that soon ruins the fat. As soon as it begins to smoke it should be removed a little to one side, and still be kept at the boiling point. If fritters, crullers, croquettes, etc., are dropped into fat that is too hot, it crusts over the outside before the inside has fully risen, making a heavy, hard article, and also ruining the fat, giving it a burnt flavor. Many French cooks prefer beef fat or suet to lard for frying purposes, considering it more wholesome and digestible, does not impart as much flavor, or adhere or soak into the article cooked as pork fat. In families of any size, where there is much cooking required, there are enough drippings and fat remnants from roasts of beef, skimmings from the soup kettle, with the addition of occasionally a pound of suet from the market, to amply supply the need. All such remnants and skimmings should be clarified about twice a week, by boiling them all together in water. When the fat is all melted, it should be strained with the water and set aside to cool. After the fat on the top has hardened, lift the cake from the water on which it lies, scrape off all the dark particles from the bottom, then melt over again the fat; while hot strain into a small clean stone jar or bright tin pail, and then it is ready for use. Always after frying anything, the fat should stand until it settles and has cooled somewhat; then turn off carefully so as to leave it clear from the sediment that settles at the bottom. Refined cotton-seed oil is now being adopted by most professional cooks in hotels, restaurants and many private households for culinary purposes, and will doubtless in future supersede animal fats, especially for frying, it being quite as delicate a medium as frying with olive oil. It is now sold by leading grocers, put up in packages of two and four quarts. The second mode of frying, using a frying pan with a small quantity of fat or grease, to be done properly, should, in the first place, have the frying pan hot over the fire, and the fat in it _actually boiling_ before the article to be cooked is placed in it, the intense heat quickly searing up the pores of the article and forming a brown crust on the lower side, then turning over and browning the other the same way. Still, there is another mode of frying; the process is somewhat similar to broiling, the hot frying pan or spider replacing the hot fire. To do this correctly, a thick bottomed frying pan should be used. Place it over the fire, and when it is so hot that it will siss, oil over the bottom of the pan with a piece of suet, that is if the meat is all lean; if not, it is not necessary to grease the bottom of the pan. Lay in the meat quite flat, and brown it quickly, first on one side, then on the other; when sufficiently cooked, dish on a _hot_ platter and season the same as broiled meats. FISH. In selecting fish, choose those only in which the eye is full and prominent, the flesh thick and firm, the scales bright and fins stiff. They should be thoroughly cleaned before cooking. The usual modes of cooking fish are boiled, baked, broiled, fried and occasionally stewed. Steaming fish is much superior to boiling, but the ordinary conveniences in private houses do not admit of the possibility of enjoying this delicate way of cooking it. Large fish are generally boiled, medium-sized ones baked or boiled, the smaller kinds fried or broiled. Very large fish, such as cod, halibut, etc., are cut in steaks or slices for frying or broiling. The heads of some fish, as the cod, halibut, etc., are considered tidbits by many. Small fish, or pan-fish, as they are usually called, are served without the heads, with the exception of brook-trout and smelts; these are usually cooked whole, with the heads on. Bake fish slowly, basting often with butter and water. Salmon is considered the most nutritious of all fish. When boiling fish, by adding a little vinegar and salt to the water, it seasons and prevents the nutriment from being drawn out; the vinegar acting on the water hardens the water. Fill the fish with a nicely prepared stuffing of rolled cracker or stale bread crumbs, seasoned with butter, pepper, salt, sage and any other aromatic herbs fancied; sew up; wrap in a well-floured cloth, tied closely with twine, and boil or steam. The garnishes for boiled fish are: for turbot, fried smelts; for other boiled fish, parsley, sliced beets, lemon or sliced boiled egg. Do not use the knives, spoons, etc., that are used in cooking fish, for other food, as they will be apt to impart a fishy flavor. Fish to be boiled should be put into _cold water_ and set on the fire to cook very gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done. Unless the fish are small, they should never be put into warm water; nor should water, either hot or cold, be poured _on_ to the fish, as it is liable to break the skin; if it should be necessary to add a little water while the fish is cooking, it ought to be poured in gently at the side of the vessel. Fish to be broiled should lie, after they are dressed, for two or three hours, with their inside well sprinkled with salt and pepper. Salt fish should be soaked in water before boiling, according to the time it has been in salt. When it is hard and dry, it will require thirty-six hours soaking before it is dressed, and the water must be changed three or four times. When fish is not very salt, twenty-four hours, or even one night, will suffice. When frying fish the fire must be hot enough to bring the fat to such a degree of heat as to sear the surface and make it impervious to the fat, and at the same time seal up the rich juices. As soon as the fish is browned by this sudden application of heat, the pan may be moved to a cooler place on the stove, that the process may be finished more slowly. Fat in which fish has been fried is just as good to use again for the same purpose, but it should be kept by itself and not put to any other use. TO FRY FISH. Most of the smaller fish (generally termed pan-fish) are usually fried. Clean well, cut off the head, and, if quite large, cut out the backbone, and slice the body crosswise into five or six pieces; season with salt and pepper. Dip in Indian meal or wheat flour, or in beaten egg, and roll in bread or fine cracker crumbs--trout and perch should not be dipped in meal; put into a thick bottomed iron frying pan, the flesh side down, with hot lard or drippings; fry slowly, turning when lightly browned. The following method may be deemed preferable: Dredge the pieces with flour; brush them over with beaten egg; roll in bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard or drippings sufficient to cover, the same as frying crullers. If the fat is very hot, the fish will fry without absorbing it, and it will be palatably cooked. When browned on one side, turn it over in the fat and brown the other, draining when done. This is a particularly good way to fry slices of large fish. Serve with tomato sauce; garnish with slices of lemon. PAN-FISH. Place them in a thick bottomed frying pan with heads all one way. Fill the spaces with smaller fish. When they are fried quite brown and ready to turn, put a dinner plate over them, drain off the fat; then invert the pan, and they will be left unbroken on the plate. Put the lard back into the pan, and when _hot_ slip back the fish. When the other side is brown, drain, turn on a plate as before, and slip them on a warm platter, to be sent to the table. Leaving the heads on and the fish a crispy-brown, in perfect shape, improves the appearance if not the flavor. Garnish with slices of lemon. _Hotel Lafayette, Philadelphia._ BAKED PICKEREL. Carefully clean and wipe the fish, and lay in a dripping pan with enough hot water to prevent scorching. A perforated sheet of tin, fitting loosely, or several muffin rings may be used to keep it off the bottom. Lay it in a circle on its belly, head and tail touching, and tied, or as directed in note on fish; bake slowly, basting often with butter and water. When done, have ready a cup of sweet cream or rich milk to which a few spoons of hot water has been added; stir in two large spoons of melted butter and a little chopped parsley; heat all by setting the cup in boiling water; add the gravy from the dripping-pan, and let it boil up once; place the fish in a hot dish and pour over it the sauce. Or an egg sauce may be made with drawn butter; stir in the yolk of an egg quickly, and then a teaspoon of chopped parsley. It can be stuffed or not, just as you please. BOILED SALMON. The middle slice of salmon is the best. Sew up neatly in a mosquito-net bag, and boil a quarter of an hour to the pound in hot salted water. When done, unwrap with care, and lay upon a hot dish, taking care not to break it. Have ready a large cupful of drawn butter, very rich, in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of minced parsley and the juice of a lemon. Pour half upon the salmon and serve the rest in a boat. Garnish with parsley and sliced eggs. BROILED SALMON. Cut slices from an inch to an inch and an half thick, dry them in a cloth, season with salt and pepper, dredge them in sifted flour, and broil on a gridiron rubbed with suet. _Another Mode._--Cut the slices one inch thick, and season them with pepper and salt; butter a sheet of white paper, lay each slice on a separate piece, envelop them in it with their ends twisted; broil gently over a clear fire, and serve with anchovy or caper sauce. When higher seasoning is required, add a few chopped herbs and a little spice. FRESH SALMON FRIED. Cut the slices three-quarters of an inch thick, dredge them with flour, or dip them in egg and crumbs; fry a light brown. This mode answers for all fish cut into steaks. Season well with salt and pepper. SALMON AND CAPER SAUCE. Two slices of salmon, one-quarter pound butter, one-half teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one shallot; salt and pepper to taste. Lay the salmon in a baking dish, place pieces of butter over it, and add the other ingredients, rubbing a little of the seasoning into the fish; place it in the oven and baste it frequently; when done, take it out and drain for a minute or two; lay it in a dish, pour caper sauce over it and serve. Salmon dressed in this way, with tomato sauce, is very delicious. BROILED SALT SALMON OR OTHER SALT FISH. Soak salmon in tepid or cold water twenty-four hours, changing water several times, or let stand under faucet of running water. If in a hurry, or desiring a very salt relish, it may do to soak a short time, having water warm, and changing, parboiling slightly. At the hour wanted, broil sharply. Season to suit taste, covering with butter. This recipe will answer for all kinds of salt fish. PICKLED SALMON. Take a fine, fresh salmon, and, having cleaned it, cut it into large pieces, and boil it in salted water as if for eating. Then drain it, wrap it in a dry cloth, and set it in a cold place till next day. Then make the pickle, which must be in proportion to the quantity of fish. To one quart of the water in which the salmon was boiled, allow two quarts of the best vinegar, one ounce of whole black pepper, one nutmeg grated and a dozen blades of mace. Boil all these together in a kettle closely covered to prevent the flavor from evaporating. When the vinegar thus prepared is quite cold, pour it over the salmon, and put on the top a tablespoonful of sweet oil, which will make it keep the longer. Cover it closely, put it in a dry, cool place, and it will be good for many months. This is the nicest way of preserving salmon, and is approved by all who have tried it. SMOKED SALMON. Smoked salmon to be broiled should be put upon the gridiron first, with the flesh side to the fire. Smoked salmon is very nice when shaved like smoked beef, and served with coffee or tea. FRICASSEE SALMON. This way of cooking fresh salmon is a pleasant change from the ordinary modes of cooking it. Cut one and one-half pounds of salmon into pieces one inch square; put the pieces in a stewpan with half a cupful of water, a little salt, a little white pepper, one clove, one blade of mace, three pieces of sugar, one shallot and a heaping teaspoonful of mustard mixed smoothly with half a teacupful of vinegar. Let this boil up once and add six tomatoes peeled and cut into tiny pieces, a few sprigs of parsley finely minced, and one wine-glassful of sherry. Let all simmer gently for three-quarters of an hour. Serve very hot, and garnish with dry toast cut in triangular pieces. This dish is good, very cold, for luncheon or breakfast. SALMON PATTIES. Cut cold, cooked salmon into dice. Heat about a pint of the dice in half a pint of cream. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt. Fill the shells and serve. Cold, cooked fish of any kind may be made into patties in this way. Use any fish sauce you choose--all are equally good. FISH AND OYSTER PIE. Any remains of cold fish, such as cod or haddock, 2 dozen oysters, pepper and salt to taste, bread crumbs, sufficient for the quantity of fish; 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. Clear the fish from the bones, and put a layer of it in a pie-dish, which sprinkle with pepper and salt; then a layer of bread crumbs, oysters, nutmeg and chopped parsley. Repeat this till the dish is quite full. You may form a covering either of bread crumbs, which should be browned, or puff-paste, which should be cut off into long strips, and laid in cross-bars over the fish, with a line of the paste first laid round the edge. Before putting on the top, pour in some made melted butter, or a little thin white sauce, and the oyster-liquor, and bake. _Time_.--If of cooked fish, 1/4 hour; if made of fresh fish and puff-paste, 3/4 hour. STEAMED FISH. Secure the tail of the fish in its mouth, the body in a circle; pour over it half a pint of vinegar, seasoned with pepper and salt; let it stand an hour in a cool place; pour off the vinegar, and put it in a steamer over boiling water, and steam twenty minutes, or longer for large fish. When the meat easily separates from the bone it is done. Drain well and serve on a very clean white napkin, neatly folded and placed on the platter; decorate the napkin around the fish with sprigs of curled parsley, or with fanciful beet cuttings, or alternately with both. TO BROIL A SHAD. Split and wash the shad and afterwards dry it in a cloth. Season it with salt and pepper. Have ready a bed of clear, bright coals. Grease your gridiron well, and as soon as it is hot, lay the shad upon it, the flesh side down; cover with a dripping-pan and broil it for about a quarter of an hour, or more, according to the thickness. Butter it well and send it to the table. Covering it while broiling gives it a more delicious flavor. BAKED SHAD. Many people are of the opinion that the very best method of cooking a shad is to bake it. Stuff it with bread crumbs, salt, pepper, butter and parsley, and mix this up with the beaten yolk of egg; fill the fish with it, and sew it up or fasten a string around it. Pour over it a little water and some butter, and bake as you would a fowl. A shad will require from an hour to an hour and a quarter to bake. Garnish with slices of lemon, water cress, etc. _Dressing for Baked Shad._--Boil up the gravy in which the shad was baked, put in a large tablespoonful of catsup, a tablespoonful of brown flour which has been wet with cold water, the juice of a lemon, and a glass of sherry or Madeira wine. Serve in a sauce boat. TO COOK A SHAD ROE. Drop into boiling water and cook gently for twenty minutes; then take from the fire and drain. Butter a tin plate and lay the drained roe upon it. Dredge well with salt and pepper and spread soft butter over it; then dredge thickly with flour. Cook in the oven for half an hour, basting frequently with salt, pepper, flour, butter and water. TO COOK SHAD ROE. (Another Way.) First partly boil them in a small covered pan, take out and season them with salt, a little pepper, dredge with flour and fry as any fish. BOILED BASS. After thoroughly cleaning it place in a saucepan with enough water to cover it; add two tablespoonfuls of salt; set the saucepan over the fire, and when it has boiled about five minutes try to pull out one of the fins; if it loosens easily from the body carefully take the fish out of the water, lay it on a platter, surround it with half a dozen hard-boiled eggs, and serve it with a sauce. BOILED BLUEFISH. Boiled the same as BASS. BAKED BLUEFISH. Baked the same as BAKED SHAD--see page 55. FRIED EELS. After cleaning the eels well, cut them in pieces two inches long; wash them and wipe them dry; roll them in wheat flour or rolled cracker, and fry, as directed for other fish, in hot lard or beef dripping, salted. They should be browned all over and thoroughly done. Eels are sometimes dipped in batter and then fried, or into egg and bread crumbs. Serve with crisped parsley. SHEEPSHEAD WITH DRAWN BUTTER. Select a medium-sized fish, clean it thoroughly, and rub a little salt over it; wrap it in a cloth and put it in a steamer; place this over a pot of fast-boiling water and steam one hour; then lay it whole upon a hot side-dish, garnish with tufts of parsley and slices of lemon, and serve with drawn butter, prepared as follows: Take two ounces of butter and roll it into small balls, dredge these with flour; put one-fourth of them in a saucepan, and as they begin to melt, whisk them; add the remainder, one at a time, until thoroughly smooth; while stirring, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice, half a tablespoonful of chopped parsley; pour into a hot sauce boat and serve. BAKED WHITE FISH. Thoroughly clean the fish; cut off the head or not, as preferred; cut out the backbone from the head to within two inches of the tail, and stuff with the following: Soak stale bread in water, squeeze dry; cut in pieces a large onion, fry in butter, chop fine; add the bread, two ounces of butter, salt, pepper and a little parsley or sage; heat through, and when taken off the fire, add the yolks of two well-beaten eggs; stuff the fish rather full, sew up with fine twine, and wrap with several coils of white tape. Rub the fish over slightly with butter; just cover the bottom of a baking pan with hot water, and place the fish in it, standing back upward, and bent in the form of an S. Serve with the following dressing: Reduce the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs to a smooth paste with two tablespoonfuls good salad oil; stir in half a teaspoon English mustard, and add pepper and vinegar to taste. HALIBUT BOILED. The cut next to the tail-piece is the best to boil. Rub a little salt over it, soak it for fifteen minutes in vinegar and cold water, then wash it and scrape it until quite clean; tie it in a cloth and boil slowly over a moderate fire, allowing seven minutes' boiling to each pound of fish; when it is half-cooked, turn it over in the pot; serve with drawn butter or egg sauce. Boiled halibut minced with boiled potatoes and a little butter and milk makes an excellent breakfast dish. STEAMED HALIBUT. Select a three-pound piece of white halibut, cover it with a cloth and place it in a steamer; set the steamer over a pot of fast-boiling water and steam two hours; place it on a hot dish surrounded with a border of parsley and serve with egg sauce. FRIED HALIBUT. No. 1. Select choice, firm slices from this large and delicate looking fish, and, after carefully washing and drying with a soft towel, with a sharp knife take off the skin. Beat up two eggs and roll out some brittle crackers upon the kneading board until they are as fine as dust. Dip each slice into the beaten egg, then into the cracker crumbs (after you have salted and peppered the fish), and place them in a hot frying pan half full of boiling lard, in which a little butter has been added to make the fish brown nicely; turn and brown both sides, remove from frying pan and drain. Serve hot. FRIED HALIBUT. No. 2. First fry a few thin slices of salt pork until brown in an iron frying pan; then take it up on a hot platter and keep it warm until the halibut is fried. After washing and drying two pounds of sliced halibut, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, dredge it well with flour, put it into the hot pork drippings and fry brown on both sides; then serve the pork with the fish. Halibut broiled in slices is a very good way of cooking it, broiled the same as Spanish mackerel. BAKED HALIBUT. Take a nice piece of halibut weighing five or six pounds and lay it in salt water for two hours. Wipe it dry and score the outer skin. Set it in a dripping pan in a moderately hot oven and bake an hour, basting often with butter and water heated together in a sauce pan or tin cup. When a fork will penetrate it easily, it is done. It should be a fine, brown color. Take the gravy in the dripping pan, add a little boiling water, should there not be enough, stir in a tablespoonful of walnut catsup, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, the juice of a lemon, and thicken with brown flour, previously wet with cold water. Boil up once and put in a sauce boat. HALIBUT BROILED. Broil the same as other fish, upon a buttered gridiron, over a clear fire, first seasoning with salt and pepper, placed on a hot dish when done, buttered well and covered closely. FRIED BROOK TROUT. These delicate fish are usually fried, and form a delightful breakfast or supper dish. Clean, wash and dry the fish, split them to the tail, salt and pepper them, and flour them nicely. If you use lard instead of the fat of fried salt pork, put in a piece of butter to prevent their sticking, and which causes them to brown nicely. Let the fat be hot; fry quickly to a delicate brown. They should be sufficiently browned on one side before turning on the other. They are nice served with slices of fried pork, fried crisp. Lay them side by side on a heated platter, garnish and send hot to the table. They are often cooked and served with their heads on. FRIED SMELTS. Fried with their heads on the same as brook trout. Many think that they make a much better appearance as a dish when cooked whole with the heads on, and nicely garnished for the table. BOILED WHITE FISH. _Taken from Mrs. A. W. Ferry's Cook Book, Mackinac, 1824._ The most delicate mode of cooking white fish. Prepare the fish as for broiling, laying it open; put it into a dripping pan with the back down; nearly cover with water; to one fish two tablespoonfuls of salt; cover tightly and simmer (not boil) one-half hour. Dress with gravy, a little butter and pepper, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs. BAKED WHITE FISH. (Bordeaux Sauce.) Clean and stuff the fish. Put it in a baking pan and add a liberal quantity of butter, previously rolled in flour, to the fish. Put in the pan half a pint of claret, and bake for an hour and a quarter. Remove the fish and strain the gravy; add to the latter a gill more of claret, a teaspoonful of brown flour and a pinch of cayenne, and serve with the fish. _Plankington House, Milwaukee._ BAKED SALMON TROUT. This deliciously flavored game-fish is baked precisely as shad or white fish, but should be accompanied with cream gravy to make it perfect. It should be baked slowly, basting often with butter and water. When done have ready in a saucepan a cup of cream, diluted with a few spoonfuls of hot water, for fear it might clot in heating, in which have been stirred cautiously two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, a scant tablespoonful of flour, and a little chopped parsley. Heat this in a vessel set within another of boiling water, add the gravy from the dripping-pan, boil up once to thicken, and when the trout is laid on a suitable hot dish, pour this sauce around it. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. This same fish boiled, served with the same cream gravy (with the exception of the fish gravy), is the proper way to cook it. TO BAKE SMELTS. Wash and dry them thoroughly in a cloth, and arrange them nicely in a flat baking-dish; the pan should be buttered, also the fish; season with salt and pepper, and cover with bread or cracker crumbs. Place a piece of butter over each. Bake for fifteen or twenty minutes. Garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon. BROILED SPANISH MACKEREL. Split the fish down the back, take out the backbone, wash it in cold water, dry it with a clean, dry cloth, sprinkle it lightly with salt and lay it on a buttered gridiron, over a clear fire, with the flesh side downward, until it begins to brown; then turn the other side. Have ready a mixture of two tablespoonfuls of butter melted, a tablespoonful of lemon juice, a teaspoonful of salt, some pepper. Dish up the fish hot from the gridiron on a hot dish, turn over the mixture and serve it while hot. Broiled Spanish mackerel is excellent with other fish sauces. Boiled Spanish mackerel is also very fine with most of the fish sauces, more especially "Matre d'Hotel Sauce." BOILED SALT MACKEREL. Wash and clean off all the brine and salt; put it to soak with the meat side down, in cold water over night; in the morning rinse it in one or two waters. Wrap each up in a cloth and put it into a kettle with considerable water, which should be cold; cook about thirty minutes. Take it carefully from the cloth, take out the backbones and pour over a little melted butter and cream; add a light sprinkle of pepper. Or make a cream sauce like the following: Heat a small cup of milk to scalding. Stir into it a teaspoonful of cornstarch wet up with a little water. When this thickens, add two tablespoonfuls of butter, pepper, salt and chopped parsley, to taste. Beat an egg light, pour the sauce gradually over it, put the mixture again over the fire, and stir one minute, not more. Pour upon the fish, and serve it with some slices of lemon, or a few sprigs of parsley or water-cress, on the dish as a garnish. BAKED SALT MACKEREL. When the mackerel have soaked over night, put them in a pan and pour on boiling water enough to cover. Let them stand a couple of minutes, then drain them off, and put them in the pan with a few lumps of butter; pour on a half teacupful of sweet cream, or rich milk, and a little pepper; set in the oven and let it bake a little until brown. FRIED SALT MACKEREL. Select as many salt mackerel as required; wash and cleanse them well, then put them to soak all day in _cold_ water, changing them every two hours; then put them into fresh water just before retiring. In the morning drain off the water, wipe them dry, roll them in flour, and fry in a little butter on a hot, thick-bottomed frying pan. Serve with a little melted butter poured over, and garnish with a little parsley. BOILED FRESH MACKEREL. Fresh mackerel are cooked in water salted, and a little vinegar added; with this exception they can be served in the same way as the salt mackerel. Broiled ones are very nice with the same cream sauce, or you can substitute egg sauce. POTTED FRESH FISH. After the fish has laid in salt water six hours, take it out, and to every six pounds of fish take one-quarter cupful each of salt, black pepper and cinnamon, one-eighth cupful of allspice, and one teaspoonful of cloves. Cut the fish in pieces and put into a half gallon stone baking-jar, first a layer of fish, then the spices, flour, and then spread a thin layer of butter on, and continue so until the dish is full. Fill the jar with equal parts of vinegar and water, cover with tightly fitting lid, so that the steam cannot escape; bake five hours, remove from the oven, and when it is cold it is to be cut in slices and served. This is a tea or lunch dish. SCALLOPED CRABS. Put the crabs into a kettle of boiling water, and throw in a handful of salt. Boil from twenty minutes to half an hour. Take them from the water when done and pick out all the meat; be careful not to break the shell. To a pint of meat put a little salt and pepper; taste, and if not enough add more, a little at a time, till suited. Grate in a very little nutmeg and add one spoonful of cracker or bread crumbs, two eggs well beaten, and two tablespoonfuls of butter (even full); stir all well together; wash the shells clean, and fill each shell full of the mixture; sprinkle crumbs over the top and moisten with the liquor; set in the oven till of a nice brown; a few minutes will do it. Send to the table hot, arranged on large dishes. They are eaten at breakfast or supper. FISH IN WHITE SAUCE. Flake up cold boiled halibut and set the plate into the steamer, that the fish may heat without drying. Boil the bones and skin of the fish with a slice of onion and a _very_ small piece of red pepper; a bit of this the size of a kernel of coffee will make the sauce quite as hot as most persons like it. Boil this stock down to half a pint; thicken with one teaspoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of flour, mixed together. Add one drop of extract of almond. Pour this sauce over your halibut and stick bits of parsley over it. FRESH STURGEON STEAK MARINADE. Take one slice of sturgeon two inches thick; let it stand in hot water five minutes; drain, put it in a bowl and add a gill of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of black pepper and the juice of half a lemon; let it stand six hours, turning it occasionally; drain and dry on a napkin; dip it in egg; roll in bread crumbs and fry, or rather boil, in very hot fat. Beat up the yolks of two raw eggs, add a teaspoonful of French mustard, and by degrees, half of the marinade, to make a smooth sauce, which serve with the fish. POTTED FISH. Take out the backbone of the fish; for one weighing two pounds take a tablespoonful of allspice and cloves mixed; these spices should be put into little bags of not too thick muslin; put sufficient salt directly upon each fish; then roll in cloth, over which sprinkle a little cayenne pepper; put alternate layers of fish, spice and sage in an earthen jar; cover with the best cider vinegar; cover the jar closely with a plate, and over this, put a covering of dough, rolled out to twice the thickness of pie crust. Make the edges of paste, to adhere closely to the sides of the jar, so as to make it air tight. Put the jar into a pot of cold water and let it boil from three to five hours, according to quantity. Ready when cold. MAYONNAISE FISH. Take a pound or so of cold boiled fish (halibut, rock or cod), not chop, but cut, into pieces an inch in length. Mix in a bowl a dressing as follows: The yolks of four boiled eggs rubbed to a smooth paste with salad oil or butter; add to these salt, pepper, mustard, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, and, lastly, six tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Beat the mixture until light, and just before pouring it over the fish, stir in lightly the frothed white of a raw egg. Serve the fish in a glass dish, with half the dressing stirred in with it. Spread the remainder over the top, and lay lettuce leaves (from the core of the head of lettuce) around the edges, to be eaten with it. FISH CHOWDER. (Rhode Island.) Fry five or six slices of fat pork crisp in the bottom of the pot you are to make your chowder in; take them out and chop them into small pieces, put them back into the bottom of the pot with their own gravy. (This is much better than having the slices whole.) Cut four pounds of fresh cod or sea-bass into pieces two inches square, and lay enough of these on the pork to cover it. Follow with a layer of chopped onions, a little parsley, summer savory and pepper, either black or cayenne. Then a layer of split Boston, or butter, or whole cream crackers, which have been soaked in warm water until moistened through, but not ready to break. Above this put a layer of pork and repeat the order given above--onions, seasoning (not too much), crackers and pork, until your materials are exhausted. Let the topmost layer be buttered crackers well soaked. Pour in enough cold water to barely cover all. Cover the pot, stew gently for an hour, watching that the water does not sink too low. Should it leave the upper layer exposed, replenish cautiously from the boiling tea-kettle. When the chowder is thoroughly done, take out with a perforated skimmer and put into a tureen. Thicken the gravy with a tablespoonful of flour and about the same quantity of butter; boil up and pour over the chowder. Serve sliced lemon, pickles and stewed tomatoes with it, that the guests may add if they like. CODFISH BALLS. Take a pint bowl of codfish picked very fine, two pint bowls of whole raw peeled potatoes, sliced thickly; put them together in plenty of cold water and boil until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked; remove from the fire and drain off all the water. Mash them with the potato masher, add a piece of butter the size of an egg, one well-beaten egg, and three spoonfuls of cream or rich milk. Flour your hands and make into balls or cakes. Put an ounce each of butter and lard into a frying pan; when hot, put in the balls and fry a nice brown. Do not freshen the fish before boiling with the potatoes. Many cooks fry them in a quantity of lard similar to boiled doughnuts. STEWED CODFISH. (Salt.) Take a thick, white piece of salt codfish, lay it in cold water for a few minutes to soften it a little, enough to render it more easily to be picked up. Shred it in very small bits, put it over the fire in a stew pan with cold water; let it come to a boil, turn off this water carefully, and add a pint of milk to the fish, or more according to quantity. Set it over the fire again and let it boil slowly about three minutes, now add a good-sized piece of butter, a shake of pepper and a thickening of a tablespoonful of flour in enough cold milk to make a cream. Stew five minutes longer, and just before serving stir in two well-beaten eggs. The eggs are an addition that could be dispensed with, however, as it is very good without them. An excellent breakfast dish. CODFISH A LA MODE. Pick up a teacupful of salt codfish very fine and freshen--the desiccated is nice to use; two cups mashed potatoes, one pint cream or milk, two well-beaten eggs, half a cup butter, salt and pepper; mix; bake in an earthen baking dish from twenty to twenty-five minutes; serve in the same dish, placed on a small platter, covered with a fine napkin. BOILED FRESH COD. Sew up the piece of fish in thin cloth, fitted to shape; boil in salted water (boiling from the first), allowing about fifteen minutes to the pound. Carefully unwrap and pour over it warm oyster sauce. A whole one boiled the same. _Hotel Brighton._ SCALLOPED FISH. Pick any cold fresh fish, or salt codfish, left from the dinner, into fine bits, carefully removing all the bones. Take a pint of milk in a suitable dish and place it in a saucepan of boiling water; put into it a few slices of onion cut very fine, a sprig of parsley minced fine, add a piece of butter as large as an egg, a pinch of salt, a sprinkle of white pepper, then stir in two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, or flour, rubbed in a little cold milk; let all boil up and remove from the fire. Take a dish you wish to serve it in, butter the sides and bottom. Put first a layer of the minced fish, then a layer of the cream, then sprinkle over that some cracker or bread crumbs, then a layer of fish again, and so on until the dish is full; spread cracker or bread crumbs last on the top to prevent the milk from scorching. This is a very good way to use up cold fish, making a nice breakfast dish, or a side dish for dinner. FISH FRITTERS. Take a piece of salt codfish, pick it up very fine, put it into a saucepan, with plenty of _cold_ water; bring it to a boil, turn off the water, and add another of cold water; let this boil with the fish about fifteen minutes, very slowly; strain off this water, making the fish quite dry, and set aside to cool. In the meantime, stir up a batter of a pint of milk, four eggs, a pinch of salt, one large teaspoonful of baking powder in flour, enough to make thicker than batter cakes. Stir in the fish and fry like any fritters. Very fine accompaniment to a good breakfast. BOILED SALT CODFISH. (New England Style.) Cut the fish into square pieces, cover with cold water, set on the back part of the stove; when hot, pour off water and cover again with cold water; let it stand about four hours and simmer, not boil; put the fish on a platter, then cover with a drawn-butter gravy and serve. Many cooks prefer soaking the fish over night. BOILED CODFISH AND OYSTER SAUCE. Lay the fish in cold, salted water half an hour before it is time to cook it, then roll it in a clean cloth dredged with flour; sew up the edges in such a manner as to envelop the fish entirely, yet have but _one_ thickness of cloth over any part. Put the fish into boiling water slightly salted; add a few whole cloves and peppers and a bit of lemon peel; pull gently on the fins, and when they come out easily the fish is done. Arrange neatly on a folded napkin, garnish and serve with oyster sauce. Take six oysters to every pound of fish and scald (blanch) them in a half-pint of hot oyster liquor; take out the oysters and add to the liquor, salt, pepper, a bit of mace and an ounce of butter; whip into it a gill of milk containing half of a teaspoonful of flour. Simmer a moment; add the oysters, and send to table in a sauce boat. Egg sauce is good with this fish. BAKED CODFISH. If salt fish, soak, boil and pick the fish, the same as for fish-balls. Add an equal quantity of mashed potatoes, or cold, boiled, chopped potatoes, a large piece of butter, and warm milk enough to make it quite soft. Put it into a buttered dish, rub butter over the top, shake over a little sifted flour, and bake about thirty minutes, and until a rich brown. Make a sauce of drawn butter, with two hard-boiled eggs sliced, served in a gravy boat. CODFISH STEAK. (New England Style.) Select a medium-sized fresh codfish, cut it in steaks crosswise of the fish, about an inch and a half thick; sprinkle a little salt over them, and let them stand two hours. Cut into dice a pound of salt fat pork, fry out all the fat from them and remove the crisp bits of pork; put the codfish steaks in a pan of corn meal, dredge them with it, and when the pork fat is smoking hot, fry the steaks in it to a dark brown color on both sides. Squeeze over them a little lemon juice, add a dash of freshly ground pepper, and serve with hot, old-fashioned, well-buttered Johnny Cake. SALMON CROQUETTES. One pound of cooked salmon (about one and a half pints when chopped), one cup of cream, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, three eggs, one pint of crumbs, pepper and salt; chop the salmon fine, mix the flour and butter together, let the cream come to a boil, and stir in the flour and butter, salmon and seasoning; boil one minute; stir in one well-beaten egg, and remove from the fire; when cold make into croquettes; dip in beaten egg, roll in crumbs and fry. Canned salmon can be used. SHELL-FISH STEWED WATER TURTLES, OR TERRAPINS. Select the largest, thickest and fattest, the females being the best; they should be alive when brought from market. Wash and put them alive into boiling water, add a little salt, and boil them until thoroughly done, or from ten to fifteen minutes, after which take off the shell, extract the meat, and remove carefully the sand-bag and gall; also all the entrails; they are unfit to eat, and are no longer used in cooking terrapins for the best tables. Cut the meat into pieces, and put it into a stewpan with its eggs, and sufficient fresh butter to stew it well. Let it stew till quite hot throughout, keeping the pan carefully covered, that none of the flavor may escape, but shake it over the fire while stewing. In another pan make a sauce of beaten yolk of egg, highly flavored with Madeira or sherry, and powdered nutmeg and mace, a gill of currant jelly, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and salt to taste, enriched with a large lump of fresh butter. Stir this sauce well over the fire, and when it has almost come to a boil take it off. Send the terrapins to the table hot in a covered dish, and the sauce separately in a sauce tureen, to be used by those who like it, and omitted by those who prefer the genuine flavor of the terrapins when simply stewed with butter. This is now the usual mode of dressing terrapins in Maryland, Virginia, and many other parts of the South, and will be found superior to any other. If there are no eggs in the terrapin, "egg balls" may be substituted. (See recipe.) STEWED TERRAPIN, WITH CREAM. Place in a saucepan, two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter and one of dry flour; stir it over the fire until it bubbles; then gradually stir in a pint of cream, a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper, the same of grated nutmeg, and a very small pinch of cayenne. Next, put in a pint of terrapin meat and stir all until it is scalding hot. Move the saucepan to the back part of the stove or range, where the contents will keep hot but not boil; then stir in four well-beaten yolks of eggs; do not allow the terrapin to boil after adding the eggs, but pour it immediately into a tureen containing a gill of good Madeira and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Serve hot. STEWED TERRAPIN. Plunge the terrapins alive into boiling water, and let them remain until the sides and lower shell begin to crack--this will take less than an hour; then remove them and let them get cold; take off the shell and outer skin, being careful to save all the blood possible in opening them. If there are eggs in them put them aside in a dish; take all the inside out, and be very careful not to break the gall, which must be immediately removed or it will make the rest bitter. It lies within the liver. Then cut up the liver and all the rest of the terrapin into small pieces, adding the blood and juice that have flowed out in cutting up; add half a pint of water; sprinkle a little flour over them as you place them in the stewpan; let them stew slowly ten minutes, adding salt, black and cayenne pepper, and a very small blade of mace; then add a gill of the best brandy and half a pint of the very best sherry wine; let it simmer over a slow fire very gently. About ten minutes or so, before you are ready to dish them, add half a pint of rich cream, and half a pound of sweet butter, with flour, to prevent boiling; two or three minutes before taking them off the fire peel the eggs carefully and throw them in whole. If there should be no eggs use the yolks of hens' eggs, hard boiled. This recipe is for four terrapins. _Rennert's Hotel, Baltimore._ [Illustration: BASTING THE TURKEY.] OILED LOBSTER. Put a handful of salt into a large kettle or pot of boiling water. When the water boils very hard put in the lobster, having first brushed it and tied the claws together with a bit of twine. Keep it boiling from twenty minutes to half an hour, in proportion to its size. If boiled too long the meat will be hard and stringy. When it is done take it out, lay it on its claws to drain, and then wipe it dry. It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster and what are called the lady fingers are not to be eaten. Very large lobsters are not the best, the meat being coarse and tough. The male is best for boiling; the flesh is firmer and the shell a brighter red. It may readily be distinguished from the female; the tail is narrower, and the two uppermost fins within the tail are stiff and hard. Those of the hen lobster are not so, and the tail is broader. Hen lobsters are preferred for sauce or salad, on account of their coral. The head and small claws are never used. They should be alive and freshly caught when put into the boiling kettle. After being cooked and cooled, split open the body and tail and crack the claws, to extract the meat. The sand pouch found near the throat should be removed. Care should be exercised that none of the feathery, tough, gill-like particles found under the body shell get mixed with the meat, as they are indigestible and have caused much trouble. They are supposed to be the cause of so-called poisoning from eating lobster. Serve on a platter. Lettuce and other concomitants of a salad should also be placed on the table or platter. SCALLOPED LOBSTER. Butter a deep dish and cover the bottom with fine bread crumbs; put on this a layer of chopped lobster, with pepper and salt; so on, alternately, until the dish is filled, having crumbs on top. Put on bits of butter, moisten with milk and bake about twenty minutes. DEVILED LOBSTER. Take out all the meat from a boiled lobster, reserving the coral; season highly with mustard, cayenne, salt and some kind of table sauce; stew until well mixed and put it in a covered saucepan, with just enough hot water to keep from burning; rub the coral smooth, moistening with vinegar until it is thin enough to pour easily, then stir it into the saucepan. The dressing should be prepared before the meat is put on the fire, and which ought to boil but once before the coral is put in; stir in a heaping teaspoonful of butter, and when it boils again it is done and should be taken up at once, as too much cooking toughens the meat. LOBSTER CROQUETTES. Take any of the lobster remaining from table and pound it until the dark, light meat and coral are well mixed; put with it not quite as much fine bread crumbs; season with pepper, salt and a very little cayenne pepper; add a little melted butter, about two tablespoonfuls if the bread is rather dry; form into egg-shaped or round balls; roll them in egg, then in fine crumbs, and fry in boiling lard. LOBSTER PATTIES. Cut some boiled lobster in small pieces; then take the small claws and the spawn, put them in a suitable dish, and jam them to a paste with a potato masher. Now add to them a ladleful of gravy or broth, with a few bread crumbs; set it over the fire and boil; strain it through a strainer, or sieve, to the thickness of a cream, and put half of it to your lobsters, and save the other half to sauce them with after they are baked. Put to the lobster the bigness of an egg of butter, a little pepper and salt; squeeze in a lemon, and warm these over the fire enough to melt the butter, set it to cool, and sheet your patty pan or a plate or dish with good puff paste, then put in your lobster, and cover it with a paste; bake it within three-quarters of an hour before you want it; when it is baked, cut up your cover, and warm up the other half of your sauce above mentioned, with a little butter, to the thickness of cream, and pour it over your patty, with a little squeezed lemon; cut your cover in two, and lay it on the top, two inches distant, so that what is under may be seen. You may bake crawfish, shrimps or prawns the same way; and they are all proper for plates or little dishes for a second course. LOBSTER Á LA NEWBURG. Take one whole lobster, cut up in pieces about as large as a hickory nut. Put in the same pan with a piece of butter size of a walnut, season with salt and pepper to taste, and thicken with heavy cream sauce; add the yolk of one egg and two oz. of sherry wine. Cream sauce for above is made as follows: 1 oz. butter, melted in saucepan; 2 oz. flour, mixed with butter, thin down to proper consistency with boiling cream. _Rector's Oyster House, Chicago._ BAKED CRABS. Mix with the contents of a can of crabs, bread crumbs or pounded crackers. Pepper and salt the whole to taste; mince some cold ham; have the baking pan well buttered, place therein first a layer of the crab meat, prepared as above, then a layer of the minced ham, and so on, alternately until the pan is filled. Cover the top with bread crumbs and bits of butter, and bake. DEVILED CRABS. Half a dozen fresh crabs, boiled and minced, two ounces of butter, one small teaspoonful of mustard powder; cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Put the meat into a bowl and mix carefully with it an equal quantity of fine bread crumbs. Work the butter to a light cream, mix the mustard well with it, then stir in very carefully, a handful at a time, the mixed crabs, a tablespoonful of cream and crumbs. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt; fill the crab shells with the mixture, sprinkle bread crumbs over the tops, put three small pieces of butter upon the top of each, and brown them quickly in a hot oven. They will puff in baking and will be found very nice. Half the quantity can be made. A crab shell will hold the meat of two crabs. CRAB CROQUETTES. Pick the meat of boiled crabs and chop it fine. Season to taste with pepper, salt and melted butter. Moisten it well with rich milk or cream, then stiffen it slightly with bread or cracker crumbs. Add two or three well-beaten eggs to bind the mixture. Form the croquettes, egg and bread, crumb them and fry them delicately in boiling lard. It is better to use a wire frying basket for croquettes of all kinds. TO MAKE A CRAB PIE. Procure the crabs alive, and put them in boiling water, along with some salt. Boil them for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, according to the size. When cold pick the meat from the claws and body. Chop all together, and mix it with crumbs of bread, pepper and salt, and a little butter. Put all this into the shell and brown in a hot oven. A crab shell will hold the meat of two crabs. CRABS. (Soft Shell.) Crabs may be boiled as lobsters. They make a fine dish when stewed. Take out the meat from the shell, put it into a saucepan with butter, pepper, salt, a pinch of mace and a very little water; dredge with flour and let simmer five minutes over a slow fire. Serve hot; garnish the dish with the claws laid around it. The usual way of cooking them is frying them in plenty of butter and lard mixed; prepare them the same as frying fish. The spongy substance from the sides should be taken off, also the sand bag. Fry a nice brown and garnish with parsley. OYSTERS. Oysters must be fresh and fat to be good. They are in season from September to May. The small ones, such as are sold by the quart, are good for pies, fritters, or stews; the largest of this sort are nice for frying or pickling for family use. FRIED OYSTERS. Take large oysers from their own liquor into a thickly folded napkin to dry them; then make hot an ounce each of butter and lard in a thick-bottomed frying pan. Season the oysters with pepper and salt, then dip each one into egg and cracker crumbs rolled fine, until it will take up no more. Place them in the hot grease and fry them a delicate brown, turning them on both sides by sliding a broad-bladed knife under them. Serve them crisp and hot. _Boston Oyster House._ Some prefer to roll oysters in corn meal and others use flour, but they are much more crisp with egg and cracker crumbs. OYSTERS FRIED IN BATTER. _Ingredients._--One-half pint of oysters, two eggs, one-half pint of milk, sufficient flour to make the batter; pepper and salt to taste; when liked, a little nutmeg; hot lard. Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and lay them on a cloth to drain thoroughly. Break the eggs into a basin, mix the flour with them, add the milk gradually, with nutmeg and seasoning, and put the oysters in a batter. Make some lard hot in a deep frying pan; put in the oysters one at a time; when done, take them up with a sharp pointed skewer and dish them on a napkin. Fried oysters are frequently used for garnishing boiled fish, and then a few bread crumbs should be added to the flour. STEWED OYSTERS. (In Milk or Cream.) Drain the liquor from two quarts of oysters; mix with it a small teacupful of hot water, add a little salt and pepper and set it over the fire in a saucepan. Let it boil up once, put in the oysters, let them come to a boil, and when they "ruffle" add two tablespoonfuls of butter. The instant it is melted and well stirred in, put in a pint of boiling milk and take the saucepan from the fire. Serve with oyster or cream crackers. Serve while hot. If thickening is preferred, stir in a little flour or two tablespoonfuls of cracker crumbs. PLAIN OYSTER STEW. Same as milk or cream stew, using only oyster liquor and water instead of milk or cream, adding more butter after taking up. OYSTER SOUP. For oyster soup, see SOUPS. DRY OYSTER STEW. Take six to twelve large oysters and cook them in half a pint of their own liquor; season with butter and white pepper; cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in hot soup plates or bowls. _Fulton Market, New York._ BOSTON FRY. Prepare the oysters in egg batter and fine cracker meal; fry in butter over a slow fire for about ten minutes; cover the hollow of a hot platter with tomato sauce; place the oysters in it, but not covering; garnished with chopped parsley sprinkled over the oysters. _Boston Oyster House._ BROILED OYSTERS. Dry a quart of oysters in a cloth, dip each in melted butter well peppered; then in beaten egg, or not, then in bread or cracker crumbs also peppered. Broil on a wire broiler over live coals three to five minutes. Dip over each a little melted butter. Serve hot. ROAST OYSTERS IN THE SHELL. No. 1. Select the large ones, those usually termed "Saddle Rocks," formerly known as a distinct variety, but which are now but the large oysters selected from any beds; wash and wipe them, and place with the upper or deep shell down, to catch the juice, over or on live coals. When they open their shells, remove the shallow one, being careful to save all the juice in the other; place them, shells and all, on a hot platter, and send to the table hot to be seasoned by each person with butter and pepper to taste. If the oysters are fine, and they are just cooked enough and served hot, this is, _par excellence_, the style. OYSTER ROAST. No. 2. Put one quart of oysters in a basin with their own liquor and let them boil three or four minutes; season with a little salt, pepper and a heaping spoonful of butter. Serve on buttered toast. STEAMED OYSTERS. Wash and drain a quart of counts or select oysters; put them in a shallow pan and place in a steamer over boiling water; cover and steam till they are plump, with the edges ruffled, but no longer. Place to a heated dish, with butter, pepper, and salt, and serve. _Baltimore Style_ STEAMED OYSTERS IN THE SHELL. Wash and place them in an air-tight vessel, laying them the upper shell downward, so that the liquor will not run out when they open. Place this dish or vessel over a pot of boiling water where they will get the steam. Boil them rapidly until the shells open, about fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve at once while hot, seasoned with butter, salt and pepper. PAN OYSTERS. No. 1. Cut some stale bread into thin slices, taking off all the crust, round the slices to fit patty-pans; toast, butter, place them in the pans and moisten with three or four teaspoonfuls of oyster liquor; place on the toast a layer of oysters, sprinkle with pepper, and put a small piece of butter on top of each pan; place all the pans in a baking-pan, and place in the oven, covering tightly. They will cook in seven or eight minutes if the oven is hot; or, cook till the beards are ruffled; remove the cover, sprinkle lightly with salt, replace, and cook one minute longer. Serve in patty pans. They are delicious. _New York Style._ PAN OYSTERS. No. 2. Lay in a thin pie tin or dripping-pan, half a pint of large oysters, or more if required; have the pan large enough so that each oyster will lie flat on the bottom; put in over them a little oyster liquor, but not enough to float; place them carefully in a hot oven and just heat them through thoroughly--do not bake them--which will be in three to five minutes, according to fire; take them up and place on toast; first moistened with the hot juice from the pan. Are a very good substitute for oysters roasted in the shell, the slow cooking bringing out the flavor. _French Restaurant, New Orleans, La._ OYSTER FRITTERS. Select plump, good-sized oysters; drain off the juice, and to a cup of this juice add a cup of milk, a little salt, four well-beaten eggs, and flour enough to make batter like griddle-cakes. Envelope an oyster in a spoonful of this batter (some cut them in halves or chop them fine), then fry in butter and lard, mixed in a frying pan the same as we fry eggs, turning to fry brown on both sides. Send to the table very hot. _Delmonico._ Most cooks fry oyster fritters the same as crullers, in a quantity of hot lard, but this is not always convenient; either way they are excellent. OYSTER PATTIES. Line patty-pans with thin pastry, pressing it well to the tin. Put a piece of bread or a ball of paper in each. Cover them with paste and brush them over with the white of an egg. Cut an inch square of thin pastry, place on the centre of each, glaze this also with egg, and bake in a quick oven fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove the bread or paper when half cold. Scald as many oysters as you require (allowing two for each patty, three if small) in their own liquor. Cut each in four and strain the liquor. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour into a thick saucepan; stir them together over the fire till the flour smells cooked, and then pour half a pint of oyster liquor and half a pint of milk into the flour and butter. (If you have cream use it instead of milk.) Stir till it is a thick, smooth sauce. Put the oysters into it and let them boil once. Beat the yolks of two eggs. Remove the oysters for one minute from the fire, then stir the eggs into them till the sauce looks like thick custard. Fill the patties with this oyster fricassee, taking care to make it hot by standing in boiling water before dinner on the day required, and to make the patty cases hot before you fill them. FULTON MARKET ROAST. It is still known in New York from the place at which it was and is still served. Take nine large oysters out of the shell; wash, dry and roast over a charcoal fire, on a broiler. Two minutes after the shells open they will be done. Take them off quickly, saving the juice in a small shallow, tin pan; keep hot until all are done; butter them and sprinkle with pepper. This is served for one person when calling for a roast of this kind. It is often poured over a slice of toast. SCALLOPED OYSTERS. Have ready about a pint of fine cracker crumbs. Butter a deep earthen dish; put a layer of the cracker crumbs on the bottom; wet this with some of the oyster liquor; next have a layer of oysters; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lay small bits of butter upon them; then add another layer of cracker crumbs and oyster juice; then oysters, pepper, salt and butter, and so on, until the dish is full; the top layer to be cracker crumbs. Beat up an egg in a cup of milk and turn over all. Cover the dish and set it in the oven for thirty or forty-five minutes. When baked through, uncover the top, set on the upper grate and brown. OYSTER POT-PIE. Scald a quart can of oysters in their own liquor; when it boils, skim out the oysters and set them aside in a warm place. To the liquor add a pint of hot water; season well with salt and pepper, a generous piece of butter, thicken with flour and cold milk. Have ready nice light biscuit dough, rolled twice as thick as pie crust; cut out into inch squares, drop them into the boiling stew, cover closely, and cook forty minutes. When taken up, stir the oysters into the juice and serve all together in one dish. A nice side _entrée_. _Prince's Bay, S. I._ BOSTON OYSTER PIE. Having buttered the inside of a _deep_ pie plate, line it with puff paste, or common pie crust, and prepare another sheet of paste for the lid; put a clean towel into the dish (folded so as to support the lid), set it into the oven and bake the paste well; when done, remove the lid and take out the towel. While the paste is baking, prepare the oysters. Having picked off carefully every bit of shell that may be found about them, drain the liquor into a pan and put the oysters into a stewpan with barely enough of the liquor to keep them from burning; season them with pepper, salt and butter; add a little sweet cream or milk, and one or two crackers rolled fine; let the oysters simmer, but _not boil_, as that will shrivel them. Remove the upper crust of pastry and fill the dish with the oysters and gravy. Replace the cover and serve hot. Some prefer baking the upper crust on a pie plate, the same size as the pie, then slipping it off on top of the pie after the same pie is filled with the oysters. MOCK OYSTERS. Grate the corn, while green and tender, with a coarse grater, into a deep dish. For two ears of corn, allow one egg; beat the whites and yolks separately, and add them to the corn, with one tablespoonful of wheat flour and one of butter, a teaspoonful of salt and pepper to taste. Drop spoonfuls of this batter into a frying pan with hot butter and lard mixed, and fry a light brown on both sides. In taste, they have a singular resemblance to fried oysters. The corn _must_ be _young_. FRICASSEED OYSTERS. Take a slice of raw ham, which has been pickled, but not smoked, and soak in boiling water for half an hour; cut it in quite small pieces, and put in a saucepan with two-thirds of a pint of veal or chicken broth, well strained; the liquor from a quart of oysters, one small onion, minced fine, a little chopped parsley, sweet marjoram, and pepper; let them simmer for twenty minutes, and then boil rapidly for two or three minutes; skim well and add one scant tablespoon of cornstarch, mixed smoothly in one-third cup of milk; stir constantly, and when it boils add the oysters and one ounce of butter; after which, just let it come to a boil, and remove the oysters to a deep dish; beat one egg, and add to it gradually some of the hot broth, and, when cooked, stir it into the pan; season with salt, and pour the whole over the oysters. When placed upon the table, squeeze the juice of a lemon over it. Small Oyster Pies. For each pie take a tin plate half the size of an ordinary dinner plate; butter it, and cover the bottom with a puff paste, as for pies; lay on it five or six select oysters, or enough to cover the bottom; butter them and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper; spread over this an egg batter, and cover with a crust of the paste, making small openings in it with a fork. Bake in a hot oven fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the top is nicely browned. _Boston Oyster House._ STEWED CLAMS. Wash clean as many round clams as required; pile them in a large iron pot, with half a cupful of hot water in the bottom, and put over the fire; as soon as the shells open take out the clams, cut off the hard, uneatable "fringe" from each with strong, clean scissors, put them into a stewpan with the broth from the pot, and boil slowly till they are quite tender; pepper well and thicken the gravy with flour stirred into melted butter. Or, you may get two dozen freshly opened _very_ small clams. Boil a pint of milk, a dash of white pepper and a small pat of butter. Now add the clams. Let them come to a boil and serve. Longer boiling will make the clams almost indigestible. ROAST CLAMS IN THE SHELL. Roast in a pan over a hot fire, or in a hot oven, or, at a "Clam Bake," on hot stones; when they open, empty the juice into a saucepan; add the clams, with butter, pepper and a very little salt. _Rye Beach._ CLAM FRITTERS. Take fifty small or twenty-five large sand clams from their shells; if large, cut each in two, lay them on a thickly-folded napkin; put a pint bowl of wheat flour into a basin, add to it three well-beaten eggs, half a pint of sweet milk and nearly as much of their own liquor; beat the batter until it is smooth and perfectly free from lumps, then stir in the clams. Put plenty of lard or beef fat into a thick-bottomed frying pan, let it become boiling hot; put in the batter by the spoonful; let them fry gently; when one side is a delicate brown turn the other. CLAM CHOWDER. The materials needed are fifty round clams (quahogs), a large bowl of salt pork cut up fine, the same of onions finely chopped, and the same (or more, if you desire) of potatoes cut into eighths or sixteenths of original size; wash the clams very thoroughly and put them in a pot with half a pint of water; when the shells are open they are done; then take them from the shells and chop fine, saving all the clam water for the chowder; fry out the pork very gently, and when the scraps are a good brown take them out and put in the chopped onions to fry; they should be fried in a frying pan, and the chowder kettle be made very clean before they are put in it, or the chowder will burn. (The chief secret in chowder-making is to fry the onions so delicately that they will be missing in the chowder.) Add a quart of hot water to the onions; put in the clams, clam-water and pork scraps. After it boils, add the potatoes, and when they are cooked, the chowder is finished. Just before it is taken up, thicken it with a cup of powdered crackers, and add a quart of fresh milk. If too rich, add more water. No seasoning is needed but good black pepper. With the addition of six sliced tomatoes, or half a can of the canned ones, this is the best recipe of this kind, and is served in many of our best restaurants. _New Bedford Recipe_. SCALLOPED CLAMS. Purchase a dozen large soft clams in the shell and three dozen opened clams. Ask the dealer to open the first dozen, care being used not to injure the shells, which are to be used in cooking the clams. Clean the shells well, and put two soft clams on each half shell; add to each a dash of white pepper, and half a teaspoonful of minced celery. Cut a slice of fat bacon into the smallest dice, add four of these to each shell, strew over the top a thin layer of cracker dust; place a piece of table butter on top, and bake in the oven until brown. They are delightful when properly prepared. SCALLOPS. If bought in the shell boil them and take out the hearts, which is the only part used. Dip them in beaten egg and fry in the same manner as oysters. Some prefer them stewed the same as oysters. FROGS FRIED. Frog are usually fried, and are considered a great delicacy. Only the hind-legs and quarters are used. Clean them well, season, and fry in egg batter, or dip in beaten egg and fine cracker crumbs, the same as oysters. FROGS STEWED. Wash and skin the quarters, parboil them about three minutes, drain them. Now put into a stewpan two ounces of butter. When it is melted, lay in the frogs, and fry about two minutes, stirring them to prevent burning; shake over them a tablespoonful of sifted flour and stir it into them; add a sprig of parsley, a pinch of powdered summer savory, a bay leaf, three slices of onion, salt and pepper, a cup of hot water and one of cream. Boil gently until done; remove the legs, strain and mix into the gravy the yolks of two eggs, well beaten to a cream; put the legs in a suitable dish, pour over the gravy and serve. POULTRY AND GAME In choosing poultry, select those that are fresh and fat, and the surest way to determine whether they are young is to try the skin under the leg or wing. If it is easily broken, it is young; or, turn the wing backwards, if the joint yields readily, it is tender. When poultry is young the skin is thin and tender, the legs smooth, the feet moist and limber, and the eyes full and bright. The body should be thick and the breast fat. Old turkeys have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under the skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality. Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat, soft breast bone, tender flesh, leg-joints which will break by the weight of the bird, fresh-colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that break when pressed between the thumb and forefinger. They are best in fall and winter. Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full, fresh-colored legs; when the legs are thin and the breast very dark the birds are old. Fine game birds are always heavy for their size; the flesh of the breast is firm and plump and the skin clear; and if a few feathers be plucked from the inside of the leg and around the vent, the flesh of freshly-killed birds will be fat and fresh-colored; if it is dark and discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of good ducks, geese, pheasants and woodcock are tender to the touch; the tips of the long wing feathers of partridges are pointed in young birds and round in old ones. Quail, snipe and small birds should have full, tender breasts. Poultry should never be cooked until six or eight hours after it has been killed, but it should be picked and drawn as soon as possible. Plunge it in a pot of scalding hot water; then pluck off the feathers, taking care not to tear the skin; when it is picked clean, roll up a piece of white paper, set fire to it and singe off all the hairs. The head, neck and feet should be cut off, and the ends of the legs skewered to the body, and a string tied tightly around the body. When roasting a chicken or small fowl there is danger of the legs browning or becoming too hard to be eaten. To avoid this, take strips of cloth, dip them into a little melted lard, or even just rub them over with lard, and wind them around the legs. Remove them in time to allow the legs to brown delicately. Fowls, and also various kinds of game, when bought at our city markets, require a more thorough cleansing than those sold in country places, where as a general thing the meat is wholly dressed. In large cities they lay for some length of time with the intestines undrawn, until the flavor of them diffuses itself all through the meat, rendering it distasteful. In this case, it is safe, after taking out the intestines, to rinse out in several waters, and in next to the last water, add a teaspoonful of baking soda, say to a quart of water. This process neutralizes all sourness, and helps to destroy all unpleasant taste in the meat. Poultry may be baked so that its wings and legs are soft and tender, by being placed in a deep roasting pan with close cover, thereby retaining the aroma and essences by absorption while confined. These pans are a recent innovation, and are made double with a small opening in the top for giving vent to the accumulation of steam and gases when required. Roast meats of any kind can also be cooked in the same manner, and it is a great improvement on the old plan. ROAST TURKEY. Select a young turkey; remove all the feathers carefully, singe it over a burning newspaper on the top of the stove; then "draw" it nicely, being very careful not to break any of the internal organs; remove the crop carefully; cut off the head, and tie the neck close to the body by drawing the skin over it. Now rinse the inside of the turkey out with several waters, and in the next to the last, mix a teaspoonful of baking soda; oftentimes the inside of a fowl is very sour, especially if it is not freshly killed. Soda, being cleansing, acts as a corrective, and destroys that unpleasant taste which we frequently experience in the dressing when fowls have been killed for some time. Now, after washing, wipe the turkey dry, inside and out, with a clean cloth, rub the inside with some salt, then stuff the breast and body with "Dressing for Fowls." Then sew up the turkey with a strong thread, tie the legs and wings to the body, rub it over with a little soft butter, sprinkle over some salt and pepper, dredge with a little flour; place it in a dripping-pan, pour in a cup of boiling water, and set in the oven. Baste the turkey often, turning it around occasionally so that every part will be uniformly baked. When pierced with a fork and the liquid runs out perfectly clear, the bird is done. If any part is likely to scorch, pin over it a piece of buttered white paper. A fifteen pound turkey requires between three and four hours to bake. Serve with cranberry sauce. _Gravy for Turkey._--When you put the turkey in to roast, put the neck, heart, liver and gizzard into a stewpan with a pint of water; boil until they become quite tender; take them out of the water, chop the heart and gizzard, mash the liver and throw away the neck; return the chopped heart, gizzard and liver to the liquor in which they were stewed; set it to one side, and when the turkey is done it should be added to the gravy that dripped from the turkey, having first skimmed off the fat from the surface of the dripping-pan; set it all over the fire, boil three minutes and thicken with flour. It will not need brown flour to color the gravy. The garnishes for turkey or chicken are fried oysters, thin slices of ham, slices of lemon, fried sausages, or force meat balls, also parsley. DRESSING OR STUFFING FOR FOWLS. For an eight or ten pound turkey, cut the brown crust from slices or pieces of stale bread until you have as much as the inside of a pound loaf; put it into a suitable dish and pour tepid water (not warm, for that makes it heavy) over it; let it stand one minute, as it soaks very quickly. Now take up a handful at a time and squeeze it hard and dry with both hands, placing it, as you go along, in another dish; this process makes it very light. When all is pressed dry, toss it all up lightly through your fingers; now add pepper, salt--about a teaspoonful--also a teaspoonful of powdered summer savory, the same amount of sage, or the green herb minced fine; add half a cup of melted butter, and a beaten egg, or not. Work thoroughly all together, and it is ready for dressing either fowls, fish or meats. A little chopped sausage in turkey dressing is considered by some an improvement, when well incorporated with the other ingredients. For geese and ducks the stuffing may be made the same as for turkey, with the addition of a few slices of onion chopped fine. OYSTER DRESSING OR STUFFING. This is made with the same ingredients as the above, with the exception of half a can of oysters drained and slightly chopped and added to the rest. This is used mostly with boiled turkey and chicken, and the remainder of the can of oysters used to make an oyster sauce to be poured over the turkey when served; served generally in a separate dish, to be dipped out as a person desires. These recipes were obtained from an old colored cook, who was famous for his fine dressing for fowls, fish and meats, and his advice was, _always_ soak stale bread in _cold_ liquid, either milk or water, when _used_ for stuffings or for puddings, as they were much lighter. Hot liquid makes them heavy. BOILED TURKEY. Prepare as you would for baking or roasting; fill with an oyster stuffing, made as the above. Tie the legs and wings close to the body, place in salted boiling water with the breast downward; skim it often and boil about two hours, but not till the skin breaks. Serve with oyster or celery sauce. Boil a nicely pickled piece of salt pork, and serve at table a thin slice to each plate. Some prefer bacon or ham instead of pork. Some roll the turkey in a cloth dipped in flour. If the liquor is to be used afterwards for soup, the cloth imparts an unpleasant flavor. The liquor can be saved and made into a nice soup for the next day's dinner, by adding the same seasoning as for chicken soup. TURKEY SCALLOP. Pick the meat from the bones of cold turkey and chop it fine. Put a layer of bread crumbs on the bottom of a buttered dish, moisten them with a little milk, then put in a layer of turkey with some of the filling, and cut small pieces of butter over the top; sprinkle with pepper and salt; then another layer of bread crumbs, and so on until the dish is nearly full; add a little hot water to the gravy left from the turkey and pour over it; then take two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of milk, one of melted butter, a little salt and cracker crumbs as much as will make it thick enough to spread on with a knife; put bits of butter over it, and cover with a plate. Bake three-quarters of an hour. Ten minutes before serving, remove the plate and let it brown. TURKEY HASHED. Cut the remnants of turkey from a previous dinner into pieces of equal size. Boil the bones in a quart of water, until the quart is reduced to a pint; then take out the bones, and to the liquor in which they were boiled add turkey gravy, if you have any, or white stock, or a small piece of butter with salt and pepper; let the liquor thus prepared boil up once; then put in the pieces of turkey, dredge in a little flour, give it one boil-up, and serve in a hot dish. TURKEY WARMED OVER. Pieces of cold turkey or chicken may be warmed up with a little butter in a frying pan; place it on a warm platter, surround it with pieces of small thick slices of bread or biscuit halved, first dipping them in hot salted water; then place the platter in a warm oven with the door open. Have already made the following gravy to pour over all:-- Into the frying pan put a large spoonful of butter, one or two cupfuls of milk, and any gravy that may be left over. Bring it to a boil; then add sufficient flour, wet in a little cold milk or water, to make it the consistency of cream. Season with salt, pepper and add a little of the dark meat chopped _very_ fine. Let the sauce cook a few moments, then pour over the biscuit and fowl. This will be found a really nice dish. BONED TURKEY. Clean the fowl as usual. With a sharp and pointed knife, begin at the extremity of the wing, and pass the knife down close to the bone, cutting all the flesh from the bone, and preserving the skin whole; run the knife down each side of the breast bone and up the legs, keeping close to the bone; then split the back half way up, and draw out the bones; fill the places whence the bones were taken with a stuffing, restoring the fowl to its natural form, and sew up all the incisions made in the skin. Lard with two or three rows of slips of fat bacon on the top, basting often with salt and water, and a little butter. Some like a glass of port wine in the gravy. This is a difficult dish to attempt by any but skillful hands. Carve across in slices, and serve with tomato sauce. ROAST GOOSE. The goose should not be more than eight months old, and the fatter the more tender and juicy the meat. Stuff with the following mixture: Three pints of bread crumbs, six ounces of butter, or part butter and part salt pork, one teaspoonful each of sage, black pepper and salt, one chopped onion. Do not stuff very full, and stitch openings firmly together to keep flavor in and fat out. Place in a baking pan with a little water, and baste frequently with salt and water (some add vinegar); turn often so that the sides and back may be nicely browned. Bake two hours or more; when done take from the pan, pour off the fat, and to the brown gravy left add the chopped giblets which have previously been stewed until tender, together with the water they were boiled in; thicken with a little flour and butter rubbed together, bring to a boil and serve, English style. ROAST CHICKEN. Pick and draw them, wash out well in two or three waters, adding a little soda to the last but one to sweeten it, if there is doubt as to its being fresh. Dry it well with a clean cloth, and fill the crop and body with a stuffing the same as "Dressing for Fowls." Lay it in a dripping-pan; put a pint of hot water and a piece of butter in the dripping-pan, add to it a small tablespoonful of salt, and a small teaspoonful of pepper; baste frequently, and let it roast quickly, without scorching; when nearly done, put a piece of butter the size of a large egg to the water in the pan; when it melts, baste with it, dredge a little flour over, baste again, and let it finish; half an hour will roast a full grown chicken, if the fire is right. When done, take it up. Having stewed the necks, gizzards, livers and hearts in a very little water, strain it and mix it hot with the gravy that has dripped from the fowls, and which must be first skimmed. Thicken it with a little browned flour, add to it the livers, hearts and gizzards chopped small. Or, put the giblets in the pan with the chicken and let them roast. Send the fowls to the table with the gravy in a boat. Cranberry sauce should accompany them, or any tart sauce. BOILED CHICKEN. Clean, wash and stuff, as for roasting. Baste a floured cloth around each and put into a pot with enough boiling water to cover them well. The hot water cooks the skin at once and prevents the escape of the juice. The broth will not be so rich as if the fowls are put on in cold water, but this is a proof that the meat will be more nutritious and better flavored. Stew very slowly, for the first half hour especially. Boil an hour or more, guiding yourself by size and toughness. Serve with egg, bread or oyster sauce. (See SAUCES.) STEAMED CHICKEN. Rub the chicken on the inside with pepper and half a teaspoonful of salt; place in a steamer in a kettle that will keep it as near the water as possible, cover and steam an hour and a half; when done, keep hot while dressing is prepared, then cut up, arrange on the platter, and serve with the dressing over it. The dressing is made as follows: Boil one pint of gravy from the kettle without the fat, add cayenne pepper and half a teaspoonful of salt; stir a tablespoonful of flour into a quarter of a pint of cream until smooth and add to the gravy. Cornstarch may be used instead of the flour, and some cooks add nutmeg or celery salt. FRICASSEE CHICKEN. Cut up two young chickens, put them in a stewpan with just enough cold water to cover them. Cover closely and let them heat very slowly; then stew them over an hour, or until tender. If they are old chickens they will require long, slow boiling, often from three to four hours. When tender, season with salt and pepper, a piece of butter as large as an egg, and a little celery, if liked. Stir up two tablespoonfuls of flour in a little water or milk and add to the stew, also two well-beaten yolks of eggs; let all boil up one minute; arrange the chicken on a warm platter, pour some of the gravy over it and send the rest to the table in a boat. The egg should be added to a little of the cooled gravy before putting with the hot gravy. STEWED WHOLE SPRING CHICKEN. Dress a full-grown spring chicken the same as for roasting, seasoning it with salt and pepper inside and out; then fill the body with oysters; place it in a tin pail with a close-fitting cover. Set the pail in a pot of fast-boiling water and cook until the chicken is tender. Dish up the chicken on a warm dish, then pour the gravy into a saucepan, put into it a tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of cream or rich milk, three hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, some minced herbs and a tablespoonful of flour. Let all boil up and then pour it over the chicken. Serve hot. PICKLED CHICKEN. Boil four chickens till tender enough for meat to fall from bones; put meat in a stone jar and pour over it three pints of cold, good cider vinegar and a pint and a half of the water in which the chickens were boiled; add spices if preferred, and it will be ready for use in two days. This is a popular Sunday evening dish; it is good for luncheon at any time. RISSOLES OF CHICKEN. Mince up finely the remains of a cold chicken together with half the quantity of lean, cold ham. Mix them well, adding enough white sauce to moisten them. Now have light paste rolled out until about a quarter of an inch or a little more in thickness. Cut the paste into pieces, one inch by two in size, and lay a little of the mixture upon the centres of half of the pieces and cover them with the other halves, pressing the edges neatly together and forming them into little rolls. Have your frying pan ready with plenty of boiling hot lard, or other frying medium, and fry until they become a golden-brown color. A minute or two will be sufficient for this. Then drain them well and serve immediately on a napkin. CHICKEN PATTIES. Mince up fine cold chicken, either roasted or boiled. Season it with pepper and salt, and a little minced parsley and onion. Moisten it with chicken gravy or cream sauce, fill scalloped shells that are lined with pastry with the mixture, and sprinkle bread crumbs over the tops. Put two or three tiny pieces of butter over each, and bake brown in a hot oven. TO BROIL CHICKEN. After dressing and washing the chickens as previously directed, split them open through the backbone; frog them by cutting the cords under the wings and laying the wings out flat; cut the sinews under the second joint of the leg and turn the leg down; press down the breast-bone without breaking it. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, lay it upon the gridiron with the inside first to the fire; put the gridiron over a slow fire, and place a tin sheet and weight upon the chicken, to keep it flat; let it broil ten minutes, then turn and proceed in the same manner with the other side. The chicken should be perfectly cooked, but not scorched. A broiled chicken brought to the table with its wings and legs burnt, and its breast half cooked, is very disagreeable. To avoid this, the chicken must be closely watched while broiling, and the fire must be arranged so that the heat shall be equally dispensed. When the fire is too hot under any one part of the chicken, put a little ashes on the fire under that part, that the heat may be reduced. Dish a broiled chicken on a hot plate, putting a large lump of butter and a tablespoonful of hot water upon the plate, and turning the chicken two or three times that it may absorb as much of the butter as possible. Garnish with parsley. Serve with poached eggs on a separate dish. It takes from thirty to forty minutes to broil a chicken well. CHICKEN PIE. Prepare the chicken as for fricassee. When the chicken is stewed tender, seasoned, and the gravy thickened, take it from the fire; take out the largest bones, scrape the meat from the neck and backbone, throw the bones away; line the sides of a four or six quart pudding-dish with a rich baking powder or soda biscuit dough, a quarter of an inch thick; put in part of the chicken, a few lumps of butter, pepper and salt, if needed, some cold boiled eggs cut in slices. Add the rest of the chicken and season as before; a few new potatoes in their season might be added. Pour over the gravy, being sure to have enough to fill the dish, and cover with a crust a quarter of an inch thick, made with a hole in the centre the size of a teacup. Brush over the top with beaten white of egg and bake for half to three-quarters of an hour. Garnish the top with small bright celery leaves, neatly arranged in a circle. FRIED CHICKEN. Wash and cut up a young chicken, wipe it dry, season with salt and pepper, dredge it with flour, or dip each piece in beaten egg and then in cracker crumbs. Have in a frying pan one ounce each of butter and sweet lard made boiling hot. Lay in the chicken and fry brown on both sides. Take up, drain it and set aside in a covered dish. Stir into the gravy left, if not too much, a large tablespoonful of flour, make it smooth, add a cup of cream or milk, season with salt and pepper, boil up and pour over the chicken. Some like chopped parsley added to the gravy. Serve hot. If the chicken is old, put into a stewpan with a little water and simmer gently till tender; season with salt and pepper, dip in flour or cracker crumb and egg, and fry as above. Use the broth the chicken was cooked in to make the gravy, instead of the cream or milk, or use an equal quantity of both. FRIED CHICKEN Á LA ITALIENNE. Make common batter; mix into it a cupful of chopped tomatoes, one onion chopped, some minced parsley, salt and pepper. Cut up young, tender chickens, dry them well and dip each piece in the batter; then fry brown in plenty of butter in a thick-bottomed frying pan. Serve with tomato sauce. CHICKEN CROQUETTES. No. 1. Put a cup of cream or milk in a saucepan, set it over the fire, and when it boils add a lump of butter as large as an egg, in which has been mixed a tablespoonful of flour. Let it boil up thick; remove from the fire, and when cool mix into it a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a bit of minced onion or parsley, one cup of fine bread crumbs, and a pint of finely-chopped cooked chicken, either roasted or boiled. Lastly, beat up two eggs and work in with the whole. Flour your hands and make into small, round, flat cakes; dip in egg and bread crumbs and fry like fish cakes in butter and good sweet lard mixed, or like fried cakes in plenty of hot lard. Take them up with a skimmer and lay them on brown paper to free them from the grease. Serve hot. CHICKEN CROQUETTES. No. 2. Take any kind of fresh meat or fowl, chop very fine, add an equal quantity of smoothly mashed potatoes, mix, and season with butter, salt, black pepper, a little prepared mustard, and a little cayenne pepper; make into cakes, dip in egg and bread crumbs and fry a light brown. A nice relish for tea. TO FRY CROQUETTES. Beat up two eggs in a deep bowl; roll enough crackers until you have a cupful of crumbs, or the same of fine stale bread crumbs; spread the crumbs on a large plate or pie-tin. Have over the fire a kettle containing two or three inches of boiling lard. As fast as the croquettes are formed, roll them in the crumbs, then dip them in the beaten egg, then again roll them in crumbs; drop them in the smoking hot fat and fry them a light golden brown. PRESSED CHICKEN. Clean and cut up your chickens. Stew in just enough water to cover them. When nearly cooked, season them well with salt and pepper. Let them stew down until the water is nearly all boiled out, and the meat drops easily from the bones. Remove the bones and gristle; chop the meat rather coarsely, then turn it back into the stew-kettle, where the broth was left (after skimming off all fat), and let it heat through again. Turn it into a square bread pan, placing a platter on the top, and a heavy weight on the platter. This, if properly prepared, will turn out like a mold of jelly and may be sliced in smooth, even slices. The success of this depends upon not having too much water; it will not jelly if too weak, or if the water is allowed to boil away entirely while cooking. A good way to cook old fowls. CHICKEN LUNCH FOR TRAVELING. Cut a young chicken down the back; wash and wipe dry; season with salt and pepper; put in a dripping-pan and bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour. This is much better for traveling lunch than when seasoned with butter. All kinds of poultry and meat can be cooked quicker by adding to the water in which they are boiled a little vinegar or a piece of lemon. By the use of a little acid there will be a considerable saving of fuel, as well as shortening of time. Its action is beneficial on old tough meats, rendering them quite tender and easy of digestion. Tainted meats and fowls will lose their bad taste and odor if cooked in this way, and if not used too freely no taste of it will be acquired. POTTED CHICKEN. Strip the meat from the bones of a cold roast fowl; to every pound of meat allow a quarter of a pound of butter, salt and cayenne pepper to taste; one teaspoonful of pounded mace, half a small nutmeg. Cut the meat into small pieces, pound it well with the butter, sprinkle in the spices gradually and keep pounding until reduced to a perfectly smooth paste. Pack it into small jars and cover with clarified butter, about a quarter of an inch in thickness. Two or three slices of ham minced and pounded with the above will be an improvement. Keep in a dry place. A luncheon or breakfast dish. Old fowls can be made very tender by putting into them, while boiling, a piece of soda as large as a bean. SCALLOPED CHICKEN. Divide a fowl into joints and boil till the meat leaves the bone readily. Take out the bones and chop the meat as small as dice. Thicken the water in which the fowl was boiled with flour and season to taste with butter and salt. Fill a deep dish with alternate layers of bread crumbs and chicken and slices of cooked potatoes, having crumbs on top. Pour the gravy over the top and add a few bits of butter and bake till nicely browned. There should be gravy enough to moisten the dish. Serve with a garnish of parsley. Tiny new potatoes are nice in place of sliced ones when in season. BREADED CHICKEN. Prepare young chickens as for fricassee by cutting them into pieces. Dip each piece in beaten egg, then in grated bread crumbs or rolled cracker; season them with pepper and salt and a little minced parsley. Place them in a baking pan and put on the top of each piece a lump of butter, add half of a cupful of hot water; bake slowly, basting often. When sufficiently cooked take up on a warm platter. Into the pan pour a cup of cream or rich milk, a cupful of bread crumbs. Stir it well until cooked, then pour it over the chicken. Serve while hot. BROILED CHICKEN ON TOAST. Broil the usual way and when thoroughly done take it up in a square tin or dripping-pan, butter it well, season with pepper and salt and set it in the oven for a few minutes. Lay slices of moistened buttered toast on a platter; take the chicken up over it, add to the gravy in the pan part of a cupful of cream, if you have it; if not, use milk. Thicken with a little flour and pour over the chicken. This is considered most excellent. CURRY CHICKEN. Cut up a chicken weighing from a pound and a half to two pounds, as for fricassee, wash it well, and put it into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover it; boil it, closely covered, until tender; add a large teaspoonful of salt, and cook a few minutes longer; then remove from the fire, take out the chicken, pour the liquor into a bowl, and set it one side. Now cut up into the stewpan two small onions, and fry them with a piece of butter as large as an egg; as soon as the onions are brown, skim them out and put in the chicken; fry for three or four minutes; next sprinkle over two teaspoonfuls of Curry Powder. Now pour over the liquor in which the chicken was stewed, stir all well together, and stew for five minutes longer, then stir into this a tablespoonful of sifted flour made thin with a little water; lastly, stir in a beaten yolk of egg, and it is done. Serve with hot boiled rice laid around on the edge of a platter, and the chicken curry in the centre. This makes a handsome side dish, and a fine relish accompanying a full dinner of roast beef or any roast. All first-class grocers and druggists keep this "India Curry Powder," put up in bottles. Beef, veal, mutton, duck, pigeons, partridges, rabbits or fresh fish may be substituted for the chicken, if preferred, and sent to the table with or without a dish of rice. _To Boil Rice or Curry._--Pick over the rice, a cupful. Wash it thoroughly in two or three cold waters; then leave it about twenty minutes in cold water. Put into a stewpan two quarts of water with a teaspoonful of salt in it; and when it boils, sprinkle in the rice. Boil it briskly for twenty minutes, keeping the pan covered. Take it from the fire, and drain off the water. Afterwards set the saucepan on the back of the stove, with the lid off, to allow the rice to dry and the grains to separate. Rice, if properly boiled, should be soft and white, and every grain stand alone. Serve it hot in a separate dish or served as above, laid around the chicken curry. CHICKEN POT-PIE. No. 1. Cut and joint a large chicken, cover with cold water, and let it boil gently until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and thicken the gravy with two tablespoonfuls of flour, mixed smooth with a piece of butter the size of an egg. Have ready nice light bread-dough, cut with the top of a wine-glass about a half an inch thick; let them stand half an hour and rise, then drop these into the boiling gravy. Put the cover on the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to cease boiling. Boil three-quarters of an hour. CHICKEN POT-PIE. No. 2. This style of pot-pie was made more in our grandmother's day than now, as most cooks consider that cooking crust so long destroys its spongy lightness, and renders it too hard and dry. Take a pair of fine fowls, cut them up, wash the pieces, and season with pepper only. Make a light biscuit dough, and plenty of it, as it is always much liked by the eaters of pot-pie. Roll out the dough not very thin, and cut most of it into long squares. Butter the sides of a pot, and line them with dough nearly to the top. Lay slices of cold ham at the bottom of the pot, and then the pieces of fowl, interspersed all through with squares of dough and potatoes, pared and quartered. Pour in a quart of water. Cover the whole with a lid of dough, having a slit in the centre, through which the gravy will bubble up. Boil it steadily for two hours. Half an hour before you take it up, put in through the hole in the centre of the crust some bits of butter rolled in flour, to thicken the gravy. When done, put the pie on a large dish, and pour the gravy over it. You may intersperse it all through with cold ham. A pot-pie may be made of ducks, rabbits, squirrels or venison. Also of beefsteak. A beefsteak, or some porksteaks (the lean only), greatly improve a chicken pot-pie. If you use no ham, season with salt. [Illustration: Top left ABIGAIL ADAMS; Top right MARTHA JEFFERSON; Middle MARTHA WASHINGTON; Bottom left MRS JAMES MONROE; Bottom right D. P. MADDISON] CHICKEN STEWED WITH BISCUIT. Take chickens, and make a fricassee; just before you are ready to dish it up, have ready two baking-tins of rich soda or baking-powder biscuits; take them from the oven hot, split them apart by breaking them with your hands, lay them on a large meat platter, covering it, then pour the hot chicken stew over all. Send to the table hot. This is a much better way than boiling this kind of biscuit in the stew, as you are more sure of its being always light. CHICKEN DRESSED AS TERRAPIN. Select young chickens, clean and cut them into pieces; put them into a stewpan with just _enough_ water to cook them. When tender stir into it half of a cup of butter and one beaten egg. Season it with salt and pepper, a teaspoonful of powdered thyme; add two hard-boiled eggs coarsely minced and a small glass of wine. Boil up once and serve with jelly. CHICKEN ROLY-POLY. One quart of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream tartar mixed with the flour, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a teacupful of milk; a teaspoonful of salt; do not use shortening of any kind, but roll out the mixture half an inch thick, and on it lay minced chicken, veal or mutton. The meat must be seasoned with pepper and salt and be free from gristle. Roll the crust over and over, and put it on a buttered plate and place in a steamer for half an hour. Serve for breakfast or lunch, giving a slice to each person with gravy served with it. CHICKEN TURNOVERS. Chop cold roast chicken very fine. Put it into a saucepan, place it over the fire, moisten it with a little water and gravy, or a piece of butter. Season with salt and pepper; add a small tablespoonful of sifted flour dissolved in a little water; heat all through and remove from the fire to become cool. When cooled roll out some plain pie-crust quite thin, cut out in rounds as large as a saucer; wet the edge with cold water and put a large spoonful of the minced meat on one-half of the round; fold the other half over and pinch the edges well together, then fry them in hot drippings or fat a nice brown. They may also be cooked in a moderate oven. CHICKEN PUDDING. Cut up two young chickens into good-sized pieces; put them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them well. When boiled quite tender, season with salt and pepper; let them simmer ten or fifteen minutes longer; then take the chicken from the broth and remove all the large bones. Place the meat in a well-buttered pudding dish, season again, if necessary, adding a few bits of butter. Pour over this the following batter:-- Eight eggs beaten light and mixed with one quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt and two large teaspoonfuls of baking powder, added to enough sifted flour to make a batter like griddle-cakes. Bake one hour in a _moderate_ oven. Make a gravy of the broth that remained from the cooking of the chicken, adding a tablespoonful of flour stirred into a third of a cup of melted butter; let it boil up, putting in more water if necessary. Serve hot in a gravy boat with the pudding. CHICKEN AND MACARONI. Boil a chicken until very tender, take out all the bones, and pick up the meat quite fine. Boil half a pound of macaroni until tender, first breaking it up to pieces an inch long. Butter a deep pudding dish, put on the bottom a layer of the cooked macaroni, then a layer of the minced chicken, bits of butter, pepper and salt, then some of the chicken liquor, over this put another layer of macaroni, and so on, until, the dish is filled. Pour a cup of cream over the whole, and bake half an hour. Serve on a platter. ROAST DUCK. (Tame.) Pick, draw, clean thoroughly, and wipe dry. Cut the neck close to the back, beat the breast-bone flat with a rolling pin, tie the wings and legs securely, and stuff with the following:-- Three pints bread crumbs, six ounces butter, or part butter and salt pork, two chopped onions and one teaspoonful each of sage, black pepper and salt. Do not stuff very full, and sew up the openings firmly to keep the flavor in and the fat out. If not fat enough, it should be larded with salt pork, or tie a slice upon the breast. Place in a baking pan, with a little water, and baste frequently with salt and water--some add onion, and some vinegar; turn often, so that the sides and back may all be nicely browned. When nearly done, baste with butter and a little flour. These directions will apply to tame geese as well as ducks. Young ducks should roast from twenty-five to thirty minutes, and full-grown ones for an hour or more, with frequent basting. Some prefer them underdone and served very hot; but, as a rule, thorough cooking will prove more palatable. Make a gravy out of the necks and gizzards by putting them in a quart of cold water, that must be reduced to a pint by boiling. The giblets, when done, may be chopped fine and added to the juice. The preferred seasonings are one tablespoonful of Madeira or sherry, a blade of mace, one small onion, and a little cayenne pepper; strain through a hair sieve; pour a little over the ducks and serve the remainder in a boat. Served with jellies or any tart sauce. BRAISED DUCK. Prepare a pair of fine young ducks, the same as for roasting, place them in a stewpan together with two or three slices of bacon, a carrot, an onion stuck with two cloves, and a little thyme and parsley. Season with pepper, and cover the whole with a broth, adding to the broth a gill of white wine. Place the pan over a gentle fire and allow the ducks to simmer until done, basting them frequently. When done remove them from the pan, and place them where they will keep hot. A turnip should then be cut up and fried in some butter. When nicely browned, drain the pieces and cook them until tender in the liquor in which the ducks were braised. Now strain and thicken the gravy, and after dishing up the ducks, pour it over them, garnishing with the pieces of turnip. _Palmer House, Chicago._ STEWED DUCK. Prepare them by cutting them up the same as chicken for fricassee. Lay two or three very thin slices of salt pork upon the bottom of a stewpan; lay the pieces of duck upon the pork. Let them stew slowly for an hour, closely covered. Then season with salt and pepper, half a teaspoonful of powdered sage, or some green sage minced fine; one chopped onion. Stew another half hour until the duck is tender. Stir up a large tablespoonful of brown flour in a little water and add it to the stew. Let it boil up, and serve all together in one dish, accompanied with green peas. _Palmer House, Chicago._ DUCK PIE. Cut all the meat from cold roast ducks; put the bones and stuffing into cold water; cover them and let boil; put the meat into a deep dish; pour on enough of the stock made from the bones to moisten; cover with pastry slit in the centre with a knife, and bake a light brown. WARMED UP DUCK. A nice dish for breakfast, and very relishing, can be made from the remains of a roast of duck. Cut the meat from the bones, pick out all the little tidbits in the recesses, lay them in a frying pan, and cover with water and the cold gravy left from the roast; add a piece of butter; let all boil up once and if not quite thick enough, stir in a little dissolved flour. Serve hot. ROAST WILD DUCK. Wild duck should not be dressed too soon after being killed. If the weather is cold it will be better for being kept several days. Bake in a hot oven, letting it remain for five or ten minutes without basting to keep in the gravy, then baste frequently with butter and water. If over-done it loses flavor, thirty to forty minutes in the right kind of an oven being sufficient. Serve on a very hot dish, and send to table as hot as possible with a cut lemon and the following sauce:-- Put in a tiny saucepan a tablespoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom catsup, a little salt and cayenne pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Mix well, make it hot, remove from the fire and stir in a teaspoonful of made mustard. Pour into a hot gravy boat. _California Style, Lick House._ WILD DUCKS. Most wild ducks are apt to have the flavor of fish, and when in the hands of inexperienced cooks are sometimes unpalatable on this account. Before roasting them, parboil them with a small peeled carrot put within each duck. This absorbs the unpleasant taste. An onion will have the same effect, but unless you use onions in the stuffing the carrot is preferable. Roast the same as tame duck. Or put into the duck a whole onion peeled, plenty of salt and pepper and a glass of claret, bake in a hot oven twenty minutes. Serve hot with the gravy it yields in cooking and a dish of currant jelly. CANVAS-BACK DUCK. The epicurean taste declares that this special kind of bird requires no spices or flavors to make it perfect, as the meat partakes of the flavor of the food that the bird feeds upon, being mostly wild celery; and the delicious flavor is best preserved when roasted quickly with a hot fire. After dressing the duck in the usual way by plucking, singeing, drawing, wipe it with a wet towel, truss the head under the wing; place it in a dripping-pan, put it in the oven, basting often, and roast it half an hour. It is generally preferred a little underdone. Place it when done on a hot dish, season well with salt and pepper, pour over it the gravy it has yielded in baking and serve it immediately while hot. _Delmonico._ ROAST PIGEONS. Pigeons lose their flavor by being kept more than a day after they are killed. They may be prepared and roasted or broiled the same as chickens; they will require from twenty to thirty minutes' cooking. Make a gravy of the giblets or not, season it with pepper and salt, and add a little flour and butter. STEWED PIGEONS. Clean and stuff with onion dressing, thyme, etc.,--do not sew up; take five or more slices of corned pork, let it fry a while in a pot so that the fat comes out and it begins to brown a little; then lay the pigeons all around in the fat, leaving the pork still in; add hot water enough to partially cover them; cover tightly and boil an hour or so until tender; then turn off some of the liquid, and keep turning them so they will brown nicely; then heat and add the liquor poured off; add extra thyme, pepper, and keep turning until the pigeons and gravy are nicely browned. Thicken with a little flour, and serve with the gravy poured over them; garnish with parsley. PIGEON PIE. Take half a dozen pigeons; stuff each one with a dressing the same as for turkey; loosen the joints with a knife, but do not separate them. Put them in a stewpan with water enough to cover them, let them cook until nearly tender, then season them with salt and pepper and butter. Thicken the gravy with flour, remove and cool. Butter a pudding dish, line the sides with a rich crust. Have ready some hard-boiled eggs cut in slices. Put in a layer of egg and birds and gravy until the dish is full. Cover with a crust and bake. BROILED PIGEONS OR SQUABS. Split them down the back and broil the same as chicken; seasoning well with salt, pepper and plenty of butter. Broil slices of salt pork, very thin; place a slice over each bird and serve. SQUAB POT-PIE. Cut into dice three ounces of salt pork; divide six wild squabs into pieces at the joints; remove the skin. Cut up four potatoes into small squares, and prepare a dozen small dough balls. Put into a yellow, deep baking dish the pork, potatoes and squabs, and then the balls of dough, season with salt, white pepper, a dash of mace or nutmeg; add hot water enough to cover the ingredients, cover with a "short" pie-crust and bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour. _Palmer House, Chicago._ WOODCOCK, ROASTED. Skin the head and neck of the bird, pluck the feathers, and truss it by bringing the beak of the bird under the wing, and fastening the pinion to the thigh; twist the legs at the knuckles and press the feet upon the thigh. Put a piece of bread under each bird to catch the drippings, baste with butter, dredge with flour, and roast fifteen or twenty minutes with a sharp fire. When done, cut the bread in diamond shape, each piece large enough to stand one bird upon, place them aslant on your dish, and serve with gravy enough to moisten the bread; serve some in the dish and some in the tureen; garnish with slices of lemon. Roast from twenty to twenty-five minutes. SNIPE. Snipe are similar to woodcock, and may be served in the same manner; they will require less time to roast. REED BIRDS. Pick and draw them very carefully, salt and dredge with flour, and roast with a quick fire ten or fifteen minutes. Serve on toast with butter and pepper. You can put in each one an oyster dipped in butter and then in bread crumbs before roasting. They are also very nice broiled. ROAST QUAIL. Rinse well and steam over boiling water until tender, then dredge with flour, and smother in butter; season with salt and pepper and roast inside the stove; thicken the gravy; serve with green grape jelly, and garnish with parsley. TO ROAST PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, QUAIL OR GROUSE. Carefully cut out all the shot, wash thoroughly but quickly, using soda in the water; rinse again, and dry with a clean cloth. Stuff them and sew them up. Skewer the legs and wings to the body, larder the breast with very thin slices of fat salt pork, place them in the oven, and baste with butter and water before taking up, having seasoned them with salt and pepper; or you can leave out the pork and use only butter, or cook them without stuffing. Make a gravy of the drippings thickened with browned flour. Boil up and serve in a boat. These are all very fine broiled, first splitting down the back, placing on the gridiron the inside down, cover with a baking tin, and broil slowly at first. Serve with cream gravy. GAME PIE. Clean well, inside and out, a dozen small birds, quail, snipe, woodcock, etc., and split them in half; put them in a saucepan with about two quarts of water; when it boils, skim off all scum that rises; then add salt and pepper, a bunch of minced parsley, one onion chopped fine, and three whole cloves. Cut up half a pound of salt pork into dice, and let all boil until tender, using care that there be enough water to cover the birds. Thicken this with two tablespoonfuls of browned flour and let it boil up. Stir in a piece of butter as large as an egg; remove from the fire and let it cool. Have ready a pint of potatoes cut as small as dice, and a rich crust made. Line the sides of a buttered pudding dish with the crust; lay in the birds, then some of the potatoes, then birds and so on, until the dish is full. Pour over the gravy, put on the top crust, with a slit cut in the centre, and bake. The top can be ornamented with pastry leaves in a wreath about the edge, with any fancy design placed in the centre across the slit. _Rockaway Beach._ SNOWBIRDS. One dozen thoroughly cleaned birds; stuff each with an oyster, put them into a yellow dish, and add two ounces of boiled salt pork and three raw potatoes cut into slices; add a pint of oyster liquor, an ounce of butter; salt and pepper; cover the dish with a crust and bake in moderate oven. SQUIRREL. They are cooked similar to rabbits, are excellent when broiled or made into a stew, and, in fact, are very good in all the different styles of cooking similar to rabbit. There are many species common to this country; among them the black, red, gray and fox. Gophers and chipmunks may also be classed as another but smaller variety. ROAST HARE OR RABBIT. A very close relationship exists between the hare and the rabbit, the chief difference being in the smaller size and shorter legs and ears of the latter. The manner of dressing and preparing each for the table is, therefore, pretty nearly the same. To prepare them for roasting, first skin, wash well in cold water and rinse thoroughly in lukewarm water. If a little musty from being emptied before they were hung up, and afterward neglected, rub the insides with vinegar and afterward remove all taint of the acid by a thorough washing in lukewarm water. After being well wiped with a soft cloth put in a dressing as usual, sew the animal up, truss it, and roast for half or three-quarters of an hour, until well browned, basting it constantly with butter and dredging with flour, just before taking up. To make a gravy, after the rabbits are roasted, pour nearly all the fat out of the pan, but do not pour the bottom or brown part of the drippings; put the pan over the fire, stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and stir until the flour browns. Then stir in a pint of boiling water. Season the gravy with salt and pepper; let it boil for a moment. Send hot to the table in a tureen with the hot rabbits. Serve with currant jelly. FRICASSEE RABBIT. Clean two young rabbits, cut into joints, and soak in salt and water half an hour. Put into a saucepan with a pint of cold water, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion finely minced, a pinch of mace, half a nutmeg, a pinch of pepper and half a pound of salt pork cut in small thin slices. Cover and stew until tender. Take out the rabbits and set in a dish where they will keep warm. Add to the gravy a cup of cream (or milk), two well-beaten eggs, stirred in a little at a time, a tablespoonful of butter, and a thickening made of a tablespoonful of flour and a little milk. Boil up once; remove the saucepan from the fire, squeeze in the juice of a lemon, stirring all the while, and pour over the rabbits. Do not cook the head or neck. FRIED RABBIT. After the rabbit has been thoroughly cleaned and washed, put it into boiling water, and let it boil ten minutes; drain it, and when cold, cut it into joints, dip into beaten egg, and then in fine bread crumbs; season with salt and pepper. When all are ready, fry them in butter and sweet lard, mix over a moderate fire until brown on both sides. Take them out, thicken the gravy with a spoonful of flour, turn in a cup of milk or cream; let all boil up, and turn over the rabbits. Serve hot with onion sauce. (See SAUCES.) Garnish with sliced lemon. RABBIT PIE. This pie can be made the same as "Game Pie" excepting you scatter through it four hard-boiled eggs cut in slices. Cover with puff paste, cut a slit in the middle, and bake one hour, laying paper over the top should it brown too fast. BROILED RABBITS. After skinning and cleaning the rabbits, wipe them dry, split them down the back lengthwise, pound them flat, then wrap them in letter paper well buttered, place them on a buttered gridiron, and broil over a clear, brisk fire, turning them often. When sufficiently cooked, remove the papers, lay them on a very hot platter, season with salt, pepper and plenty of butter, turning them over and over to soak up the butter. Cover and keep hot in a warming oven until served. SALMI OF GAME. This is a nice mode of serving the remains of roasted game, but when a superlative salmi is desired, the birds must be scarcely more than half roasted for it. In either case, carve them very neatly, and strip every particle of skin and fat from the legs, wings and breasts; bruise the bodies well, and put them with the skin and other trimmings into a very clean stewpan. If for a simple and inexpensive dinner, merely add to them two sliced onions, a bay-leaf, a small blade of mace and a few peppercorns; then pour in a pint or more of good veal gravy, or strong broth, and boil it briskly until reduced nearly half; strain the gravy, pressing the bones well to obtain all the flavor; skim off the fat, add a little cayenne and lemon juice, heat the game very gradually in it, but do not on any account allow it to boil; place pieces of fried bread around a dish, arrange the birds in good form in the centre, give the sauce a boil, and pour it on them. ROAST HAUNCH OF VENISON. To prepare a haunch of venison for roasting, wash it slightly in tepid water and dry it thoroughly by rubbing it with a clean, soft cloth. Lay over the fat side a large sheet of thickly-buttered paper, and next a paste of flour and water about three-quarters of an inch thick; cover this again with two or three sheets of stout paper, secure the whole well with twine, and put down to roast, with a little water, in the dripping-pan. Let the fire be clear and strong; baste the paper immediately with butter or clarified drippings, and roast the joint from three to four hours, according to its weight and quality. Doe venison will require half an hour less time than buck venison. About twenty minutes before the joint is done remove the paste and paper, baste the meat in every part with butter, and dredge it very lightly with flour; let it take a pale brown color, and serve hot with unflavored gravy made with a thickening in a tureen and good currant jelly. Venison is much better when the deer has been killed in the autumn, when wild berries are plentiful, and it has had abundant opportunities to fatten upon this and other fresh food. _Windsor Hotel, Montreal._ BROILED VENISON STEAK. Venison steaks should be broiled over a clear fire, turning often. It requires more cooking than beef. When sufficiently done, season with salt and pepper, pour over two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly melted with a piece of butter. Serve hot on hot plates. Delicious steaks, corresponding to the shape of mutton chops, are cut from the loin. BAKED SADDLE OF VENISON. Wash the saddle carefully; see that no hairs are left dried on to the outside. Use a saddle of venison of about ten pounds. Cut some salt pork in strips about two inches long and an eighth of an inch thick, with which lard the saddle with two rows on each side. In a large dripping-pan cut two carrots, one onion and some salt pork in thin slices; add two bay-leaves, two cloves, four kernels of allspice, half a lemon sliced, and season with salt and pepper; place the saddle of venison in the pan, with a quart of good stock boiling hot and a small piece of butter, and let it boil about fifteen minutes on top of the stove; then put it in a hot oven and bake, basting well every five minutes, until it is medium rare, so that the blood runs when cut; serve with jelly or a wine sauce. If the venison is desired well done, cook much longer, and use a cream sauce with it, or stir cream into the venison gravy. (For cream sauce see SAUCES.) Venison should never be roasted unless very fat. The shoulder is a roasting piece and may be done without the paper or paste. In ordering the saddle request the butcher to cut the ribs off pretty close, as the only part that is of much account is the tenderloin and thick meat that lies along the backbone up to the neck. The ribs which extend from this have very little meat on them, but are always sold with the saddle. When neatly cut off they leave the saddle in a better shape, and the ribs can be put into your stock-pot to boil for soup. _Windsor Hotel, Montreal._ VENISON PIE OR PASTRY. The neck, breast and shoulder are the parts used for a venison pie or pastry. Cut the meat into pieces (fat and lean together) and put the bones and trimmings into the stewpan with pepper and salt, and water or veal broth enough to cover it. Simmer it till you have drawn out a good gravy. Then strain it. In the meantime make a good rich paste, and roll it rather thick. Cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish with one sheet of it, and put in your meat, having seasoned it with pepper, salt, nutmeg and mace. Pour in the gravy which you have prepared from the trimmings, and a glass of port wine. Lay on the top some bits of butter rolled in flour. Cover the pie with a thick lid of paste and ornament it handsomely with leaves and flowers formed with a tin cutter. Bake two or more hours according to the size. Just before it is done, pull it forward in the oven, and brush it over with beaten egg; push it back and let it slightly brown. _Windsor Hotel, Montreal._ VENISON HASHED. Cut the meat in nice small slices, and put the trimmings and bones into a saucepan with barely water enough to cover them. Let them stew for an hour. Then strain the liquid into a stewpan; add to it some bits of butter, rolled in flour, and whatever gravy was left of the venison the day before. Stir in some currant jelly, and give it a boil up. Then put in the meat, and keep it over the fire just long enough to warm it through; but do not allow it to boil, as it has been once cooked already. FRIED VENISON STEAK. Cut a breast of venison into steaks; make a quarter of a pound of butter hot in a pan; rub the steaks over with a mixture of a little salt and pepper; dip them in wheat flour, or rolled crackers, and fry a rich brown; when both sides are done, take them up on a dish, and put a tin cover over; dredge a heaping teaspoonful of flour into the butter in the pan, stir it with a spoon until it is brown, without burning; put to it a small teacupful of boiling water, with a tablespoonful of currant jelly dissolved into it; stir it for a few minutes, then strain it over the meat and serve. A glass of wine, with a tablespoonful of white sugar dissolved in it, may be used for the gravy, instead of the jelly and water. Venison may be boiled, and served with boiled vegetables, pickled beets, etc., and sauce. [Illustration] MEATS. In the selection of meat it is most essential that we understand how to choose it; in beef it should be a smooth, fine grain, of a clear bright red color, the fat white, and will feel tender when pinched with the fingers. Will also have abundant kidney fat or suet. The most choice pieces for roast are the sirloin, fore and middle ribs. Veal, to be good, should have the flesh firm and dry, fine grained and of a delicate pinkish color, and plenty of kidney fat; the joints stiff. Mutton is good when the flesh is a bright red, firm and juicy and a close grain, the fat firm and white. Pork, if young, the lean will break on being pinched smooth when nipped with the fingers, also the skin will break and dent; if the rind is rough and hard it is old. In roasting meat, allow from fifteen to twenty minutes to the pound, which will vary according to the thickness of the roast. A great deal of the success in roasting depends on the heat and goodness of the fire; if put into a cool oven it loses its juices, and the result is a tough, tasteless roast; whereas, if the oven is of the proper heat, it immediately sears up the pores of the meat and the juices are retained. The oven should be the hottest when the meat is put into it, in order to quickly crisp the surface and close the pores of the meat, thereby confining its natural juices. If the oven is too hot to hold the hand in for only a moment, then it is right to receive the meat. The roast should first be washed in pure water, then wiped dry with a clean dry cloth, placed in a baking pan without any seasoning; some pieces of suet or cold drippings laid under it, but _no water_ should be put into the pan, for this would have a tendency to soften the outside of the meat. The water can never get so hot as the hot fat upon the surface of the meat, and the generating of the steam prevents its crispness, so desirable in a roast. It should be frequently basted with its own drippings, which flow from the meat when partly cooked, and well seasoned. Lamb, veal and pork should be cooked rather slower than beef, with a more _moderate_ fire, covering the fat with a piece of paper, and _thoroughly_ cooked till the flesh parts from the bone, and nicely browned, without being burned. An onion sliced and put on top of a roast while cooking, especially roast of pork, gives a nice flavor. Remove the onion before serving. Larding meats is drawing ribbons of fat pork through the upper surface of the meat, leaving both ends protruding. This is accomplished by the use of a larding needle, which may be procured at house-furnishing stores. Boiling or stewing meat, if fresh, should be put into _boiling_ water, closely covered and boiled _slowly_, allowing twenty minutes to each pound, and, when partly cooked, or when it begins to get tender, salted, adding spices and vegetables. Salt meats should be covered with _cold_ water, and require thirty minutes _very slow_ boiling, from the time the water boils, for each pound; if it is very salt, pour off the first water and put it in another of boiling water, or it may be soaked one night in cold water. After meat commences to boil the pot should _never stop_ simmering and always be replenished from the _boiling_ tea-kettle. Frying may be done in two ways. One method, which is most generally used, is by putting one ounce or more (as the case requires) of beef drippings, lard or butter into a frying pan, and when at the _boiling point_ lay in the meat, cooking both sides a nice brown. The other method is to _completely immerse_ the article to be cooked in sufficient _hot_ lard to cover it, similar to frying doughnuts. Broiled meats should be placed over clear, red coals free from smoke, giving out a good heat, but not too brisk, or the meat will be hardened and scorched; but if the fire is dead the gravy will escape and drop upon the coals, creating a blaze, which will blacken and smoke the meat. Steaks and chops should be turned often, in order that every part should be evenly done--never sticking a fork into the lean part, as that lets the juices escape; it should be put into the outer skin or fat. When the meat is sufficiently broiled it should be laid on a _hot_ dish and seasoned. The best pieces for steak are the porterhouse, sirloin and rump. THAWING FROZEN MEAT, ETC. If meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, or any other article of food, when found frozen, is thawed by putting it into _warm water_ or placing it before the fire, it will most certainly spoil by that process, and be rendered unfit to eat. The only way to thaw these things is by immersing them in _cold_ water. This should be done as soon as they are brought in from market, that they may have time to be well thawed before they are cooked. If meat that has been frozen is to be boiled, put it on in cold water. If to be roasted, begin by setting it at a distance from the fire, for if it should not chance to be thoroughly thawed all through to the centre, placing it at first too near the fire will cause it to spoil. If it is expedient to thaw the meat or poultry the night before cooking, lay it in cold water early in the evening, and change the water at bed-time. If found crusted with ice in the morning, remove the ice, and put the meat in fresh cold water, letting it lie in it till wanted for cooking. Potatoes are injured by being frozen. Other vegetables are not the worse for it, provided they are always thawed in cold water. TO KEEP MEAT FROM FLIES. Put in sacks, with enough straw around it so the flies cannot reach through. Three-fourths of a yard of yard-wide muslin is the right size for the sack. Put a little straw in the bottom, then put in the ham and lay straw in all around it; tie it tightly and hang it in a cool, dry place. Be sure the straw is all around the meat, so the flies cannot reach through to deposit the eggs. (The sacking must be done early in the season before the fly appears.) Muslin lets the air in and is much better than paper. Thin muslin is as good as thick, and will last for years if washed when laid away when emptied. _National Stockman._ ROAST BEEF. One very essential point in roasting beef is to have the oven well heated when the beef is first put in; this causes the pores to close up quickly, and prevents the escape of the juices. Take a rib piece or loin roast of seven or eight pounds. Wipe it thoroughly all over with a clean wet towel. Lay it in a dripping-pan, and baste it well with butter or suet fat. Set it in the oven. Baste it frequently with its own drippings, which will make it brown and tender. When partly done season with salt and pepper, as it hardens any meat to salt it when raw, and draws out its juices, then dredge with sifted flour to give it a frothy appearance. It will take a roast of this size about two hours' time to be properly done, leaving the inside a little rare or red--half an hour less would make the inside quite rare. Remove the beef to a heated dish, set where it will keep hot; then skim the drippings from all fat, add a tablespoonful of sifted flour, a little pepper and a teacupful of boiling water. Boil up once and serve hot in a gravy boat. Some prefer the clear gravy without the thickening. Serve with mustard or grated horse-radish and vinegar. YORKSHIRE PUDDING. This is a very nice accompaniment to a roast of beef; the ingredients are, one pint of milk, four eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, one teaspoonful of salt, and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted through two cups of flour. It should be mixed very smooth, about the consistency of cream. Regulate your time when you put in your roast, so that it will be done half an hour or forty minutes before dishing up. Take it from the oven, set it where it will keep hot. In the meantime have this pudding prepared. Take two common biscuit tins, dip some of the drippings from the dripping-pan into these tins, pour half of the pudding into each, set them into the hot oven, and keep them in until the dinner is dished up; take these puddings out at the last moment and send to the table hot. This I consider much better than the old way of baking the pudding under the meat. BEEFSTEAK. No. 1. The first consideration in broiling is to have a clear, glowing bed of coals. The steak should be about three-quarters of an inch in thickness, and should be pounded only in extreme cases, _i.e._, when it is cut _too_ thick and is "stringy." Lay it on a buttered gridiron, turning it often, as it begins to drip, attempting nothing else while cooking it. Have everything else ready for the table; the potatoes and vegetables dished and in the warming closet. Do not season it until it is done, which will be in about ten to twelve minutes. Remove it to a warm platter, pepper and salt it on both sides and spread a liberal lump of butter over it. Serve at once while hot. No definite rule can be given as to the _time_ of cooking steak, individual tastes differ so widely in regard to it, some only liking it when well done, others so rare that the blood runs out of it. The best pieces for broiling are the porterhouse and sirloin. BEEFSTEAK. No. 2. Take a smooth, thick-bottomed frying pan, scald it out with hot water, and wipe it dry; set it on the stove or range, and when _very_ hot, rub it over the bottom with a rag dipped in butter; then place your steak or chops in it, turn often until cooked through, take up on a warm platter, and season both sides with salt, pepper and butter. Serve hot. Many prefer this manner of cooking steak rather than broiling or frying in a quantity of grease. BEEFSTEAK AND ONIONS. Prepare the steak in the usual way. Have ready in a frying pan a dozen onions cut in slices and fried brown in a little beef drippings or butter. Dish your steak, and lay the onions thickly over the top. Cover and let stand five minutes, then send to the table hot. BEEFSTEAK AND OYSTERS. Broil the steak the usual way. Put one quart of oysters with very little of the liquor into a stewpan upon the fire; when it comes to a boil, take off the scum that may rise, stir in three ounces of butter mixed with a tablespoonful of sifted flour, let it boil one minute until it thickens, pour it over the steak. Serve hot. _Palace Hotel, San Francisco._ TO FRY BEEFSTEAKS. Beefsteak for frying should be cut much thinner than for broiling. Take from the ribs or sirloin and remove the bone. Put some butter or nice beef dripping into a frying pan and set it over the fire, and when it has boiled and become hot lay in the steaks; when cooked quite enough, season with salt and pepper, turn and brown on both sides. Steaks when fried should be thoroughly done. Have ready a hot dish, and when they are done take out the steaks and lay them on it, with another dish cover the top to keep them hot. The gravy in the pan can be turned over the steaks, first adding a few drops of boiling water, or a gravy to be served in a separate dish made by putting a large tablespoonful of flour into the hot gravy left in the pan after taking up the steaks. Stir it smooth, then pour in a pint of cream or sweet rich milk, salt and pepper, let it boil up once until it thickens, pour hot into a gravy dish and send to the table with the steaks. POT ROAST. (Old Style.) This is an old-fashioned dish, often cooked in our grandmothers' time. Take a piece of fresh beef weighing about five or six pounds. It must not be _too fat_. Wash it and put it into a pot with barely sufficient water to cover it. Set it over a slow fire, and after it has stewed an hour salt and pepper it. Then stew it slowly until tender, adding a little onion if liked. Do not replenish the water at the last, but let all nearly boil away. When tender all through take the meat from the pot and pour the gravy in a bowl. Put a large lump of butter in the bottom of the pot, then dredge the piece of meat with flour and return it to the pot to brown, turning it often to prevent its burning. Take the gravy that you have poured from the meat into the bowl and skim off all the fat; pour this gravy in with the meat and stir in a large spoonful of flour wet with a little water; let it boil up ten or fifteen minutes and pour into a gravy dish. Serve both hot, the meat on a platter. Some are very fond of this way of cooking a piece of beef which has been previously placed in spiced pickle for two or three days. SPICED BEEF. (Excellent.) For a round of beef weighing twenty or twenty-four pounds, take one-quarter of a pound of saltpetre, one-quarter of a pound of coarse brown sugar, two pounds of salt, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of allspice and half an ounce of mace; pulverize these materials, mix them well together, and with them rub the beef thoroughly on every part; let the beef lie for eight or ten days in the pickle thus made, turning and rubbing it every day; then tie it around with a broad tape, to keep it in shape; make a coarse paste of flour and water, lay a little suet finely chopped over and under the beef, inclose the beef entirely in the paste, and bake it six hours. When you take the beef from the oven, remove the paste, but do not remove the tape until you are ready to send it to the table. If you wish, to eat the beef cold, keep it well covered that it may retain its moisture. BEEF Á LA MODE. Mix together three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, one of ginger, one of mace, one of cinnamon, and two of cloves. Rub this mixture into ten pounds of the upper part of a round of beef. Let this beef stand in this state over night. In the morning, make a dressing or stuffing of a pint of fine bread crumbs, half a pound of fat salt pork cut in dice, a teaspoonful of ground thyme or summer savory, two teaspoonfuls sage, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one of nutmeg, a little cloves, an onion minced fine, moisten with a little milk or water. Stuff this mixture into the place from whence you took out the bone. With a long skewer fasten the two ends of the beef together, so that its form will be circular, and bind it around with tape to prevent the skewers giving way. Make incisions in the beef with a sharp knife; fill these incisions very closely with the stuffing, and dredge the whole with flour. Put it into a dripping-pan and pour over it a pint of hot water; turn a large pan over it to keep in the steam, and roast slowly from three to four hours, allowing a quarter of an hour to each pound of meat. If the meat should be tough, it may be stewed first in a pot, with water enough to cover it, until tender, and then put into a dripping-pan and browned in the oven. If the meat is to be eaten hot, skim off the fat from the gravy, into which, after it is taken off the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs. If onions are disliked you may omit them and substitute minced oysters. TENDERLOIN OF BEEF. To serve tenderloin as directed below, the whole piece must be extracted before the hind-quarter of the animal is cut out. This must be particularly noted, because not commonly practiced, the tenderloin being usually left attached to the roasting pieces, in order to furnish a tidbit for a few. To dress it whole, proceed as follows: Washing the piece well, put it in an oven; add about a pint of water, and chop up a good handful of each of the following vegetables as an ingredient of the dish, _viz._, Irish potatoes, carrots, turnips and a large bunch of celery. They must be washed, peeled and chopped up raw, then added to the meat; blended with the juice, they form and flavor the gravy. Let the whole slowly simmer, and when nearly done, add a teaspoonful of pounded allspice. To give a richness to the gravy, put in a tablespoonful of butter. If the gravy should look too greasy, skim off some of the melted suet. Boil also a lean piece of beef, which, when perfectly done, chop fine, flavoring with a very small quantity of onion, besides pepper and salt to the taste. Make into small balls, wet them on the outside with eggs, roll in grated cracker or fine bread crumbs. Fry these force meat balls a light brown. When serving the dish, put these around the tenderloin, and pour over the whole the rich gravy. This dish is a very handsome one, and, altogether, fit for an epicurean palate. A sumptuous dish. STEWED STEAK WITH OYSTERS. Two pounds of rump steak, one pint of oysters, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, three of butter, one of flour, salt, pepper, one cupful of water. Wash the oysters in the water and drain into a stewpan. Put this liquor on to heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, skim and set back. Put the butter in a frying pan, and when hot, put in a steak. Cook ten minutes. Take up the steak, and stir the flour into the butter remaining in the pan. Stir until a dark brown. Add the oyster liquor and boil one minute. Season with salt and pepper. Put back the steak, cover the pan, and simmer half an hour or until the steak seems tender, then add the oysters and lemon juice. Boil one minute. Serve on a hot dish with points of toast for a garnish. SMOTHERED BEEFSTEAK. Take _thin_ slices of steak from the upper part of the round or one large thin steak. Lay the meat out smoothly and wipe it dry. Prepare a dressing, using a cupful of fine bread crumbs, half a teaspoonful of salt, some pepper, a tablespoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of sage, the same of powdered summer savory, and enough milk to moisten it all into a stiff mixture. Spread it over the meat, roll it up carefully, and tie with a string, securing the ends well. Now fry a few thin slices of salt pork in the bottom of a kettle or saucepan, and into the fat that has fried out of this pork, place this roll or rolls of beef, and brown it on all sides, turning it until a rich color all over, then add half a pint of water, and stew until tender. If the flavor of onion is liked, a slice may be chopped fine and added to the dressing. When cooked sufficiently, take out the meat, thicken the gravy, and turn over it. To be carved cutting crosswise, in slices, through beef and stuffing. BEEFSTEAK ROLLS. This mode is similar to the above recipe, but many might prefer it. Prepare a good dressing, such as you like for turkey or duck; take a round steak, pound it, but not very hard, spread the dressing over it, sprinkle in a little salt, pepper, and a few bits of butter, lap over the ends, roll the steak up tightly and tie closely; spread two great spoonfuls of butter over the steak after rolling it up, then wash with a well-beaten egg, put water in the bake-pan, lay in the steak so as not to touch the water, and bake as you would a duck, basting often. A half-hour in a brisk oven will bake. Make a brown gravy and send to the table hot. TO COLLAR A FLANK OF BEEF. Procure a well-corned flank of beef--say six pounds. Wash it, and remove the inner and outer skin with the gristle. Prepare a seasoning of one teaspoonful each of sage, parsley, thyme, pepper and cloves. Lay your meat upon a board and spread this mixture over the inside. Roll the beef up tight, fasten it with small skewers, put a cloth over it, bandage the cloth with tape, put the beef into the stewpot, cover it with water to the depth of an inch, boil gently six hours; take it out of the water, place it on a board without undoing it; lay a board on top of the beef, put a fifty pound weight upon this board, and let it remain twenty-four hours. Take off the bandage, garnish with green pickles and curled parsley, and serve. DRIED BEEF. Buy the best of beef, or that part which will be the most lean and tender. The tender part of the round is a very good piece. For every twenty pounds of beef use one pint of salt, one teaspoonful of saltpetre, and a quarter of a pound of brown sugar. Mix them well together, and rub the beef well with one-third of the mixture for three successive days. Let it lie in the liquor it makes for six days, then hang up to dry. A large crock or jar is a good vessel to prepare the meat in before drying it. BEEF CORNED OR SALTED. (Red.) Cut up a quarter of beef. For each hundred weight take half a peck of coarse salt, a quarter of a pound of saltpetre, the same weight of saleratus and a quart of molasses, or two pounds of coarse brown sugar. Mace, cloves and allspice may be added for spiced beef. Strew some of the salt in the bottom of a pickle-tub or barrel, then put in a layer of meat, strew this with salt, then add another layer of meat, and salt and meat alternately, until all is used. Let it remain one night. Dissolve the saleratus and saltpetre in a little warm water, and put it to the molasses or sugar; then put it over the meat, add water enough to cover the meat, lay a board on it to keep it under the brine. The meat is fit for use after ten days. This recipe is for winter beef. Rather more salt may be used in warm weather. Towards spring take the brine from the meat, make it boiling hot, skim it clear, and when it is cooled, return it to the meat. Beef tongues and smoking pieces are fine pickled in this brine. Beef liver put in this brine for ten days, and then wiped dry and smoked, is very fine. Cut it in slices, and fry or broil it. The brisket of beef, after being corned, may be smoked, and is very good for boiling. Lean pieces of beef, cut properly from the hind-quarter, are the proper pieces for being smoked. There may be some fine pieces cut from the fore-quarter. After the beef has been in brine ten days or more, wipe it dry, and hang it in a chimney where wood is burned, or make a smothered fire of sawdust or chips, and keep it smoking for ten days; then rub fine black pepper over every part to keep the flies from it, and hang it in a _dry, dark, cool place_. After a week it is fit for use. A strong, coarse brown paper, folded around the beef, and fastened with paste, keeps it nicely. Tongues are smoked in the same manner. Hang them by a string put through the root end. Spiced brine for smoked beef or tongues will be generally liked. ROAST BEEF PIE WITH POTATO CRUST. When you have a cold roast of beef, cut off as much as will half fill a baking-dish suited to the size of your family; put this sliced beef into a stewpan with any gravy that you may have also saved, a lump of butter, a bit of sliced onion and a seasoning of pepper and salt, with enough water to make plenty of gravy; thicken it, too, by dredging in a tablespoonful of flour; cover it up on the fire, where it may stew gently, but not be in danger of burning. Meanwhile there must be boiled a sufficient quantity of potatoes to fill up your baking-dish, after the stewed meat has been transferred to it. The potatoes must be boiled done, mashed smooth, and beaten up with milk and butter, as if they were to be served alone, and placed in a thick layer on top of the meat. Brush it over with egg, place the dish in an oven, and let it remain there long enough to be brown. There should be a goodly quantity of gravy left with the beef, that the dish be not dry and tasteless. Serve with it tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce or any other kind that you prefer. A good, plain dish. ROAST BEEF PIE. Cut up roast beef, or beefsteak left from a previous meal, into thin slices, lay some of the slices into a deep dish which you have lined _on the sides_ with rich biscuit dough, rolled very thin (say a quarter of an inch thick); now sprinkle over this layer a little pepper and salt; put in a small bit of butter, a few slices of cold potatoes, a little of the cold gravy, if you have any left from the roast. Make another layer of beef, another layer of seasoning, and so on, until the dish is filled; cover the whole with paste leaving a slit in the centre, and bake half an hour. BEEFSTEAK PIE. Cut up rump or flank steak into strips two inches long and about an inch wide. Stew them with the bone, in just enough water to cover them, until partly cooked; have half a dozen of cold boiled potatoes sliced. Line a baking-dish with pie paste, put in a layer of the meat with salt, pepper, and a little of thinly-sliced onion, then one of the sliced potatoes, with bits of butter dotted over them. Then the steak, alternated with layers of potato, until the dish is full. Add the gravy or broth, having first thickened it with brown flour. Cover with a top crust, making a slit in the middle; brush a little beaten egg over it, and bake until quite brown. FRIZZLED BEEF. Shave off _very thin_ slices of smoked or dried beef, put them in a frying pan, cover with cold water, set it on the back of the range or stove, and let it come to a very slow heat, allowing it time to swell out to its natural size, but not to boil. Stir it up, then drain off the water. Melt one ounce of sweet butter in the frying pan and add the wafers of beef. When they begin to frizzle or turn up, break over them three eggs; stir until the eggs are cooked; add a little white pepper, and serve on slices of buttered toast. FLANK STEAK. This is cut from the boneless part of the flank and is secreted between an outside and inside layer of creamy fat. There are two ways for broiling it. One is to slice diagonally across the grain; the other is to broil it whole. In either case brush butter over it and proceed as in broiling other steaks. It is considered by butchers the finest steak, which they frequently reserve for themselves. TO BOIL CORNED BEEF. The aitch-bone and the brisket are considered the best pieces for boiling. If you buy them in the market already corned, they will be fit to put over the fire without a previous soaking in water. If you corn them in the brine in which you keep your beef through the winter, they must be soaked in cold water over night. Put the beef into a pot, cover with sufficient _cold_ water, place over a brisk fire, let it come to a boil in half an hour; just before boiling remove all the scum from the pot, place the pot on the back of the fire, let it boil very slowly until quite tender. A piece weighing eight pounds requires two and a half hours' boiling. If you do not wish to eat it hot, let it remain in the pot after you take it from the fire until nearly cold, then lay it in a colander to drain, lay a cloth over it to retain its fresh appearance; serve with horse-radish and pickles. If vegetables are to accompany this, making it the old-fashioned "boiled dinner," about three-quarters of an hour before dishing up skim the liquor free from fat and _turn part of it out into another kettle_, into which put a cabbage carefully prepared, cutting it into four quarters; also half a dozen peeled medium-sized white turnips, cut into halves; scrape four carrots and four parsnips each cut into four pieces. Into the kettle with the meat, about half an hour before serving, pour on more water from the boiling tea-kettle, and into this put peeled medium-sized potatoes. This dinner should also be accompanied by boiled beets, sliced hot, cooked separate from the rest, with vinegar over them. Cooking the cabbage separately from the meat prevents the meat from having the flavor of cabbage when cold. The carrots, parsnips and turnips will boil in about an hour. A piece of salt pork was usually boiled with a "New England boiled dinner." SPICED BEEF RELISH. Take two pounds of raw, tender beefsteak, chop it _very fine_, put into it salt, pepper and a little sage, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter; add two rolled crackers made very fine, also two well-beaten eggs. Make it up into the shape of a roll and bake it; baste with butter and water before baking. Cut in slices when cold. FRIED BEEF LIVER. Cut it in rather thin slices, say a quarter of an inch thick; pour over it _boiling_ water, which closes the pores of the meat, makes it impervious to the fat, and at the same time seals up the rich juice of the meat. It may be rolled in flour or bread crumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper, dipped in egg and fried in hot fat mixed with one-third butter. PRESSED BEEF. First have your beef nicely pickled; let it stay in pickle a week; then take the thin, flanky pieces, such as will not make a handsome dish of themselves, put on a large potful, and let them boil until perfectly done; then pull to pieces, and season just as you do souse, with pepper, salt and allspice; only put it in a coarse cloth and press down upon it some very heavy weight. The advantage of this recipe is that it makes a most acceptable, presentable dish out of a part of the beef that otherwise might be wasted. FRENCH STEW. Grease the bottom of an iron pot, and place in it three or four pounds of beef; be very careful that it does not burn, and turn it until it is nicely browned. Set a muffin ring under the beef to prevent its sticking. Add a few sliced carrots, one or two sliced onions, and a cupful of hot water; keep covered and stew slowly until the vegetables are done. Add pepper and salt. If you wish more gravy, add hot water, and thicken with flour. Serve on a dish with the vegetables. TO POT BEEF. The round is the best piece for potting, and you may use both the upper and under part. Take ten pounds of beef, remove all the fat, cut the lean into square pieces, two inches thick. Mix together three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, one of cloves, one of mace, one of cinnamon, one of allspice, one of thyme, and one of sweet basil. Put a layer of the pieces of beef into an earthen pot, sprinkle some of this spice mixture over this layer, add a piece of fat salt pork, cut as thin as possible, sprinkle a little of the spice mixture over the pork, make another layer of the beef with spices and pork, and so on, until the pot is filled. Pour over the whole three tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, or, if you prefer it, half a pint of Madeira wine; cover the pot with a paste made of flour and water, so that no steam can escape. Put the pot into an oven, moderately heated, and let it stand there eight hours; then set it away to use when wanted. Beef cooked in this manner will keep good for a fortnight in moderate weather. It is an excellent relish for breakfast, and may be eaten either warm or cold. When eaten warm, serve with slices of lemon. STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF. Put the part that has the hard fat into a stewpot with a small quantity of water; let it boil up and skim it thoroughly; then add carrots, turnips, onions, celery and a few pepper-corns. Stew till extremely tender; then take out all the flat bones and remove all the fat from the soup. Either serve that and the meat in tureen, or the soup alone, and the meat on a dish garnished with some vegetables. The following sauce is much admired served with the beef: Take half a pint of the soup and mix it with a spoonful of catsup, a teaspoonful of made mustard, a little flour, a bit of butter and salt; boil all together a few minutes, then pour it round the meat. DRIED BEEF WITH CREAM. Shave your beef _very fine_. Put it into a suitable dish on the back of the stove; cover with cold water and give it time to soak out to its original size before being dried. When it is quite soft and the water has become hot (it must not boil) take it off, turn off the water, pour on a cup of cream; if you do not have it use milk and butter, a pinch of pepper; let it come to a boil, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour wet up in a little milk. Serve on dipped toast or not, just as one fancies. A nice breakfast dish. BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 1. Chop fine one cup of cold, cooked, lean beef, half a cup of fat, half a cup of cold boiled or fried ham; cold pork will do if you have not the ham. Also mince up a slice of onion. Season all with a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of powdered sage or parsley if liked. Heat together with half a cup of stock or milk; when cool add a beaten egg. Form the mixture into balls, slightly flattened, roll in egg and bread crumbs, or flour and egg. Fry in hot lard or beef drippings. Serve on a platter and garnish with sprigs of parsley. Almost any cold meats can be used instead of beef. BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 2. Take cold roast or corned beef. Put it into a wooden bowl and chop it fine. Mix with it about twice the quantity of hot mashed potatoes well seasoned with butter and salt. Beat up an egg and work it into the potato and meat, then form the mixture into little cakes the size of fish balls. Flatten them a little, roll in flour or egg and cracker crumbs, fry in butter and lard mixed, browning on both sides. Serve piping hot. MEAT AND POTATO CROQUETTES. Put in a stewpan an ounce of butter and a slice of onion minced fine; when this simmers add a level tablespoonful of sifted flour; stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and frothy; then add half of a cupful of milk, some seasoning of salt and pepper; let all boil, stirring it all the while. Now add a cupful of cold meat chopped fine, and a cupful of cold or hot mashed potato. Mix all thoroughly and spread on a plate to cool. When it is cool enough, shape it with your hands into balls or rolls. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in cracker or bread crumbs. Drop them into hot lard and fry about two minutes a delicate brown; take them out with a skimmer and drain them on a piece of brown paper. Serve immediately while hot. These are very nice. Cold rice or hominy may be used in place of the potato; or a cupful of cold fish minced fine in place of the meat. COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 1. Cut from the remains of a cold roast the lean meat from the bones into small, thin slices. Put over the fire a frying pan containing a spoonful of butter or drippings. Cut up a quarter of an onion and fry it brown, then remove the onion, add the meat gravy left from the day before, and if not thick enough add a little flour; salt and pepper. Turn the pieces of meat into this and let them _simmer_ a few minutes. Serve hot. COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 2. Cold rare roast beef may be made as good as when freshly cooked by slicing, seasoning with salt, pepper and bits of butter; put it in a plate or pan with a spoonful or two of water, covering closely, and set in the oven until hot, but no longer. Cold steak may be shaved very fine with a knife and used the same way. Or, if the meat is in small pieces, cover them with buttered letter paper, twist each end tightly, and boil them on the gridiron, sprinkling them with finely chopped herbs. Still another nice way of using cold meats is to mince the lean portions very fine and add to a batter made of one pint of milk, one cup of flour and three eggs. Fry like fritters and serve with drawn butter or sauce. COLD MEAT AND POTATO, BAKED. Put in a frying pan a round tablespoonful of cold butter; when it becomes hot, stir into it a teaspoonful of chopped onion and a tablespoonful of flour, stirring it constantly until it is smooth and frothy; then add two-thirds of a cupful of cold milk or water. Season this with salt and pepper and allow it to come to a boil; then add a cupful of cold meat finely chopped and cleared from bone and skin; let this all heat thoroughly; then turn it into a shallow dish well buttered. Spread hot or cold mashed potatoes over the top, and cook for fifteen or twenty minutes in a moderate hot oven. Cold hominy, or rice may be used in place of mashed potatoes, and is equally as good. BEEF HASH. No. 1. Chop rather finely cold roast beef or pieces of beefsteak, also chop twice as much cold boiled potatoes. Put over the fire a stewpan or frying pan, in which put a piece of butter as large as required to season it well, add pepper and salt, moisten with beef gravy if you have it, if not, with hot water; cover and let it steam and heat through thoroughly, stirring occasionally, so that the ingredients be evenly distributed, and to keep the hash from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When done it should not be at all watery, nor yet dry, but have sufficient adhesiveness to stand well on a dish or buttered toast. Many like the flavor of onion; if so, fry two or three slices in the butter before adding the hash. Corned beef makes excellent hash. BEEF HASH. No. 2. Chop cold roast beef, or pieces of beefsteak; fry half an onion in a piece of butter; when the onion is brown, add the chopped beef; season with a little salt and pepper; moisten with the beef gravy, if you have any, if not, with sufficient water and a little butter; cook long enough to be hot, but no longer, as much cooking toughens the meat. An excellent breakfast dish. _Prof. Blot._ Some prefer to let a crust form on the bottom and turn the hash brown side uppermost. Served with poached eggs on top. HAMBURGER STEAK. Take a pound of raw flank or round steak, without any fat, bone or stringy pieces. Chop it until a perfect mince, it cannot be chopped too fine. Also chop a small onion quite fine and mix well with the meat. Season with salt and pepper; make into cakes as large as a biscuit, but quite flat, or into one large flat cake a little less than half an inch thick. Have ready a frying pan with butter and lard mixed; when boiling hot put in the steak and fry brown. Garnish with celery top around the edge of the platter and two or three slices of lemon on the top of the meat. A brown gravy made from the grease the steak was fried in and poured over the meat enriches it. TO ROAST BEEF HEART. Wash it carefully and open it sufficiently to remove the ventricles, then soak it in cold water until the blood is discharged; wipe it dry and stuff it nicely with dressing, as for turkey; roast it about an hour and a half. Serve it with the gravy, which should be thickened with some of the stuffing and a glass of wine. It is very nice hashed. Served with currant jelly. _Palmer House, Chicago._ STEWED BEEF KIDNEY. Cut the kidney into slices, season highly with pepper and salt, fry it a light brown, take out the slices, then pour a little warm water into the pan, dredge in some flour, put in slices of kidney again; let them stew very gently; add some parsley if liked. Sheep's kidneys may be split open, broiled over a clear fire and served with a piece of butter placed on each half. BEEFS HEART STEWED. After washing the heart thoroughly cut it up into squares half an inch long; put them into a saucepan with water enough to cover them. If any scum rises skim it off. Now take out the meat, strain the liquor and put back the meat, also add a sliced onion, some parsley, a head of celery chopped fine, pepper and salt and a piece of butter. Stew until the meat is very tender. Stir up a tablespoonful of browned flour with a small quantity of water and thicken the whole. Boil up and serve. BOILED BEEF TONGUE. Wash a fresh tongue and just cover it with water in the pot; put in a pint of salt and a small red pepper; add more water as it evaporates, so as to keep the tongue nearly covered until done--when it can be easily pierced with a fork; take it out, and if wanted soon, take off the skin and set it away to cool. If wanted for future use, do not peel until it is required. A cupful of salt will do for three tongues, if you have that number to boil; but do not fail to keep water enough in the pot to keep them covered while boiling. If salt tongues are used, soak them over night, of course omitting the salt when boiling. Or, after peeling a tongue, place it in a saucepan with one cup of water, half a cup vinegar, four tablespoonfuls sugar, and cook until the liquor is evaporated. SPICED BEEF TONGUE. Rub into each tongue a mixture made of half a pound of brown sugar, a piece of saltpetre the size of a pea and a tablespoonful of ground cloves, put it in a brine made of three-quarters of a pound of salt to two quarts of water and keep covered. Pickle two weeks, then wash well and dry with a cloth; roll out a thin paste made of flour and water, smear it all over the tongue and place in a pan to bake slowly; baste well with lard and hot water; when done scrape off the paste and skim. TO BOIL TRIPE. Wash it well in warm water, and trim it nicely, taking off all the fat. Cut into small pieces, and put it on to boil five hours before dinner in water enough to cover it very well. After it has boiled four hours, pour off the water, season the tripe with pepper and salt, and put it into a pot with milk and water mixed in equal quantities. Boil it an hour in the milk and water. Boil in a saucepan ten or a dozen onions. When they are quite soft, drain them in a colander and mash them. Wipe out your saucepan and put them on again, with a bit of butter rolled in flour and a wine-glass of cream or milk. Let them boil up, and add them to the tripe just before you send it to table. Eat it with pepper, vinegar and mustard. It is best to give tripe its first and longest boiling the day before it is wanted. TO FRY TRIPE. Boil the tripe the day before till it is quite tender, which it will not be in less than four or five hours. Then cover it and set it away. Next day cut it into long slips, and dip each piece into beaten yolk of egg, and afterwards roll them in grated bread crumbs. Have ready in a frying pan over the fire some good beef drippings. When it is boiling hot put in the tripe, and fry it about ten minutes, till of a light brown. You may serve it with onion sauce. Boiled tripe that has been left from the dinner of the preceding day may be fried in this manner. FRICASSEED TRIPE. Cut a pound of tripe in narrow strips, put a small cup of water or milk to it, add a bit of butter the size of an egg, dredge in a large teaspoonful of flour, or work it with the butter; season with pepper and salt, let it simmer gently for half an hour, serve hot. A bunch of parsley cut small and put with it is an improvement. Some put in oysters five minutes before dishing up. TRIPE LYONNAISE. Cut up half a pound of cold boiled tripe into neat squares. Put two ounces of butter and a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a frying pan and fry to a delicate brown; add to the tripe a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a little strong vinegar, salt and cayenne; stir the pan to prevent burning. Cover the bottom of a platter with tomato sauce, add the contents of the pan and serve. TO CLARIFY BEEF DRIPPINGS. Drippings accumulated from different cooked meats of beef or veal can be clarified by putting it into a basin and slicing into it a raw potato, allowing it to boil long enough for the potato to brown, which causes all impurities to disappear. Remove from the fire, and when cool drain it off from the sediment that settles at the bottom. Turn it into basins or small jars and set it in a cool place for future use. When mixed with an equal amount of butter it answers the same purpose as clear butter for frying and basting any meats except game and poultry. Mutton drippings impart an unpleasant flavor to anything cooked outside of its kind. ROAST LOIN OF VEAL. Prepare it the same as any roast, leaving in the kidney, around which put considerable salt. Make a dressing the same as for fowls; unroll the loin, put the stuffing well around the kidney, fold and secure with several coils of white cotton twine wound around in all directions; place in a dripping-pan with the thick side down, and put in a rather hot oven, graduated after it commences to roast to moderate; in half an hour add a little hot water to the pan, and baste often; in another half hour turn over the roast, and when about done dredge lightly with flour and baste with melted butter. Before serving carefully remove the twine. A roast of four to five pounds will bake in about two hours. For a gravy, skim off some of the fat if there is too much in the drippings; dredge in some flour, stir until brown, add some hot water if necessary; boil a few minutes, stir in such sweet herbs as fancied, and put in a gravy boat. Serve with green peas and lemon jelly. Is very nice sliced cold for lunch, and Worcestershire or Chili sauce forms a fine relish. ROAST FILLET OF VEAL. Select a nice fillet, take out the bone, fill up the space with stuffing, and also put a good layer under the fat. Truss it of a good shape by drawing the fat round and tie it up with tape. Cook it rather moderately at first, and baste with butter. It should have careful attention and frequent basting, that the fat may not burn. Roast from three to four hours, according to the size. After it is dished pour melted butter over it; serve with ham or bacon, and fresh cucumbers if in season. Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold water before cooking and wiped thoroughly dry with a clean cloth. Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatoes and an onion or two. In roasting veal, care must be taken that it is not at first placed in too hot an oven; the fat of a loin, one of the most delicate joints of veal, should be covered with greased paper; a fillet, also, should have on the caul until nearly done enough. BOILED FILLET OF VEAL. Choose a small, delicate fillet; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it with an oyster force meat; after having washed it thoroughly, cover it with water and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours, keeping it well skimmed. Send it to the table with a rich white sauce, or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster sauce. Garnish with stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled tongue should be served with it. VEAL PUDDING. Cut about two pounds of lean veal into small collops a quarter of an inch in thickness; put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a very clean frying pan to melt; then lay in the veal and a few slices of bacon, a small sprig of thyme and a seasoning of pepper and salt; place the pan over a slow fire for about ten minutes, then add two or three spoonfuls of warm water. Just boil it up and then let it stand to cool. Line a pudding-dish with a good suet crust, lay in the veal and bacon, pour the gravy over it; roll out a piece of paste to form a lid, place it over, press it close with the thumb, tie the basin in a pudding cloth and put it into a saucepan of boiling water, keeping continually boiling until done, or about one hour. FRIED VEAL CUTLETS. Put into a frying pan two or three tablespoonfuls of lard or beef drippings. When boiling hot lay in the cutlets, well seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged with flour. Brown nicely on both sides, then remove the meat, and if you have more grease than is necessary for the gravy put it aside for further use. Reserve a tablespoonful or more and rub into it a tablespoonful of flour, with the back of the spoon, until it is a smooth, rich brown color; then add gradually a cup of _cold water_ and season with pepper and salt. When the gravy is boiled up well return the meat to the pan and gravy. Cover it closely and allow it to stew gently on the back of the range for fifteen minutes. This softens the meat, and with this gravy it makes a nice breakfast dish. Another mode is to simply fry the cutlets, and afterwards turning off some of the grease they were fried in and then adding to that left in the pan a few drops of hot water, turning the whole over the fried chops. FRIED VEAL CHOPS. (Plain.) Sprinkle over them salt and pepper, then dip them in beaten egg and cracker crumbs, and fry in drippings, or hot lard and butter mixed. If you wish a gravy with them, add a tablespoonful of flour to the gravy they were fried in and turn in cream or milk; season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil up and serve hot with the gravy in separate dish. This dish is very fine accompanied with a few sound fresh tomatoes, sliced and fried in the same grease the cutlets were, and all dished on the same platter. VEAL COLLOPS. Cut veal from the leg or other lean part into pieces the size of an oyster. Season with pepper, salt and a little mace; rub some over each piece; dip in egg, then into cracker crumbs and fry. They both look and taste like oysters. VEAL OLIVES. Cut up a slice of a fillet of veal, about half an inch thick, into squares of three inches. Mix up a little salt pork, chopped with bread crumbs, one onion, a little pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, and one egg well beaten; put this mixture upon the pieces of veal, fastening the four corners together with little bird skewers; lay them in a pan with sufficient veal gravy or light stock to cover the bottom of the pan, dredge with flour and set in a hot oven. When browned on top, put a small bit of butter on each, and let them remain until quite tender, which will take twenty minutes. Serve with horse-radish. VEAL CHEESE. Prepare equal quantities of boiled sliced veal and smoked tongue. Pound the slices separately in a mortar, moistening with butter as you proceed; then pack it in a jar or pail, mixing it in alternate layers; first the tongue and then the veal, so that when cut it will look variegated. Press it down hard and pour melted butter over the top. Keep it well covered and in a dry place. Nice for sandwiches, or sliced cold for lunch. VEAL CROQUETTES. Mince a coffee cup of cold veal in a chopping bowl, adding a little cold ham and two or three slices of onion, a pinch of mace, powdered parsley and pepper, some salt. Let a pint of milk or cream come to the boiling point, then add a tablespoonful of cold butter, then the above mixture. Beat up two eggs and mix with a teaspoonful of cornstarch or flour, and add to the rest; cook it all about ten minutes, stirring with care. Remove from the fire, and spread it on a platter, roll it into balls, when cooled flatten each; dip them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in a wire basket, dipped in hot lard. BROILED VEAL CUTLETS. (Fine.) Two or three pounds of veal cutlets, egg and bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of minced savory herbs, salt and pepper to taste, a little grated nutmeg. Cut the cutlets about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; flatten them, and brush them over with the yolk of an egg; dip them into bread crumbs and minced herbs, season with pepper and salt, and fold each cutlet in a piece of white letter paper well buttered; twist the ends, and broil over a clear fire; when done remove the paper. Cooked this way, they retain all the flavor. VEAL POT-PIE. Procure a nice breast or brisket of veal, well jointed, put the pieces into the pot with one quart of water to every five pounds of meat; put the pot over a slow fire; just before it comes to a boil, skim it well and pour in a teacupful of cold water; then turn over the meat in order that all the scum may rise; remove all the scum, boil quite hard, season with pepper and salt to your taste, always remembering that the crust will take up part of the seasoning; when this is done cut off your crust in pieces of equal size, but do not roll or mould them; lay them on top of the meat, so as to cover it; put the lid on the pot closely, let the whole boil slowly one hour. If the lid does not fit the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to _stop boiling_. The crust for pot-pie should be raised with yeast. To three pints of flour add two ounces of butter, a little salt, and wet with milk sufficient to make a soft dough; knead it well and set it away to rise; when quite light, mould and knead it again, and let it stand, in winter, one hour, in summer, one-half hour, when it will be ready to cut. In summer you had better add one-half a teaspoonful of soda when you knead it the second time, or you may wet it with water and add another bit of butter. VEAL PIE. Cut the veal into rather small pieces or slices, put it in a stewpan with hot water to cover it; add to it a tablespoonful of salt and set it over the fire; take off the scum as it rises; when the meat is tender turn it into a dish to cool; take out all the small bones, butter a tin or earthen basin or pudding-pan, line it with pie paste, lay some of the parboiled meat in to half fill it; put bits of butter in the size of a hickory nut all over the meat; shake pepper over, dredge wheat flour over until it looks white, then fill it nearly to the top with some of the water in which the meat was boiled; roll a cover for the top of the crust, puff-paste it, giving it two or three turns, and roll it to nearly half an inch thickness; cut a slit in the centre and make several small incisions on either side of it, put the crust on, trim the edges neatly with a knife; bake one hour in a quick oven. A breast of veal will make two two-quart basin pies; half a pound of nice corned pork, cut in thin slices and parboiled with the meat, will make it very nice, and very little, if any, butter will be required for the pie; when pork is used not other salt will be necessary. Many are fond of thin slices of sweet ham cooked with the veal for pie. VEAL STEW. Cut up two or three pounds of veal into pieces three inches long and one thick. Wash it, put it into your stewpan with two quarts of water, let it boil, skim it well, and when all the scum is removed, add pepper and salt to your taste, and a small piece of butter; pare and cut in halves twelve small Irish potatoes, put them into the stewpan; when it boils, have ready a batter made with two eggs, two spoonfuls of cream or milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make it a little thicker than for pancakes; drop this into the stew, a spoonful at a time, while it is boiling; when all is in, cover the pan closely so that no steam can escape; let it boil twenty minutes and serve in a deep dish. VEAL LOAF. Three pounds of raw veal chopped very fine, butter the size of an egg, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; if milk use a small piece of butter; mix the eggs and cream together; mix with the veal four pounded crackers, one teaspoonful of black pepper, one large tablespoonful salt, one large tablespoonful of sage; mix well together and form into a loaf. Bake two and one-half hours, basting with butter and water while baking. Serve cut in thin slices. VEAL FOR LUNCH. Butter a good-sized bowl, and line it with thin slices of hard-boiled eggs; have veal and ham both in very thin slices; place, in the bowl a layer of veal, with pepper and salt, then a layer of ham, omitting the salt, then a layer of veal, and so on, alternating with veal and ham, until the bowl is filled; make a paste of flour and water as stiff as it can be rolled out; cover the contents of the bowl with the paste, and over this tie a double cotton cloth; put the bowl into a saucepan, or other vessel, with water just up to the rim of the bowl, and boil three hours; then take it from the fire, remove the cloth and paste, and let it stand until the next day, when it may be turned out and served in very thin slices. An excellent lunch in traveling. VEAL PATTIES. Cut portions of the neck or breast of veal into small pieces, and, with a little salt pork cut fine, stew gently for ten or fifteen minutes; season with pepper and salt, and a small piece of celery chopped coarsely, also of the yellow top, picked (not chopped) up; stir in a paste made of a tablespoonful of flour, the yolk of one egg, and milk to form a thin batter; let all come to a boil, and it is ready for the patties. Make the patties of a light, flaky crust, as for tarts, cut round, the size of a small sauceplate; the centre of each, for about three inches, cut half way through, to be raised and serve as a cover. Put a spoonful of the stew in each crust, lay on the top and serve. Stewed oysters or lamb may be used in place of veal. BRAISED VEAL. Take a piece of the shoulder weighing about five pounds. Have the bone removed and tie up the meat to make it firm. Put a piece of butter the size of half an egg, together with a few shavings of onion, into a kettle or stone crock and let it get hot. Salt and pepper the veal and put it into the kettle, cover it tightly and put it over a medium fire until the meat is brown on both sides, turning it occasionally. Then set the kettle back on the stove, where it will simmer slowly for about two hours and a half. Before setting the meat back on the stove, see if the juice of the meat together with the butter do not make gravy enough, and if not, put in about two tablespoonfuls of hot water. When the gravy is cold it will be like jelly. It can be served hot with the hot meat, or cold with the cold meat. BAKED CALF'S HEAD. Boil a calf's head (after having cleaned it) until tender, then split it in two, and keep the best half (bone it if you like); cut the meat from the other in uniform pieces, the size of an oyster; put bits of butter, the size of a nutmeg, all over the best half of the head; sprinkle pepper over it, and dredge on flour until it looks white, then set it on a trivet or muffin rings in a dripping-pan; put a cup of water into the pan, and set it in a hot oven; turn it that it may brown evenly; baste once or twice. Whilst this is doing, dip the prepared pieces of the head in wheat flour or batter, and fry in hot lard or beef drippings a delicate brown; season with pepper and salt and slices of lemon, if liked. When the roast is done put it on a hot dish, lay the fried pieces around it, and cover it with a tin cover; put the gravy from the dripping-pan into the pan in which the pieces were fried, with the slices of lemon, and a tablespoonful of browned flour, and, if necessary, a little hot water. Let it boil up once, and strain it into a gravy boat, and serve with the meat. CALF'S HEAD CHEESE. Boil a calf's head in water enough to cover it, until the meat leaves the bones; then take it with a skimmer into a wooden bowl or tray; take from it every particle of bone; chop it small; season with pepper and salt, a heaping tablespoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper will be sufficient; if liked, add a tablespoonful of finely chopped sweet herbs; lay in a cloth in a colander, put the minced meat into it, then fold the cloth closely over it, lay a plate over, and on it a gentle weight. When cold it may be sliced thin for supper or sandwiches. Spread each slice with made mustard. BRAIN CUTLETS. Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water until white. Parboil them until tender in a small saucepan for about a quarter of an hour; then thoroughly drain them and place them on a board. Divide them into small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry them in butter or well-clarified drippings. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock, like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served with parsley and butter sauce. CALFS HEAD BOILED. Put the head into boiling water and let it remain about five minutes; take it out, hold it by the ear, and with the back of the knife scrape off the hair (should it not come off easily dip the head again in boiling water.) When perfectly clean take out the eyes, cut off the ears and remove the brain, which soak for an hour in warm water. Put the head to soak in hot water a few minutes to make it look white, and then have ready a stewpan, into which lay the head; cover it with cold water and bring it gradually to boil. Remove the scum and add a little salt, which increases it and causes it to rise to the top. Simmer it very gently from two and a half to three hours, or until the bones will slip out easily, and when nearly done, boil the brains fifteen or twenty minutes; skin and chop them (not too finely), add a tablespoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded; also a pinch of pepper, salt; then stir into this four tablespoonfuls of melted butter; set it on the back of the range to keep it hot. When the head is done, take it up and drain very dry. Score the top and rub it over with melted butter; dredge it with flour and set it in the oven to brown. When you serve the head, have it accompanied with a gravy boat of melted butter and minced parsley. CALF'S LIVER AND BACON. Slice the liver a quarter of an inch thick; pour hot water over it and let it remain for a few minutes to clear it from blood; then dry it in a cloth. Take a pound of bacon, or as much as you require, and cut the same number of thin slices as you have of liver; fry the bacon to a nice crisp; take it out and keep it hot; then fry the liver in the same pan, having first seasoned it with pepper and salt and dredged in a little flour; lay it in the hot bacon fat and fry it a nice brown. Serve it with a slice of bacon on the top of each slice of liver. If you wish a gravy with it, pour off most of the fat from the frying pan, put in about two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of flour well rubbed in, add a cup of water, salt and pepper, give it one boil and serve in a gravy boat. _Another Way._--Cut the liver in nice thin slices, pour boiling water over it and let it stand about five minutes; then drain and put in a dripping-pan with three or four thin slices of salt pork or bacon; pepper and salt and put in the oven, letting it cook until thoroughly done, then serve with a cream or milk gravy poured over it. Calf's liver and bacon are very good broiled after cutting each in thin slices. Season with butter, pepper and salt. CROQUETTES OF SWEETBREADS. Take four veal sweetbreads, soak them for an hour in cold salted water, first removing the pipes and membranes; then put them into boiling salted water with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and cook them twenty minutes, then drop them again into cold water to harden. Now remove them, chop them very fine, almost to a paste. Season with salt, pepper and a teaspoonful of grated onion; add the beaten yolks of three raw eggs, one tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of cream, and sufficient fine cracker crumbs to make stiff enough to roll out into little balls or cork-shaped croquettes. Have ready a frying kettle half full of fat over the fire, a dish containing three smoothly beaten eggs, a large platter of cracker dust; wet the hands with cold water and make the mixture in shape; afterwards rolling them in the cracker dust, then into the beaten egg, and again in the cracker dust; smooth them on the outside and drop them carefully in the hot fat. When the croquettes are fried a nice golden brown, put them on a brown paper a moment to free them from grease. Serve hot with sliced lemon or parsley. SWEETBREADS. There are two in a calf, which are considered delicacies. Select the largest. The color should be clear and a shade darker than the fat. Before cooking in any manner let them lie for half an hour in tepid water; then throw into hot water to whiten and harden, after which draw off the outer casing, remove the little pipes, and cut into thin slices. They should always be thoroughly cooked. FRIED SWEETBREADS. After preparing them as above they are put into hot fat and butter, and fried the same as lamb chops, also broiled the same, first rolling them in egg and cracker crumbs. BAKED SWEETBREADS. Three sweetbreads, egg and bread crumbs, oiled butter, three slices of toast, brown gravy. Choose large, white sweetbreads, put them into warm water to draw out the blood, and to improve their color; let them remain for rather more than one hour; then put them into boiling water, and allow them to simmer for about ten minutes which renders them firm. Take them up, drain them, brush over the egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs; dip them in egg again, and then into more bread crumbs. Drop on them a little oiled butter, and put the sweetbreads into a moderately heated oven, and let them bake for nearly three-quarters of an hour. Make three pieces of toast; place the sweetbreads on the toast, and pour round, but not over, them a good brown gravy. FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS. If they are uncooked, cut into thin slices, let them simmer in a rich gravy for three-quarters of an hour, add a well-beaten egg, two tablespoonfuls of cream and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley; stir all together for a few minutes and serve immediately. MUTTON AND LAMB. ROAST MUTTON. The pieces mostly used for roasting are the hind-quarter of the sheep, called the loin and leg, the fore-quarter, the shoulder, also the chine or saddle, which is the two loins together. Every part should be trimmed off that cannot be eaten; then wash well and dry with a clean cloth; lay it in your dripping-pan and put in a little water to baste it with at first; then afterward with its own gravy. Allow, in roasting, about twelve minutes to the pound; that is, if your fire is strong, which it should be. It should not be salted at first, as that tends to harden it, and draws out too much of the blood or juices; but salt soon after it begins to roast well. If there is danger of its browning too fast, cover it with a sheet of white paper. Baste it often, and about a quarter of an hour before you think it will be done dredge the meat very lightly with flour and baste it with butter. Skim the gravy well and thicken very slightly with brown flour. Serve with currant jelly or other tart sauce. BONED LEG OF MUTTON ROASTED. Take the bone out of a small leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin if possible, then cut off most of the fat. Fill the hole whence the bone was taken with a stuffing made the same as for fowls, adding to it part of an onion finely minced. Sew the leg up underneath to prevent the dressing or stuffing from falling out. Bind and tie it up compactly; put it in a roasting pan, turn in a cup of hot water and place it in a moderately hot oven, basting it occasionally. When partly cooked season with salt and pepper. When thoroughly cooked, remove and place the leg on a warm platter; skim the grease from the top of the drippings, add a cup of water and thicken with a spoonful of dissolved flour. Send the gravy to the table in a gravy dish, also a dish of currant jelly. BOILED LEG OF MUTTON. To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, wash it clean, cut a small piece off the shank bone, and trim the knuckle. Put it into a pot with water enough to cover it, and boil gently from two to three hours, skimming well. Then take it from the fire, and keeping the pot well covered, let it finish by remaining in the steam for ten or fifteen minutes. Serve it up with a sauce boat of melted butter, into which a teacupful of capers or nasturtiums have been stirred. If the broth is to be used for soup, put in a little salt while boiling; if not, salt it well when partly done, and boil the meat in a cloth. BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON. This recipe can be varied either by preparing the leg with a stuffing, placed in the cavity after having the bone removed, or cooking it without. Having lined the bottom of a thick iron kettle or stewpan with a few thin slices of bacon, put over the bacon four carrots, three onions, a bunch of savory herbs; then over these place the leg of mutton. Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon, then pour over half a pint of water. Cover with a tight cover and stew very gently for four hours, basting the leg occasionally with its own liquor, and seasoning it with salt and pepper as soon as it begins to be tender. When cooked strain the gravy, thicken with a spoonful of flour (it should be quite brown), pour some of it over the meat and send the remainder to the table in a tureen, to be served with the mutton when carved. Garnish the dish around the leg with potatoes cut in the shape of olives and fried a light brown in butter. LEG OF MUTTON Á LA VENISON. Remove all the rough fat from the mutton and lay it in a deep earthen dish; rub into it thoroughly the following: One tablespoonful of salt, one each of celery-salt, brown sugar, black pepper, English mustard, allspice, and some sweet herbs, all powdered and mixed; after which pour over it slowly a teacup of good vinegar, cover tightly, and set in a cool place four or five days, turning it and basting often with the liquid each day. To cook, put in a kettle a quart of boiling water, place over it an inverted shallow pan, and on it lay the meat just as removed from the pickle; cover the kettle tightly and stew for four hours. Do not lat the water touch the meat. Add a cup of hot water to the pickle remaining and baste with it. When done, thicken the liquid with flour and strain through a fine sieve, to serve with the meat; also a relish of currant jelly, the dame as for venison. This is a fine dish when the directions are faithfully followed. STEAMED LEG OF MUTTON. Wash and put the leg in a steamer and cook it until tender, then place in a roasting pan, salt and dredge well with flour and set it in a hot oven until nicely browned; the water that remains in the bottom of the steamer may be used for soup. Serve with currant jelly. HASHED MUTTON. Cut into small pieces the lean of some cold mutton that has been underdone, and season it with pepper and salt. Take the bones and other trimmings, put them in a sauce-pan with as much water as will cover them, and some sliced onions, and let them stew till you have drawn from them a good gravy. Having skimmed it well, strain the gravy into a stew-pan, and put the mutton into it. Have ready-boiled some carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions. Slice them and add to the meat and gravy. Set the pan on the fire and let it simmer till the meat is warmed through, but do not allow it to boil, as it has been once cooked already. Cover the bottom of the dish with slices of buttered toast. Lay the meat and vegetables upon it, and pour over them the gravy. Tomatoes will be found an improvement. If green peas or Lima beans are in season, you may boil them and put them to the hashed mutton, leaving out the other vegetables, or serving them up separately. BROILED MUTTON CHOPS. Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of butter. Cut the chops from a tenderloin of mutton, remove a portion of the fat, and trim them into a nice shape; slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over a bright clear fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the chops. While broiling frequently turn them, and in about eight minutes they will be done. Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot dish, rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and expeditiously. Nice with tomato sauce poured over them. FRIED MUTTON CHOPS. NO. 1. Put in a frying-pan a tablespoonful of cold lard and butter mixed; have some fine mutton chops without much fat; trim off the skin. Dip into wheat flour, or rolled cracker, and beaten egg, then lay them into the hot grease, sprinkle with salt and pepper, fry on both sides a fine brown. When dine, take them up and place on a hot dish. If you wish a made gravy, turn off the superfluous grease, if any, stir into the hot gravy remaining a heaping spoonful of cold water or milk; season with pepper and salt, let it boil up thick. You can serve it in a separate dish or pour it over the chops. Tomato sauce is considered fine, turned over a dish of hot fried or broiled chops. FRIED MUTTON CHOPS. NO. 2. Prepare the chops by trimming off all extra fat and skin, season them with salt and pepper; dip each chop in beaten egg, then in rolled cracker or bread-crumbs; dip again in the egg and crumbs, and so on until they are well coated with the crumb. Have ready a deep spider containing a pound or more of lard, hot enough to fry crullers. Drop into this hot lard the chops, frying only a few at a time, as too many cool the fat. Fry them brown, and serve them up hot and dry, on a warm platter. MUTTON CUTLETS. (Baked.) Prepare them the same as for frying, lay them in a dripping-pan with a _very_ little water at the bottom. Bake quickly, and baste often with butter and water. Make a little brown gravy and turn over them when they are served. BAKED MUTTON CHOPS AND POTATOES. Wash and peel some good potatoes and cut them into slices the thickness of a penny-piece. The quantity of potatoes must, of course, be decided according to the number of persons to whom they have to be served; but it is a safe plan to allow two, or even three, potatoes for each person. After the potatoes are sliced, wash them in two or three waters to thoroughly cleanse them, then arrange them neatly (in layers) in a brown stone dish proper for baking purposes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper between each layer, and add a sufficient quantity of cold water to prevent their burning. Place the dish in a very hot oven--oil the top shelf--so as to brown the potatoes in a few minutes. Have ready some nice loin chops (say one--for each person); trim off most of the fat; make them into a neat round shape by putting a small skewer through each. When the potatoes are nicely browned, remove the dish from the oven, and place the chops on the top. Add a little more salt and pepper, and water if required, and return the dish to a cooler part of the oven, where it may be allowed to remain until sufficiently cooked, which will be in about three-quarters of an hour. When the upper sides of the chops are a nice crisp brown, turn them over so as to brown the other side also. If, in the cooking, the potatoes appear to be getting too dry, a little more water may be gently poured in at one corner of the dish, only care must be taken to see that the water is hot this time--not cold as at first. The dish in which the chops and potatoes are baked must be as neat looking as possible, as it has to be sent to the table; turning the potatoes out would, of course, spoil their appearance. Those who have never tasted this dish have no idea how delightful it is. While the chops are baking the gravy drips from them among the potatoes, rendering the whole most delicious. MUTTONETTES. Cut from a leg of mutton slices about half an inch thick. On each slice lay a spoonful of stuffing made with bread crumbs, beaten egg, butter, salt, pepper, sage and summer savory. Roll up the slices, pinning with little skewers or small wooden toothpicks to keep the dressing in. Put a little butter and water in a baking-pan with the muttonettes, and cook in hot oven three-quarters of an hour. Baste often, and when done thicken the gravy, pour over the meat, garnish with parsley, and serve on hot platter. IRISH STEW. Time about two hours. Two and a half pounds of chops, eight potatoes, four turnips, four small onions, nearly a quart of water. Take some chops from loin of mutton, place them in stewpan in alternate layers of sliced potatoes and chops; add turnips and onions cut into pieces, pour in nearly a quart of cold water; cover stewpan closely, let it stew gently till vegetables are ready to mash and the greater part of the gravy is absorbed; then place in a dish; serve it up hot. MUTTON PUDDING. Line a two-quart pudding basin with some beef suet paste; fill the lining with thick mutton cutlets, slightly trimmed, or, if preferred, with steaks cut from the leg; season with pepper and salt some parsley, a little thyme and two slices of onion chopped fine, and between each layer of meat, put some slices of potatoes. When the pudding is filled, wet the edges of the paste around the top of the basin, and cover with a piece of paste rolled out the size of the basin. Fasten down the edge by bearing all around with the thumb; and then with the thumb and forefinger twist the edges of the paste over so as to give it a corded appearance. This pudding can be set in a steamer and steamed, or boiled. The time required for cooking is about three hours. When done, turn it out carefully on a platter and serve with a rich gravy under it. This is a very good recipe for cooking small birds. SCRAMBLED MUTTON. Two cups of chopped cold mutton, two tablespoonfuls of hot water, and a piece of butter as large as an English walnut. When the meat is hot, break in three eggs, and constantly stir until the eggs begin to stiffen. Season with pepper and salt. SCALLOPED MUTTON AND TOMATOES. Over the bottom of an earthen baking-dish place a layer of bread crumbs, and over it alternate layers of cold roast mutton cut in thin slices, and tomatoes peeled and sliced; season each with salt, pepper and bits of butter, as laid in. The top layer should be of tomatoes, spread over with bread crumbs. Bake three-quarters of an hour, and serve immediately. LAMB SWEETBREADS AND TOMATO SAUCE. Lamb sweetbreads are not always procurable, but a stroll through the markets occasionally reveals a small lot of them, which can invariably be had at a low price, owing to their excellence being recognized by but few buyers. Wash them well in salted water and parboil fifteen minutes; when cool, trim neatly and put them in a pan with just butter enough to prevent their burning; toss them about until a delicate color; season with salt and pepper and serve, surrounded with tomato sauce. (See SAUCES.) ROAST QUARTER OF LAMB. Procure a nice hind-quarter, remove some of the fat that is around the kidney, skewer the lower joint up to the fillet, place it in a moderate oven, let it heat through slowly, then dredge it with salt and flour; quicken the fire, put half a pint of water into the dripping-pan, with a teaspoonful of salt. With this liquor baste the meat occasionally; serve with lettuce, green peas and mint sauce. A quarter of lamb weighing seven or eight pounds will require two hours to roast. A breast of lamb roasted is very sweet and is considered by many as preferable to hind-quarter. It requires nearly as long a time to roast as the quarter, and should be served in the same manner. Make the gravy from the drippings, thickened with flour. The mint sauce is made as follows: Take fresh, young spearmint leaves stripped from stems; wash and drain them or dry on a cloth, chop very fine, put in a gravy tureen, and to three tablespoonfuls of mint add two of finely powdered cut-loaf sugar; mix, and let it stand a few minutes, then pour over it six tablespoonfuls good cider or white-wine vinegar. The sauce should be made some time before dinner, so that the flavor of the mint may be well extracted. TO BROIL THE FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB. Take off the shoulder and lay it upon the gridiron with the breast; cut in two parts, to facilitate its cooking; put a tin sheet on top of the meat, and a weight upon that; turn the meat around frequently to prevent its burning; turn over as soon as cooked on one side; renew the coals occasionally, that all parts may cook alike; when done, season with butter, pepper and salt--exactly like beefsteak. It takes some time to broil it well; but when done it will be found to be equal to broiled chicken, the flavor being more delicate than when cooked otherwise. Serve with cream sauce, made as follows: Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, add a teaspoonful of flour and stir until perfectly smooth; then add, slowly stirring in, a cup of cold milk; let it boil up once, and season to taste with salt and pepper and a teaspoonful of finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve in a gravy boat, all hot. LAMB STEW. Cut up the lamb into small pieces (after removing all the fat) say about two inches square. Wash it well and put it over the fire, with just enough cold water to cover it well, and let it heat gradually. It should stew gently until it is partly done; then add a few thin slices of salt pork, one or two onions sliced up fine, some pepper and salt if needed, and two or three raw potatoes cut up into inch pieces. Cover it closely and stew until the meat is tender. Drop in a few made dumplings, made like short biscuit, cut out _very_ small. Cook fifteen minutes longer. Thicken the gravy with a little flour moistened with milk. Serve. PRESSED LAMB. The meat, either shoulder or leg, should be put to boil in the morning with water just enough to cover it; when tender, season with salt and pepper, then keep it over the fire until _very_ tender and the juice nearly boiled out. Remove it from the fire-place in a wooden chopping bowl, season more if necessary, chop it up like hash. Place it in a bread-pan, press out all the juice, and put it in a cool place to harden. The pressing is generally done by placing a dish over the meat and putting a flat-iron upon that. Nice cut up cold into thin slices, and the broth left from the meat would make a nice soup served with it, adding vegetables and spices. CROQUETTES OF ODDS AND ENDS. These are made of any scraps or bits of good food that happen to be left from one or more meals, and in such small quantities that they cannot be warmed up separately. As, for example, a couple of spoonfuls of frizzled beef and cream, the lean meat of one mutton chop, one spoonful of minced beef, two cold hard-boiled eggs, a little cold chopped potato, a little mashed potato, a chick's leg, all the gristle and hard outside taken from the meat. These things well chopped and seasoned, mixed with one raw egg, a little flour and butter, and boiling water; then made into round cakes, thick like fish-balls and browned well with butter in a frying pan or on a griddle. Scraps of hash, cold rice, boiled oatmeal left from breakfast, every kind of fresh meat, bits of salt tongue, bacon, pork or ham, bits of poultry, and crumbs of bread may be used. They should be put together with care, so as not to have them too dry to be palatable, or too moist to cook in shape. Most housekeepers would be surprised at the result, making an addition to the breakfast or lunch table. Serve on small squares of buttered toast, and with cold celery if in season. PORK. The best parts, and those usually used for roasting, are the loin, the leg, the shoulder, the sparerib and chine. The hams, shoulders and middlings are usually salted, pickled and smoked. Pork requires more thorough cooking than most meats; if the least underdone it is unwholesome. To choose pork: If the rind is thick and tough, and cannot be easily impressed with the finger, it is old; when fresh, it will look cool and smooth, and only corn-fed pork is good; swill or still-fed pork is unfit to cure. Fresh pork is in season from October to April. When dressing or stuffing is used, there are more or less herbs used for seasoning--sage, summer savory, thyme and sweet marjoram; these can be found (in the dried, pulverized form, put up in small, light packages) at most of the best druggists; still those raised and gathered at home are considered more fresh. ROAST PIG. Prepare your dressing as for DRESSING FOR FOWLS, adding half an onion, chopped fine; set it inside. Take a young pig about six weeks old, wash it thoroughly inside and outside; and in another water put a teaspoonful of baking soda, and rinse out the inside again; wipe it dry with a fresh towel, salt the inside and stuff it with the prepared dressing; making it full and plump, giving it its original size and shape. Sew it up, place it in a kneeling posture in the dripping-pan, tying the legs in proper position. Pour a little hot salted water into the dripping-pan, baste with butter and water a few times as the pig warms, afterwards with gravy from the dripping-pan. When it begins to smoke all over rub it often with a rag dipped in melted butter. This will keep the skin from cracking and it still will be crisp. It will take from two to three hours to roast. Make the gravy by skimming off most of the grease; stir into that remaining in the pan a good tablespoonful of flour, turn in water to make it the right consistency, season with pepper and let all boil up once. Strain, and if you like wine in it, add half a glass; turn it into a gravy boat. Place the pig upon a large, hot platter, surrounded with parsley or celery tops; place a green wreath around the neck, and a sprig of celery in its mouth. In carving, cut off its head first; split down the back, take off its hams and shoulders, and separate the ribs. ROAST LOIN OF PORK. Score the skin in strips about a quarter of an inch apart; place it in a dripping-pan with a _very little_ water under it; cook it moderately at first, as a high heat hardens the rind before the meat is heated through. If it is very lean, it should be rubbed with fresh lard or butter when put into the pan. A stuffing might be made of bread crumbs, chopped sage and onions, pepper and salt, and baked separately on a pie dish; this method is better than putting it in the meat, as many persons have a great aversion to its flavor. A loin weighing about six pounds will roast in two hours; allow more time if it should be very fat. Make a gravy with flour stirred into the pork drippings. Serve with apple sauce and pickles. ROAST LEG OF PORK. Choose a small leg of fine young pork; cut a slit in the knuckle with a sharp knife, and fill the space with sage and onion chopped, and a little pepper and salt. When half done, score the skin in slices, but do not cut deeper than the outer rind. Apple sauce and potatoes should be served with it. The gravy is to be made the same way as for beef roast, by turning off all the superfluous fat and adding a spoonful of flour stirred with a little water; add water to make the right consistency. Serve in a gravy boat. BOILED LEG OF PORK. For boiling, choose a small, compact, well-filled leg, and rub it well with salt; let it remain in pickle for a week or ten days, turning and rubbing it every day. An hour before dressing it put it into cold water for an hour, which improves the color. If the pork is purchased ready salted, ascertain how long the meat has been in pickle and soak it accordingly. Put it into a boiling-pot, with sufficient cold water to cover it, let it gradually come to a boil, and remove the scum as it rises. Simmer it very gently until tender, and do not allow it to boil fast, or the knuckle will fall to pieces before the middle of the leg is done. Carrots, turnips or parsnips may be boiled with the pork, some of which should be laid around the dish as a garnish. _Time._--A leg of pork weighing eight pounds, three hours after the water boils, and to be simmered very gently. FRESH PORK POT-PIE. Boil a sparerib, after removing all the fat and cracking the bones, until tender; remove the scum as it rises, and when tender season with salt and pepper; half an hour before time for serving the dinner thicken the gravy with a little flour. Have ready another kettle, into which remove all the bones and most of the gravy, leaving only sufficient to cover the pot half an inch above the rim that rests on the stove; put in the crust, cover tight, and boil steadily forty-five minutes. To prepare the crust, work into light dough a _small_ bit of butter, roll it out thin, cut it in small, square cakes, and lay them on the moulding-board until very light. No steam should possibly escape while the crust is cooking, and by no means allow the pot to cease boiling. ROAST SPARERIB. Trim off the rough ends neatly, crack the ribs across the middle, rub with salt and sprinkle with pepper, fold over, stuff with turkey dressing, sew up tightly, place in a dripping-pan with a pint of water, baste frequently, turning over once so as to bake both sides equally until a rich brown. PORK TENDERLOINS. The tenderloins are unlike any other part of the pork in flavor. They may be either fried or broiled; the latter being drier, require to be well-buttered before serving, which should be done on a hot platter before the butter becomes oily. Fry them in a little lard, turning them to have them cooked through; when done, remove, and keep hot while making a gravy by dredging a little flour into the hot fat; if not enough add a little butter or lard, stir until browned, and add a little milk or cream, stir briskly, and pour over the dish. A little Worcestershire sauce may be added to the gravy if desired. PORK CUTLETS. Cut them from the leg, and remove the skin; trim them and beat them, and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Prepare some beaten egg in a pan, and on a flat dish a mixture of bread crumbs, minced onion and sage. Put some lard or drippings into a frying pan over the fire, and when it boils put in the cutlets, having dipped every one first in the egg, and then in the seasoning. Fry them twenty or thirty minutes, turning them often. After you have taken them out of the frying pan, skim the gravy, dredge in a little flour, give it one boil, and then pour it on the dish round the cutlets. Have apple sauce to eat with them. Pork cutlets prepared in this manner may be stewed instead of being fried. Add to them a little water, and stew them slowly till thoroughly done, keeping them closely covered, except when you remove the lid to skim them. PORK CHOPS AND FRIED APPLES. Season the chops with salt and pepper and a little powdered sage; dip them into bread crumbs. Fry about twenty minutes or until they are done. Put them on a hot dish; pour off part of the gravy into another pan to make a gravy to serve with them, if you choose. Then fry apples which you have sliced about two-thirds of an inch thick, cutting them around the apple so that the core is in the centre of each piece; then cut out the core. When they are browned on one side and partly cooked, turn them carefully with a pancake turner, and finish cooking; dish around the chops or on a separate dish. FRIED PORK CHOPS. Fry them the same as mutton chops. If a sausage flavor is liked, sprinkle over them a little powdered sage or summer savory, pepper and salt, and if a gravy is liked, skim off some of the fat in the pan and stir in a spoonful of flour; stir it until free from lumps, then season with pepper and salt and turn in a pint of sweet milk. Boil up and serve in a gravy boat. PORK PIE. Make a good plain paste. Take from two and a half to three pounds of the thick ends of a loin of pork, with very little fat on it; cut into very thin slices three inches long by two inches wide; put a layer at the bottom of a pie-dish. Wash and chop finely a handful of parsley, also an onion. Sprinkle a small portion of these over the pork, and a little pepper and salt. Add another layer of pork, and over that some more of the seasoning, only be sparing of the nutmeg. Continue this till the dish is full. Now pour into the dish a cupful of stock or water, and a spoonful or two of catsup. Put a little paste around the edge of the dish; put on the cover and place the pie in a rather hot oven. When the paste has risen and begins to take color, place the pie at the bottom of the oven, with some paper over it, as it will require to be baked at least two hours. Some prefer to cook the meat until partly done, before putting into the crust. _Palmer House, Chicago_. PORK POT-PIE. Take pieces of ribs of lean salt pork, also a slice or two of the fat of salt pork; scald it well with hot water so as to wash out the briny taste. Put it into a kettle and cover it with cold water, enough for the required want. Cover it and boil an hour, season with pepper; then add half a dozen potatoes cut into quarters. When it all commences to boil again, drop in dumplings made from this recipe:-- One pint of sour or buttermilk, two eggs, well beaten, a teaspoonful of salt, a level teaspoonful of soda; dissolve in a spoonful of water as much flour as will make a very stiff batter. Drop this into the kettle or broth by spoonfuls, and cook forty minutes, closely covered. PORK AND BEANS. (Baked.) Take two quarts of white beans, pick them over the night before, put to soak in cold water; in the morning put them in fresh water and let them scald, then turn off the water and put on more, hot; put to cook with them a piece of salt pork, gashed, as much as would make five or six slices; boil slowly till soft (not mashed), then add a tablespoonful of molasses, half a teaspoonful of soda, stir in well, put in a deep pan, and bake one hour and a half. If you do not like to use pork, salt the beans when boiling, and add a lump of butter when preparing them for the oven. BOSTON PORK AND BEANS. Pick over carefully a quart of small, white beans; let them soak over night in cold water; in the morning wash and drain in another water. Put on to boil in plenty of cold water with a piece of soda the size of a bean; let them come to a boil, then drain again, cover with water once more, and boil them fifteen minutes, or until the skin of the beans will crack when taken out and blown upon. Drain the beans again, put them into an earthen pot, adding a tablespoonful of salt; cover with hot water, place in the centre a pound of salt pork, first scalding it with hot water, and scoring the rind across the top, a quarter of an inch apart to indicate where the slices are to be cut. Place the pot in the oven, and bake six hours or longer. Keep the oven a moderate heat; add hot water from the tea-kettle as needed, on account of evaporation, to keep the beans moist. When the meat becomes crisp and looks cooked, remove it, as too long baking the pork destroys its solidity. FRIED SALT PORK. Cut in thin slices, and freshen in cold water, roll in flour, and fry crisp. If required quickly pour boiling water over the slices, let stand a few minutes, drain and roll in flour as before; drain off most of the grease from the frying pan; stir in while hot one or two tablespoonfuls of flour, about half a pint of milk, a little pepper, and salt if over freshened; let it boil, and pour into a gravy dish. A teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley will add pleasantly to the appearance of the gravy. GRILLED SALT PORK. Take quite thin slices of the thick part of side pork, of a clear white, and thinly streaked with lean; hold one on a toasting fork before a brisk fire to grill; have at hand a dish of cold water, in which immerse it frequently while cooking, to remove the superfluous fat and render it more delicate. Put each slice as cooked in a warm covered pan; when all are done, serve hot. FRIED HAM AND EGGS. Cut slices of ham quite thin, cut off the rind or skin, put them into a hot frying pan, turning them often until crisp, taking care not to burn the slices; three minutes will cook them well. Dish them on a hot platter; then turn off the top of the grease, rinse out the pan, and put back the clear grease to fry the eggs. Break the eggs separately in a saucer, that in case a bad one should be among them it may not mix with the rest. Slip each egg gently into the frying pan. Do not turn them while they are frying, put keep pouring some of the hot lard over them with a kitchen spoon; this will do them sufficiently on the upper side. They will be done enough in about three minutes; the white must retain its transparency so that the yolk will be seen through it. When done take them up with a tin slice; drain off the lard, and if any part of the white is discolored or ragged, trim it off. Lay a fried egg upon each slice of the ham, and send to table hot. COLD BACON AND EGGS. An economical way of using bacon and eggs that have been left from a previous meal is to put them in a wooden bowl and chop them quite fine, adding a little mashed or cold chopped potato, and a little bacon gravy, if any was left. Mix and mould it into little balls, roll in raw egg and cracker crumbs, and fry in a spider the same as frying eggs; fry a light brown on both sides. Serve hot. Very appetizing. SCRAPPEL. Scrappel is a most palatable dish. Take the head, heart and any lean scraps of pork, and boil until the flesh slips easily from the bones. Remove the fat, gristle and bones, then chop fine. Set the liquor in which the meat was boiled aside until cold, take the cake of fat from the surface and return to the fire. When it boils put in the chopped meat and season well with pepper and salt. Let it boil again, then thicken with corn meal as you would in making ordinary corn meal mush, by letting it slip through the fingers slowly to prevent lumps. Cook an hour, stirring constantly at first, afterwards putting back on the range in a position to boil gently. When done, pour into a long, square pan, not too deep, and mould. In cold weather this can be kept several weeks. Cut into slices when cold, and fried brown, as you do mush, is a cheap and delicious breakfast dish. TO BAKE A HAM. (Corned.) Take a medium-sized ham and place it to soak for ten or twelve hours. Then cut away the rusty part from underneath, wipe it dry, and cover it rather thickly over with a paste made of flour and water. Put it into an earthen dish, and set it in a moderately heated oven. When done, take off the crust carefully, and peel off the skin, put a frill of cut paper around the knuckle, and raspings of bread over the fat of the ham, or serve it glazed and garnished with cut vegetables. It will take about four or five hours to bake it. Cooked in this way the flavor is much finer than when boiled. PIGS' FEET PICKLED. Take twelve pigs' feet, scrape and wash them clean, put them into a saucepan with enough hot (not boiling) water to cover them. When partly done, salt them. It requires four to five hours to boil them soft. Pack them in a stone crock, and pour over them spiced vinegar made hot. They will be ready to use in a day or two. If you wish them for breakfast, split them, make a batter of two eggs, a cup of milk, salt, a teaspoonful of butter, with flour enough to make a thick batter; dip each piece in this and fry in hot lard. Or, dip them in beaten egg and flour and fry. Souse is good eaten cold or warm. BOILED HAM. First remove all dust and mold by wiping with a coarse cloth; soak it for an hour in cold water, then wash it thoroughly. Cut with a sharp knife the hardened surface from the base and butt of the ham. Place it over the fire in _cold_ water, and let it come to a moderate boil, keeping it steadily at this point, allowing it to cook twenty minutes for every pound of meat. A ham weighing twelve pounds will require four hours to cook properly, as underdone ham is very unwholesome. When the ham is to be served hot, remove the skin by pealing it off, place it on a platter, the fat side up, and dot the surface with spots of black pepper. Stick in also some whole cloves. If the ham is to be served cold, allow it to remain in the pot until the water in which it was cooked becomes cold. This makes it more juicy. Serve it in the same manner as when served hot. BROILED HAM. Cut your ham into thin slices, which should be a little less than one quarter of an inch thick. Trim very closely the skin from the upper side of each slice, and also trim off the outer edge where the smoke has hardened the meat. If the ham is very salt lay it in _cold_ water for one hour before cooking, then wipe with a dry cloth. Never soak ham in tepid or hot water, as it will toughen the meat. Broil over a brisk fire, turning the slices constantly. It will require about five minutes, and should be served the last thing directly from the gridiron, placed on a warm platter, with a little butter and a sprinkle of pepper on the top of each slice. If ham or bacon is allowed to stand by the fire after it has been broiled or fried, it will speedily toughen, loosing all its grateful juices. Cold boiled ham is very nice for broiling, and many prefer it to using the raw ham. POTTED HAM. To TWO pounds of lean ham allow one pound of fat, two teaspoonfuls of powdered mace, half a nutmeg, grated, rather more than half a teaspoonful of cayenne. _Mode._--Mince the ham, fat and lean together, in the above proportion, and pound it well in a mortar, seasoning it with cayenne pepper, pounded mace and nutmeg; put the mixture into a deep baking-dish, and bake for half an hour; then press it well into a stone jar, fill up the jar with clarified lard, cover it closely, and paste over it a piece of thick paper. If well seasoned, it will keep a long time in winter, and will be found very convenient for sandwiches, etc. BOLOGNA SAUSAGE. (Cooked.) Two POUNDS of lean pork, two pounds of lean veal, two pounds of fresh lean beef, two pounds of fat salt pork, one pound of beef suet, ten tablespoonfuls of powdered sage, one ounce each of parsley, savory, marjoram and thyme mixed. Two teaspoonfuls of cayenne pepper, the same of black, one grated nutmeg, one teaspoonful of cloves, one minced onion, salt to taste. Chop or grind the meat and suet; season, and stuff into beef skins; tie these up, prick each in several places to allow the escape of steam; put into hot, not boiling, water, and heat gradually to the boiling point. Cook slowly for one hour; take out the skins and lay them to dry in the sun, upon clean sweet straw or hay. Rub the outside of the skins with oil or melted butter, and place in a cool, dry cellar. If you wish to keep them more than a week, rub ginger or pepper on the outside, then wash it off before using. This is eaten without further cooking. Cut in round slices and lay sliced lemons around the edge of the dish, as many like to squeeze a few drops upon the sausage before eating. These are very nice smoked like hams. COUNTRY PORK SAUSAGES. Six pounds lean fresh pork, three pounds of chine fat, three tablespoonfuls of salt, two of black pepper, four tablespoonfuls of pounded and sifted sage, two of summer savory. Chop the lean and fat pork finely, mix the seasoning in with your hands, taste to see that it has the right flavor, then put them into cases, either the cleaned intestines of the hog, or make long, narrow bags of stout muslin, large enough to contain each enough sausage for a family dish. Fill these with the meat, dip in melted lard, and hang them in a cool, dry, dark place. Some prefer to pack the meat in jars, pouring melted lard over it, covering the top, to be taken out as wanted and made into small round cakes with the hands, then fried brown. Many like spices added to the seasoning--cloves, mace and nutmeg. This is a matter of taste. _Marion Harland_. TO FRY SAUSAGES. Put a small piece of lard or butter into the frying pan. Prick the sausages with a fork, lay them in the melted grease, keep moving them about, turning them frequently to prevent bursting; in ten or twelve minutes they will be sufficiently browned and cooked. Another sure way to prevent the cases from bursting is to cover them with cold water and let it come to the boiling point; turn off the water and fry them. Sausages are nicely cooked by putting them in a baking-pan them in the oven, turning them once or twice. In this way you avoid all smoke and disagreeable odor. A pound will cook brown in ten minutes in a hot oven. HEAD CHEESE. Boil the forehead, ears and feet, and nice scraps trimmed from the hams of a fresh pig, until the meat will almost drop from the bones. Then separate the meat from the bones, put in a large chopping-bowl, and season with pepper, salt, sage and summer savory. Chop it rather coarsely; put it back in the same kettle it was boiled in, with just enough of the liquor in which it was boiled to prevent its burning; warm it through thoroughly, mixing it well together. Now pour it into a strong muslin bag, press the bag between two flat surfaces, with a heavy weight on top; when cold and solid it can be cut in slices. Good cold, or warmed up in vinegar. TO CURE HAMS AND BACON. (A Prize Recipe.) For each hundred pounds of hams, make a pickle of ten pounds of salt, two pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpetre, one ounce of red pepper, and from four to four and a half gallons of water, or just enough to cover the hams, after being packed in a water-tight vessel, or enough salt to make a brine to float a fresh egg high enough, that is to say, out of water. First rub the hams with common salt and lay them into a tub. Take the above ingredients, put them into a vessel over the fire, and heat it hot, stirring it frequently; remove all the scum, allow it to boil ten minutes, let it cool and pour over the meat. After laying in this brine five or six weeks, take out, drain and wipe, and smoke from two to three weeks. Small pieces of bacon may remain in this pickle two weeks, which would be sufficient. TO SMOKE HAMS AND FISH AT HOME. Take an old hogshead, stop up all the crevices, and fix a place to put a cross-stick near the bottom, to hang the article to be smoked on. Next, in the side, cut a hole near the top, to introduce an iron pan filled with hickory wood sawdust and small pieces of green wood. Having turned the hogshead upside down, hang the articles upon the cross-stick, introduce the iron pan in the opening, and place a piece of red-hot iron in the pan, cover it with sawdust, and all will be complete. Let a large ham remain ten days, and keep up a good smoke. The best way for keeping hams is to sew them in coarse cloths, white-washed on the outside. TO CURE ENGLISH BACON. This process is called the "dry cure," and is considered far preferable to the New England or Yankee style of putting prepared brine or pickle over the meat. First the hog should not be too large or too fat, weighing not over two hundred pounds, then after it is dressed and cooled cut it up into proper pieces; allow to every hundred pounds a mixture of four quarts of common salt, one quarter of a pound of saltpetre and four pounds of sugar. Rub this preparation thoroughly over and into each piece, then place them into a tight tub or suitable cask; there will a brine form of itself from the juices of the meat, enough at least to baste it with, which should be done two or three times a week; turning each piece every time. In smoking this bacon, the sweetest flavor is derived from black birch chips, but if these are not to be had, the next best wood is hickory; the smoking with corn-cobs imparts a rank flavor to this bacon, which is very distasteful to English people visiting this country. It requires three weeks or a month to smoke this bacon properly. _Berkshire Recipe_. TO TRY OUT LARD. Skin the leaf lard carefully, cut it into small pieces, and put it into a kettle or saucepan; pour in a cupful of water to prevent burning; set it over the fire where it will melt slowly. Stir it frequently and let it simmer until nothing remains but brown scraps. Remove the scraps with a perforated skimmer, throw in a little salt to settle the fat, and, when clear, strain through a coarse cloth into jars. Remember to watch it constantly, stirring it from the bottom until the salt is thrown in to settle it; then set it back on the range until clear. If it scorches it gives it a very bad flavor. SAUCES AND DRESSINGS. DRAWN BUTTER. Melted butter is the foundation of most of the common sauces. Have a covered saucepan for this purpose. One lined with porcelain will be best. Take a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter, cut it up, and mix with it about one tablespoonful of flour. When it is thoroughly mixed, put it into the saucepan, and add to it half a teacupful of hot water. Cover the saucepan and set it in a large tin pan of boiling water. Shake it round continually (always moving it the same way) till it is entirely melted and begins to simmer. Then let it rest till it boils up. If you set it on too hot a fire it will be oily. If the butter and flour are not well mixed, it will be lumpy. If you put in too much water, it will be thin and poor. All these defects are to be carefully avoided. In melting butter for sweet or pudding sauce, you may use milk instead of water. TARTARE SAUCE. The raw yolks of two eggs, half a teacupful of pure olive oil, three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one of made mustard, one teaspoonful of sugar, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, one of onion juice, one tablespoonful of chopped capers, one of chopped cucumber pickle. Put together the same as mayonnaise dressing, adding the chopped ingredients the last thing. This sauce is good for fried or boiled fish, boiled tongue, fish salad, and may be used with fried and broiled meats. EGG SAUCE, OR WHITE SAUCE. Mix two tablespoonfuls of sifted flour with half a teacup of warm butter. Place over the fire a saucepan containing a pint of sweet milk and a saltspoon of salt, and a dash of white pepper; when it reaches the boiling point, add the butter and flour, stirring briskly until it thickens and becomes like cream. Have ready three cold hard-boiled eggs, sliced and chopped, add them to the sauce; let them heat through thoroughly, and serve in a boat. If you have plenty of cream, use it and omit the butter. By omitting the eggs, you have the same as "White Sauce." OYSTER SAUCE. Take a pint of oysters and heat them in their own liquor long enough to come to a boil, or until they begin to ruffle. Skim out the oysters into a warm dish, put into the liquor a teacup of milk or cream, two tablespoonfuls of cold butter, a pinch of cayenne and salt; thicken with a tablespoonful of flour stirred to a paste, boil up and then add the oysters. Oyster sauce is used for fish, boiled turkey, chickens and boiled white meats of most kinds. LOBSTER SAUCE. Put the coral and spawn of a boiled lobster into a mortar with a tablespoonful of butter; pound it to a smooth mass, then rub it through a sieve; melt nearly a quarter of a pound of sweet butter, with a wine-glass of water or vinegar; add a teaspoonful of made mustard, stir in the coral and spawn, and a little salt and pepper; stir it until it is smooth and serve. Some of the meat of the lobster may be chopped fine and stirred into it. SAUCE FOR SALMON AND OTHER FISH. One cupful of milk heated to a boil and thickened with a tablespoonful of cornstarch previously wet up with cold water, the liquor from the salmon, one great spoonful of butter, one raw egg beaten light, the juice of half a lemon, mace and cayenne pepper to taste. Add the egg to thickened milk when you have stirred in the butter and liquor; take from the fire, season and let it stand in hot water three minutes, covered. Lastly put in lemon juice and turn out immediately. Pour it all over and around the salmon. SAUCE FOR BOILED COD. To one gill of boiling water add as much milk; stir into this while boiling two tablespoonfuls of butter gradually, one tablespoonful of flour wet up with cold water; as it thickens, the chopped yolk of one boiled egg, and one raw egg beaten light. Take directly from the fire, season with pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley and the juice of one lemon, and set covered in boiling water (but not over fire) five minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour part of the sauce over fish when dished; the rest in a boat. Serve mashed potatoes with it. FISH SAUCE. No. 1. Make a pint of drawn butter, add one tablespoonful of pepper sauce or Worcestershire sauce, a little salt and six hard-boiled eggs chopped fine. Pour over boiled fish and garnish with sliced lemon. Very nice. FISH SAUCE. No. 2. Half a cupful of melted butter, half a cupful of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, salt, and a tablespoonful of made mustard. Boil ten minutes. CELERY SAUCE. Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour with half a teacupful of butter; have ready a pint of boiling milk; stir the flour and butter into the milk; take three heads of celery, cut into small bits, and boil for a few minutes in water, which strain off; put the celery into the melted butter, and keep it stirred over the fire for five or ten minutes. This is very nice with boiled fowl or turkey. Another way to make celery sauce is: Boil a head of celery until quite tender, then put it through a sieve; put the yolk of an egg in a basin, and beat it well with the strained juice of a lemon; add the celery and a couple of spoonfuls of liquor in which the turkey was boiled; salt and pepper to taste. CAPER SAUCE. Chop the capers a very little, unless quite small; make half a pint of drawn butter, to which add the capers, with a large spoonful of the juice from the bottle in which they are sold; let it just simmer and serve in a tureen. Nasturtiums much resemble capers in taste, though larger, and may be used, and, in fact, are preferred by many. They are grown on a climbing vine, and are cultivated for their blossom and for pickling. When used as capers they should be chopped more. If neither capers nor nasturtiums are at hand, some pickles chopped up form a very good substitute in the sauce. [Illustration] BREAD SAUCE. One cup of stale bread crumbs, one onion, two ounces of butter, pepper and salt, a little mace. Cut the onion fine, and boil it in milk till quite soft; then strain the milk on to the stale bread crumbs, and let it stand an hour. Put it in a saucepan with the boiled onion, pepper, salt and mace. Give it a boil, and serve in sauce tureen. This sauce can also be used for grouse, and is very nice. Roast partridges are nice served with bread crumbs, fried brown in butter, with cranberry or currant jelly laid beside them in the platter. TOMATO SAUCE. Take a quart can of tomatoes, put it over the fire in a stewpan, put in one slice of onion and two cloves, a little pepper and salt; boil about twenty minutes; then remove from the fire and strain it through a sieve. Now melt in another pan an ounce of butter, and as it melts, sprinkle in a tablespoonful of flour; stir it until it browns and froths a little. Mix the tomato pulp with it, and it is ready for the table. Excellent for mutton, chops, roast beef, etc. ONION SAUCE. Work together until light a heaping tablespoonful of flour and half a cupful of butter, and gradually add two cups of boiling milk; stir constantly until it come to a boil; then stir into that four tender boiled onions that have been chopped fine. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with boiled veal, poultry of mutton. CHILI SAUCE. Boil together two dozen ripe tomatoes, three small green peppers, or a half teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one onion cut fine, half a cup of sugar. Boil until thick; then add two cups of vinegar; then strain the whole, set back on the fire and add a tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful each of ginger, allspice, cloves and cinnamon; boil all five minutes, remove and seal in glass bottles. This is very nice. MINT SAUCE. Take fresh young spearmint leaves stripped from the stems; wash and drain them, or dry on a cloth. Chop very fine, put in a gravy boat, and to three tablespoonfuls of mint put two of white sugar; mix and let it stand a few minutes, then pour over it six tablespoonfuls of good cider or white-wine vinegar. The sauce should be made some time before it is to be used, so that the flavor of the mint may be well extracted. Fine with roast lamb. SHARP BROWN SAUCE. Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of chopped onion, three tablespoonfuls of good cider vinegar, six tablespoonfuls of water, three of tomato catsup, a little pepper and salt, half a cup of melted butter, in which stir a tablespoonful of sifted flour; put all together and boil until it thickens. This is most excellent with boiled meats, fish and poultry. BECHAMEL SAUCE. Put three tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan; add three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour, quarter of a teaspoonful of nutmeg, ten peppercorns, a teaspoonful of salt; beat all well together; then add to this three slices of onion, two slices of carrot, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a bay leaf and half a dozen mushrooms cut up. Moisten the whole with a pint of stock or water and a cup of sweet cream. Set it on the stove and cook slowly for half an hour, watching closely that it does not burn; then strain through a sieve. Most excellent with roast veal, meats and fish. _St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans_. MAITRE D'HOTEL SAUCE. Make a teacupful of drawn butter; add to it the juice of a lemon, two tablespoonfuls of minced onion, three tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of powdered thyme or summer savory, a pinch of cayenne and salt. Simmer over the fire and stir well. Excellent with all kinds of fish. WINE SAUCE FOR GAME. Half a glass of currant jelly, half a glass of port wine, half a glass of water, a tablespoonful of cold butter, a teaspoonful of salt, the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of cayenne pepper and three cloves. Simmer all together a few minutes, adding the wine after it is strained. A few spoonfuls of the gravy from the game may be added to it. This sauce is especially nice with venison. _Taber House, Denver_. HOLLANDAISE SAUCE. Half a teacupful of butter, the juice of half a lemon, the yolk of two eggs, a speck of cayenne pepper, half a cupful of boiling water, half a teaspoonful of salt; beat the butter to a cream, add the yolks of eggs one by one; then the lemon juice, pepper and salt, beating all thoroughly; place the bowl in which is the mixture in a saucepan of boiling water; beat with an egg-beater until it begins to thicken which will be in about a minute; then add the boiling water, beating all the time; stir until it begins to thicken like soft custard; stir a few minutes after taking from the fire; be careful not to cook it too long. This is very nice with baked fish. CURRANT JELLY SAUCE. Three tablespoonfuls of butter, one onion, one bay leaf, one sprig of celery, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half a cupful of currant jelly, one tablespoonful of flour, one pint of stock, salt, pepper. Cook the butter and onion until the latter begins to color. Add the flour and herbs. Stir until brown; add the stock, and simmer twenty minutes. Strain and skim off all the fat. Add the jelly and stir over the fire until it is melted. Serve with game. BROWN SAUCE. Delicious sauce for meats is made in this way: Slice a large onion and fry in butter till it is brown; then cover the onion with rich brown gravy, which is left from roast beef; add mustard, salt and pepper, and if you choose a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce; let this boil up, and if too thick, thin it with a little stock or gravy, or even a little hot water with butter. Pour this when done through a fine sieve. Of course a larger quantity can be prepared at once than is mentioned here. MUSHROOM SAUCE. Wash a pint of small button mushrooms, remove the stems and outside skins, stew them slowly in veal gravy or milk or cream, adding an onion, and seasoning with pepper, salt and a little butter rolled in flour. Their flavor will be heightened by salting a few the night before, to extract the juice. In dressing mushrooms only those of a dull pearl color on the outside and the under part tinged with pale pink should be selected. If there is a poisonous one among them, the onion in the sauce will turn black. In such a case throw the whole away. Used for poultry, beef or fish. APPLE SAUCE. When you wish to serve apple sauce with meat prepare it in this way: Cook the apples until they are very tender, then stir them thoroughly so there will be no lumps at all; add the sugar and a little gelatine dissolved in warm water, a tablespoonful in a pint of sauce; pour the sauce into bowls, and when cold it will be stiff like jelly, and can be turned out on a plate. Cranberry sauce can be treated in the same way. Many prefer this to plain stewing. Apples cooked in the following way look very pretty on a tea-table, and are appreciated by the palate. Select firm, round greenings; pare neatly and cut in halves; place in a shallow stewpan with sufficient boiling water to cover them, and a cupful of sugar to every six apples. Each half should cook on the bottom of the pan, and be removed from the others so as not to injure its shape. Stew slowly until the pieces are very tender; remove to a dish carefully; boil the syrup half an hour longer; pour it over the apples and eat cold. A few pieces of lemon boiled in the syrup adds to the flavor. These sauces are a fine accompaniment to roast pork or roast goose. CIDER APPLE SAUCE. Boil four quarts of new cider until it is reduced to two quarts; then put into it enough pared and quartered apples to fill the kettle; let the whole stew over a moderate fire four hours; add cinnamon if liked. This sauce is very fine with almost any kind of meat. OLD-FASHIONED APPLE SAUCE. Pare and chop a dozen medium-sized apples, put them in a deep pudding-dish; sprinkle over them a heaping coffeecupful of sugar and one of water. Place them in the oven and bake slowly two hours or more, or until they are a deep red brown; quite as nice as preserves. CRANBERRY SAUCE. One quart of cranberries, two cupfuls of sugar and a pint of water. Wash the cranberries, then put them on the fire with the water, but in a covered saucepan. Let them simmer until each cranberry bursts open; then remove the cover of the saucepan, add the sugar and let them all boil twenty minutes without the cover. The cranberries must never be stirred from the time they are placed on the fire. This is an unfailing recipe for a most delicious preparation of cranberries. Very fine with turkey and game. APPLE OMELET. Apple omelet, to be served with broiled sparerib or roast pork, is very delicate. Take nine large, tart apples, four, eggs, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter; add cinnamon or other spices to suit your taste; stew the apples till they are very soft; mash them so that there will be no lumps; add the butter and sugar while they are still warm; but let them cool before putting in the beaten eggs; bake this till it is brown; you may put it all in a shallow pudding-dish or in two tin plates to bake. Very good. FLAVORED VINEGARS. Almost all the flavorings used for meats and salads may be prepared in vinegar with little trouble and expense, and will be found useful to impart an acid to flavors when lemons are not at hand. Tarragon, sweet basil, burnet, green mint, sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, etc., may be prepared by putting three ounces of either of these herbs, when in blossom, into one gallon of sharp vinegar, let stand ten days, strain off clear, and bottle for use. Celery and cayenne may be prepared, using three ounces of the seed as above. CUCUMBER VINEGAR. _Ingredients_.--Ten large cucumbers, or twelve smaller ones, one quart of vinegar, two onions, two shallots, one tablespoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne. _Mode_.--Pare and slice the cucumbers, put them in a stone jar, or wide-mouthed bottle, with the vinegar; slice the onions and shallots, and add them, with all the other ingredients, to the cucumbers. Let it stand four or five days; boil it all up, and when cold, strain the liquor through a piece of muslin, and store it away in small bottles well sealed. This vinegar is a very nice addition to gravies, hashes, etc., as well as a great improvement to salads, or to eat with cold meat. CURRY POWDER. To make curry powder, take one ounce of ginger, one ounce of mustard, one ounce of pepper, three ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of turmeric, half an ounce of cardamoms, one-quarter ounce of cayenne pepper, one-quarter ounce of cinnamon, and one-quarter ounce of cumin seed. Pound all these ingredients very fine in a mortar; sift them and cork tight in a bottle. This can be had ready prepared at most druggists, and it is much less trouble to purchase it than to make it at home. CURRY SAUCE. One tablespoonful of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful of curry powder, one large slice of onion, one large cupful of stock, salt and pepper to taste. Cut the onion fine, and fry brown in the butter. Add the flour and curry powder. Stir for one minute, add the stock and season with the salt and pepper. Simmer five minutes; then strain and serve. This sauce can be served with a broil or _sauté_ of meat or fish. TO BROWN BUTTER. Put a lump of butter into a hot frying pan and toss it about until it browns. Stir brown flour into it until it is smooth and begins to boil. Use it for coloring gravies, and sauces for meats. TO BROWN FLOUR. Spread flour upon a tin pie-plate, set it upon the stove or in a _very_ hot oven, and stir continually, after it begins to color, until it is brown all through. Keep it always on hand; put away in glass jars covered closely. It is excellent for coloring and thickening many dishes. TO MAKE MUSTARD. Boil some vinegar; take four spoonfuls of mustard, half of a teaspoonful of sugar, a saltspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of melted butter; mix well. FRENCH MUSTARD. Three tablespoonfuls of mustard, one tablespoonful of granulated sugar, well worked together, then beat in an egg until it is smooth; add one teacupful of vinegar, a little at a time, working it all smooth; then set on the stove and cook three or four minutes, stirring all the time; when cool, add one tablespoonful of the best olive oil, taking care to get it all thoroughly worked in and smooth. You will find this very nice. _Mrs. D. Riegel_. KITCHEN PEPPER. Mix one ounce of ground ginger, half an ounce each of black pepper, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, and six ounces of salt. Keep in a tightly corked bottle. _The Caterer_. PREPARED COCOANUT. (For Pies, Puddings, etc.) To prepare cocoanut for future use, first cut a hole through the meat at one of the holes in the end, draw off the milk, then loosen the meat by pounding the nut well on all sides. Crack the nut and take out the meat, and place the pieces of meat in a cool open oven over night, or for a few hours, to dry; then grate it. If there is more grated than is needed for present use, sprinkle it with sugar, and spread out in a cool dry place. When dry enough put away in dry cans or bottles. Will keep for weeks. SPICES. Ginger is the root of a shrub first known in Asia, and now cultivated in the West Indies and Sierra Leone. The stem grows three or four feet high and dies every year. There are two varieties of ginger--the white and black--caused by taking more or less care in selecting and preparing the roots, which are always dug in winter, when the stems are withered. The white is the best. _Cinnamon_ is the inner bark of a beautiful tree, a native of Ceylon, that grows from twenty to thirty feet in height and lives to be centuries old. _Cloves_.--Native to the Molucca Islands, and so called from resemblance to a nail (_clavis_). The East Indians call them "changkek" from the Chinese "techengkia" (fragrant nails). They grow on a straight, smooth-barked tree, about forty feet high. Cloves are not fruits, but blossoms, gathered before they are quite unfolded. _Allspice_.--A berry so called because it combines the flavor of several spices--grows abundantly on the allspice or bayberry tree; native of South America and the West Indies. A single tree has been known to produce one hundred and fifty pounds of berries. They are purple when ripe. _Black pepper_ is made by grinding the dried berry of a climbing vine, native to the East Indies. White pepper is obtained from the same berries, freed from their husk or rind. Red or cayenne pepper is obtained by grinding the scarlet pod or seed-vessel of a tropical plant that is now cultivated in all parts of the world. _Nutmeg_ is the kernel of a small, smooth, pear-shaped fruit that grows on a tree in the Molucca Islands, and other parts of the East. The trees commence bearing in the seventh year, and continue fruitful until they are seventy or eighty years old. Around the nutmeg or kernel is a bright, brown shell. This shell has a soft, scarlet covering, which, when flattened out and dried, is known as mace. The best nutmegs are solid, and emit oil when pricked with a pin. HERBS FOR WINTER. To prepare herbs for winter use, such as sage, summer savory, thyme, mint or any of the sweet herbs, they should be gathered fresh in their season, or procure them from the market. Examine them well, throwing out all poor sprigs; then wash and shake them; tie into small bundles, and tie over the bundles a piece of netting or old lace (to keep off the dust); hang up in a warm, dry place, the leaves downward. In a few days the herb will be thoroughly dry and brittle. Or you may place them in a cool oven and let them remain in it until perfectly dry. Then pick off all the leaves and the tender tops of the stems; put them in a clean, large-mouthed bottle that is perfectly dry. When wanted for use, rub fine, and sift through a sieve. It is much better to put them in bottles as soon as dried, as long exposure to the air causes them to lose strength and flavor. MEATS AND THEIR ACCOMPANIMENTS. With roast beef: tomato sauce, grated horse-radish, mustard, cranberry sauce, pickles. With roast pork: apple sauce, cranberry sauce. With roast veal: tomato sauce, mushroom sauce, onion sauce and cranberry sauce. Horse-radish and lemons are good. With roast mutton: currant jelly, caper sauce. With boiled mutton: onion sauce, caper sauce. With boiled fowls: bread sauce, onion sauce, lemon sauce, cranberry sauce, jellies. Also cream sauce. With roast lamb: mint sauce. With roast turkey: cranberry sauce, currant jelly. With boiled turkey: oyster sauce. With venison or wild ducks: cranberry sauce, currant jelly, or currant jelly warmed with port wine. With roast goose: apple sauce, cranberry sauce, grape or currant jelly. With boiled fresh mackerel: stewed gooseberries. With boiled blue fish: white cream sauce, lemon sauce. With broiled shad: mushroom sauce, parsley or egg sauce. With fresh salmon: green peas, cream sauce. Pickles are good with all roast meats, and in fact are suitable accompaniments to all kinds of meats in general. Spinach is the proper accompaniment to veal; green peas to lamb. Lemon juice makes a very grateful addition to nearly all the insipid members of the fish kingdom. Slices of lemon cut into very small dice and stirred into drawn butter and allowed to come to the boiling point, served with fowls, is a fine accompaniment. VEGETABLES APPROPRIATE TO DIFFERENT DISHES. Potatoes are good with all meats. With fowls they are nicest mashed. Sweet potatoes are most appropriate with roast meats, as also are onions, winter squash, cucumbers and asparagus. Carrots, parsnips, turnips, greens and cabbage are generally eaten with boiled meat, and corn, beets, peas and beans are appropriate to either boiled or roasted meat. Mashed turnip is good with roast pork and with boiled meats. Tomatoes are good with almost every kind of meats, especially with roasts. WARM DISHES FOR BREAKFAST. The following of hot breakfast dishes may be of assistance in knowing what to provide for the comfortable meal called breakfast. Broiled beefsteak, broiled chops, broiled chicken, broiled fish, broiled quail on toast, fried pork tenderloins, fried pig's feet, fried oysters, fried clams, fried liver and bacon, fried chops, fried pork, ham and eggs fried, veal cutlets breaded, sausages, fricasseed tripe, fricasseed kidneys, turkey or chicken hash, corn beef hash, beef croquettes, codfish balls, creamed codfish, stewed meats on toast, poached eggs on toast, omelettes, eggs boiled plain, and eggs cooked in any of the various styles. VEGETABLES FOR BREAKFAST. Potatoes in any of the various modes of cooking, also stewed tomatoes, stewed corn, raw radishes, cucumbers sliced, tomatoes sliced raw, water cress, lettuce. To be included with the breakfast dishes: oatmeal mush, cracked wheat, hominy or corn-meal mush, these with cream, milk and sugar or syrup. Then numberless varieties of bread can be selected, in form of rolls, fritters, muffins, waffles, corn-cakes, griddle-cakes, etc., etc. For beverages, coffee, chocolate and cocoa, or tea if one prefers it; these are all suitable for the breakfast table. When obtainable always have a vase of choice flowers on the breakfast table; also some fresh fruit, if convenient. SALADS. Everything in the make-up of a salad should be of the freshest material, the vegetables crisp and fresh, the oil or butter the very best, meats, fowl and fish well cooked, pure cider or white wine vinegar--in fact, every ingredient first class, to insure success. The vegetables used in salad are: Beet-root, onions, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, celery, cucumbers, lentils, haricots, winter cress, peas, French beans, radish, cauliflower--all these may be used judiciously in salad, if properly seasoned, according to the following directions. Chervil is a delicious salad herb, invariably found in all salads prepared by a French _gourmet_. No man can be a true epicure who is unfamiliar with this excellent herb. It may be procured from the vegetable stands at Fulton and Washington markets the year round. Its leaves resemble parsley, but are more divided, and a few of them added to a breakfast salad give a delightful flavor. _Chervil Vinegar_.--A few drops of this vinegar added to fish sauces or salads is excellent, and well repays the little trouble taken in its preparation. Half fill a bottle with fresh or dry chervil leaves; fill the bottle with good vinegar and heat it gently by placing it in warm water, which bring to boiling point; remove from the fire; when cool cork, and in two weeks it will be ready for use. MAYONNAISE DRESSING. Put the yolks of four fresh raw eggs, with two hard-boiled ones, into a cold bowl. Rub these as smooth as possible before introducing the oil; a good measure of oil is a tablespoonful to each yolk of raw egg. All the art consists in introducing the oil by degrees, a few drops at a time. You can never make a good salad without taking plenty of time. When the oil is well mixed, and assumes the appearance of jelly, put in two heaping teaspoonfuls of dry table salt, one of pepper and one of made mustard. Never put in salt and pepper before this stage of the process, because the salt and pepper would coagulate the albumen of the eggs, and you could not get the dressing smooth. Two tablespoonfuls of vinegar added gradually. The _Mayonnaise_ should be the thickness of thick cream when finished, but if it looks like curdling when mixing it, set in the ice-box or in a _cold_ place for about forty minutes or an hour, then mix it again. It is a good idea to place it in a pan of cracked ice while mixing. For lobster salad, use the _coral_, mashed and pressed through a sieve, then add to the above. Salad dressing should be kept in a separate bowl in a cold, place, and not mixed with the salad until the moment it is to be served, or it may lose its crispness and freshness. DRESSING FOR COLD SLAW. (Cabbage Salad.) Beat up two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of sugar, add a piece of butter the size of half an egg, a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper, and lastly a teacup of vinegar. Put all of these ingredients into a dish over the fire and cook like a soft custard. Some think it improved by adding half a cupful of thick sweet cream to this dressing; in that case use less vinegar. Either way is very fine. SALAD CREAM DRESSING. No. 1. One cup fresh cream, one spoonful fine flour, the whites of two eggs beaten stiff, three spoonfuls of vinegar, two spoonfuls of salad oil or soft butter, two spoonfuls of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful pepper, one teaspoonful of made mustard. Heat cream almost to boiling; stir in the flour, previously wet with cold milk; boil two minutes, stirring all the time; add sugar and take from fire. When half cold, beat in whipped whites of egg; set aside to cool. When quite cold, whip in the oil or butter, pepper, mustard and salt; if the salad is ready, add vinegar and pour at once over it. CREAM DRESSING. No. 2. Two tablespoonfuls of whipped sweet cream, two of sugar and four of vinegar; beat well and pour over the cabbage, previously cut very fine and seasoned with salt. FRENCH SALAD DRESSING. Mix one saltspoon of pepper with one of salt; add three tablespoonfuls of olive oil and one even tablespoonful of onion scraped fine; then one tablespoonful of vinegar; when well mixed, pour the mixture over your salad and stir all till well mingled. The merit of a salad is that it should be cool, fresh and crisp. For vegetables use only the delicate white stalks of celery, the small heart-leaves of lettuce; or tenderest stalks and leaves of the white cabbage. Keep the vegetable portion crisp and fresh until the time for serving, when add the meat. For chicken and fish salads use the "Mayonnaise dressing." For simple vegetable salads the French dressing is most appropriate, using onion rather than garlic. MIXED SUMMER SALAD. Three heads of lettuce, two teaspoonfuls of green mustard leaves, a handful of water cresses, five tender radishes, one cucumber, three hard-boiled eggs, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of made mustard, one teacupful of vinegar, half a teacupful of oil. Mix all well together, and serve with a lump of ice in the middle. "_Common Sense in the Household_." CHICKEN SALAD. Boil the fowls tender and remove all the fat, gristle and skin; mince the meat in small pieces, but do not hash it. To one chicken put twice and a half its weight in celery, cut in pieces of about one-quarter of an inch; mix thoroughly and set it in a cool place--the ice chest. In the meantime prepare a "Mayonnaise dressing," and when ready for the table pour this dressing over the chicken and celery, tossing and mixing it thoroughly. Set it in a cool place until ready to serve. Garnish with celery tips, or cold hard-boiled eggs, lettuce leaves, from the heart, cold boiled beets or capers, olives. Crisp cabbage is a good substitute for celery; when celery is not to be had use celery vinegar in the dressing. Turkey makes a fine salad. LOBSTER SALAD. No. 1. Prepare a sauce with the _coral_ of a fine, new lobster, boiled fresh for about half an hour. Pound and rub it smooth, and mix very gradually with a dressing made from the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, a tablespoonful of made mustard, three of salad oil, two of vinegar, one of white powdered sugar, a small teaspoonful of salt, as much black pepper, a pinch of cayenne and yolks of two fresh eggs. Next fill your salad bowl with some shred lettuce, the better part of two leaving the small curled centre to garnish your dish with. Mingle with this the flesh of your lobster, torn, broken or cut into bits seasoned with salt and pepper and a small portion of the dressing. Pour over the whole the rest of the dressing; put your lettuce-hearts down the centre and arrange upon the sides slices of hard-boiled eggs. LOBSTER SALAD. No. 2. Using canned lobsters, take a can, skim off all the oil on the surface, and chop the meat up coarsely on a flat dish. Prepare the same way six heads of celery; mix a teaspoonful of mustard into a smooth paste with a little vinegar; add yolks of two fresh eggs; a tablespoonful of butter, creamed, a small teaspoonful of salt, the same of pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, a gill of vinegar, and the mashed yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix a small portion of the dressing with the celery and meat, and turn the remainder over all. Garnish with the green tops of celery and a hard-boiled egg, cut into thin rings. FISH SALAD. Take a fresh white fish or trout, boil and chop it, but not too fine; put with the same quantity of chopped cabbage, celery or lettuce; season the same as chicken salad. Garnish with the tender leaves of the heart of lettuce. OYSTER SALAD. Drain the liquor from a quart of fresh oysters. Put them in hot vinegar enough to cover them placed over the fire; let them remain until _plump_, but not cooked; then drop them immediately in cold water, drain off, and mix with them two pickled cucumbers cut fine, also a quart of celery cut in dice pieces, some seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix all well together, tossing up with a silver fork. Pour over the whole a "Mayonnaise dressing." Garnish with celery tips and slices of hard-boiled eggs arranged tastefully. DUTCH SALAD. Wash, split and bone a dozen anchovies, and roll each one up; wash, split and bone one herring, and cut it up into small pieces; cut up into dice an equal quantity of Bologna or Lyons sausage, or of smoked ham and sausages; also, an equal quantity of the breast of cold roast fowl, or veal; add likewise, always in the same quantity, and cut into dice, beet-roots, pickled cucumbers, cold boiled potatoes cut in larger dice, and in quantity according to taste, but at least thrice as much potato as anything else; add a tablespoohful of capers, the yolks and whites of some hard-boiled eggs, minced separately, and a dozen stoned olives; mix all the ingredients well together, reserving the olives and anchovies to ornament the top of the bowl; beat up together oil and Tarragon vinegar with white pepper and French mustard to taste; pour this over the salad and serve. HAM SALAD. Take cold boiled ham, fat and lean together, chop it until it is thoroughly mixed and the pieces are about the size of peas; then add to this an equal quantity of celery cut fine, if celery is out of season, lettuce may be substituted. Line a dish thickly with lettuce leaves and fill with the chopped ham and celery. Make a dressing the same as for cold slaw and turn over the whole. Very fine. CRAB SALAD. Boil three dozen hard-shell crabs twenty-five minutes; drain and let them cool gradually; remove the upper shell and the tail, break the remainder apart and pick out the meat carefully. The large claws should not be forgotten, for they contain a dainty morsel, and the creamy fat attached to the upper shell should not be overlooked. Line a salad bowl with the small white leaves of two heads of lettuce, add the crab meat, pour over it a "Mayonnaise" garnish with crab claws, hard-boiled eggs and little mounds of cress leaves, which may be mixed with the salad when served. COLD SLAW. Select the finest head of bleached cabbage--that is to say one of the finest and most compact of the more delicate varieties; cut up enough into shreds to fill a large vegetable dish or salad bowl--that to be regulated by the size of the cabbage and the quantity required; shave very fine and after that chop up, the more thoroughly the better. Put this into a dish in which it is to be served, after seasoning it well with salt and pepper. Turn over it a dressing made as for cold slaw; mix it well and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. PLAIN COLD SLAW. Slice cabbage very fine; season with salt, pepper and a little sugar; pour over vinegar and mix thoroughly. It is nice served in the centre of a platter with fried oysters around it. HOT SLAW. Cut the cabbage as for cold slaw; put it into a stewpan and set it on the top of the stove for half an hour, or till hot all through; do not let it boil. Then make a dressing the same as for cold slaw, and, while hot, pour it over the hot cabbage. Stir it until well mixed and the cabbage looks coddled. Serve immediately. TOMATO SALAD. Peel and slice twelve good, sound, fresh tomatoes; the slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Set them on the ice or in a refrigerator while you make the dressing. Make the same as "Mayonnaise," or you may use "Cream dressing." Take one head of the broad-leaved variety of lettuce, wash, and arrange them neatly around the sides of a salad bowl. Place the cold, sliced tomatoes in the centre. Pour over the dressing and serve. ENDIVE. This ought to be nicely blanched and crisp, and is the most wholesome of all salads. Take two, cut away the root, remove the dark green leaves, and pick off all the rest; wash and drain well, add a few chives. Dress with "Mayonnaise dressing." Endive is extensively cultivated for the adulteration of coffee; is also a fine relish, and has broad leaves. Endive is of the same nature as chicory, the leaves being curly. CELERY SALAD. Prepare the dressing the same as for tomato salad; cut the celery into bits half an inch long, and season. Serve at once before the vinegar injures the crispness of the vegetables. LETTUCE SALAD. Take the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, and salt and mustard to taste; mash it fine; make a paste by adding a dessertspoonful of olive oil or melted butter (use butter always when it is difficult to get _fresh_ oil); mix thoroughly, and then dilute by adding _gradually_ a teacupful of vinegar, and pour over the lettuce. Garnish by _slicing_ another egg and laying over the lettuce. This is sufficient for a moderate-sized dish of lettuce. POTATO SALAD, HOT. Pare six or eight large potatoes, and boil till done, and slice thin while hot; peel and cut up three large onions into small bits and mix with the potatoes; cut up some breakfast bacon into small bits, sufficient to fill a teacup and fry it a light brown; remove the meat, and into the grease stir three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, making a sour gravy, which with the bacon pour over the potato and onion; mix lightly. To be eaten when hot. POTATO SALAD, COLD. Chop cold boiled potatoes fine, with enough raw onions to season nicely; make a dressing as for lettuce salad, and pour over it. BEAN SALAD. String young beans; break into half-inch pieces or leave whole; wash and cook soft in salt water; drain well; add finely chopped onions, pepper, salt and vinegar; when cool, add olive oil or melted butter. TO DRESS CUCUMBERS RAW. They should be as fresh from the vine as possible, few vegetables being more unwholesome when long gathered. As soon as they are brought in lay them in cold water. Just before they are to go to the table take them out, pare them and slice them into a pan of fresh cold water. When they are all sliced, transfer them to a deep dish; season them with a little salt and black pepper, and pour over them some of the best vinegar. You may mix with them a small quantity of sliced onions, not to be eaten, but to communicate a slight flavor of onion to the vinegar. CELERY UNDRESSED. Celery is sometimes sent to the table without dressing. Scrape the outside stalks, and cut off the green tops and the roots; lay it in cold water until near the time to serve, then change the water, in which let it stand three or four minutes; split the stalks in three, with a sharp knife, being careful not to break them, and serve in goblet-shaped salad glasses. To crisp celery, let it lie in ice-water two hours before serving; to fringe the stalks, stick several coarse needles into a cork, and draw the stalk half way from the top through the needles several times and lay in the refrigerator to curl and crisp. RADISHES. All the varieties are generally served in the same manner, by scraping and placing on the table in glasses containing some cold water to keep them fresh looking. PEPPERGRASS AND CRESS. These are used mostly as an appetizer, served simply with salt. Cresses are occasionally used in making salad. HORSE-RADISH. Horse-radish is an agreeable relish, and has a particularly fresh taste in the spring; is scraped fine or grated, and set on the table in a small covered cup; much that is bottled and sold as horse-radish is adulterated with grated turnip. LETTUCE. Wash each leaf separately, breaking them from the head; crisp in ice-water and serve the leaves whole, to be prepared at table, providing hard-boiled eggs cut in halves or slices, oil and other ingredients, to be mixed at table to individual taste. CATSUPS. TOMATO CATSUP. No. 1. Put into two quarts of tomato pulp (or two cans of canned tomatoes) one onion, cut fine, two tablespoonfuls of salt and three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar. Boil until quite thick; then take from the fire and strain it through a sieve, working it until it is all through but the seeds. Put it back on the stove, and add two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one of allspice, one of black pepper and one of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one grated nutmeg, one pint of good vinegar; boil it until it will just run from the mouth of a bottle. It should be watched, stirred often, that it does not burn. If sealed tight while _hot_, in large-mouthed bottles, it will keep good for years. TOMATO CATSUP. No. 2. Cook one gallon of choice ripe tomatoes; strain them, and cook again until they become quite thick. About fifteen minutes before taking up put into them a small level teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one tablespoonful of mustard seed, half a tablespoonful of whole cloves, one tablespoonful of whole allspice, all tied in a thin muslin bag. At the same time, add one heaping tablespoonful of sugar, and one teacupful of best vinegar and salt to suit the taste. Seal up air-tight, either in bottles or jugs. This is a valuable Southern recipe. GREEN TOMATO CATSUP. One peck of green tomatoes and two large onions sliced. Place them in layers, sprinkling salt between; let them stand twenty-four hours and then drain them. Add a quarter of a pound of mustard seed, one ounce allspice, one ounce cloves, one ounce ground mustard, one ounce ground ginger, two tablespoonfuls black pepper, two teaspoonfuls celery seed, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar. Put all in preserving-pan, cover with vinegar and boil two hours; then strain through a sieve and bottle for use. WALNUT CATSUP. One hundred walnuts, six ounces of shallots, one head of garlic, half a pound of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two ounces of anchovies, two ounces of pepper, a quarter of an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves; beat in a large mortar a hundred green walnuts until they are thoroughly broken; then put them into a jar with six ounces of shallots cut into pieces, a head of garlic, two quarts of vinegar and the half pound of salt; let them stand for a fortnight, stirring them twice a day. Strain off the liquor, put into a stewpan with the anchovies, whole pepper, half an ounce of cloves and a quarter of an ounce of mace; boil it half an hour, skimming it well. Strain it off, and, when cold, pour it clear from any sediment into small bottles, cork it down closely and store it in a dry place. The sediment can be used for flavoring sauces. OYSTER CATSUP. One pint of oyster meats, one teacupful of sherry, a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, the same of powdered mace, a gill of cider vinegar. Procure the oysters very fresh and open sufficient to fill a pint measure; save the liquor and scald the oysters in it with the sherry; strain the oysters and chop them fine with the salt, cayenne and mace, until reduced to a pulp; then add it to the liquor in which they were scalded; boil it again five minutes and skim well; rub the whole through a sieve, and, when cold, bottle and cork closely. The corks should be sealed. MUSHROOM CATSUP. Use the larger kind known as umbrellas or "flaps." They must be very fresh and not gathered in very wet weather, or the catsup will be less apt to keep. Wash and cut them in two to four pieces, and place them in a wide, flat jar or crock in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt, and let them stand for twenty-four hours; take them out and press out the juice, when bottle and cork; put the mushrooms back again, and in another twenty-four hours press them again; bottle and cork; repeat this for the third time, and then mix together all the juice extracted; add to it pepper, allspice, one or more cloves according to quantity, pounded together; boil the whole, and skim as long as any scum rises; bottle when cool; put in each bottle two cloves and a pepper-corn. Cork and seal, put in a dry place, and it will keep for years. GOOSEBERRY CATSUP. Ten pounds of fruit gathered just before ripening, five pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls each of ground black pepper, allspice and cinnamon. Boil the fruit in vinegar until reduced to a pulp, then add sugar and the other seasoning. Seal it hot. Grape catsup is made in the same manner. CUCUMBER CATSUP. Take cucumbers suitable for the table; peel and grate them, salt a little, and put in a bag to drain over night; in the morning season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar, put in small jars and seal tight for fall or winter use. CURRANT CATSUP. Four pounds of currants, two pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of cloves, a tablespoonful of cinnamon, pepper and allspice. Boil in a porcelain saucepan until thoroughly cooked. Strain through a sieve all but the skins; boil down until just thick enough to run freely from the mouth of a bottle when cold. Cork and set aside. APPLE CATSUP. Peel and quarter a dozen sound, tart apples; stew them until soft in as little water as possible, then pass them through a sieve. To a quart of the sifted apple, add a teacupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of pepper, one of cloves, one of mustard, two of cinnamon, and two medium-sized onions, chopped _very_ fine. Stir all together, adding a tablespoonful of salt and a pint of vinegar. Place over the fire and boil one hour, and bottle while hot; seal very tight. It should be about as thick as tomato catsup, so that it will just run from the bottle. CELERY VINEGAR. A quart of fresh celery, chopped fine, or a quarter of a pound of celery seed; one quart of best vinegar; one tablespoonful of salt, and one of white sugar. Put the celery or seed into a jar, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt; pour it boiling hot over the celery, let it cool, cover it tightly and set away. In two weeks strain and bottle. SPICED VINEGAR. Take one quart of cider vinegar, put into it half an ounce of celery seed, one-third of an ounce of dried mint, one-third of an ounce of dried parsley, one garlic, three small onions, three whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole pepper-corns, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, salt to taste and a tablespoonful of sugar; add a tablespoonful of good brandy. Put all into a jar, and cover it well; let it stand for three weeks, then strain and bottle it well. Useful for flavoring salad and other dishes. PICKLES. Pickles should never be put into vessels of brass, copper or tin, as the action of the acid on such metals often results in poisoning the pickles. Porcelain or granite-ware is the best for such purposes. Vinegar that is used for pickling should be the best cider or white-wine, and should never be boiled more than five or six minutes, as it reduces its strength. In putting away pickles, use stone or glass jars; the glazing on common earthenware is rendered injurious by the action of the vinegar. When the jar is nearly filled with the pickles, the vinegar should completely cover them, and if there is any appearance of their not doing well, turn off the vinegar, cover with fresh vinegar and spices. Alum in small quantities is useful in making them firm and crisp. In using ground spices, tie them up in muslin bags. To green pickles, put green grape-vine leaves or green cabbage leaves between them when heating. Another way is to heat them in strong ginger tea. Pickles should be kept closely covered, put into glass jars and sealed tightly. "Turmeric" is India saffron, and is used very much in pickling as a coloring. A piece of horse-radish put into a jar of pickles will keep the vinegar from losing its strength, and the pickles will keep sound much longer, especially tomato pickles. CUCUMBER PICKLES. Select the medium, small-sized cucumbers. For one bushel make a brine that will bear up an egg; heat it boiling hot and pour it over the cucumbers; let them stand twenty-four hours, then wipe them dry; heat some vinegar boiling hot and pour over them, standing again twenty-four hours. Now change the vinegar, putting on fresh vinegar, adding one quart of brown sugar, a pint of white mustard seed, a small handful of whole cloves, the same of cinnamon sticks, a piece of alum the size of an egg, half a cup of celery seed; heat it all boiling hot and pour over the cucumbers. SLICED CUCUMBER PICKLE. Take one gallon of medium-sized cucumbers, put them into a jar or pail. Put into enough _boiling_ water to cover them a small handful of salt, turn it over them and cover closely; repeat this three mornings, and the fourth morning scald enough cider vinegar to cover them, putting into it a piece of alum as large as a walnut, a teacup of horse-radish root cut up fine; then tie up in a small muslin bag, one teaspoonful of mustard, one of ground cloves, and one of cinnamon. Slice up the cucumbers half of an inch thick, place them in glass jars and pour the scalding vinegar over them. Seal tight and they will keep good a year or more. _Mrs. Lydia C. Wright, South Vernon, Vermont._ CUCUMBER PICKLES. (For Winter Use.) A good way to put down cucumbers, a few at a time:-- When gathered from the vines, wash, and put in a firkin or half barrel layers or cucumbers and rock-salt alternately, enough salt to make sufficient brine to cover them, no water; cover with a cloth; keep them under the brine with a heavy board; take off the cloth, and rinse it every time you put in fresh cucumbers, as a scum will rise and settle upon it. Use plenty of salt and it will keep a year. To prepare pickles for use, soak in hot water, and keep in a warm place until they are fresh enough, then pour spiced vinegar over them and let them stand over night, then pour that off and put on fresh. GREEN TOMATO PICKLES. (Sweet.) One peck of green tomatoes, sliced the day before you are ready for pickling, sprinkling them through and through with salt, not _too_ heavily; in the morning drain off the liquor that will drain from them. Have a dozen good-sized onions rather coarsely sliced; take a suitable kettle and put in a layer of the sliced tomatoes, then of onions, and between each layer sprinkle the following spices: Six _red_ peppers chopped coarsely, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of ground allspice, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, a teaspoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of mustard. Turn over three pints of good vinegar, or enough to completely cover them; boil until tender. This is a choice recipe. If the flavor of onions is objectionable, the pickle is equally as good without them. GREEN TOMATO PICKLES. (Sour.) Wash and slice, without peeling, one peck of sound green tomatoes, put them into a jar in layers with a slight sprinkling of salt between. This may be done over night; in the morning drain off the liquor that has accumulated. Have two dozen medium-sized onions peeled and sliced, also six red peppers chopped fine. Make some spiced vinegar by boiling for half an hour a quart of cider vinegar with whole spices in it. Now take a porcelain kettle and place in it some of the sliced tomatoes, then some of the sliced onions; shake in some black pepper and some of the chopped red peppers; pour over some of the spiced vinegar; then repeat with the tomatoes, onions, etc., until the kettle is full; cover with cold, pure cider vinegar and cook until tender, but not too soft. Turn into a jar well covered and set in a cool place. PICKLED MUSHROOMS. Sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms two blades pounded mace, one ounce ground pepper, salt to taste. Choose some nice young button mushrooms for pickling and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off the stalks; if very large, take out the red inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows and keep them there until it is all dried up again; then add as much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for one minute and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place; they will remain good for a length of time, and are generally considered excellent for flavoring stews and other dishes. PICKLED CABBAGE. (Purple.) Cut a sound cabbage into quarters, spread it on a large flat platter or dish and sprinkle thickly with salt; set it in a cool place for twenty-four hours; then drain off the brine, wipe it dry and lay it in the sun two hours, and cover with cold vinegar for twelve hours. Prepare a pickle by seasoning enough vinegar to cover the cabbage with equal quantities of mace, allspice, cinnamon and black pepper, a cup of sugar to every gallon of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of celery seed to every pint. Pack the cabbage in a stone jar; boil the vinegar and spices five minutes and pour on hot. Cover and set away in a cool, dry place. It will be good in a month. A few slices of beetroot improves the color. PICKLED WHITE CABBAGE. This recipe recommends itself as of a delightful flavor yet easily made, and a convenient substitute for the old-fashioned, tedious method of pickling the same vegetable. Take a peck of quartered cabbage, put a layer of cabbage and one of salt, let it remain over night; in the morning squeeze them and put them on the fire, with four chopped onions covered with vinegar; boil for half an hour, then add one ounce of turmeric, one gill of black pepper, one gill of celery seed, a few cloves, one tablespoonful of allspice, a few pieces of ginger, half an ounce of mace, and two pounds of brown sugar. Let it boil half an hour longer, and when cold it is fit for use. Four tablespoonfuls of made mustard should be added with the other ingredients. PICKLED CAULIFLOWER. Break the heads into small pieces and boil ten or fifteen minutes in salt and water; remove from the water and drain carefully. When cold, place in a jar, and pour over it hot vinegar, in which has been scalded a liberal supply of whole cloves, pepper, allspice and white mustard. Tie the spices in a bag, and, on removing the vinegar from the fire, stir into each quart of it two teaspoonfuls of French mustard, and half a cup of white sugar. Cover tightly and be sure to have the vinegar cover the pickle. PICKLED GREEN PEPPERS. Take two dozen large, green, bell peppers, extract the seeds by cutting a slit in the side (so as to leave them whole). Make a strong brine and pour over them; let them stand twenty-four hours. Take them out of the brine, and soak them in water for a day and a night; now turn off this water and scald some vinegar, in which put a small piece of alum, and pour over them, letting them stand three days. Prepare a stuffing of two hard heads of white cabbage, chopped fine, seasoned slightly with salt and a cup of white mustard seed; mix it well and stuff the peppers hard and full; stitch up, place them in a stone jar, and pour over spiced vinegar scalding hot. Cover tightly. GREEN PEPPER MANGOES. Select firm, sound, green peppers, and add a few red ones as they are ornamental and look well upon the table. With a sharp knife remove the top, take out the seed, soak over night in salt water, then fill with chopped cabbage and green tomatoes, seasoned with salt, mustard seed and ground cloves. Sew on the top. Boil vinegar sufficient to cover them, with a cup of brown sugar, and pour over the mangoes. Do this three mornings, then seal. CHOWCHOW. (Superior English Recipe.) This excellent pickle is seldom made at home, as we can get the imported article so much better than it can be made from the usual recipes. This we vouch for being as near the genuine article as can be made: One quart of young, tiny cucumbers, not over two inches long, two quarts of _very_ small white onions, two quarts of tender string beans, each one cut in halves, three quarts of green tomatoes, sliced and chopped very coarsely, two fresh heads of cauliflower, cut into small pieces, or two heads of white, hard cabbage. After preparing these articles, put them in a stone jar, mix them together, sprinkling salt between them sparingly. Let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain off _all_ the brine that has accumulated. Now put these vegetables in a preserving kettle over the fire, sprinkling through them an ounce of turmeric for coloring, six red peppers, chopped coarsely, four tablespoonfuls of mustard seed, two of celery seed, two of whole allspice, two of whole cloves, a coffee cup of sugar, and two-thirds of a teacup of best ground mixed mustard. Pour on enough of the best cider vinegar to cover the whole well; cover tightly and simmer all well until it is cooked all through and seems tender, watching and stirring it often. Put in bottles or glass jars. It grows better as it grows older, especially if sealed when hot. PICKLED ONIONS. Peel small onions until they are white. Scald them in salt and water until tender, then take them up, put them into wide-mouthed bottles, and pour over them hot spiced vinegar; when cold cork them close. Keep in a dry, dark place. A tablespoonful of sweet oil may be put in the bottles before the cork. The best sort of onions for pickling are the small white buttons. PICKLED MANGOES. Let the mangoes, or young musk-melons, lie in salt water, strong enough to bear an egg, for two weeks; then soak them in pure water for two days, changing the water two or three times; then remove the seeds and put the mangoes in a kettle, first a layer of grape leaves, then mangoes, and so on until all are in, covering the top with leaves; add a lump of alum the size of a hickory nut; pour vinegar over them and boil them ten or fifteen minutes; remove the leaves and let the pickles stand in this vinegar for a week; then stuff them with the following mixture: One pound of ginger soaked in brine for a day or two, and cut in slices, one ounce of black pepper, one of mace, one of allspice, one of turmeric, half a pound of garlic, soaked for a day or two in brine and then dried; one pint grated horse-radish, one of black mustard seed and one of white mustard seed; bruise all the spices and mix with a teacup of pure olive oil; to each mango add one teaspoonful of brown sugar; cut one solid head of cabbage fine; add one pint of small onions, a few small cucumbers and green tomatoes; lay them in brine a day and a night, then drain them well and add the imperfect mangoes chopped fine and the spices; mix thoroughly, stuff the mangoes and tie them; put them in a stone jar and pour over them the best cider vinegar; set them in a bright, dry place until they are canned. In a month add three pounds of brown sugar; if this is not sufficient, add more until agreeable to taste. This is for four dozen mangoes. PICKLE OF RIPE CUCUMBERS. This is a French recipe and is the most excellent of all the high-flavored condiments; it is made by _sun-drying_ thirty _old_, full grown cucumbers, which have first been pared and split, had the seeds taken out, been salted and let stand twenty-four hours. The sun should be permitted to _dry_, not simply drain them. When they are moderately dry, wash them with vinegar and place them in layers in a jar, alternating them with a layer of horse-radish, mustard seed, garlic and onions for each layer of cucumbers. Boil in one quart of vinegar, one ounce of race ginger, half an ounce of allspice and the same of turmeric; when cool pour this over the cucumbers, tie up tightly and set away. This pickle requires several months to mature it, but is delicious when old, keeps admirably, and only a little is needed as a relish. PICKLED OYSTERS. One gallon of oysters; wash them well in their own liquor; carefully clear away the particles of shell, then put them into a kettle, strain the liquor over them, add salt to your taste, let them just come to the boiling point, or until the edges curl up; then skim them out and lay in a dish to cool; put a sprig of mace and a little cold pepper and allow the liquor to boil some time, skimming it now and then so long as any skum rises. Pour it into a pan and let it cool. When perfectly cool, add a half pint of strong vinegar, place the oysters in a jar and pour the liquor over them. RIPE CUCUMBER PICKLES. (Sweet.) Pare and seed ripe cucumbers. Slice each cucumber lengthwise into four pieces, or cut it into fancy shapes, as preferred. Let them stand twenty-four hours covered with cold vinegar. Drain them; then put them into fresh vinegar, with two pounds of sugar and one ounce of cassia buds to one quart of vinegar, and a tablespoonful of salt. Boil all together twenty minutes. Cover them closely in a jar. PICCALILLI. One peck of green tomatoes; eight large onions chopped fine, with one cup of salt well stirred in. Let it stand over night; in the morning drain off all the liquor. Now take two quarts of water and one of vinegar, boil all together twenty minutes. Drain all through a sieve or colander. Put it back into the kettle again; turn over it two quarts of vinegar, one pound of sugar, half a pound of white mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls of ground pepper, two of cinnamon, one of cloves, two of ginger, one of allspice, and half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper. Boil all together fifteen minutes or until tender. Stir it often to prevent scorching. Seal in glass jars. A most delicious accompaniment for any kind of meat or fish. _Mrs. St. Johns._ PICKLED EGGS. Pickled eggs are very easily prepared and most excellent as an accompaniment for cold meats. Boil quite hard three dozen eggs, drop in cold water and remove the shells, and pack them when entirely cold in a wide-mouthed jar, large enough to let them in or out without breaking. Take as much vinegar as you think will cover them entirely and boil it in white pepper, allspice, a little root ginger; pack them in stone or wide-mouthed glass jars, occasionally putting in a tablespoonful of white and black mustard seed mixed, a small piece of race ginger, garlic, if liked, horse-radish ungrated, whole cloves, and a very little allspice. Slice two of three green peppers, and add in very small quantities. They will be fit for use in eight or ten days. AN ORNAMENTAL PICKLE. Boil fresh eggs half an hour, then put them in cold water. Boil red beets until tender, peel and cut in dice form, and cover with vinegar, spiced; shell the eggs and drop into the pickle jar. EAST INDIA PICKLE. Lay in strong brine for two weeks, or until convenient to use them, small cucumbers, very small common white onions, snap beans, gherkins, hard white cabbage quartered, plums, peaches, pears, lemons, green tomatoes and anything else you may wish. When ready, take them out of the brine and simmer in pure water until tender enough to stick a straw through--if still too salt, soak in clear water; drain thoroughly and lay them in vinegar in which is dissolved one ounce of turmeric to the gallon. For five gallons of pickle, take two ounces of mace, two of cloves, two of cinnamon, two of allspice, two of celery seed, a quarter of a pound of white race ginger, cracked fine, half a pound of white mustard seed, half a pint of small red peppers, quarter of a pound of grated horse-radish, half a pint of flour mustard, two ounces of turmeric, half a pint of garlic, if you like; soak in two gallons of cider vinegar for two weeks, stirring daily. After the pickles have lain in the turmeric vinegar for a week, take them out and put in jars or casks, one layer of pickle and one of spice out of the vinegar, till all is used. If the turmeric vinegar is still good and strong, add it and the spiced vinegar. If the turmeric vinegar be much diluted do not use it, but add enough fresh to the spiced to cover the pickles; put it on the fire with a pound of brown sugar to each gallon; when boiling, pour over the pickle. Repeat this two or three times as your taste may direct. MIXED PICKLES. Scald in salt water until tender cauliflower heads, small onions, peppers, cucumbers cut in dice, nasturtiums and green beans; then drain until dry and pack into wide-mouthed bottles. Boil in each pint of cider vinegar one tablespoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt and two tablespoonfuls of mustard; pour over the pickle and seal carefully. Other spices may be added if liked. BLUEBERRY PICKLES. For blueberry pickles, old jars which have lost their covers, or whose edges have been broken so that the covers will not fit tightly, serve an excellent purpose as these pickles _must not_ be kept air-tight. Pick over your berries, using only sound ones; fill your jars or wide-mouthed bottles to within an inch of the top, then pour in molasses enough to settle down into _all_ the spaces; this cannot be done in a moment, as molasses does not _run_ very freely. Only lazy people will feel obliged to stand by and watch its progress. As it settles, pour in more until the berries are covered. Then tie over the top a piece of cotton cloth to keep the flies and other insects out and set away in the preserve closet. Cheap molasses is good enough, and your pickles will soon be "sharp." Wild grapes may be pickled in the same manner. PICKLED BUTTERNUTS AND WALNUTS. These nuts are in the best state for pickling when the outside shell can be penetrated by the head of a pin. Scald them and rub off the outside skin, put them in a strong brine for six days, changing the water every other day, keeping them closely covered from the air. Then drain and wipe them (piercing each nut through in several places with a large needle) and prepare the pickle as follows: For a hundred large nuts, take of black pepper and ginger root each an ounce; and of cloves, mace and nutmeg, each a half ounce. Pound all the spices to powder and mix them well together, adding two large spoonfuls of mustard seed. Put the nuts into jars (having first stuck each of them through in several places with a large needle), strewing the powdered seasoning between every layer of nuts. Boil for five minutes a gallon of the very best cider vinegar and pour it boiling hot upon the nuts. Secure the jars closely with corks. You may begin to eat the nuts in a fortnight. WATERMELON PICKLE. Ten pounds of watermelon rind boiled in pure water until tender; drain the water off, and make a syrup of two pounds of white sugar, one quart of vinegar, half an ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon. The syrup to be poured over the rind boiling hot three days in succession. SWEET PICKLE FOR FRUIT. Most of the recipes for making a sweet pickle for fruit, such as cling-stone peaches, damsons, plums, cherries, apricots, etc., are so similar, that we give that which is most successfully used. To every quart of fruit, allow a cup of white sugar and a large pint of good cider vinegar, adding half an ounce of _stick_ cinnamon, one tablespoonful of _whole_ cloves, the same of whole allspice. Let it come to a boil, and pour it hot over the fruit; repeat this two or three days in succession; then seal hot in glass jars if you wish to keep it for a long time. The _fruit_, not the liquor, is to be eaten, and used the same as any pickle. Some confound this with "Spiced Fruit," which is not treated the same, one being a pickle, the other a spiced preserve boiled down thick. Damsons and plums should be pricked with a needle, and peaches washed with a weak lye, and then rubbed with a coarse cloth to remove the fur. PEAR PICKLE. Select small, sound ones, remove the blossom end, stick them with a fork, allow to each quart of pears one pint of cider vinegar and one cup of sugar, put in a teaspoonful allspice, cinnamon and cloves to boil with the vinegar; then add the pears and boil, and seal in jars. SPICED CURRANTS. Seven pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of good cider vinegar, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves. Put into a kettle and boil until the fruit is soft; then skim out the fruit, putting it on dishes until the syrup is boiled down thick. Turn the fruit back into the syrup again, so as to heat it all through; then seal it hot in glass jars, and set it in a cool, dark place. Any tart fruit may be put up in this way, and is considered a very good embellishment for cold meats. SPICED PLUMS. Seven pounds of plums, one pint of _cider_ vinegar, four pounds of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of broken cinnamon bark, half as much of whole cloves and the same of broken nutmeg; place these in a muslin bag and simmer them in a little vinegar and water for half an hour; then add it all to the vinegar and sugar, and bring to a boil; add the plums and boil carefully until they are cooked tender. Before cooking the plums they should be pierced with a darning needle several times; this will prevent the skins bursting while cooking. SPICED GRAPES. Take the pulp from the grapes, preserving the skins. Boil the pulp and rub through a colander to get out the seeds; then add the skins to the strained pulp and boil with the sugar, vinegar and spices. To every seven pounds of grapes use four and one-half pounds of sugar, one pint of good vinegar. Spice quite highly with ground cloves and allspice, with a little cinnamon. PICKLED CHERRIES. Select sound, large cherries, as large as you can get them; to every quart of cherries allow a large cupful of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a dozen whole cloves, and half a dozen blades of mace; put the vinegar and sugar on to heat with the spices; boil five minutes, turn out into a covered stoneware vessel; cover and let it get perfectly cold; pack the cherries into jars, and pour the vinegar over them when cold; cork tightly and set away; they are fit for use almost immediately. VEGETABLES. Vegetables of all kinds should be thoroughly picked over, throwing out all decayed or unripe parts, then well washed in several waters. Most vegetables, when peeled, are better when laid in cold water a short time before cooking. When partly cooked a little salt should be thrown into the water in which they are boiled, and they should cook steadily after they are put on, not allowed to stop boiling or simmering until they are thoroughly done. Every sort of culinary vegetable is much better when freshly gathered and cooked as soon as possible, and, when done, thoroughly drained, and served immediately while hot. Onions, cabbage, carrots and turnips should be cooked in a great deal of water, boiled only long enough to sufficiently cook them, and immediately drained. Longer boiling makes them insipid in taste, and with _too little_ water they turn a dark color. Potatoes rank first in importance in the vegetable line, and consequently should be properly served. It requires some little intelligence to cook even so simple and common a dish as boiled potatoes. In the first place, all defective or green ones should be cast out; a bad one will flavor a whole dish. If they are not uniform in size, they should be made so by cutting after they are peeled. The best part of a potato, or the most nutritious, is next to the skin, therefore they should be pared very thinly, if at all; then, if old, the cores should be cut out, thrown into _cold_ water salted a little, and boiled until soft enough for a fork to pierce through easily; drain immediately, and replace the kettle on the fire with the cover partly removed, until they are completely dried. New potatoes should be put into boiling water, and when partly done salted a little. They should be prepared just in time for cooking by scraping off the thin outside skin. They require about twenty minutes to boil. TO BOIL NEW POTATOES. Do not have the potatoes dug long before they are dressed, as they are never good when they have been out of the ground for some time. Well wash them, rub off the skins with a coarse cloth, and put them in _boiling_ water salted. Let them boil until tender; try them with a fork, and when done pour the water away from them; let them stand by the side of the fire with the lid of the saucepan partly removed, and when the potatoes are thoroughly dry, put them in a hot vegetable dish, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut; pile the potatoes over this and serve. If the potatoes are too old to have the skins rubbed off; boil them in their jackets; drain, peel and serve them as above, with a piece of butter placed in the midst of them. They require twenty to thirty minutes to cook. Serve them hot and plain, or with melted butter over them. MASHED POTATOES. Take the quantity needed, pare off the skins and lay them in cold water half an hour; then put them into a saucepan with a little salt; cover with water and boil them until done. Drain off the water and mash them fine with a potato masher. Have ready a piece of butter the size of an egg, melted in half a cup of boiling hot milk and a good pinch of salt; mix it well with the mashed potatoes until they are a smooth paste, taking care that they are not too wet. Put them into a vegetable dish, heaping them up and smooth over the top, put a small piece of butter on the top in the centre, and have dots of pepper here and there on the surface as large as a half dime. Some prefer using a heavy fork or wire beater, instead of a potato masher, beating the potatoes quite light and heaping them up in the dish without smoothing over the top. BROWNED POTATOES. Mash them the same as the above, put them into a dish that they are to be served in, smooth over the top and brush over with the yolk of an egg, or spread on a bountiful supply of butter and dust well with flour. Set in the oven to brown; it will brown in fifteen minutes with a quick fire. MASHED POTATOES. (Warmed Over.) To two cupfuls of cold mashed potatoes add a half cupful of milk, a pinch of salt, a tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour and two eggs beaten to a froth. Mix the whole until thoroughly light; then put into a pudding or vegetable dish, spread a little butter over the top and bake a golden brown. The quality depends upon very thoroughly beating the eggs before adding them, so that the potato will remain light and porous after baking, similar to sponge cake. POTATO PUFFS. Prepare the potatoes as directed for mashed potato. While _hot_, shape in balls about the size of an egg. Have a tin sheet well buttered, and place the balls on it. As soon as all are done, brush over with beaten egg. Brown in the oven. When done, slip a knife under them and slide them upon a hot platter. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. POTATOES Á LA CRÊME. Heat a cupful of milk; stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter cut up in as much flour. Stir until smooth and thick; pepper and salt, and add two cupfuls of cold boiled potatoes, sliced, and a little very finely chopped parsley. Shake over the fire until the potatoes are hot all through, and pour into a deep dish. NEW POTATOES AND CREAM. Wash and rub new potatoes with a coarse cloth or scrubbing-brush; drop into boiling water and boil briskly until done, and no more; press a potato against the side of the kettle with a fork; if done, it will yield to a gentle pressure; in a saucepan have ready some butter and cream, hot, but not boiling, a little green parsley, pepper and salt; drain the potatoes, add the mixture, put over hot water for a minute or two, and serve. SARATOGA CHIPS. Peel good-sized potatoes, and slice them as evenly as possible. Drop them into ice-water; have a kettle of very hot lard, as for cakes; put a few at a time into a towel and shake, to dry the moisture out of them, and then drop them into the boiling lard. Stir them occasionally, and when of a light brown take them out with a skimmer, and they will be crisp and not greasy. Sprinkle salt over them while hot. FRIED RAW POTATOES. Peel half a dozen medium-sized potatoes very evenly, cut them in slices as thin as an egg-shell, and be sure to cut them from the _breadth_, not the length, of the potato. Put a tablespoonful each of butter and sweet lard into the frying pan, and as soon as it boils add the sliced potatoes, sprinkling over them salt and pepper to season them. Cover them with a tight-fitting lid, and let the steam partly cook them; then remove it, and let them fry a bright gold color, shaking and turning them carefully, so as to brown equally. Serve very hot. Fried, cold cooked potatoes may be fried by the same recipe, only slice them a little thicker. _Remark_.--Boiled or steamed potatoes chopped up or sliced while they are yet warm never fry so successfully as when cold. SCALLOPED POTATOES. (Kentucky Style.) Peel and slice raw potatoes thin, the same as for frying. Butter an earthen dish, put in a layer of potatoes, and season with salt, pepper, butter, a bit of onion chopped fine, if liked; sprinkle a little flour. Now put another layer of potatoes and the seasoning. Continue in this way till the dish is filled. Just before putting into the oven, pour a quart of hot milk over. Bake three-quarters of an hour. Cold boiled potatoes may be cooked the same. It requires less time to bake them; they are delicious either way. If the onion is disliked it can be omitted. STEAMED POTATOES. This mode of cooking potatoes is now much in vogue, particularly where they are wanted on a large scale, it being so very convenient. Pare the potatoes, throw them into cold water as they are peeled, then put them in a steamer. Place the steamer over a saucepan of boiling water, and steam the potatoes from twenty to forty minutes, according to the size and sort. When the fork goes easily through them, they are done; then take them up, dish and serve very quickly. POTATO SNOW. Choose some mealy potatoes that will boil exceedingly white; pare them and cook them well, but not so as to be watery; drain them, and mash and season them well. Put in the saucepan in which they were dressed, so as to keep them as hot as possible; then press them through a wire sieve into the dish in which they are to be served; strew a little fine salt upon them previous to sending them to table. French cooks also add a small quantity of pounded loaf sugar while they are being mashed. HASTY COOKED POTATOES. Wash and peel some potatoes; cut them into slices of about a quarter of an inch in thickness; throw them into _boiling_ salted water, and, if of good quality, they will be done in about ten minutes. Strain off the water, put the potatoes into a hot dish, chop them slightly, add pepper, salt, and a few small pieces of fresh butter, and serve without loss of time. FAVORITE WARMED POTATOES. The potatoes should be boiled _whole with the skins on_ in plenty of water, well _salted_, and are much better for being boiled the day before needed. Care should be taken that they are not over cooked. Strip off the skins (not pare them with a knife) and slice them nearly a quarter of an inch thick. Place them in a chopping-bowl and sprinkle over them sufficient salt and pepper to season them well; chop them all one way, then turn the chopping-bowl half way around and chop across them, cutting them into little square pieces the shape of dice. About twenty-five minutes before serving time, place on the stove a saucepan (or any suitable dish) containing a piece of butter the size of an egg; when it begins to melt and run over the bottom of the dish, put in a cup of rich sweet milk. When this boils up put in the chopped potatoes; there should be about a quart of them; stir them a little so that they become moistened through with the milk; then cover and place them on the back of the stove, or in a moderate oven, where they will heat through gradually. When heated through, stir carefully from the bottom with a spoon and cover tightly again. Keep hot until ready to serve. Baked potatoes are very good warmed in this manner. CRISP POTATOES. Cut cold raw potatoes into shavings, cubes, or any small shape; throw them, a few at a time, into boiling fat and toss them about with a knife until they are a uniform light brown; drain and season with salt and pepper. Fat is never hot enough while bubbling--when it is ready it is still and smoking, but should never burn. LYONNAISE POTATOES. Take eight or ten good-sized cold boiled potatoes, slice them end-wise, then crosswise, making them like dice in small squares. When you are ready to cook them, heat some butter or good drippings in a frying pan; fry in it one small onion (chopped fine) until it begins to change color and look yellow. Now put in your potatoes, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, stir well and cook about five minutes, taking care that you do not break them. _They must not brown._ Just before taking up stir in a tablespoonful of minced parsley. Drain dry by shaking in a heated colander. Serve _very hot_. _Delmonico_ POTATO FILLETS. Pare and slice the potatoes thin; cut them if you like in small fillets about a quarter of an inch square, and as long as the potato will admit; keep them in cold water until wanted, then drop them into boiling lard; when nearly done, take them out with a skimmer and drain them, boil up the lard again, drop the potatoes back and fry till done; this operation causes the fillets to swell up and puff. POTATO CROQUETTES. No. 1. Wash, peel and put four large potatoes in cold water, with a pinch of salt, and set them over a brisk fire; when they are done pour off all the water and mash them. Take another saucepan, and put in it ten tablespoonfuls of milk and a lump of butter half the size of an egg; put it over a brisk fire; as soon as the milk comes to a boil, pour the potatoes into it, and stir them very fast with a wooden spoon; when thoroughly mixed, take them from the fire and put them on a dish. Take a tablespoonful and roll it in a clean towel, making it oval in shape; dip it in a well-beaten egg, and then in bread crumbs, and drop it in hot drippings or lard. Proceed in this manner till all the potato is used, four potatoes making six croquettes. Fry them a light brown all over, turning them gently as may be necessary. When they are done, lay them on brown paper or a hair sieve, to drain off all fat; then serve on a napkin. POTATO CROQUETTES. No. 2. Take two cups of cold mashed potatoes, season with a pinch of salt, pepper and a tablespoonful of butter. Beat up the whites of two eggs, and work all together thoroughly; make it into small balls slightly flattened, dip them in the beaten yolks of the eggs, then roll either in flour or cracker crumbs; fry the same as fish-balls. _Delmonico's._ POTATOES Á LA DELMONICO. Cut the potatoes with a vegetable cutter into small balls about the size of a marble; put them into a stewpan with plenty of butter and a good sprinkling of salt; keep the saucepan covered, and shake occasionally until they are quite done, which will be in about an hour. FRIED POTATOES WITH EGGS. Slice cold boiled potatoes and fry in good butter until brown; beat up one or two eggs, and stir into them just as you dish them for the table; do not leave them a moment on the fire after the eggs are in, for if they harden they are not half so nice; one egg is enough for three or four persons, unless they are very fond of potatoes; if they are, have plenty and put in two. BAKED POTATOES. Potatoes are either baked in their jackets or peeled; in either case they should not be exposed to a fierce heat, which is wasteful, inasmuch as thereby a great deal of vegetable is scorched and rendered uneatable. They should be frequently turned while being baked and kept from touching each other in the oven or dish. When done in their skins, be particular to wash and brush them before baking them. If convenient, they may be baked in wood-ashes, or in a Dutch oven in front of the fire. When pared they should be baked in a dish and fat of some kind added to prevent their outsides from becoming burnt; they are ordinarily baked thus as an accessory to baked meat. Never serve potatoes, boiled or baked whole, in a closely covered dish. They become sodden and clammy. Cover with a folded napkin that allows the steam to escape, or absorbs the moisture. They should be served promptly when done and require about three-quarters of an hour to one hour to bake them, if of a good size. BROWNED POTATOES WITH A ROAST. No. 1. About three-quarters of an hour before taking up your roasts, peel middling-sized potatoes, boil them until partly done, then arrange them in the roasting-pan around the roast, basting them with the drippings at the same time you do the meat, browning them evenly. Serve hot with the meat. Many cooks partly boil the potatoes before putting around the roast. New potatoes are very good cooked around a roast. BROWNED POTATOES WITH A ROAST. No. 2. Peel, cook and mash the required quantity, adding while hot a little chopped onion, pepper and salt; form it into small oval balls and dredge them with flour; then place around the meat about twenty minutes before it is taken from the oven. When nicely browned, drain dry and serve hot with the meat. SWEET POTATOES. Boiled, steamed and baked the same as Irish potatoes; generally cooked with their jackets on. Cold sweet potatoes may be cut in slices across or lengthwise, and fried as common potatoes; or may be cut in half and served cold. Boiled sweet potatoes are very nice. Boil until partly done, peel them and bake brown, basting them with butter or beef drippings several times. Served hot. They should be a nice brown. BAKED SWEET POTATOES. Wash and scrape them, split them lengthwise. Steam or boil them until nearly done. Drain, and put them in a baking dish, placing over them lumps of butter, pepper and salt; sprinkle thickly with sugar, and bake in the oven to a nice brown. Hubbard squash is nice cooked in the same manner. ONIONS BOILED. The white silver-skins are the best species. To boil them peel off the outside, cut off the ends, put them into cold water, and into a stewpan and let them scald two minutes; then turn off that water, pour on cold water salted a little, and boil slowly till tender, which will be in thirty or forty minutes, according to their size; when done drain them quite dry, pour a little melted butter over them, sprinkle them with pepper and salt and serve hot. An excellent way to peel onions so as not to affect the eyes is to take a pan _full_ of water and hold and peel them under the water. ONIONS STEWED. Cook the same as boiled onions, and, when quite done, turn off all the water; add a teacupful of milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, pepper and salt to taste, a tablespoonful of flour stirred to a cream; let all boil up once and serve in a vegetable dish hot. ONIONS BAKED. Use the large Spanish onion, as best for this purpose; wash them clean, but do not peel, and put into a saucepan with slightly salted water; boil an hour, replacing the water with more boiling hot as it evaporates; turn off the water and lay the onions on a cloth to dry them well; roll each one in a piece of buttered tissue paper, twisting it at the top to keep it on, and bake in a slow oven about an hour, or until tender all through; peel them; place in a deep dish and brown slightly, basting well with butter for fifteen minutes; season with salt and pepper and pour some melted butter over them. FRIED ONIONS. Peel, slice and fry them brown in equal quantities of butter and lard or nice drippings; cover until partly soft, remove the cover and brown them; salt and pepper. SCALLOPED ONIONS. Take eight or ten onions of good size, slice them and boil until tender. Lay them in a baking-dish, put in bread crumbs, butter in small bits, pepper and salt, between each layer until the dish is full, putting bread crumbs last; add milk or cream until full. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour. A little onion is not an injurious article of food, as many believe. A judicious use of plants of the onion family is quite as important a factor in successful cookery as salt and pepper. When carefully concealed by manipulation in food, it affords zest and enjoyment to many who could not otherwise taste of it were its presence known. A great many successful compounds derive their excellence from the partly concealed flavor of the onion, which imparts a delicate appetizing aroma highly prized by epicures. CAULIFLOWER. When cleaned and washed, drop them into boiling water, into which you have put salt and a teaspoonful of flour, or a slice of bread; boil till tender; take off, drain and dish them; serve with a sauce spread over and made with melted butter, salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped parsley and vinegar. Another way is to make a white sauce (see SAUCES) and when the cauliflowers are dished as above, turn the white sauce over, and serve warm. They may also be served in the same way with a milk, cream, or tomato sauce, or with brown butter. It is a very good plan to loosen the leaves of a head of cauliflower and let lie, the top downward, in a pan of cold salt water, to remove any insects that might be hidden between them. FRIED CAULIFLOWER. Boil the cauliflower till about half done. Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour with two yolks of eggs, then add water enough to make a rather thin paste; add salt to taste; the two whites are beaten till stiff, and then mixed with the yolks, flour and water. Dip each branch of the cauliflower into the mixture, and fry them in hot fat. When done, take them off with a skimmer, turn into a colander, dust salt all over and serve warm. Asparagus, celery, egg-plant, oyster plant are all fine when fried in this manner. CABBAGE BOILED. Great care is requisite in cleaning a cabbage for boiling, as it frequently harbors numerous insects. The large drumhead cabbage requires an hour to boil; the green savory cabbage will boil in twenty minutes. Add considerable salt to the water when boiling. Do not let a cabbage boil too long--by a long boiling it becomes watery. Remove it from the water into a colander to drain and serve with drawn butter, or butter poured over it. Red cabbage is used for slaw, as is also the white winter cabbage. For directions to prepare these varieties, see articles SLAW and SOURCROUT. CABBAGE WITH CREAM. Remove the outer leaves from a solid, small-sized head of cabbage, and cut the remainder as fine as for slaw. Have on the fire a spider or deep skillet, and when it is hot put in the cut cabbage, pouring over it right away a pint of boiling water. Cover closely and allow it to cook rapidly for ten minutes. Drain off the water and add half a pint of new milk, or part milk and cream; when it boils, stir in a large teaspoonful of either wheat or rice flour moistened with milk; add salt and pepper, and as soon as it comes to a boil, serve. Those who find slaw and other dishes prepared from cabbage indigestible will not complain of this. STEAMED CABBAGE. Take a sound, solid cabbage, and with a large sharp knife shave it _very fine_. Put it in a saucepan, pour in half a teacupful of water, or just enough to keep it from burning; cover it very tightly, so as to confine the steam; watch it closely, add a little water now and then, until it begins to be tender; then put into it a large tablespoonful of butter; salt and pepper to taste, dish it hot. If you prefer to give it a tart taste, just before taking from the fire add a third of a cup of good vinegar. LADIES' CABBAGE. Boil a firm white cabbage fifteen minutes, changing the water then for more from the boiling tea-kettle. When tender, drain and set aside until perfectly cold. Chop fine and add two beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, pepper, salt, three tablespoonfuls of rich milk or cream. Stir all well together, and bake in a buttered pudding-dish until brown. Serve very hot. This dish resembles cauliflower and is very digestible and palatable. FRIED CABBAGE. Place in a frying pan an ounce of butter and heat it boiling hot. Then take cold boiled cabbage chopped fine, or cabbage hot, cooked the same as steamed cabbage, put it into the hot butter and fry a light brown, adding two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Very good. FRENCH WAY OF COOKING CABBAGE. Chop cold boiled white cabbage and let it drain till perfectly dry: stir in some melted butter to taste; pepper, salt and four tablespoonfuls of cream; after it is heated through add two well-beaten eggs; then turn the mixture into a buttered frying pan, stirring until it is very hot and becomes a delicate brown on the under side. Place a hot dish over the pan, which must be reversed when turned out to be served. SOURCROUT. Barrels having held wine or vinegar are used to prepare sourcrout in. It is better, however, to have a special barrel for the purpose. Strasburg, as well as all Alsace, has a well-acquired fame for preparing the cabbages. They slice very white and firm cabbages in fine shreds with a machine made for the purpose. At the bottom of a small barrel they place a layer of coarse salt and alternately layers of cabbage and salt, being careful to have one of salt on the top. As each layer of cabbage is added, it must be pressed down by a large and heavy pestle and fresh layers are added as soon as the juice floats on the surface. The cabbage must be seasoned with a few grains of coriander, juniper berries, etc. When the barrel is full it must be put in a dry cellar, covered with a cloth, under a plank, and on this heavy weights are placed. At the end of a few days it will begin to ferment, during which time the pickle must be drawn off and replaced by fresh, until the liquor becomes clear. This should be done every day. Renew the cloth and wash the cover, put the weights back and let stand for a month. By that time the sourcrout will be ready for use. Care must be taken to let the least possible air enter the sourcrout and to have the cover perfectly clean. Each time the barrel has to be opened it must be properly closed again. These precautions must not be neglected. This is often fried in the same manner as fried cabbage, excepting it is first boiled until soft in just water enough to cook it, then fry and add vinegar. TO BOIL RICE. Pick over the rice carefully, wash it in warm water, rubbing it between the hands, rinsing it in several waters, then let it remain in cold water until ready to be cooked. Have a saucepan of water slightly salted; when it is boiling hard, pour off the cold water from the rice, and sprinkle it in the boiling water by degrees, so as to keep the particles separated. Boil it steadily for twenty minutes, then take it off from the fire and drain off all the water. Place the saucepan with the lid partly off, on the back part of the stove, where it is only moderately warm, to allow the rice to dry. The moisture will pass off and each grain of rice will be separated, so that if shaken the grains will fall apart. This is the true way of serving rice as a vegetable and is the mode of cooking it in the Southern States where it is raised. PARSNIPS, BOILED. Wash, scrape and split them. Put them into a pot of boiling water; add a little salt, and boil them till quite tender, which will be in from two to three hours, according to their size. Dry them in a cloth when done and pour melted butter or white sauce (see SAUCES) over them in the dish. Serve them up with any sort of boiled meat or with salt cod. Parsnips are very good baked or stewed with meat. FRIED PARSNIPS. Boil tender in a little hot water salted; scrape, cut into long slices, dredge with flour; fry in hot lard or dripping, or in butter and lard mixed; fry quite brown. Drain off fat and serve. Parsnips may be boiled and mashed the same as potatoes. STEWED PARSNIPS. After washing and scraping the parsnips slice them about half of an inch thick. Put them in a saucepan of boiling water containing just enough to barely cook them; add a tablespoonful of butter, season with salt and pepper, then cover closely. Stew them until the water has cooked away, watching carefully and stirring often to prevent burning, until they are soft. When they are done they will be of a creamy light straw color and deliciously sweet, retaining all the goodness of the vegetable. PARSNIP FRITTERS. Boil four or five parsnips; when tender take off the skin and mash them fine; add to them a teaspoonful of wheat flour and a beaten egg; put a tablespoonful of lard or beef drippings in a frying pan over the fire, add to it a saltspoonful of salt; when boiling hot put in the parsnips; make it in small cakes with a spoon; when one side is a delicate brown turn the other; when both are done take them on a dish, put a very little of the fat in which they were fried over and serve hot. These resemble very nearly the taste of the salsify or oyster plant, and will generally be preferred. CREAMED PARSNIPS. Boil tender, scrape and slice lengthwise. Put over the fire with two tablespoonfuls of butter, pepper and salt and a little minced parsley. Shake until the mixture boils. Dish the parsnips, add to the sauce three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk in which has been stirred a quarter of a spoonful of flour. Boil once and pour over the parsnips. STEWED TOMATOES. Pour boiling water over a dozen sound ripe tomatoes; let them remain for a few moments; then peel off the skins, slice them and put them over the fire in a well-lined tin or granite-ware saucepan. Stew them about twenty minutes, then add a tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste; let them stew fifteen minutes longer and serve hot. Some prefer to thicken tomatoes with a little grated bread, adding a teaspoonful of sugar; and others who like the flavor of onion chop up one and add while stewing; then again, some add as much green corn as there are tomatoes. TO PEEL TOMATOES. Put the tomatoes into a frying basket and plunge them into hot water for three or four minutes. Drain and peel. Another way is to place them in a flat baking-tin and set them in a hot oven about five minutes; this loosens the skins so that they readily slip off. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. Butter the sides and bottom of a pudding-dish. Put a layer of bread crumbs in the bottom; on them put a layer of sliced tomatoes; sprinkle with salt, pepper and some bits of butter, and a very _little_ white sugar. Then repeat with another layer of crumbs, another of tomato and seasoning until full, having the top layer of slices of tomato, with bits of butter on each. Bake covered until well cooked through; remove the cover and brown quickly. STUFFED BAKED TOMATOES. From the blossom end of a dozen tomatoes--smooth, ripe and solid--cut a thin slice and with a small spoon scoop out the pulp without breaking the rind surrounding it; chop a small head of cabbage and a good-sized onion fine and mix with them fine bread crumbs and the pulp; season with pepper, salt and sugar and add a cup of sweet cream; when all is well mixed, fill the tomato shells, replace the slices and place the tomatoes in a buttered baking-dish, cut ends up and put in the pan just enough water to keep from burning; drop a small lump of butter on each tomato and bake half an hour or so, till well done; place another bit of butter on each and serve in same dish. Very fine. Another stuffing which is considered quite fine. Cut a slice from the stem of each and scoop out the soft pulp. Mince one small onion and fry it slightly; add a gill of hot water, the tomato pulp and two ounces of cold veal or chicken chopped fine, simmer slowly and season with salt and pepper. Stir into the pan cracker dust or bread crumbs enough to absorb the moisture; take off from the fire and let it cool; stuff the tomatoes with this mass, sprinkle dry crumbs over the top; add a small piece of butter to the top of each and bake until slightly browned on top. BAKED TOMATOES. (Plain.) Peel and slice quarter of an inch thick; place in layers in a pudding-dish, seasoning each layer with salt, pepper, butter and a very little white sugar. Cover with a lid or large plate and bake half an hour. Remove the lid and brown for fifteen minutes. Just before taking from the oven pour over the top three or four tablespoonfuls of whipped cream with melted butter. TO PREPARE TOMATOES. (Raw.) Carefully remove the peelings. Only perfectly ripe tomatoes should ever be eaten raw and if ripe the skins easily peel off. Scalding injures the flavor. Slice them and sprinkle generously with salt, more sparingly with black pepper, and to a dish holding one quart, add a light tablespoonful of sugar to give a piquant zest to the whole. Lastly, add a gill of best cider vinegar; although, if you would have a dish yet better suited to please an epicurean palate, you may add a teaspoonful of made mustard and two tablespoonfuls of rich sweet cream. FRIED AND BROILED TOMATOES. Cut firm, large, ripe tomatoes into thick slices, rather more than a quarter of an inch thick. Season with salt and pepper, dredge well with flour, or roll in egg and crumbs, and fry them brown on both sides evenly, in hot butter and lard mixed. Or, prepare them the same as for frying, broiling on a well-greased gridiron, seasoning afterward the same as beefsteak. A good accompaniment to steak. Or, having prepared the following sauce, a pint of milk, a tablespoonful of flour and one beaten egg, salt, pepper and a very little mace; cream an ounce of butter, whisk into it the milk and let it simmer until it thickens; pour the sauce on a hot side-dish and arrange the tomatoes in the centre. SCRAMBLED TOMATOES. Remove the skins from a dozen tomatoes; cut them up in a saucepan; add a little butter, pepper and salt; when sufficiently boiled, beat up five or six eggs and just before you serve turn them into the saucepan with the tomatoes, and stir one way for two minutes, allowing them time to be done thoroughly. CUCUMBER Á LA CRÊME. Peel and cut into slices (lengthwise) some fine cucumbers. Boil them until soft; salt to taste, and serve with delicate cream sauce. For Tomato Salad, see SALADS, also for Raw Cucumbers. FRIED CUCUMBERS. Pare them and cut lengthwise in very thick slices; wipe them dry with a cloth; sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and fry in lard and butter, a tablespoonful of each mixed. Brown both sides and serve warm. GREEN CORN, BOILED. This should be cooked on the same day it is gathered; it loses its sweetness in a few hours and must be artificially supplied. Strip off the husks, pick out all the silk and put it in boiling water; if not entirely fresh, add a tablespoonful of sugar to the water, but _no salt_; boil twenty minutes, fast, and serve; or you may cut it from the cob, put in plenty of butter and a little salt, and serve in a covered vegetable dish. The corn is much sweeter when cooked with the husks on, but requires longer time to boil. Will generally boil in twenty minutes. Green corn left over from dinner makes a nice breakfast dish, prepared as follows: Cut the corn from the cob, and put into a bowl with a cup of milk to every cup of corn, a half cup of flour, one egg, a pinch of salt, and a little butter. Mix well into a thick batter, and fry in small cakes in very hot butter. Serve with plenty of butter and powdered sugar. [Illustration: THE FAMOUS EAST ROOM.] [Illustration: THE RED ROOM.] [Illustration: THE BLUE ROOM.] CORN PUDDING. This is a Virginia dish. Scrape the substance out of twelve ears of tender, green, uncooked corn (it is better scraped than grated, as you do not get those husky particles which you cannot avoid with a grater); add yolks and whites, beaten separately, of four eggs, a teaspoonful of sugar, the same of flour mixed in a tablespoonful of butter, a small quantity of salt and pepper, and one pint of milk. Bake about half or three-quarters of an hour. STEWED CORN. Take a dozen ears of green sweet corn, very tender and juicy; cut off the kernels, cutting with a large sharp knife from the top of the cob down; then scrape the cob. Put the corn in a saucepan over the fire with just enough water to make it cook without burning; boil about twenty minutes, then add a teacupful of milk or cream, a tablespoonful of cold butter, and season with pepper and salt. Boil ten minutes longer and dish up hot in a vegetable dish. The corn would be much sweeter if the scraped cobs were boiled first in the water that the corn is cooked in. Many like corn cooked in this manner, putting half corn and half tomatoes; either way is very good. FRIED CORN. Cut the corn off the cob, taking care not to bring off any of the husk with it and to have the grains as separate as possible. Fry in a little butter--just enough to keep it from sticking to the pan; stir very often. When nicely browned, add salt and pepper and a little rich cream. Do not set it near the stove after the cream is added, as it will be apt to turn. This makes a nice dinner or breakfast dish. ROASTED GREEN CORN. Strip off all the husk from green corn and roast it on a gridiron over a bright fire of coals, turning it as one side is done. Or, if a wood fire is used, make a place clean in front of the fire, lay the corn down, turn it when one side is done; serve with salt and butter. SUCCOTASH. Take a pint of fresh shelled Lima beans, or any large fresh beans, put them in a pot with cold water, rather more than will cover them. Scrape the kernels from twelve ears of young sweet corn; put the cobs in with the beans, boiling from half to three-quarters of an hour. Now take out the cobs and put in the scraped corn; boil again fifteen minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste, a piece of butter the size of an egg and half a cup of cream. Serve hot. FRIED EGG-PLANT. Take fresh, purple egg-plants of a middling size; cut them in slices a quarter of an inch thick, and soak them for half an hour in cold water, with a teaspoonful of salt in it. Have ready some cracker or bread crumbs and one beaten egg; drain off the water from the slices, lay them on a napkin, dip them in the crumbs and then in the egg, put another coat of crumbs on them and fry them in butter to a light brown. The frying pan must be hot before the slices are put in--they will fry in ten minutes. You may pare them before you put them into the frying pan, or you may pull off the skins when you take them up. You must not remove them from the water until you are ready to cook them, as the air will turn them black. STUFFED EGG-PLANT. Cut the egg-plant in two; scrape out all the inside and put it in a saucepan with a little minced ham; cover with water and boil until soft; drain off the water; add two tablespoonfuls of grated crumbs, a tablespoonful of butter, half a minced onion, salt and pepper; stuff each half of the hull with the mixture; add a small lump of butter to each and bake fifteen minutes. Minced veal or chicken in the place of ham, is equally as good and many prefer it. STRING BEANS. Break off the end that grew to the vine, drawing off at the same time the string upon the edge; repeat the same process from the other end; cut them with a sharp knife into pieces half an inch long, and boil them in _just enough_ water to _cover_ them. They usually require one hour's boiling; but this depends upon their age and freshness. After they have boiled until tender and the water _boiled nearly out_, add pepper and salt, a tablespoonful of butter and a half a cup of cream; if you have not the cream add more butter. Many prefer to drain them before adding the seasoning; in that case they lose the real goodness of the vegetable. LIMA AND KIDNEY BEANS. These beans should be put into boiling water, a little more than enough to cover them, and boiled till tender--from half an hour to two hours; serve with butter and salt upon them. These beans are in season from the last of July to the last of September. There are several other varieties of beans used as summer vegetables, which are cooked as above. For Baked Beans, see PORK AND BEANS. CELERY. This is stewed the same as green corn, by boiling, adding cream, butter, salt and pepper. STEWED SALSIFY OR OYSTER-PLANT. Wash the roots and scrape off their skins, throwing them, as you do so, into cold water, for exposure to the air causes them to immediately turn dark. Then cut crosswise into little thin slices; throw into fresh water, enough to cover; add a little salt and stew in a covered vessel until tender, or about one hour. Pour off a little of the water, add a small lump of butter, a little pepper, and a gill of sweet cream and a teaspoonful of flour stirred to a paste. Boil up and serve hot. Salsify may be simply boiled and melted butter turned over them. FRIED SALSIFY. Stew the salsify as usual till very tender; then with the back of a spoon or a potato jammer mash it very fine. Beat up an egg, add a teacupful of milk, a little flour, butter and seasoning of pepper and salt. Make into little cakes, and fry a light brown in boiling lard. BEETS BOILED. Select small-sized, smooth roots. They should be carefully washed, but not cut before boiling, as the juice will escape and the sweetness of the vegetable be impaired, leaving it white and hard. Put them into boiling water, and boil them until tender, which requires often from one to two hours. Do not probe them, but press them with the finger to ascertain if they are sufficiently done. When satisfied of this, take them up, and put them into a pan of cold water, and slip off the outside. Cut them into thin slices, and while hot season with butter, salt, a little pepper and very sharp vinegar. BAKED BEETS. Beets retain their sugary, delicate flavor to perfection if they are baked instead of boiled. Turn them frequently while in the oven, using a knife, as the fork allows the juice to run out. When done remove the skin, and serve with butter, salt and pepper on the slices. STEWED BEETS. Boil them first and then scrape and slice them. Put them into a stewpan with a piece of butter rolled in flour, some boiled onion and parsley chopped fine, and a little vinegar, salt and pepper. Set the pan on the fire, and let the beets stew for a quarter of an hour. OKRA. This grows in the shape of pods, and is of a gelatinous character, much used for soup, and is also pickled; it may be boiled as follows: Put the young and tender pods of long white okra in salted boiling water in granite, porcelain or a tin-lined saucepan--as contact with Iron will discolor it; boil fifteen minutes; remove the stems, and serve with butter, pepper, salt and vinegar if preferred. ASPARAGUS. Scrape the stems of the asparagus lightly, but very clean; throw them into cold water and when they are all scraped and very clean, tie them in bunches of equal size; cut the large ends evenly, that the stems may be all of the same length, and put the asparagus into plenty of boiling water, well salted. While it is boiling, cut several slices of bread half an inch thick, pare off the crust and toast it a delicate brown on both sides. When the stalks of the asparagus are tender (it will usually cook in twenty to forty minutes) lift it out directly, or it will lose both its color and flavor and will also be liable to break; dip the toast quickly into the liquor in which it was boiled and dish the vegetable upon it, the heads all lying one way. Pour over white sauce, or melted butter. ASPARAGUS WITH EGGS. Boil a bunch of asparagus twenty minutes; cut off the tender tops and lay them in a deep-pie plate, buttering, salting and peppering well. Beat up four eggs, the yolks and whites separately to a stiff froth; add two tablespoonfuls of milk or cream, a tablespoonful of warm butter, pepper and salt to taste. Pour evenly over the asparagus mixture. Bake eight minutes or until the eggs are set. Very good. GREEN PEAS. Shell the peas and wash in cold water. Put in boiling water just enough to cover them well and keep them from burning; boil from twenty minutes to half an hour, when the liquor should be nearly boiled out; season with pepper and salt and a good allowance of butter; serve very hot. This is a very much better way than cooking in a larger quantity of water and draining off the liquor, as that diminishes the sweetness, and much of the fine flavor of the peas is lost. The salt should never be put in the peas before they are tender, unless very young, as it tends to harden them. STEWED GREEN PEAS. Into a saucepan of boiling water put two or three pints of young green peas and when nearly done and tender drain in a colander dry; then melt two ounces of butter in two of flour; stir well and boil five minutes longer; should the pods be quite clean and fresh boil them first in the water, remove and put in the peas. The Germans prepare a very palatable dish of sweet young pods alone by simply stirring in a little butter with some savory herbs. SQUASHES, OR CYMBLINGS. The green or summer squash is best when the outside is beginning to turn yellow, as it is then less watery and insipid than when younger. Wash them, cut them into pieces and take out the seeds. Boil them about three-quarters of an hour, or till quite tender. When done, drain and squeeze them well till you have pressed out all the water; mash them with a little butter, pepper and salt. Then put the squash thus prepared into a stewpan, set it on hot coals and stir it very frequently till it becomes dry. Take care not to let it burn. Summer squash is very nice steamed, then prepared the same as boiled. BOILED WINTER SQUASH. This is much finer than the summer squash. It is fit to eat in August, and, in a dry warm place, can be kept well all winter. The color is a very bright yellow. Pare it, take out the seeds, cut it in pieces, and stew it slowly till quite soft in a very little water. Afterwards drain, squeeze and press it well; then mash it with a very little butter, pepper and salt. They will boil in from twenty to forty minutes. BAKED WINTER SQUASH. Cut open the squash, take out the seeds and without paring cut it up into large pieces; put the pieces on tins or in a dripping-pan, place in a moderately hot oven and bake about an hour. When done, peel and mash like mashed potatoes, or serve the pieces hot on a dish, to be eaten warm with butter like sweet potatoes. It retains its sweetness much better baked this way than when boiled. VEGETABLE HASH. Chop rather coarsely the remains of vegetables left from a boiled dinner, such as cabbage, parsnips, potatoes, etc.; sprinkle over them a little pepper, place in a saucepan or frying pan over the fire; put in a piece of butter the size of a hickory nut; when it begins to melt, tip the dish so as to oil the bottom and around the sides; then put in the chopped vegetables, pour in a spoonful or two of hot water from the tea-kettle, cover quickly so as to keep in the steam. When heated thoroughly take off the cover and stir occasionally until well cooked. Serve hot. Persons fond of vegetables will relish this dish very much. SPINACH. It should be cooked so as to retain its bright green color and not sent to table, as it so often is, of a dull brown or olive color; to retain its fresh appearance, do not cover the vessel while it is cooking. Spinach requires dose examination and picking, as insects are frequently found among it and it is often gritty. Wash it through three or four waters. Then drain it and put it in boiling water. Fifteen to twenty minutes is generally sufficient time to boil spinach. Be careful to remove the scum. When it is quite tender, take it up, and drain and squeeze it well. Chop it fine, and put it into a saucepan with a piece of butter and a little pepper and salt. Set it on the fire and let it stew five minutes, stirring it all the time, until quite dry. Turn it into a vegetable dish, shape it into a mound, slice some hard-boiled eggs and lay around the top. GREENS. About a peck of greens are enough for a mess for a family of six, such as dandelions, cowslips, burdock, chicory and other greens. All greens should be carefully examined, the tough ones thrown out, then be thoroughly washed through several waters until they are entirely free from sand. The addition of a handful of salt to each pan of water used in washing the greens will free them from insects and worms, especially if after the last watering they are allowed to stand in salted water for a half hour or longer. When ready to boil the greens, put them into a large pot half full of boiling water, with a handful of salt, and boil them steadily until the stalks are tender; this will be in from five to twenty minutes, according to the maturity of the greens; but remember that long-continued boiling wastes the tender substances of the leaves, and so diminishes both the bulk and the nourishment of the dish; for this reason it is best to cut away any tough stalks before beginning to cook the greens. As soon as they are tender drain them in a colander, chop them a little and return them to the fire long enough to season them with salt, pepper and butter; vinegar may be added if it is liked; the greens should be served as soon as they are hot. All kinds of greens can be cooked in this manner. STEWED CARROTS. Wash and scrape the carrots and divide them into strips; put them into a stewpan with water enough to cover them; add a spoonful of salt and let them boil slowly until tender; then drain and replace them in the pan, with two tablespoons of butter rolled in flour, shake over a little pepper and salt, then add enough cream or milk to moisten the whole; let it come to a boil and serve hot. CARROTS MASHED. Scrape and wash them; cook them tender in boiling water salted slightly. Drain well and mash them. Work in a good piece of butter and season with pepper and salt. Heap up on a vegetable dish and serve hot. Carrots are also good simply boiled in salted water and dished up hot with melted butter over them. TURNIPS. Turnips are boiled plain with or without meat, also mashed like potatoes and stewed like parsnips. They should always be served hot. They require from forty minutes to an hour to cook. STEWED PUMPKINS. See stewed pumpkin for pie. Cook the same, then after stewing season the same as mashed potatoes. Pumpkin is good baked in the same manner as baked winter squash. STEWED ENDIVE. _Ingredients._--Six heads of endive, salt and water, one pint of broth, thickening of butter and flour, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, a small lump of sugar. _Mode._--Wash and free the endive thoroughly from insects, remove the green part of the leaves, and put it into boiling water, slightly salted. Let it remain for ten minutes; then take it out, drain it till there is no water remaining and chop it very fine. Put it into a stewpan with the broth, add a little salt and a lump of sugar, and boil until the endive is perfectly tender. When done, which may be ascertained by squeezing a piece between the thumb and finger, add a thickening of butter and flour and the lemon juice; let the sauce boil up and serve. _Time._--Ten minutes to boil, five minutes to simmer in the broth. BAKED MUSHROOMS. Prepare them the same as for stewing. Place them in a baking-pan in a moderate oven. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and chopped parsley. Cook in the oven fifteen minutes, baste with butter. Arrange on a dish and pour the gravy over them. Serve with sauce made by heating a cup of cream, two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little cayenne pepper, salt, a tablespoonful of white sauce and two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice. Put in a saucepan and set on the fire. Stir until thick, but do not let boil. Mushrooms are very nice placed on slices of well-buttered toast when set into the oven to bake. They cook in about fifteen minutes. STEWED MUSHROOMS. Time, twenty-one minutes. Button mushrooms, salt to taste, a little butter rolled in flour, two tablespoonfuls of cream or the yolk of one egg. Choose buttons of uniform size. Wipe them clean and white with a wet flannel; put them in a stewpan with a little water and let them stew very gently for a quarter of an hour. Add salt to taste, work in a little flour and butter, to make the liquor about as thick as cream, and let it boil for five minutes. When you are ready to dish it up, stir in two tablespoonfuls of cream or the yolk of an egg; stir it over the fire for a minute, but do not let it boil, and serve. Stewed button mushrooms are very nice, either in fish stews or ragouts, or served apart to eat with fish. Another way of doing them is to stew them in milk and water (after they are rubbed white), add to them a little veal gravy, mace and salt and thicken the gravy with cream or the yolks of eggs. Mushrooms can be cooked in the same manner as the recipes for oysters, either stewed, fried, broiled, or as a soup. They are also used to flavor sauces, catsups, meat gravies, game and soups. CANNED MUSHROOMS. Canned mushrooms may be served with good effect with game and even with beefsteak if prepared in this way: Open the can and pour off every drop of the liquid found there; let the mushrooms drain, then put them in a saucepan with a little cream and butter, pepper and salt; let them simmer gently for from five to ten minutes, and when the meat is on the platter pour the mushrooms over it. If served with steak, that should be very tender and be broiled, never in any case fried. MUSHROOMS FOR WINTER USE. Wash and wipe free from grit the small fresh button mushrooms. Put into a frying pan a quarter of a pound of the very best butter. Add to it two whole cloves, a saltspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. When hot add a quart of the small mushrooms, toss them about in the butter for a moment only, then put them in jars; fill the top of each jar with an inch or two of the butter and let it cool. Keep the jars in a cool place, and when the butter is quite firm add a top layer of salt. Cover to keep out dust. The best mushrooms grow on uplands or in high open fields, where the air is pure. TRUFFLES. The truffle belongs to the family of the mushrooms; they are used principally in this country as a condiment for boned turkey and chicken, scrambled eggs, fillets of beef, game and fish. When mixed in due proportion, they add a peculiar zest and flavor to sauces that cannot be found in any other plant in the vegetable kingdom. ITALIAN STYLE OF DRESSING TRUFFLES. Ten truffles, a quarter of a pint of salad oil, pepper and salt to taste, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, a very little finely minced garlic, two blades of pounded mace, one tablespoonful of lemon juice. After cleansing and brushing the truffles, cut them into thin slices and put them in a baking-dish, on a seasoning of oil or butter, pepper, salt, parsley, garlic and mace in the above proportion. Bake them for nearly an hour, and just before serving add the lemon juice and send them to the table very hot. TRUFFLES AU NATUREL. Select some fine truffles; cleanse them by washing them in several waters with a brush until not a particle of sand or grit remains on them; wrap each truffle in buttered paper and bake in a hot oven for quite an hour; take off the paper; wipe the truffles and serve them in a hot napkin. MACARONI. MACARONI Á LA ITALIENNE. Divide a quarter of a pound of macaroni into four-inch pieces. Simmer fifteen minutes in plenty of boiling water, salted. Drain. Put the macaroni into a saucepan and turn over it a strong soup stock, enough to prevent burning. Strew over it an ounce of grated cheese; when the cheese is melted, dish. Put alternate layers of macaroni and cheese, then turn over the soup stock and bake half an hour. MACARONI AND CHEESE. Break half a pound of macaroni into pieces an inch or two long; cook it in boiling water, enough to cover it well; put in a good teaspoonful of salt; let it boil about twenty minutes. Drain it well and then put a layer in the bottom of a well-buttered pudding-dish; upon this some grated cheese and small pieces of butter, a bit of salt, then more macaroni, and so on, filling the dish; sprinkle the top layer with a thick layer of cracker crumbs. Pour over the whole a teacupful of cream or milk. Set it in the oven and bake half an hour. It should be nicely browned on top. Serve in the same dish in which it was baked with a clean napkin pinned around it. TIMBALE OF MACARONI. Break in very short lengths small macaroni (vermicelli, spaghetti, tagliarini). Let it be rather overdone; dress it with butter and grated cheese; then work into it one or two eggs, according to quantity. Butter and bread crumb a plain mold, and when the macaroni is nearly cold fill the mold with it, pressing it well down and leaving a hollow in the centre, into which place a well-flavored mince of meat, poultry or game; then fill up the mold with more macaroni, pressed well down. Bake in a moderately heated oven, turn out and serve. MACARONI Á LA CRÊME. Boil one-quarter of a pound of macaroni in plenty of hot water, salted, until tender; put half a pint of milk in a double boiler, and when it boils stir into it a mixture of two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour. Add two tablespoonfuls of cream, a little white and cayenne pepper; salt to taste, and from one-quarter to one-half a pound of grated cheese, according to taste. Drain and dish the macaroni; pour the boiling sauce over it and serve immediately. MACARONI AND TOMATO SAUCE. Divide half a pound of macaroni into four-inch pieces, put it into boiling salted water enough to cover it; boil from fifteen to twenty minutes then drain; arrange it neatly on a hot dish and pour tomato sauce over it, and serve immediately while hot. See SAUCES for tomato sauce. [Illustration] BUTTER AND CHEESE TO MAKE BUTTER. Thoroughly scald the churn, then cool well with ice or spring water. Now pour in the thick cream; churn fast at first, then, as the butter forms, more slowly; always with perfect regularity; in warm weather, pour a little cold water into the churn, should the butter form slowly; in the winter, if the cream is too cold, add a little warm water to bring it to the proper temperature. When the butter has "come", rinse the sides of the churn down with cold water and take the butter up with a perforated dasher or a wooden ladle, turning it dexterously just below the surface of the buttermilk to catch every stray bit; have ready some very cold water in a deep wooden tray; and into this plunge the dasher when you draw it from the churn; the butter will float off, leaving the dasher free. When you have collected all the butter, gather behind a wooden butter ladle and drain off the water, squeezing and pressing the butter with the ladle; then pour on more cold water and work the butter with the ladle to get the milk out, drain off the water, sprinkle salt over the butter--a tablespoonful to a pound; work it in a little and set in a cool place for an hour to harden, then work and knead it until not another drop of water exudes, and the butter is perfectly smooth, and close in texture and polish; then with the ladle make up into rolls, little balls, stamped pats, etc. The churn, dasher, tray and ladle should be well scalded before using, so that the butter will not stick to them, and then cooled with very cold water. When you skim cream into your cream jar, stir it well into what is already there, so that it may all sour alike; and no _fresh cream should be put with it_ within twelve hours before churning, or the butter will not come quickly; and perhaps, not at all. Butter is indispensable in almost all culinary preparations. Good fresh butter, used in moderation, is easily digested; it is softening, nutritious and fattening, and is far more easily digested than any other of the oleaginous substances sometimes used in its place. TO MAKE BUTTER QUICKLY. Immediately after the cow is milked, strain the milk into clean pans, and set it over a moderate fire until it is scalding hot; do not let it boil; then set it aside; when it is cold, skim off the cream; the milk will still be fit for any ordinary use; when you have enough cream put it into a clean earthen basin; beat it with a wooden spoon until the butter is made, which will not be long; then take it from the milk and work it with a little cold water, until it is free from milk; then drain off the water, put a small tablespoonful of fine salt to each pound of butter and work it in. A small teaspoonful of fine white sugar, worked in with the salt, will be found an improvement--sugar is a great preservative. Make the butter in a roll; cover it with a bit of muslin and keep it in a cool place. A reliable recipe. A BRINE TO PRESERVE BUTTER. First work your butter into small rolls, wrapping each one carefully in a clean muslin cloth, tying them up with a string. Make a brine, say three gallons, having it strong enough of salt to bear up an egg; add half a teacupful of pure, white sugar, and one tablespoonful of saltpetre; boil the brine, and when cold strain it carefully. Pour it over the rolls so as to more than cover them, as this excludes the air. Place a weight over all to keep the rolls under the surface. PUTTING UP BUTTER TO KEEP. Take of the best pure common salt two quarts, one ounce of white sugar and one of saltpetre; pulverize them together completely. Work the butter well, then thoroughly work in an ounce of this mixture to every pound of butter. The butter is to be made into half-pound rolls, and put into the following brine--to three gallons of brine strong enough to bear an egg, add a quarter of a pound of white sugar. _Orange Co., N. Y. Style_ CURDS AND CREAM. One gallon of milk will make a moderate dish. Put one spoonful of prepared rennet to each quart of milk, and when you find that it has become curd, tie it loosely in a thin cloth and hang it to drain; do not wring or press the cloth; when drained, put the curd into a mug and set in cool water, which must be frequently changed (a refrigerator saves this trouble). When you dish it, if there is whey in the mug, lie it gently out without pressing the curd; lay it on a deep dish, and pour fresh cream over it; have powdered loaf-sugar to eat with it; also hand the nutmeg grater. Prepared rennet can be had at almost any druggist's, and at a reasonable price. NEW JERSEY CREAM CHEESE. First scald the quantity of milk desired; let it cool a little, then add the rennet; the directions for quantity are given on the packages of "Prepared Rennet." When the curd is formed, take it out on a ladle without breaking it; lay it on a thin cloth held by two persons; dash a ladleful of water over each ladleful of curd, to separate the curd; hang it up to drain the water off, and then put it under a light press for one hour; cut the curd with a thread into small pieces; lay a cloth between each two, and press for an hour; take them out, rub them with fine salt, let them lie on a board for an hour, and wash them in cold water; let them lie to drain, and in a day or two the skin will look dry; put some sweet grass under and over them, and they will soon ripen. COTTAGE CHEESE. Put a pan of sour or loppered milk on the stove or range where it is not too hot; let it scald until the whey rises to the top (be careful that it does not boil, or the curd will become hard and tough). Place a clean doth or towel over a sieve and pour this whey and curd into it, living it covered to drain two or three hours; then put it into a dish and chop it fine with a spoon, adding a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of butter and enough sweet cream to make the cheese the consistency of putty. With your hands make it into little balls flattened. Keep it in a cool place. Many like it made rather thin with cream, serving it in a deep dish. You may make this cheese of sweet milk by forming the curd with prepared rennet. SLIP. Slip is bonny-clabber without its acidity, and so delicate is its flavor that many persons like it just as well as ice cream. It is prepared thus:--Make a quart of milk moderately warm; then stir into it one large spoonful of the preparation called rennet; set it by, and when cool again it will be as stiff as jelly. It should be made only a few hours before it is to be used, or it will be tough and watery; in summer set the dish on ice after it has jellied. It must be served with powdered sugar, nutmeg and cream. CHEESE FONDU. Melt an ounce of butter and whisk into it a pint of boiled milk. Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of flour in a gill of cold milk, add it to the boiled milk and let it cool. Beat the yolks of four eggs with a heaping teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper and five ounces of grated cheese. Whip the whites of the eggs and add them, pour the mixture into a deep tin lined with buttered paper, and allow for the rising, say four inches. Bake twenty minutes and serve the moment it leaves the oven. CHEESE SOUFFLÉ. Melt an ounce of butter in a saucepan; mix smoothly with it one ounce of flour, a pinch of salt and cayenne and a quarter of a pint of milk; simmer the mixture gently over the fire, stirring it all the time, till it is as thick as melted butter, stir into it about three ounces of finely-grated parmesan, or any good cheese. Turn it into a basin and mix with it the yolks of two well-beaten eggs. Whisk three whites to a solid froth, and just before the souffle is baked put them into it, and pour the mixture into a small round tin. It should be only half filled, as the fondu will rise very high. Pin a napkin around the dish in which it is baked, and serve the moment it is baked. It would be well to have a metal cover strongly heated. Time twenty minutes. Sufficient for six persons. SCALLOPED CHEESE. Any person who is fond of cheese could not fail to favor this recipe. Take three slices of bread well-buttered, first cutting off the brown outside crust. Grate fine a quarter of a pound of any kind of good cheese; lay the bread in layers in a buttered baking-dish, sprinkle over it the grated cheese, some salt and pepper to taste. Mix four well-beaten eggs with three cups of milk; pour it over the bread and cheese. Bake it in a hot oven as you would cook a bread pudding. This makes an ample dish for four people. PASTRY RAMAKINS. Take the remains or odd pieces of any light puff paste left from pies or tarts; gather up the pieces of paste, roll it out evenly, and sprinkle it with grated cheese of a nice flavor. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again, and sprinkle more cheese over; fold the paste, roll it out, and with a paste-cutter shape it in any way that may be desired. Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven from ten to fifteen minutes; dish them on a hot napkin and serve quickly. The appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the ramakins over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. Where expense is not objected to, parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use for making this dish. Very nice with a cup of coffee for a lunch. CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS. A quarter of a pound of flour, two ounces butter, two ounces grated parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Mix into a paste with the yolk of an egg. Roll out to the thickness of a silver quarter, about four or five inches long; cut into strips about a third of an inch wide, twist them as you would a paper spill and lay them on a baking-sheet slightly floured. Bake in a moderate oven until crisp, but they must not be the least brown. If put away in a tin these straws will keep a long time. Serve cold, piled tastefully on a glass dish. You can make the straws of remnants of puff pastry, rolling in the grated cheese. CHEESE CREAM TOAST. Stale bread may be served as follows: Toast the slices and cover them slightly with grated cheese; make a cream for ten slices out of a pint of milk and two tablespoonfuls of plain flour. The milk should be boiling, and the flour mixed in a little cold water before stirring in. When the cream is nicely cooked, season with salt and butter; set the toast and cheese in the oven for three or four minutes and then pour the cream over them. WELSH RAREBIT. Grate three ounces of dry cheese and mix it with the yolks of two eggs, put four ounces of grated bread and three of butter; beat the whole together in a mortar with a dessertspoonful of made mustard, a little salt and some pepper; toast some slices of bread, cut off the outside crust, cut it in shapes and spread the paste thick upon them, and put them in the oven, let them become hot and slightly browned, serve hot as possible. EGGS AND OMELETS. There are so many ways of cooking and dressing eggs, that it seems unnecessary for the ordinary family to use those that are not the most practical. To ascertain the freshness of an egg, hold it between your thumb and forefinger in a horizontal position, with a strong light in front of you. The fresh egg will have a clear appearance, both upper and lower sides being the same. The stale egg will have a clear appearance at the lower side, while the upper side will exhibit a dark or cloudy appearance. Another test is to put them in a pan of cold water; those that are the first to sink are the freshest; the stale will rise and float on top; or, if the large end turns up in the water, they are not fresh. The best time for preserving eggs is from July to September. TO PRESERVE EGGS. There are several recipes for preserving eggs and we give first one which we know to be effectual, keeping them fresh from August until Spring. Take a piece of quick-lime as large as a good-sized lemon and two teacupfuls of salt; put it into a large vessel and slack it with a gallon of boiling water. It will boil and bubble until thick as cream; when it is cold, pour off the top, which will be perfectly clear. Drain off this liquor, and pour it over your eggs; see that the liquor more than covers them. A stone jar is the most convenient--one that holds about six quarts. Another manner of preserving eggs is to pack them in a jar with layers of salt between, the large end of the egg downward, with a thick layer of salt at the top; cover tightly and set in a cool place. Some put them in a wire basket or a piece of mosquito net and dip them in boiling water half a minute; then pack in sawdust. Still another manner is to dissolve a cheap article of gum arabic, about as thin as muscilage, and brush over each egg with it; then pack in powdered charcoal; set in a cool, dark place. Eggs can be kept for some time by smearing the shells with butter or lard; then packed in plenty of bran or sawdust, the eggs not allowed to touch one another; or coat the eggs with melted paraffine. BOILED EGGS. Eggs for boiling cannot be too fresh, or boiled too soon after they are laid; but rather a longer time should be allowed for boiling a new-laid egg than for one that is three or four days old. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water; put the eggs into it gently with a spoon, letting the spoon touch the bottom of the saucepan before it is withdrawn, that the egg may not fall and consequently crack. For those who like eggs lightly boiled, three minutes will be found sufficient; three and three-quarters to four minutes will be ample time to set the white nicely; and if liked hard, six or seven minutes will not be found too long. Should the eggs be unusually large, as those of black Spanish fowls sometimes are, allow an extra half minute for them. Eggs for salad should be boiled for ten or fifteen minutes, and should be placed in a basin of cold water for a few minutes to shrink the meat from the shell; they should then be rolled on the table with the hand and the shell will peel off easily. SOFT BOILED EGGS. When properly cooked eggs are done evenly through, like any other food. This result may be obtained by putting the eggs into a dish with a cover, or a tin pail, and then pouring upon them _boiling_ water--two quarts or more to a dozen of eggs--and cover and set them away where they will keep _hot_ and _not_ boil for ten to twelve minutes. The heat of the water cooks the eggs slowly, evenly and sufficiently, leaving the centre or yolk harder than the white, and the egg tastes as much richer and nicer as a fresh egg is nicer than a stale egg. SCALLOPED EGGS. Hard-boil twelve eggs; slice them thin in rings; in the bottom of a large well-buttered baking-dish place a layer of grated bread crumbs, then one of eggs; cover with bits of butter and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Continue thus to blend these ingredients until the dish is full; be sure, though, that the crumbs cover the eggs upon top. Over the whole pour a large teacupful of sweet cream or milk and brown nicely in a moderately heated oven. SHIRRED EGGS. Set into the oven until quite hot a common white dish large enough to hold the number of eggs to be cooked, allowing plenty of room for each. Melt in it a small piece of butter, and breaking the eggs carefully in a saucer, one at a time, slip them into the hot dish; sprinkle over them a small quantity of pepper and salt and allow them to cook four or five minutes. Adding a tablespoonful of cream for every two eggs, when the eggs are first slipped in, is a great improvement. This is far more delicate than fried eggs. Or prepare the eggs the same and set them in a steamer over boiling water. They are usually served in hotels baked in individual dishes, about two in a dish, and in the same dish they were baked in. SCRAMBLED EGGS. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a hot frying pan; tip around so that it will touch all sides of the pan. Having ready half a dozen eggs broken in a dish, salted and peppered, turn them (without beating) into the hot butter; stir them one way briskly for five or six minutes or until they are mixed. Be careful that they do not get too hard. Turn over toast or dish up without. POACHED OR DROPPED EGGS. Have one quart of _boiling_ water and one tablespoonful of salt in a frying pan. Break the eggs, one by one, into a saucer, and slide carefully into the salted water. Dash with a spoon a little water over the egg, to keep the top white. The beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blushing through the white, which should only be just sufficiently hardened to form a transparent veil for the egg. Cook until the white is firm, and lift out with a griddle cake turner and place on toasted bread. Serve immediately. A tablespoonful of vinegar put into the water keeps the eggs from spreading. Open gem rings are nice placed in the water and an egg dropped into each ring. FRIED EGGS. Break the eggs, one at a time, into a saucer, and then slide them carefully off into a frying pan of lard and butter mixed, dipping over the eggs the hot grease in spoonfuls, or turn them over, frying both sides without breaking them. They require about three minutes' cooking. Eggs can be fried round like balls, by dropping one at a time into a quantity of hot lard, the same as for fried cakes, first stirring the hot lard with a stick until it runs round like a whirlpool; this will make the eggs look like balls. Take out with a skimmer. Eggs can be poached the same in boiling water. EGGS AUX FINES HERBES. Roll an ounce of butter in a good teaspoonful of flour; season with pepper, salt and nutmeg; put it into a coffeecupful of fresh milk, together with two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley; stir and simmer it for fifteen minutes, add a teacupful of thick cream. Hard-boil five eggs and halve them; arrange them in a dish with the ends upwards, pour the sauce over them, and decorate with little heaps of fried bread crumbs round the margin of the dish. POACHED EGGS Á LA CRÊME. Put a quart of hot water, a tablespoonful of vinegar and a teaspoonful of salt into a frying pan, and break each egg separately into a saucer; slip the egg carefully into the hot water, simmer three or four minutes until the white is set, then with a skimmer lift them out into a hot dish. Empty the pan of its contents, put in half a cup of cream, or rich milk; if milk, a large spoonful of butter; pepper and salt to taste, thicken with a very little cornstarch; let it boil up once, and turn it over the dish of poached eggs. It can be served on toast or without. It is a better plan to warm the cream in butter in a separate dish, that the eggs may not have to stand. EGGS IN CASES. Make little paper cases of buttered writing paper; put a small piece of butter in each, and a little chopped parsley or onion, pepper and salt. Place the cases upon a gridiron over a moderate fire of bright coals, and when the butter melts, break a fresh egg into each case. Strew in upon them a few seasoned bread crumbs, and when nearly done, glaze the tops with a hot shovel. Serve in the paper cases. MINCED EGGS. Chop up four or five hard-boiled eggs; do not mince them too fine. Put over the fire in a suitable dish a cupful of milk, a tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper, and some savory chopped small. When this comes to a boil stir into it a tablespoonful of flour, dissolved in a little cold milk. When it cooks thick like cream put in the minced eggs. Stir it gently around and around for a few moments and serve, garnished with sippets of toast. Any particular flavor may be given to this dish, such as that of mushrooms, truffles, catsup, essence of shrimps, etc., or some shred anchovy may be added to the mince. MIXED EGGS AND BACON. Take a nice rasher of mild bacon; cut it into squares no larger than dice; fry it quickly until nicely browned; but on no account burn it. Break half a dozen eggs into a basin, strain and season them with pepper, add them to the bacon, stir the whole about and, when sufficiently firm, turn it out into a dish. Decorate with hot pickles. MIXED EGGS GENERALLY--SAVORY OR SWEET. Much the same method is followed in mixed eggs generally, whatever may be added to them; really it is nothing more than an omelet which is stirred about in the pan while it is being dressed, instead of being allowed to set as a pancake. Chopped tongue, oysters, shrimps, sardines, dried salmon, anchovies, herbs, may be used. COLD EGGS FOR A PICNIC. This novel way of preparing cold egg for the lunch-basket fully repays one for the extra time required. Boil hard several eggs, halve them lengthwise; remove the yolks and chop them fine with cold chicken, lamb, veal or any tender, roasted meat; or with bread soaked in milk and any salad, as parsley, onion, celery, the bread being half of the whole; or with grated cheese, a little olive oil, drawn butter, flavored. Fill the cavity in the egg with either of these mixtures, or any similar preparation. Press the halves together, roll twice in beaten egg and bread crumbs, and dip into boiling lard. When the color rises delicately, drain them and they are ready for use. OMELETS. In making an omelet, care should be taken that the omelet pan is hot and dry. To insure this, put a small quantity of lard or suet into a clean frying pan, let it simmer a few minutes, then remove it; wipe the pan dry with a towel, and then put in a tablespoonful of butter. The smoothness of the pan is most essential, as the least particle of roughness will cause the omelet to stick. As a general rule, a small omelet can be made more successfully than a large one, it being much better to make two small ones of four eggs each, than to try double the number of eggs in one omelet and fail. Allow one egg to a person in making an omelet and one tablespoonful of milk; this makes an omelet more puffy and tender than one made without milk. Many prefer them without milk. Omelets are called by the name of what is added to give them flavor, as minced ham, salmon, onions, oysters, etc., beaten up in the eggs in due quantity, which gives as many different kind of omelets. They are also served over many kinds of thick sauces or purees, such as tomato, spinach, endive, lettuce, celery, etc. If vegetables are to be added, they should be already cooked, seasoned and hot; place in the centre of the omelet, just before turning; so with mushroom, shrimps, or any cooked ingredients. All omelets should be served the moment they are done, as they harden by standing, and care taken that they do not _cook too much_. Sweet omelets are generally used for breakfast or plain desserts. PLAIN OMELET. Put a smooth, clean, iron frying pan on the fire to heat; meanwhile, beat four eggs very light, the whites to a stiff froth and the yolks to a thick batter. Add to the yolks four tablespoonfuls of milk, pepper and salt; and, lastly, stir in the whites lightly. Put a piece of butter nearly half the size of an egg into the heated pan; turn it so that it will moisten the entire bottom, taking care that it does not scorch. Just as it begins to boil, pour in the eggs. Hold the frying pan handle in your left hand, and, as the eggs whiten, carefully, with a spoon, draw up lightly from the bottom, letting the raw part run out on the pan, till all be equally cooked; shake with your left hand, till the omelet be free from the pan, then turn with a spoon one half of the omelet over the other; let it remain a moment, but continue shaking, lest it adhere; toss to a warm platter held in the right hand, or lift with a flat, broad shovel; the omelet will be firm around the edge, but creamy and light inside. MEAT OR FISH OMELETS. Take cold meat, fish, game or poultry of any kind; remove all skin, sinew, etc., and either cut it small or pound it to a paste in a mortar, together with a proper proportion of spices and salt; then either toss it in a buttered frying pan over a clear fire till it begins to brown and pour beaten eggs upon it, or beat it up with the eggs, or spread it upon them after they have begun to set in the pan. In any case serve hot, with or without a sauce, but garnish with crisp herbs in branches, pickles, or sliced lemon. The right proportion is one tablespoonful of meat to four eggs. A little milk, gravy, water, or white wine, may be advantageously added to the eggs while they are being beaten. Potted meats make admirable omelets in the above manner. VEGETABLE OMELET. Make a purée by mashing up ready-dressed vegetables, together with a little milk, cream or gravy and some seasoning. The most suitable vegetables are cucumbers, artichokes, onions, sorrel, green peas, tomatoes, lentils, mushrooms, asparagus tops, potatoes, truffles or turnips. Prepare some eggs by beating them very light. Pour them into a nice hot frying pan, containing a spoonful of butter; spread the purée upon the upper side; and when perfectly hot, turn or fold the omelet together and serve. Or cold vegetables may be merely chopped small, then tossed in a little butter, and some beaten and seasoned eggs poured over. OMELET OF HERBS. Parsley, thyme and sweet marjoram mixed gives the famous _omelette aux fines herbes_ so popular at every wayside inn in the most remote corner of sunny France. An omelet "jardiniere" is two tablespoonfuls of mixed parsley, onion, chives, shallots and a few leaves each of sorrel and chevril, minced fine and stirred into the beaten eggs before cooking. It will take a little more butter to fry it than a plain one. CHEESE OMELET. Beat up three eggs, and add to them a tablespoonful of milk and a tablespoonful of grated cheese; add a little more cheese before folding; turn it out on a hot dish; grate a little cheese over it before serving. ASPARAGUS OMELET. Boil with a little salt, and until about half cooked, eight or ten stalks of asparagus, and cut the eatable part into rather small pieces; beat the egg and mix the asparagus with them. Make the omelet as above directed. Omelet with parsley is made by adding a little chopped parsley. TOMATO OMELET. No. 1. Peel a couple of tomatoes, which split into four pieces; remove the seeds and cut them into small dice; then fry them with a little butter until nearly done, adding salt and pepper. Beat the eggs and mix the tomatoes with them, and make the omelet as usual. Or stew a few tomatoes in the usual way and spread over before folding. TOMATO OMELET. No. 2. Cut in slices and place in a stewpan six peeled tomatoes; add a tablespoonful of cold water, a little pepper and salt. When they begin to simmer, break in six eggs, stir well, stirring one way, until the eggs are cooked, but not too hard. Serve warm. RICE OMELET. Take a cup of cold boiled rice, turn over it a cupful of warm milk, add a tablespoonful of butter melted, a level teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper; mix well, then add three well-beaten eggs. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a hot frying pan, and when it begins to boil pour in the omelet and set the pan in a hot oven. As soon as it is cooked through, fold it double, turn it out on a hot dish, and serve at once. Very good. HAM OMELET. Cut raw ham into dice, fry with butter and when cooked enough, turn the beaten egg over it and cook as a plain omelet. If boiled ham is used, mince it and mix with the egg after they are beaten. Bacon may be used instead of raw ham. CHICKEN OMELET. Mince rather fine one cupful of cooked chicken, warm in a teacupful of cream or rich milk a tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper; thicken with a large tablespoonful of flour. Make a plain omelet, then add this mixture just before turning it over. This is much better than the dry minced chicken. Tongue is equally good. MUSHROOM OMELET. Clean a cupful of large button mushrooms, canned ones may be used; cut them into bits. Put into a stewpan an ounce of butter and let it melt; add the mushrooms, a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper and half a cupful of cream or milk. Stir in a teaspoonful of flour, dissolved in a little milk or water to thicken, if needed. Boil ten minutes, and set aside until the omelet is ready. Make a plain omelet the usual way, and just before doubling it, turn the mushrooms over the centre and serve hot. OYSTER OMELET. Parboil a dozen oysters in their own liquor, skim them out and let them cool; add them to the beaten eggs, either whole or minced. Cook the same as a plain omelet. Thicken the liquid with butter rolled in flour; season with salt, cayenne pepper and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Chop up the oysters and add to the sauce. Put a few spoonfuls in the centre of the omelet before folding; when dished, pour the remainder of the sauce around it. FISH OMELET. Make a plain omelet, and when ready to fold, spread over it fish prepared as follows: Add to a cupful of any kind of cold fish, broken fine, cream enough to moisten it, seasoned with a tablespoonful of butter; then pepper and salt to taste. Warm together. ONION OMELET. Make a plain omelet, and when ready to turn spread over it a teaspoonful each of chopped onion and minced parsley; then fold, or, if preferred, mix the minces into the eggs before cooking. JELLY OMELET. Make a plain omelet, and just before folding together, spread with some kind of jelly. Turn out on a warm platter. Dust it with powdered sugar. BREAD OMELET. No. 1. Break four eggs into a basin and carefully remove the treadles; have ready a tablespoonful of grated and sifted bread; soak it in either milk, water, cream, white wine, gravy, lemon juice, brandy or rum, according as the omelet is intended to be sweet or savory. Well beat the eggs together with a little nutmeg, pepper and salt; add the bread, and, beating constantly (or the omelet will be crumbly), get ready a frying pan, buttered and made thoroughly hot; put in the omelet; do it on one side only; turn it upon a dish, and fold it double to prevent the steam from condensing. Stale sponge-cake, grated biscuit, or pound cake, may replace the bread for a sweet omelet, when pounded loaf sugar should be sifted over it, and the dish decorated with lumps of currant jelly. This makes a nice dessert. BREAD OMELET. No. 2. Let one teacupful of milk come to a boil, pour it over one teacupful of bread crumbs and let it stand a few minutes. Break six eggs into a bowl, stir (not beat) till well mixed; then add the milk and bread, season with pepper and salt, mix all well together and turn into a hot frying pan, containing a large spoonful of butter boiling hot. Fry the omelet slowly, and when brown on the bottom cut in squares and turn again, fry to a delicate brown and serve hot. Cracker omelet may be made by substituting three or four rolled crackers in place of bread. BAKED OMELET. Beat the whites and yolks of four or six eggs separately; add to the yolks a small cup of milk, a tablespoonful of flour or cornstarch, a teaspoonful of baking powder, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and, lastly, the stiff-beaten whites. Bake in a well-buttered pie-tin or plate about half an hour in a steady oven. It should be served the moment it is taken from the oven, as it is liable to fall. OMELET SOUFFLÉ. Break six eggs into separate cups; beat four of the yolks, mix with them one teaspoonful of flour, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, very little salt. Flavor with extract lemon or any other of the flavors that may be preferred. Whisk the whites of six eggs to a firm froth; mix them lightly with the yolks; pour the mixture into a greased pan or dish; bake in a quick oven. When well-risen and lightly browned on the top, it is done; roll out in warm dish, sift pulverized sugar over, and send to table. RUM OMELET. Put a small quantity of lard into the pan; let it simmer a few minutes and remove it; wipe the pan dry with a towel, and put in a little fresh lard in which the omelet may be fried. Care should be taken that the lard does not burn, which would spoil the color of the omelet. Break three eggs separately; put them into a bowl and whisk them thoroughly with a fork. The longer they are beaten, the lighter will the omelet be. Beat up a teaspoonful of milk with the eggs and continue to beat until the last moment before pouring into the pan, which should be over a hot fire. As soon as the omelet sets, remove the pan from the hottest part of the fire. Slip a knife under it to prevent sticking to the pan. When the centre is almost firm, slant the pan, work the omelet in shape to fold easily find neatly, and when slightly browned, hold a platter against the edge of the pan and deftly turn it out on to the hot dish. Dust a liberal quantity of powdered sugar over it, and singe the sugar into neat stripes with a hot iron rod, heated in the coals; pour a glass of warm Jamaica rum around it, and when it is placed on the table set fire to the rum. With a tablespoon dash the burning rum over the omelet, put out the fire and serve. Salt _mixed_ with the eggs prevents them from rising, and when it is so used the omelet will look flabby, yet without salt it will taste insipid. Add a little salt to it just before folding it and turning out on the dish. _"The Cook."_ SANDWICHES. HAM SANDWICHES. Make a dressing of half a cup of butter, one tablespoonful of mixed mustard, one of salad oil, a little red or white pepper, a pinch of salt and the yolk of an egg; rub the butter to a cream, add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly; then stir in as much chopped ham as will make it consistent and spread between thin slices of bread. Omit salad oil and substitute melted butter if preferred. HAM SANDWICHES, PLAIN. Trim the crusts from thin slices of bread; butter them and lay between every two some thin slices of cold boiled ham. Spread the meat with a little mustard if liked. CHICKEN SANDWICHES. Mince up fine any cold boiled or roasted chicken; put it into a saucepan with gravy, water or cream enough to soften it; add a good piece of butter, a pinch of pepper; work it very smooth while it is heating until it looks almost like a paste. Then spread it on a plate to cool. Spread it between slices of buttered bread. SARDINE SANDWICHES. Take two boxes of sardines and throw the contents into hot water, having first drained away all the oil. A few minutes will free the sardines from grease. Pour away the water and dry the fish in a cloth; then scrape away the skins and pound the sardines in a mortar till reduced to paste; add pepper, salt and some tiny pieces of lettuce, and spread on the sandwiches, which have been previously cut as above. The lettuce adds very much to the flavor of the sardines. Or chop the sardines up fine and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into them, and spread between buttered bread or cold biscuits. WATER CRESS SANDWICHES. Wash well some water cress and then dry them in a cloth, pressing out every atom of moisture as far as possible; then mix with the cress hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Have a stale loaf and some fresh butter, and with a sharp knife cut as many thin slices as will be required for two dozen sandwiches; then cut the cress into small pieces, removing the stems; place it between each slice of bread and butter, with a slight sprinkling of lemon juice; press down the slices hard, and cut them sharply on a board into small squares, leaving no crust. _Nantasket Beach._ EGG SANDWICHES. Hard boil some very fresh eggs and when cold cut them into moderately thin slices and lay them between some bread and butter cut as thin as possible; season them with pepper, salt and nutmeg. For picnic parties, or when one is traveling, these sandwiches are far preferable to hard-boiled eggs _au naturel_. MUSHROOM SANDWICHES. Mince beef tongue and boiled mushrooms together, add French mustard and spread between buttered bread. CHEESE SANDWICHES. These are extremely nice and are very easily made. Take one hard-boiled egg, a quarter of a pound of common cheese grated, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful of mustard, one tablespoonful of melted butter, and one tablespoonful of vinegar or cold water. Take the yolk of the egg and put it into a small bowl and crumble it down, put into it the butter and mix it smooth with a spoon, then add the salt, pepper, mustard and the cheese, mixing each well. Then put in the tablespoonful of vinegar, which will make it the proper thickness. If vinegar is not relished, then use cold water instead. Spread this between two biscuits or pieces of oat-cake, and you could not require a better sandwich. Some people will prefer the sandwiches less highly seasoned. In that case, season to taste. BREAD. Among all civilized people bread has become an article of food of the first necessity; and properly so, for it constitutes of itself a complete life sustainer, the gluten, starch and sugar which it contains representing ozotized and hydro-carbonated nutrients, and combining the sustaining powers of the animal and vegetable kingdoms in one product. As there is no one article of food that enters so largely into our daily fare as bread, so no degree of skill in preparing other articles can compensate for lack of knowledge in the art of making good, palatable and nutritious bread. A little earnest attention to the subject will enable any one to comprehend the theory, and then ordinary care in practice will make one familiar with the process. GENERAL DIRECTIONS. The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the ingredients used for it; and, in addition to these, there must be attention and care through the whole process. Salt is always used in bread-making, not only on account of its flavor, which destroys the insipid raw state of the flour, but because it makes the dough rise better. In mixing with milk, the milk should be boiled--not simply scalded, but heated to boiling over hot water--then set aside to cool before mixing. Simple heating will not prevent bread from turning sour in the rising, while boiling will act as a preventative. So the milk should be thoroughly scalded, and should be used when it is just blood warm. Too small a proportion of yeast, or insufficient time allowed for the dough to rise, will cause the bread to be heavy. The yeast must be good and fresh if the bread is to be digestible and nice. Stale yeast produces, instead of vinous fermentation, an acetous fermentation, which flavors the bread and makes it disagreeable. A poor, thin yeast produces an imperfect fermentation, the result being a heavy, unwholesome loaf. If either the sponge or the dough be permitted to overwork itself--that is to say, if the mixing and kneading be neglected when it has reached the proper point for either--sour bread will probably be the consequence in warm weather, and bad bread in any. The goodness will also be endangered by placing it so near a fire as to make any part of it hot, instead of maintaining the gentle and equal degree of heat required for its due fermentation. Heavy bread will also most likely be the result of making the dough very hard and letting it become quite cold, particularly in winter. An almost certain way of spoiling dough is to leave it half made, and to allow it to become cold before it is finished. The other most common causes of failure are using yeast which is no longer sweet, or which has been frozen, or has had hot liquid poured over it. As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening the outside. The oven door should not be opened after the bread is put in until the dough is set or has become firm, as the cool air admitted will have an unfavorable effect upon it. The dough should rise and the bread begin to brown after about fifteen minutes, but only slightly. Bake from fifty to sixty minutes and have it brown, not black or whitey brown, but brown all over when well baked. When the bread is baked, remove the loaves immediately from the pans and place them where the air will circulate freely around them, and thus carry off the gas which has been formed, but is no longer needed. Never leave the bread in the pan or on a pin table to absorb the odor of the wood. If you like crusts that are crisp do not cover the loaves; but to give the soft, tender, wafer-like consistency which many prefer, wrap them while still hot in several thicknesses of bread-cloth. When cold put them in a stone jar, removing the cloth, as that absorbs the moisture and gives the bread an unpleasant taste and odor. Keep the jar well covered and carefully cleansed from crumbs and stale pieces. Scald and dry it thoroughly every two or three days. A yard and a half square of coarse table linen makes the best bread-cloth. Keep in good supply; use them for no other purpose. Some people use scalding water in making wheat bread; in that case the flour must be scalded and allowed to cool before the yeast is added--then proceed as above. Bread made in this manner keeps moist in summer much longer than when made in the usual mode. Home-made yeast is generally preferred to any other. Compressed yeast, as now sold in most grocery stores, makes fine light, sweet bread, and is a much quicker process, and can always be had fresh, being made fresh every day. WHEAT BREAD. Sift the flour into a large bread-pan or bowl; make a hole in the middle of it, and pour in the yeast in the ratio of half a teacupful of yeast to two quarts of flour; stir the yeast lightly, then pour in your "wetting," either milk or water, as you choose,--which use warm in winter and cold in summer; if you use water as "wetting," dissolve in it a bit of butter of the size of an egg,--if you use milk, no butter is necessary; stir in the "wetting" very lightly, but do not mix all the flour into it; then cover the pan with a thick blanket or towel, and set it, in winter, in a warm place to rise,--this is called "_putting the bread in sponge_." In summer the bread should not be wet over night. In the morning add a teaspoonful of salt and mix all the flour in the pan with the sponge, kneading it well; then let it stand two hours or more until it has risen quite light; then remove the dough to the molding-board and mold it for a long time, cutting it in pieces and molding them together again and again, until the dough is elastic under the pressure of your hand, using as little flour as possible; then make it into loaves, put the loaves into baking-tins. The loaves should come half way up the pan, and they should be allowed to rise until the bulk is doubled. When the loaves are ready to put into the oven, the oven should be ready to receive them. It should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in five minutes. The heat should be greater at the bottom than at the top of the oven, and the fire so arranged as to give sufficient strength of heat through the baking without being replenished. Let them stand ten or fifteen minutes, prick them three or four times with a fork, bake in a quick oven from forty-five to sixty minutes. If these directions are followed, you will obtain sweet, tender and wholesome bread. If by any mistake the dough becomes sour before you are ready to bake it, you can rectify it by adding a little dry super-carbonate of soda, molding the dough a long time to distribute the soda equally throughout the mass. All bread is better, if naturally sweet, without the soda; but _sour bread_ you should never eat, if you desire good health. Keep well covered in a tin box or large stone crock, which should be wiped out every day or two, and scalded and dried thoroughly in the sun once a week. COMPRESSED YEAST BREAD. Use for two loaves of bread three quarts of sifted flour, nearly a quart of warm water, a level tablespoonful of salt and an ounce of compressed yeast. Dissolve the yeast in a pint of lukewarm water; then stir into it enough flour to make a thick batter. Cover the bowl containing the batter or sponge with a thick folded cloth and set it in a warm place to rise; if the temperature of heat is properly attended to the sponge will be foamy and light in half an hour. Now stir into this sponge the salt dissolved in a little warm water, add the rest of the flour and sufficient warm water to make the dough stiff enough to knead; then knead it from five to ten minutes, divide it into loaves, knead again each loaf and put them into buttered baking tins; cover them with a double thick cloth and set again in a warm place to rise twice their height, then bake the same as any bread. This bread has the advantage of that made of home-made yeast as it is made inside of three hours, whereas the other requires from twelve to fourteen hours. HOME-MADE YEAST. Boil six large potatoes in three pints of water. Tie a handful of hops in a small muslin bag and boil with the potatoes; when thoroughly cooked drain the water on enough flour to make a thin batter; set this on the stove or range and scald it enough to cook the flour (this makes the yeast keep longer); remove it from the fire and when cool enough, add the potatoes mashed, also half a cup of sugar, half a tablespoonful of ginger, two of salt and a teacupful of yeast. Let it stand in a warm place, until it has thoroughly risen, then put it in a large mouthed jug and cork tightly; set away in a cool place. The jug should be scalded before putting in the yeast. Two-thirds of a coffeecupful of this yeast will make four loaves. UNRIVALED YEAST. On one morning boil two ounces of the best hops in four quarts of water half an hour; strain it, and let the liquor cool to the consistency of new milk; then put it in an earthen bowl and add half a cupful of salt and half a cupful of brown sugar; beat up one quart of flour with some of the liquor; then mix all well together, and let it stand till the third day after; then add six medium-sized potatoes, boiled and mashed through a colander; let it stand a day, then strain and bottle and it is fit for use. It must be stirred frequently while it is making, and kept near a fire. One advantage of this yeast is its spontaneous fermentation, requiring the help of no old yeast; if care be taken to let it ferment well in the bowl, it may immediately be corked tightly. Be careful to keep it in a cool place. Before using it shake the bottle up well. It will keep in a cool place two months, and is best the latter part of the time. Use about the same quantity as of other yeast. DRIED YEAST OR YEAST CAKES. Make a pan of yeast the same as "Home-Made Yeast;" mix in with it corn meal that has been sifted and dried, kneading it well until it is thick enough to roll out, when it can be cut into cakes or crumble up. Spread out and dry thoroughly in the shade; keep in a dry place. When it is convenient to get compressed yeast, it is much better and cheaper than to make your own, a saving of time and trouble. Almost all groceries keep it, delivered to them fresh made daily. SALT-RAISING BREAD. While getting breakfast in the morning, as soon as the tea-kettle has boiled, take a quart tin cup or an earthen quart milk pitcher, scald it, then fill one-third full of water about as warm as the finger could be held in; then to this add a teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of brown sugar and coarse flour enough to make a batter of about the right consistency for griddle-cakes. Set the cup, with the spoon in it, in a closed vessel half-filled with water moderately hot, but not scalding. Keep the temperature as nearly even as possible and add a teaspoonful of flour once or twice during the process of fermentation. The yeast ought to reach to the top of the bowl in about five hours. Sift your flour into a pan, make an opening in the centre and pour in your yeast. Have ready a pitcher of warm milk, salted, or milk and water (not too hot, or you will scald the yeast germs), and stir rapidly into a pulpy mass with a spoon. Cover this sponge closely and keep warm for an hour, then knead into loaves, adding flour to make the proper consistency. Place in warm, well-greased pans, cover closely and leave till it is light. Bake in a steady oven, and when done let all the hot steam escape. Wrap closely in damp towels and keep in closed earthen jars until it is wanted. This, in our grandmothers' time, used to be considered the prize bread, on account of its being sweet and wholesome and required no prepared yeast to make it. Nowadays yeast-bread is made with very little trouble, as the yeast can be procured at almost any grocery. BREAD FROM MILK YEAST. At noon the day before baking, take half a cup of corn meal and pour over it enough sweet milk boiling hot to make it the thickness of batter-cakes. In the winter place it where it will keep warm. The next morning before breakfast pour into a pitcher a pint of boiling water; add one teaspoonful of soda and one of salt. When cool enough so that it will not scald the flour, add enough to make a stiff batter; then add the cup of meal set the day before. This will be full of little bubbles. Then place the pitcher in a kettle of warm water, cover the top with a folded towel and put it where it will keep warm, and you will be surprised to find how soon the yeast will be at the top of the pitcher. Then pour the yeast into a bread-pan; add a pint and a half of warm water, or half water and half milk, and flour enough to knead into loaves. Knead but little harder than for biscuit and bake as soon as it rises to the top of the tin. This recipe makes five large loaves. Do not allow it to get too light before baking, for it will make the bread dry and crumbling. A cup of this milk yeast is excellent to raise buckwheat cakes. GRAHAM BREAD. One teacupful of wheat flour, one-half teacupful of Porto Rico molasses, one-half cupful of good yeast, one teaspoonful of salt, one pint of warm water; add sufficient Graham flour to make the dough as stiff as can be stirred with a strong spoon; this is to be mixed at night; in the morning, add one teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little water; mix well, and pour into two medium-sized pans; they will be about half full; let it stand in a warm place until it rises to the top of the pans, then bake one hour in a pretty hot oven. This should be covered about twenty minutes when first put into the oven with a thick brown paper, or an old tin cover; it prevents the upper crust hardening before the loaf is well-risen. If these directions are correctly followed the bread will not be heavy or sodden, as it has been tried for years and never failed. GRAHAM BREAD. (Unfermented.) Stir together three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, three cups of Graham flour and one cup of white flour; then add a large teaspoonful of salt and half a cup of sugar. Mix all thoroughly with milk or water into as stiff a batter as can be stirred with a spoon. If water is used, a lump of butter as large as a walnut may be melted and stirred into it. Bake immediately in well-greased pans. BOSTON BROWN BREAD. One pint of rye flour, one quart of corn meal, one teacupful of Graham flour, all fresh; half a teacupful of molasses or brown sugar, a teaspoonful of salt, and two-thirds of a teacupful of home-made yeast. Mix into as stiff a dough as can be stirred with a spoon, using warm water for wetting. Let it rise several hours, or over night; in the morning, or when light, add a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of warm water; beat it well and turn it into well-greased, deep bread-pans, and let it rise again. Bake in a _moderate_ oven from three to four hours. _Palmer House, Chicago_. BOSTON BROWN BREAD. (Unfermented.) One cupful of rye flour, two cupfuls of corn meal, one cupful of white flour, half a teacupful of molasses or sugar, a teaspoonful of salt. Stir all together _thoroughly_, and wet up with sour milk; then add a level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of water. The same can be made of sweet milk by substituting baking powder for soda. The batter to be stirred as thick as can be with a spoon, and turned into well-greased pans. VIRGINIA BROWN BREAD. One pint of corn meal; pour over enough boiling water to thoroughly scald it; when cool add one pint of light, white bread sponge, mix well together, add one cupful of molasses, and Graham flour enough to mold; this will make two loaves; when light, bake in a moderate oven one and a half hours. RHODE ISLAND BROWN BREAD. Two and one-half cupfuls of corn meal, one and one-half cupfuls of rye meal, one egg, one cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of soda, a little salt and one quart of milk. Bake in a covered dish, either earthen or iron, in a moderately hot oven three hours. STEAMED BROWN BREAD. One cup of white flour, two of Graham flour, two of Indian meal, one teaspoonful of soda, one cup of molasses, three and a half cups of milk, a little salt. Beat well and steam for four hours. This is for sour milk; when sweet milk is used, use baking powder in place of soda. This is improved by setting it into the oven fifteen minutes after it is slipped from the mold. To be eaten warm with butter. Most excellent. RYE BREAD. To a quart of warm water stir as much wheat flour as will make a smooth batter; stir into it half a gill of home-made yeast, and set it in a warm place to rise; this is called setting a sponge; let it be mixed in some vessel which will contain twice the quantity; in the morning, put three pounds and a half of rye flour into a bowl or tray, make a hollow in the centre, pour in the sponge, add a dessertspoonful of salt, and half a small teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little water; make the whole into a smooth dough, with as much warm water as may be necessary; knead it well, cover it, and let it set in a warm place for three hours; then knead it again, and make it into two or three loaves; bake in a quick oven one hour, if made in two loaves, or less if the loaves are smaller. RYE AND CORN BREAD. One quart of rye meal or rye flour, two quarts of Indian meal, scalded (by placing in a pan and pouring over it just enough _boiling_ water to merely wet it, but not enough to make it into a batter, stirring constantly with a spoon), one-half cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls salt, one teacup yeast, make it as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, mixing with warm water and let rise all night. In the morning add a level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water; then put it in a large pan, smooth the top with the hand dipped in cold water; let it stand a short time and bake five or six hours. If put in the oven late in the day, let it remain all night. Graham may be used instead of rye, and baked as above. This is similar to the "Rye and Injun" of our grandmothers' days, but that was placed in a kettle, allowed to rise, then placed in a covered iron pan upon the hearth before the fire, with coals heaped upon the lid, to bake all night. FRENCH BREAD. Beat together one pint of milk, four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, or half butter and half lard, half a cupful of yeast, one teaspoonful of salt and two eggs. Stir into this two quarts of flour. When this dough is risen, make into two large rolls and bake as any bread. Cut across the top diagonal gashes just before putting into the oven. TWIST BREAD. Let the bread be made as directed for wheat bread, then take three pieces as large as a pint bowl each; strew a little flour over the paste-board or table, roll each piece under your hands to twelve inches length, making it smaller in circumference at the ends than in the middle; having rolled the three in this way, take a baking-tin, lay one part on it, joint one end of each of the other two to it, and braid them together the length of the rolls and join the ends by pressing them together; dip a brush in milk and pass it over the top of the loaf; after ten minutes or so, set it in a quick oven and bake for nearly an hour. NEW ENGLAND CORN CAKE. One quart of milk, one pint of corn meal, one teacupful of wheat flour, a teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Scald the milk and gradually pour it on the meal; when cool add the butter and salt, also a half cup of yeast. Do this at night; in the morning beat thoroughly and add two well-beaten eggs, and a half teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a spoonful of water. Pour the mixture into buttered deep earthen plates, let it stand fifteen minutes to rise again, then bake from twenty to thirty minutes. GERMAN BREAD. One pint of milk well boiled, one teacupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of nice lard or butter, two-thirds of a teacupful of baker's yeast. Make a rising with the milk and yeast; when light, mix in the sugar and shortening, with flour enough to make as soft a dough as can be handled. Flour the paste-board well, roll out about one-half inch thick; put this quantity into two large pans; make about a dozen indentures with the finger on the top; put a small piece of butter in each, and sift over the whole one tablespoonful of sugar mixed with one teaspoonful of cinnamon. Let this stand for a second rising; when perfectly light, bake in a quick oven fifteen or twenty minutes. CORN BREAD. Two cups of sifted meal, half a cup of flour, two cups of sour milk, two well-beaten eggs, half a cup of molasses or sugar, a teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Mix the meal and flour smoothly and gradually with the milk, then the butter, molasses and salt, then the beaten eggs, and lastly dissolve a level teaspoonful of baking soda in a little milk and beat thoroughly altogether. Bake nearly an hour in well-buttered tins, not very shallow. This recipe can be made with sweet milk by using baking powder in place of soda. _St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans._ VIRGINIA CORN BREAD. Three cups of white corn meal, one cup of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one tablespoonful of lard, three cups of milk and three eggs. Sift together the flour, corn meal, sugar, salt and baking powder; rub in the lard cold, add the eggs well beaten and then the milk. Mix into a moderately stiff batter; pour it into well-greased, shallow baking pans (pie-tins are suitable). Bake from thirty to forty minutes. BOSTON CORN BREAD. One cup of sweet milk, two of sour milk, two-thirds of a cup of molasses, one of wheat flour, four of corn meal and one teaspoonful of soda; steam for three hours, and brown a few minutes in the oven. The same made of sweet milk and baking powder is equally as good. INDIAN LOAF CAKE. Mix a teacupful of powdered white sugar with a quart of rich milk, and cut up in the milk two ounces of butter, adding a saltspoonful of salt. Put this mixture into a covered pan or skillet, and set it on the fire till it is scalding hot. Then take it off, and scald with it as much yellow Indian meal (previously sifted) as will make it of the consistency of thick boiled mush. Beat the whole very hard for a quarter of an hour, and then set it away to cool. While it is cooling, beat three eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the mixture when it is about as warm as new milk. Add a teacupful of good strong yeast and beat the whole another quarter of an hour, for much of the goodness of this cake depends on its being long and well beaten. Then have ready a tin mold or earthen pan with a pipe in the centre (to diffuse the heat through the middle of the cake). The pan must be very well-buttered as Indian meal is apt to stick. Put in the mixture, cover it and set it in a warm place to rise. It should be light in about four hours. Then bake it two hours in a moderate oven. When done, turn it out with the broad surface downwards and send it to table hot and whole. Cut it into slices and eat it with butter. This will be found an excellent cake. If wanted for breakfast, mix it and set it to rise the night before. If properly made, standing all night will not injure it. Like all Indian cakes (of which this is one of the best), it should be eaten warm. _St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans._ JOHNNIE CAKE. Sift one quart of Indian meal into a pan; make a hole in the middle and pour in a pint of warm water, adding one teaspoonful of salt; with a spoon mix the meal and water gradually into a soft dough; stir it very briskly for a quarter of an hour or more, till it becomes light and spongy; then spread the dough smoothly and evenly on a straight, flat board (a piece of the head of a flour-barrel will serve for this purpose); place the board nearly upright before an open fire and put an iron against the back to support it; bake it well; when done, cut it in squares; send it hot to table, split and buttered. _Old Plantation Style_. SPIDER CORN-CAKE. Beat two eggs and one-fourth cup sugar together. Then add one cup sweet milk and one cup of sour milk in which you have dissolved one teaspoonful soda. Add a teaspoonful of salt. Then mix one and two-thirds cups of granulated corn meal and one-third cup flour with this. Put a spider or skillet on the range and when it is hot melt in two tablespoonfuls of butter. Turn the spider so that the butter can run up on the sides of the pan. Pour in the corn-cake mixture and add one more cup of sweet milk, but do not stir afterwards. Put this in the oven and bake from twenty to thirty-five minutes. When done, there should be a streak of custard through it. SOUTHERN CORN MEAL PONE OR CORN DODGERS. Mix with cold water into a soft dough one quart of southern corn meal, sifted, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of butter or lard melted. Mold into oval cakes with the hands and bake in a very hot oven, in well-greased pans. To be eaten hot. The crust should be brown. RAISED POTATO-CAKE. Potato-cakes, to be served with roast lamb or with game, are made of equal quantities of mashed potatoes and of flour, say one quart of each, two tablespoonfuls of butter, a little salt and milk enough to make a batter as for griddle-cakes; to this allow half a teacupful of fresh yeast; let it rise till it is light and bubbles of air form; then dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda in a spoonful of warm water and add to the batter; bake in muffin tins. These are good also with fricasseed chicken; take them from the tins and drop in the gravy just before sending to the table. BISCUITS, ROLLS, MUFFINS, ETC. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. In making batter-cakes, the ingredients should be put together over night to rise, and the eggs and butter added in the morning; the butter melted and eggs well beaten. If the batter appears sour in the least, dissolve a little soda and stir into it; this should be done early enough to rise some time before baking. Water can be used in place of milk in all raised dough, and the dough should be thoroughly light before making into loaves or biscuits; then when molding them use as little flour as possible; the kneading to be done when first made from the sponge, and should be done well and for some length of time, as this makes the pores fine, the bread cut smooth and tender. Care should be taken not to get the dough too stiff. Where any recipe calls for baking powder, and you do not have it, you can use cream of tartar and soda, in the proportion of one level teaspoonful of soda to two of cream of tartar. When the recipe calls for sweet milk or cream, and you do not have it, you may use in place of it sour milk or cream, and, in that case, baking powder or cream of tartar _must not_ be used, but baking-soda, using a _level_ teaspoonful to a quart of sour milk; the milk is always best when just turned, so that it is solid, and not sour enough to whey or to be watery. When making biscuits or bread with baking powder or soda and cream of tartar, the oven should be prepared first; the dough handled quickly and put into the oven immediately, as soon as it becomes the proper lightness, to ensure good success. If the oven is _too slow_, the article baked will be heavy and hard. As in beating cake, never _stir_ ingredients into batter, but beat them in, by beating down from the bottom, and up, and over again. This laps the air into the batter which produces little air-cells and causes the dough to puff and swell as it comes in contact with the heat while cooking. TO RENEW STALE ROLLS. To freshen stale biscuits or rolls, put them into a steamer for ten minutes, then dry them off in a hot oven; or dip each roll for an instant in cold water and heat them crisp in the oven. WARM BREAD FOR BREAKFAST.. Dough after it has become once sufficiently raised and perfectly light, cannot afterwards be injured by setting aside in any cold place where it cannot _freeze_; therefore, biscuits, rolls, etc., can be made late the day before wanted for breakfast. Prepare them ready for baking by molding them out late in the evening; lay them a little apart on buttered tins; cover the tins with a cloth, then fold around that a newspaper, so as to exclude the air, as that has a tendency to cause the crust to be hard and thick when baked. The best place in summer is to place them in the ice-box, then all you have to do in the morning (an hour before breakfast time, and while the oven is heating) is to bring them from the ice-box, take off the cloth and warm it, and place it over them again; then set the tins in a warm place near the fire. This will give them time to rise and bake when needed. If these directions are followed rightly, you will find it makes no difference with their lightness and goodness, and you can always be sure of warm raised biscuits for breakfast in one hour's time. Stale rolls may be made light and flakey by dipping for a moment in cold water, and placing immediately in a very hot oven to be made crisp and hot. SODA BISCUIT. One quart of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of salt; mix thoroughly, and rub in two tablespoonfuls of butter and wet with one pint of sweet milk. Bake in a quick oven. BAKING POWDER BISCUIT. Two pints of flour, butter the size of an egg, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one teaspoonful of salt; make a soft dough of sweet milk or water, knead as little as possible, cut out with the usual biscuit-cutter and bake in rather a quick oven. SOUR MILK BISCUIT. Rub into a quart of sifted flour a piece of butter the size of an egg, one teaspoonful of salt; stir into this a pint of sour milk, dissolve one teaspoonful of soda and stir into the milk just as you add it to the flour; knead it up quickly, roll it out nearly half an inch thick and cut out with a biscuit-cutter; bake immediately in a quick oven. Very nice biscuit may be made with sour cream without the butter by the same process. RAISED BISCUIT. Sift two quarts of flour in a mixing-pan, make a hole in the middle of the flour, pour into this one pint of warm water or new milk, one teaspoonful of salt, half a cup of melted lard or butter, stir in a little flour, then add half a cupful of yeast, after which stir in as much flour as you can conveniently with your hand, let it rise over night; in the morning add nearly a teaspoonful of soda, and more flour as is needed to make a rather soft dough; then mold fifteen to twenty minutes, the longer the better; let it rise until light again, roll this out about half an inch thick and cut out with a biscuit-cutter, or make it into little balls with your hands; cover and set in a warm place to rise. When light, bake a light brown in a moderate oven. Rub a little warm butter or sweet lard on the sides of the biscuits when you place them on the tins, to prevent their sticking together when baked. LIGHT BISCUIT. No. 1. Take a piece of bread dough that will make about as many biscuits as you wish; lay it out rather flat in a bowl; break into it two eggs, half a cup of sugar, half a cup of butter; mix this thoroughly with enough flour to keep it from sticking to the hands and board. Knead it well for about fifteen or twenty minutes, make into small biscuits, place in a greased pan, and let them rise until about even with the top of the pan. Bake in a quick oven for about half an hour. These can be made in the form of rolls, which some prefer. LIGHT BISCUIT. No. 2. When you bake take a pint of sponge, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, the white of one egg beaten to a foam. Let rise until light, mold into biscuits, and when light bake. GRAHAM BISCUITS, WITH YEAST. Take one pint of water or milk, one large tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a half cup of yeast and a pinch of salt; take enough wheat flour to use up the water, making it the consistency of batter-cakes; add the rest of the ingredients and as much Graham flour as can be stirred in with a spoon; set it away till morning; in the morning grease a pan, flour your hands, take a lump of dough the size of an egg, roll it lightly between the palms of your hands, let them rise twenty minutes, and bake in a tolerably hot oven. EGG BISCUIT. Sift together a quart of dry flour and three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Rub into this thoroughly a piece of butter the size of an egg; add two well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt. Mix all together quickly into a soft dough, with one cup of milk, or more if needed. Roll out nearly half of an inch thick. Cut into biscuits, and bake immediately in a quick oven from fifteen to twenty minutes. PARKER HOUSE ROLLS. One pint of milk, boiled and cooled, a piece of butter the size of an egg, one-half cupful of fresh yeast, one tablespoonful of sugar, one pinch of salt, and two quarts of sifted flour. Melt the butter in the warm milk, then add the sugar, salt and flour, and let it rise over night. Mix rather soft. In the morning, add to this half of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of water. Mix in enough flour to make the same stiffness as any biscuit dough; roll out not more than a quarter of an inch thick. Cut with a large round cutter; spread soft butter over the tops and fold one-half over the other by doubling it. Place them apart a little so that there will be room to rise. Cover and place them near the fire for fifteen or twenty minutes before baking. Bake in rather a quick oven. PARKER HOUSE ROLLS. (Unfermented.) These rolls are made with baking powder, and are much sooner made, although the preceding recipe is the old original one from the "Parker House." Stir into a quart of sifted flour three large teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a tablespoonful of cold butter, a teaspoonful of salt and one of sugar, and a well-beaten egg; rub all well into the flour, pour in a pint of cold milk, mix up quickly into a smooth dough, roll it out less than half an inch thick, cut with a large biscuit-cutter, spread soft butter over the top of each; fold one-half over the other by doubling it, lay them a little apart on greased tins. Set them immediately in a pretty hot oven. Rub over the tops with sweet milk before putting in the oven, to give them a glaze. FRENCH ROLLS. Three cups of sweet milk, one cup of butter and lard, mixed in equal proportions, one-half cup of good yeast, or half a cake of compressed yeast, and a teaspoonful of salt. Add flour enough to make a stiff dough. Let it rise over night; in the morning, add two well-beaten eggs; knead thoroughly and let it rise again. With the hands, make it into balls as large as an egg; then roll between the hands to make _long rolls_ (about three inches). Place close together in even rows on well-buttered pans. Cover and let them rise again, then bake in a quick oven to a delicate brown. BEATEN BISCUIT. Two quarts of sifted flour, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sweet lard, one egg; make up with half a pint of milk, or if milk is not to be had, plain water will answer; beat well until the dough blisters and cracks; pull off a two-inch square of the dough; roll it into a ball with the hand; flatten, stick with a fork, and bake in a quick oven. It is not beating hard that makes the biscuit nice, but the regularity of the motion. Beating hard, the old cooks say, _kills_ the dough. _An old-fashioned Southern Recipe._ POTATO BISCUIT. Boil six good-sized potatoes with their jackets on; take them out with a skimmer, drain and squeeze with a towel to ensure being dry; then remove the skin, mash them perfectly free from lumps, add a tablespoonful of butter, one egg and a pint of sweet milk. When cool, beat in half a cup of yeast. Put in just enough flour to make a stiff dough. When this rises, make into small cakes. Let them rise the same as biscuit and bake a delicate brown. This dough is very fine dropped into meat soups for pot-pie. VINEGAR BISCUITS. Take two quarts of flour, one large tablespoonful of lard or butter, one tablespoonful and a half of vinegar and one teaspoonful of soda; put the soda in the vinegar and stir it well; stir in the flour; beat two eggs very light and add to it; make a dough with warm water stiff enough to roll out, and cut with a biscuit-cutter one inch thick and bake in a _quick_ oven. [Illustration:] GRAFTON MILK BISCUITS. Boil and mash two white potatoes; add two teaspoonfuls of brown sugar; pour boiling water over these, enough to soften them. When tepid, add one small teacupful of yeast; when light, warm three ounces of butter in one pint of milk, a little salt, a third of a teaspoonful of soda and flour enough to make stiff sponge; when risen, work it on the board, put it back in the tray to rise again; when risen, roll into cakes and let them stand half an hour. Bake in a _quick_ oven. These biscuits are fine. SALLY LUNN. Warm one-half cupful of butter in a pint of milk; add a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, and seven cupfuls of _sifted_ flour; beat thoroughly and when the mixture is blood warm, add four beaten eggs and last of all, half a cup of good lively yeast. Beat hard until the batter breaks in blisters. Set it to rise over night. In the morning, dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda, stir it into the batter and turn it into a well-buttered, shallow dish to rise again about fifteen or twenty minutes. Bake about fifteen to twenty minutes. The cake should be torn apart, not cut; cutting with a knife makes warm bread heavy. Bake a light brown. This cake is frequently seen on Southern tables. SALLY LUNN. (Unfermented.) Rub a piece of butter as large as an egg into a quart of flour; add a tumbler of milk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of baking powder and a teaspoonful of salt. Scatter the baking powder, salt and sugar into the flour; add the eggs, the butter, melted, the milk. Stir all together and bake in well-greased round pans. Eat warm with butter. LONDON HOT-CROSS BUNS. Three cups of milk, one cup of yeast, or one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a cup of tepid water, and flour enough to make a thick batter; set this as a sponge over night. In the morning add half a cup of melted butter, one cup of sugar, half a nutmeg grated, one saltspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, and flour enough to roll out like biscuit. Knead well and set to rise for five hours. Roll the dough half an inch thick; cut in round cakes and lay in rows in a buttered baking-pan, and let the cakes stand half an hour, or until light; then put them in the oven, having first made a deep cross on each with a knife. Bake a light brown and brush over with white of egg beaten stiff with powdered sugar. RUSKS, WITH YEAST. In one large coffeecup of warm milk dissolve half a cake of compressed yeast, or three tablespoonfuls of home-made yeast; to this add three well-beaten eggs, a small cup of sugar and a teaspoonful of salt; beat these together. Use flour enough to make a smooth, light dough, let it stand until very light, then knead it in the form of biscuits; place them on buttered tins and let them rise until they are almost up to the edge of the tins; pierce the top of each one and bake in a quick oven. Glaze the top of each with sugar and milk, or the white of an egg, before baking. Some add dried currants, well-washed and dried in the oven. RUSKS. Two cups of raised dough, one of sugar, half a cup of butter, two well-beaten eggs, flour enough to make a stiff dough; set to rise, and when light mold into high biscuit and let rise again; rub damp sugar and cinnamon over the top and place in the oven. Bake about twenty minutes. RUSKS. (Unfermented.) Three cups of flour sifted, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of salt, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg grated and a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, two small cups of milk; sift together salt, flour, sugar and baking powder; rub in the butter cold; add the milk, beaten eggs and spices; mix into a soft dough, break off pieces about as large as an egg, roll them under the hands into round balls, rub the tops with sugar and water mixed, and then sprinkle dry sugar over them. Bake immediately. SCOTCH SCONES. Thoroughly mix, while dry, one quart of sifted flour, loosely measured, with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder; then rub into it a tablespoonful of cold butter and a teaspoonful of salt. Be sure that the butter is well worked in. Add sweet milk enough to make a _very_ soft paste. Roll out the paste about a quarter of an inch thick, using plenty of flour on the paste-board and rolling pin. Cut it into triangular pieces, each side about four inches long. Flour the sides and bottom of a biscuit tin, and place the pieces on it. Bake immediately in a quick oven from twenty to thirty minutes. When half done, brush over with sweet milk. Some cooks prefer to bake them on a floured griddle, and cut them a round shape the size of a saucer, then scarred across to form four quarters. CRACKNELS. Two cups of rich milk, four tablespoonfuls of butter and a gill of yeast, a teaspoonful of salt; mix warm, add flour enough to make a light dough. When light, roll thin and cut in long pieces three inches wide, prick well with a fork and bake in a slow oven. They are to be mixed rather hard and rolled very thin, like soda crackers. RAISED MUFFINS. No. 1. Make a batter of one pint of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, a tablespoonful of butter or sweet lard and a half cup of yeast; add flour enough to make it moderately thick; keep it in a warm, _not hot_, place until it is quite light, then stir in one or two well-beaten eggs, and half a teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little warm water. Let the batter stand twenty-five or thirty minutes longer to rise a little, turn into well-greased muffin-rings or gem-pans, and bake in a quick oven. To be served hot and torn open, instead of cut with a knife. RAISED MUFFINS. No. 2. Three pints of flour, three eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, two heaping teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one-half cake of compressed yeast and a quart of milk; warm the milk with the butter in it; cool a little, stir in the sugar and add a little salt; stir this gradually into the flour, then add the eggs well beaten; dissolve the yeast in half a cup of lukewarm water and add to the other ingredients; if the muffins are wanted for luncheon, mix them about eight o'clock in the morning; if for breakfast, set them at ten o'clock at night; when ready for baking, stir in half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of hot water; butter the muffin-rings or gem-irons and bake in a quick oven. EGG MUFFINS. (Fine.) One quart of flour, sifted twice; three eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, three teacups of sweet milk, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, a large tablespoonful of lard or butter and two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Sift together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder; rub in the lard cold, add the beaten eggs and milk; mix quickly into a smooth batter, a little firmer than for griddle-cakes. Grease well some muffin-pans and fill them two-thirds full. Bake in a hot oven fifteen or twenty minutes. These made of cream, omitting the butter, are excellent. PLAIN MUFFINS. One egg well beaten, a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of sugar, with a teaspoonful of salt, all beaten until very light. One cup of milk, three of sifted flour and three teaspoonfuls of baking powder. One-half Graham and one-half rye meal may be used instead of wheat flour, or two cups of corn meal and one of flour. Drop on well-greased patty-pans and bake twenty minutes in a rather quick oven, or bake on a griddle in muffin-rings. MUFFINS WITHOUT EGGS. One quart of buttermilk, a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in the milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Drop in hot gem-pans and bake in a quick oven. Two or three tablespoonfuls of sour cream will make them a little richer. TENNESSEE MUFFINS. One pint of corn meal, one pint of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, three of baking powder, one tablespoonful of lard or butter, two eggs and a pint of milk. Sift together corn meal, flour, sugar, salt and powder; rub in lard or butter cold, and eggs beaten and milk; mix into batter of consistency of cup-cake; muffin-rings to be cold and well greased, then fill two-thirds full. Bake in hot oven fifteen minutes. CORN MEAL MUFFINS. (Without Eggs.) One cup of flour, one cup of corn meal, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, water to make a thick batter, or sour milk is better; mix at night; in the morning add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and one teaspoonful of soda; bake in cake rounds. HOMINY MUFFINS. Two cups of boiled hominy; beat it smooth, stir in three cups of sour milk, half a cup of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of salt, two tablespoonfuls of sugar; add three eggs well beaten, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water, two cups of flour. Bake quickly. Rice muffins may be made in the same manner. GRAHAM GEMS. No. 1. Two cupfuls of Graham flour, one cupful of wheat flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a tablespoonful of sugar, one of salt and one well-beaten egg. Mix with sweet milk to make a thin batter; beat it well. Bake in gem-irons; have the irons well greased; fill two-thirds full and bake in a hot oven. Will bake in from fifteen to twenty minutes. GRAHAM GEMS. No. 2. Three cups of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, one of salt, one tablespoonful of brown sugar, one of melted lard or butter, one or two beaten eggs; to the egg add the milk, then the sugar and salt, then the Graham flour (with the soda mixed in), together with the lard or butter; make a stiff batter, so that it will _drop_, not pour, from the spoon. Have the gem-pans very hot, fill and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven. The same can be made of sweet milk, using three teaspoonfuls of baking powder instead of soda, and if you use sweet milk, put in no shortening. Excellent. Muffins of all kinds should only be cut just around the edge, then pulled open with the fingers. PLAIN GRAHAM GEMS. Two cupfuls of the best Graham meal, two of water, fresh and cold, or milk and water, and a little salt. Stir briskly for a minute or two. Have the gem-pan, hot and well greased, on the top of the stove while pouring in the batter. Then place in a very hot oven and bake forty minutes. It is best to check the heat a little when they are nearly done. As the best prepared gems may be spoiled if the heat is not sufficient, care and judgment must be used in order to secure this most healthful as well, as delicious bread. WAFFLES. Take a quart of flour and wet it with a little sweet milk that has been boiled and cooled, then stir in enough of the milk to form a thick batter. Add a tablespoonful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and yeast to raise it. When light add two well-beaten eggs, heat your waffle-iron, grease it well and fill it with the batter. Two or three minutes will suffice to bake on one side; then turn the iron over, and when brown on both sides the cake is done. Serve immediately. CONTINENTAL HOTEL WAFFLES. Put into one quart of sifted flour three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, all thoroughly stirred and sifted together; add a tablespoonful of melted butter, six well-beaten eggs and a pint of sweet milk; cook in waffle-irons heated and well greased. Serve hot. NEWPORT WAFFLES. Make one pint of Indian meal into mush in the usual way. While hot, put in a small lump of butter and a dessertspoonful of salt. Set the mush aside to cool. Meanwhile, beat separately till very light the whites and yolks of four eggs. Add the eggs to the mush, and cream in gradually one quart of wheaten flour. Add half a pint of buttermilk, or sour cream, in which has been dissolved half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Lastly, bring to the consistency of thin batter by the addition of sweet milk. Waffle-irons should be put on to heat an hour in advance, that they may be in the proper condition for baking as soon as the batter is ready. Have a brisk fire, butter the irons thoroughly, but with nicety, and bake quickly. Fill the irons only half full of batter, that the waffles may have room to rise. CREAM WAFFLES. One pint of sour cream, two eggs, one pint of flour, one tablespoonful of corn meal, one teaspoonful of soda, half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat the eggs separately, mix the cream with the beaten yolks, stir in the flour, corn meal and salt; add the soda dissolved in a little sweet milk, and, lastly, the whites beaten to a stiff froth. RICE WAFFLES. No. 1. One quart of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one large tablespoonful of butter, two eggs, one and a half pints of milk, one cupful of hot boiled rice. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder well together; rub the butter into the flour; beat the eggs well, separately, and add the stiff whites last of all. RICE WAFFLES. No. 2. Rub through a sieve one pint of boiled rice, add it to a tablespoonful of dry flour, two-thirds of a teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Beat separately the yolks and whites of three eggs; add to the yolks a cup and a half of milk, work it into the flour, then add an ounce of melted butter; beat the whites of eggs thoroughly; mix the whole together. Heat the waffle-iron and grease it evenly; pour the batter into the half of the iron over the range until nearly two-thirds full, cover, allow to cook a moment, then turn and brown slightly on the other side. GERMAN RICE WAFFLES. Boil a half pound of rice in milk until it becomes thoroughly soft Then remove it from the fire, stirring it constantly, and adding, a little at a time, one quart of sifted flour, five beaten eggs, two spoonfuls of yeast, a half pound of melted butter, a little salt and a teacupful of warm milk. Set the batter in a warm place, and, when risen, bake in the ordinary way. BERRY TEA-CAKES. Nice little tea-cakes to be baked in muffin-rings are made of one cup of sugar, two eggs, one and a half cups of milk, one heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, a piece of butter the size of an egg and flour sufficient to make a stiff batter. In this batter stir a pint bowl of fruit--any fresh are nice--or canned berries with the juice poured off. Serve while warm and they are a dainty addition to the tea-table. Eaten with butter. RYE DROP-CAKES. One pint of warm milk, with half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, a little salt, four eggs well beaten, and rye flour enough to make a thin batter; bake in small cups, buttered, and in a hot oven, or in small cakes upon a hot griddle. WHEAT DROP-CAKES. One pint of cream, six eggs well beaten, a little salt, and wheat flour enough to make a thin batter; bake in little cups buttered and in a hot oven fifteen minutes. POP-OVERS. Two cups of flour, two cups of sweet milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, bake in cups in a quick oven fifteen minutes. Serve hot with a sweet sauce. FLANNEL CAKES. (With Yeast.) Heat a pint of sweet milk and into it put two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, let it melt, then add a pint of cold milk and the well-beaten yolks of four eggs--placing the whites in a cool place; also, a teaspoonful of salt, four tablespoonfuls of home-made yeast and sufficient flour to make a stiff batter; set it in a warm place to rise; let it stand three hours or over night; before baking add the beaten whites; bake like any other griddle-cakes. Be sure to make the batter stiff enough, for flour must not be added after it has risen, unless it is allowed to rise again. These, half corn meal and half wheat, are very nice. FEATHER GRIDDLE-CAKES. (With Yeast.) Make a batter, at night, of a pint of water or milk, a teaspoonful of salt, and half a teacupful of yeast; in the morning, add to it one teacupful of thick, sour milk, two eggs well beaten, a level tablespoonful of melted butter, a level teaspoonful of soda and flour enough to make the consistency of pancake batter; let stand twenty minutes, then bake. This is a convenient way, when making sponge for bread over night, using some of the sponge. WHEAT GRIDDLE-CAKES. Three cups of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted together; beat three eggs and add to three cupfuls of sweet milk, also a tablespoonful of melted butter; mix all into a smooth batter, as thick as will run in a stream from the lips of a pitcher. Bake on a well-greased, hot griddle, a nice light brown. Very good. SOUR MILK GRIDDLE-CAKES. Make a batter of a quart of sour milk and as much sifted flour as is needed to thicken so that it will run from the dish; add two beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of melted butter, and a level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little milk or cold water, added last; then bake on a hot griddle, well greased, brown on both sides. CORN MEAL GRIDDLE-CAKES. (With Yeast.) Stir into one quart of boiling milk three cups of corn meal; after it cools add one cup of white flour, a teaspoonful of salt and three tablespoonfuls of home-made yeast. Mix this over night. In the morning add one tablespoonful of melted butter or lard, two beaten eggs and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water. This batter should stand a few minutes, after adding the butter and soda, that it should have time to rise a little; in the meantime the griddle could be heating. Take a small stick like a good-sized skewer, wind a bit of cloth around the end of it, fasten it by winding a piece of thread around that and tying it firm. Melt together a tablespoonful of butter and lard. Grease the griddle with this. Between each batch of cakes, wipe the griddle off with a clean paper or cloth and grease afresh. Put the cakes on by spoonfuls, or pour them carefully from a pitcher, trying to get them as near the same size as possible. As soon as they begin to bubble all over turn them, and cook on the other side till they stop puffing. The second lot always cooks better than the first, as the griddle becomes evenly heated. CORN MEAL GRIDDLE-CAKES. Scald two cups of sifted meal, mix with a cup of wheat flour and a teaspoonful of salt. Add three well-beaten eggs; thin the whole with sour milk enough to make it the right consistency. Beat the whole till very light and add a teaspoonful of baking soda dissolved in a little water. If you use sweet milk, use two large teaspoonfuls of baking powder instead of soda. GRIDDLE-CAKES. (Very Good.) One quart of Graham flour, half a pint of Indian meal, one gill of yeast, a teaspoonful of salt; mix the flour and meal, pour on enough warm water to make batter rather thicker than that for buckwheat cakes, add the yeast, and when light bake on griddle not too hot. GRAHAM GRIDDLE-CAKES. Mix together dry two cups of Graham flour, one cup wheat flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one teaspoonful of salt. Then add three eggs well beaten, one tablespoonful of lard or butter melted and three cups of sweet milk. Cook immediately on a hot griddle. BREAD GRIDDLE-CAKES. One quart of milk, boiling hot; two cups fine bread crumbs, three eggs, one tablespoonful melted butter, one-half teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm water; break the bread into the boiling milk, and let stand for ten minutes in a covered bowl, then beat to a smooth paste; add the yolks of the eggs well whipped, the butter, salt, soda, and finally the whites of the eggs previously whipped stiff, and add half of a cupful of flour. These can also be made of sour milk, soaking the bread in it over night and using a little more soda. RICE GRIDDLE-CAKES. Two cupfuls of cold boiled rice, one pint of flour, one teaspoonful sugar, one-half teaspoonful salt, one and one-half teaspoonfuls baking powder, one egg, a little more than half a pint of milk. Sift together flour, sugar, salt and powder; add rice free from lumps, diluted with beaten egg and milk; mix into smooth batter. Have griddle well heated, make cakes large, bake nicely brown, and serve with maple syrup. POTATO GRIDDLE-CAKES. Twelve large potatoes, three heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder, one-half teaspoonful salt, one or two eggs, two teacupfuls of boiling milk. The potatoes are peeled, washed and grated into a little cold water (which keeps them white), then strain off water and pour on boiling milk, stir in eggs, salt and flour, mixed with the baking powder; if agreeable, flavor with a little fine chopped onion; bake like any other pancakes, allowing a little more lard or butter. Serve with stewed or preserved fruit, especially with huckleberries. GREEN CORN GRIDDLE-CAKES. One pint of milk, two cups grated green corn, a little salt, two eggs, a teaspoonful of baking powder, flour sufficient to make a batter to fry on the griddle. Butter them hot and serve. HUCKLEBERRY GRIDDLE-CAKES. Made the same as above, leaving out one cup of milk, adding one tablespoonful of sugar and a pint of huckleberries rolled in flour. Blackberries or raspberries can be used in the same manner. FRENCH GRIDDLE-CAKES. Beat together until smooth six eggs and a pint sifted flour; melt one ounce of butter and add to the batter, with one ounce of sugar and a cup of milk; beat until smooth; put a tablespoonful at a time into a frying pan slightly greased, spreading the batter evenly over the surface by tipping the pan about; fry to a light brown; spread with jelly, roll up, dust with powdered sugar and serve hot. RAISED BUCKWHEAT CAKES. Take a small crock or large earthen pitcher, put into it a quart of warm water or half water and milk, one heaping teaspoonful of salt; then stir in as much buckwheat flour as will thicken it to rather a stiff batter; lastly, add half a cup of yeast; make it smooth, cover it up warm to rise over night; in the morning add a small, level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water; this will remove any sour taste, if any, and increase the lightness. Not a few object to eating buckwheat, as its tendency is to thicken the blood, and also to produce constipation; this can be remedied by making the batter one-third corn meal and two-thirds buckwheat, which makes the cakes equally as good. Many prefer them in this way. BUCKWHEAT CAKES WITHOUT YEAST. Two cups of buckwheat flour, one of wheat flour, a little salt, three teaspoonfuls baking powder; mix thoroughly and add about equal parts of milk and water until the batter is of the right consistency then stir until free from lumps. If they do not brown well, add a little molasses. BUCKWHEAT CAKES. Half a pint of buckwheat flour, a quarter of a pint of corn meal, a quarter of a pint of wheat flour, a little salt, two eggs beaten very light, one quart of new milk (made a little warm and mixed with the eggs before the flour is put in), one tablespoonful of butter or sweet lard, two large tablespoonfuls of yeast. Set it to rise at night for the morning. If in the least sour, stir in before baking just enough soda to correct the acidity. A very nice, but more expensive, recipe. SWEDISH GRIDDLE-CAKES. One pint of white flour, sifted; six eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately to the utmost; one saltspoonful of salt; one saltspoonful of soda dissolved in vinegar; milk to make a thin batter. Beat the yolks light, add the salt, soda, two cupfuls of milk, then the flour and beaten whites alternately; thin with more milk if necessary. CORN MEAL FRITTERS. One pint of sour milk, one teaspoonful of salt, three eggs, one tablespoonful of molasses or sugar, one handful of flour, and corn meal enough to make a stiff batter; lastly, stir in a small teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little warm water. This recipe is very nice made of rye flour. CREAM FRITTERS. One cup of cream, five eggs--the whites only, two full cups prepared flour, one saltspoonful of nutmeg, a pinch of salt. Stir the whites into the cream in turn with the flour, put in nutmeg and salt, beat all up hard for two minutes. The batter should be rather thick. Fry in plenty of hot, sweet lard, a spoonful of batter for each fritter. Drain, and serve upon a hot, clean napkin. Eat with jelly sauce. Pull, not cut, them open. Very nice. CURRANT FRITTERS. Two cupfuls dry, fine bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of prepared flour, two cups of milk, one-half pound currants, washed and well dried, five eggs whipped very light, one-half cup powdered sugar, one tablespoonful butter, one-half teaspoonful mixed cinnamon and nutmeg. Boil the milk and pour over the bread. Mix and put in the butter. Let it get cold. Beat in next the yolks and sugar, the seasoning, flour and stiff whites; finally, the currants dredged whitely with flour. The batter should be thick. Drop in great spoonfuls into the hot lard and fry. Drain them and send hot to table. Eat with a mixture of wine and powdered sugar. WHEAT FRITTERS. Three eggs, one and a half cups of milk, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, salt, and flour enough to make quite stiff, thicker than batter cakes. Drop into hot lard and fry like doughnuts. _A Good Sauce for the Above._--One cup of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of flour beaten together; half a cup boiling water; flavor with extract lemon and boil until clear. Or serve with maple syrup. APPLE FRITTERS. Make a batter in the proportion of one cup sweet milk to two cups flour, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, two eggs beaten separately, one tablespoonful of sugar and a saltspoon of salt; heat the milk a little more than milk-warm, add it slowly to the beaten yolks and sugar; then add flour and whites of the eggs; stir all together and throw in thin slices of good sour apples, dipping the batter up over them; drop into boiling hot lard in large spoonfuls with pieces of apple in each, and fry to a light brown. Serve with maple syrup, or a nice syrup made with clarified sugar. Bananas, peaches, sliced oranges and other fruits can be used in the same batter. PINEAPPLE FRITTERS. Make a batter as for apple fritters; then pare one large pineapple, cut it in slices a quarter of an inch thick, cut the slices in halves, dip them into the batter and fry them, and serve them as above. PEACH FRITTERS. Peel the peaches, split each in two and take out the stones; dust a little powdered sugar over them; dip each piece in the batter and fry in hot fat. A sauce to be served with them may be made as follows: Put an ounce of butter in a saucepan and whisk it to a cream; add four ounces of sugar gradually. Beat the yolks of two eggs; add to them a dash of nutmeg and a gill each of cold water and rum; stir this into the luke-warm batter and allow it to heat gradually. Stir constantly until of a smooth, creamy consistency, and serve. The batter is made as follows: Beat the yolks of three eggs; add to them a gill of milk, or half of a cupful, a saltspoonful of salt, four ounces of flour; mix. If old flour is used a little more milk may be found necessary. GOLDEN-BALL FRITTERS. Put into a stewpan a pint of water, a piece of butter as large as an egg and a tablespoonful of sugar. When it boils stir into it one pint of sifted flour, stirring briskly and thoroughly. Remove from the fire, and when nearly cooled beat into it six eggs, each one beaten separately and added one at a time, beating the batter between each. Drop the stiff dough into boiling lard by teaspoonfuls. Eat with syrup, or melted sugar and butter flavored. Stirring the boiling lard around and around, so that it whirls when you drop in the fritters, causes them to assume a round shape like balls. CANNELONS, OR FRIED PUFFS. Half a pound of puff paste, apricot or any kind of preserve that may be preferred, hot lard. Cannelons, which are made of puff paste rolled very thin, with jam enclosed, and cut out in long, narrow rolls or puffs, make a very pretty and elegant dish. Make some good puff paste, roll it out very thin, and cut it into pieces of an equal size, about two inches wide and eight inches long; place upon each piece a spoonful of jam, wet the edges with the white of egg and fold the paste over _twice_; slightly press the edges together, that the jam may not escape in the frying, and when all are prepared, fry them in boiling lard until of a nice brown, letting them remain by the side of the fire after they are colored, that the paste may be thoroughly done. Drain them before the fire, dish on a d'oyley, sprinkle over them sifted sugar and serve. These cannelons are very delicious made with fresh instead of preserved fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries or currants; they should be laid in the paste, plenty of pounded sugar sprinkled over and folded and fried in the same manner as stated above. GERMAN FRITTERS. Take slices of stale bread cut in rounds or stale cake; fry them in hot lard, like crullers, to a _light_ brown. Dip each slice when fried in boiling milk, to remove the grease; drain quickly, dust with powdered sugar or spread with preserves. Pile on a hot plate and serve. Sweet wine sauce poured over them is very nice. HOMINY FRITTERS. Take one pint of hot boiled hominy, two eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of flour; thin it a little with cold milk; when cold add a teaspoonful of baking powder, mix thoroughly, drop tablespoonfuls of it into hot fat and fry to a delicate brown. PARSNIP FRITTERS. Take three or four good-sized parsnips. Boil them until tender. Mash and season with a little butter, a pinch of salt and a slight sprinkling of pepper. Have ready a plate with some sifted flour on it. Drop a tablespoonful of the parsnip in the flour and roll it about until well coated and formed into a ball. When you have a sufficient number ready, drop them into boiling drippings or lard, as you would a fritter; fry a delicate brown and serve hot. Do not put them in a covered dish, for that would steam them and deprive them of their crispness, which is one of their great charms. These are also very good fried in a frying pan with a small quantity of lard and butter mixed, turning them over so as to fry both sides brown. GREEN CORN FRITTERS. One pint of grated, young and tender, green corn, three eggs, two tablespoonfuls of milk or cream, one tablespoonful of melted butter, if milk is used, a teaspoonful of salt. Beat the eggs well, add the corn by degrees, also the milk and butter; thicken with just enough flour to hold them together, adding a teaspoonful of baking powder to the flour. Have ready a kettle of hot lard, drop the corn from the spoon into the fat and fry a light brown. They are also nice fried in butter and lard mixed, the same as fried eggs. CREAM SHORT-CAKE. Sift one quart of fine white flour, rub into it three tablespoonfuls of cold butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of white sugar. Add a beaten egg to a cup of sour cream, turn it into the other ingredients, dissolve a teaspoonful of soda in a spoonful of water, mix all together, handling as little as possible; roll lightly into two round sheets, place on pie-tins and bake from twenty to twenty-five minutes in a quick oven. This crust is delicious for fruit short-cake. STRAWBERRY SHORT-CAKE. Make a rule of baking powder biscuit, with the exception of a little more shortening; divide the dough in half; lay one-half on the molding board (half the dough makes one short-cake), divide this half again, and roll each piece large enough to cover a biscuit-tin, or a large sized pie-tin; spread soft butter over the lower one and place the other on top of that; proceed with the other lump of dough the same, by cutting it in halves, and putting on another tin. Set them in the oven; when sufficiently baked take them out, separate each one by running a large knife through where the cold soft butter was spread. Then butter plentifully each crust, lay the bottom of each on earthen platters or dining-plates; cover thickly with a quart of strawberries that have been previously prepared with sugar, lay the top crusts on the fruit. If there is any juice left pour it around the cake. This makes a delicious short-cake. Peaches, raspberries, blackberries and huckleberries can be substituted for strawberries. Always send to the table with a pitcher of sweet cream. ORANGE SHORT-CAKE. Peel two large oranges, chop them fine, remove the seeds, add half a peeled lemon and one cup of sugar. Spread between the layers of short-cake while it is hot. [Illustration: ICING THE CAKES.] LEMON SHORT-CAKE. Make a rich biscuit dough, same as above recipe. While baking, take a cup and a quarter of water, a cup and a half of sugar, and two lemons, peel, juice and pulp, throwing away the tough part of the rind; boil this for some little time; then stir in three crackers rolled fine; split the short-cakes while hot, spread with butter, then with the mixture. To be eaten warm. HUCKLEBERRY SHORT-CAKE. Two cupfuls of sugar, half a cupful of butter, one pint of sweet milk, one tablespoonful of salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted into a quart of flour, or enough to form a thick batter; add a quart of the huckleberries; to be baked in a dripper; cut into squares for the table and served hot with butter. Blackberries may be used the same. FRIED DINNER-ROLLS. When making light raised bread, save out a piece of dough nearly the size of a small loaf. Roll it out on the board, spread a tablespoonful of melted butter over it. Dissolve a quarter of a teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of water and pour that also over it; work it all well into the dough, roll it out into a sheet not quite half an inch thick. Cut it in strips three inches long and one inch wide. Lay them on buttered tins, cover with a cloth and set away in a cool place until an hour before dinner time; then set them by the fire where they will become light. While they are rising, add to a frying-pan a tablespoonful of cold butter and one of lard; When it boils clear and is _hot_, lay as many of the rolls in as will fry nicely. As soon as they brown on one side turn them over and brown the other; then turn them on the edges and brown the sides. Add fresh grease as is needed. Eat them warm in place of bread. Nice with warm meat dinner. NEWPORT BREAKFAST-CAKES. Take one quart of dough from the bread at an early hour in the morning; break three eggs, separating yolks and whites, both to be whipped to a light froth; mix them into the dough and gradually add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one of sugar, one teaspoonful of soda, and enough warm milk with it until it is a batter the consistency of buckwheat cakes; beat it well and let it rise until breakfast time. Have the griddle hot and nicely greased, pour on the batter in small round cakes and bake a light brown, the same as any griddle cake. PUFF BALLS. To a piece of butter as large as an egg stirred until soft; add three well-beaten eggs, a pinch of salt and half a teacupful of sour cream. Stir well together, then add enough flour to make a very thick batter. Drop a spoonful of this into boiling water. Cook until the puffs rise to the surface. Dish them hot with melted butter turned over them. Nice accompaniment to a meat dinner as a side-dish--similar to plain macaroni. BREAKFAST PUFFS. Two cups of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of salt, one egg and flour enough to roll out like biscuit dough. Cut into narrow strips an inch wide and three inches long, fry brown in hot lard like doughnuts. Serve hot; excellent with coffee. Or fry in a spider with an ounce each of lard and butter, turning and browning all four of the sides. ENGLISH CRUMPETS. One quart of warm milk, half a cup of yeast, one teaspoonful of salt, flour enough to make a stiff batter; when light, add half a cupful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water and a very little more flour; let it stand twenty minutes or until light. Grease some muffin-rings, place them on a hot griddle and fill them half full of the batter; when done on one side turn and bake the other side. Butted them while hot; pile one on another and serve immediately. PLAIN CRUMPETS. Mix together thoroughly while dry one quart of sifted flour, loosely measured, two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder and a little salt; then add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and sweet milk enough to make a thin dough. Bake quickly in muffin-rings or patty-pans. PREPARED BREAD CRUMBS. Take pieces of stale bread, break them in small bits, put them on a baking pan and place them in a moderate oven, watching closely that they do not scorch; then take them while hot and crisp and roll them, crushing them. Sift them, using the fine crumbs for breading cutlets, fish, croquettes, etc. The coarse ones may be used for puddings, pancakes, etc. CRACKERS. Sift into a pint of flour a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, half a teaspoonful salt and the white of an egg beaten and one cup of milk; mix it with more flour, enough to make a very stiff dough, as stiff as can be rolled out; pounded and kneaded a long time. Roll very thin like pie crust and cut out either round or square. Bake a light brown. Stale crackers are made crisp and better by placing them in the oven a few moments before they are needed for the table. FRENCH CRACKERS. Six eggs, twelve tablespoonfuls of sweet milk, six tablespoonfuls of butter, half a teaspoonful of soda; mold with flour, pounding and working half an hour; roll it thin. Bake with rather quick fire. CORN MEAL MUSH OR HASTY PUDDING. Put two quarts of water into a clean dinner-pot or stewpan, cover it and let it become boiling hot over the fire; then add a tablespoonful of salt, take off the light scum from the top, have sweet, fresh yellow or white corn meal; take a handful of the meal with the left hand and a pudding-stick in the right, then with the stick, stir the water around and by degrees let fall the meal; when one handful is exhausted, refill it; continue to stir and add meal until it is as thick as you can stir easily, or until the stick will stand in it; stir it awhile longer; let the fire be gentle; when it is sufficiently cooked, which will be in half an hour, it will bubble or puff up; turn it into a deep basin. This is eaten cold or hot, with milk or with butter and syrup or sugar, or with meat and gravy, the same as potatoes or rice. FRIED MUSH. Make it like the above recipe, turn it into bread tins and when cold slice it, dip each piece in flour and fry it in lard and butter mixed in the frying pan, turning to brown well both sides. Must be served hot. GRAHAM MUSH. Sift Graham meal slowly into boiling salted water, stirring briskly until thick as can be stirred with one hand; serve with milk or cream and sugar, or butter and syrup. It will be improved by removing from the kettle to a pan, as soon as thoroughly mixed, and steaming three or four hours. It may also be eaten cold, or sliced and fried, like corn meal mush. OATMEAL. Soak one cup of oatmeal in a quart of water over night, boil half an hour in the morning, salted to taste. It is better to cook it in a dish set into a dish of boiling water. RICE CROQUETTES. Boil for thirty minutes one cup of well-washed rice in a pint of milk; whip into the hot rice the following ingredients: Two ounces of butter, two ounces of sugar, some salt, and when slightly cool add the yolks of two eggs well beaten; if too stiff pour in a little more milk; when cold, roll into small balls and dip in beaten eggs, roll in fine cracker or bread crumbs, and fry same as doughnuts. Or they may be fried in the frying pan, with a tablespoonful each of butter and lard mixed, turning and frying both sides brown. Serve very hot. HOMINY. This form of cereal is very little known and consequently little appreciated in most Northern households. "Big hominy" and "little hominy," as they are called in the South, are staple dishes there and generally take the place of oatmeal, which is apt to be too heating for the climate. The former is called "samp" here. It must be boiled for at least eight hours to be properly cooked, and may then be kept on hand for two or three days and warmed over, made into croquettes or balls, or fried in cakes. The fine hominy takes two or three hours for proper cooking, and should be cooked in a dish set into another of boiling water, and kept steadily boiling until thoroughly soft. HOMINY CROQUETTES. To a cupful of cold boiled hominy, add a teaspoonful of melted butter, and stir it well, adding by degrees a cupful of milk, till all is made into a soft, light paste; add a teaspoonful of white sugar, a pinch of salt, and one well-beaten egg. Roll it into oval balls with floured hands, dipped in beaten egg, then rolled in cracker crumbs, and fry in hot lard. The hominy is best boiled the day or morning before using. BOILED RICE. Take half or quarter of a pound of the best quality of rice; wash it in a strainer, and put it in a saucepan, with a quart of clean water and a pinch of salt; let it boil slowly till the water is all evaporated--see that it does not burn--then pour in a teacupful of new milk; stir carefully from the bottom of the saucepan, so that the upper grain may go under, but do not smash it; close the lid on your saucepan carefully down, and set it on a cooler part of the fire, where it will not boil; as soon as it has absorbed the added milk, serve it up with fresh new milk, adding fruit and sugar for those who like them. Another nice way to cook rice is to take one teacupful of rice and one quart of milk, place in a steamer, and steam from two to three hours; when nearly done, stir in a piece of butter as large as the yolk of an egg, and a pinch of salt. You can use sugar if you like. The difference in the time of cooking depends on your rice--the older the rice, the longer it takes to cook. SAMP, OR HULLED CORN. An old-fashioned way of preparing hulled corn was to put a peck of old, dry, ripe corn into a pot filled with water, and with it a bag of hardwood ashes, say a quart. After soaking a while it was boiled until the skins or hulls came off easily. The corn was then washed in cold water to get rid of the taste of potash, and then boiled until the kernels were soft. Another way was to take the lye from the leaches where potash was made, dilute it, and boil the corn in this until the skins or hulls came off. It makes a delicious dish, eaten with milk or cream. CRACKED WHEAT. Soak the wheat over night in cold water, about a quart of water to a cup of wheat; cook it as directed for oatmeal; should be thoroughly done. Eaten with sugar and cream. OAT FLAKES. This healthful oat preparation may be procured from the leading grocers and is prepared as follows: Put into a double saucepan or porcelain-lined pan a quart of boiling water, add a saltspoonful of salt, and when it is boiling add, or rather stir in gradually, three ounces of flakes. Keep stirring to prevent burning. Let it boil from fifteen to twenty minutes and serve with cream and sugar. Ordinarily oatmeal requires two hours' steady cooking to make it palatable and digestible. Wheaten grits and hominy one hour, but a half hour longer cooking will not injure them and makes them easier of digestion. Never be afraid of cooking cereals or preparations from cereals too long, no matter what the directions on the package may be. STEAMED OATMEAL. To one teacupful oatmeal add a quart of cold water, a teaspoonful of salt; put in a steamer over a kettle of cold water, gradually heat and steam an hour and a half after it begins to cook. HOMINY. Hominy is a preparation of Indian corn, broken or ground, either large or small, and is an excellent breakfast dish in winter or summer. Wash the hominy thoroughly in on 3 or two waters, then cover it with twice its depth of cold water and let it come to a boil slowly. If it be the large hominy, simmer six hours; if the small hominy, simmer two hours. When the water evaporates add hot water; when done it may be eaten with cream, or allowed to become cold and warmed up in the frying pan, using a little butter to prevent burning. TOAST. Toast should be made of stale bread, or at least of bread that has been baked a day. Cut smoothly in slices, not more than half an inch thick; if the crust is baked very hard, trim the edges and brown very evenly, but if it happens to burn, that should be scraped off. Toast that is to be served with anything turned over it, should have the slices first dipped quickly in a dish of hot water turned from the boiling tea-kettle, with a little salt thrown in. Cold biscuits cut in halves, and the under crust sliced off, then browned evenly on both sides, make equally as good toast. The following preparations of toast are almost all of them very nice dishes, served with a family breakfast. MILK TOAST. Put over the fire a quart of milk, put into it a tablespoonful of cold butter, stir a heaping teaspoonful of flour into half a gill of milk; as soon as the milk on the fire boils, stir in the flour, add a teaspoonful of salt; let all boil up once, remove from the fire, and dip in this slices of toasted bread. When all are used up, pour what is left of the scalded milk over the toast. Cover and send to the table hot. CREAM TOAST. Heat a pint of milk to boiling and add a piece of butter the size of an egg; stir a tablespoonful of flour smoothly into a cup of rich cream, and add some of the boiling milk to this; heat it gradually and prevent the flour from lumping; then stir into the boiling milk and let it cook a few moments; salt to taste. After taking from the fire stir in a beaten egg; strain the mixture on to toast lightly buttered. AMERICAN TOAST. To one egg thoroughly beaten, put one cup of sweet milk and a little salt. Slice light bread and dip into the mixture, allowing each slice to absorb some of the milk; then brown on a hot buttered griddle or thick-bottomed frying pan; spread with butter and serve hot. NUNS' TOAST. Cut four or five hard-boiled eggs into slices. Put a piece of butter half the size of an egg into a saucepan and when it begins to bubble add a finely chopped onion. Let the onion cook a little without taking color, then stir in a teaspoonful of flour. Add a cupful of milk and stir until it becomes smooth; then put in the slices of eggs and let them get hot. Pour over neatly trimmed slices of hot buttered toast. The sauce must be seasoned to taste with pepper and salt. CHEESE TOAST. No. 1. Toast thin slices of bread an even, crisp brown. Place on a warm plate, allowing one small slice to each person, and pour on enough melted cheese to cover them. Rich new cheese is best. Serve while warm. Many prefer a little prepared mustard spread over the toast before putting on the cheese. CHEESE TOAST. No. 2. Put half an ounce of butter in a frying pan; when hot add gradually four ounces of mild American cheese. Whisk it thoroughly until melted. Beat together half a pint of cream and two eggs; whisk into the cheese, add a little salt, pour over the crisp toast, and serve. The two above recipes are usually called "Welsh Rarebit." OYSTER TOAST. Select the large ones, used for frying, and first dip them in beaten egg, then in either cracker or bread crumbs and cook upon a fine wire gridiron, over a quick fire. Toast should be made ready in advance, and a rich cream sauce poured over the whole. After pouring on the sauce, finely cut celery strewn over the top adds to their delicacy. Or wash oysters in the shell and put them on hot coals, or upon the top of a hot stove, or bake them in a hot oven; open the shells with an oyster-knife, taking care to lose none of the liquor. Dip the toast into hot, salted water quickly and turn out the oyster and liquor over the toast; season with salt and pepper and a teaspoonful of melted butter over each. Oysters steamed in the shell are equally as good. MUSHROOMS ON TOAST. Peel a quart of mushrooms and cut off a little of the root end. Melt an ounce of butter in the frying pan and fry in it half a pound of raw minced steak; add two saltspoonfuls of salt, a pinch of cayenne and a gill of hot water; fry until the juices are extracted from the meat; tilt the pan and squeeze the meat with the back of the spoon until there is nothing left but dry meat, then remove it; add the mushrooms to the liquid and if there is not enough of it, add more butter; toss them about a moment and pour out on hot toast. Some add a little sherry to the dish before removing from the fire. TOMATO TOAST. Pare and stew a quart of ripe tomatoes until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and a tablespoonful of butter. When done, add one cup sweet cream and a little flour. Let it scald, but not boil; remove at once. Pour over slices of dipped toast, well buttered. EGGS ON TOAST. Various preparations of eggs can be served on toast, first dipping slices of well-toasted bread quickly in hot salted water, then turning over them scrambled, poached or creamed eggs, all found in the recipes among EGGS. BAKED EGGS ON TOAST. Toast six slices of stale bread, dip them in hot salted water and butter them lightly. After arranging them on a platter or deep plate, break enough eggs to cover them, breaking one at a time and slip over the toast so that they do not break; sprinkle over them salt and pepper and turn over all some kind of thickened gravy--either chicken or lamb, cream or a cream sauce made the same as "White Sauce;" turn this over the toast and eggs and bake in a hot oven until the eggs are set, or about five minutes. Serve at once. HAM TOAST. Take a quarter of a pound of either boiled or fried ham, chop it fine, mix it with the yolks of two eggs, well beaten, a tablespoonful of butter, and enough cream or rich milk to make it soft, a dash of pepper. Stir it over the fire until it thickens. Dip the toast for an instant in hot salted water; spread over some melted butter, then turn over the ham mixture. Serve hot. REED BIRDS ON TOAST. Remove the feathers and legs of a dozen reed birds, split them down the back, remove the entrails, and place them on a double broiler; brush a little melted butter over them and broil the inner side thoroughly first; then lightly broil the other side. Melt one quarter of a pound of butter, season it nicely with salt and pepper, dip the birds in it, and arrange them nicely on slices of toast. MINCED FOWLS ON TOAST. Remove from the bones all the meat of either cold roast or boiled fowls. Clean it from the skin, and keep covered from the air until ready for use. Boil the bones and skin with three-fourths of a pint of water until reduced quite half. Strain the gravy and let it cool. Next, having skimmed off the fat, put it into a clean saucepan with half a cup of cream, three tablespoonfuls of butter, well mixed with a tablespoonful of flour. Keep these stirred until they boil. Then put in the fowl finely minced, with three hard-boiled eggs, chopped, and sufficient salt and pepper to season. Shake the mince over the fire until just ready to serve. Dish it over hot toast and serve. HASHED BEEF ON TOAST. Chop a quantity of cold roast beef rather fine and season it well with pepper and salt. For each pint of meat add a level tablespoonful of flour. Stir well and add a small teacupful of soup-stock or water. Put the mixture into a small stewpan and, after covering it, simmer for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, toast half a dozen slices of bread nicely and at the end of the twenty minutes spread the meat upon them. Serve at once on a hot dish. In case water be used instead of soup-stock, add a tablespoonful of butter just before spreading the beef upon the toast. Any kind of cold meat may be prepared in a similar manner. _Maria Parloa_. VEAL HASH ON TOAST. Take a teacupful of boiling water in a saucepan, stir in an even teaspoonful of flour, wet in a tablespoonful of cold water, and let it boil five minutes; add one-half teaspoonful of black pepper, as much salt and two tablespoonfuls of butter, and let it keep hot, but not boil. Chop the veal fine and mix with it half as much stale bread crumbs. Put it in a pan and pour the gravy over it, then let it simmer ten minutes. Serve this on buttered toast. CODFISH ON TOAST. (Cuban Style.) Take a teacupful of freshened codfish picked up fine. Fry a sliced onion in a tablespoonful of butter; when it has turned a light brown, put in the fish with water enough to cover it; add half a can of tomatoes, or half a dozen of fresh ones. Cook all nearly an hour, seasoning with a little pepper. Serve on slices of dipped toast, hot. Very fine. Plain creamed codfish is very nice turned over dipped toast. HALIBUT ON TOAST. Put into boiling salted water one pound of fresh halibut; cook slowly for fifteen minutes, or until done; remove from the water and chop it fine; then add half a cup of melted butter and eight eggs well beaten. Season with salt and pepper. Place over the fire a thick-bottomed frying pan containing a tablespoonful of cold butter; when it begins to melt, tip the pan so as to grease the sides; then put in the fish and eggs and stir one way until the eggs are cooked, but not _too_ hard. Turn over toast dipped in hot salted water. CHICKEN HASH WITH RICE TOAST. Boil a cup of rice the night before; put it into a square, narrow bread-pan, set it in the ice-box. Next morning cut it in half inch slices, rub over each slice a little warm butter and toast them on a broiler to a delicate brown. Arrange the toast on a warm platter and turn over the whole a chicken hash made from the remains of cold fowl, the meat picked from the bones, chopped fine, put into the frying pan with butter and a little water to moisten it, adding pepper and salt. Heat hot all through. Serve immediately. APPLE TOAST. Cut six apples into quarters, take the core out, peel and cut them in slices; put in the saucepan an ounce of butter, then throw over the apples about two ounces of white powdered sugar and two tablespoonfuls of water; put the saucepan on the fire, let it stew quickly, toss them up, or stir with a spoon; a few minutes will do them. When tender cut two or three slices of bread half an inch thick; put in a frying pan two ounces of butter, put on the fire; when the butter is melted put in your bread, which fry of a nice yellowish color; when nice and crisp take them out, place them on a dish, a little white sugar over, the apples about an inch thick. Serve hot. CAKES. SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO CAKE-MAKING. Use none but the best materials, and all the ingredients should be properly prepared before commencing to mix any of them. Eggs beat up much lighter and sooner by being placed in a cold place sometime before using them; a small pinch of soda sometimes has the same effect. Flour should always be sifted before using it. Cream of tartar or baking powder should be thoroughly mixed with the flour; butter be placed where it will become moderately soft, but _not_ melted in the least, or the cake will be sodden and heavy. Sugar should be rolled and sifted; spices ground or pounded; raisins or any ether fruit looked over and prepared; currants, especially, should be nicely washed, picked, dried in a cloth and then carefully examined, that no pieces of grit or stone may be left amongst them. They should then be laid on a dish before the fire to become thoroughly dry; as, if added damp to the other ingredients, cakes will be liable to be heavy. Eggs should be well beaten, the whites and yolks separately, the yolks to a thick cream, the whites until they are a stiff froth. Always stir the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the beaten yolks, then the milk, the flavoring, then the beaten whites, and, lastly, the flour. If fruit is to be used, measure and dredge with a little sifted flour, stir in gradually and thoroughly. Pour all in well-buttered cake-pans. While the cake is baking care should be taken that no cold air enters the oven, only when necessary to see that the cake is baking properly; the oven should be an even, moderate heat, not too cold or too hot; much depends on this for success. Cake is often spoiled by being looked at too often when first put into the oven. The heat should be tested before the cake is put in, which can be done by throwing on the floor of the oven a tablespoonful of new flour. If the flour takes fire, or assumes a dark brown color, the temperature is too high and the oven must be allowed to cool; if the flour remains white after the lapse of a few seconds, the temperature is too low. When the oven is of the proper temperature the flour will slightly brown and look slightly scorched. Another good way to test the heat, is to drop a few spoonfuls of the cake batter on a small piece of buttered letter paper, and place it in the oven during the finishing of the cake, so that the piece will be baked before putting in the whole cake; if the little drop of cake batter bakes evenly without burning around the edge, it will be safe to put the whole cake in the oven. Then, again, if the oven seems too hot, fold a thick brown paper double, and lay on the bottom of the oven; then after the cake has risen, put a thick brown paper over the top, or butter well a thick white paper and lay carefully over the top. If, after the cake is put in, it seems to bake too fast, put a brown paper loosely over the top of the pan, care being taken that it does not touch the cake, and do not open the door for five minutes at least; the cake should then be quickly examined, and the door shut carefully, or the rush of cold air will cause it to fall. Setting a _small dish_ of hot water in the oven, will also prevent the cake from scorching. To ascertain when the cake is done, run a broom straw into the middle of it; if it comes out clean and smooth, the cake will do to take out. Where the recipe calls for baking powder, and you have none, you can use cream of tartar and soda in proportion to one level teaspoonful of soda, two heaping teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. When sour milk is called for in the recipe, use only soda. Cakes made with molasses burn much more easily than those made with sugar. Never stir cake after the butter and sugar is creamed, but beat it down from the bottom, up and over; this laps air into the cake batter, and produces little air cells, which cause the dough to puff and swell when it comes in contact with the heat while cooking. When making most cakes, especially sponge cake, the flour should be added by degrees, stirred very slowly and lightly, for if stirred hard and fast it will make it porous and tough. Cakes should be kept in tight tin cake-cans, or earthen jars, in a cool, dry place. Cookies, jumbles, ginger-snaps, etc., require a quick oven; if they become moist or soft by keeping, put again into the oven a few minutes. To remove a cake from a tin after it is baked, so that it will not crack, break or fall, first butter the tin well all around the sides and bottom; then cut a piece of letter paper to exactly fit the tin, butter that on both sides, placing it smoothly on the bottom and sides of the tin. When the cake is baked, let it remain in the tin until it is _cold_; then set it in the oven a minute, or just long enough to warm the tin through. Remove it from the oven; turn it upside down on your hand, tap the edge of the tin on the table and it will slip out with ease, leaving it whole. If a cake-pan is too shallow for holding the quantity of cake to be baked, for fear of its being so light as to rise above the pan, that can be remedied by thoroughly greasing a piece of thick glazed letter paper with soft butter. Place or fit it around the sides of the buttered tin, allowing it to reach an inch or more above the top. If the oven heat is moderate the butter will preserve the paper from burning. FROSTING OR ICING. In the first place, the eggs should be cold, and the platter on which they are to be beaten also cold. Allow, for the white of one egg, one small teacupful of powdered sugar. Break the eggs and throw a small handful of the sugar on them as soon as you begin beating; keep adding it at intervals until it is all used up. The eggs must _not_ be beaten until the sugar has been added in this way, which gives a smooth, tender frosting, and one that will dry much sooner than the old way. Spread with a broad knife evenly over the cake, and if it seems too thin, beat in a little more sugar. Cover the cake with two coats, the second after the first has become dry, or nearly so. If the icing gets too dry or stiff before the last coat is needed, it can be thinned sufficiently with a little water, enough to make it work smoothly. A little lemon juice, or half a teaspoonful of tartaric acid, added to the frosting while being beaten, makes it white and more frothy. The flavors mostly used are lemon, vanilla, almond, rose, chocolate and orange. If you wish to ornament with figures or flowers, make up rather more icing, keep about one-third out until that on the cake is dried; then, with a clean glass syringe, apply it in such forms as you desire and dry as before; what you keep out to ornament with may be tinted pink with cochineal, blue with indigo, yellow with saffron or the grated rind of an orange strained through a cloth, green with spinach juice and brown with chocolate, purple with cochineal and indigo. Strawberry, or currant and cranberry juices color a delicate pink. Set the cake in a cool oven with the door open to dry, or in a draught in an open window. ALMOND FROSTING. The whites of three eggs, beaten up with three cups of fine, white sugar. Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, pound them in a mortar with a little sugar, until a fine paste, then add the whites of eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. Pound a few minutes to thoroughly mix. Cover the cake with a very thick coating of this, set in a cool oven to dry, afterwards cover with a plain icing. CHOCOLATE FROSTING. The whites of four eggs, three cups of powdered sugar and nearly a cup of grated chocolate. Beat the whites a very little, they must not become white, stir in the chocolate, then put in the sugar gradually, beating to mix it well. PLAIN CHOCOLATE ICING. Put into a shallow pan four tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate, and place it where it will melt gradually, but not scorch; when melted, stir in three tablespoonfuls of milk or cream and one of water; mix all well together, and add one scant teacupful of sugar; boil about five minutes, and while hot, and when the cakes are nearly cold, spread some evenly over the surface of one of the cakes; put a second one on top, alternating the mixture and cakes; then cover top and sides, and set in a warm oven to harden. All who have tried recipe after recipe, vainly hoping to find one where the chocolate sticks to the cake and not to the fingers, will appreciate the above. In making those most palatable of cakes, "Chocolate Eclairs," the recipe just given will be found very satisfactory. TUTTI FRUTTI ICING. Mix with boiled icing one ounce each of chopped citron, candied cherries, seedless raisins, candied pineapple and blanched almonds. SUGAR ICING. To one pound of extra refined sugar add one ounce of fine white starch; pound finely together and then sift them through gauze; then beat the whites of three eggs to a froth. The secret of success is to beat the eggs long enough, and always one way; add the powdered sugar by degrees, or it will spoil the froth of the eggs. When all the sugar is stirred in continue the whipping for half an hour longer, adding more sugar if the ice is too thin. Take a little of the icing and lay it aside for ornamenting afterward. When the cake comes out of the oven, spread the sugar icing smoothly over it with a knife and dry it at once in a cool oven. For ornamenting the cake the icing may be tinged any color preferred. For pink, use a few drops of cochineal; for yellow, a pinch of saffron dissolved; for green, the juice of some chopped spinach. Whichever is chosen, let the coloring be first mixed with a little colorless spirit and then stirred into the white icing until the tint is deep enough. To ornament the cake with it, make a cone of stiff writing paper and squeeze the colored icing through it, so as to form leaves, beading or letters, as the case may be. It requires nicety and care to do it with success. BOILED FROSTING. To one pound of finest pulverized sugar add three wine-glassfuls of clear water. Let it stand until it dissolves; then boil it until it is perfectly clear and threads from the spoon. Beat well the whites of four eggs. Pour the sugar into the dish with the eggs, but do not mix them until the syrup is luke-warm; then beat all well together for one-half hour. Season to your taste with vanilla, rose-water, or lemon juice. The first coating may be put on the cake as soon as it is well mixed. Rub the cake with a little flour before you apply the icing. While the first coat is drying continue to beat the remainder; you will not have to wait long if the cake is set in a warm place near the fire. This is said to be a most excellent recipe for icing. FROSTING WITHOUT EGGS. An excellent frosting may be made without eggs or gelatine, which will keep longer and cut more easily, causing no breakage or crumbling and withal is very economical. Take one cup of granulated sugar; dampen it with one-fourth of a cup of milk, or five tablespoonfuls; place it on the fire in a suitable dish and stir it until it boils; then let it boil for five minutes without stirring; remove it from the fire and set the dish in another of cold water; add flavoring. While it is cooling, stir or beat it constantly and it will become a thick, creamy frosting. GELATINE FROSTING. Soak one teaspoonful of gelatine in one tablespoonful of cold water half an hour, dissolve in two tablespoonfuls of hot water; add one cup of powdered sugar and stir until smooth. GOLDEN FROSTING. A very delicious and handsome frosting can be made by using the yolks of eggs instead of the whites. Proceed exactly as for ordinary frosting. It will harden just as nicely as that does. This is particularly good for orange cake, harmonizing with the color of the cake in a way to please those who love rich coloring. FILLINGS FOR LAYER CAKES. No. 1. CREAM FILLING. Cream filling is made with one pint of new milk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour (or half cup of cornstarch), one cup of sugar. Put two-thirds of the milk on the stove to boil, stir the sugar, flour and eggs in what is left. When the milk boils, put into it the whole and cook it until it is as thick as custard; when cool, add vanilla extract. This custard is nice with a cup of hickory nuts, kernels chopped fine and stirred into it. Spread between the layers of cake. This custard can be made of the yolks of the eggs only, saving the whites for the cake part. No. 2. ANOTHER CREAM FILLING. One cup powdered sugar, one-fourth cup hot water. Let them simmer. Beat white of an egg and mix with the above; when cold, add one-half cup chopped raisins, one-half cup chopped walnuts, one tablespoonful of grated cocoanut. No. 3. ICE-CREAM FILLING. Make an icing as follows: Three cups of sugar, one of water; boil to a thick, clear syrup, or until it begins to be brittle; pour this, boiling hot, over the _well-beaten_ whites of three eggs; stir the mixture very briskly, and pour the sugar in slowly; beat it, when all in, until cool. Flavor with lemon or vanilla extract. This, spread between any white cake layers, answers for "Ice-Cream Cake." No. 4. APPLE FILLING. Peel and slice green tart apples, put them on the fire with sugar to suit; when tender, remove, rub them through a fine sieve and add a small piece of butter. When cold, use to spread between the layers; cover the cake with plenty of sugar. No. 5. ANOTHER APPLE FILLING. One coffeecup of sugar, one egg, three large apples grated, one lemon grated, juice and outside of the rind; beat together and cook till quite thick. To be cooled before putting on the cake. Spread between layers of cake. No. 6. CREAM FROSTING. A cup of sweet thick cream whipped, sweetened and flavored with vanilla; cut a loaf of cake in two, spread the frosting between and on the top; this tastes like Charlotte Russe. No. 7. PEACH-CREAM FILLING. Cut peaches into thin slices, or chop them and prepare cream by whipping and sweetening. Put a layer of peaches between the layers of cake and pour cream over each layer and over the top. Bananas, strawberries or other fruits may be used in the same way, mashing strawberries and stewing thick with powdered sugar. No. 8. CHOCOLATE CREAM FOR FILLING. Five tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, enough cream or milk to wet it, one cupful of sugar, one egg, one teaspoonful vanilla flavoring. Stir the ingredients over the fire until thoroughly mixed, having beaten the egg well before adding it; then add the vanilla flavoring after it is removed from the fire. No. 9. ANOTHER CHOCOLATE FILLING. The whites of three eggs beaten stiff, one cup of sugar and one cup of grated chocolate, put between the layers and on top. No. 10. BANANA FILLING. Make an icing of the whites of two eggs and one cup and a half of powdered sugar. Spread this on the layers, and then cover thickly and entirely with bananas sliced thin or chopped fine. This cake may be flavored with vanilla. The top should be simply frosted. No. 11. LEMON JELLY FILLING. Grate the yellow from the rind of two lemons and squeeze out the juice; two cupfuls of sugar, the yolks and whites of two eggs beaten separately. Mix the sugar and yolks, then add the whites and then the lemons. Now pour on a cupful of boiling water; stir into this two tablespoonfuls of sifted flour, rubbed smooth in half a cup of water; then add a tablespoonful of melted butter; cook until it thickens. When cold, spread between the layers of cake. Oranges can be used in place of lemons. Another filling of lemon (without cooking) is made of the grated rind and juice of two lemons and the whites of two eggs beaten with one cup of sugar. No. 12. ORANGE CAKE FILLING. Peel two large oranges, remove the seeds, chop them fine, add half a peeled lemon, one cup of sugar and the well-beaten white of an egg. Spread between the layers of "Silver Cake" recipe. No. 13. FIG FILLING. Take a pound of figs, chop fine, and put into a stewpan on the stove; pour over them a teacupful of water and add a half cup of sugar. Cook all together until soft and smooth. When cold spread between layers of cake. No. 14. FRUIT FILLING. Four tablespoonfuls of _very finely_ chopped citron, four tablespoonfuls of finely chopped seeded raisins, half a cupful of blanched almonds chopped fine, also a quarter of a pound of finely chopped figs. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, adding half of a cupful of sugar; then mix thoroughly into this the whole of the chopped ingredients. Put it between the layers of cake when the cake is _hot_, so that it will cook the egg a little. This will be found delicious. BREAD OR RAISED CAKE. Two cupfuls of raised dough; beat into it two-thirds of a cup of butter and two cups of sugar creamed together, three eggs, well beaten, one even teaspoonful of soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of milk, half a nutmeg grated, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful of cloves, one cup of raisins. Mix all well together, put in the beaten whites of eggs and raisins last; beat all hard for several minutes; put in buttered pans and let it stand half an hour to rise again before baking. Bake in a _moderate_ oven. Half a glass of brandy is an improvement, if you have it convenient. FRUIT CAKE. (Superior.) Three pounds dry flour, one pound sweet butter, one pound sugar, three pounds stoned raisins, two pounds currants, three-quarters of a pound sweet almonds blanched, one pound citron, twelve eggs, one tablespoonful allspice, one teaspoonful cloves, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, two nutmegs, one wine-glass of wine, one wine-glass of brandy, one coffeecupful molasses with the spices in it; steep this gently twenty or thirty minutes, not boiling hot; beat the eggs very lightly; put the fruit in last, stirring it gradually, also a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of water; the fruit should be well floured; if necessary add flour after the fruit is in; butter a sheet of paper and lay it in the pan. Lay in some slices of citron, then a layer of the mixture, then of citron again, etc., till the pan is nearly full. Bake three or four hours, according to the thickness of the loaves, in a tolerably hot oven, and with steady heat. Let it cool in the oven gradually. Ice when cold. It improves this cake very much to add three teaspoonfuls of baking powder to the flour. A fine wedding cake recipe. FRUIT CAKE BY MEASURE, (Excellent.) Two scant teacupfuls of butter, three cupfuls of dark brown sugar, six eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, one pound of raisins, seeded, one of currants, washed and dried, and half a pound of citron cut in thin strips; also half a cupful of cooking molasses and half a cupful of sour milk. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, add to that half a grated nutmeg, ope tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of mace, add the molasses and sour milk. Stir all well; then put in the beaten yolks of eggs, a wine-glass of brandy; stir again all thoroughly, and then add four cupfuls of sifted flour alternately with the beaten whites of eggs. Now dissolve a level teaspoonful of soda and stir in thoroughly. Mix the fruit together and stir into it two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour; then stir it in the cake. Butter two common-sized baking tins carefully, line them with letter paper well buttered, and bake in a moderate oven two hours. After it is baked, let it cool in the pan. Afterward put it into a tight can, or let it remain in the pans and cover tightly. Best recipe of all. _Mrs. S. A. Camp, Grand Rapids, Mich._ WHITE FRUIT CAKE. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, two and one-half cups of flour, the whites of seven eggs, two even teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one pound each of seeded raisins, figs and blanched almonds, and one quarter of a pound of citron, all chopped fine. Mix all thoroughly before adding the fruit; add a teaspoonful of lemon extract. Put baking powder in the flour and mix it well before adding it to the other ingredients. Sift a little flour over the fruit before stirring it in. Bake slowly two hours and try with a splint to see when it is done. A cup of grated cocoanut is a nice addition to this cake. MOLASSES FRUIT CAKE. One teacupful of butter, one teacupful of brown sugar, worked well together; next, two teacupfuls of cooking molasses, one cupful of milk with a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, one tablespoonful of ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon and one teaspoonful of cloves, a little grated nutmeg. Now add four eggs well beaten and five cups of sifted flour, or enough to make a stiff batter. Flour a cup of raisins and one of currants; add last. Bake in a very _moderate_ oven one hour. If well covered will keep six months. SPONGE CAKE. SEPARATE the whites and yolks of six eggs. Beat the yolks to a cream, to which add two teacupfuls of powdered sugar, beating again from five to ten minutes, then add two tablespoonfuls of milk or water, a pinch of salt and flavoring. Now add part of the beaten whites; then two cups of flour in which you have sifted two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; mix gradually into the above ingredients, stirring slowly and lightly, only enough to mix them well; lastly add the remainder of the whites of the eggs. Line the tins with buttered paper and fill two-thirds full. WHITE SPONGE CAKE. Whites of five eggs, one cup of flour, one cup sugar, one teaspoonful baking powder; flavor with vanilla. Bake in a quick oven. ALMOND SPONGE CAKE. The addition of almonds makes this cake very superior to the usual sponge cake. Sift one pint of fine flour; blanch in scalding water two ounces of sweet and two ounces of bitter almonds, renewing the hot water when expedient; when the skins are all off wash the almonds in cold water (mixing the sweet and bitter) and wipe them dry; pound them to a fine, smooth paste (one at a time), adding, as you proceed, water or white of egg to prevent their boiling. Set them in a cool place; beat ten eggs, the whites and yolks separately, till very smooth and thick, and then beat into them gradually two cups powdered sugar in turn with the pounded almonds; lastly, add the flour, stirring it round slowly and lightly on the surface of the mixture, as in common sponge cake; have ready buttered a _deep_ square pan; put the mixture carefully into it, set into the oven and bake till thoroughly done and risen very high; when cool, cover it with plain white icing flavored with rose-water, or with almond icing. With sweet almonds always use a small portion of bitter; without them, _sweet_ almonds have little or no taste, though they add to the richness of the cake. Use two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder in the flour. OLD-FASHIONED SPONGE CAKE. Two cups of sifted white sugar, two cups of flour measured before sifting, ten eggs. Stir the yolks and sugar together until perfectly light; add a pinch of salt; beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth and add them with the flour, after beating together lightly; flavor with lemon. Bake in a _moderate_ oven about forty-five minutes. Baking powder is an improvement to this cake, using two large teaspoonfuls. LEMON SPONGE CAKE. Into one level cup of flour put a level teaspoonful of baking powder and sift it. Grate off the yellow rind of a lemon. Separate the whites from the yolks of four eggs. Measure a scant cup of white granulated sugar and beat it to a cream with the yolks, then add the grated rind and a tablespoonful of the juice of the lemon. Stir together until thick and creamy; now beat the whites to a stiff froth; then quickly and lightly mix _without beating_ a third of the flour with the yolks; then a third of the whites; then more flour and whites until all are used. The mode of mixing must be very light, rather cutting down through the cake batter than to beating it; beating the eggs makes them light, but beating the batter makes the cake tough. Bake immediately until a straw run into it can be withdrawn clean. This recipe is especially nice for Charlotte Russe, being so light and porous. PLAIN SPONGE CAKE. Beat the yolks of four eggs together with two cups of fine powdered sugar. Stir in gradually one cup of sifted flour and the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, then a cup of sifted flour in which two teaspoonfuls of baking powder have been stirred, and, lastly, a scant teacupful of boiling water, stirred in a little at a time. Flavor, add salt and, however thin the mixture may seem, do not add any more flour. Bake in shallow tins. BRIDE'S CAKE. Cream together one scant cup of butter and three cups of sugar; add one cup of milk, then the beaten whites of twelve eggs; sift three teaspoonfuls of baking powder into one cup of cornstarch mixed with three cups of sifted flour and beat in gradually with the rest; flavor to taste. Beat all thoroughly, then put in buttered tins lined with letter paper well buttered; bake slowly in a _moderate_ oven. A beautiful white cake. Ice the top. Double the recipe if more is required. ENGLISH POUND CAKE. One pound of butter, one and one-quarter pounds of flour, one pound of pounded loaf sugar, one pound of currants, nine eggs, two ounces of candied peel, one-half ounce of citron, one-half ounce of sweet almonds; when liked, a little pounded mace. Work the butter to a cream; add the sugar, then the well-beaten yolks of eggs, next the flour, currants, candied peel, which should be cut into neat slices, and the almonds, which should be blanched and chopped, and mix all these well together; whisk the whites of eggs and let them be thoroughly blended with the other ingredients. Beat the cake well for twenty minutes and put it into a round tin, lined at the bottom and sides with strips of white buttered paper. Bake it from two hours to two and a half, and let the oven be well heated when the cake is first put in, as, if this is not the case, the currants will all sink to the bottom of it. A glass of wine is usually added to the mixture, but this is scarcely necessary, as the cake will be found quite rich enough without it. PLAIN POUND CAKE. This is the old-fashioned recipe that our mothers used to make, and it can be kept for weeks in an earthen jar, closely covered, first dipping letter paper in brandy and placing over the top of the cake before covering the jar. Beat to a cream one pound of butter with one pound of sugar, after mixing well with the beaten yolks of twelve eggs, one grated nutmeg, one glass of wine, one glass of rose-water. Then stir in one pound of sifted flour and the well-beaten whites of the eggs. Bake a nice light brown. COCOANUT POUND CAKE. One-half cupful of butter, two cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of milk, and five eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; one teaspoonful of soda and two of cream of tartar, stirred into four cups of sifted flour. Beat the butter and sugar until very light; to which add the beaten yolks, then the milk, the beaten whites of eggs, then the flour by degrees. After beating all well together, add a small cocoanut grated. Line the cake-pans with paper well buttered, fill rather more than half full and bake in a _moderate_ oven. Spread over the top a thin frosting, sprinkled thickly with grated cocoanut. CITRON POUND CAKE. Stir two cups of butter to a cream, then beat in the following ingredients each one in succession: one pint of powdered sugar, one quart of flour, a teaspoonful of salt; eight eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately, and a wine-glass of brandy; then last of all add a quarter of a pound of citron cut into thin slices and floured. Line two cake pans with buttered paper and turn the cake batter in. Bake in a _moderate_ oven about three-quarters of an hour. CITRON CAKE. Three cups of white sugar and one cup of butter creamed together; one cup of sweet milk, six eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, one teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon extract, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, sifted with four cups and a half of flour. One cup and a half of citron, sliced thin and dredged with flour. Divide into two cakes and bake in tins lined with buttered letter paper. LEMON CAKE. Three teacupfuls of sugar, one cupful of butter, five eggs, a level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a cup of sweet milk, four full cups of sifted flour and lastly the grated peel and juice of a lemon, the juice to be added the very last. Bake in two shallow tins. When cold ice with lemon icing and cut into squares. DELICATE CAKE. One cup of cornstarch, one of butter, two of sugar, one of sweet milk, two of flour, the whites of seven eggs; rub butter and sugar to a cream; mix one teaspoonful cream of tartar with the flour and cornstarch; one-half teaspoonful soda with the sweet milk; add the milk and soda to the sugar and butter, then add flour, then the whites of eggs; flavor to taste. Never fails to be good. SILVER, OR DELICATE CAKE. Whites of six eggs, one cupful of sweet milk, two cupfuls of sugar, four cupfuls of sifted flour, two-thirds of a cup of butter, flavoring and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream, then add the milk and flavoring, part of the flour, the beaten whites of eggs, then the rest of the flour. Bake carefully in tins lined with buttered white paper. When using the whites of eggs for nice cakes, the yolks need not be wasted; keep them in a cool place and scramble them. Serve on toast or with chipped beef. GOLD CAKE. After beating to a cream one cup and a half of butter and two cups of white sugar, stir in the well-whipped yolks of one dozen eggs, four cupfuls of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder. Flavor with lemon. Line the bake-pans with buttered paper and bake in a moderate oven for one hour. GOLD OR LEMON CAKE. Two cups of sugar, half a cup of butter, the yolks of six eggs and one whole one, the grated rind and juice of a lemon or orange, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in half a cup of sweet milk, four cups of sifted flour, sifted twice; cream the butter and sugar, then add the beaten yolks and the flour, beating hard for several minutes. Lastly, add the lemon or orange and bake, frosting if liked. This makes a more suitable _lemon_ cake than if made with the white parts of eggs added. SNOW CAKE. (Delicious.) One pound of arrowroot, quarter of a pound of pounded white sugar, half a pound of butter, the whites of six eggs, flavoring to taste of essence of almonds, or vanilla, or lemon; beat the butter to a cream; stir in the sugar and arrowroot gradually, at the same time beating the mixture; whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; add them to the other ingredients and beat well for twenty minutes; put in which-ever of the above flavorings may be preferred; pour the cake into a buttered mold or tin and bake it in a _moderate_ oven from one to one and a half hours. _This is a genuine Scotch recipe_. MARBLE CAKE. _White Part._--Whites of four eggs, one cup of white sugar, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon and two and a half cups of sifted flour. _Dark Part._--Yolks of four eggs, one cup of brown sugar, half a cup of cooking molasses, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of mace, one nutmeg grated, one teaspoonful of soda, the soda to be dissolved in a little milk and added after part of the flour is stirred in, one and a half cups of sifted flour. Drop a spoonful of each kind in a well-buttered cake-dish, first the light part, then the dark, alternately. Try to drop it so that the cake shall be well-streaked through, so that it has the appearance of marble. SUPERIOR LOAF CAKE. Two cups of butter, three cups of sugar, two small cups of milk, seven cups of sifted flour; four eggs, the whites and yolks separately beaten; one teacupful of seeded raisins, one teacupful of well-washed and dried currants, one teacupful of sliced citron, one tablespoonful of powdered cinnamon, one teaspoonful of mace, one teaspoonful of soda and one teacupful of home-made yeast. Take part of the butter and warm it with the milk; stir in part of the flour and the yeast and let it rise; then add the other ingredients with a wine-glass of wine or brandy. Turn all into well-buttered cake-tins and let rise again. Bake slowly in a _moderate_ oven for two hours. FRENCH CHOCOLATE CAKE. The whites of seven eggs, two cups of sugar, two-thirds of a cup of butter, one cup of milk and three of flour and three teaspoonfuls of baking powder. The chocolate part of the cake is made just the same, only use the yolks of the eggs with a cup of grated chocolate stirred into it. Bake it in layers--the layers being light and dark; then spread a custard between them, which is made with two eggs, one pint of milk, one-half cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of flour or cornstarch; when cool flavor with vanilla, two teaspoonfuls. Fine. CHOCOLATE CAKE. No. 1. One cup of butter and two cups of sugar stirred to a cream, with the yolks of five eggs added after they have been well beaten. Then stir into that one cup of milk, beat the whites of two pf the eggs to a stiff froth and add that also; now put in three cups and a half of sifted flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder having been stirred into it. Bake in jelly-cake tins. _Mixture for Filling._--Take the remaining three whites of the eggs beaten _very_ stiff, two cupfuls of sugar boiled to almost candy or until it becomes stringy or almost brittle; take it hot from the fire and pour it very slowly on the beaten whites of egg, beating quite fast; add one-half cake of grated chocolate, a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Stir it all until cool, then spread between each cake and over the top and sides. This, when well made, is the _premium_ cake of its kind. CHOCOLATE CAKE. No. 2. One-half cup butter, two cups sugar, three-quarters of a cup sweet milk, two and one-half cups flour, whites of eight eggs, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful soda; bake in shallow pans. _For the Frosting._--Take the whites of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of grated chocolate (confectioners') to one egg; put the cake together with the frosting, then frost the top of the cake with the same. CHOCOLATE CAKE. No. 3. Two cups sugar, one cup butter, yolks of five eggs and whites of two and one cup milk. Thoroughly mix two teaspoonfuls baking powder with three and one-half cups flour while dry; then mix all together. Bake in jelly tins. _Mixture for Filling._--Whites of three eggs, one and one-half cups of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, one teaspoonful of vanilla. Beat together and spread between the layers and on top of the cake. COCOANUT CAKE. Cream together three-quarters of a cup of butter and two of white sugar; then add one cup of sweet milk, four eggs, whites and yolks separately beaten, the yolks added first to the butter and sugar, then the whites; flavor with lemon or vanilla; mix three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder in three cups of sifted flour and add last; bake in jelly pans. _For Filling._--Make an icing by beating the whites of three eggs and a cup of powdered sugar to a stiff froth. When the cake is cooled, spread a thick layer of this frosting over each cake, and sprinkle very thickly with grated cocoanut. COCOANUT AND ALMOND CAKE. Two and one-half cups powdered sugar, one cup butter, four full cups prepared flour, whites of seven eggs whisked stiff, one small cup of milk, with a mere pinch of soda, one grated cocoanut, one-half teaspoonful nutmeg, the juice and half the grated peel of one lemon; cream butter and sugar; stir in lemon and nutmeg; mix well; add the milk and whites and flour alternately. Lastly, stir in the grated cocoanut swiftly and lightly. Bake in four jelly-cake tins. _Filling._--One pound sweet almonds, whites of four eggs whisked stiff, one heaping cup powdered sugar, two teaspoonfuls rose-water. Blanch the almonds. Let them get cold and dry; then pound in a Wedgewood mortar, adding rose-water as you go. Save about two dozen to shred for the top. Stir the paste into the icing after it is made; spread between the cooled cakes; make that for the top a trifle thicker and lay it on heavily. When it has stiffened somewhat, stick the shred almonds closely over it. Set in the oven to harden, but do not let it scorch. COFFEE CAKE. One cup of brown sugar, one cup of butter, two eggs, one-half cup of molasses, one cup of strong, cold coffee, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves, one cup of raisins or currants and five cups of sifted flour. Add the fruit last, rubbed in a little of the flour. Bake about one hour. FEATHER CAKE. One egg, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of cold butter, half a cup of milk, one and one-half cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda. A nice plain cake--to be eaten while it is fresh. A spoonful of dried apple sauce or of peach sauce, a spoonful of jelly, the same of lemon extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and spice--ground--or half a cupful of raisins might be added for a change. ELECTION CAKE. Three cups milk, two cups sugar, one cup yeast; stir to a batter and let stand over night; in the morning add two cups sugar, two cups butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg, one tablespoonful cinnamon, one pound raisins, a gill of brandy. Brown sugar is much better than white for this kind of cake, and it is improved by dissolving a half-teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of milk in the morning. It should stand in the greased pans and rise some time until quite light before baking. CREAM CAKE. Four eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, two teacups of sugar, one cup of sweet cream, two heaping cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, mix two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar in the flour before sifting. Add the whites the last thing before the flour and stir that in gently without beating. GOLDEN CREAM CAKE. Yolks of eight eggs beaten to the lightest possible cream, two cupfuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted well with flour. Bake in three jelly-cake pans. Make an icing of the whites of three eggs and one pound of sugar. Spread it between the cakes and sprinkle grated cocoanut thickly over each layer. It is delicious when properly made. DRIED APPLE FRUIT CAKE. Soak three cupfuls of dried apples over night in cold water enough to swell them; chop them in the morning and put them on the fire with three cups of molasses; stew until almost soft; add a cupful of nice raisins (seedless, if possible) and stew a few moments; when cold, add three cupfuls of flour, one cupful of butter, three eggs and a teaspoonful of soda; bake in a steady oven. This will make two good-sized panfuls of splendid cake; the apples will cook like citron and taste deliciously. Raisins may be omitted; also spices to taste may be added. This is not a dear but a delicious cake. CAKE WITHOUT EGGS. Beat together one teacupful of butter and three teacupfuls of sugar, and when quite light stir in one pint of sifted flour. Add to this one pound of raisins seeded and chopped, then mixed with a cup of sifted flour one-teaspoonful of nutmeg, one teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon and lastly one pint of thick sour cream or milk in which a teaspoonful of soda is dissolved. Bake immediately in buttered tins one hour in a _moderate_ oven. WHITE MOUNTAIN CAKE No. 1. Two cups of sugar, two-thirds cup of butter, the whites of seven eggs well beaten, two-thirds cup of sweet milk, two cups of flour, one cup of cornstarch, two teaspoonfuls baking powder. Bake in jelly-cake tins. _Frosting._--Whites of three eggs and some sugar beaten together not quite as stiff as usual for frosting; spread over the cake, add some grated cocoanut, then put your cakes together; put cocoanut and frosting on top. WHITE MOUNTAIN CAKE. No. 2. Cream three cupfuls of sugar and one of butter, making it very light, then add a cupful of milk. Beat the whites of eight eggs very stiff, add half of those to the other ingredients. Mix well into four cups of sifted flour one tablespoonful of baking powder; stir this into the cake, add flavoring, then the remaining beaten whites of egg. Bake in layers like jelly cake. Make an icing for the filling, using the whites of four eggs beaten to a very stiff froth, with two cups of fine white sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Spread each layer of the cake thickly with this icing, place one on another, then ice all over the top and sides. The yolks left from this cake may be used to make a spice cake from the recipe of "Golden Spice Cake." QUEEN'S CAKE. Beat well together one cupful of butter and three cupfuls of white sugar, add the yolks of six eggs and one cupful of milk, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla or lemon extract. Mix all thoroughly. To four cupfuls of flour add two heaping teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar and sift gently over the cake stirring all the time. To this add one even teaspoonful of soda dissolved in one tablespoonful of warm water. Mix it well. Stir in gently the whites of six eggs beaten to a stiff foam. Bake slowly. It should be put in the oven as soon as possible after putting in the soda and whites of eggs. This is the same recipe as the one for "Citron Cake," only omitting the citron. ANGEL CAKE. Put into one tumbler of flour one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, then sift it five times. Sift also one glass and a half of white powdered sugar. Beat to a stiff froth the whites of eleven eggs; stir the sugar into the eggs by degrees, very lightly and carefully, adding three teaspoonfuls of vanilla extract. After this add the flour, stirring quickly and lightly. Pour it into a clean, bright tin cake-dish, which should _not_ be buttered or lined. Bake at once in a moderate oven about forty minutes, testing it with a broom splint. When done let it remain in the cake-tin, turning it upside down, with the sides resting on the tops of two saucers so that a current of air will pass under and over it. This is the best recipe found after trying several. A perfection cake. WASHINGTON LOAF CAKE. Three cups of sugar, two scant cups of butter, one cup of sour milk, five eggs and one teaspoonful of soda, three tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, half a nutmeg grated and two cups of raisins, one of currants and four cups of sifted flour. Mix as usual and stir the fruit in at the last, dredged in flour. Line the cake-pans with paper well buttered. This cake will take longer to bake than plain; the heat of the oven must be kept at an even temperature. [Illustration: MAKING THE PIES.] RIBBON CAKE. This cake is made from the same recipe as marble cake, only make double the quantity of the white part, and divide it in one-half; put into it a very little cochineal. It will be a delicate pink. Bake in jelly-cake tins and lay first the white, then the dark, then the pink one on top of the others; put together with frosting between. It makes quite a fancy cake. Frost the top when cool. GOLDEN SPICE CAKE. This cake can be made to advantage when you have the yolks of eggs left, after having used the whites in making white cake. Take the yolks of seven eggs and one whole egg, two cupfuls of brown sugar, one cupful of molasses, one cupful of butter, one large coffeecupful of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda (just even full) and five cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, one nutmeg and a small pinch of cayenne pepper; beat eggs, sugar and butter to a light batter before putting in the molasses, then add the molasses, flour and milk; beat it well together and bake in a _moderate_ oven; if fruit is used, take two cupfuls of raisins, flour them well and put them in last. ALMOND CAKE. One-half cupful butter, two cupfuls sugar, four eggs, one-half cupful almonds, blanched--by pouring water on them until skins easily slip off--and cut in fine shreds, one-half teaspoonful extract bitter almonds, one pint flour, one and one-half teaspoonful baking powder, one glass brandy, one-half cupful milk. Rub butter and sugar to a smooth white cream; add eggs, one at a time, beating three or four minutes between each. Sift flour and powder together, add to the butter, etc., with almonds, extract of bitter almonds, brandy and milk; mix into a smooth, medium batter; bake carefully in a rather hot oven twenty minutes. ROCHESTER JELLY CAKE. One and one-half cups sugar, two eggs, one-half cup butter, three-fourths cup milk, two heaping cups flour with one teaspoonful cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in the milk. Put half the above mixture in a small shallow tin, and to the remainder add one teaspoonful molasses, one-half cup raisins (chopped) or currants, one-half teaspoonful cinnamon, cloves, allspice, a little nutmeg and one tablespoonful flour. Bake this in same kind of tins. Put the sheets of cake together, while warm, with jelly between. FRUIT LAYER CAKE. This is a delicious novelty in cake-making. Take one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cup and a half of flour, half a cup of wine, one cup of raisins, two eggs and half a teaspoonful of soda; put these ingredients together with care; just as if it were a very rich cake; bake it in three layers and put frosting between--the frosting to be made of the whites of two eggs with enough powdered sugar to make it thick. The top of the cake may be frosted if you choose. WHIPPED CREAM CAKE. One cup of sugar and two tablespoonfuls of soft butter stirred together; add the yolks of two eggs well beaten, then add four tablespoonfuls of milk, some flavoring, then the beaten whites of the eggs. Mix a teaspoonful of cream of tartar and half a teaspoon of soda in a cup of flour, sift it into the cake batter and stir lightly. Bake in a small whipping-pan. When the cake is cool, have ready half of a pint of sweet cream sweetened and whipped to a stiff froth, also flavored. Spread it over the cake while fresh. To whip the cream easily, set it on ice before whipping. ROLLED JELLY CAKE. Three eggs, one teacup of fine sugar, one teacup of flour; beat the yolks until light, then add the sugar, then add two tablespoonfuls of water, a pinch of salt; lastly stir in the flour, in which there should be a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. The flour added gradually. Bake in long, shallow biscuit-tins, well greased. Turn out on a damp towel on a bread-board, cover the top with jelly, and roll up while warm. TO CUT LAYER CAKE. When cutting Layer Cakes, it is better to first make a round hole in the cake with a knife or tin tube about an inch and a quarter in diameter. This prevents the edge of the cake from crumbling when cutting it. When making custard filling for Layer Cake always set the dish containing the custard in another dish of boiling water over the fire; this prevents its burning, which would destroy its flavor. LAYER JELLY CAKE. Almost any soft cake recipe can be used for jelly cake. The following is excellent: One cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, three eggs, half a cup of sweet milk, two cups of flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, flavoring. For white, delicate cake the rule for "Silver Cake" is fine; care should be taken, however, that the oven is just right for this cake, as it browns very easily. To be baked in jelly-cake tins in layers, with filling put between when done. CUSTARD OR CREAM CAKE. Cream together two cups of sugar and half a cup of butter; add half a cup of sweet milk in which is dissolved half a teaspoonful of soda. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth and add to the mixture. Have one heaping teaspoonful of cream of tartar stirred thoroughly into three cups of sifted flour and add quickly. Bake in a moderate oven in layers like jelly cake, and, when done, spread custard between. _For the Custard._--Take two cups of sweet milk, put it into a clean suitable dish, set it in a dish of _boiling_ water on the range or stove. When the milk comes to a boil add two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch or flour stirred into half a cup of sugar, adding the yolks of four eggs and a little cold milk. Stir this into the boiling milk and when cooked thick enough set aside to cool; afterwards add the flavoring, either vanilla or lemon. It is best to make the custard first, before making the cake part. HICKORY NUT OR WALNUT CAKE. Two cups of fine white sugar creamed with half a cup of butter, three eggs, two-thirds of a cup of sweet milk, three cups of sifted flour, one heaping teaspoonful of baking powder sifted through the flour; a tablespoonful (level) of powdered mace, a coffeecup of hickory nut or walnut meats chopped a little. Fill the cake-pans with a layer of the cake, then a layer of raisins upon that, then strew over these a handful of nuts, and so on until the pan is two-thirds full. Line the tins with well-buttered paper and bake in a steady, but not quick, oven. This is most excellent. CHEAP CREAM CAKE. One cup of sugar, one egg, one cup sweet milk, two cups flour, one tablespoonful butter, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder; flavor to taste. Divide into three parts and bake in round shallow pans. _Cream._--Beat one egg and one-half cup sugar together, then add one-quarter cup flour, wet with a very little milk and stir this mixture into one-half pint of boiling milk, until thick; flavor to taste. Spread the cream when cool between the cakes. SOFT GINGER CAKE. Stir to a cream one cupful of butter and half a cupful of brown sugar; add to this two cupfuls of cooking molasses, a cupful of sweet milk, a tablespoonful of ginger, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon; beat all thoroughly together, then add three eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately; beat into this two cups of sifted flour, then a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of water and last, two more cupfuls of sifted flour. Butter and paper two common square bread-pans, divide the mixture and pour half into each. Bake in a moderate oven. This cake requires long and slow baking, from forty to sixty minutes. I find that if sour milk is used the cakes are much lighter, but either sweet or sour is most excellent. HARD GINGERBREAD. Made the same as "Soft Gingerbread," omitting the eggs and mixing hard enough to roll out like biscuit; rolled nearly half an inch thick and cut out like small biscuits, or it can be baked in a sheet or on a biscuit-tin; cut slits a quarter of an inch deep across the top of the tin from side to side. When baked and while hot, rub over the top with molasses and let it dry on. These two recipes are the best I have ever found among a large variety that I have tried, the ingredients giving the best proportion for flavor and excellence. PLAIN GINGERBREAD. One cup of _dark_ cooking molasses, one cup of sour cream, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water, a teaspoonful of salt and one heaping teaspoonful of ginger; make about as thick as cup cake. To be eaten warm. WHITE GINGER BISCUIT. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour cream or milk, three eggs, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of warm water, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and five cups of sifted flour, or enough to roll out _soft_. Cut out rather thick like biscuits; brush over the tops, while hot, with the white of an egg, or sprinkle with sugar while hot. The grated rind and the juice of an orange add much to the flavor of ginger cake. GOLD AND SILVER CAKE. This cake is baked in layers like jelly cake. Divide the silver cake batter and color it pink with a little cochineal; this gives you pink, white and yellow layers. Put together with frosting. Frost the top. This can be put together like marble cake, first a spoonful of one kind, then another, until the dish is full. BOSTON CREAM CAKES. Put into a large-sized saucepan half a cup of butter and one cup of hot water; set it on the fire; when the mixture begins to boil, turn in a pint of sifted flour at once, beat and work it well with a vegetable masher until it is very smooth. Remove from the fire, and when cool enough add five eggs that have been well beaten, first the yolks and then the whites, also half a teaspoonful of soda and a teaspoonful of salt. Drop on buttered tins in large spoonfuls about two inches apart. Bake in a quick oven about fifteen minutes. When done and quite cold, open them on the side with a knife or scissors and put in as much of the custard as possible. _Cream for Filling._--Made of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour (or half cup of cornstarch) and one cup of sugar. Put two-thirds of a pint of milk over the fire in a double boiler; in a third of a pint of milk, stir the sugar, flour and beaten eggs. As soon as the milk looks like boiling, pour in the mixture and stir briskly for three minutes, until it thickens; then remove from the fire and add a teaspoonful of butter; when cool, flavor with vanilla or lemon and fill your cakes. CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS. Make the mixture exactly like the recipe for "Boston Cream Cakes." Spread it on buttered pans in oblong pieces about four inches long and one and a half wide, to be laid about two inches apart; they must be baked in a rather quick oven about twenty-five minutes. As soon as baked ice with chocolate icing, and when this is cold split them on one side and fill with the same cream as "Boston Cream Cakes." HUCKLEBERRY CAKE. Beat a cup of butter and two cups of sugar together until light, then add a half cup of milk, four eggs beaten separately, the yolks to a cream and the whites to a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, the same of cinnamon and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. The baking powder to be rubbed into the flour. Bub one quart of huckleberries well with some flour and add them last, but do not mash them. Pour into buttered pans, about an inch thick; dust the tops with sugar and bake. It is better the day after baking. SWEET STRAWBERRY CAKE. Three eggs, one cupful of sugar, two of flour, one tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful, heaped, of baking powder. Beat the butter and sugar together and add the eggs well beaten. Stir in the flour and baking powder well sifted together. Bake in deep tin plate. This quantity will fill four plates. With three pints of strawberries mix a cupful of sugar and mash them a little. Spread the fruit between the layers of cake. The top layer of strawberries may be covered with a meringue made with the white of an egg and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar. Save out the largest berries and arrange them around in circles on the top in the white frosting. Makes a very fancy dish, as well as a most delicious cake. MOLASSES CUP CAKES. One cup of butter, one of sugar, six eggs, five cupfuls of sifted flour, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of ginger, three teacupfuls of cooking molasses and one heaping teaspoonful of soda. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream; beat the eggs very light, the yolks and whites separately, and add to it; after which put in the spices; then the molasses and flour in rotation, stirring the mixture all the time; beat the whole _well_ before adding the soda and but little afterwards. Put into well-buttered patty-pan tins and bake in a _very moderate_ oven. A baker's recipe. BAKERS' GINGER SNAPS. Boil all together the following ingredients: Two cups of brown sugar, two cups of cooking molasses, one cup of shortening, which should be part butter, one _large_ tablespoonful of ginger, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves; remove from the fire and let it cool. In the meantime, sift four cups of flour and stir part of it into the above mixture. Now dissolve a teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of warm water and beat into this mixture, stir in the remainder of the flour and make stiff enough to roll into long rolls about an inch in diameter, and cut off from the end into half-inch pieces. Place them on well-buttered tins, giving plenty of room to spread. Bake in a moderate oven. Let them cool before taking out of the tins. GINGER COOKIES. One cup sugar, one cup molasses, one cup butter, one egg, one tablespoonful vinegar, one tablespoonful ginger, one teaspoonful soda dissolved in boiling water, mix like cooky dough, rather soft. GINGER SNAPS. One cup brown sugar, two cups molasses, one large cup butter, two teaspoonfuls soda, two teaspoonfuls ginger, three pints flour to commence with; rub shortening and sugar together into the flour; add enough more flour to roll very smooth, very thin, and bake in a quick oven. The dough can be kept for days by putting it in the flour barrel under the flour, and bake a few at a time The more flour that can be worked in and the smoother they can be rolled, the better and more brittle they will be. Should be rolled out to wafer-like thinness. Bake quickly without burning. They should become perfectly cold before putting aside. DOMINOES. Have a plain cake baked in rather thin sheets and cut into small oblong pieces the size and shape of a domino, a trifle larger. Frost the top and sides. When the frosting is hard, draw the black lines and make the dots with a small brush dipped in melted chocolate. These are very nice for children's parties. FANCY CAKES. These delicious little fancy cakes may be made by making a rich jumble-paste--rolling out in any desired shape; cut some paste in thick, narrow strips and lay around your cakes, so as to form a deep, cup-like edge; place on a well-buttered tin and bake. When done, fill with iced fruit prepared as follows: Take rich, ripe peaches (canned ones will do if fine and well drained from all juice) cut in halves; plums, strawberries, pineapples cut in squares or small triangles, or any other available fruit, and dip in the white of an egg that has been very slightly beaten and then in pulverized sugar, and lay in the centre of your cakes. WAFERS. Dissolve four ounces of butter in half a teacup of milk; stir together four ounces of white sugar, eight ounces of sifted flour and the yolk of one egg, adding gradually the butter and milk, a tablespoonful of orange-flour water and a pinch of salt; mix it well. Heat the wafer-irons, butter their inner surfaces, put in a tablespoonful of the batter and close the irons immediately; put the irons over the fire, and turn them occasionally, until the wafer is cooked; when the wafers are all cooked roll them on a small round stick, stand them upon a sieve and dry them; serve with ices. PEACH CAKES. Take the yolks and whites of five eggs and beat them separately (the whites to a stiff froth.) Then mix the beaten yolks with half a pound of pulverized and sifted loaf or crushed sugar, and beat the two together thoroughly. Fifteen minutes will be none too long for the latter operation if you would have excellence with your cakes. Now add half a pound of fine flour, dredging it in a little at a time, and then put in the whites of the eggs, beating the whole together for four or five minutes. Then with a large spoon, drop the batter upon a baking tin, which has been buttered and floured, being careful to have the cakes as nearly the same size as possible and resembling in shape the half of a peach. Have a quick oven ready and bake the cakes about ten minutes, watching them closely so that they may only come to a light brown color. Then take them out, spread the flat side of each with peach jam, and stick them together in pairs, covering the outside with a thin coat of icing, which when dry can be brushed over on one side of the cake, with a little cochineal water. CUP CAKES. Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of milk, three cups and a half of flour and four eggs, half a teaspoonful of soda, large spoon cream of tartar; stir butter and sugar together and add the beaten yolks of the eggs, then the milk, then flavoring and the whites. Put cream of tartar in flour and add last. Bake in buttered gem-pans, or drop the batter, a teaspoonful at a time, in rows on flat buttered tins. To this recipe may be added a cup of English currants or chopped raisins; and also another variety of cake may be made by adding a half cup citron sliced and floured, a half cupful of chopped almonds and lemon extract. VARIEGATED CAKES. One cup powdered sugar, one-half cup of butter creamed with the sugar, one-half cup of milk, four eggs, the whites only, whipped light, two and one-half cups prepared flour. Bitter almond flavoring, spinach juice and cochineal. Cream the butter and sugar; add the milk, flavoring, the whites and flour. Divide the batter into three parts. Bruise and pound a few leaves of spinach in a thin muslin bag until you can express the juice. Put a few drops of this into one portion of the batter, color another with cochineal, leaving the third white. Put a little of each into small, round pans or cups, giving a light stir to each color as you add the next. This will vein the cakes prettily. Put the white between the pink and green, that the tints may show better. If you can get pistachio nuts to pound up for the green, the cakes will be much nicer. Ice on sides and top. CORNSTARCH CAKES. One cupful each of butter and sweet milk and half a cup of cornstarch, two cupfuls each of sugar and flour, the whites of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar and one of soda; flavor to taste. Bake in gem-tins or patty-pans. SPONGE DROPS. Beat to a froth three eggs and one teacup of sugar; stir into this one heaping coffeecup of flour, in which one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and half a teaspoonful of saleratus are thoroughly mixed. Flavor with lemon. Butter tin sheets with washed butter and drop in teaspoonfuls about three inches apart. Bake instantly in a very quick oven. Watch closely as they will burn easily. Serve with ice cream. SAVORY BISCUITS OR LADY FINGERS. Put nine tablespoonfuls of fine white sugar into a bowl and put the bowl into hot water to heat the sugar; when the sugar is thoroughly heated, break nine eggs into the bowl and beat them quickly until they become a little warm and rather thick; then take the bowl from the water and continue beating until it is nearly or quite cold; now stir in lightly nine tablespoonfuls of sifted flour; then with a paper funnel, or something of the kind, lay this mixture out upon papers, in biscuits three inches long and half an inch thick, in the form of fingers; sift sugar over the biscuits and bake them upon tins to a light brown; when they are done and cold, remove them from the papers, by wetting them on the back; dry them and they are ready for use. They are often used in making Charlotte Russe. PASTRY SANDWICHES. Puff paste, jam of any kind, the white of an egg, sifted sugar. Roll the paste out thin; put half of it on a baking sheet or tin, and spread equally over it apricot, greengage, or any preserve that may be preferred. Lay over this preserve another thin paste, press the edges together all round, and mark the paste in lines with a knife on the surface, to show where to cut it when baked. Bake from twenty minutes to half an hour; and, a short time before being done, take the pastry out of the oven, brush it over with the white of an egg, sift over pounded sugar and put it back in the oven to color. When cold, cut it into strips; pile these on a dish pyramidically and serve. This may be made of jelly-cake dough, and, after baking, allowed to cool before spreading with the preserve; either way is good, as well as fanciful. NEAPOLITAINES. One cup of powdered sugar, half a cup of butter, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, three whole eggs and three yolks, beaten separately, three cups of sifted flour. Put this all together with half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk. If it is too stiff to roll out, add just enough more milk. Roll it a quarter of an inch thick and cut it out with any tin cutter. Place the cakes in a pan slightly greased and color the tops with beaten egg and milk, with some chopped almonds over them. Bake in a rather quick oven. BRUNSWICK JELLY CAKES. Stir one cup of powdered white sugar and one-half cup of butter together, till perfectly light; beat the yolks of three eggs till very thick and smooth; sift three cups of flour and stir it into the beaten eggs with the butter and sugar; add a teaspoonful of mixed spice (nutmeg, mace and cinnamon) and half a glass of rose-water or wine; stir the whole well and lay it on your paste-board, which must first be sprinkled with flour; if you find it so moist as to be unmanageable, throw in a little more flour; spread the dough into a sheet about half an inch thick and cut it out in round cakes with a biscuit-cutter; lay them in buttered pans and bake about five or six minutes; when cold, spread over the surface of each cake a liquor of fruit jelly or marmalade; then beat the whites of three or four eggs till they stand alone; beat into the froth, by degrees, a sufficiency of powdered loaf sugar to make it as thick as icing; flavor with a few drops of strong essence of lemon, and with a spoon heap it up on each cake, making it high in the centre; put the cakes into a cool oven, and as soon as the tops are colored a pale brown, take them out. LITTLE PLUM CAKES. One cup of sugar and half a cup of butter beaten to a smooth cream; add three well-beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, four cups of sifted flour, one cup of raisins and one of currants, half of a teaspoonful of baking soda dissolved in a little water, and milk enough to make a stiff batter; drop this batter in drops on well-buttered tins and bake in a _quick_ oven. JUMBLES. Cream together two cups of sugar and one of butter, add three well-beaten eggs and six tablespoonfuls of sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, flavor to taste, flour enough to make into a soft dough; do not roll it on the paste-board, but break off pieces of dough the size of a walnut and make into rings by rolling out rolls as large as your finger, and joining the ends; lay them on tins to bake, an inch apart, as it rises and spreads; bake in a _moderate_ oven. These jumbles are very delicate and will keep a long time. WINE JUMBLES. One cup of butter, two of sugar, three eggs, one wine-glass of wine, one spoonful of vanilla and flour enough to roll out. Roll as thin as the blade of a knife and cut with an oval cutter. Bake on tin-sheets in a quick oven until a dark brown. These will keep a year if kept in a tin box and in a dry place. COCOANUT JUMBLES. Grate one large cupful of cocoanut; rub one cupful of butter with one and a half cupfuls of sugar; add three beaten eggs, whites and yolks separately, two tablespoonfuls of milk and five cupfuls of sifted flour; then add by degrees the grated nut, so as to make a stiff dough, rolled thin and cut with a round cutter, having a hole in the middle. Bake in a quick oven from five to ten minutes. PHILADELPHIA JUMBLES. Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, eight eggs beaten light; essence of bitter almond or rose to taste; enough flour to enable you to roll them out. Stir the sugar and butter to a light cream, then add the well-whipped eggs, the flavoring and flour; mix well together, roll out in powdered sugar in a sheet a quarter of an inch thick; cut into rings with a jagging-iron and bake in a quick oven on buttered tins. ALMOND JUMBLES. Three cupfuls of soft sugar, two cupfuls of flour, half a cupful of butter, one teacupful of loppered milk, five eggs well beaten, two tablespoonfuls of rose-water, three-quarters of a pound of almonds, blanched and chopped _very_ fine, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in boiling water. Cream butter and sugar; stir in the beaten yolks the milk, flour, rose-water, almonds and, lastly, the beaten whites very lightly and quickly; drop in rings on buttered paper and bake at once. FRUIT JUMBLES. Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, five cupfuls of flour, five eggs, one small teacupful of milk, in which dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda; cream the butter, add the sugar, cream again; then add yolks of eggs, the milk, beaten whites and flour; a little cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves and one-quarter of a pound of currants, rolled in flour. COOKIES. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, a _small_ teacupful of sweet milk, half a grated nutmeg and five cups of sifted flour, in which there has been sifted with it two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; mix into a soft dough and cut into round cakes; roll the dough as thin as pie crust. Bake in a quick oven a light brown. These can be made of sour milk and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, or sour or sweet cream can be used in place of butter. Water cookies made the same as above, using water in place of milk. Water cookies keep longer than milk cookies. FAVORITE COOKIES. One cup of butter, one and a half cups of sugar, one-half cup of sour milk one level teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg Flour enough to roll; make quite soft. Put a tablespoonful of fine sugar on a plate and dip the tops of each as you cut them out. Place on buttered tins and bake in a quick oven a light brown. FRUIT COOKIES. One cupful and a half of sugar, one cupful of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, one egg, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, three tablespoonfuls of English currants or chopped raisins. Mix soft and roll out, using just enough flour to stiffen sufficiently. Cut out with a large cutter, wet the tops with milk and sprinkle sugar over them. Bake on buttered tins in a quick oven. CRISP COOKIES. (Very Nice.) One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs well beaten, a teaspoonful of soda and two of cream of tartar, spoonful of milk, one teaspoonful of nutmeg and one of cinnamon. Flour enough to make a soft dough just stiff enough to roll out. Try a pint of sifted flour to begin with, working it in gradually. Spread a little sweet milk over each and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a quick oven a light brown. LEMON COOKIES. Four cups of sifted flour, or enough for a stiff dough, one teacupful of butter, two cups of sugar, the juice of one lemon and the grated peel from the outside, three eggs whipped very light. Beat thoroughly each ingredient, adding, after all is in, a half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk. Roll out as any cookies and bake a light brown. Use no other wetting. COCOANUT COOKIES. One cup grated cocoanut, one and one-half cups sugar, three-fourths cup butter, one-half cup milk, two eggs, one large teaspoonful baking powder, one-half teaspoonful extract of vanilla and flour enough to roll out. DOUGHNUTS OR FRIED CAKES. Success in making good fried cakes depends as much on the _cooking_ as the mixing. In the first place, there should be boiling lard enough to free them from the bottom of the kettle, so that they swim on the top, and the lard should never be so hot as to smoke or so cool as not to be at the boiling point; if it is, they soak grease and are spoiled. If it is at the right heat, the doughnuts will in about ten minutes be of a delicate brown outside and nicely cooked inside. Five or six minutes will cook a cruller. Try the fat by dropping a bit of the dough in first; if it is right, the fat will boil up when it is dropped in. They should be turned over almost constantly, which causes them to rise and brown evenly. When they are sufficiently cooked, raise them from the hot fat and drain them until every drop ceases dripping. CRULLERS OR FRIED CAKES. One and a half cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of sour milk, two eggs, two scant tablespoonfuls of melted butter, half a nutmeg grated, a large teaspoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful of salt and one of soda; make a little stiffer than biscuit dough, roll out a quarter of an inch thick, and cut with a fried-cake cutter, with a hole in the centre. Fry in hot lard. These can be made with sweet milk and baking powder, using two heaping teaspoonfuls of the baking powder in place of soda. RAISED DOUGHNUTS. Old-fashioned "raised doughnuts" are seldom seen nowadays, but are easily made. Make a sponge as for bread, using a pint of warm water or milk, and a large half cupful of yeast; when the sponge is very light, add half a cupful of butter or sweet lard, a coffeecupful of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt and one small teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, a little grated nutmeg; stir in now two well-beaten eggs, add sifted flour until it is the consistency of biscuit dough, knead it well, cover and let rise; then roll the dough out into a sheet half an inch thick, cut out with a very small biscuit-cutter, or in strips half an inch wide and three inches long, place them on greased tins, cover them well and let them rise before frying them. Drop them in very hot lard. Raised cakes require longer time than cakes made with baking powder. Sift powdered sugar over them as fast as they are fried, while warm. Our grandmothers put allspice into these cakes; that, however, is a matter of taste. BAKERS' RAISED DOUGHNUTS. Warm a teacupful of lard in a pint of milk; when nearly cool add enough flour to make a thick batter and add a small cupful of yeast; beat it well and set it to rise; when light work in gradually and carefully three cupfuls of sugar, the whipped whites of six eggs, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and half of a nutmeg grated; then work in gradually enough flour to make it stiff enough to roll out; let it rise again and when very light roll it out in a sheet an inch thick; cut into rounds; put into the centre of each round a large Sultana raisin, seeded, and mold into perfectly round balls; flatten a little; let them stand a few minutes before boiling them; have plenty of lard in the pot and when it boils drop in the cakes; when they are a light, brown take them out with a perforated skimmer; drain on soft white paper and roll, while warm, in fine powdered sugar. _Purcell's Bakery, New York City._ CRULLERS OR WONDERS. Three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of melted lard or butter, three tablespoonfuls of sugar; mix very hard with sifted flour, as hard as can be rolled, and to be rolled very thin like pie crust; cut in squares three inches long and two wide, then cut several slits or lines lengthwise to within a quarter of an inch of the edges of the ends; run your two forefingers through every other slit; lay them down on the board edgewise and dent them. These are very dainty when fried. Fry in hot lard a light brown. GERMAN DOUGHNUTS. One pint of milk; four eggs, one small tablespoonful of melted butter, flavoring, salt to taste; first boil the milk and pour it, while hot, over a pint of flour; beat it very smooth and when it is cool have ready the yolks of the eggs well beaten; add them to the milk and flour, beaten well into it, then add the well-beaten whites; then, lastly, add the salt and as much more flour as will make the whole into a soft dough; flour your board, turn your dough upon it, roll it in pieces as thick as your finger and turn them in the form of a ring; cook in plenty of boiling lard. A nice breakfast cake with coffee. [Illustration: CUTTING PUMPKIN FOR PIES.] NUT CAKES. (Fried.) Beat two eggs well, add to them one ounce of sifted sugar, two ounces of warmed butter, two tablespoonfuls of yeast, a teacupful of luke-warm milk and a little salt. Whip all well together, then stir in by degrees one pound of flour, and, if requisite, more milk, making thin dough. Beat it until it falls from the spoon, then set it to rise. When it has risen make butter or lard hot in a frying pan, cut from the light dough little pieces the size of a walnut, and, without molding or kneading, fry them pale brown. As they are done lay them on a napkin to absorb any of the fat. TRIFLES. Work one egg and a tablespoonful of sugar to as much flour as will make a stiff paste; roll it as thin as a dollar piece and cut it into small round or square cakes; drop two or three at a time into the boiling lard; when they rise to the surface and turn over they are done; take them out with a skimmer and lay them on an inverted sieve to drain. When served for dessert or supper put a spoonful of jelly on each. PUFF-BALL DOUGHNUTS. These doughnuts, eaten fresh and warm, are a delicious breakfast dish and are quickly made. Three eggs, one cupful of sugar, a pint of sweet milk, salt, nutmeg and flour enough to permit the spoon to stand upright in the mixture; add two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder to the flour; beat all until very light. Drop by the dessertspoonful into boiling lard. These will not absorb a bit of fat and are not at all rich and consequently are the least injurious of this kind of cakes. PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS. GENERAL REMARKS. Use the very best materials in making pastry; the shortening should be fresh, sweet and hard; the water cold (ice-water is best), the paste rolled on a cold board and all handled as little as possible. When the crust is made, it makes it much more flaky and puff much more to put it in a dish covered with a cloth and set in a very cold place for half an hour, or even an hour; in summer, it could be placed in the ice box. A great improvement is made in pie crust by the addition of about a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder to a quart of flour, also brushing the paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter placed thereon, with the white of an egg, assists it to rise in _leaves_ or _flakes_. As this is the great beauty of puff paste, it is as well to try this method. If currants are to be used in pies, they should be carefully picked over and washed in several waters, dried in a towel and dredged with flour before they are suitable for use. Raisins, and all dried fruits for pies and cakes, should be seeded stoned and dredged with flour before using. Almonds should be blanched by pouring boiling water upon them and then slipping the skin off with the fingers. In pounding them, always add a little rose or orange-water, with fine sugar, to prevent their becoming oily. Great care is requisite in heating an oven for baking pastry. If you can hold your hand in the heated oven while you count twenty, the oven has just the proper temperature and it should be kept at this temperature as long as the pastry is in; this heat will bake to a light brown and will give the pastry a fresh and flaky appearance. If you suffer the heat to abate, the under crust will become heavy and clammy and the upper crust will fall in. Another good way to ascertain when the oven is heated to the proper degree for puff paste: put a small piece of the paste in previous to baking the whole, and then the heat can thus be judged of. Pie crust can be kept a week, and the last be better than the if put in a tightly covered dish and set in the ice chest in summer and in a cool place in winter, and thus you can make a fresh pie every day with little trouble. In baking custard, pumpkin or squash pies, it is well, in order that the mixture may not be absorbed by the paste, to first partly bake the paste before adding it, and when stewed fruit is used the filling should be perfectly cool when put in, or it will make the bottom crust sodden. HOW TO MAKE A PIE. After making the crust, take a portion of it, roll it out and fit it to a buttered pie-plate by cutting it off evenly around the edge; gather up the scraps left from cutting and make into another sheet for the top crust; roll it a little thinner than the under crust; lap one-half over the other and cut three or four slits about a quarter of an inch from the folded edge (this prevents the steam from escaping through the rim of the pie, and causing the juices to run out from the edges). Now fill your pie-plate with your prepared filling, wet the top edge of the rim, lay the upper crust across the centre of the pie, turn back the half that is lapped over, seal the two edges together by slightly pressing down with your thumb, then notch evenly and regularly with a three-tined fork, dipping occasionally in flour to prevent sticking. Bake in a rather quick oven a light brown, and until the filling boils up through the slits in the upper crust. To prevent the juice soaking through into the crust, making it soggy wet the under crust with the white of an egg, just before you put in the pie mixture. If the top of the pie is brushed over with the egg, it gives it a beautiful glaze. FOR ICING PASTRY. To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for fruit tarts and sweet dishes of pastry, put the white of an egg on a plate and with the blade of a knife beat it to a stiff froth. When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with this and sift over some pounded sugar; put it back into the oven to set the glaze and in a few minutes it will be done. Great care should be taken that the paste does not catch or burn in the oven, which is very liable to do after the icing is laid on. Or make a meringue by adding a tablespoonful of white sugar to the beaten white of one egg. Spread over the top and slightly brown in the oven. FINE PUFF PASTE. Into one quart of sifted flour mix two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a teaspoonful of salt; _then sift again_. Measure out one teacupful of butter and one of lard, hard and cold. Take the lard and rub into the flour until a very fine smooth paste. Then put in just enough _ice-water_, say half a cupful, containing a beaten white of egg, to mix a very stiff dough. Boll it out into a thin sheet, spread with one-fourth of the butter, sprinkle over with a little flour, then roll up closely in a long roll, like a scroll, double the ends towards the centre, flatten and re-roll, then spread again with another quarter of the butter. Repeat this operation until the butter is used up. Put it on an earthen dish, cover it with a cloth and set it in a cold place, in the ice box in summer; let it remain until _cold_; an hour or more before making out the crust. Tarts made with this paste cannot be cut with a knife when fresh; they go into flakes at the touch. You may roll this pastry in any direction, from you, toward you, sideways, any way, it matters not, but you must have nice flour, _ice-water_ and very _little_ of it, and strength to roll it, if you would succeed. This recipe I purchased from a colored cook on one of the Lake Michigan steamers many years ago, and it is, without exception, the finest puff paste I have ever seen. PUFF PASTE FOR PIES. One quart of pastry flour, one pint of butter, one tablespoonful of salt, one of sugar, one and a quarter cupfuls of ice-water. Wash the hands with soap and water and dip them first in very hot and then in cold water. Rinse a large bowl or pan with boiling water and then with cold. Half fill it with cold water. Wash the butter in this, working it with the hands until it is light and waxy. This frees it from the salt and buttermilk and lightens it, so that the pastry is more delicate. Shape the butter into two thin cakes and put in a pan of ice-water to harden. Mix the salt and sugar with the flour. With the hands, rub one-third of the butter into the flour. Add the water, stirring with a knife. Stir quickly and vigorously until the paste is a smooth ball. Sprinkle the board _lightly_ with flour. Turn the paste on this and pound quickly and lightly with the rolling-pin. Do not break the paste. Roll from you and to one side; or if easier to roll from you all the time, turn the paste around. When it is about one-fourth of an inch thick, wipe the remaining butter, break it in bits and spread these on the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold the paste, one-third from each side, so that the edges meet. Now fold from the ends, but do not have these meet. Double the paste, pound lightly and roll down to about one-third of an inch in thickness. Fold as before and roll down again. Repeat this three times if for pies and six times if for _vol-au-vents_, patties, tarts, etc. Place on the ice to harden, when it has been rolled the last time. It should be in the ice chest at least an hour before being used. In hot weather, if the paste sticks when being rolled down, put it on a tin sheet and place on ice. As soon as it is chilled, it will roll easily. The less flour you use in rolling out the paste, the tenderer it will be. No matter how carefully every part of the work may be done, the paste will not be good if much flour is used. _Maria Parloa_. SOYER'S RECIPE FOR PUFF PASTE. To every pound of flour allow the yolk of one egg, the juice of one lemon, half a saltspoonful of salt, cold water, one pound of fresh butter. Put the flour onto the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the yolk of the egg, the lemon juice and salt; mix the whole with cold water (this should be iced in summer if convenient) into a soft, flexible paste with the right hand, and handle it as little as possible; then squeeze all the buttermilk from the butter, wring it in a cloth and roll out the paste; place the butter on this and fold the edges of the paste over, so as to hide it; roll it out again to the thickness of a quarter of an inch; fold over one-third, over which again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square; place it with the ends, top and bottom before you, shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again as before. Flour a baking-sheet, put the paste on this and let it remain on ice or in some cool place for half an hour; then roll twice more, turning it as before; place it again upon the ice for a quarter of an hour, give it two more rolls, making seven in all, and it is ready for use when required. RULE FOR UNDER CRUST. A good rule for pie crust for a pie requiring only an under crust, as a custard or pumpkin pie, is: Three _large_ tablespoonfuls of flour sifted, rubbing into it a _large_ tablespoonful of cold butter, or part butter and part lard, and a pinch of salt, mixing with _cold_ water enough to form a smooth, stiff paste, and rolled quite thin. PLAIN PIE CRUST. Two and a half cupfuls of sifted flour, one cupful of shortening, half butter and half lard cold, a pinch of salt, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder sifted through the flour. Rub thoroughly the shortening into the flour. Mix together with half a teacupful of _cold_ water, or enough to form a rather stiff dough; mix as little as possible, just enough to get it into shape to roll out; it must be handled very lightly. This rule is for two pies. When you have a little pie crust left do not throw it away; roll it thin, cut in small squares and bake. Just before tea put a spoonful of raspberry jelly on each square. PUFF PASTE OF SUET. Two cupfuls of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of baking powder, one cup of chopped suet, freed of skin, and chopped very fine, one cupful of water. Place the flour, sifted with the powder in a bowl, add suet and water; mix into smooth, rather firm dough. This paste is excellent for fruit puddings and dumplings that are boiled; if it is well made, it will be light and flaky and the suet impreceptible. It is also excellent for meat pies, baked or boiled. All the ingredients should be very cold when mixing, and the suet dredged with flour after it is chopped, to prevent the particles from adhering to each other. POTATO CRUST. Boil and mash a dozen medium-sized potatoes, add one good teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of cold butter and half a cupful of milk or cream. Stiffen with flour sufficient to roll out. Nice for the tops of meat pies. TO MAKE PIE CRUST FLAKY. In making a pie, after you have rolled out your top crust, cut it about the right size, spread it over with butter, then shake sifted flour over the butter, enough to cover it well. Cut a slit in the middle place it over the top of your pie, and fasten the edges as any pie. Now take the pie on your left hand and a dipper of cold water in your right hand; tip the pie slanting a little, pour over the water sufficiently to rinse off the flour. Enough flour will stick to the butter to fry into the crust, to give it a fine, blistered, flaky look, which many cooks think is much better than rolling the butter into the crust. TARTLETS. No. 1. Tarts of strawberry or any other kind of preserves are generally made of the trimmings of puff paste rolled a little thicker than the ordinary pies; then cut out with a round cutter, first dipped in hot water, to make the edges smooth, and placed in small tart-pans, first pricking a few holes at the bottom with a fork before placing them in the oven. Bake from ten to fifteen minutes. Let the paste cool a little; then fill it with preserve. By this manner, both the flavor and color of the jam are preserved, which would be lost were it baked in the oven on the paste; and, besides, so much jam is not required. TARTLETS. No. 2. Tartlets are nice made in this manner: Roll some good puff paste out thin, and cut it into two and a half inch squares; brush each square over with the white of an egg, then fold down the corners, so that they all meet in the middle of each piece of paste; slightly press the two pieces together, brush them over with the egg, sift over sugar and bake in a nice quick oven for about a quarter of an hour. When they are done, make a little hole in the middle of the paste and fill it up with apricot jam, marmalade, or red currant jelly. Pile them high in the centre of a dish on a napkin and garnish with the same preserves the tartlets are filled with. PATTIES, OR SHELLS FOR TARTS. Roll out a nice puff paste thin; cut out with a glass or cookie-cutter and with a wine-glass or smaller cutter, cut out the centre of two out of three; lay the rings thus made on the third, and bake at once. May be used for veal or oyster patties, or filled with jelly, jam or preserves, as tarts. Or shells may be made by lining patty-pans with paste. If the paste is light, the shells will be fine. Filled with jelly and covered with meringue (tablespoonful of sugar to the white of one egg) and browned in oven, they are very nice to serve for tea. If the cutters are dipped in _hot water_, the edges of the tartlets will rise much higher and smoother when baking. TARTS. Larger pans are required for tarts proper, the size of small, shallow pie-tins; then after the paste is baked and cooled and filled with the jam or preserve, a few stars or leaves are placed on the top, or strips of paste, criss-crossed on the top, all of which have been previously baked on a tin by themselves. Dried fruit, stewed until thick, makes fine tart pies, also cranberries stewed and well sweetened. GREEN APPLE PIE. Peel, core and slice tart apples enough for a pie; sprinkle over about three tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a small level tablespoonful of sifted flour, two tablespoonfuls of water, a few bits of butter, stir all together with a spoon; put it into a pie-tin lined with pie paste; cover with a top crust and bake about forty minutes. The result will be a delicious, juicy pie. APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 1. Three cupfuls of milk, four eggs and one cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of thick stewed apples, strained through a colander. Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs lightly and mix the yolks well with the apples, flavoring with nutmeg. Then beat into this the milk and, lastly, the whites. Let the crust partly bake before turning in this filling. To be baked with only the one crust, like all custard pies. APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 2. Select fair sweet apples, pare and grate them, and to every teacupful of the apple add two eggs well beaten, two tablespoonfuls of fine sugar, one of melted butter, the grated rind and half the juice of one lemon, half a wine-glass of brandy and one teacupful of milk; mix all well and pour into a deep plate lined with paste; put a strip of the paste around the edge of the dish and bake thirty minutes. APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 3. Lay a crust in your plates; slice apples thin and half fill your plates; pour over them a custard made of four eggs and one quart of milk, sweetened and seasoned to your taste. APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 4. Peel sour apples and stew until soft, and not much water left in them; then rub through a colander; beat three eggs for each pie to be baked and put in at the rate of one cupful of butter and one of sugar for three pies; season with nutmeg. IRISH APPLE PIE. Pare and take out the cores of the apples, cutting each apple into four or eight pieces, according to their size. Lay them neatly in a baking dish, seasoning them with brown sugar and any spice, such as pounded cloves and cinnamon, or grated lemon peel. A little quince marmalade gives a fine flavor to the pie. Add a little water and cover with puff paste. Bake for an hour. MOCK APPLE PIE. Crush finely with a rolling pin, one large Boston cracker; put it into a bowl and pour upon it one teacupful of cold water; add one teacupful of fine white sugar, the juice and pulp of one lemon, half a lemon rind grated and a little nutmeg; line the pie-plate with half puff paste, pour in the mixture, cover with the paste and bake half an hour. These are proportions for one pie. APPLE AND PEACH MERINGUE PIE. Stew the apples or peaches and sweeten to taste. Mash smooth and season with nutmeg. Fill the crusts and bake until just done. Put on no top crust. Take the whites of three eggs for each pie and whip to a stiff froth, and sweeten with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Flavor with rose-water or vanilla; beat until it will stand alone; then spread it on the pie one-half to one inch thick; set it back into the oven until the meringue is well "set." Eat cold. COCOANUT PIE. No. 1. One-half cup desiccated cocoanut soaked in one cupful of milk, two eggs, one small cupful of sugar, butter the size of an egg. This is for one small-sized pie. Nice with a meringue on top. COCOANUT PIE. No. 2. Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut, grate the white part, mix it with milk and set it on the fire and let it boil slowly eight or ten minutes. To a pound of the grated cocoanut, allow a quart of milk, eight eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sifted white sugar, a glass of wine, a small cracker, pounded fine, two spoonfuls of melted butter and half a nutmeg. The eggs and sugar should be beaten together to a froth, then the wine stirred in. Put them into the milk and cocoanut, which should be first allowed to get quite cool; add the cracker and nutmeg, turn the whole into deep pie plates, with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake them as soon as turned into the plates. CHOCOLATE CUSTARD PIE. No. 1. One-quarter cake of Baker's chocolate, grated; one pint of boiling water, six eggs, one quart of milk, one-half cupful of white sugar, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Dissolve the chocolate in a very little milk, stir into the boiling water and boil three minutes. When nearly cold beat up with this the yolks of all the eggs and the whites of three. Stir this mixture into the milk, season and pour into shells of good paste. When the custard is "set"--but not more than half done--spread over it the whites whipped to a froth, with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. You may bake these custards without paste, in a pudding dish or cups set in boiling water. CHOCOLATE PIE. No. 2. Put some grated chocolate into a basin and place on the back of the stove and let it melt (do not add any water to it); beat one egg and some sugar in it; when melted, spread this on the top of a custard pie. Lovers of chocolate will like this. LEMON PIE. No. 1. (Superior.) Take a deep dish, grate into it the outside of the rind of two lemons; add to that a cup and a half of white sugar, two heaping tablespoonfuls of unsifted flour, or one of cornstarch; stir it well together, then add the yolks of three well-beaten eggs, beat this thoroughly, then add the juice of the lemons, two cups of water and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Set this on the fire in another dish containing boiling water and cook it until it thickens, and will dip up on the spoon like cold honey. Remove from the fire, and when cooled, pour it into a deep pie-tin, lined with pastry; bake, and when done, have ready the whites, beaten stiff, with three small tablespoonfuls of sugar. Spread this over the top and return to the oven, to set and brown slightly. This makes a deep, large sized pie, and very superior. _Ebbitt House, Washington._ LEMON PIE. No. 2. One coffee cupful of sugar, three eggs, one cupful of water, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one heaping tablespoonful of flour, the juice and a little of the rind of one lemon. Reserve the whites of the eggs, and after the pie is baked, spread them over the top beaten lightly-with a spoonful of sugar, and return to the oven until it is a light brown. This may be cooked before it is put into the crust or not, but it is rather better to cook it first in a double boiler or dish. It makes a medium-sized pie. Bake from thirty-five to forty minutes. LEMON PIE. No. 3. Moisten a heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch with a little cold water, then add a cupful of boiling water; stir over the fire till it boils and cook the cornstarch, say two or three minutes; add teaspoonful of butter and a cupful of sugar; take off the fire and, when slightly cooled, add an egg well beaten and the juice and grated rind of a fresh lemon. Bake with a crust. This makes one small pie. LEMON PIE. No. 4. Two large, fresh lemons, grate off the rind, if not bitter reserve it for the filling of the pie, pare off every bit of the white skin of the lemon (as it toughens while cooking); then cut the lemon into very thin slices with a sharp knife and take out the seeds; two cupfuls of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of water and two of sifted flour. Put into the pie a layer of lemon, then one of sugar, then one of the grated rind and, lastly, of flour, and so on till the ingredients are used; sprinkle the water over all, and cover with upper crust. Be sure to have the under crust lap over the upper, and pinch it well, as the syrup will cook all out if care is not taken when finishing the edge of crust. This quantity makes one medium-sized pie. ORANGE PIE. Grate the rind of one and use the juice of two large oranges. Stir together a large cupful of sugar and a heaping tablespoonful of flour; add to this the well-beaten yolks of three eggs, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Reserve the whites for frosting. Turn this into a pie-pan lined with pie paste and bake in a quick oven. When done so as to resemble a finely baked custard, spread on the top of it the beaten whites, which must be sweetened with two tablespoonfuls of sugar; spread evenly and return to the oven and brown slightly. The addition of the juice of half a lemon improves it, if convenient to have it. BAKERS' CUSTARD PIE. Beat up the yolks of three eggs to a cream. Stir thoroughly a tablespoonful of sifted flour into three tablespoonfuls of sugar; this separates the particles of flour so that there will be no lumps; then add it to the beaten yolks, put in a pinch of salt, a teaspoonful of vanilla and a little grated nutmeg; next the well-beaten whites of the eggs; and, lastly, a pint of scalded milk (not boiled) which has been cooled; mix this in by degrees and turn all into a deep pie-pan lined with puff paste, and bake from twenty-five to thirty minutes. I received this recipe from a celebrated cook in one of our best New York bakeries. I inquired of him "why it was that their custard pies had that look of solidity and smoothness that our home-made pies have not." He replied, "The secret is the addition of this _bit of flour_--not that it thickens the custard any to speak of, but prevents the custard from breaking or wheying and gives that smooth appearance when cut." CREAM PIE. Pour a pint of cream upon one and a half cupfuls of sugar; let it stand until the whites of three eggs have been beaten to a stiff froth; add this to the cream and beat up thoroughly; grate a little nutmeg over the mixture and bake without an upper crust. If a tablespoonful of sifted flour is added to it, as the above Custard Pie recipe, it would improve it. WHIPPED CREAM PIE. Line a pie plate with a rich crust and bake quickly in a hot oven. When done, spread with a thin layer of jelly or jam, then whip one cupful of thick sweet cream until it is as light as possible; sweeten with powdered sugar and flavor with vanilla; spread over the jelly or jam; set the cream where it will get very cold before whipping. CUSTARD PIE. Beat together until very light the yolks of four eggs and four tablespoonfuls of sugar, flavor with nutmeg or vanilla; then add the four beaten whites, a pinch of salt and, lastly, a quart of sweet milk; mix well and pour into tins lined with paste. Bake until firm. BOSTON CREAM PIE. _Cream Part._--Put on a pint of milk to boil. Break two eggs into a dish and add one cup of sugar and half a cup of flour previously mixed after beating well, stir it into the milk just as the milk commences to boil; add an ounce of butter and keep on stirring one way until it thickens; flavor with vanilla or lemon. _Crust Part._--Three eggs beaten separately, one cup of granulated sugar, one and a half cups of sifted flour, one large teaspoonful of baking powder and two tablespoonfuls of milk or water. Divide the batter in half and bake on two medium-sized pie-tins. Bake in a rather quick oven to a straw color. When done and cool, split each one in half with a sharp broad-bladed knife, and spread half the cream between each. Serve cold. The cake part should be flavored the same as the custard. MOCK CREAM PIE. Take three eggs, one pint of milk, a cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch or three of flour; beat the sugar, cornstarch and yolks of the eggs together; after the milk has come to a boil, stir in the mixture and add a pinch of salt and about a teaspoonful of butter. Make crust the same as any pie; bake, then fill with the custard, grate over a little nutmeg and bake again. Take the whites of the eggs and beat to a stiff froth with two tablespoonfuls of sugar, spread over the top and brown in a quick oven. FRUIT CUSTARD PIE. Any fruit custard, such as pineapple, banana, can be readily made after the recipe of APPLE CUSTARD PIE. CHERRY PIE. Line your pie plate with good crust, fill half full with ripe cherries; sprinkle over them about a cupful of sugar, a teaspoonful of sifted flour, dot a few bits of butter over that. Now fill the crust full to the top. Cover with the upper crust and bake. This is one of the best of pies, if made correctly, and the cherries in any case should be stoned. CURRANT PIE. Make in just the same way as the "Cherry Pie," unless they are somewhat green, then they should be stewed a little. RIPE CURRANT PIE. One cupful of mashed ripe currants, one of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of water, one of flour, beaten with the yolks of two eggs. Bake; frost the top with the beaten whites of the eggs and two tablespoonfuls powdered sugar and brown in oven. GREEN TOMATO PIE. Take medium-sized tomatoes, pare and cut out the stem end. Having your pie-pan lined with paste made as biscuit dough, slice the tomatoes _very thin_, filling the pan somewhat heaping, then grate over it a nutmeg; put in half a cup of butter and a medium cup of sugar, if the pan is rather deep. Sprinkle a small handful of flour over all, pouring in half a cup of vinegar before adding the top crust. Bake half an hour in a moderately hot oven, serving hot. Is good; try it. APRICOT MERINGUE PIE. A canned apricot meringue pie is made by cutting the apricots fine and mixing them with half a cup of sugar and the beaten yolk of an egg; fill the crust and bake. Take from the oven, let it stand for two or three minutes, cover with a meringue made of the beaten white of an egg and one tablespoonful of sugar. Set back in a slow oven until it turns a golden brown. The above pie can be made into a tart without the addition of the meringue by adding criss-cross strips of pastry when the pie is first put into the oven. All of the above are good if made from the dried and stewed apricots instead of the canned and are much cheaper. Stewed dried apricots are a delicious addition to mince meat. They may be used in connection with minced apples, or to the exclusion of the latter. HUCKLEBERRY PIE. Put a quart of picked huckleberries into a basin of water; take off, whatever floats; take up the berries by the handful, pick out all the stems and unripe berries and put them into a dish; line a buttered pie, dish with a pie paste, put in the berries half an inch deep, and to a quart of berries, put half of a teacupful of brown sugar; dredge a teaspoonful of flour over, strew a saltspoonful of salt and a little nutmeg grated over; cover the pie, cut a slit in the centre, or make several small incisions on either side of it; press the two crusts together around the edge, trim it off neatly with a sharp knife and bake in a quick oven for three-quarters of an hour. BLACKBERRY PIE. Pick the berries clean, rinse them in cold water and finish as directed for huckleberries. MOLASSES PIE. Two teacupfuls of molasses; one of sugar, three eggs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one lemon, nutmeg; beat and bake in pastry. LEMON RAISIN PIE. One cup of chopped raisins, seeded, and the juice and grated rind of one lemon, one cupful of cold water, one tablespoonful of flour, one cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter. Stir lightly together and bake with upper and under crust. RHUBARB PIE. Cut the large stalks off where the leaves commence, strip off the outside skin, then cut the stalks in pieces half an inch long; line a pie dish with paste rolled rather thicker than a dollar piece, put a layer of the rhubarb nearly an inch deep; to a quart bowl of cut rhubarb put a large teacupful of sugar; strew it over with a saltspoonful of salt and a little nutmeg grated; shake over a little flour; cover with a rich pie crust, cut a slit in the centre, trim off the edge with a sharp knife and bake in a quick oven until the pie loosens from the dish. Rhubarb pies made in this way are altogether superior to those made of the fruit stewed. RHUBARB PIE. (Cooked.) Skin the stalks, cut them into small pieces, wash and put them in a stewpan with no more water than what adheres to them; when cooked, mash them fine and put in a small piece of butter; when cool, sweeten to taste; if liked, add a little lemon-peel, cinnamon or nutmeg; line your plate with thin crust, put in the filling, cover with crust and bake in a _quick_ oven; sift sugar over it when served. PINEAPPLE PIE. A grated pineapple, its weight in sugar, half its weight in butter, one cupful of cream, five eggs; beat the batter to a creamy froth, add the sugar and yolks of the eggs, continue beating till very light; add the cream, the pineapple grated and the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake with an under crust. Eat cold. GRAPE PIE. Pop the pulps out of the skins into one dish and put the skins into another. Then simmer the pulp a little over the fire to soften it; remove it and rub it through a colander to separate it from the seeds. Then put the skins and pulp together and they are ready for pies or for canning or putting in jugs for other use. Fine for pies. DAMSON OR PLUM PIE. Stew the damsons whole in water only sufficient to prevent their burning; when tender and while hot, sweeten them with sugar and let them stand until they become cold; then pour them into pie dishes lined with paste, dredge flour upon them, cover them with the same paste, wet and pinch together the edges of the paste, cut a slit in the centre of the cover through which the vapor may escape and bake twenty minutes. [Illustration: CHOPPING THE MINCEMEAT.] PEACH PIE. Peel, stone and slice the peaches. Line a pie plate with crust and lay in your fruit, sprinkling sugar liberally over them in proportion to their sweetness. Allow three peach kernels chopped fine to each pie; pour in a very little water and bake with an upper crust, or with cross-bars of paste across the top. DRIED FRUIT PIES. Wash the fruit thoroughly, soak over night in water enough to cover. In the morning stew slowly until nearly done in the same water. Sweeten to taste. The crust, both upper and under, should be rolled thin; a thick crust to a fruit pie is undesirable. RIPE BERRY PIES. All made the same as "Cherry Pie." Line your pie-tin with crust, fill half full of berries, shake over a tablespoonful of sifted flour (if very juicy) and as much sugar as is necessary to sweeten sufficiently. Now fill up the crust to the top, making quite full. Cover with crust and bake about forty minutes. Huckleberry and blackberry pies are improved by putting into them a little ginger and cinnamon. JELLY AND PRESERVED FRUIT PIES. Preserved fruit requires no baking; hence, always bake the shell and put in the sweetmeats afterwards; you can cover with whipped cream, or bake a top crust shell; the former is preferable for delicacy. CRANBERRY PIE. Take fine, sound, ripe cranberries and with a sharp knife split each one until you have a heaping coffeecupful; put them in a vegetable dish or basin; put over them one cupful of white sugar, half a cup of water, a tablespoon _full_ of sifted flour; stir it all together and put into your crust. Cover with an upper crust and bake slowly in a moderate oven. You will find this the true way of making a cranberry pie. _Newport Style._ CRANBERRY TART PIE. After having washed and picked over the berries, stew them well in a little water, just enough to cover them; when they burst open and become soft, sweeten them with plenty of sugar, mash them smooth (some prefer them not mashed); line your pie-plates with thin puff paste, fill them and lay strips of paste across the top. Bake in a moderate oven. Or you may rub them through a colander to free them from the skins. GOOSEBERRY PIE. Can be made the same as "Cranberry Tart Pie," or an upper crust can be put on before baking. Serve with boiled custard or a pitcher of good sweet cream. STEWED PUMPKIN OR SQUASH FOR PIES. Deep-colored pumpkins are generally the best. Cut a pumpkin or squash in half, take out the seeds, then cut it up in thick slices, pare the outside and cut again in small pieces. Put it into a large pot or saucepan with a very little water; let it cook slowly until tender. Now set the pot on the back of the stove, where it will not burn, and cook slowly, stirring often until the moisture is dried out and the pumpkin looks dark and red. It requires cooking a long time, at least half a day, to have it dry and rich. When cool press through a colander. BAKED PUMPKIN OR SQUASH FOR PIES. Cut up in several pieces, do not pare it; place them on baking tins and set them in the oven; bake slowly until soft, then take them out, scrape all the pumpkin from the shell, rub it through a colander. It will be fine and light and free from lumps. PUMPKIN PIE. No. 1. For three pies: One quart of milk, three cupfuls of boiled and strained pumpkin, one and one-half cupfuls of sugar, one-half cupful of molasses, the yolks and whites of four eggs beaten separately, a little salt, one tablespoonful each of ginger and cinnamon. Beat all together and bake with an under crust. Boston marrow or Hubbard squash may be substituted for pumpkin and are much preferred by many, as possessing a less strong flavor. PUMPKIN PIE. No. 2. One quart of stewed pumpkin pressed through a sieve, nine eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, two scant quarts of milk, one teaspoonful of mace, one teaspoonful of cinnamon and the same of nutmeg, one and one-half cupfuls of white sugar, or very light brown. Beat all well together and bake in crust without cover. A tablespoonful of brandy is a great improvement to pumpkin, or squash pies. PUMPKIN PIE WITHOUT EGGS. One quart of properly stewed pumpkin pressed through a colander; to this add enough good, rich milk, sufficient to moisten it enough to fill two good-sized earthen pie-plates, a teaspoonful of salt, half a cupful of molasses or brown sugar, a tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake in a moderately slow oven three-quarters of an hour. SQUASH PIE. One pint of boiled dry squash, one cupful of brown sugar, three eggs, two tablespoonfuls of molasses, one tablespoonful of melted butter one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, a pinch of salt and one pint of milk. This makes two pies, or one large deep one. SWEET POTATO PIE. One pound of steamed sweet potatoes finely mashed,-two cups sugar, one cup cream, one-half cup butter, three well-beaten eggs, flavor with lemon or nutmeg and bake in pastry shell. Fine. COOKED MEAT FOR MINCE PIES. In order to succeed in having good mince pie, it is quite essential to cook the meat properly, so as to retain its juices and strength of flavor. Select four pounds of lean beef, the neck piece is as good as any; wash it and put it into a kettle with just water enough to cover it; take off the scum as it reaches the boiling point, add hot water from time to time, until it is tender, then season with salt and pepper; take off the cover and let it boil until almost dry, or until the juice has boiled back into the meat. When it looks as though it was beginning to fry in its own juice, it is time to take up and set aside to get cold, which should be done the day before needed. Next day, when making the mince meat, the bones, gristle and stringy bits should be well picked out before chopping. MINCE PIES. No. 1. The "Astor House," some years ago, was _famous_ for its "mince pies." The chief pastry cook at that time, by request, published the recipe. I find that those who partake of it never fail to speak in laudable terms of the superior excellence of this recipe when strictly followed. Four pounds of lean boiled beef chopped fine, twice as much of chopped green tart apples, one pound of chopped suet, three pounds of raisins, seeded, two pounds of currants picked over, washed and dried, half a pound of citron, cut up fine, one pound of brown sugar, one quart of cooking molasses, two quarts of sweet cider, one pint of boiled cider, one tablespoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of pepper, one tablespoonful of mace, one tablespoonful of allspice and four tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, two grated nutmegs, one tablespoonful of cloves; mix thoroughly and warm it on the range until heated through. Remove from the fire and when nearly cool, stir in a pint of good brandy and one pint of Madeira wine. Put into a crock, cover it tightly and set it in a cold place where it will not freeze, but keep perfectly cold. Will keep good all winter. _Chef de Cuisine, Astor House, N. Y._ MINCE PIES. No. 2. Two pounds of lean fresh beef, boiled and, when cold, chopped fine. One pound of beef suet, cleared of strings and minced to powder. Five pounds of apples, pared and chopped, two pounds of raisins, seeded and chopped, one pound of Sultana raisins, washed and picked over, two pounds of currants washed and _carefully_ picked over, three-quarters of a pound of citron cut up fine, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one of powdered nutmeg, two of mace, one of cloves, one of allspice, one of fine salt, two and a quarter pounds of brown sugar, one quart brown sherry, one pint best brandy. Mince-meat made by this recipe will keep all winter. Cover closely in a jar and set in a cool place. _Common Sense in the Household._ For preserving mince meat, look for CANNED MINCE MEAT. MOCK MINCE MEAT WITHOUT MEAT. One cupful of cold water, half a cupful of molasses, half a cupful of brown sugar, half a cupful of cider vinegar, two-thirds of a cupful of melted butter, one cupful of raisins seeded and chopped, one egg beaten light, half a cupful of rolled cracker crumbs, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful each of cloves, allspice, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Put the saucepan on the fire with the water and raisins; let them cook a few minutes, then add the sugar and molasses, then the vinegar, then the other ingredients; lastly, add a wine-glassful of brandy. Very fine. FRUIT TURNOVERS. (Suitable for Picnics.) Make a nice puff paste; roll it out the usual thickness, as for pies; then cut it out into circular pieces about the size of a small tea saucer; pile the fruit on half of the paste, sprinkle over some sugar, wet the edges and turn the paste over. Press the edges together, ornament them and brush the turnovers over with the white of an egg; sprinkle over sifted sugar and bake on tins, in a brisk oven, for about twenty minutes. Instead of putting the fruit in raw, it may be boiled down with a little sugar first and then enclosed in the crust; or jam of any kind may be substituted for fresh fruit. PLUM CUSTARD TARTLETS. One pint of greengage plums, after being rubbed through a sieve, one large cup of sugar, the yolks of two eggs well beaten. Whisk all together until light and foamy, then bake in small patty-pans shells of puff paste a light brown. Then fill with the plum paste, beat the two whites until stiff, add two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, spread over the plum paste and set the shells into a moderate oven for a few moments. These are much more easily handled than pieces of pie or even pies whole, and can be packed nicely for carrying. LEMON TARTLETS. No. 1. Put a quart of milk into a saucepan over the fire. When it comes to the boiling point put into it the following mixture: Into a bowl put a heaping tablespoonful of flour, half a cupful of sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir this all together thoroughly; then add the beaten yolks of six eggs; stir this one way into the boiling milk until cooked to a thick cream; remove from the fire and stir into it the grated rind and juice of one large lemon. Have ready baked and hot some puff paste tart shells. Fill them with the custard and cover each with a meringue made of the whites of the eggs, sweetened with four tablespoonfuls of sugar. Put into the oven and bake a light straw color. LEMON TARTLETS. No. 2. Mix well together the juice and grated rind of two lemons, two cupfuls of sugar, two eggs and the crumbs of sponge cake; beat it all together until smooth; put into twelve patty-pans lined with puff paste and bake until the crust is done. ORANGE TARTLETS. Take the juice of two large oranges and the grated peel of one, three-fourths of a cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of butter; stir in a good teaspoonful of cornstarch into the juice of half a lemon and add to the mixture. Beat all well together and bake in tart shells without cover. MERINGUE CUSTARD TARTLETS. Select deep individual pie-tins; fluted tartlet pans are suitable for custard tarts, but they should be about six inches in diameter and from two to three inches deep. Butter the pan and line it with ordinary puff paste, then fill it with a custard made as follows: Stir gradually into the beaten yolks of six eggs two tablespoonfuls of flour, a saltspoonful of salt and half a pint of cream. Stir until free from lumps and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar; put the saucepan on the range and stir until the custard coats the spoon. Do not let it boil or it will curdle. Pour it in a bowl, add a few drops of vanilla flavoring and stir until the custard becomes cold; fill the lined mold with this and bake in a moderate oven. In the meantime, put the whites of the eggs in a bright copper vessel and beat thoroughly, using a baker's wire egg-beater for this purpose. While beating, sprinkle in lightly half a pound of sugar and a dash of salt. When the paste is quite firm, spread a thin layer of it over the tart and decorate the top with the remainder by squeezing it through a paper funnel. Strew a little powdered sugar over the top, return to the oven, and when a delicate yellow tinge remove from the oven and when cold serve. BERRY TARTS. Line small pie-tins with pie crust and bake. Just before ready to use fill the tarts with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or whatever berries are in season. Sprinkle over each tart a little sugar; after adding berries add also to each tart a tablespoonful of sweet cream. They form a delicious addition to the breakfast table. CREAM STRAWBERRY TARTS. After picking over the berries carefully, arrange them in layers in a deep pie-tin lined with puff paste, sprinkling sugar thickly between each layer: fill the pie-tin pretty full, pouring in a quantity of the juice: cover with a thick crust, with a slit in the top and bake. When the pie is baked, pour into the slit in the top of the pie the following cream mixture: Take a small cupful of the cream from the top of the morning's milk, heat it until it comes to a boil, then stir into it the whites of two eggs beaten light, also a tablespoonful of white sugar and a teaspoonful of cornstarch wet in cold milk. Boil all together a few moments until quite smooth; set it aside and when cool pour it into the pie through the slit in the crust. Serve it cold with powdered sugar sifted over it. Raspberry, blackberry and whortleberry may be made the same. GREEN GOOSEBERRY TART. Top and tail the gooseberries. Put into a porcelain kettle with enough water to prevent burning and stew slowly until they break. Take them off, sweeten _well_ and set aside to cool. When cold pour into pastry shells and bake with a top crust of puff paste. Brush all over with beaten egg while hot, set back in the oven to glaze for three minutes. Eat cold. _Common Sense in the Household._ COCOANUT TARTS. Take three cocoanuts, the meats grated, the yolks of five eggs, half a cupful of white sugar, season, a wine-glass of milk; put the butter in cold and bake in a nice puff paste. CHOCOLATE TARTS. Four eggs, whites and yolks, one-half cake of Baker's chocolate, grated, one tablespoonful of cornstarch, dissolved in water, three tablespoonfuls of milk, four of white sugar, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla, one saltspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of butter, melted; rub the chocolate smooth in the milk and heat to boiling over the fire, then stir in the cornstarch. Stir five minutes until well thickened, remove from the fire and pour into a bowl. Beat all the yolks and the whites of two eggs well with the sugar, and when the chocolate mixture is almost cold, put all together with the flavoring and stir until light. Bake in open shells of pastry. When done, cover with a meringue made of the whites of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of sugar flavored with a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Eat cold. These are nice for tea, baked in patty-pans. _Common Sense in the Household._ MAIDS OF HONOR. Take one cupful of sour milk, one of sweet milk, a tablespoonful of melted butter, the yolks of four eggs, juice and rind of one lemon and a small cupful of white pounded sugar. Put both kinds of milk together in a vessel, which is set in another and let it become sufficiently heated to set the curd, then strain off the milk, rub the curd through a strainer, add butter to the curd, the sugar, well-beaten eggs and lemon. Line the little pans with the richest of puff paste and fill with the mixture; bake until firm in the centre, from ten to fifteen minutes. GERMAN FRUIT PIE. Sift together a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder and a pint of flour; add a piece of butter as large as a walnut, a pinch of salt, one beaten egg and sweet milk enough to make a soft dough. Roll it out half an inch thick; butter a square biscuit tin and cover the bottom and sides with the dough; fill the pan with quartered juicy apples, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and molasses. Bake in rather quick oven until the crust and apples are cooked a light brown. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top five minutes before removing from the oven. Ripe peaches are fine used in the same manner. APPLE TARTS. Pare, quarter, core and boil in half a cupful of water, until quite soft, ten large, tart apples; beat until very smooth and add the yolks of six eggs, or three whole ones, the juice and grated outside rind of two lemons, half a cap of butter; one and a half of sugar (or more, if not sufficiently sweet); beat all thoroughly, line patty-pans with a puff paste and fill; bake five minutes in a hot oven. _Meringue._--If desired very nice, cover them when removed from the oven with the meringue made of the whites of three eggs remaining, mixed with three tablespoonfuls of sugar; return to the oven and delicately brown. CREAM TARTS. Make a rich, brittle crust, with which cover your patty-pans, smoothing off the edges nicely and bake well. While these "shells" are cooling, take one teacupful (more or less according to the number of tarts you want) of perfectly sweet and fresh cream, skimmed free of milk; put this into a large bowl or other deep dish, and with your egg-beater whip it to a thick, stiff froth; add a heaping tablespoonful of fine white sugar, with a teaspoonful (a small one) of lemon or vanilla. Fill the cold shells with this and set in a cool place till tea is ready. OPEN JAM TARTS. Time to bake until paste loosens from the dish. Line shallow tin dish with puff paste, put in the jam, roll out some of the paste, wet it lightly with the yolk of an egg beaten with a little milk, and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar. Cut it in narrow strips, then lay them across the tart, lay another strip around the edge, trim off outside, and bake in a quick oven. CHESS CAKES. Peel and grate one cocoanut; boil one pound of sugar fifteen minutes in two-thirds of a pint of water; stir in the grated cocoanut and boil fifteen minutes longer. While warm, stir in a quarter of a pound of butter; add the yolks of seven eggs well beaten. Bake in patty-pans with rich paste. If prepared cocoanut is used, take one and a half coffeecupfuls. Fine. CUSTARDS, CREAMS AND DESSERTS. The usual rule for custards is, eight eggs to a quart of milk; but a very good custard can be made of six, or even less, especially with the addition of a level tablespoonful of sifted flour, thoroughly blended in the sugar first, before adding the other ingredients. They may be baked, boiled or steamed, either in cups or one large dish. It improves custard to first boil the milk and then cool it before being used; also a little salt adds to the flavor. A very small lump of butter may also be added, if one wants something especially rich. To make custards look and taste better, duck's eggs should be used when obtainable; they add very much to the flavor and richness, and so many are not required as of ordinary eggs, four duck's eggs to the pint of milk making a delicious custard. When desired extremely rich and good, cream should be substituted for the milk, and double the quantity of eggs used to those mentioned, omitting the whites. When making boiled custard, set the dish containing the custard into another and larger dish, partly filled with boiling water, placed over the fire. Let the cream or milk come almost to a boil before adding the eggs or thickening, then stir it briskly one way every moment until smooth and well cooked; it must _not_ boil or it will curdle. To bake a custard, the fire should be moderate and the dish well buttered. Everything in baked custard depends upon the _regularly heated slow_ oven. If made with nicety it is the most delicate of all sweets; if cooked till it wheys it is hardly eatable. Frozen eggs can be made quite as good as fresh ones if used as soon as thawed soft. Drop them into boiling water, letting them remain until the water is cold. They will be soft all through and beat up equal to those that have not been touched with the frost. Eggs should always be thoroughly well beaten separately, the yolks first, then the sugar added, beat again, then add the beaten whites with the flavoring, then the cooled scalded milk. The lighter the eggs are beaten, the thicker and richer the custard. Eggs should always be broken into a cup, the whites and yolks separated, and they should always be strained. Breaking the eggs thus, the bad ones may be easily rejected without spoiling the others and so cause no waste. A meringue, or frosting for the top, requires about a tablespoonful of fine sugar to the beaten white of one egg; to be placed on the top after the custard or pudding is baked, smoothed over with a broad-bladed knife dipped in cold water, and replaced in the oven to brown slightly. SOFT CARAMEL CUSTARD. One quart of milk, half a cupful of sugar, six eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt. Put the milk on to boil, reserving a cupful. Beat the eggs and add the cold milk to them. Stir the sugar in a small frying pan until it becomes liquid and just begins to smoke. Stir it into the boiling milk; then add the beaten eggs and cold milk and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Set away to cool. Serve in glasses. BAKED CUSTARD. Beat five fresh eggs, the whites and yolks separately, the yolks with half a cup of sugar, the whites to a stiff froth; then stir them gradually into a quart of sweet rich milk previously boiled and cooled; flavor with extract of lemon or vanilla and half a teaspoonful of salt. Rub butter over the bottom and sides of a baking-dish or tin basin; pour in the custard, grate a little nutmeg over and bake in a quick oven. It is better to set the dish in a shallow pan of hot water reaching nearly to the top, the water to be kept boiling until the custard is baked; three-quarters of an hour is generally enough. Run a teaspoon handle into the middle of it; if it comes out clean it is baked sufficiently. CUP CUSTARD. Six eggs half a cupful of sugar, one quart of new milk. Beat the eggs and the sugar and milk, and any extract or flavoring you like. Fill your custard cups, sift a little nutmeg or cinnamon over the tops, set them in a moderate oven in a shallow pan half filled with hot water. In about twenty minutes try them with the handle of a teaspoon to see if they are firm. Judgment and great care are needed to attain skill in baking custard, for if left in the oven a minute too long, or if the fire is too hot, the milk will certainly whey. Serve cold with fresh fruit sugared and placed on top of each. Strawberries, peaches or raspberries, as preferred. BOILED CUSTARD. Beat seven eggs very light, omitting the whites of two; mix them gradually with a quart of milk and half a cupful of sugar; boil in a dish set in another of boiling water; add flavoring. As soon as it comes to the boiling point remove it, or it will be liable to curdle and become lumpy. Whip the whites of the two eggs that remain, adding two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar. When the custard is cold heap this on top; if in cups, put on a strawberry or a bit of red jelly on each. Set in a cold place till wanted. _Common Sense in the Household._ BOILED CUSTARD, OR MOCK CREAM. Take two even tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, one quart of milk, three eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt and a small piece of butter; heat the milk to nearly boiling and add the starch, previously dissolved in a little cold milk; then add the eggs well beaten with four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar; let it boil up once or twice, stirring it briskly, and it is done. Flavor with lemon, or vanilla, or raspberry, or to suit your taste. A good substitute for ice cream, served _very_ cold. FRENCH CUSTARD. One quart of milk, eight eggs, sugar and cinnamon to taste; separate the eggs, beat the yolks until thick, to which add the milk, a little vanilla, and sweeten to taste; put it into a pan or farina kettle, place it over a slow fire and stir it all the time until it becomes custard; then pour it into a pudding-dish to get cold; whisk the whites until stiff and dry; have ready a pan of boiling water on the top of which place the whites; cover and place them where the water will keep sufficiently hot to cause a steam to pass through and cook them; place in a dish (suitable for the table) a layer of custard and white alternately; on each layer of custard grate a little nutmeg with a teaspoonful of wine; reserve a layer of white for the cover, over which grate nutmeg; then send to table and eat cold. GERMAN CUSTARD. Add to a pint of good, rich, boiled custard an ounce of sweet almonds, blanched, roasted and pounded to a paste, and half an ounce of pine-nuts or peanuts, blanched, roasted and pounded; also a small quantity of candied citron cut into the thinnest possible slips; cook the custard as usual and set it on the ice for some hours before using. APPLE CUSTARD. Pare, core and quarter a dozen large juicy pippins. Stew among them the yellow peel of a large lemon grated very fine, and stew them till tender in a very small portion of water. When done, mash them smooth with the back of a spoon (you must have a pint and a half of the stewed apple); mix a half cupful of sugar with them and set them away till cold. Beat six eggs very light and stir them gradually into a quart of rich milk alternately with the stewed apple. Put the mixture into cups, or into a deep dish and bake it about twenty minutes. Send it to table cold, with nutmeg grated over the top. ALMOND CUSTARD. No. 1. Scald and blanch half a pound of shelled sweet almonds and three ounces of bitter almonds, throwing them, as you do them, into a large bowl of cold water. Then pound them one at a time into a paste, adding a few drops of wine or rose-water to them. Beat eight eggs very light with two-thirds of a cup of sugar, then mix together with a quart of rich milk, or part milk and part cream; put the mixture into a saucepan and set it over the fire. Stir it one way until it begins to thicken, but not till it curdles; remove from the fire and when it is cooled put in a glass dish. Having reserved part of the whites of the eggs, beat them to a stiff froth, season with three tablespoonfuls of sugar and a teaspoonful of lemon extract, spread over the top of the custard. Serve cold. ALMOND CUSTARD. No. 2. Blanch a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, pound them, as in No. 1 on preceding page, with six ounces of fine white sugar and mix them well with the yolks of four eggs; then dissolve one ounce of patent gelatine in one quart of boiling milk, strain it through a sieve and pour into it the other mixture; stir the whole over the fire until it thickens and is smooth; then pour it into your mold and keep it upon ice, or in a cool place, until wanted; when ready to serve dip the mold into warm water, rub it with a cloth and turn out the cream carefully upon your dish. SNOWBALL CUSTARD. Soak half a package of Cox's gelatine in a teacupful of cold water one hour, to which add a pint of boiling water, stir it until the gelatine is thoroughly dissolved. Then beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth, put two teacupfuls of sugar in the gelatine water first, then the beaten white of egg and one teaspoonful of vanilla extract, or the grated rind and the juice of a lemon. Whip it some time until it is all quite stiff and cold. Dip some teacups or wine-glasses in cold water and fill them; set in a cold place. In the meantime, make a boiled custard of the yolks of three of the eggs, with half a cupful of sugar and a pint of milk; flavor with vanilla extract. Now after the meringue in the cups has stood four or five hours, turn them out of the molds, place them in a glass dish and pour this custard around the base. BAKED COCOANUT CUSTARD. Grate as much cocoanut as will weigh a pound. Mix half a pound of powdered white sugar with the milk of the cocoanut, or with a pint of cream, adding two tablespoonfuls of rose-water. Then stir in gradually a pint of rich milk. Beat to a stiff froth the whites of eight eggs and stir them into the milk and sugar, a little at a time, alternately with the grated cocoanut; add a teaspoonful of powdered nutmeg and cinnamon. Then put the mixture into cups and bake them twenty minutes in a moderate oven, set in a pan half filled with boiling water. When cold, grate loaf sugar over them. WHIPPED CREAM. No. 1. To the whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, add a pint of thick sweet cream (previously set where it is very cold) and four tablespoonfuls of sweet wine, with three of fine white sugar and a teaspoonful of the extract of lemon or vanilla. Mix all the ingredients together on a board platter or pan and whip it to a standing froth; as the froth rises, take it off lightly with a spoon and lay it on an inverted sieve with a dish under it to catch what will drain through; and what drains through can be beaten over again. Serve in a glass dish with jelly or jam and sliced sponge cake. This should be whipped in a cool place and set in the ice box. WHIPPED CREAM. No. 2. Three coffeecupfuls of good thick sweet cream, half a cup of powdered sugar, three teaspoonfuls of vanilla; whip it to a stiff froth. Dissolve three-fourths of an ounce of best gelatine in a teacup of hot water and when cool pour it in the cream and stir it gently from the bottom upward, cutting the cream into it, until it thickens. The dish which contains the cream should be set in another dish containing ice-water, or cracked ice. When finished pour in molds and set on ice or in any very cold place. SPANISH CREAM. Take one quart of milk and soak half a box of gelatine in it for an hour; place it on the fire and stir often. Beat the yolks of three eggs very light with a cupful of sugar, stir into the scalding milk and heat until it begins to thicken (it should not boil, or it will curdle); remove from the fire and strain through thin muslin or tarlatan, and when nearly cold flavor with vanilla or lemon; then wet a dish or mold in cold water and set aside to stiffen. BAVARIAN CREAM. One quart of sweet cream, the yolks of four eggs beaten together with a cupful of sugar. Dissolve half an ounce of gelatine or isinglass in half a teacupful of warm water; when it is dissolved stir in a pint of boiling hot cream; add the beaten yolks and sugar; cook all together until it begins to thicken, then remove from the fire and add the other pint of cold cream whipped to a stiff froth, adding a little at a time and beating hard. Season with vanilla or lemon. Whip the whites of the eggs for the top. Dip the mold in cold water before filling; set it in a cold place. To this could be added almonds, pounded, grated chocolate, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, raspberries, or any seasonable fruit. STRAWBERRY BAVARIAN CREAM. Pick off the hulls of a box of strawberries, bruise them in a basin with a cup of powered sugar; rub this through a sieve and mix with it a pint of whipped cream and one ounce and a half of clarified isinglass or gelatine; pour the cream into a mold previously oiled. Let it in rough ice and when it has become firm turn out on a dish. Raspberries or currants may be substituted for strawberries. GOLDEN CREAM. Boil a quart of milk; when boiling stir into it the well-beaten yolks of six eggs; add six tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of sifted flour, which have been well beaten together; when boiled, turn it into a dish, and pour over it the whites beaten to a stiff froth, mixing with them six tablespoonfuls, of powdered sugar. Set all in the oven and brown slightly. Flavor the top with vanilla and the bottom with lemon. Serve cold. CHOCOLATE CREAM. No. 1. Three ounces of grated chocolate, one-quarter pound of sugar, one and one-half pints of cream, one and one-half ounces of clarified isinglass, or gelatine, the yolks of six eggs. Beat the yolks of the eggs well; put them into a basin with the grated chocolate, the sugar and one pint of the cream; stir these ingredients well together, pour them into a basin and set this basin in a saucepan of boiling water; stir it one way until the mixture thickens, but _do not allow it to boil_, or it will curdle. Strain the cream through a sieve into a basin, stir in the isinglass and the other one-half pint of cream, which should-be well whipped; mix all well together, and pour it into a mold which has been previously oiled with the purest salad oil, and, if at hand, set it in ice until wanted for table. [Illustration: MRS ULYSSES S. GRANT, LUCY WEBB HAYES, MRS ANDREW JOHNSON] CHOCOLATE CREAM OR CUSTARD. No. 2. Take one quart of milk, and when nearly boiling stir in two ounces of grated chocolate; let it warm on the fire for a few moments, and then remove and cool; beat the yolks of eight eggs and two whites with eight tablespoonfuls of sugar, then pour the milk over them; flavor and bake as any custard, either in cups or a large dish. Make a meringue of the remaining whites. LEMON CREAM. No. 1. One pint of cream, the yolks of two eggs, one quarter of a pound of white sugar, one large lemon, one ounce isinglass or gelatine. Put the cream into a _lined_ saucepan with the sugar, lemon peel and isinglass, and simmer these over a gentle fire for about ten minutes, stirring them all the time. Strain the cream into a basin, add the yolks of eggs, which should be well beaten, and put the basin into a saucepan of boiling water; stir the mixture one way until it thickens, _but do not allow it to boil_; take it off the fire and keep stirring it until nearly cold. Strain the lemon juice into a basin, gradually pour on it the cream, and _stir it well_ until the juice is well mixed with it. Have ready a well-oiled mold, pour the cream into it, and let it remain until perfectly set. When required for table, loosen the edges with a small blunt knife, put a dish on the top of the mold, turn it over quickly, and the cream should easily slip away. LEMON CREAM. No. 2. Pare into one quart of boiling water the peels of four large lemons, the yellow outside only; let it stand for four hours; then take them out and add to the water the juice of the four lemons and one cupful of fine white sugar. Beat the yolks of ten eggs and mix all together; strain it through a piece of lawn or lace into a porcelain lined stewpan; set it over a slow fire; stir it one way until it is as thick as good cream, _but do not let it boil_; then take it from the fire, and, when cool, serve in custard cups. LEMON CREAM. No. 3. Peel three lemons and squeeze out the juice into one quart of milk. Add the peel; cut in pieces and cover the mixture for a few hours; then add six eggs, well beaten, and one pint of water, well sweetened. Strain and simmer over a gentle fire till it thickens; _do not let it boil._ Serve very cold. ORANGE CREAM. Whip a pint of cream so long that there will be but one-half the quantity left when skimmed off. Soak in half a cupful of cold water a half package of gelatine and then grate over it the rind of two oranges. Strain the juice of six oranges and add to it a cupful of sugar; now put the half pint of unwhipped cream into a double boiler, pour into it the well-beaten yolks of six eggs, stirring until it begins to thicken, then add the gelatine. Remove from the fire, let it stand for two minutes and add the orange juice and sugar; beat all together until about the consistency of soft custard and add the whipped cream. Mix well and turn into molds to harden. To be served with sweetened cream. Fine. SOLID CREAM. Four tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, one quart of cream, two tablespoonfuls of brandy, the juice of one large lemon. Strain the lemon juice over the sugar and add the brandy, then stir in the cream, put the mixture into a pitcher and continue pouring from one pitcher to another, until it is quite thick; or it may be whisked until the desired consistency is obtained. It should be served in jelly glasses. BANANA CREAM. After peeling the bananas, mash them with an iron or wooden spoon; allow equal quantities of bananas and sweet cream; to one quart of the mixture, allow one-quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat them all together until the cream is light. TAPIOCA CREAM CUSTARD. Soak three heaping tablespoonfuls of tapioca in a teacupful of water over night. Place over the fire a quart of milk; let it come to a boil, then stir in the tapioca, a good pinch of salt, stir until it thickens; then add a cupful of sugar and the beaten yolks of three eggs. Stir it quickly and pour it into a dish and stir gently into the mixture the whites beaten stiff, the flavoring and set it on ice, or in an ice chest. PEACH CREAM. No. 1. Mash very smooth two cupfuls of canned peaches, run them through a sieve and cook for three minutes in a syrup made by boiling together one cupful of sugar and stirring all the time. Place the pan containing the syrup and peaches into another of boiling water and add one-half packet of gelatine prepared the same as in previous recipes, and stir for five minutes to thoroughly dissolve the gelatine, then take it from the fire, place in a pan of ice-water, beat until nearly cool and then add the well-frothed whites of six eggs. Beat this whole mixture until it commences to harden. Then pour into a mold, set away to cool and serve with cream and sugar. It should be placed on the ice to cool for two or three hours before serving. PEACH CREAM. No. 2. A quart of fine peaches, pare and stone the fruit and cut in quarters. Beat the whites of three eggs with a half cupful of powdered sugar until it is stiff enough to cut with a knife. Take the yolks and mix with half a cupful of granulated sugar and a pint of milk. Put the peaches into the mixture, place in a pudding-dish and bake until almost firm; then put in the whites, mixing all thoroughly again, and bake a light brown. Eat ice cold. ITALIAN CREAM. Put two pints of cream into two bowls; with one bowl mix six ounces of powdered loaf sugar, the juice of two large lemons and two glassfuls of white wine; then add the other pint of cream and stir the whole very hard; boil two ounces of isinglass or gelatine with four small teacupfuls of water till reduced to one-half; then stir the mixture luke-warm into the other ingredients; put them in a glass dish to congeal. SNOW CREAM. Heat a quart of thick, sweet cream; when ready to boil, stir into it quickly three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch flour, blended with some cold cream; sweeten to taste and allow it to boil gently, stirring for two or three minutes; add quickly the whites of six eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; do not allow it to boil up more than once after adding the eggs; flavor with lemon, vanilla, bitter almond or grated lemon peel; lay the snow thus formed quickly in rocky heaps on silver or glass dishes, or in shapes. Iced, it will turn out well. If the recipe is closely followed, any family may enjoy it at a trifling expense, and it is really worthy the table of an epicure. It can be made the day before it is to be eaten; kept cold. MOCK ICE. Take about three tablespoonfuls of some good preserve; rub it through a sieve with as much cream as will fill a quart mold; dissolve three-quarters of an ounce of isinglass or gelatine in half a pint of water; when almost cold, mix it well with the cream; put it into a mold, set in a cool place and turn out next day. PEACH MERINGUE. Pare and quarter (removing stones) a quart of sound, ripe peaches; place them all in a dish that it will not injure to set in the oven and yet be suitable to place on the table. Sprinkle the peaches with sugar, and cover them well with the beaten whites of three eggs. Stand the dish in the oven until the eggs have become a delicate brown, then remove, and when cool enough, set the dish on ice, or in a very cool place. Take the yolks of the eggs, add to them a pint of milk, sweeten and flavor, and boil same in a custard kettle, being careful to keep the eggs from curdling. When cool pour into a glass pitcher and serve with the meringue when ready to use. APPLE FLOAT. One dozen apples, pared and cored, one pound and a half of sugar. Put the apples on with water enough to cover them and let them stew until they look as if they would break; then take them out and put the sugar in the same water; let the syrup come to a boil, put in the apples and let them stew until done through and clear; then take them out, slice into the syrup one large lemon and add an ounce of gelatine dissolved in a pint of cold water. Let the whole mix well and come to a boil; then pour upon the apples. The syrup will congeal. It is to be eaten cold with cream. Or you may change the dish by making a soft custard with the yolks of four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and a scant quart of milk. When cold, spread it over the apples. Whip the whites of the egg, flavor with lemon and place on the custard. Color in the oven. SYLLABUB. One quart of rich milk or cream, a cupful of wine, half a cupful of sugar; put the sugar and wine into a bowl and the milk lukewarm in a separate vessel. When the sugar is dissolved in the wine, pour the milk in, holding it high; pour it back and forth until it is frothy. Grate nutmeg over it. CREAM FOR FRUIT. This recipe is an excellent substitute for pure cream, to be eaten on fresh berries and fruit. One cupful of sweet milk; heat it until boiling. Beat together the whites of two eggs, a tablespoonful of white sugar and a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg. Now add half a cupful of cold milk and a teaspoonful of cornstarch; stir well together until very light and smooth, then add it to the boiling milk; cook it until it thickens; it must not boil. Set it aside to cool. It should be of the consistency of real fresh cream. Serve in a creamer. STRAWBERRY SPONGE. One quart of strawberries, half a package of gelatine, one cupful and a half of water, one cupful of sugar, the juice of a lemon, the whites of four eggs. Soak the gelatine for two hours in half a cupful of the water. Mash the strawberries and add half the sugar to them. Boil the remainder of the sugar and the water gently twenty minutes. Rub the strawberries through a sieve. Add the gelatine to the boiling syrup and take from the fire immediately; then add the strawberries. Place in a pan of ice-water and beat five minutes. Add the whites of eggs and beat until the mixture begins to thicken. Pour in the molds and set away to harden. Serve with sugar and cream. Raspberry and blackberry sponges are made in the same way. LEMON SPONGE. Lemon sponge is made from the juice of four lemons, four eggs, a cupful of sugar, half a package of gelatine and one pint of water. Strain lemon juice on the sugar; beat the yolks of the eggs and mix with the remainder of the water, having used a half cupful of the pint in which to soak the gelatine. Add the sugar and lemon to this and cook until it begins to thicken, then add the gelatine. Strain this into a basin, which place in a pan of water to cool. Beat with a whisk until it has cooled but not hardened; now add the whites of the eggs until it begins to thicken, turn in a mold and set to harden. Remember the sponge hardens very rapidly when it commences to cool, so have your molds all ready. Serve with powdered sugar and cream. APPLE SNOW. Stew some fine-flavored sour apples tender, sweeten to taste, strain them through a fine wire sieve and break into one pint of strained apples the white of an egg; whisk the apple and egg very briskly till quite stiff and it will be as white as snow; eaten with a nice boiled custard it makes a very desirable dessert. More eggs may be used if liked. QUINCE SNOW. Quarter five fair-looking quinces and boil them till they are tender in water, then peel them and push them through a coarse sieve. Sweeten to the taste and add the whites of three or four eggs. Then with an egg-whisk beat all to a stiff froth and pile with a spoon upon a glass dish and set away in the ice box, unless it is to be served immediately. ORANGE TRIFLE. Take the thin parings from the outside of a dozen oranges and put to steep in a wide-mouthed bottle; cover it with good cognac and let it stand twenty-four hours; skin and seed the oranges and reduce to a pulp; press this through a sieve, sugar to taste, arrange in a dish and heap with whipped cream flavored with the orange brandy, ice two hours before serving. LEMON TRIFLE. The juice of two lemons and grated peel of one, one pint of cream, well sweetened and whipped stiff, one cupful of sherry, a little nutmeg. Let sugar, lemon juice and peel lie together two hours before you add wine and nutmeg. Strain through double tarlatan and whip gradually into the frothed cream. Serve very soon heaped in small glasses. Nice with cake. FRUIT TRIFLE. Whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, two tablespoonfuls each of sugar, currant jelly and raspberry jam. Eaten with sponge cakes, it is a delicious dessert. GRAPE TRIFLE. Pulp through a sieve two pounds of ripe grapes, enough to keep back the stones, add sugar to taste. Put into a trifle dish and cover with whipped cream, nicely flavored. Serve very cold. APPLE TRIFLE. Peel, core and quarter some good tart apples of nice flavor, and stew them with a strip of orange and a strip of quince peel, sufficient water to cover the bottom of the stewpan, and sugar in the proportion of half a pound to one pound of fruit; when cooked, press the pulp through a sieve, and, when cold, dish and cover with one pint of whipped cream flavored with lemon peel. Quinces prepared in the same manner are equally as good. PEACH TRIFLE. Select perfect, fresh peaches, peel and core and cut in quarters; they should be _well sugared_, arranged in a trifle dish with a few of their own blanched kernels among them, then heaped with whipped cream as above; the cream should not be flavored; this trifle should be set on the ice for at least an hour before serving; home-made sponge cakes should be served with it. GOOSEBERRY TRIFLE. One quart of gooseberries, sugar to taste, one pint of custard, a plateful of whipped cream. Put the gooseberries into a jar, with sufficient moist sugar to sweeten them, and boil them until reduced to a pulp. Put this pulp at the bottom of a trifle dish; pour over it a pint of custard, and, when cold, cover with whipped cream. The cream should be whipped the day before it is wanted for table, as it will then be so much firmer and more solid. This dish may be garnished as fancy dictates. LEMON HONEY. One coffeecupful of white sugar, the grated rind and juice of one large lemon, the yolks of three eggs and the white of one, a tablespoonful of butter. Put into a basin the sugar and butter, set it in a dish of boiling water over the fire; while this is melting, beat up the eggs, and add to them the grated rind from the outside of the lemon; then add this to the sugar and butter, cooking and stirring it until it is thick and clear like honey. This will keep for some days, put into a tight preserve jar, and is nice for flavoring pies, etc. FLOATING ISLANDS. Beat the yolks of five eggs and the whites of two very light, sweeten with five tablespoonfuls of sugar and flavor to taste; stir them into a quart of scalded milk and cook it until it thickens. When cool pour it into a glass dish. Now whip the whites of the three remaining eggs to a _stiff_ froth, adding three tablespoonfuls of sugar and a little flavoring. Pour this froth over a shallow dish of boiling water; the steam passing through it cooks it; when sufficiently cooked, take a tablespoon and drop spoonfuls of this over the top of the custard, far enough apart so that the "little white islands" will not touch each other. By dropping a teaspoonful of bright jelly on the top or centre of each island, is produced a pleasing effect; also by filling wine-glasses and arranging them around a standard adds much to the appearance of the table. FLOATING ISLAND. One quart of milk, five eggs and five tablespoonfuls of sugar. Scald the milk, then add the beaten yolks and one of the whites together with the sugar. First stir into them a little of the scalded milk to prevent curdling, then all of the milk. Cook it the proper thickness; remove from the fire, and, when cool, flavor; then pour it into a glass dish and let it become very cold. Before it is served beat up the remaining four whites of the eggs to a _stiff_ froth and beat into them three tablespoonfuls of sugar and two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly. Dip this over the top of the custard. TAPIOCA BLANC MANGE. Half a pound of tapioca soaked an hour in one pint of milk and boiled till tender; add a pinch of salt, sweeten to taste and put into a mold; when cold turn it out and serve with strawberry or raspberry jam around it and a little cream. Flavor with lemon or vanilla. BLANC MANGE. No. 1. In one teacupful of water boil until dissolved one ounce of clarified isinglass, or of patent gelatine (which is better); stir it continually, while boiling. Then squeeze the juice of a lemon upon a cupful of fine, white sugar; stir the sugar into a quart of rich cream and half a pint of Madeira or sherry wine; when it is well mixed, add the dissolved isinglass or gelatine, stir all well together, pour it into molds previously wet with cold water; set the molds upon ice, let them stand until their contents are hard and cold, then serve with sugar and cream or custard sauce. BLANC MANGE. No. 2. Dissolve two ounces of patent gelatine in cold water; when it is dissolved stir it into two quarts of rich milk, with a teacupful of fine white sugar; season it to your taste with lemon, or vanilla, or peach water; place it over the fire and boil it, stirring it continually; let it boil five minutes; then strain it through a cloth, pour it into molds previously wet with cold water and salt; let it stand on ice, or in any cool place until it becomes hard and cold; turn it out carefully upon dishes and serve; or, half fill your mold; when this has set, cover with cherries, peaches in halves, strawberries or sliced bananas, and add the remainder. CHOCOLATE BLANC MANGE. Half a box of gelatine soaked in a cupful of water for an hour, half a cupful of grated chocolate, rubbed smooth in a little milk. Boil two cupfuls of milk, then add the gelatine and chocolate and one cupful of sugar; boil all together eight or ten minutes. Remove from the fire, and when nearly cold beat into this the whipped whites of three eggs, flavored with vanilla. Should be served cold with custard made of the yolks, or sugar and cream. Set the molds in a cold place. CORNSTARCH BLANC MANGE. Take one quart of sweet milk and put one pint upon the stove to heat; in the other pint mix four heaping tablespoonfuls of cornstarch and half a cupful of sugar; when the milk is hot, pour in the cold milk with the cornstarch and sugar thoroughly mixed in it and stir altogether until there are no lumps and it is thick; flavor with lemon; take from the stove and add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. _A Custard for the above._--One pint of milk boiled with a little salt in it; beat the yolks of three eggs with half a cupful of sugar and add to the boiling milk; stir well, but do not let it boil until the eggs are put in; flavor to taste. FRUIT BLANC MANGE. Stew nice, fresh fruit (cherries, raspberries and strawberries being the best), or canned ones will do; strain off the juice and sweeten to taste; place it over the fire in a double kettle until it boils; while boiling, stir in cornstarch wet with a little cold water, allowing two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch to each pint of juice; continue stirring until sufficiently cooked; then pour into molds wet in cold water and set away to cool. Served with cream and sugar. ORANGE CHARLOTTE. For two molds of medium size, soak half a box of gelatine in half a cupful of water for two hours. Add one and a half cupfuls of boiling water and strain. Then add two cupfuls of sugar, one of orange juice and pulp and the juice of one lemon. Stir until the mixture begins to cool, or about five minutes; then add the whites of six eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Beat the whole until so stiff that it will only just pour into molds lined with sections of orange. Set away to cool. STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE. Make a boiled custard of one quart of milk, the yolks of six eggs and three-quarters of a cupful of sugar; flavor to taste. Line a glass fruit-dish with slices of sponge cake dipped in sweet cream; lay upon this ripe strawberries sweetened to taste; then a layer of cake and strawberries as before. When the custard is cold pour over the whole. Now beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add a tablespoonful of sugar to each egg and put over the top. Decorate the top with the largest berries saved out at the commencement. Raspberry charlotte may be made the same way. CHARLOTTE RUSSE. (Fine.) Whip one quart of rich cream to a stiff froth and drain well on a nice sieve. To one scant pint of milk add six eggs beaten very light; make very sweet; flavor high with vanilla. Cook over hot water till it is a thick custard. Soak one full ounce of Cox's gelatine in a very little water and warm over hot water. When the custard is very cold beat in lightly the gelatine and the whipped cream. Line the bottom of your mold with buttered paper, the side with sponge cake or lady-fingers fastened together with the white of an egg. Fill with the cream, put in a cold place, or, in summer, on ice. To turn out, dip the mold for a moment in hot water. In draining the whipped cream, all that drips through can be re-whipped. CHARLOTTE RUSSE. Cut stale sponge cake into slices about half an inch thick and line three molds with them, leaving a space of half an inch between each slice; set the molds where they will not be disturbed until the filling is ready. Take a deep tin pan and fill about one-third full of either snow or pounded ice and into this set another pan that will hold at least four quarts. Into a deep bowl or pail (a whip churn is better) put one and a half pints of cream (if the cream is very thick take one pint of cream and a half pint of milk); whip it to a froth and when the bowl is full, skim the froth into the pan which is standing on the ice and repeat this until the cream is all froth; then with a spoon draw the froth to one side and you will find that some of the cream has gone back to milk; turn this into the bowl again and whip as before; when the cream is all whipped, stir into it two-thirds of a cup of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful of vanilla and half of a box of gelatine, which has been soaked in cold water enough to cover it for one hour and then put in boiling water enough to dissolve it (about half a cup); stir from the bottom of the pan until it begins to grow stiff; fill the molds and set them on ice in the pan for one hour, or until they are sent to the table. When ready to dish them, loosen lightly at the sides and turn out on a flat dish. Have the cream ice cold when you begin to whip it; and it is a good plan to put a lump of ice into the cream while whipping it. _Maria Parloa._ ANOTHER CHARLOTTE RUSSE. Two tablespoonfuls of gelatine soaked in a little cold milk two hours, two coffeecupfuls of rich cream, one teacupful of milk. Whip the cream stiff in a large bowl or dish; set on ice. Boil the milk and pour gradually over the gelatine until dissolved, then strain; when nearly cold, add the whipped cream, a spoonful at a time. Sweeten with powdered sugar, flavor with extract of vanilla. Line a dish with lady-fingers or sponge cake; pour in cream and set in a cool place to harden. This is about the same recipe as M. Parloa's, but is not as explicit in detail. PLAIN CHARLOTTE RUSSE. No. 1. Make a rule of white sponge cake; bake in narrow shallow pans. Then make a custard of the yolks after this recipe. Wet a saucepan with cold water to prevent the milk that will be scalded in it from burning. Pour out the water and put in a quart of milk, boil and partly cool. Beat up the yolks of six eggs and add three ounces of sugar and a saltspoonful of salt; mix thoroughly and add the lukewarm milk. Stir and pour the custard into a porcelain or double saucepan and stir while on the range until of the consistency of cream; do not allow it to boil, as that would curdle it; strain, and when almost cold add two teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Now, having arranged your cake (cut into inch slices) around the sides and on the bottom of a glass dish, pour over the custard. If you wish a meringue on the top, beat up the whites of four eggs with four tablespoonfuls of sugar; flavor with lemon or vanilla, spread over the top and brown slightly in the oven. PLAIN CHARLOTTE RUSSE. No. 2. Put some thin slices of sponge cake in the bottom of a glass sauce dish; pour in wine enough to soak it; beat up the whites of three eggs until very light; add to it three tablespoonfuls of finely powdered sugar, a glass of sweet wine and one pint of thick sweet cream; beat it well and pour over the cake. Set it in a cold place until served. NAPLE BISCUITS, OR CHARLOTTE RUSSE. Make a double rule of sponge cake; bake it in round deep patty-pans; when cold cut out the inside about one-quarter of an inch from the edge and bottom, leaving the shell. Replace the inside with a custard made of the yolks of four eggs beaten with a pint of boiling milk, sweetened and flavored; lay on the top of this some jelly or jam; beat the whites of three eggs with three heaping tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar until it will stand in a heap; flavor it a little; place this on the jelly. Set them aside in a cold place until time to serve. ECONOMICAL CHARLOTTE RUSSE. Make a quart of nicely flavored mock custard, put it into a large glass fruit dish, which is partly filled with stale cake (of any kind) cut up into small pieces about an inch square, stir it a little, then beat the whites of two or more eggs stiff, sweetened with white sugar; spread over the top, set in a refrigerator to become cold. Or, to be still more economical: To make the cream, take a pint and a half of milk, set it on the stove to boil; mix together in a bowl the following named articles: large half cup of sugar, one moderately heaped teaspoonful of cornstarch, two tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate one egg, a small half cup of milk and a pinch of salt. Pour into the boiling milk, remove to top of the stove and let simmer a minute or two. When the cream is cold pour over the cake just before setting it on the table. Serve in saucers. If you do not have plenty of eggs you can use all cornstarch, about two heaping teaspoonfuls; but be careful and not get the cream too thick, and have it free from lumps. The cream should be flavored either with vanilla or lemon extract. Nutmeg might answer. TIPSY CHARLOTTE. Take a stale sponge cake, cut the bottom and sides of it, so as to make it stand even in a glass fruit dish; make a few deep gashes through it with a sharp knife, pour over it a pint of good wine, let it stand and soak into the cake. In the meantime, blanch, peel and slice lengthwise half a pound of sweet almonds; stick them all over the top of the cake. Have ready a pint of good boiled custard, well flavored, and pour over the whole. To be dished with a spoon. This is equally as good as any charlotte. ORANGE CHARLOTTE. One-third of a box of gelatine, one-third of a cupful of cold water, one-third of a cupful of boiling water and one cup of sugar, the juice of one lemon and one cupful of orange juice and pulp, a little grated orange peel and the whites of four eggs. Soak the gelatine in the cold water one hour. Pour the boiling water over the lemon and orange juice, cover it and let stand half an hour; then add the sugar, let it come to a boil on the fire, stir in the gelatine and when it is thoroughly dissolved, take from the fire. When cool enough, beat into it the four beaten whites of eggs, turn into the mold and set in a cold place to stiffen, first placing pieces of sponge cake all around the mold. BURNT ALMOND CHARLOTTE. One cupful of sweet almonds, blanched and chopped fine, half a box of gelatine soaked two hours in half a cupful of cold water; when the gelatine is sufficiently soaked, put three tablespoonfuls of sugar into a saucepan over the fire and stir until it becomes liquid and looks dark; then add the chopped almonds to it and stir two minutes more; turn it out on a platter and set aside to get cool. After they become cool enough break them up in a mortar, put them in a cup and a half of milk, and cook again for ten minutes. Now beat together the yolks of two eggs with a cupful of sugar, and add to the cooking mixture; add also the gelatine; stir until smooth and well dissolved; take from the fire and set in a basin of ice-water and beat it until it begins to thicken; then add to that two quarts of whipped cream, and turn the whole carefully into molds, set away on the ice to become firm. Sponge cake can be placed around the mold or not, as desired. CHARLOTTE RUSSE, WITH PINEAPPLE. Peel and cut a pineapple in slices, put the slices into a stewpan with half a pound of fine white sugar, half an ounce of isinglass, or of patent gelatine (which is better), and half a teacupful of water; stew it until it is quite tender, then rub it through a sieve, place it upon ice, and stir it well; when it is upon the point of setting, add a pint of cream well whipped, mix it well and pour it into a mold lined with sponge cake, or prepared in any other way you prefer. COUNTRY PLUM CHARLOTTE. Stone a quart of ripe plums; first stew and then sweeten them. Cut slices of bread and butter and lay them in the bottom and around the sides of a large bowl or deep dish. Pour in the plums boiling hot, cover the bowl and set it away to cool gradually. When quite cool, send it to the table and eat it with cream. VELVET CREAM, WITH STRAWBERRIES. Dissolve half an ounce of gelatine in a gill of water; add to it half a pint of light sherry, grated lemon peel and the juice of one lemon and five ounces of sugar. Stir over the fire until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Then strain and cool. Before it sets beat into it a pint of cream; pour into molds and keep on ice until wanted. Half fill the small molds with fine strawberries, pour the mixture on top, and place on ice until wanted. CORNSTARCH MERINGUE. Heat a quart of milk until it boils, add four heaping teaspoonfuls of cornstarch which has previously been dissolved in a little cold milk. Stir constantly while boiling for fifteen minutes. Remove from the fire, and gradually add while hot the yolks of five eggs, beaten together with three-fourths of a cupful of sugar, and flavored with lemon, vanilla or bitter almond. Bake this mixture for fifteen minutes in a well-buttered pudding-dish or until it begins to "set." Make a meringue of the whites of five eggs, whipped stiff with a half cupful of jelly, and spread evenly over the custard, without removing the same farther than the edge of the oven. Use currant jelly if vanilla is used in the custard, crab apple for bitter almond and strawberry for lemon. Cover and bake for five minutes, after which take off the lid and brown the meringue a very little. Sift powdered sugar thickly over the top. To be eaten cold. WASHINGTON PIE. This recipe is the same as "Boston Cream Pie" (adding half an ounce of butter), which may be found under the head of PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS. In summer time, it is a good plan to bake the pie the day before wanted; then when cool, wrap around it a paper and place it in the ice box so to have it get _very cold_; then serve it with a dish of fresh strawberries or raspberries. A delicious dessert. CREAM PIE. Make two cakes as for Washington pie, then take one cup of sweet cream and three tablespoonfuls of white sugar. Beat with egg-beater or fork till it is stiff enough to put on without running off and flavor with vanilla. If you beat it after it is stiff it will come to butter. Put between the cakes and on top. DESSERT PUFFS. Puffs for dessert are delicate and nice; take one pint of milk and cream each, the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one heaping cupful of sifted flour, one scant cupful of powdered sugar, add a little grated lemon peel and a little salt; beat these all together till very light, bake in gem-pans, sift pulverized sugar over them and eat with sauce flavored with lemon. PEACH CAKE FOR DESSERT. Bake three sheets of sponge cake, as for jelly cake; cut nice ripe peaches in thin slices, or chop them; prepare cream by whipping, sweetening and adding flavor of vanilla, if desired; put layers of peaches between the sheets of cake; pour cream over each layer and over the top. To be eaten soon after it is prepared. FRUIT SHORT-CAKES. For the recipes of strawberry, peach and other fruit short-cakes, look under the head of BISCUITS, ROLLS AND MUFFINS. They all make a very delicious dessert when served with a pitcher of fresh sweet cream, when obtainable. SALTED OR ROASTED ALMONDS. Blanch half a pound of almonds. Put with them a tablespoonful of melted butter and one of salt. Stir them till well mixed, then spread them over a baking-pan and bake fifteen minutes, or till crisp, stirring often. They must be bright yellow-brown when done. They are a fashionable appetizer and should be placed in ornamental dishes at the beginning of dinner, and are used by some in place of olives, which, however, should also be on the table, or some fine pickles may take their place. ROAST CHESTNUTS. Peel the raw chestnuts and scald them to remove the inner skin; put them in a frying pan with a little butter and toss them about a few moments; add a sprinkle of salt and a suspicion of cayenne. Serve them after the cheese. Peanuts may be blanched and roasted the same. AFTER-DINNER CROUTONS. These crispy _croutons_ answer as a substitute for hard-water crackers and are also relished by most people. Cut sandwich bread into slices one-quarter of an inch thick; cut each slice into four small triangles; dry them in the oven slowly until they assume a delicate brownish tint, then serve either hot or cold. A nice way to serve them is to spread a paste of part butter and part rich creamy cheese, to which may be added a very little minced parsley. ORANGE FLOAT. To make orange float, take one quart of water, the juice and pulp of two lemons, one coffeecupful of sugar. When boiling hot, add four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. Let it boil fifteen minutes, stirring all the time. When cold, pour it over four or five oranges that have been sliced into a glass dish and over the top spread the beaten whites of three eggs, sweetened and flavored with vanilla. A nice dessert. LEMON TOAST. This dessert can be made very conveniently without much preparation. Take the yolks of six eggs, beat them well and add three cupfuls of sweet milk; take baker's bread, not too stale, and cut into slices; dip them into the milk and eggs and lay the slices into a spider, with sufficient melted butter, hot, to fry a delicate brown. Take the whites of the six eggs and beat them to a froth, adding a large cupful of white sugar; add the juice of two lemons, heating well and adding two cupfuls of boiling water. Serve over the toast as a sauce and you will find it a very delicious dish. SWEET OMELET. No. 1. One tablespoonful of butter, two of sugar, one cupful of milk, four eggs. Let the milk come to a boil. Beat the flour and butter together; add to them gradually the boiling milk and cook eight minutes; stirring often; beat the sugar and the yolks of the eggs together; add to the cooked mixture and set away to cool. When cool, beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and add to the mixture. Bake in a buttered pudding-dish for twenty minutes in a moderate oven. Serve _immediately_ with creamy sauce. SWEET OMELET. No. 2. Four eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, one cupful of whipped cream. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and gradually beat the flavoring and sugar into them. When well beaten add the yolks and, lastly, the whipped cream. Have a dish holding about one quart slightly buttered. Pour the mixture into this and bake just twelve minutes. Serve the moment it is taken from the oven. SALAD OF MIXED FRUITS. Put in the centre of a dish a pineapple properly pared, cored and sliced, yet retaining as near as practicable its original shape. Peel, quarter and remove the seeds from four sweet oranges; arrange them in a border around the pineapple. Select four fine bananas, peel and cut into slices lengthwise; arrange these zigzag-fence fashion around the border of the dish. In the V-shaped spaces around the dish put tiny mounds of grapes of mixed colors. When complete, the dish should look very appetizing. To half a pint of clear sugar syrup add half an ounce of good brandy, pour over the fruit and serve. ORANGE COCOANUT SALAD. Peel and slice a dozen oranges, grate a cocoanut and slice a pineapple. Put alternate layers of each until the dish is full. Then pour over them sweetened wine. Served with small cakes. When oranges are served whole, they should be peeled and prettily arranged in a fruit dish. A small knife is best for this purpose. Break the skin from the stem into six or eight even parts, peel each section down half way, and tuck the point in next to the orange. CRYSTALLIZED FRUIT. Pick out the finest of any kind of fruit, leave on their stalks, beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, lay the fruit in the beaten egg with the stalks upward, drain them and beat the part that drips off again; select them out, one by one and dip them into a cup of finely powdered sugar; cover a pan with a sheet of fine paper, place the fruit inside of it, and put it in an oven that is cooling; when the icing on the fruit becomes firm, pile them on a dish and set them in a cool place. For this purpose, oranges or lemons should be carefully pared, and all the white inner skin removed that is possible, to prevent bitterness; then cut either in thin horizontal slices if lemons, or in quarters if oranges. For cherries, strawberries, currants, etc., choose the largest and finest, leaving stems out. Peaches should be pared and cut in halves and sweet juicy pears may be treated in the same way, or look nicely when pared, leaving on the stems and iced. Pineapples should be cut in thin slices and these again divided into quarters. PEACHES AND CREAM. Pare and slice the peaches just before sending to table. Cover the glass dish containing them to exclude the air as much as possible, as they soon change color. Do not sugar them in the dish--they then become preserves, not fresh fruit. Pass the powdered sugar and cream with them. SNOW PYRAMID. Beat to a stiff foam the whites of half a dozen eggs, add a small teacupful of currant jelly and whip all together again. Fill half full of cream as many saucers as you have guests, dropping in the centre of each saucer a tablespoonful of the beaten eggs and jelly in the shape of a pyramid. JELLY FRITTERS. Make a batter of three eggs, a pint of milk and a pint bowl of wheat flour or more, beat it light; put a tablespoonful of lard or beef fat in a frying or omelet pan, add a saltspoonful of salt, making it boiling hot, put in the batter by the large spoonful, not too close; when one side is a delicate brown, turn the other; when done, take them on to a dish with a d'oyley over it; put a dessertspoonful of firm jelly or jam on each and serve. A very nice dessert. STEWED APPLES. No. 1. Take a dozen green tart apples, core and slice them, put into a saucepan with just enough water to cover them, cover the saucepan closely, and stew the apples until they are tender and clear; then take them out, put them into a deep dish and cover them; add to the juice in the saucepan a cupful of loaf sugar for every twelve apples, and boil it half an hour, adding to the syrup a pinch of mace and a dozen whole cloves just ten minutes before taking from the fire; pour scalding hot over the apples and set them in a cold place; eat ice cold with cream or boiled custard. STEWED APPLES. No. 2. Apples cooked in the following way look very pretty on a tea-table and are appreciated by the palate. Select firm round greenings, pare neatly and cut in halves; place in a shallow stewpan with sufficient boiling water to cover them and a cup of sugar to every six apples. Each half should cook on the bottom of the pan and be removed from the others so as not to injure its shape. Stew slowly until the pieces are very tender; remove to a glass dish carefully, boil the syrup a half hour longer, pour it over the apples and eat cold. A few pieces of lemon boiled in the syrup add to the flavor. BAKED PEARS. Pare and core the pears without dividing; place them in a pan and fill up the orifice with brown sugar; add a little water and let them bake until perfectly tender. Nice with sweet cream or boiled custard. STEWED PEARS. Stewed pears with a thick syrup make a fine dessert dish accompanied with cake. Peel and cut them in halves, leaving the stems on and scoop out the cores. Put them into a saucepan, placing them close together, with the stems uppermost. Pour over sufficient water, a cup of sugar, a few whole cloves and some sticks of cinnamon, a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Cover the stewpan closely, to stew gently till the fruit is done, which will depend on the quality of the fruit. Then take out the fruit carefully and arrange it on a dish for serving. Boil down the syrup until quite thick; strain it and allow it to cool enough to set it; then pour it over the fruit. The juice could be colored by a few drops of liquid cochineal, or a few slices of beets, while boiling. A teaspoonful of brandy adds much to the flavor. Serve with cream or boiled custard. BAKED QUINCES. Take ripe quinces, pare and quarter them, cut out the seeds; then stew them in clear water until a straw will pierce them; put into a baking dish with half a cupful of loaf sugar to every eight quinces; pour over them the liquor in which they were boiled, cover closely and bake in the oven one hour; then take out the quinces and put them into a covered dish; return the syrup to the saucepan and boil twenty minutes; then pour over the quinces and set them away to cool. GOOSEBERRY FOOL. Stew a quart of ripe gooseberries in just enough water to cover them; when soft, rub them through a colander to remove the skins and seeds; while hot stir into them a tablespoonful of melted butter and a cupful of sugar. Beat the yolks of three eggs and add that; whip all together until light. Fill a large glass fruit dish and spread on the top the beaten whites mixed with three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Apples or any tart fruit is nice made in this manner. MERINGUES OR KISSES. A coffeecupful of fine white sugar, the whites of six eggs; whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and with a wooden spoon stir in _quickly_ the pounded sugar; and have some boards put in the oven thick enough to prevent the bottom of the meringues from acquiring too much color. Cut some strips of paper about two inches wide; place this paper on the board and drop a tablespoonful at a time of the mixture on the paper, taking care to let all the meringues be the same size. In dropping it from the spoon, give the mixture the form of an egg and keep the meringues about two inches apart from each other on the paper. Strew over them some sifted sugar and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. As soon as they begin to color, remove them from the oven; take each slip of paper by the two ends and turn it gently on the table and with a small spoon take out the soft part of each meringue. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues upside down and put them into the oven to harden and brown on the other side. When required for table, fill them with whipped cream, flavored with liquor or vanilla and sweeten with pounded sugar. Join two of the meringues together and pile them high in the dish. To vary their appearance, finely chopped almonds or currants may be strewn over them before the sugar is sprinkled over; and they may be garnished with any bright-colored preserve. Great expedition is necessary in making this sweet dish, as, if the meringues are not put into the oven as soon as the sugar and eggs are mixed, the former melts and the mixture would run on the paper instead of keeping its egg-shape. The sweeter the meringues are made the crisper will they be; but if there is not sufficient sugar mixed with them, they will most likely be tough. They are sometimes colored with cochineal; and if kept well-covered in a dry place, will remain good for a month or six weeks. JELLY KISSES. Kisses, to be served for dessert at a large dinner, with other suitable confectionery, may be varied in this way: Having made the kisses, heap them in the shape of half an egg, placed upon stiff letter paper lining the bottom of a thick baking pan; put them in a moderate oven until the outside is a little hardened; then take one off carefully, take out the soft inside with the handle of a spoon, and put it back with the mixture, to make more; then lay the shell down. Take another and prepare it likewise; fill the shells with currant jelly or jam; join two together, cementing them with some of the mixture; so continue until you have enough. Make kisses, cocoanut drops, and such like, the day before they are wanted. This recipe will make a fair-sized cake basket full. It adds much to their beauty when served up to tint half of them pale pink, then unite white and pink. Serve on a high glass dish. COCOANUT MACAROONS. Make a "kiss" mixture, add to it the white meat, grated, and finish as directed for KISSES. ALMOND MACAROONS. Half a pound of sweet almonds, a coffeecupful of white sugar, the whites of two eggs; blanch the almonds and pound them to a paste; add to them the sugar and the beaten whites of eggs; work the whole together with the back of a spoon, then roll the mixture in your hands in balls about the size of a nutmeg, dust sugar over the top, lay them on a sheet of paper at least an inch apart. Bake in a cool oven a light brown. CHOCOLATE MACAROONS. Put three ounces of plain chocolate in a pan and melt on a slow fire; then work it to a thick paste with one pound of powdered sugar and the whites of three eggs; roll the mixture down to the thickness of about one-quarter of an inch; cut it in small, round pieces with a paste-cutter, either plain or scalloped; butter a pan slightly, and dust it with flour and sugar in equal quantities; place in it the pieces of paste or mixture, and bake in a hot but not too quick oven. LEMON JELLY. No. 1. Wash and prepare four calf's feet, place them in four quarts of water, and let them simmer gently five hours. At the expiration of this time take them out and pour the liquid into a vessel to cool; there should be nearly a quart. When cold, remove every particle of fat, replace the jelly into the preserving-kettle, and add one pound of loaf sugar, the rind and juice of two lemons; when the sugar has dissolved, beat two eggs with their shells in one gill of water, which pour into the kettle and boil five minutes, or until perfectly clear; then add one gill of Madeira wine and strain through a flannel bag into any form you like. LEMON JELLY. No. 2. To a package of gelatine add a pint of cold water, the juice of four lemons and the rind of one; let it stand one hour, then add one pint of boiling water, a pinch of cinnamon, three cups of sugar; let it all come to a boil; strain through a napkin into molds, set away to get cold. Nice poured over sliced bananas and oranges. WINE JELLY. One package of gelatine, one cupful of cold water soaked together two hours; add to this three cupfuls of sugar, the juice of three lemons and the grated rind of one. Now pour over this a quart of boiling water and stir until dissolved, then add a pint of sherry wine. Strain through a napkin, turn into molds dipped in cold water and place in the ice box for several hours. One good way to mold this jelly is to pour some of it into the mold, harden it a little, put in a layer of strawberries or raspberries, or any fresh fruit in season, pour in jelly to set them; after they have set, another layer of jelly, then another of berries, and so fill each mold, alternating with jelly and berries. CIDER JELLY. This can be made the same, by substituting clear, sweet cider in place of the wine. ORANGE JELLY. Orange jelly is a great delicacy and not expensive. To make a large dish, get six oranges, two lemons, a two-ounce package of gelatine. Put the gelatine to soak in a pint of water, squeeze the orange juice into a bowl, also the lemon juice, and grate one of the lemon skins in with it. Put about two cupfuls of sugar with the gelatine, then stir in the orange juice, and pour over all three pints of boiling water, stirring constantly. When the gelatine is entirely dissolved, strain through a napkin into molds or bowls wet with cold water, and set aside to harden. In three or four hours it will be ready for use and will last several days. VARIEGATED JELLY. After dividing a box of Cox's gelatine into halves, put each half into a bowl with half a cupful of cold water. Put three-quarters of an ounce or six sheets of pink gelatine into a third bowl containing three-fourths of a cupful of cold water. Cover the bowls to keep out the dust and set them away for two hours. At the end of that time, add a pint of boiling water, a cupful of sugar, half a pint of wine, and the juice of lemon to the pink gelatine, and, after stirring till the gelatine is dissolved, strain the liquid through a napkin. Treat one of the other portions of the gelatine in the same way. Beat together the yolks of four eggs and half a cupful of sugar, and, after adding this mixture to the third portion of gelatine, stir the new mixture into a pint and a third of boiling milk, contained in a double boiler. Stir on the fire for three minutes, then strain through a fine sieve, and flavor with a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Place in a deep pan two molds, each holding about three pints, and surround them with ice and water. Pour into these molds, in equal parts, the wine jelly which was made with the clear gelatine, and set it away to harden. When it has become set, pour in the pink gelatine, which should have been set away in a place not cold enough to make it harden. After it has been transferred and has become hard, pour into the molds the mixture of eggs, sugar and gelatine, which should be in a liquid state. Set the molds in an ice chest for three or four hours. At serving time, dip them into tepid water to loosen the contents, and gently turn the jelly out upon flat dishes. The clear jelly may be made first and poured into molds, then the pink jelly and finally the egg jelly. STRAWBERRY JELLY. Strawberries, pounded sugar; to every pint of juice allow half a package of Cox's gelatine. Pick the strawberries, put them into a pan, squeeze them well with a wooden spoon, add sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten them nicely, and let them remain for one hour that the juice may be extracted; then add half a pint of water to every pint of juice. Strain the strawberry juice and water through a napkin; measure it and to every pint allow half a package of Cox's gelatine dissolved in a teacupful of water. Mix this with the juice, put the jelly into a mold and set the mold on ice. A little lemon juice added to the strawberry juice improves the flavor of the jelly, if the fruit is very ripe; but it must be well strained before it is put with the other ingredients, or it will make the jelly muddy. Delicious and beautiful. RECIPE FOR CHEESE CUSTARD. For three persons, two ounces of grated parmesan cheese; the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth, a little pepper, salt and cayenne, a little milk or cream to mix; bake for a quarter of an hour. ICE CREAM AND ICES ICE-CREAM. One pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, six ounces of sugar and one tablespoonful of cornstarch. Scald but do not boil. Then put the whites of the two eggs into a pint of cream; whip it. Mix the milk and cream, flavor and freeze. One teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon is generally sufficient. The quantity, of course, can be increased to any amount desired, so long as the relative proportions of the different ingredients are observed. PURE ICE-CREAM. Genuine ice-cream is made of the pure sweet cream in this proportion: Two quarts of cream, one pound of sugar; beat up, flavor and freeze. For family use, select one of the new patent freezers, as being more rapid and less laborious for small quantities than the old style turned entirely by hand. All conditions being perfect, those with crank and revolving dashers effect freezing in eight to fifteen minutes. FRUIT ICE-CREAM. _Ingredients._--To every pint of fruit juice allow one pint of cream; sugar to taste. Let the fruit be well ripened; pick it off the stalks and put it into a large earthen pan. Stir it about with a wooden spoon, breaking it until it is well mashed; then, with the back of the spoon, rub it through a hair-sieve. Sweeten it nicely with pounded sugar; whip the cream for a few minutes, add it to the fruit, and whisk the whole again for another five minutes. Put the mixture into the freezer and freeze. Raspberry, strawberry, currant, and all fruit ice-creams are made in the same manner. A little powdered sugar sprinkled over the fruit before it is mashed assists to extract the juice. In winter, when fresh fruit is not obtainable, a little jam may be substituted for it; it should be melted and worked through a sieve before being added to the whipped cream; and if the color should not be good, a little prepared cochineal may be put in to improve its appearance. In making berry flavoring for ice-cream, the milk should never be heated; the juice of the berries added to _cold_ cream, or fresh rich milk, mixed with _cold_ cream, the juice put in just before freezing, or when partly frozen. CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM. No. 1. (Very fine.) Add four ounces of grated chocolate to a cupful of sweet milk, then mix it thoroughly to a quart of thick sweet cream; no flavoring is required but vanilla. Sweeten with a cupful of sugar; beat again and freeze. CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM. No. 2. Beat two eggs very light and cream them with two cupfuls of sugar. Scald a pint of milk and turn on by degrees, mixing well with the sugar and eggs. Stir in this half a cupful of grated chocolate; return to the fire and heat until it thickens, stirring briskly; take off and set aside to cool. When thoroughly cold, freeze. COCOANUT ICE-CREAM. One quart of cream, one pint of milk, three eggs, one cupful and a half of sugar and one of prepared cocoanut, the rind and juice of a lemon. Beat together the eggs and grated lemon rind and put with the milk in the double boiler. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the cocoanut and put away to cool. When cool add the sugar, lemon juice and cream. Freeze. CUSTARD ICE-CREAM. Sweeten one quart of cream or rich milk with half a pound of sugar and flavor to taste; put it over the fire in a farina-kettle; as soon as it begins to boil, stir into it a tablespoonful of cornstarch or rice flour which has been previously mixed smooth with a little milk; after it has boiled a few minutes, take it off the fire and stir in very gradually six eggs which have been beaten until thick; when quite cold, freeze it as ice-cream. STRAWBERRY ICE-CREAM. Mix a cupful of sugar with a quart of ripe strawberries, let them stand half a day, then mash and strain them through a coarse towel, then add to the juice a full cupful of sugar and when dissolved, beat in a quart of fresh thick cream. Raspberries, pineapple and other fruits made the same. FRUIT CREAM. Make a rich, boiled custard; flavor with wine and vanilla; pour it into a freezer. When half frozen, add pounded almonds, chopped citron and brandy, peaches or chopped raisins. Have the freezer half full of custard and fill up with the fruit. Mix well and freeze again. Almost any kind of fruits that are preferred may be substituted for the above. TUTTI FRUTTI ICE-CREAM. Take two quarts of the richest cream and add to it one pound of pulverized sugar and four whole eggs; mix well together; place on the fire, stirring constantly, and just bring to boiling point; now remove immediately and continue to stir until nearly cold; flavor with a tablespoonful of extract of vanilla; place in freezer and, when half frozen, mix thoroughly into it one pound of preserved fruits, in equal parts of peaches, apricots, gages, cherries, pineapples, etc.; all of these fruits are to be cut up into small pieces and mixed well with frozen cream. If you desire to _mold_ this ice sprinkle it with a little carmine, dissolved in a teaspoonful of water, with two drops of spirits of ammonia; mix in this color, so that it will be streaky or in veins like marble. ICE-CREAM WITHOUT A FREEZER. Beat the yolks of eight eggs very light, and add thereto four cupfuls of sugar, and stir well. Add to this, little by little, one quart of rich milk that has been heated almost to boiling, beating all the while; then put in the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Then boil the mixture in a pail set inside another containing hot water. Boil about fifteen minutes or until it is as thick as a boiled custard, stirring steadily meanwhile. Pour into a bowl to cool. When quite cold, beat into it three pints of rich sweet cream and five teaspoonfuls of vanilla, or such other flavoring as you prefer. Put it into a pail having a close-fitting cover and pack in pounded ice and salt,--_rock salt_, not the common kind,--about three-fourths ice and one-forth salt. When packed, before putting the ice on top of the cover, beat the custard as you would batter, for five minutes steady; then put on the cover and put the ice and salt over it, and cover the whole with a thick mat, blanket or carpet and let it stand for an hour. Then carefully uncover and scrape from the bottom and sides of the pail the thick coating of frozen custard, making every particle clear, and beat again very hard, until the custard is a smooth, half-congealed paste. Do this thoroughly. Put on the cover, ice, salt and blanket, and leave it for five or six hours, replenishing the ice and salt if necessary. _Common Sense in the Household._ FROZEN PEACHES. One can or twelve large peaches, two coffeecupfuls of sugar, one pint of water and the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth; break the peaches rather fine and stir all the ingredients together; freeze the whole into form. Frozen fruit of any kind can be made the same way; the fruit should be mashed to a smooth pulp, but not thinned too much. In freezing, care should be taken to prevent its getting lumpy. FROZEN FRUITS. The above recipe, increasing the quantity of peaches, raspberries or whatever fruit you may use, and adding a small amount of rich cream, make fine frozen fruits. In freezing, you must be especially careful to prevent its getting lumpy. LEMON ICE. The juice of six lemons and the grated rind of three, a large sweet orange, juice and rind; squeeze out all the juice and steep it in the rind of orange and lemons a couple of hours; then squeeze and strain through a towel, add a pint of water and two cupfuls of sugar. Stir until dissolved, turn into a freezer, then proceed as for ice-cream, letting it stand longer, two or three hours. When fruit jellies are used, gently heat the water sufficiently to melt them; then cool and freeze. Other flavors may be made in this manner, varying the flavoring to taste. PINEAPPLE SHERBET. Grate two pineapples and mix with two quarts of water and a pint of sugar; add the juice of two lemons and the beaten whites of four eggs. Place in a freezer and freeze. RASPBERRY SHERBET. Two quarts of raspberries, one cupful of sugar, one pint and a half of water, the juice of a large lemon, one tablespoonful of gelatine. Mash the berries and sugar together and let them stand two hours. Soak the gelatine in cold water to cover. Add one pint of the water to the berries and strain. Dissolve the gelatine in half a pint of boiling water, add this to the strained mixture and freeze. ORANGE-WATER ICE. Add a tablespoonful of gelatine to one gill of water; let it stand twenty minutes and add half a pint of boiling water; stir until dissolved and add four ounces of powdered sugar, the strained juice of six oranges and cold water enough to make a full quart in all. Stir until the sugar is dissolved; pour into the freezing can and freeze. (See LEMON ICE.) ALMOND ICE. Two pints of milk, eight ounces of cream, two ounces of orange-flower water, eight ounces of sweet almonds, four ounces of bitter almonds; pound all in a marble mortar, pouring in from time to time a few drops of water; when thoroughly pounded add the orange-flower water and half of the milk; pass this, tightly squeezed, through a cloth; boil the rest of the milk with the cream and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon; as soon as it is thick enough, pour in the almond milk; give it one boiling, take it off and let it cool in a bowl or pitcher before pouring it into the mold for freezing. CURRANT ICE. A refreshing ice is made of currants or raspberries, or equal portions of each. Squeeze enough fruit in a jelly-bag to make a pint of juice; add a pint each of the water and sugar; pour the whole, boiling hot, onto whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and whip the mixture thoroughly. When cool, freeze in the usual manner. Part red raspberry juice is a much finer flavor. Any juicy fruit may be prepared in this manner. DUMPLINGS AND PUDDINGS It depends as much upon the judgment of the cook as on the materials used to make a good pudding. Everything should be the best in the way of materials, and a proper attention to the rules, with some practice, will ensure success. Puddings are either boiled, baked or steamed; if boiled, the materials should be well worked together, put into a thick cloth bag, previously dipped in hot water, wringing it slightly and dredging the inside _thickly_ with flour; tie it firmly, allowing room for it to swell; drop it into a kettle of _boiling_ water, with a small plate or saucer in the bottom to keep it from sticking to the kettle. It should not cease boiling one moment from the time it is put in until taken out, and the pot must be tightly covered, and the cover not removed except when necessary to add water from the _boiling_ tea-kettle when the water is getting low. When done, dip immediately in cold water and turn out. This should be done just before placing on the table. Or butter a tin pudding-mold or an earthen bowl; close it tight so that water cannot penetrate; drop it into boiling water and boil steadily the required time. If a bowl is used it should be well buttered and not quite filled with the pudding, allowing room for it to swell; then a cloth wet in hot water, slightly wringing it, then floured on the inner side, and tied over the bowl, meeting under the bottom. To steam a pudding, put it into a tin pan or earthen dish; tie a cloth over the top, first dredging it in flour, and set it in a steamer. Cover the steamer closely; allow a little longer time than you do for boiling. Molds or basins for baking, steaming or boiling should be well buttered before the mixture is put into them. Allow a little longer time for steaming than for boiling. Dumplings boiled the same way, put into little separate cloths. Batter puddings should be smoothly mixed and free from lumps. To ensure this, first mix the flour with a very small portion of milk, the yolks of the eggs and the sugar thoroughly beaten together, and added to this; then add the remainder of the milk by degrees, then the seasoning, then the beaten whites of eggs last. Much success in making this kind of pudding depends upon a strict observance of this rule; for, although the materials may be good, if the eggs are put into the milk before they are mixed with the flour, there will be a custard at the top and a soft dough at the bottom of your dish. All sweet puddings require a _little_ salt to prevent insipidity and to draw out the flavor of the several ingredients, but a grain too much will spoil any pudding. In puddings where wine, brandy, cider, lemon juice or any acid is used, it should be stirred in last and gradually, or it is apt to curdle the milk or eggs. In making _custard puddings_ (puddings made with eggs and milk), the yolks of the eggs and sugar should be thoroughly beaten together before any of the milk or seasoning is added, and the beaten whites of eggs last. In making puddings of bread, rice, sago, tapioca, etc., the eggs should be beaten very light, and mixed with a portion of the milk, before adding them to the other ingredients. If the eggs are mixed with the milk, without having been thus beaten, the milk will be absorbed by the bread, rice, sago, tapioca, etc., without rendering them light. The freshness of all pudding ingredients is of much importance, as one bad article will taint the whole mixture. When the _freshness_ of eggs is _doubtful_, break each one separately in a cup before mixing them all together. Should there be a bad one amongst them, it can be thrown away; whereas, if mixed with the good ones, the entire quantity would be spoiled. The yolks and whites beaten separately make the articles they are put into much lighter. Raisins and dried fruit for puddings should be carefully picked and, in many cases, stoned. Currants should be well washed, pressed in a cloth and placed on a dish before the fire to get thoroughly dry; they should be then picked carefully over, and _every piece of grit or stone_ removed from amongst them. To plump them, some cooks pour boiling water over them and then dry them before the fire. [Illustration: STATE DINING ROOM.] [Illustration: THE BLUE ROOM.] Many baked pudding recipes are quite as good boiled. As a safe rule boil the pudding _twice as long_ as you would bake it; and remember that a boiling pudding should never be touched after it is once put on the stove; a jar of the kettle destroys the lightness of the pudding. If the water boils down and more must be added, it must be done so carefully that the mold will not hit the side of the kettle, and it must not be allowed to stop boiling for an instant. Batter should never-stick to the knife when it is sent to the table; it will do this both when less than sufficient number of eggs is mixed with it and when it is not cooked enough; about four eggs to the half pound of flour will make it firm enough to cut smoothly. When baked or boiled puddings are sufficiently solid, turn them out of the dish they were baked in, bottom uppermost and strew over them finely sifted sugar. When pastry or baked puddings are not done through, and yet the outside is sufficiently brown, cover them over with a piece of white paper until thoroughly cooked; this prevents them from getting burnt. TO CLEAN CURRANTS. Put them in a sieve or colander and sprinkle them thickly with flour; rub them well until they are separated, and the flour, grit and fine stems have passed through the strainer. Place the strainer and currants in a pan of water and wash thoroughly; then lift the strainer and currants together, and change the water until it is clear. Dry the currants between clean towels. It hardens them to dry in an oven. TO CHOP SUET. Break or cut in small pieces, sprinkle with sifted flour, and chop in a cold place to keep it from becoming sticky and soft. TO STONE RAISINS. Put them in a dish and pour _boiling_ water over them; cover and let them remain in it ten minutes; it will soften so that by rubbing each raisin between the thumb and finger, the seeds will come out clean; then they are ready for cutting or chopping if required. APPLE DUMPLINGS. Make a rich biscuit dough, the same as soda or baking-powder biscuit, only adding a little more shortening. Take a piece of dough out on the molding-board, roll out almost as thin as pie crust; then cut into square pieces large enough to cover an apple. Put into the middle of each piece two apple halves that have been pared and cored; sprinkle on a spoonful of sugar and a pinch of ground cinnamon, turn the ends of the dough over the apple and lap them tight. Lay the dumplings in a dripping-pan buttered, the smooth side upward. When the pans are filled, put a small piece of butter on top of each, sprinkle over a large handful of sugar, turn in a cupful of boiling water, then place in a moderate oven for three-quarters of an hour. Baste with the liquor once while baking. Serve with pudding-sauce or cream and sugar. BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS. The same recipe as the above, with the exception that they are put into a small coarse cloth well floured after being dipped in hot water. Each cloth to be tied securely, but leaving room enough for the dumpling to swell. Put them in a pot of boiling water and boil three-quarters of an hour. Serve with sweet sauce. Peaches and other fruits used in the same manner. BOILED RICE DUMPLINGS, CUSTARD SAUCE. Boil half a pound of rice, drain and mash it moderately fine. Add to it two ounces of butter, three ounces of sugar, half a saltspoonful of mixed ground spice, salt and the yolks of two eggs. Moisten a trifle with a tablespoonful or two of cream. With floured hands shape the mixture into balls, and tie them in floured pudding cloths. Steam or boil forty minutes and send to table with a custard sauce made as follows:-- Mix together four ounces of sugar and two ounces of butter (slightly warmed). Beat together the yolks of two eggs and a gill of cream; mix and pour the sauce in a double saucepan; set this in a pan of hot water and whisk thoroughly three minutes. Set the saucepan in cold water and whisk until the sauce is cooled. SUET DUMPLINGS. No. 1. One pint bowl of fine bread crumbs, one-half cupful of beef suet chopped fine, the whites and yolks of four eggs beaten separately and very light, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar sifted into half a cupful of flour, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water, and a teaspoonful of salt. Wet it all together with milk enough to make a stiff paste. Flour your hands and make into balls. Tie up in separate cloths that have been wrung out in hot water and floured inside; leave room, when tying, for them to swell. Drop them into _boiling_ water and boil about three-quarters of an hour. Serve _hot_, with wine sauce, or syrup and butter. SUET DUMPLINGS. No. 2. One cupful of suet chopped fine, one cupful of grated English muffins or bread, one cupful of flour, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, half a cupful of sugar, two eggs, one pint of milk, a large pinch of salt. Sift together powder and flour, add the beaten eggs, grated muffins, sugar, suet and milk; form into smooth batter, which drop by tablespoonfuls into a pint of boiling milk, three or four at a time; when done, dish and pour over the milk they were boiled in. A Danish dish; very good. PRESERVE DUMPLINGS. Preserved peaches, plums, quinces, cherries or any other sweetmeat; make a light crust, and roll a small piece of moderate thickness and fill with the fruit in quantity to make the size of a peach dumpling; tie each one in a dumpling cloth, well floured inside, drop them into hot water and boil half an hour; when done, remove the cloth, send to table hot and eat with cream. OXFORD DUMPLINGS. Beat until quite light one tablespoonful of sugar and the yolks of three eggs, add half a cupful of finely chopped suet, half a cupful of English currants, one cupful of sifted flour, in which there has been sifted a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, a little nutmeg, one teaspoonful of salt and, lastly, the beaten whites of the eggs; flour your hands and make it into balls the size of an egg; boil in separate cloth one hour or more. Serve with wine sauce. LEMON DUMPLINGS. Mix together a pint of grated bread crumbs, half a cupful of chopped suet, half a cupful of moist sugar, a little salt and a small tablespoonful of flour, adding the grated rind of a lemon. Moisten it all with the whites and yolks of two eggs _well_ beaten and the juice of the lemon, strained. Stir it all well together and put the mixture into small cups well buttered; tie them down with a cloth dipped in flour and boil three-quarters of an hour. Turn them out on a dish, strew sifted sugar over them and serve with wine sauce. BOILED APPLE PUFFETS. Three eggs, one pint of milk, a little salt, sufficient flour to thicken as waffle batter, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Fill teacups alternately with a layer of batter and then of apples chopped fine. Steam one hour. Serve hot with flavored cream and sugar. You can substitute any fresh fruit or jams your taste prefers. COMMON BATTER. For boiled puddings, fritters, etc., is made with one cupful of milk, a pinch of salt, two eggs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one cupful of flour and a small teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift the flour, powder and salt together, add the melted butter, the eggs well beaten and the milk; mix into a very smooth batter, a little thicker than for griddle-cakes. ALMOND PUDDING. Turn boiling water on to three-fourths of a pound of sweet almonds, let it remain until the skin comes off easily; rub with a dry cloth; when dry, pound fine with one large spoonful of rose-water; beat six eggs to a stiff froth with three spoonfuls of fine white sugar; mix with one quart of milk, three spoonfuls of pounded crackers, four ounces of melted butter, and the same of citron cut into bits; add almonds, stir altogether and bake in a small pudding-dish with a lining and rim of pastry. This pudding is best when cold. It will bake in half an hour in a quick oven. APPLE PUDDING, BAKED. Stir two tablespoonfuls of butter and half a cupful of sugar to a cream; stir into this the yolks of four eggs, well beaten, the juice and grated rind of one lemon and half a dozen sound, green tart grated. Now stir in the four beaten whites of the eggs, season with cinnamon or nutmeg; bake. To be served cold with cream. BOILED APPLE PUDDING. Take three eggs, three apples, a quarter of a pound of bread crumbs, one lemon, three ounces of sugar, three ounces of currants, half a wine-glassful of wine, nutmeg, butter and sugar for sauce. Pare, core and mince the apples and mix with the bread crumbs, nutmeg, grated sugar, currants; the juice of the lemon and half the rind grated. Beat the eggs well, moisten the mixture with these and beat all together, adding the wine last; put the pudding in a buttered mold, tie it down with a cloth; boil one hour and a half and serve with sweet sauce. BIRDS' NEST PUDDING. Core and peel eight apples, put in a dish, fill the places from which the cores have been taken with sugar and a little grated nutmeg; cover and bake. Beat the yolks of four eggs light, add two teacupfuls of flour, with three even teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted with it, one pint of milk with a teaspoonful of salt; then add the whites of the eggs well beaten, pour over the apples and bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve with sauce. BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING. No. 1. Butter the sides and bottom of a deep pudding-dish, then butter thin slices of bread, sprinkle thickly with sugar, a little cinnamon, chopped apple, or any fruit you prefer between each slice, until your dish is full. Beat up two eggs, add a tablespoonful of sifted flour; stir with the three cupfuls of milk and a little salt; pour over this the bread, let it stand one hour and then bake slowly, with a cover on, three-quarters of an hour; then take the cover off and brown. Serve with wine and lemon sauce. Pie-plant, cut up in small pieces with plenty of sugar, is fine made in this manner. BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING. No. 2. Place a layer of stale bread, rolled fine, in the bottom of a pudding-dish, then a layer of any kind of fruit; sprinkle on a little sugar, then another layer of bread crumbs and of fruit; and so on until the dish is full, the top layer being crumbs. Make a custard as for pies, add a pint of milk and mix. Pour it over the top of the pudding and bake until the fruit is cooked. Stale cake, crumbed fine, in place of bread, is an improvement. COLD BERRY PUDDING. Take rather stale bread--baker's bread or light home-made--cut in thin slices and spread with butter. Add a very little water and a little sugar to one quart or more of huckleberries and blackberries, or the former alone. Stew a few minutes until juicy; put a layer of buttered bread in your buttered pudding-dish, then a layer of stewed berries while hot and so on until full; lastly, a covering of stewed berries. It may be improved with a rather soft frosting over the top. To be eaten cold with thick cream and sugar. APPLE TAPIOCA PUDDING. Put one teacupful of tapioca and one teaspoonful of salt into one pint and a half of water, and let it stand several hours where it will be quite warm, but not cook; peel six tart apples, take out the cores, fill them with sugar, in which is grated a little nutmeg and lemon peel, and put them in a pudding-dish; over these pour the tapioca, first mixing with it one teaspoonful of melted butter and a cupful of cold milk, and half a cupful of sugar; bake one hour; eat with sauce. When fresh fruits are in season, this pudding is exceedingly nice, with damsons, plums, red currants, gooseberries or apples; when made with these, the pudding must be thickly sprinkled over with sifted sugar. Canned or fresh peaches may be used in place of apples in the same manner, moistening the tapioca with the juice of the canned peaches in place of the cold milk. Very nice when quite cool to serve with sugar and cream. APPLE AND BROWN-BREAD PUDDING. Take a pint of brown bread crumbs, a pint bowl of chopped apples, mix; add two-thirds of a cupful of finely-chopped suet, a cupful of raisins, one egg, a tablespoonful of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt. Mix with half a pint of milk, and boil in buttered molds about two hours. Serve with sauce flavored with lemon. APPLE-PUFF PUDDING. Put half a pound of flour into a basin, sprinkle in a little salt, stir in gradually a pint of milk; when quite smooth add three eggs; butter a pie-dish, pour in the batter; take three-quarters of a pound of apples, seed and cut in slices, and put in the batter; place bits of butter over the top; bake three-quarters of an hour; when done, sprinkle sugar over the top and serve hot. PLAIN BREAD PUDDING, BAKED. Break up about a pint of stale bread after cutting off the crust, pour over it a quart of boiling milk; add to this a piece of butter the size of a small egg; cover the dish tight and let it stand until cool; then with a spoon mash it until fine, adding a teaspoonful of cinnamon and one of nutmeg grated, half a cupful of sugar and one-quarter of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water. Beat up four eggs very light and add last. Turn all into a well-buttered pudding-dish and bake three-quarters of an hour. Serve it warm with hard sauce. This recipe may be steamed or boiled; very nice either way. SUPERIOR BREAD PUDDINGS. One and one-half cupfuls of white sugar, two cupfuls of fine, dry bread crumbs, five eggs, one tablespoonful of butter, vanilla, rose-water or lemon flavoring, one quart of fresh rich milk and half a cupful of jelly or jam. Rub the butter into a cupful of sugar; beat the yolks very light, and stir these together to a cream. The bread crumbs soaked in milk come next, then the flavoring. Bake in a buttered pudding-dish--a large one and but two-thirds full--until the custard is "set." Draw to the mouth of the oven, spread over with jam or other nice fruit conserve. Cover this with a meringue made of the whipped whites and half a cupful of sugar. Shut the oven and bake until the meringue begins to color. Eat cold with cream. In strawberry season, substitute a pint of fresh fruit for preserves. It is then delicious. Serve with any warm sauce. BOILED BREAD PUDDING. To one quart of bread crumbs soaked soft in a cup of hot milk, add one cupful of molasses, one cupful of fruit or chopped raisins, one teaspoonful each of spices, one tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, about a cupful of flour sifted; boil or steam three hours. Serve with sweet sauce. ALMOND PUDDING. No. 1. Put two quarts of milk into a double boiler; stir into it two heaping tablespoonfuls of sifted flour that has been stirred to a cream, with a little of the milk. When it boils, care should be taken that it does not burn; when cooked, take from the fire and let it cool. Take the skins off from two pounds of sweet almonds, pound them fine, stir them into the milk; add a teaspoonful of salt, a cupful of sugar, flavoring and six well-beaten eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately. Put bits of butter over the top. Bake one hour. A gill of brandy or wine improves it. ALMOND PUDDING. No. 2. Steep four ounces of crumbs of bread, sliced, in one and one-half pints of cream, or grate the bread; then beat half a pound of blanched almonds very fine till they become a paste, with two teaspoonfuls of orange-flower water; beat up the yolks of eight eggs and the whites of four; mix all well together; put in a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar and stir in three or four ounces of melted butter; put it over the fire, stirring it until it is thick; lay a sheet of paper at the bottom of a dish and pour in the ingredients; bake half an hour. Use the remaining four whites of eggs for a meringue for the top. BATTER PUDDING, BAKED. Four eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately, one pint of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of baking powder, two cupfuls of sifted flour. Put the whites of the eggs in last. Bake in an earthen dish that can be set on the table. Bake forty-five minutes; serve with rich sauce. BOILED BATTER PUDDING. Sift together a pint of flour and a teaspoonful of baking powder into a deep dish, sprinkle in a little salt, adding also a tablespoonful of melted butter. Stir into this gradually a pint of milk; when quite smooth, add four eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Now add enough more flour to make a _very stiff_ batter. If liked, any kind of fruit may be stirred into this; a pint of berries or sliced fruit. Boil two hours. Serve with cream and sugar, wine sauce, or any sweet sauce. CUSTARD PUDDING. No. 1. Take five tablespoonfuls out of a quart of cream or rich milk and mix them with two large spoonfuls of fine flour. Set the rest of the milk to boil, flavoring it with bitter almonds broken up. When it has boiled hard, take it off, strain it and stir it in the cold milk and flour. Set it away to cool and beat well eight yolks and four whites of eggs; add them to the milk and stir in, at the last, a glass of brandy or white wine, a teaspoonful of powdered nutmeg and half a cupful of sugar. Butter a large bowl or mold; pour in the mixture; tie a cloth tightly over it; put it into a pot of boiling water and boil it two hours, replenishing the pot with hot water from a tea-kettle. When the pudding is done, let it get cool before you turn it out. Eat it with butter and sugar stirred together to a cream and flavored with lemon juice or orange. CUSTARD PUDDING. No. 2. Pour one quart of milk in a deep pan and let the pan stand in a kettle of boiling water, while you beat to a cream eight eggs and six tablespoonfuls of fine sugar and a teaspoon of flour; then stir the eggs and sugar into the milk and continue stirring until it begins to thicken; then remove the pan from the boiling water, scrape down the sides, stir to the bottom until it begins to cool, add a tablespoonful of peach-water, or any other flavor you may prefer, pour into little cups and, when cold, serve. CUSTARD PUDDINGS. The recipe for COMMON CUSTARD, with the addition of chocolate grated, banana, or pineapple or cocoanut, makes successfully those different kinds of puddings. APPLE CUSTARD PUDDINGS. Put a quart of pared and quartered apples into a stewpan, with half a cupful of water and cook them until they are soft. Remove from the fire and add half a cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter and the grated rind and the juice of a lemon. Have ready mixed two cupfuls of grated bread crumbs and two tablespoonfuls of flour; add this also to the apple mixture, after which stir in two well-beaten eggs. Turn all into a well-buttered pudding-dish and bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with sugar and cream or hard sweet sauce. CREAM PUDDING. Beat the yolks and whites of six eggs well and stir them into one pint of flour, one pint of milk, a little salt and a bit of soda dissolved in a little water, the grated rind of a lemon and three spoonfuls of sugar; just before baking stir in one pint of cream and bake in a buttered dish. Eat with cream. CREAM MERINGUE PUDDING. Stir to a cream half a cupful of sugar with the white of one egg and the yolks of four. Add one quart of milk and mix thoroughly. Put four tablespoonfuls of flour and a teaspoonful of salt into another dish, and pour half a cupful of the milk and egg mixture upon them, and beat very smooth, gradually adding the rest of the milk and egg mixture. Turn this all into a double boiler surrounded by boiling water; stir this until smooth and thick like cream, or about fifteen minutes; then add vanilla or other extract. Rub all through a strainer into a well-buttered pudding-dish. Now beat the remaining three whites of eggs to a stiff froth, and gradually add three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and spread roughly over the pudding. Cook for twenty minutes in a _moderate_ oven. Serve cold. CORNSTARCH PUDDING. Reserve half a cupful of milk from a quart and put the remainder on the stove in a double boiler. Mix four large tablespoonfuls of cornstarch and a teaspoonful of salt with the half cupful of milk; then stir the mixture into the boiling milk and beat well for two minutes. Cover the boiler and cook the pudding for twelve minutes; then pour it into a pudding-dish and set in a cool place for half an hour. When the time for serving comes, make a sauce in this manner: Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff, dry froth, and beat into this two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. As soon as the sugar has been well mixed with the whites, add half of a large tumbler of currant jelly, or any other bright jelly, or any kind of preserved fruit may be used. If you prefer, serve sugar and cream with the pudding instead of a sauce. COLD FRUIT PUDDING. Throw into a pint of new milk the thin rind of a lemon, heat it slowly by the side of the fire and keep at the boiling point until strongly flavored. Sprinkle in a small pinch of salt and three-quarters of an ounce of the finest isinglass or gelatine. When dissolved, strain through muslin into a clean saucepan with five ounces of powdered sugar and half a pint of rich cream. Give the whole one boil, stir it briskly and add by degrees the well-beaten yolks of five eggs. Next thicken the mixture as a custard over a slow fire, taking care not to keep it over the fire a moment longer than necessary; pour it into a basin and flavor with orange-flower water or vanilla. Stir until nearly cold, then add two ounces of citron cut in thin strips and two ounces of candied cherries. Pour into a buttered mold. For sauce use any kind of fruit syrup. CUBAN PUDDING. Crumble a pound of sponge cakes, an equal quantity, or less if preferred, of cocoanut, grated in a basin. Pour over two pints of rich cream previously sweetened with a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar and brought to the boiling point. Cover the basin and when the cream is soaked up stir in it eight well-beaten eggs. Butter a mold, arrange four or five ounces of preserved ginger around it, pour in the pudding carefully and tie it down with a cloth. Steam or boil slowly for an hour and a half; serve with the syrup from the ginger, which should be warmed and poured over the pudding. CRACKER PUDDING. Of raspberries, may be made of one large teacupful of cracker crumbs, one quart of milk, one spoonful of flour, a pinch of salt, the yolks of three eggs, one whole egg and half a cupful of sugar. Flavor with vanilla, adding a little pinch of salt. Bake in a moderate oven. When done, spread over the top, while hot, a pint of well-sugared raspberries. Then beat the whites of the three eggs very stiff, with two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little lemon extract, or whatever one prefers. Spread this over the berries and bake a light brown. Serve with fruit sauce made of raspberries. BAKED CORN MEAL PUDDING, WITHOUT EGGS. Take a large cupful of yellow meal and a teacupful of cooking molasses and beat them well together; then add to them a quart of boiling milk, some salt and a large tablespoonful of powdered ginger, add a cupful of finely-chopped suet or a piece of butter the size of an egg. Butter a brown earthen pan and turn the pudding in, let it stand until it thickens; then as you put it into the oven, turn over it a pint of cold milk, but do not stir it, as this makes the jelly. Bake three hours. Serve warm with hard sauce. This recipe has been handed down from mother to daughter for many years back in a New England family. BAKED CORN MEAL PUDDING, WITH EGGS. One small cupful of Indian meal, one-half cupful of wheat flour Stirred together with cold milk. Scald one pint of milk and stir the mixture in it and cook until thick; then thin with cold milk to the consistency of batter, not very thick; add half a cupful of sugar, half a cupful of molasses, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of butter, a little salt, a tablespoonful of mixed cinnamon and nutmeg, two-thirds of a teaspoonful of soda added just before putting it into the oven. Bake two hours. After baking it half an hour, stir it up thoroughly, then finish baking. Serve it up hot, eat it with wine sauce, or with butter and syrup. BOILED CORN MEAL PUDDING. Warm a pint of molasses and a pint of milk, stir well together; beat four eggs and stir gradually into molasses and milk; add a cupful of beef suet chopped fine, or half a cupful of butter, and corn meal sufficient to make a thick batter; add a teaspoonful of pulverized cinnamon, the same of nutmeg, a teaspoonful of soda, one of salt, and stir all together thoroughly; dip a cloth into boiling water, shake, flour a little, turn in the mixture, tie up, leaving room for the pudding to swell, and boil three hours; serve hot with sauce made of drawn butter, wine and nutmeg. BOILED CORN MEAL PUDDING, WITHOUT EGGS. To one quart of boiling milk, stir in a pint and a half of Indian meal, well sifted, a teaspoonful of salt, a cupful of molasses, half a cupful of chopped suet and a teaspoonful of dissolved soda; tie it up tight in a cloth, allowing room for it to swell, and boil four hours. Serve with sweet sauce. CORN MEAL PUFFS. Into one quart of boiling milk stir eight tablespoonfuls of Indian meal, four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and a teaspoonful of nutmeg; let the whole boil five minutes, stirring constantly to prevent its adhering to the saucepan; then remove it from the fire, and when it has become cool stir into it six eggs, beaten as light as possible; mix well, and pour the mixture into buttered teacups, nearly filling them; bake in a moderate oven half an hour; serve with lemon sauce. DELICATE INDIAN PUDDING. One quart milk, two heaping tablespoonfuls of Indian meal, four of sugar, one of butter, three eggs, one teaspoonful of salt. Boil milk in double boiler, sprinkle the meal into it, stirring all the while; cook twelve minutes, stirring often. Beat together the eggs, salt, sugar and one-half teaspoonful of ginger. Stir the butter into the meal and milk. Pour this gradually over the egg mixture. Bake slowly one hour. Serve with sauce of heated syrup and butter. _Maria Parloa._ COTTAGE PUDDING. One heaping pint of flour, half a cupful of sugar, one cupful of milk, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in the milk, one tablespoonful of butter, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar rubbed dry in the flour; flavor with nutmeg; bake in a _moderate_ oven; cut in slices and serve warm with wine or brandy sauce, or sweet sugar sauce. FRENCH COCOANUT PUDDING. No. 1. One quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, the yolks of four eggs, half a cupful of sugar and a little salt; put part of the milk, salt and sugar on the stove and let it boil; dissolve the cornstarch in the rest of the milk; stir into the milk and while boiling add the yolks and a cupful of grated cocoanut. Flavor with vanilla. _Frosting._--The whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, half a cupful of sugar, flavor with lemon; spread it on the pudding and put it into the oven to brown, saving a little of the frosting to moisten the top; then put on grated cocoanut to give it the appearance of snowflake. COCOANUT PUDDING. No. 2. Half a pound of grated cocoanut Then mix with it half a cupful of stale sponge cake, crumbled fine. Stir together until very light half a cupful of butter and one of sugar, add a _coffee_cupful of rich milk or cream. Beat six eggs very light and stir them gradually into the butter and sugar in turn, with the grated cocoanut. Having stirred the whole very hard, add two teaspoonfuls of vanilla; stir again, put into a buttered dish and bake until set, or about three-quarters of an hour. Three of the whites of the eggs could be left out for a meringue on the top of the pudding. Most excellent. COCOANUT PUDDING. No. 3. A cup of grated cocoanut put into the recipes of Cracker Pudding and Bread Pudding, makes good cocoanut pudding. CHERRY PUDDING, BOILED OR STEAMED. Two eggs well beaten, one cupful of sweet milk, sifted flour enough to make a _stiff_ batter, two large teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a pinch of salt and as many cherries as can be stirred in. Boil one hour or steam and serve with liquid sauce. Cranberries, currants, peaches, cherries, or any tart fruit is nice used with this recipe. Serve with sweet sauce. CHERRY PUDDING. No. 2. Make a crust or paste of two cupfuls of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a teaspoonful of salt; wet up with milk or water; roll out a quarter of an inch thick, butter a large common bowl and line it with this paste, leaving it large enough to lap over the top; fill it with stoned cherries and half a cupful of sugar. Gather the paste closely over the top, sprinkle a little with dry flour and cover the whole with a linen cloth, fastening it with a string. Put it into a pot of boiling water and cook for an hour and a half. Serve with sweet sauce. ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING. (The Genuine.) Soak one pound of stale bread in a pint of hot milk and let it stand and cool. When cold, add to it one-half pound of sugar and the yolks of eight eggs beaten to a cream, one pound of raisins, stoned and floured, one pound of Zante currants, washed and floured, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in slips and dredged with flour, one pound of beef suet, chopped fine and _salted_, one glass of wine, one glass of brandy, one nutmeg and a tablespoonful of mace, cinnamon and cloves mixed; beat the whole well together and, as the last thing, add the whites of the eight eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; pour into a cloth, previously scalded and dredged with flour, tie it firmly, leaving room for the pudding to swell and boil six hours. Serve with wine or brandy sauce. It is best to prepare the ingredients the day before and cover closely. CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING. (By Measure.) One cupful of finely-chopped beef suet, two cupfuls of fine bread crumbs, one heaping cupful of sugar, one cupful of seeded raisins, one cupful of well-washed currants, one cupful of chopped blanched almonds, half a cupful of citron, sliced thin, a teaspoonful of salt, one of cloves, two of cinnamon, half a grated nutmeg and four well-beaten eggs. Dissolve a level teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of warm water. Flour the fruit thoroughly from a pint of flour; then mix the remainder as follows: In a large bowl put the well-beaten eggs, sugar, spices and salt in one cupful of milk. Stir in the fruit, chopped nuts, bread crumbs and suet, one after the other, until all are used, putting in the dissolved soda last and adding enough flour to make the fruit stick together, which will take all the pint. Boil or steam four hours. Serve with wine or brandy or any well-flavored sauce. BAKED PLUM PUDDING. It will be found best to prepare the ingredients the day before and cover closely. Grate a loaf of stale bread, or enough for a pint of crumbs; boil one quart of milk and turn boiling hot over the grated bread; cover and let steep an hour; in the meantime pick, soak and dry half a pound of currants, half a pound of raisins, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in large slips, one nutmeg, one tablespoonful of mace and cinnamon mixed, one cupful of sugar, with half of a cupful of butter; when the bread is ready mix with it the butter, sugar, spice and citron, adding a glassful of white wine; beat eight eggs very light, and when the mixture is quite cold, stir them gradually in; then add by degrees the raisins and currants dredged with flour; stir the whole very hard; put it into a buttered dish; bake two hours, send to the table warm. Eat with wine sauce, or wine and sugar. Most excellent. PLUM PUDDING, WITHOUT EGGS. This delicious, light pudding is made by stirring thoroughly together the following ingredients: One cupful of finely-chopped beef suet, two cupfuls of fine bread crumbs, one cupful of molasses, one of chopped raisins, one of well-washed currants, one spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, allspice and carbonate of soda, one cupful of milk and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Put into a well-greased pudding-mold, or a three-quart pail and cover closely. Set this pail into a larger kettle, close covered, and half full of boiling water, adding boiling water as it boils away. Steam not less than four hours. This pudding is sure to be a success, and is quite rich for one containing neither eggs nor butter. One-half of the above amount is more than eight persons would be able to eat, but it is equally good some days later, steamed again for an hour, if kept closely covered meantime. Serve with wine sauce or common sweet sauce. CABINET PUDDING. Butter well the inside of a pudding-mold. Have ready a cupful of chopped citron, raisins and currants. Sprinkle some of this fruit on the bottom of the mold, then slices of stale sponge cake; shake over this some spices, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, then fruit again and cake, until the mold is nearly full. Make a custard of a quart of milk, four eggs, a pinch of salt, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter; pour this over the cake without cooking it; let it stand and soak one hour; then steam one hour and a half. Serve with wine sauce or a custard. Seasoned with wine. _Manhattan Beach Hotel._ BAKED CRANBERRY PUDDING. Pour boiling water on a pint of bread crumbs; melt a tablespoonful of butter and stir in. When the bread is softened, add two eggs and beat thoroughly with the bread. Then put in a pint of the stewed fruit and sweeten to your taste. Fresh fruit of many kinds can be used instead of cranberries. Slices of peaches put in layers are delicious. Serve with sweet sugar sauce. ORANGE PUDDING. No. 1. One pint of milk, the juice of six oranges and the rind of three, eight eggs, half a cupful of butter, half a cupful of granulated sugar, one tablespoonful of ground rice, paste to line the pudding-dish. Mix the ground rice with a little of the cold milk. Put the remainder of the milk in the double boiler, and when it boils stir in the mixed rice. Stir for five minutes; then add the butter and set away to cool. Beat together the sugar, the yolks of eight eggs and whites of four. Grate the rinds and squeeze the juice of the oranges into this. Stir all into the cooked mixture. Have a pudding-dish holding about three quarts lined with paste. Pour the preparation into this and bake in a moderate oven for forty minutes. Beat the remaining four whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Cover the pudding with this. Return to the oven and cook ten minutes, leaving the door open. Set away to cool. It must be ice cold when served. _Maria Parloa._ ORANGE PUDDING. No. 2. Five sweet oranges, one coffeecupful of white sugar, one pint of milk, the yolks of three eggs, one tablespoonful of cornstarch. Peel and cut the oranges into thin slices, taking out the seeds; pour over them the sugar and let them stand while you make the rest. Now set the milk in a suitable dish into another of boiling water, let the milk get boiling hot, add a piece of butter as large as a nutmeg, the cornstarch made smooth with a little cold milk, and the well-beaten yolks of the eggs and a little flavoring. Stir it all well together until it is smooth and cooked. Set it off and pour it over the oranges. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, adding two tablespoonfuls of sugar, spread over the top for frosting. Set into the oven a few minutes to brown. Eat cold. Berries, peaches and other fruits may be substituted. BAKED LEMON PUDDING. (Queen of Puddings.) _Ingredients._--One quart of milk, two cupfuls of bread crumbs, four eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, butter the size of an egg, one cupful of white sugar, one large lemon--juice and grated rind. Heat the milk and pour over the bread crumbs, add the butter, cover and let it get soft. When cool, beat the sugar and yolks and add to the mixture, also the grated rind. Bake in a buttered dish until firm and slightly brown, from a half to three-quarters of an hour. When done, draw it to the door of the oven and cover with a meringue made of the whites of the eggs, whipped to a froth with four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and the lemon juice; put it back in the oven and brown a light straw color. Eat warm, with lemon sauce. LEMON PUDDING. A small cupful of butter, the grated peel of two large lemons and the juice of one, the yolks of ten eggs and whites of five, a cupful and a half of white sugar. Beat all together and, lining a deep pudding-dish with puff paste, bake the lemon pudding in it; while baking, beat the whites of the remaining five eggs to a stiff froth, whip in fine white sugar to taste, cover the top of the pudding (when baked) with the meringue and return to the oven for a moment to brown; eat cold, it requires no sauce. BOILED LEMON PUDDING. Half a cupful of chopped suet, one pint of bread crumbs, one lemon, one cupful of sugar, one of flour, a teaspoonful of salt and two eggs, milk. First mix the suet, bread crumbs, sugar and flour well together, adding the lemon peel, which should be the yellow grated from the outside, and the juice, which should be strained. When these ingredients are well mixed, moisten with the eggs and sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of thick batter; put it into a well-buttered mold and boil for three and a half hours; turn it out, strew sifted sugar over and serve warm with the lemon sauce, or not, at pleasure. LEMON PUDDING, COLD. One cupful of sugar, four eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, one pint of milk, one tablespoonful of butter and the juice and rind of two lemons. Wet the cornstarch in some of the milk, then stir it into the remainder of the milk, which should be boiling on the stove, stirring constantly and briskly for five minutes. Take it from the stove, stir in the butter and let it cool. Beat the yolks and sugar together, then stir them thoroughly into the milk and cornstarch. Now stir in the lemon juice and grated rind, doing it very gradually, making it very smooth. Bake in a well-buttered dish. To be eaten cold. Oranges may be used in place of lemons. This also may be turned while _hot_ into several small cups or forms previously dipped in cold water, place them aside; in one hour they will be fit to turn out. Serve with cream and sugar. Should be boiled altogether, not baked. ROYAL SAGO PUDDING. Three-quarters of a cupful of sago washed and put into one quart of milk; put it into a saucepan, let it stand in boiling water on the stove or range until the sago has well swelled. While hot, put in two tablespoonfuls of butter with one cupful of white sugar and flavoring. When cool, add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, put in a buttered pudding-dish, and bake from half to three-quarters of an hour; then remove it from the oven and place it to cool. Beat the whites of the eggs with three tablespoonfuls of powdered white sugar till they are a mass of froth; spread the pudding with either raspberry or strawberry jam, and then spread on the frosting; put in the oven for two minutes to slightly brown. If made in summer, be sure and keep the whites of the eggs on ice until ready for use and beat them in the coolest place you can find, as it will make a much richer frosting. The small white sago called pearl is the best. The large brown kind has an earthy taste. It should always be kept in a covered jar or box. This pudding, made with tapioca, is equally as good. Serve with any sweet sauce. SAGO APPLE PUDDING. One cupful of sago in a quart of tepid water, with a pinch of salt, soaked for one hour; six or eight apples pared and cored, or quartered, and steamed tender and put in the pudding-dish; boil and stir the sago until clear, adding water to make it thin, and pour it over the apples; bake one hour. This is good hot, with butter and sugar, or cold with cream and sugar. PLAIN SAGO PUDDING. Make the same as TAPIOCA PUDDING, substituting sago for tapioca. CHOCOLATE PUDDING. No. 1. Make cornstarch pudding with a quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. When done, remove about half and flavor to taste, and then to that remaining in the kettle add an egg beaten very light, and four tablespoonfuls of vanilla chocolate grated and dissolved in a little milk. Put in a mold, alternately the dark and light. Serve with whipped cream or boiled custard. This is more of a blanc mange than a pudding. CHOCOLATE PUDDING. No. 2. One quart of sweet milk, three-quarters of a cupful of grated chocolate; scald the milk and chocolate together; when _cool_, add the yolks of five eggs, one cupful of sugar; flavor with vanilla. Bake about twenty-five minutes. Beat the five whites of eggs to a stiff froth, adding four tablespoonfuls of fine sugar, spread evenly over the top and brown slightly in the oven. CHOCOLATE PUDDING. No. 3. One quart of milk, fourteen even tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, twelve tablespoonfuls grated chocolate, six eggs, one tablespoonful vanilla, sugar to make very sweet. Separate the yolks and whites of four eggs, beat up the four yolks and two whole eggs together very light with the sugar. Put the milk on the range, and when it come to a perfect boil pour it over the bread and chocolate; add the beaten eggs and sugar and vanilla; be sure it is sweet enough; pour into a buttered dish; bake one hour in a moderate oven. When cold, and just before it is served, have the four whites beaten with a little powdered-sugar and flavor with vanilla and use as a meringue. CHOCOLATE PUDDING. No. 4. Half a cake of chocolate broken in one quart of milk and put on the range until it reaches boiling point; remove the mixture from the range; add four teaspoonfuls of cornstarch mixed with the yolks of three eggs and one cup and a half of sugar; stir constantly until thick; remove from the fire and flavor with vanilla; pour the mixture in a dish; beat the whites of the three eggs to a stiff froth and add a little sugar; cover the top of the pudding with a meringue and set in the oven until a light brown. Serve cold. TAPIOCA PUDDING. Five tablespoonfuls of tapioca, one quart of milk, two ounces of butter, a cupful of sugar, four eggs, flavoring of vanilla or bitter almonds. Wash the tapioca and let it stew gently in the milk on the back part of the stove for a quarter of an hour, occasionally stirring it; then let it cool, mix with it the butter, sugar and eggs, which should be well-beaten, and flavor with either of the above ingredients. Butter a dish, put in the pudding and bake in a moderate oven for an hour. If the pudding is boiled, add a little more tapioca and boil it in a buttered basin one and a half hours. STRAWBERRY TAPIOCA. This makes a most delightful dessert. Soak over night a large teacupful of tapioca in cold water; in the morning, put half of it in a buttered yellow-ware baking-dish, or any suitable pudding-dish. Sprinkle sugar over the tapioca; then on this put a quart of berries, sugar and the rest of the tapioca. Fill the dish with water, which should cover the tapioca about a quarter of an inch. Bake in a moderately hot oven until it looks clear. Eat cold with cream or Custard. If not sweet enough, add more sugar at table; and in baking, if it seems too dry, more water is needed. A similar dish may be made, using peaches, either fresh or canned. RASPBERRY PUDDING. One-quarter cup of butter, one-half cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of jam, six cupfuls of soft bread crumbs, four eggs. Rub the butter and sugar together, beat the eggs, yolks and whites separately, mash the raspberries, add the whites beaten to a stiff froth, stir all together to a smooth paste; butter a pudding dish, cover the bottom with a layer of the crumbs, then a layer of the mixture; continue the alternate layers until the dish is full, making the last layer of crumbs; bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve in the dish in which it is baked and serve with fruit sauce made with raspberries. This pudding may be made the same with any other kind of berries. PEAR, PEACH AND APPLE PUDDING. Pare some nice ripe pears (to weigh about three-fourths of a pound); put them in a saucepan with a few cloves, some lemon or orange peel, and stew about a quarter of an hour in two cupfuls of water; put them in your pudding-dish, and having made the following custard, one pint of cream or milk, four eggs, sugar to taste, a pinch of salt and a tablespoonful of flour; beat eggs and sugar well, add the flour, grate some nutmeg, add the cream by degrees, stirring all the time,--pour this over the pears and bake in a _quick_ oven. Apples or peaches may be substituted. Serve cold with sweetened cream. FIG PUDDINGS. Half a pound of good dried figs, washed, wiped and minced, two cupfuls of fine, dry bread crumbs, three eggs, half a cupful of beef suet, powdered, two scant cupfuls of sweet milk, half a cupful of white sugar, a little salt, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, stirred in half a cupful of sifted flour. Soak the crumbs in milk, add the eggs, beaten light, with sugar, salt, suet, flour and figs. Beat three minutes, put in buttered molds with tight top, set in boiling water with weight on cover to prevent mold from upsetting, and boil three hours. Eat hot with hard sauce or butter, powdered sugar, one teaspoonful of extract of nutmeg. FRUIT PUDDING, CORN MEAL. Take a pint of hot milk and stir in sifted Indian meal till the batter is stiff; add a teaspoonful of salt and half a cup of molasses, adding a teaspoonful of soda dissolved; then stir in a pint of whortleberries or chopped sweet apple; tie in a cloth that has been wet, and leave room for it to swell, or put in a pudding-pan and tie a cloth over; boil three hours; the water must boil when it is put in; you can use cranberries and sweet sauce. APPLE CORN MEAL PUDDING. Pare and core twelve pippin apples; slice them very thin; then stir into one quart of new milk one quart of sifted corn meal; add a little salt, then the apples, four spoonfuls of chopped suet and a teacupful of good molasses, adding a teaspoonful of soda dissolved; mix these well together, pour into a buttered dish and bake four hours; serve hot with sugar and wine sauce. This is the most simple, cheap and luxuriant fruit pudding that can be made. RHUBARB OR PIE-PLANT PUDDING. Chop rhubarb pretty fine, put in a pudding dish and sprinkle sugar over it; make a batter of one cupful of sour milk, two eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, half a teaspoonful of soda and enough flour to make batter about as thick as for cake. Spread it over the rhubarb and bake till done. Turn out on a platter upside down, so that the rhubarb will be on top. Serve with sugar and cream. FRUIT PUDDINGS. Fruit puddings, such as green gooseberry, are very nice made in a basin, the basin to be buttered and lined with a paste, rolling it round to the thickness of half an inch; then get a pint of gooseberries and three ounces of sugar; after having made your paste, take half the fruit and lay it at the bottom of your basin; then add half your sugar, then put the remainder of the gooseberries in and the remainder of the sugar; on that, draw your paste to the centre, join the edges well together, put the cloth over the whole, tying it at the bottom, and boil in plenty of water. Fruit puddings of this kind, such as apples and rhubarb, should be done in this manner. Boil for an hour, take out of the saucepan, untie the cloth, turn out on a dish, or let it remain in the basin and serve with sugar over. A thin cover of the paste may be rolled round and put over the pudding. Ripe cherries, currants, raspberries, greengages, plums and such like fruit, will not require so much sugar, or so long boiling. These puddings are also very good steamed. SNOW PUDDING. One-half a package Cox's gelatine; pour over it a cupful of cold water and add one and a half cupfuls of sugar; when 'soft, add one cupful of boiling water and the juice of one lemon; then the whites of four well-beaten eggs; beat all together until it is light and frothy, or until the gelatine will not settle clear in the bottom of the dish after standing a few minutes; put it on a glass dish. Serve with a custard made of one pint of milk, the yolks of four eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sugar and the grated rind of a lemon; boil. DELMONICO PUDDING. Three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, the yolks of five eggs, six tablespoonfuls of sugar; beat the eggs light, then add the sugar and beat again till very light; mix the cornstarch with a little cold milk; mix all together and stir into one quart of milk just as it is about to boil, having added a little salt; stir it until it has thickened well; pour it into a dish for the table and place it in the oven until it will bear icing; place over the top a layer of canned peaches or other fruit (and it improves it to mix the syrup of the fruit with the custard part); beat the whites to a stiff froth with two tablespoonfuls of white sugar to an egg; then put it into the oven until it is a light brown. This is a very delicate and delicious pudding. SAUCER PUDDINGS. Two tablespoonfuls of flour, two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, three eggs, a teacupful of milk, butter, preserve of any kind. Mix the flour and sugar, beat the eggs, add them to the milk, and beat up with the flour and sugar. Butter well three saucers, half fill them, and bake in a quick oven about twenty minutes. Remove them from the saucers when cool enough, cut in half, and spread a thin layer of preserves between each half; close them again, and serve with cream. NANTUCKET PUDDING. One quart of berries or any small fruit, two tablespoonfuls of flour, two tablespoonfuls of sugar; simmer together and turn into molds; cover with frosting as for cake, or with whipped eggs and sugar, browning lightly in the oven; serve with cream. TOAST PUDDING. Toast several thin slices of stale bread, removing the crust, butter them well, and pour over them hot stewed fruit in alternate layers. Serve warm with rich hot sauce. PLAIN RICE PUDDING. Pick over, wash and boil, a teacupful of rice; when soft drain off the water; while warm, add to it a tablespoonful of cold butter. When cool, mix with it a cupful of sugar, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg and one of ground cinnamon. Beat up four eggs very light, whites and yolks separately; add them to the rice; then stir in a quart of sweet milk gradually. Butter a pudding-dish, turn in the mixture and bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve warm, with sweet wine sauce. If you have cold cooked rice, first soak it in the milk and proceed as above. RICE PUDDING. (Fine.) Wash a teacupful of rice and boil it in two teacupfuls of water; then add, while the rice is hot, three tablespoonfuls of butter, five tablespoonful of sugar, five eggs well beaten, one tablespoonful of powdered nutmeg, a little salt, one glass of wine, a, quarter of a pound of raisins, stoned and cut in halves, a quarter of a pound of Zante currants, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in slips, and one quart of cream; mix well, pour into a buttered dish and bake an hour in a moderate oven. _Astor House, New York City._ RICE MERINGUE. One cupful of carefully sorted rice boiled in water until it is soft; when done, drain it so as to remove all the water; cool it, and add one quart of new milk, the well-beaten yolks of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of white sugar and a little nutmeg, or flavor with lemon or vanilla; pour into a baking dish and bake about half an hour. Let it get cold; beat the whites of the eggs, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, flavor with lemon or vanilla; drop or spread it over the pudding and slightly brown it in the oven. RICE LEMON PUDDING. Put on to boil one quart of milk, and when it simmers stir in four tablespoonfuls of rice flour that has been moistened in a little milk; let it come to a boil and remove from the fire; add one quarter of a pound of butter, and, when cool, the grated peel with the juice of two lemons, and the yolks and beaten whites of four eggs; sweeten to taste; one wine-glassful of wine, put in the last thing, is also an improvement. RICE PUDDING WITHOUT EGGS. Two quarts of milk, two-thirds of a cupful of rice, a cupful of sugar, a piece of butter as large as a walnut, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a little nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Put into a deep pudding-dish, well buttered, set into a moderate oven; stir it once or twice until it begins to cook, let it remain in the oven about two hours (until it is the consistency of cream). Eat cold. FRUIT RICE PUDDING. One large teacupful of rice, a little water to cook it partially; dry, line an earthen basin with part of it; fill nearly full with pared, cored and quartered apples, or any fruit you choose; cover with the balance of your rice; tie a cloth tightly over the top and steam one hour. To be eaten with sweet sauce. Do not butter your dish. BOILED RICE PUDDING. No. 1. One cupful of cold boiled rice, one cupful of sugar, four eggs, a pinch of soda and a pinch of salt. Put it all in a bowl and beat it up until it is very light and white. Beat four ounces of butter to a cream, put it into the pudding and ten drops of essence of lemon. Beat altogether for five minutes. Butter a mold, pour the pudding into it and boil for two hours. Serve with sweet fruit sauce. BOILED RICE PUDDING. No. 2. Wash two teacupfuls of rice and soak it in water for half an hour; then turn off the water and mix the rice with half a pound of raisins stoned and cut in halves; add a little salt, tie the whole in a cloth, leaving room for the rice to swell to twice its natural size, and boil two hours in plenty of water; serve with wine sauce. RICE SNOW-BALLS. Wash two teacupfuls of rice and boil it in one teacupful of water and one of milk, with a little salt; if the rice is not tender when the milk and water are absorbed, add a little more milk and water; when the rice is tender, flavor with vanilla, form it into balls, or mold it into a compact form with little cups; place these rice balls around the inside of a deep dish, fill the dish with a rich soft custard and serve either hot or cold. The custard and balls should be flavored with the same. PRUNE PUDDING. Heat a little more than a pint of sweet milk to the boiling point, then stir in gradually a little cold milk in which you have rubbed smooth a heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch; add sugar to suit your taste, three well-beaten eggs, about a teaspoonful of butter and a little grated nutmeg. Let this come to a boil, then pour it in a buttered pudding-dish, first adding a cupful of stewed prunes, with the stones taken out. Bake for from fifteen to twenty minutes, according to the state of the oven. Serve with or without sauce. A little cream improves it if poured over it when placed in saucers. BLACKBERRY OR WHORTLEBERRY PUDDING. Three cupfuls of flour, one cupful of molasses, half a cupful of milk, a teaspoonful of salt, a little cloves and cinnamon, a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little of the milk. Stir in a quart of huckleberries, floured. Boil in a well-buttered mold two hours. Serve with brandy sauce. BAKED HUCKLEBERRY PUDDING. One quart of ripe fresh huckleberries or blueberries, half a teaspoonful of mace or nutmeg, three eggs, well beaten, separately, two cupfuls of sugar, one tablespoonful of cold butter, one cupful of sweet milk, one pint of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Roll the berries well in the flour and add them last of all. Bake half an hour and serve with sauce. There is no more delicate and delicious pudding than this. FRUIT PUDDING. This pudding is made without cooking and is nice prepared the day before using. Stew currants or any small fruits, either fresh or dried, sweeten with sugar to taste and pour hot over _thin_ slices of bread with the crust cut off, placed in a suitable dish, first a layer of bread, then the hot stewed fruit, then bread and fruit, then bread, leaving the fruit last. Put a plate over the top and, when cool, set it on ice. Serve with sugar and cream. This pudding is very fine made with Boston crackers split open and placed in layers with stewed peaches. BOILED CURRANT PUDDING. Five cupfuls of sifted flour in which two teaspoonfuls of baking powder have been sifted, one-half a cupful of chopped suet, half a pound of currants, milk, a pinch of salt. Wash the currants, dry them thoroughly and pick away any stalks or grit; chop the suet finely; mix all the ingredients together and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding into a stiff batter; tie it up in a floured cloth, put it into boiling water and boil for three hours and a half. Serve with jelly sauce made very sweet. TRANSPARENT PUDDING. A small cupful of fresh butter warmed, but not melted, one cupful of sifted sugar creamed with the butter, a teaspoonful of nutmeg, grated, eight eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Beat the butter and sugar light and then add the nutmeg and the beaten eggs, which should be stirred in gradually; flavor with vanilla, almond, peach or rose-water; stir _hard_; butter a deep dish, line with puff paste and bake half an hour. Then make a meringue for the top and brown. Serve cold. SWEET-POTATO PUDDING. To a large sweet potato, weighing two pounds, allow half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, one gill of sweet cream, one gill of strong wine or brandy, one grated nutmeg, a little lemon peel and four eggs. Boil the potato until thoroughly done, mash up fine, and while hot add the sugar and butter. Set aside to cool while you beat the eggs light and add the seasoning last. Line tin plates with puff paste, and pour in the mixture, bake in a moderate but regularly heated oven. When the puddings are drawn from the fire, cover the top with thinly-sliced bits of preserved citron or quince marmalade. Strew the top thickly with granulated white sugar and serve, with the addition of a glass of rich milk for each person at table. PINEAPPLE PUDDING. Butter a pudding-dish and line the bottom and sides with slices of stale cake (sponge cake is best); pare and slice thin a large pineapple, place in the dish first a layer of pineapple, then strew with sugar, then more pineapple, and so on until all is used. Pour over a small teacupful of water and cover with slices of cake which have been dipped in cold water; cover the whole with a buttered plate and bake slowly for two hours. ORANGE ROLEY POLEY. Make a light dough the same as for apple dumplings, roll it out into a long narrow sheet, about quarter of an inch thick. Spread thickly over it peeled and sliced oranges, sprinkle it plentifully with white sugar, scatter over all a teaspoonful or two of grated orange peel, then roll it up. Fold the edges well together to keep the juices from running out. Boil it in a floured cloth one hour and a half. Serve it with lemon sauce. Fine. ROLEY POLEY PUDDING. (Apple.) Peel, core and slice sour apples; make a rich biscuit dough, or raised biscuit dough may be used if rolled thinner; roll not quite half an inch thick, lay the slices on the paste, roll up, tuck in the ends, prick deeply with a fork, lay it in a steamer and steam hard for an hour and three-quarters. Or wrap it in a pudding-cloth well floured, tie the ends, baste up the sides, plunge into boiling water and boil continually an hour and a half, perhaps more. Stoned cherries, dried fruits, or any kind of berries, fresh or dried, may be used. FRUIT PUFF PUDDING. Into one pint of flour stir two teaspoonfuls baking powder and a little salt; then sift and stir the mixture into milk, until very soft. Place well-greased cups in a steamer, put in each a spoonful of the above batter, then add one of berries or steamed apples, cover with another spoonful of batter and steam twenty minutes. This pudding is delicious made with strawberries and eaten with a sauce made of two eggs, half a cup butter, a cup of sugar beaten thoroughly with a cup of boiling milk and one cup of strawberries. SPONGE CAKE PUDDING. No. 1. Bake a common sponge cake in a flat-bottomed pudding-dish; when ready to use, cut in six or eight pieces, split and spread with butter and return them to the dish. Make a custard with four eggs to a quart of milk; flavor and sweeten to taste; pour over the cake and bake one-half hour. The cake will swell and fill the custard. Serve with or without sauce. SPONGE CAKE PUDDING. No. 2. Butter pudding-mold; fill the mold with small sponge cakes or slices of stale plain cake that have been soaked in a liquid made by dissolving one-half pint of jelly in a pint of hot water. This will be of as fine a flavor and much better for all than if the cake had been soaked in wine. Make a sufficient quantity of custard to fill the mold and leave as much more to be boiled in a dish by itself. Set the mold, after being tightly covered, into a kettle and boil one hour. Turn out of the mold and serve with some of the other custard poured over it. GRAHAM PUDDING. Mix well together one-half a coffeecupful of molasses, one-quarter of a cupful of butter, one egg, one-half a cupful of milk, one-half a teaspoonful of pure soda, one and one-half cupfuls of good Graham flour, one small teacupful of raisins, spices to taste. Steam four hours and serve with brandy or wine sauce, or any sauce that may be preferred. This makes a showy as well as a light and wholesome dessert, and has the merit of simplicity and cheapness. BANANA PUDDING. Cut sponge cake in-slices, and, in a glass dish, put alternately a layer of cake and a layer of bananas sliced. Make a soft custard, flavor with a little wine, and pour over it. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and heap over the whole. Peaches cut up, left a few hours in sugar and then scalded, and added when cold to thick boiled custard, made rather sweet, are a delicious dessert. DRIED PEACH PUDDING. Boil one pint of milk and while hot turn it over a pint of bread-crumbs. Stir into it a tablespoonful of butter, one pint of dried peaches stewed soft. When all is cool, add two well-beaten eggs, half a cupful of sugar and a pinch of salt; flavor to taste. Put into a well-buttered pudding-dish and bake half an hour. SUET PUDDING, PLAIN. One cupful of chopped suet, one cupful of milk, two eggs beaten, half a teaspoonful of salt and enough flour to make a stiff batter, but thin enough to pour from a spoon. Put into a bowl, cover with a cloth and boil three hours. The same, made a little thinner, with a few raisins added and baked in a well-greased dish is excellent. Two teaspoonfuls of baking powder in the flour improves this pudding. Or if made with sour milk and soda it is equally as good. SUET PLUM PUDDING. One cupful of suet chopped fine, one cupful of cooking molasses, one cupful of milk, one cupful of raisins, three and one-half cupfuls of flour, one egg, one teaspoonful of cloves, two of cinnamon and one of nutmeg, a little salt, one teaspoonful of soda; boil three hours in a pudding-mold set into a kettle of water; eat with common sweet sauce. If sour milk is used in place of sweet, the pudding will be much lighter. PEACH COBBLER. Line a deep dish with rich thick crust; pare and cut into halves or quarters some juicy, rather tart peaches; put in sugar, spices and flavoring to taste; stew it slightly and put it in the lined dish; cover with thick crust of rich puff paste and bake a rich brown; when done, break up the top crust into small pieces and stir it into the fruit; serve hot or cold; very palatable without sauce, but more so with plain rich cream or cream sauce, or with a rich brandy or wine. Other fruits can be used in place of peaches. Currants are best made in this manner:-- Press the currants through a sieve to free it from pips; to each pint of the pulp put two ounces of crumbed bread and four ounces of sugar; bake with a rim of puff paste; serve with cream. White currants may be used instead of red. HOMINY PUDDING. Two-thirds of a cupful of hominy, one and a half pints of milk, two eggs, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of extract of lemon or vanilla, one cupful of sugar. Boil hominy in milk one hour; then pour it on the eggs, extract and sugar beaten together; add butter, pour in buttered pudding-dish, bake in hot oven for twenty minutes. BAKED BERRY ROLLS. Roll rich biscuit dough thin, cut it into little squares four inches wide and seven inches long. Spread over with berries. Roll up the crust, and put the rolls in a dripping-pan just a little apart; put a piece of butter on each roll, spices if you like. Strew over a large handful of sugar, a little hot water. Set in the oven and bake like dumplings. Served with sweet sauce. GREEN CORN PUDDING. Take two dozen full ears of sweet green corn, score the kernels and cut them from the cob. Scrape off what remains on the cob with a knife. Add a pint and a half or one quart of milk, according to the youngness and juiciness of the corn. Add four eggs well beaten, a half teacupful of flour, a half teacupful butter, a tablespoonful of sugar, and salt to taste. Bake in a well-greased earthen dish, in hot oven two hours. Place it on the table browned and smoking hot, eat it with plenty of fresh butter. This can be used as a dessert by serving a sweet sauce with it. If eaten plainly with butter, it answers as a side vegetable. GENEVA WAFERS. Two eggs, three ounces of butter, three ounces of flour, three ounces of pounded sugar. Well whisk the eggs, put them into a basin and stir to them the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; add the flour and sifted sugar gradually, and then mix all well together. Butter a baking sheet, and drop on it a teaspoonful of the mixture at a time, leaving a space between each. Bake in a cool oven; watch the pieces of paste, and, when half done, roll them up like wafers and put in a small wedge of bread or piece of wood, to keep them in shape. Return them to the oven until crisp. Before serving, remove the bread, put a spoonful of preserve in the widest end, and fill up with whipped cream. This is a very pretty and ornamental dish for the supper-table, and is very nice and very easily made. [Illustration: STIRRING THE CRANBERRY SAUCE.] MINUTE PUDDING. No. 1. Set saucepan or deep frying pan on the stove, the bottom and sides well buttered, put into it a quart of sweet milk, a pinch of salt and a piece of butter as large as half an egg; when it boils have ready a dish of sifted flour, stir it into the boiling milk, sifting it through your fingers, a handful at a time, until it becomes smooth and quite thick. Turn it into a dish that has been dipped in water. Make a sauce very sweet to serve with it. Maple molasses is _fine_ with it. This pudding is much improved by adding canned berries or fresh ones just before taking from the stove. MINUTE PUDDING. No. 2. One quart of milk, salt, two eggs, about a pint of flour. Beat the eggs well; add the flour and enough milk to make it smooth. Butter the saucepan and put in the remainder of the milk well salted; when it boils, stir in the flour, eggs, etc., lightly; let it cook well. It should be of the consistency of thick corn mush. Serve immediately with the following simple sauce, _viz_: Rich milk or cream sweetened to taste and flavored with grated nutmeg. SUNDERLAND PUDDING. One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of cold butter, a pint of milk, two cupfuls of sifted flour and five eggs. Make the milk hot; stir in the butter and let it cool before the other ingredients are added to it; then stir in the sugar, flour and eggs, which should be well whisked and omit the whites of two; flavor with a little grated lemon rind and beat the mixture well. Butter some small cups, rather more than half fill them; bake from twenty minutes to half an hour, according to the size of the puddings, and serve with fruit, custard or wine sauce, a little of which may be poured over them. They may be dropped by spoonfuls on buttered tins and baked, if cups are not convenient. JELLY PUDDINGS. Two cupfuls of _very_ fine stale biscuit or bread crumbs, one cupful of rich milk--half cream, if you can get it; five eggs beaten very light, half a teaspoonful of soda stirred in boiling water, one cupful of sweet jelly, jam or marmalade. Scald the milk and pour over the crumbs. Beat until half cold and stir in the beaten yolks, then whites, finally the soda. Fill large cups half full with the batter, set in a quick oven and bake half an hour. When done, turn out quickly and dexterously; with a sharp knife make an incision in the side of each; pull partly open, and put a liberal spoonful of the conserve within. Close the slit by pinching the edges with your fingers. Eat warm with sweetened cream. QUICK PUDDING. Soak and split some crackers; lay the surface over with raisins and citron; put the halves together, tie them in a bag, and boil fifteen minutes in milk and water; delicious with rich sauce. READY PUDDING. Make a batter of one quart of milk and about one pound of flour; add six eggs, the yolks and whites separately beaten, a teaspoonful of salt and four tablespoonfuls of sugar. It should be as stiff as can possibly be stirred with a spoon. Dip a spoonful at a time into quick boiling water, boil from five to ten minutes, take out. Serve hot with sauce or syrup. A ROYAL DESSERT. Cut a stale cake into slices an inch and a half in thickness; pour over them a little good sweet cream; then fry _lightly_ in fresh butter in a smooth frying pan; when done, place over each slice of cake a layer of preserves or you may make a rich sauce to be served with it. Another dish equally as good, is to dip thin slices of bread into fresh milk; have ready two eggs well beaten; dip the slices in the egg and fry them in butter to a light brown; when fried, pour over them a syrup, any kind that you choose, and serve hot. HUCKLEBERRIES WITH CRACKERS AND CREAM. Pick over carefully one quart of blueberries and keep them on ice until wanted. Put into each bowl, for each guest, two soda crackers, broken in not too small pieces; add a few tablespoonfuls of berries, a teaspoonful of powdered sugar and fill the bowl with the richest of cold sweet cream. This is an old-fashioned New England breakfast dish. It also answers for a dessert. [Illustration] SAUCES FOR PUDDINGS. BRANDY SAUCE, COLD. Two cupfuls of powdered sugar, half a cupful of butter, one wine-glassful of brandy, cinnamon and nutmeg, a teaspoonful of each. Warm the butter slightly and work it to a light cream with the sugar, then add the brandy and spices; beat it hard and set aside until wanted. Should be put into a mold to look nicely and serve on a flat dish. BRANDY OR WINE SAUCE. No. 1. Stir a heaping teaspoonful of cornstarch in a little cold water to a smooth paste (or instead use a tablespoonful of sifted flour); add to it a cupful of boiling water, with one cupful of sugar, a piece of butter as large as an egg, boil all together ten minutes. Remove from the fire and when cool stir into it half of a cupful of brandy or wine. It should be about as thick as thin syrup. BRANDY OR WINE SAUCE. No. 2. Take one cupful of butter, two of powdered sugar, the whites of two eggs, five tablespoonfuls of sherry wine or brandy and a quarter of a cupful of boiling water. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add the whites of the eggs, one at a time, unbeaten, and then the wine or brandy. Place the bowl in hot water and stir till smooth and frothy. RICH WINE SAUCE. One cupful of butter, two of powdered sugar, half a cupful of wine. Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar gradually and when very light add the wine, which has been made hot, a little at a time, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Place the bowl in a basin of hot water and stir for two minutes. The sauce should be smooth and foamy. SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING. (Superior.) Cream together a cupful of sugar and half a cupful of butter; when light and creamy, add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs. Stir into this one wine-glass of wine or one of brandy, a pinch of salt and one large cupful of hot cream or rich milk. Beat this mixture well; place it in a saucepan over the fire, stir it until it cooks sufficiently to thicken like cream. Be sure and not let it boil. Delicious. LIQUID BRANDY SAUCE. Brown over the fire three tablespoonfuls of sugar; add a cupful of water, six whole cloves and a piece of stick cinnamon, the yellow rind of a lemon cut very thin; let the sauce boil, strain while hot, then pour it into a sauce bowl containing the juice of the lemon and a cup of brandy. Serve warm. GRANDMOTHERS SAUCE. Cream together a cupful of sifted sugar and half a cupful of butter, add a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and an egg well beaten. Boil a teacupful of milk and turn it, boiling hot, over the mixture slowly, stirring all the time; this will cook the egg smoothly. It may be served cold or hot. SUGAR SAUCE. One coffeecupful of granulated sugar, half of a cupful of water, a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Boil all together until it becomes the consistency of syrup. Flavor with lemon or vanilla extract. A tablespoonful of lemon juice is an improvement. Nice with cottage pudding. LEMON SAUCE. One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, one egg beaten light, one lemon, juice and grated rind, half a cupful of boiling water; put in a tin basin and thicken over steam. LEMON CREAM SAUCE, HOT. Put half a pint of new milk on the fire and when it boils stir into it one teaspoonful of wheat flour, four ounces of sugar and the well-beaten yolks of three eggs; remove it from the fire and add the grated rind and the juice of one lemon; stir it well and serve hot in a sauce tureen. ORANGE CREAM SAUCE, HOT. This is made as LEMON CREAM SAUCE, substituting orange for lemon. Creams for puddings, pies and fritters may be made in the same manner with any other flavoring; if flour is used in making them, it should boil in the milk three or four minutes. COLD LEMON SAUCE. Beat to a cream one teacupful of butter and two teacupfuls of fine white sugar; then stir in the juice and grated rind of one lemon; grate nutmeg upon the sauce and serve on a flat dish. COLD ORANGE SAUCE. Beat to a cream one teacupful of butter and two teacupfuls of fine white sugar; then stir in the grated rind of one orange and the juice of two; stir until all the orange juice is absorbed; grate nutmeg upon the sauce and serve on a flat dish. COLD CREAM SAUCE. Stir to a cream one cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, then add a cupful of sweet, thick cold cream, flavor to taste. Stir well and set it in a cool place. CREAM SAUCE, WARM. Heat a pint of cream slowly in a double boiler; when nearly boiling, set it off from the fire, put into it half a cupful of sugar, a little nutmeg or vanilla extract; stir it thoroughly and add, when cool, the whites of two well-beaten eggs. Set it on the fire in a dish containing hot water to keep it warm until needed, stirring once or more. CARAMEL SAUCE. Place over the fire a saucepan; when it begins to be hot, put into it four tablespoonfuls of white sugar and one tablespoonful of water. Stir it continually for three or four minutes, until all the water evaporates; then watch it carefully until it becomes a delicate brown color. Have ready a pint of cold water and cup of sugar mixed with some flavoring; turn it into the saucepan with the browned sugar and let it simmer for ten minutes; then add half a glass of brandy or a glass of wine. The wine or brandy may be omitted if preferred. A GOOD PLAIN SAUCE. A good sauce to go with plain fruit puddings is made by mixing one cupful of brown sugar, one cupful of best molasses, half a cupful of butter, one large teaspoonful of flour; add the juice and grated rind of one lemon, half a nutmeg grated, half a teaspoonful of cloves and cinnamon. When these are all stirred together, add a teacupful of boiling water; stir it constantly, put into a saucepan and let it boil until clear; then strain. OLD STYLE SAUCE. One pint of sour cream, the juice and finely grated rind of a large lemon; sugar to taste. Beat hard and long until the sauce is very light. This is delicious with cold "Brown Betty"--a form of cold farina--cornstarch, blanc mange and the like. PLAIN COLD, HARD SAUCE. Stir together one cupful of white sugar and half a cupful of butter until it is creamy and light; add flavoring to taste. This is very nice, flavored with the juice of raspberries or strawberries, or beat into it a cupful of ripe strawberries or raspberries and the white of an egg beaten stiff. CUSTARD SAUCE. One cupful of sugar, two beaten eggs, one pint of milk, flavoring to taste, brandy or wine, if preferred. Heat the milk to boiling; add by degrees the beaten eggs and sugar, put in the flavoring and set within a pan of boiling water; stir until it begins to thicken; then take it off and stir in the brandy or wine gradually; set, until wanted, within a pan of boiling water. MILK SAUCE. Dissolve a tablespoonful of flour in cold milk; see that it is free from lumps. Whisk an ounce of butter and a cupful of sugar to a cream and add to it a pinch of salt. Mix together half a pint of milk, one egg and the flour; stir this into the butter and add a dash of nutmeg, or any flavor; heat until near the boiling point and serve. Very nice in place of cold cream. MILK OR CREAM SAUCE. Cream or rich milk, simply sweetened with plenty of white sugar and flavored, answers the purpose for some kinds of pudding, and can be made very quickly. FRUIT SAUCE. Two-thirds of a cupful of sugar, a pint of raspberries or strawberries, a tablespoonful of melted butter and a cupful of hot water. Boil all together slowly, removing the scum as fast as it rises; then strain through a sieve. This is very good served with dumplings or apple puddings. JELLY SAUCE. Melt two tablespoonfuls of sugar and half a cupful of jelly over the fire in a cupful of boiling water, adding also two tablespoonfuls of butter; then stir into it a teaspoonful of cornstarch, dissolved in half a cupful of water or wine; add it to the jelly and let it come to a boil. Set it in a dish of hot water to keep it warm until time to serve; stir occasionally. Any fruit jelly can be used. COMMON SWEET SAUCE. Into a pint of water stir a paste made of a tablespoonful of cornstarch or flour (rubbed smooth with a little cold water); add a cupful of sugar and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cook well for three minutes. Take from the fire and add a piece of butter as large as a small egg; when cool, flavor with a tablespoonful of vanilla or lemon extract. SYRUP FOR FRUIT SAUCE. An excellent syrup for fruit sauce is made of Morello cherries (red, sour cherries). For each pound of cherry juice, allow half a pound of sugar and six cherry kernels; seed the cherries and let them stand in a bowl over night; in the morning, press them through a fine cloth, which has been dipped in boiling water, weigh the juice, add the sugar, boil fifteen minutes, removing all the scum. Fill small bottles that are perfectly dry with the syrup; when it is cold, cork the bottles tightly, seal them and keep them in a cool place, standing upright. Most excellent to put into pudding sauces. ROSE BRANDY. (For Cakes and Puddings.) Gather the leaves of roses while the dew is on them, and as soon as they open put them into a wide-mouthed bottle, and when the bottle is full pour in the best of fourth proof French brandy. It will be fit for use in three or four weeks and may be frequently replenished. It is sometimes considered preferable to wine as a flavoring to pastries and pudding sauces. LEMON BRANDY. (For Cakes and Puddings.) When you use lemons for punch or lemonade, do not throw away the peels but cut them in small pieces--the thin yellow outside (the thick part is not good)--and put them in a glass jar or bottle of brandy. You will find this brandy useful for many purposes. In the same way keep for use the kernels of peach and plum stones, pounding them slightly before you put them into the brandy. [Illustration] PRESERVES, JELLIES, ETC. Fruit for preserving should be sound and free from all defects, using white sugar, and also that which is dry, which produces the nicest syrup; dark sugar can be used by being clarified, which is done by dissolving two pounds of sugar in a pint of water; add to it the white of an egg and beat it well, put it into a preserving kettle on the fire and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as it begins to swell and boil up, throw in a little cold water; let it boil up again, take it off and remove the scum; boil it again, throw in more cold water and remove the scum; repeat until it is clear and pours like oil from the spoon. In the old way of preserving, we used pound for pound, when they were kept in stone jars or crocks; now, as most preserves are put up in sealed jars or cans, less sugar seems sufficient; three-quarters of a pound of sugar is generally all that is required for a pound of fruit. Fruit should be boiled in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware dish, if possible; but other utensils, copper or metal, if made bright and clean, answer as well. Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and then drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a quantity of powdered loaf sugar, which will gradually penetrate the fruit, while the fluid parts of the syrup gently evaporate. They should be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six or eight hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time they are turned. Afterwards they are to be kept in a dry situation, in drawers or boxes. Currants and cherries preserved whole in this manner, in bunches, are extremely elegant and have a fine flavor. In this way it is, also, that orange and lemon chips are preserved. Mold can be prevented from forming on fruit jellies by pouring a little melted paraffine over the top. When cool, it will harden to a solid cake, winch can be easily removed when the jelly is used, and saved to use over again another year. It is perfectly harmless and tasteless. Large glass tumblers are the best for keeping jellies, much better than large vessels, for by being opened frequently they soon spoil; a paper should be cut to fit and placed over the jelly; then put on the lid or cover, with thick paper rubbed over on the inside with the white of an egg. There cannot be too much care taken in selecting fruit for jellies, for if the fruit is over ripe, any amount of time in boiling will never make it jelly--there is where so many fail in making good jelly; and another important matter is overlooked--that of carefully skimming off the juice after it begins to boil and a scum rises from the bottom to the top; the juice should not be stirred, but the scum carefully taken off; if allowed to boil under, the jelly will not be clear. When either preserves or canned fruits show any indications of fermentation, they should be immediately re-boiled with more sugar, to save them. It is much better to be generous with the sugar at first than to have any losses afterwards. Keep all preserves in a cool, dry closet. PRESERVED CHERRIES. Take large, ripe Morello cherries; weigh them and to each pound allow a pound of loaf sugar. Stone the cherries (opening them with a sharp quill) and save the juice that comes from them in the process. As you stone them, throw them into a large pan or tureen and strew about half the sugar over them and let them lie in it an hour or two after they are all stoned. Then put them into a preserving kettle with the remainder of the sugar and boil and skim them till the fruit is clear and the syrup thick. PRESERVED CRANBERRIES. The cranberries must be large and ripe. Wash them and to six quarts of cranberries allow nine pounds of the beat loaf sugar. Take three quarts of the cranberries and put them into a stewpan with a pint and a half of water. Cover the pan and boil or stew them till they are all to pieces. Then squeeze the juice through a jelly bag. Put the sugar into a preserving kettle, pour the cranberry juice over it and let it stand until it is all melted, stirring it up frequently. Then place the kettle over the fire and put in the remaining three quarts of whole cranberries. Let them boil till they are tender, clear and of a bright color, skimming them frequently. When done, put them warm into jars with the syrup, which should be like a thick jelly. PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES. For every pound of fruit weigh a pound of refined sugar; put them with the sugar over the fire in a porcelain kettle, bring to a boil slowly about twenty minutes. Take them out carefully with a perforated skimmer and fill your _hot_ jars nearly full; boil the juice a few minutes longer and fill up the jars; seal them _hot_. Keep in a cool, dry place. TO PRESERVE BERRIES WHOLE. (Excellent.) Buy the fruit when not _too ripe_, pick over immediately, wash if absolutely necessary and put in glass jars, filling each one about two-thirds full. Put in the preserving kettle a pound of sugar and one cupful of water for every two pounds of fruit, and let it come slowly to a boil. Pour this syrup into the jars over the berries, filling them up to the brim; then set the jars in a pot of _cold_ water on the stove, and let the water boil and the fruit become scalding hot. Now take them out and seal perfectly tight. If this process is followed thoroughly, the fruit will keep for several years. PRESERVED EGG PLUMS. Use a pound of sugar for a pound of plums; wash the plums and wipe dry; put the sugar on a slow fire in the preserving kettle, with as much water as will melt the sugar and let it simmer slowly; then prick each plum thoroughly with a needle, or a fork with fine prongs, and place a layer of them in the syrup; let them cook until they lose their color a little and the skins begin to break; then lift them out with a perforated skimmer and place them singly in a large dish to cool; then put another layer of plums in the syrup and let them cook and cool in the same manner, until the whole are done; as they cool, carefully replace the broken skins so as not to spoil the appearance of the plums; when the last layer is finished, return the first to the kettle, and boil until transparent; do the same with each layer; while the latest cooked are cooling, place the first in glass jars; when all are done, pour the hot syrup over them; when they are cold, close as usual; the jelly should be of the color and consistency of rich wine jelly. PRESERVED PEACHES. Peaches for preserving may be ripe but not soft; cut them in halves, take out the stones and pare them neatly; take as many pounds of white sugar as of fruit, put to each pound of sugar a teacupful of water; stir it until it is dissolved; set it over a moderate fire; when it is boiling hot, put in the peaches; let them boil gently until a pure, clear, uniform color; turn those at the bottom to the top carefully with a skimmer several times; do not hurry them. When they are clear, take each half up with a spoon and spread them on flat dishes to become cold. When all are done, let the syrup boil until it is quite thick; pour it into a large pitcher and let it set to cool and settle. When the peaches are cold put them carefully into jars and pour the syrup over them, leaving any sediment which has settled at the bottom, or strain the syrup. Some of the kernels from the peach-stones may be put in with the peaches while boiling. Let them remain open one night, then cover. In like manner quince, plum, apricot, apple, cherry, greengage and other fruit preserves are made; in every case fine large fruit should be taken, free from imperfections, and the slightest bruises or other fault should be removed. PRESERVED GREEN TOMATOES. Take one peck of green tomatoes. Slice six fresh lemons without removing the skins, but taking out the seeds; put to this quantity six pounds of sugar, common white, and boil until transparent and the syrup thick. Ginger root may be added, if liked. PRESERVED APPLES. (Whole.) Peel and core large firm apples (pippins are best). Throw them into water as you pare them. Boil the parings in water for fifteen minutes, allowing a pint to one pound of fruit. Then strain and, adding three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pint of water, as measured at first, with enough lemon peel, orange peel or mace, to impart a pleasant flavor, return to the kettle. When the syrup has been well skimmed and is clear, pour it boiling hot over the apples, which must be drained from the water in which they have hitherto stood. Let them remain in the syrup until both are perfectly cold. Then, covering closely, let them simmer over a slow fire until transparent. When all the minutiæ of these directions are attended to, the fruit will remain unbroken and present a beautiful and inviting appearance. PRESERVED QUINCES. Pare, core and quarter your fruit, then weigh it and allow an equal quantity of white sugar. Take the parings and cores and put in a preserving kettle; cover them with water and boil for half an hour; then strain through a hair-sieve, and put the juice back into the kettle and boil the quinces in it a little at a time until they are tender; lift out as they are done with a drainer and lay on a dish; if the liquid seems scarce add more water. When all are cooked, throw into this liquor the sugar, and allow it to boil ten minutes before putting in the quinces; let them boil until they change color, say one hour and a quarter, on a slow fire; while they are boiling occasionally slip a silver spoon under them to see that they do not burn, but on no account stir them. Have two fresh lemons cut in thin slices, and when the fruit is being put in jars lay a slice or two in each. Quinces may be steamed until tender. PRESERVED PEARS. One pound of fruit, one pound of sugar; pare off the peeling thin. Make a nice syrup of nearly one cupful of water and one pound of sugar, and when clarified by boiling and skimming put in the pears and stew gently until clear. Choose rather pears like the Seckle for preserving, both on account of the flavor and size. A nice way is to stick a clove in the blossom end of each pear, for this fruit seems to require some extraneous flavor to bring out its own piquancy. Another acceptable addition to pear preserves may be found instead, by adding the juice and thinly pared rind of one lemon to each five pounds of fruit. If the pears are hard and tough, parboil them until tender before beginning to preserve, and from the same water take what you need for making their syrup. If you can procure only large pears to preserve, cut them into halves, or even slices, so that they can get done more quickly, and lose nothing in appearance, either. PINEAPPLE PRESERVES. Twist off the top and bottom and pare off the rough outside of pineapples; then weigh them and cut them in slices, chips or quarters, or cut them in four or six and shape each piece like a whole pineapple; to each pound of fruit, put a teacupful of water; put it in a preserving kettle, cover it and set it over the fire and let them boil gently until they are tender and clear; then take them from the water, by sticking a fork in the centre of each slice, or with a skimmer, into a dish. Put to the water white sugar, a pound for each pound of fruit; stir it until it is all dissolved; then put in the pineapple, cover the kettle and boil them gently until transparent throughout; when it is so, take it out, let it cool and put it in glass jars; let the syrup boil or simmer gently until it is thick and rich and when nearly cool, pour it over the fruit. The next day secure the jars, as before directed. Pineapple done in this way is a beautiful and delicious preserve. The usual manner of preserving it by putting it into the syrup without first boiling it, makes it little better than sweetened leather. TO PRESERVE WATERMELON RIND AND CITRON. Pare off the green skin, cut the watermelon rind into pieces. Weigh the pieces and allow to each pound a pound and a half of loaf sugar. Line your kettle with green vine-leaves, and put in the pieces _without_ the sugar. A layer of vine-leaves must cover each layer of melon rind. Pour in water to cover the whole and place a thick cloth over the kettle. Simmer the fruit for two hours, after scattering a few bits of alum amongst it. Spread the melon rind on a dish to cool. Melt the sugar, using a pint of water to a pound and a half of sugar, and mix with it some beaten white of egg. Boil and skim the sugar. When quite clear, put in the rind and let it boil two hours; take out the rind, boil the syrup again, pour it over the rind, and let it remain all night. The next morning, boil the syrup with lemon juice, allowing one lemon to a quart of syrup. When it is thick enough to hang in a drop from the point of a spoon, it is done. Put the rind in jars and pour over it the syrup. It is not fit for use immediately. Citrons may be preserved in the same manner, first paring off the outer skin and cutting them into quarters. Also green limes. TO PRESERVE AND DRY GREENGAGES. To every pound of sugar allow one pound of fruit, one quarter pint of water. For this purpose, the fruit must be used before it is quite ripe and part of the stalk must be left on. Weigh the fruit, rejecting all that is in the least degree blemished, and put it into a lined saucepan with the sugar and water, which should have been previously boiled together to a rich syrup. Boil the fruit in this for ten minutes, remove it from the fire, and drain the greengages. The next day boil up the syrup and put in the fruit again, let it simmer for three minutes, and drain the syrup away. Continue this process for five or six days, and the last time place the greengages, when drained, on a hair-sieve, and put them in an oven or warm spot to dry; keep them in a box, with paper between each layer, in a place free from damp. PRESERVED PUMPKINS. To each pound of pumpkin allow one pound of roughly pounded loaf sugar, one gill of lemon juice. Obtain a good, sweet pumpkin; halve it, take out the seeds and pare off the rind; cut it into neat slices. Weigh the pumpkin, put the slices in a pan or deep dish in layers, with the sugar sprinkled between them; pour the lemon juice over the top, and let the whole remain for two or three days. Boil all together, adding half a pint of water to every three pounds of sugar used until the pumpkin becomes tender; then turn the whole into a pan, where let it remain for a week; then drain off the syrup, boil it until it is quite thick, skim, and pour it boiling over the pumpkin. A little bruised ginger and lemon rind, thinly pared, may be boiled in the syrup to flavor the pumpkin. _A Southern Recipe._ PRESERVING FRUIT. (New Mode.) Housekeepers who dislike the tedious, old-time fashion of clarifying sugar and boiling the fruit, will appreciate, the following two recipes, no fire being needed in their preparation. The first is for "tutti frutti," and has been repeatedly tested with unvarying success. Put one quart of white, preserving, fine Batavia brandy into a two-gallon stone jar that has a tightly fitting top. Then for every pound of fruit, in prime condition and perfectly dry, which you put in the brandy, use three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar; stir every day so that the sugar will be dissolved, using a clean, wooden spoon kept for the purpose. Every sort of fruit may be used, beginning with strawberries and ending with plums. Be sure and have at least one pound of black cherries, as they make the color of the preserve very rich. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, cherries (sweet and sour), peaches, plums, are all used, and, if you like, currants and grapes. Plums and grapes should be peeled and seeded, apricots and peaches peeled and cut in quarters or eighths or dice; cherries also must be seeded; quinces may be steamed until tender. The jar must be kept in a cool, dry place, and the daily stirring must never be forgotten, for that is the secret of success. You may use as much of one sort of fruit as you like, and it may be put in from day to day, just as you happen to have it. Half the quantity of spirits may be used. The preserve will be ready for use within a week after the last fruit is put in, and will keep for a number of months. We have found it good eight months after making. The second is as follows: Take some pure white vinegar and mix with it granulated sugar until a syrup is formed quite free from acidity. Pour this syrup into earthen jars and put in it good, perfectly ripe fruit, gathered in dry weather. Cover the jars tight and put them in a dry place. The contents will keep for six or eight months, and the flavor of the fruit will be excellent. TO PRESERVE FRUIT WITHOUT 'SUGAR. Cherries, strawberries, sliced pineapple, plums, apricots, gooseberries, etc., may be preserved in the following manner--to be used the same as fresh fruit. Gather the fruit before it is very ripe; put it in wide-mouthed bottles made for the purpose; fill them as full as they will hold and cork them tight; seal the corks; put some hay in a large saucepan, set in the bottles, with hay between them to prevent their touching; then fill the saucepan with water to the necks of the bottles, and set it over the fire until the water is nearly boiled, then take it off; let it stand until the bottles are cold. Keep them in a cool place until wanted, when the fruit will be found equal to fresh. NEW METHOD OF PRESERVING FRUIT. A new method of preserving fruit is practiced in England. Pears, apples and other fruits are reduced to a paste by jamming, which is then pressed into cakes and gently dried. When required for use it is only necessary to pour four times their weight of boiling water over them and allow them to soak for twenty minutes and then add sugar to suit the taste. The fine flavor of the fruit is said to be retained to perfection. The cost of the prepared product is scarcely greater than that of the original fruit, differing with the supply and price of the latter; the keeping qualities are excellent, so that it may be had at any time of the year and bears long sea-voyages with out detriment. No peeling or coring is required, so there is no waste. FRUIT JELLIES. Take a stone jar and put in the fruit, place this in a kettle of tepid water and set on the fire; let it boil, closely covered, until the fruit is broken to pieces; strain, pressing the bag, a stout, coarse one, hard, putting in a few handfuls each time, and between each squeezing turning it inside out to scald off the pulp and skins; to each pint of juice allow a pound of loaf sugar; set the juice on alone to boil, and, while it is boiling, put the sugar into shallow dishes or pans, and heat it in the oven, watching and stirring it to prevent burning; boil the juice just twenty minutes from the time it begins fairly to boil; by this time the sugar should be _very_ hot; throw it into the boiling juice, stirring rapidly all the time; withdraw the spoon when all is thoroughly dissolved; let the jelly come to a boil to make all certain; withdraw the kettle instantly from the fire; roll your glasses and cups in hot water, and fill with the scalding liquid; the jelly will form within an hour; when cold, close and tie up as you do preserves. CURRANT JELLY. Currants for jelly should be perfectly ripe and gathered the _first_ week of the season; they lose their jelly property if they hang on the bushes too long, and become too juicy--the juice will not be apt to congeal. Strip them from the stalks, put them into a stone jar, and set in a vessel of hot water over the fire; keep the water around it boiling until the currants are all broken, stirring them up occasionally. Then squeeze them through a coarse cloth or towel. To each pint of juice allow a pound and a quarter of refined sugar. Put the sugar into a porcelain kettle, pour the juice over it, stirring frequently. Skim it before it boils; boil about twenty minutes, or until it congeals in the spoon when held in the air. Pour it into hot jelly glasses and seal when cool. Wild frost grape jelly is nice made after this recipe. CURRANT JELLY. (New Method.) This recipe for making superior jelly without heat is given in a Parisian journal of chemistry, which may be worth trying by some of our readers. The currants are to be washed and squeezed in the usual way, and the juice placed in a stone or earthen vessel, and set away in a cool place in the cellar. In about twenty-four hours a considerable amount of froth will cover the surface, produced by fermentation, and this must be removed and the whole strained again through the jelly bag, then weighed, and an equal weight of powdered white sugar is to be added. This is to be stirred constantly until entirely dissolved, and then put into jars, tied up tightly and set away. At the end of another twenty-four hours a perfectly transparent jelly of the most satisfactory flavor will be formed, which will keep as long as if it had been cooked. QUINCE JELLY. Quinces for jelly should not be quite ripe, they should be a fine yellow; rub off the down from them, core and cut them small; put them in a preserving kettle with a teacupful of water for each pound; let them stew gently until soft, without mashing; put them in a thin muslin bag with the liquor; press them very lightly; to each pint of the liquor put a pound of sugar; stir it until it is all dissolved, then set it over the fire and let it boil gently, until by cooling some on a plate you find it a good jelly; then turn it into pots or tumblers and, when cold, secure as directed for jellies. RASPBERRY JELLY. To each pint of juice allow one pound of sugar. Let the raspberries be freshly gathered, quite ripe, pick from the stalks; put them into a large jar after breaking the fruit a little with a wooden spoon, and place this jar, covered, in a saucepan of boiling water. When the juice is well drawn, which will be in from three-quarters to one hour, strain the fruit through a fine hair-sieve or cloth; measure the juice, and to every pint allow the above proportion of white sugar. Put the juice and sugar into a preserving pan, place it over the fire, and boil gently until the jelly thickens, when a little is poured on a plate; carefully remove all the scum as it rises, pour the jelly into small pots, cover down, and keep in a dry place. This jelly answers for making raspberry cream and for flavoring various sweet dishes, when, in winter, the fresh fruit is not obtainable. APPLE JELLY. Select apples that are rather tart and highly flavored; slice them without paring; place in a porcelain preserving kettle, cover with water, and let them cook slowly until the apples look red. Pour into a colander, drain off the juice, and let this run through a jelly-bag; return to the kettle, which must be carefully washed, and boil half an hour; measure it and allow to every pint of juice a pound of sugar and half the juice of a lemon; boil quickly for ten minutes. The juice of apples boiled in shallow vessels, without a particle of sugar, makes the most sparkling, delicious jelly imaginable. Red apples will give jelly the color and clearness of claret, while that from light fruit is like amber. Take the cider just as it is made, not allowing it to ferment at all, and, if possible, boil it in a pan, flat, very large and shallow. GRAPE JELLY. Mash well the berries so as to remove the skins; pour all into a preserving kettle and cook slowly for a few minutes to extract the juice; strain through a colander, and then through a flannel jelly-bag, keeping as hot as possible, for if not allowed to cool before putting again on the stove the jelly conies much stiffer; a few quince seeds boiled with the berries the first time tend to stiffen it; measure the juice, allowing a pound of sugar to every pint of juice, and boil fast for at least half an hour. Try a little, and if it seems done, remove and put into glasses. FLORIDA ORANGE JELLY. Grate the yellow rind of two Florida oranges and two lemons, and squeeze the juice into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, adding the juice of two more oranges, and removing all the seeds; put in the grated rind a quarter of a pound of sugar, or more if the fruit is sour, and a gill of water, and boil these ingredients together until a rich syrup is formed; meantime, dissolve two ounces of gelatine in a quart of warm water, stirring it over the fire until it is entirely dissolved, then add the syrup, strain the jelly, and cool it in molds wet in cold water. CRAB-APPLE JELLY. The apples should be juicy and ripe. The fruit is then quartered, the black spots in the cores removed, afterward put into a preserving kettle over the fire, with a teacupful of water in the bottom to prevent burning; more water is added as it evaporates while cooking. When boiled to a pulp, strain the apples through a coarse flannel, then proceed as for currant jelly. PEACH JELLY. Pare the peaches, take out the stones, then slice them; add to them about a quarter of the kernels. Place them in a kettle with enough water to cover them. Stir them often until the fruit is well cooked, then strain, and to every pint of the juice add the juice of a lemon; measure again, allowing a pound of sugar to each pint of juice; heat the sugar very hot, and add when the juice has boiled twenty minutes; let it come to a boil and take instantly from the fire. ORANGE SYRUP. Pare the oranges, squeeze and strain the juice from the pulp. To one pint of juice allow one pound and three-quarters of loaf sugar. Put the juice and sugar together, boil and skim it until it is cream; then strain it through a flannel bag and let it stand until it becomes cool, then put in bottles and cork tight. Lemon syrup is made in the same way, except that you scald the lemons and squeeze out the juice, allowing rather more sugar. ORANGE MARMALADE. Allow pound for pound. Pare half the oranges and cut the rind into shreds. Boil in three waters until tender and set aside. Grate the rind of the remaining oranges; take off, and throw away every bit of the thick white inner skin; quarter all the oranges and take out the seeds. Chop or cut them into small pieces; drain all the juice that will come away without pressing them over the sugar; heat this, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, adding a _very_ little water, unless the oranges are very juicy. Boil and skim five or six minutes; put in the boiled shreds and cook ten minutes; then the chopped fruit and grated peel, and boil twenty minutes longer. When cold, put into small jars, tied up with bladder or paper next the fruit, cloths dipped in wax over all. A nicer way still is to put away in tumblers with self-adjusting metal tops. Press brandied tissue paper down closely to the fruit. LEMON MARMALADE Is made as you would prepare orange--allowing a pound and a quarter of sugar to a pound of the fruit, and using but half the grated peel. RAISINS. (A French Marmalade.) This recipe is particularly valuable at seasons when fruit is scarce. Take six fine large cooking apples, peel them, put them over a slow fire, together with a wine-glass of Medeira wine and half a pound of sugar. When well stewed, split and stone two and a half pounds of raisins, and put them to stew with the apples and enough water to prevent their burning. When all appears well dissolved, beat it through a strainer bowl, and lastly through a sieve. Mold, if you like, or put away in small preserve jars, to cut in thin slices for the ornamentation of pastry, or to dish up for eating with cream. STRAWBERRY JAM. To each pound of fine and not too ripe berries, allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Put them into a preserving pan and stir gently, not to break up the fruit; simmer for one-half hour and put into pots air-tight. An excellent way to seal jellies and jams is as the German women do: cut round covers from writing paper a half-inch too large for the tops, smear the inside with the unbeaten white of an egg, tie over with a cord, and it will dry quickly and be absolutely preservative. A circular paper dipped in brandy and laid over the toothsome contents before covering, will prevent any dampness from affecting the flavor. I have removed covers heavy with mold to find the preserve intact. GOOSEBERRY JAM. Pick the gooseberries just as they begin to turn. Stem, wash and weigh. To four pounds of fruit add half a teacupful of water; boil until soft and add four pounds of sugar and boil until clear. If picked at the right stage the jam will be amber colored and firm, and very much nicer than if the fruit is preserved when ripe. BRANDIED PEACHES OR PEARS. Four pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of best white brandy. Make a syrup of the sugar and enough water to dissolve it. Let this come to a boil; put the fruit in and boil five minutes. Having removed the fruit carefully, let the syrup boil fifteen minutes longer, or until it thickens well; add the brandy and take the kettle at once from the fire; pour the hot syrup over the fruit and seal. If, after the fruit is taken from the fire, a reddish liquor oozes from it, drain this off before adding the clear syrup. Put up in glass jars. Peaches and pears should be peeled for brandying. Plums should be pricked and watched carefully for fear of bursting. RASPBERRY JAM. To five or six pounds of fine red raspberries (not too ripe) add an equal quantity of the finest quality of white sugar. Mash the whole well in a preserving kettle; add about one quart of currant juice (a little less will do) and boil gently till it jellies upon a cold plate; then put into small jars; cover with brandied paper and tie a thick white paper over them. Keep in a dark, dry and cool place. Blackberry or strawberry jam is made the same way, leaving out the currant juice. A NEW WAY OF KEEPING FRUIT. It is stated that experiments have been made in keeping fruit in jars covered only with cotton batting, and at the end of two years the fruit was sound. The following directions are given for the process: Use crocks, stone butter-jars or any other convenient dishes. Prepare and cook the fruit precisely as for canning in glass jars; fill your dishes with fruit while hot and immediately cover with cotton batting, securely tied on. Remember that all putrefaction is caused by the invisible creatures in the air. Cooking the fruit expels all these, and they cannot pass through the cotton batting. The fruit thus protected will keep an indefinite period. It will be remembered that Tyndall has proved that the atmospheric germs cannot pass through a layer of cotton. MACEDOINES. Suspend in the centre of the jelly mold a bunch of grapes, cherries, berries, or currants on their stems, sections of oranges, pineapples, or brandied fruits, and pour in a little jelly when quite cold, but not set. It makes a very agreeable effect. By a little ingenuity you can imbed first one fruit and then another, arranging in circles, and pour a little jelly successively over each. Do not re-heat the jelly, but keep it in a warm place, while the mold is on ice and the first layers are hardening. [Illustration] CANNED FRUITS Berries and all ripe, mellow fruit require but little cooking, only long enough for the sugar to penetrate. Strew sugar over them, allow them to stand a few hours, then merely scald with the sugar; half to three-quarters of a pound is considered sufficient. Harder fruits like pears, quinces, etc., require longer boiling. The great secret of canning is to make the fruit or vegetable perfectly air-tight. It must be put up boiling hot and the vessel filled to the brim. Have your jars conveniently placed near your boiling fruit, in a tin pan of hot water on the stove, roll them in the hot water, then fill immediately with the hot, scalding fruit, fill to the top, and seal quickly with the tops, which should also be heated; occasionally screw down the tops tighter, as the fruit shrinks as it cools, and the glass contracts and allows the air to enter the cans. They must be perfectly air-tight. The jars to be kept in a dark, cool, dry place. Use glass jars for fruit always, and the fruit should be cooked in a porcelain or granite-iron kettle. If you are obliged to use common large-mouthed bottles with corks, steam the corks and pare them to a close fit, driving them in with a mallet. Use the following wax for sealing: One pound of resin, three ounces of beeswax, one and one-half ounces of tallow. Use a brush in covering the corks and as they cool, dip the mouth into the melted wax. Place in a basin of cold water. Pack in a cool, dark and dry cellar. After one week, examine for flaws, cracks or signs of ferment. The rubber rings used to assist in keeping the air from the fruit cans sometimes become so dry and brittle as to be almost useless. They can be restored to normal condition usually by letting them lie in water in which you have put a little ammonia. Mix in this proportion: One part of ammonia and two parts water. Sometimes they do not need to lie in this more than five minutes, but frequently a half hour is needed to restore their elasticity. CANNED PEACHES. To one pound of peaches allow half a pound of sugar; to six pounds of sugar add half a tumbler of water; put in the kettle a layer of sugar and one of peaches until the whole of both are in. Wash about eight peach leaves, tie them up and put into the kettle, remembering to take them out when you begin to fill up the jars. Let the sugared fruit remain on the range, but away from the fire, until upon tipping the vessel to one side you can see some liquid; then fill the jars, taking them out of hot water into which they were put when cold, remaining until it was made to boil around them. In this way you will find out if the glass has been properly annealed; for we consider glass jars with stoppers screwing down upon India-rubber rings as the best for canning fruit in families. They should be kept in a dark closet; and although somewhat more expensive than tin in the first instance, are much nicer and keep for years with careful usage. Fruit must be of fine flavor and _ripe_, though not _soft_, to make nice canned fruit. Peaches should be thrown into cold water as they are peeled, to prevent a yellowish crust. CANNED GRAPES. There is no fruit so difficult to can nicely as the grape; by observing the following instructions you will find the grapes rich and tender a year from putting up. Squeeze the pulp from the skin, as the seeds are objectionable; boil the pulp, until the seeds begin to loosen, in one kettle, having the skins boiling, in a little water, hard in another kettle, as they are tough. When the pulp seems tender, put it through the sieve; then add the skins, if tender, with the water they boil in, if not too much. We use a large coffeecupful of sugar for a quart can; boil until thick and can in the usual way. CANNED STRAWBERRIES. After the berries are picked over, let as many as can be put carefully in the preserve kettle at once be placed on a platter. To each pound of fruit add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; let them stand two or three hours, till the juice is drawn from them; pour it into the kettle and let it come to a boil and remove the scum which rises; then put in the berries very carefully. As soon as they come thoroughly to a boil put them in warm jars and seal while boiling hot. TO CAN QUINCES. Cut the quinces into thin slices like apples for pies. To one quart jarful of quince, take a coffeesaucer and a half of sugar and a coffeecupful of water; put the sugar and water on the fire, and when boiling put in the quinces; have ready the jars with their fastenings, stand the jars in a pan of boiling water on the stove, and when the quince is clear and tender put rapidly into the jars, fruit and syrup together. The jars must be filled so that the syrup overflows, and fastened up tight as quickly as possible. CANNED PINEAPPLE. For six pounds of fruit, when cut and ready to can, make syrup with two and a half pounds of sugar and nearly three pints of water; boil syrup five minutes and skim or strain if necessary; then add the fruit and let it boil up; have cans hot, fill and shut up as soon as possible. Use the best white sugar. As the cans cool, keep tightening them up. Cut the fruit half an inch thick. CANNED FRUIT JUICES. Canned fruit juices are an excellent substitute for brandy or wine in all puddings and sauces, etc. It is a good plan to can the pure juices of fruit in the summer time, putting it by for this purpose. Select clean ripe fruit, press out the juice and strain it through a flannel cloth. To each pint of juice add one cupful of white granulated sugar. Put it in a porcelain kettle, bring it to the boiling point, and bottle while hot in small bottles. It must be sealed very tight while it is _hot_. Will keep a long time, the same as canned fruit. CANNED TOMATOES. Canning tomatoes is quite a simple process. A large or small quantity may be done at a time, and they should be put in glass jars in preference to those of tin, which are apt to injure the flavor. Very ripe tomatoes are the best for the purpose. They are first put into a large pan and covered with boiling water. This loosens the skin, which is easily removed, and the tomatoes are then put into the preserving kettle, set over a moderate fire without the addition of water or any seasoning, and brought to a boil. After boiling slowly one-half hour, they are put into the jars while boiling hot and sealed tightly. They will keep two or three years in this way. The jars should be filled to the brim to prevent air from getting in, and set in a cool, dark closet. TO CAN CORN. Split the kernels lengthwise with a knife, then scrape with the back of the knife, thus leaving the hulls upon the cob. Fill cans full of cut corn, pressing it in very hard. To press the corn in the can, use the small end of a potato masher, as this will enter the can easily. It will take from ten to a dozen large ears of corn to fill a one-quart can. When the cans are full, screw cover on with thumb and first finger; this will be tight enough, then place a cloth in the bottom of a wash boiler to prevent breakage. On this put a layer of cans in any position you prefer, over the cans put a layer of cloth, then a layer of cans. Fill the boiler in this manner, then cover the cans well with cold water, place the boiler on the fire and _boil_ three hours without ceasing. On steady boiling depends much of your success. After boiling three hours, lift the boiler from the fire, let the water cool, then take the cans from the boiler and tighten, let them remain until cold, then tighten again. Wrap each can in brown paper to exclude the light and keep in a cool, dry cellar and be very sure the rubber rings are not hardened by use. The rings should be renewed every two years. I would advise the beginner to use new rings entirely, for poor rings cause the loss of canned fruit and vegetables in many cases. You will observe that in canning corn the cans are not wrapped in a cloth nor heated; merely filled with the cut corn. The corn in the can will shrink considerable in boiling, but on no account open them after canning. TO CAN PEAS. Fill the can full of peas, shake the can so they can be filled well. You cannot press the peas in the can as you did the corn, but by shaking the cans they may be filled quite full. Pour into the cans enough cold water to fill to overflowing, then screw the cover tight as you can with your thumb and first finger and proceed exactly as in canning corn. String beans are cut as for cooking and canned in the same manner. No seasoning of salt, pepper or sugar should be added. _Mary Currier Parsons._ CANNED PLUMS. To every pound of plums allow a quarter of a pound of sugar. Put the sugar and plums alternately into the preserving kettle, first pricking the plums to prevent their breaking. Let them stand on the back of the stove for an hour or two, then put them over a moderate fire and allow to come to a boil; skim and pour at once into jars, running a silver spoon handle around the inside of the jar to break the air-bubbles; cover and screw down the tops. CANNED MINCE MEAT. Mince meat for pies can be preserved for years if canned the same as fruit while _hot_, and put into glass jars and sealed perfectly tight, and set in a cool, dark place. One glass quart jar will hold enough to make two ordinary-sized pies, and in this way "mince pies" can be had in the middle of summer as well as in winter, and if the cans are sealed properly, the meat will be just as fine when opened as when first canned. CANNED BOILED CIDER. Boiled cider, in our grandmothers' time, was indispensable to the making of a good "mince pie," adding the proper flavor and richness, which cannot be substituted by any other ingredient, and a gill of which being added to a rule of "fruit cake" makes it more moist, keeps longer, and is far superior to fruit cake made without it. Boiled cider is an article rarely found in the market, nowadays, but can be made by any one, with but little trouble and expense, using _sweet_ cider, shortly after it is made, and before fermentation takes place. Place five quarts of _sweet_ cider in a porcelain-lined kettle over the fire, boil it slowly until reduced to one quart, carefully watching it that it does not burn; turn into glass jars while hot and seal tightly, the same as canned fruit. It is then ready to use any time of the year. CANNED PUMPKIN. Pumpkins or squash canned are far more convenient for ready use than those dried in the old-fashioned way. Cut up pumpkin or squash into small pieces, first cutting off the peel; stew them until tender, add no seasoning; then mash them very fine with a potato masher. Have ready your cans, made hot, and then fill them with the hot pumpkin or squash, seal tight; place in a dark, cool closet. PEACH BUTTER. Pare ripe peaches and put them in a preserving kettle, with sufficient water to boil them soft; then sift through a colander, removing the stones. To each quart of peaches put one and one-half pounds of sugar, and boil very slowly one hour. Stir often and do not let them burn. Put in stone or glass jars, and keep in a cool place. PEACHES DRIED WITH SUGAR. Peel yellow peaches, cut them from the stone in one piece; allow two pounds of sugar to six pounds of fruit; make a syrup of three-quarters of a pound of sugar and a little water; put in the peaches, a few at a time, and let them cook gently until quite clear. Take them up carefully on a dish and set them in the sun to dry. Strew powdered sugar over them on all sides, a little at a time; if any syrup is left, remove to fresh dishes. When they are quite dry, lay them lightly in a jar with a little sugar sifted between the layers. [Illustration] COLORING FOR FRUIT, ETC. RED OR PINK COLORING. Take two cents' worth of cochineal. Lay it on a flat plate and bruise it with the blade of a knife. Put it into half a teacupful of alcohol. Let it stand a quarter of an hour, and then filter it through fine muslin. Always ready for immediate use. Cork the bottle tight. Strawberry or cranberry juice makes a fine coloring for frosting, sweet puddings and confectionery. DEEP RED COLORING. Take twenty grains of cochineal and fifteen grains of cream of tartar finely powdered; add to them a piece of alum the size of a cherry stone and boil them with a gill of soft water in an earthen vessel, slowly, for half an hour. Then strain it through muslin, and keep it tightly corked in a phial. If a little alcohol is added it will keep any length of time. YELLOW COLORING. Take a little saffron, put it into an earthen vessel with a very small quantity of cold, soft water, and let it steep till the color of the infusion is a bright yellow. Then strain it, add half alcohol to it. To color fruit yellow, boil the fruit with fresh lemon skins in water to cover them until it is tender; then take it up, spread it on dishes to cool and finish as may be directed. To color icing, put the grated peel of a lemon or orange in a thin muslin bag, squeezing a little juice through it, then mixing with the sugar. GREEN COLORING. Take fresh spinach or beet leaves and pound them in a marble mortar. If you want it for immediate use, take off the green froth as it rises, and mix it with the article you intend to color. If you wish to keep it a few days, take the juice when you have pressed out a teacupful, and adding to it a piece of alum the size of a pea, give it a boil in a saucepan. Or make the juice very strong and add a quart of alcohol. Bottle it air-tight. SUGAR GRAINS. These are made by pounding white lump sugar in a mortar and shaking it through sieves of different degrees of coarseness, thus accumulating grains of different sizes. They are used in ornamenting cake. SUGAR GRAINS, COLORED. Stir a little coloring--as the essence of spinach, or prepared cochineal, or liquid carmine, or indigo, rouge, saffron, etc.,--into the sugar grains made as above, until each grain is stained, then spread them on a baking-sheet and dry them in a warm place. They are used in ornamenting cake. CARAMEL OR BURNT SUGAR. Put one cupful of sugar and two teaspoonfuls of water in a saucepan on the fire; stir constantly until it is quite a dark color, then add a half cupful of water and a pinch of salt; let it boil a few minutes and when cold, bottle. For coloring soups, sauces or gravies. TO CLARIFY JELLY. The white of egg is, perhaps, the best substance that can be employed in clarifying jelly, as well as some other fluids, for the reason that when albumen (and the white of egg is nearly pure albumen) is put into a liquid that is muddy, from substances suspended in it, on boiling coagulates in a flocculent manner, and, entangling with the impurities, rises with them to the surface as a scum, or sinks to the bottom, according to their weight. CONFECTIONERY In the making of confections the best _granulated_ or _loaf_ sugar should be used. (Beware of glucose mixed with sugar.) Sugar is boiled more or less, according to the kind of candy to be made, and it is necessary to understand the proper degree of sugar boiling to operate it successfully. Occasionally sugar made into candies, "creams" or syrups, will need clarifying. The process is as follows: Beat up well the white of an egg with a cupful of cold water and pour it into a very clean iron or thick new tin saucepan, and put into the pan four cupfuls of sugar, mixed with a cupful of warm water. Put on the stove and heat _moderately_ until the scum rises. Remove the pan, and skim off the top, then place on the fire again until the scum rises again. Then remove as before, and so continue until no scum rises. This recipe is good for brown or yellowish sugar; for soft, white sugars, half the white of an egg will do, and for refined or loaf sugar a quarter will do. The quantities of sugar and water are the same in all cases. Loaf sugar will generally do for all candy-making without further clarification. Brown or yellow sugars are used for caramels, dark-colored cocoanut, taffy, and pulled molasses candies generally. Havana is the cheapest grade of white sugar and a shade or two lighter than the brown. Confectioners' A is superior in color and grain to the Havana. It is a centrifugal sugar--that is, it is not re-boiled to procure its white color, but is moistened with water and then put into rapidly-revolving cylinders. The uncrystalized syrup or molasses is whirled out of it, and the sugar comes out with a dry, white grain. ICING OR POWDERED SUGARS.--This is powdered loaf sugar. Icing can only be made with powdered sugar which is produced by grinding or crushing loaf sugar nearly as fine as flour. GRANULATED SUGAR--This is a coarse-grained sugar, generally very clean and sparkling, and fit for use as a colored sugar in crystallized goods, and other superior uses. This same syrup answers for most candies and should be boiled to such a degree, that when a fork or splinter is dipped into it the liquid will run off and form a thick drop on the end, and long silk-like threads hang from it when exposed to the air. The syrup never to be stirred while hot, or else it will grain, but if intended for soft, French candies, should be removed, and, when nearly cold, stirred to a cream. For hard, brittle candies, the syrup should be boiled until, when a little is dropped in _cold_ water, it will crack and break when biting it. The hands should be buttered when handling it, or it will stick to them. The top of the inside of the dish that the sugar or molasses is to be cooked in should be buttered a few inches around the inside; it prevents the syrup from rising and swelling any higher than where it reaches the buttered edge. For common crack candies, the sugar can be kept from graining by adding a teaspoonful of vinegar or cream of tartar. Colorings for candies should be harmless, and those used for fruit and confectionery, on page 444, will be most suitable. Essences and extracts should be bought at the druggist's, not the poor kind usually sold at the grocer's. FRENCH CREAM CANDY. Put four cupfuls of white sugar and one cupful of water into a bright tin pan on the range and let it boil without stirring for ten minutes. If it looks somewhat thick, test it by letting some drop from the spoon, and if it threads, remove the pan to the table. Take out a small spoonful, and rub it against the side of a cake bowl; if it becomes creamy, and will roll into a ball between the fingers, pour the whole into the bowl. When cool enough to bear your finger in it, take it in your lap, stir or beat it with a large spoon, or pudding-stick. It will soon begin to look like cream, and then grow stiffer until you find it necessary to take your hands and work it like bread dough. If it is not boiled enough to cream, set it back upon the range and let it remain one or two minutes, or as long as is necessary, taking care not to cook it too much. Add the flavoring as soon as it begins to cool. This is the foundation of all French creams. It can be made into rolls, and sliced off, or packed in plates and cut into small cubes, or made into any shape imitating French candies. A pretty form is made by coloring some of the cream pink, taking a piece about as large as a hazel nut, and crowding an almond meat half way into one side, till it looks like a bursting kernel. In working, should the cream get too cold, warm it. To be successful in making this cream, several points are to be remembered; when the boiled sugar is cool enough to beat, if it looks rough and has turned to sugar, it is because it has been boiled _too much_, or has been _stirred_. If, after it is beaten, it does not look like lard or thick cream, and is sandy or sugary instead, it is because you did not let it get cool enough before beating. It is not boiled enough if it does not harden so as to work like dough, and should not stick to the hands; in this case put it back into the pan with an ounce of hot water, and cook over just enough, by testing in water as above. After it is turned into the bowl to cool, it should look clear as jelly. Practice and patience will make perfect. FRUIT CREAMS. Add to "French Cream" raisins, currants, figs, a little citron, chopped and mixed thoroughly through the cream while quite warm. Make into bars or flat cakes. WALNUT CREAMS. Take a piece of "French Cream" the size of a walnut. Having cracked some English walnuts, using care not to break the meats, place one-half of each nut upon each side of the ball, pressing them into the ball. Walnut creams can be made by another method: First take a piece of "French Cream," put it into a cup and setting the cup into a vessel of boiling water, heating it until it turns like thick cream; drop the walnut meats into it, one at a time, taking them out on the end of a fork and placing on buttered paper; continue to dip them until all are used, then go over again, giving them a second coat of candy. They look nice colored pink and flavored with vanilla. CHOCOLATE CREAMS. Use "French Cream," and form it into small cone-shaped balls with the fingers. Lay them upon paper to harden until all are formed. Melt one cake of Baker's chocolate in an earthen dish or small basin; by setting it in the oven it will soon melt; do not let it cook, but it _must_ be kept _hot_. Take the balls of cream, one at a time, on the tines of a fork, pour the melted chocolate over them with a teaspoon and when well covered, slip them from the fork upon oiled paper. COCOANUT CREAMS. Take two tablespoonfuls of grated cocoanut and half as much "French candy;" work them both together with your hand till the cocoanut is all well mixed in it. If you choose, you can add a drop of vanilla. If too soft to work into balls, add confectioners' sugar to stiffen; make into balls the size of hazelnuts and dip twice, as in the foregoing recipes, flavoring the melted "French Cream" with vanilla. VARIEGATED CREAMS. Make the "French Cream" recipe, and divide into three parts, leaving one part white, color one pink with cochineal syrup, and the third part color brown with chocolate, which is done by just letting the cream soften and stirring in a little finely grated chocolate. The pink is colored by dropping on a few drops of cochineal syrup while the cream is warm and beating it in. Take the white cream, make a flat ball of it, and lay it upon a buttered dish, and pat it out flat until about half an inch thick. If it does not work easily, dip the hand in alcohol. Take the pink cream, work in the same way as the white and lay it upon the white; then the chocolate in the same manner, and lay upon the pink, pressing all together. Trim the edges off smooth, leaving it in a nice, square cake, then cut into slices or small cubes, as you prefer. It is necessary to work it all up as rapidly as possible. RASPBERRY CREAMS. Stir enough confectioners' sugar into a teaspoonful of raspberry jam to form a thick paste; roll it into balls between the palms of your hands. Put a lump of "French Cream" into a teacup and set it into a basin of boiling water, stirring it until it has melted; then drop a few drops of cochineal coloring to make it a pale pink, or a few drops of raspberry juice, being careful not to add enough to prevent its hardening. Now dip these little balls into the sugar cream, giving them two coats. Lay aside to harden. Remember to _keep stirring_ the melted cream, or if not it will _turn back to clear syrup_. NUT CREAMS. Chop almonds, hickory nuts, butternuts or English walnuts quite fine. Make the '"French Cream," and before adding all the sugar, while the cream is quite soft, stir into it the nuts, and then form into balls, bars or squares. Several kinds of nuts may be mixed together. MAPLE SUGAR CREAMS. Grate fine maple sugar and mix, in quantity to suit the taste, with "French Cream;" make any shape desired. Walnut creams are sometimes made with maple sugar and are very fine. STICK CANDY. One pound of granulated sugar, one cupful of water, a quarter of a cupful of vinegar, or half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one small tablespoonful of glycerine. Flavor with vanilla, rose or lemon. Boil all except the flavoring, without stirring, twenty minutes or half an hour, or until crisp when dropped in water. Just before pouring upon greased platters to cool, add half a teaspoonful of soda. After pouring upon platters to cool, pour two teaspoonfuls of flavoring over the top. When partly cool, pull it until very white. Draw it into sticks the size you wish, and cut off with shears into sticks or kiss-shaped drops. It may be colored if desired. (See page 444, for coloring.) CHOCOLATE CARAMELS. One cupful of grated chocolate, two cupfuls of brown sugar, one cupful of West India molasses, one cupful of milk or cream, butter the size of an egg, boil until thick, _almost_ brittle, stirring constantly. Turn it out on to buttered plates, and when it begins to stiffen, mark it in small squares so that it will break easily when cold. Some like it flavored with a tablespoonful of vanilla. GRILLED ALMONDS. These are a very delicious candy seldom met with out of France. They are rather more trouble to make than other kinds, but well repay it from their novel flavor. Blanch a cupful of almonds; dry them thoroughly. Boil a cupful of sugar and a quarter of a cupful of water till it "hairs," then throw in the almonds; let them fry, as it were, in this syrup, stirring them occasionally; they will turn a faint yellow brown before the sugar changes color; do not wait an instant once this change of color begins, or they will lose flavor; remove them from the fire, and stir them until the syrup has turned back to sugar and clings irregularly to the nuts. These are grilled almonds. You will find them delicious, as they are to alternate at dinner with the salted almonds now so fashionable. PEPPERMINT DROPS. One cupful of sugar crushed fine, and just moistened with boiling water, then boiled five minutes; then take from the fire and add cream of tartar the size of a pea; mix well and add four or five drops of oil of peppermint. Beat briskly until the mixture whitens, then drop quickly upon white paper. Have the cream of tartar and oil of peppermint measured while the sugar is boiling. If it sugars before it is all dropped, add a little water and boil a minute or two. CURRANT DROPS. Use currant juice instead of water, to moisten a quantity of sugar. Put it in a pan and heat, stirring constantly; be sure not to let it boil; then mix a very little more sugar, let it warm with the rest a moment, then, with a smooth stick, drop on paper. LEMON DROPS. Upon a coffeecupful of finely powdered sugar pour just enough lemon juice to dissolve it, and boil it to the consistency of thick syrup, and so that it appears brittle when dropped in cold water. Drop this on buttered plates in drops; set away to cool and harden. NUT MOLASSES CANDY. When making molasses candy, add any kind of nuts you fancy; put them in after the syrup has thickened and is ready to take from the fire; pour out on buttered tins. Mark it off in squares before it gets too cool. Peanuts should be fresh roasted and then tossed in a sieve, to free them of their inner skins. SUGAR NUT CANDY. Three pounds of white sugar, half a pint of water, half a pint of vinegar, a quarter of a pound of butter, one pound of hickory nut kernels. Put the sugar, butter, vinegar and water together into a thick saucepan. When it begins to thicken, add the nuts. To test it, take up a very small quantity as quickly as possible directly from the centre, taking care not to disturb it any more than is necessary. Drop it into cold water, and remove from the fire the moment the little particles are brittle. Pour into buttered plates. Use any nuts with this recipe. COCOANUT CANDY. One cocoanut, one and one-half pounds of granulated sugar. Put sugar and milk of cocoanut together, beat slowly until the sugar is melted, then boil five minutes; add cocoanut (finely grated), boil ten minutes longer, stir constantly to keep from burning. Pour on buttered plates; cut in squares. Will take about two days to harden. Use prepared cocoanut when other cannot be had. BUTTER-SCOTCH. Three cupfuls of white sugar, half a cupful of water, half a cupful of vinegar, or half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a tablespoonful of butter and eight drops of extract of lemon. Boil _without stirring_ till it will snap and break. Just before taking from the fire, add a quarter of a teaspoonful of soda; pour into well-buttered biscuit tins, a quarter of an inch thick. Mark off into inch squares when partly cold. EVERTON TAFFY, OR BUTTER-SCOTCH. Two cupfuls of sugar, two cupfuls of dark molasses, one cupful of cold butter, grated rind of half a lemon. Boil over a slow fire until it hardens when dropped in cold water. Pour thinly into tins well buttered, and mark into inch squares before it cools. MAPLE WALNUTS. Beat the white of one egg to a stiff froth, stir in enough powdered sugar to make it like hard frosting, dip the walnut meats (which you have taken care to remove from the shells without breaking) in a syrup made by boiling for two or three minutes two tablespoonfuls of maple sugar in one of water, or in this proportion. Press some of the hard frosting between the two halves of the walnut and let it harden. Dates may be prepared in this way, and butternuts and English walnuts also. POP-CORN CANDY. No. 1. Put into an iron kettle one tablespoonful of butter, three tablespoonfuls of water and one cupful of white sugar; boil until ready to candy, then throw in three quarts nicely popped corn; stir vigorously until the sugar is evenly distributed over the corn; take the kettle from the fire and stir until it cools a little, and in this way you may have each kernel separate and all coated with the sugar. Of course it must have your undivided attention from the first, to prevent scorching. Almonds, English walnuts, or, in fact, any nuts are delicious prepared in this way. POP-CORN CANDY. No. 2. Having popped your corn, salt it and keep it warm, sprinkle over with a whisk broom a mixture composed of an ounce of gum arabic and a half pound of sugar, dissolved in two quarts of water; boil all a few minutes. Stir the corn with the hands or large spoon thoroughly; then mold into balls with the hands. POP-CORN BALLS. Take three large ears of pop-corn (rice is best). After popping, shake it down in pan so the unpopped corn will settle at the bottom; put the nice white popped in a greased pan. For the candy, take one cup of molasses, one cup of light brown or white sugar, one tablespoonful of vinegar. Boil until it will harden in water. Pour on the corn. Stir with a spoon until thoroughly mixed; then mold into balls with the hand. No flavor should be added to this mixture, as the excellence of this commodity depends entirely upon the united flavor of the corn, salt and the sugar or molasses. HOARHOUND CANDY. Boil two ounces of dried hoarhound in a pint and a half of water for about half an hour; strain and add three and a half pounds of brown sugar; boil over a hot fire until sufficiently hard; pour out in flat, well-greased tins and mark into sticks or small squares with a knife as soon as cool enough to retain its shape. JUJUBE PASTE. Two cupfuls of sugar, one-quarter of a pound of gum arabic, one pint of water. Flavor with the essence of lemon and a grain of cochineal. Let the mixture stand, until the gum is dissolved, in a warm place on the back of the stove, then draw forward and cook until thick; try in cold water; it should be limber and bend when cold. Pour in buttered pans, an eighth of an inch thick; when cool, roll up in a scroll. CANDIED ORANGES. Candied orange is a great delicacy, which is easily made: Peel and quarter the oranges; make a syrup in the proportion of one pound of sugar to one pint of water; let it boil until it will harden in water; then take it from the fire and dip the quarters of orange in the syrup; let them drain on a fine sieve placed over a platter so that the syrup will not be wasted; let them drain thus until cool, when the sugar will crystallize. These are nice served with the last course of dinner. Any fruit the same. FIG CANDY. One cup of sugar, one-third cup of water, one-fourth teaspoonful cream of tartar. Do not stir while boiling. Boil to amber color, stir in the cream of tartar just before taking from the fire. Wash the figs, open and lay in a tin pan and pour the candy over them. Or you may dip them in the syrup the same as "Candied Oranges." CANDY ROLEY POLEY. Take half a pint of citron, half a pint of raisins, half a pound of figs, a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, one pint of peanuts before they are hulled; cut up the citron, stone the raisins, blanch the almonds, and hull the peanuts; cut up the figs into small bits. Take two pounds of coffee-sugar and moisten with vinegar; put in a piece of butter as large as a walnut; stew till it hardens, but take off before it gets to the brittle stage; beat it with a spoon six or eight times, then stir in the mixed fruits and nuts. Pour into a wet cloth and roll it up like a pudding, twisting the ends of the cloth to mold it. Let it get cold and slice off pieces as it may be wanted for eating. MOLASSES CANDY. Put one quart of West India molasses, one cupful of brown sugar, a piece of butter the size of half an egg, into a six-quart kettle. Let it boil over a slack fire until it begins to look thick, stirring it often to prevent burning. Test it by taking some out and dropping a few drops in a cup of cold water. If it hardens quickly and breaks short between the teeth it is boiled enough. Now put in half a teaspoonful of baking soda, and stir it well; then pour it out into well-buttered flat tins. When partly cooled, take up the candy with your hands well buttered then pull and double, and so on, until the candy is a whitish yellow. It may be cut in strips and rolled or twisted. If flavoring is desired, drop the flavoring on the top as it begins to cool and when it is pulled, the whole will be flavored. STRAWBERRY CONSERVE. Prepare the fruit as for preserving, allowing half a pound of loaf sugar to one pound of fruit. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit at night; in the morning, put it on the fire in a kettle and boil until the berries are clear. Spread on dishes and put in the sun until dry; after which roll the fruit in sugar and pack in jars. PEACH CONSERVE. Halve the peaches and take out the stones; pare. Have ready some powdered white sugar on a plate or dish. Roll the peaches in it several times, until they will not take up any more. Place them singly on a plate, with the cup or hollow side up, that the juices may not run out. Lay them in the sun. The next morning roll them again. As soon as the juice seems set in the peaches, turn the other side to the sun. When they are thoroughly dry, pack them in glass jars, or, what is still nicer, fig-drums. They make an excellent sweetmeat just as they are; or, if wanted for table use, put over the fire in porcelain, with a very little water, and stew a few minutes. PEACH LEATHER. Stew as many peaches as you choose, allowing a quarter of a pound of sugar to one of fruit; mash it up smooth as it cooks, and when it is dry enough to spread in a thin sheet on a board greased with butter, set it out in the sun to dry; when dry it can be rolled up like leather, wrapped up in a cloth, and will keep perfectly from season to season. School-children regard it as a delightful addition to their lunch of biscuit or cold bread. Apple and quince leather are made in the same fashion, only a little flavoring or spice is added to them. COCOANUT CARAMELS. Two cupfuls of grated cocoanut, one cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of flour, the whites of three eggs, beaten stiff. Soak the cocoanut, if desiccated, in milk enough to cover it; then beat the whites of the eggs, add gradually the sugar, cocoanut and flour; with your fingers make, by rolling the mixture, into cone shapes. Place them on buttered sheets of tin covered with buttered letter paper and bake in a moderate heat about fifteen or twenty minutes. They should cool before removing from the tins. DRIED PRESERVES. Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup and then drying them slowly on the stove, strewing them thickly with powdered sugar. They should be turned every few hours, sifting over them more sugar. CANDIES WITHOUT COOKING. Very many candies made by confectioners are made without boiling, which makes them very desirable, and they are equal to the best "French Creams." The secret lies in the sugar used, which is the XXX powdered or confectioners' sugar. Ordinary powdered sugar, when rubbed between the thumb and finger has a decided grain, but the confectioners' sugar is fine as flour. The candies made after this process are better the day after. FRENCH VANILLA CREAM. Break into a bowl the whites of one or more eggs, as the quantity you wish to make will require; add to it an equal quantity of cold water, then stir in XXX powdered or confectioners' sugar until you have it stiff enough to mold into shape with the fingers. Flavor with vanilla to taste. After it is formed in balls, cubes or lozenge shapes, lay them upon plates or waxed paper and set them aside to dry. This cream can be worked in candies similar to the French cooked cream. CHOCOLATE CREAM DROPS. These are made or molded into cone-shape forms with the fingers, from the uncooked "French Cream," similar to that which is cooked. After forming into these little balls or cones, lay them on oiled paper until the next day, to harden, or make them in the morning and leave them until afternoon. Then melt some chocolate (the best confectioners') in a basin set in another basin of boiling water; when melted, and the creams are hard enough to handle, take one at a time on a fork and drop into the melted chocolate, roll it until well covered, then slip from the fork upon oiled or waxed paper, and set them aside to harden. FRUIT AND NUT CREAMS. Raisins seeded, currants, figs and citron, chopped fine, and mixed with the uncooked "French Cream," while soft, before the sugar is all mixed in, makes a delicious variety. Nuts also may be mixed with this cream, stirring into it chopped almonds, hickory nuts, butternuts, or English walnuts, then forming them into balls, bars or squares. Several kinds of nuts may be mixed together. ORANGE DROPS. Grate the rind of one orange and squeeze the juice, taking care to reject the seeds; add to this a pinch of tartaric acid; then stir in confectioners' sugar until it is stiff enough to form into balls the size of a small marble. This is delicious candy. The same process for lemon drops, using lemons in place of orange. Color a faint yellow. COCOANUT CREAMS. Make the uncooked cream as in the foregoing recipe. Take the cream while soft, add fresh grated cocoanut to taste; add sufficient confectioners' sugar to mold into balls and then roll the balls in the fresh grated cocoanut. These may be colored pink with a few drops of cochineal syrup, also brown by adding a few spoonfuls of grated chocolate; then rolling them in grated cocoanut; the three colors are very pretty together. The coconut cream may be made into a flat cake and cut into squares or strips. With this uncooked cream, all the recipes given for the cooked "French Cream," may be used: English walnut creams, variegated creams, etc. COFFEE, TEA, BEVERAGES. Boiling water is a very important desideratum in the making of a cup of good coffee or tea, but the average housewife is very apt to overlook this fact. Do not boil the water more than three or four minutes; longer boiling ruins the water for coffee or tea making, as most of its natural properties escape by evaporation, leaving a very insipid liquid composed mostly of lime and iron, that would ruin the best coffee, and give the tea a dark, dead look, which ought to be the reverse. Water left in the tea-kettle over night _must never be used for preparing the breakfast coffee_; no matter how excellent your coffee or tea may be, it will be ruined by the addition of water that has been boiled more than once. THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF TEA AND COFFEE. The medical properties of these two beverages are considerable. Tea is used advantageously in inflammatory diseases and as a cure for the headache. Coffee is supposed to act as a preventative of gravel and gout, and to its influence is ascribed the rarity of those diseases in Prance and Turkey. Both tea and coffee powerfully counteract the effects of opium and intoxicating liquors: though, when taken in excess, and without nourishing food, they themselves produce, temporarily at least, some of the more disagreeable consequences incident to the use of ardent spirits. In general, however, none but persons possessing great mobility of the nervous system, or enfeebled or effeminate constitutions, are injuriously affected by the moderate use of tea and coffee in connection with food. COFFEE. One full coffeecupful of ground coffee, stirred with one egg and part of the shell, adding a half cupful of _cold_ water. Put it into the coffee boiler, and pour on to it a quart of boiling water; as it rises and begins to boil, stir it down with a silver spoon or fork. Boil hard for ten or twelve minutes. Remove from the fire and pour out a cupful of coffee, then pour back into the coffeepot. Place it on the back of the stove or range where it will keep hot (and not boil); it will settle in about five minutes. Send to the table _hot_. Serve with good cream and lump sugar. Three-quarters of a pound of Java and a quarter of a pound of Mocha make the best mixture of coffee. VIENNA COFFEE. Equal parts of Mocha and Java coffee; allow one heaping tablespoonful of coffee to each person and two extra to make good strength. Mix one egg with grounds; pour on coffee half as much boiling water as will be needed; let it froth, then stir down grounds, and let boil five minutes; then let it stand where it will keep hot, but not boil, for five or ten minutes, and add rest of water. To one pint of cream add the white of an egg, well beaten; this is to be put in cups with sugar, and hot coffee added. FILTERED OR DRIP COFFEE. For each person allow a large tablespoonful of finely ground coffee, and to every tablespoonful allow a cupful of boiling water; the coffee to be one part Mocha to two of Java. Have a small iron ring made to fit the top of the coffeepot inside, and to this ring sew a small muslin bag (the muslin for the purpose must not be too thin). Fit the bag into the pot, pour some boiling water in it, and, when the pot is well warmed, put the ground coffee into the bag; pour over as much boiling water as is required, close the lid, and, when all the water has filtered through, remove the bag, and send the coffee to table. Making it in this manner prevents the necessity of pouring the coffee from one vessel to another, which cools and spoils it. The water should be poured on the coffee gradually so that the infusion may be stronger; and the bag must be well made that none of the grounds may escape through the seams and so make the coffee thick and muddy. Patented coffeepots on this principle can be purchased at most house-furnishing stores. ICED COFFEE. Make more coffee than usual at breakfast time and stronger. When cold put on ice. Serve with cracked ice in each tumbler. SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM IN COFFEE. Beat the white of an egg, put to it a small lump of butter and pour the coffee into it gradually, stirring it so that it will not curdle. It is difficult to distinguish this from fresh cream. Many drop a tiny piece of sweet butter into their cup of hot coffee as a substitute for cream. TO MAKE TEA. Allow two teaspoonfuls of tea to one large cupful of boiling water. Scald the teapot, put in the tea, pour on about a cupful of _boiling_ water, set it on the fire in a warm place, where it will not boil, but keep very hot, to almost boiling; let it steep or "draw" ten or twelve minutes. Now fill up with as much boiling water as is required. Send _hot_ to the table. It is better to use a china or porcelain teapot, but if you do use metal let it be tin, new, bright and clean; never use it when the tin is worn off and the iron exposed. If you do you are drinking tea-ate of iron. To make tea to perfection, boiling water must be poured on the leaves directly it boils. Water which has been boiling more than five minutes, or which has previously boiled, should on no account be used. If the water does not boil, or if it be allowed to overboil, the leaves of the tea will be only half-opened and the tea itself will be quite spoiled. The water should be allowed to remain on the leaves from ten to fifteen minutes. A Chinese being interviewed for the _Cook_ says: Drink your tea plain. Don't add milk or sugar. Tea-brokers and tea-tasters never do; epicures never do; the Chinese never do. Milk contains fibrin, albumen or some other stuff, and the tea a delicate amount of tannin. Mixing the two makes the liquid turbid. This turbidity, if I remember the cyclopædia aright, is tannate of fibrin, or leather. People who put milk in tea are therefore drinking boots and shoes in mild disguise. ICED TEA. Is now served to a considerable extent during the summer months. It is of course used without milk, and the addition of sugar serves only to destroy the finer tea flavor. It may be prepared some hours in advance, and should be made stronger than when served hot. It is bottled and placed in the ice chest till required. Use the black or green teas, or both, mixed, as fancied. CHOCOLATE. Allow half a cupful of grated chocolate to a pint of water and a pint of milk. Rub the chocolate smooth in a little cold water and stir into the boiling water. Boil twenty minutes, add the milk and boil ten minutes more, stirring it often. Sweeten to your taste. The French put two cupfuls of boiling water to each cupful of chocolate. They throw in the chocolate just as the water commences to boil. Stir it with a spoon as soon as it boils up, add two cupfuls of good milk, and when it has boiled sufficiently, serve a spoonful of thick whipped cream with each cup. COCOA. Six tablespoonfuls of cocoa to each pint of water, as much milk as water, sugar to taste. Rub cocoa smooth in a little cold water; have ready on the fire a pint of boiling water; stir in grated cocoa paste. Boil twenty minutes, add milk and boil five minutes more, stirring often. Sweeten in cups so as to suit different tastes. BUTTERMILK AS A DRINK. Buttermilk, so generally regarded as a waste product, has latterly been coming somewhat into vogue, not only as a nutrient, but as a therapeutic agent, and in an editorial article the _Canada Lancet_, some time ago, highly extolled its virtues. Buttermilk may be roughly described as milk which has lost most of its fat and a small percentage of casein, and which has become sour by fermentation. Long experience has demonstrated it to be an agent of superior digestibility. It is, indeed, a true milk peptone--that is, milk already partly digested, the coagulation of the coagulable portion being loose and flaky, and not of that firm indigestible nature which is the result of the action of the gastric juice upon cow's sweet milk. It resembles koumiss in its nature, and, with the exception of that article, it is the most grateful, refreshing and digestible of the products of milk. It is a decided laxative to the bowels, a fact which must be borne in mind in the treatment of typhoid fever, and which may be turned to advantage in the treatment of habitual constipation. It is a diuretic, and may be prescribed with advantage in some kidney troubles. Owing to its acidity, combined with its laxative properties, it is believed to exercise a general impression on the liver. It is well adapted to many cases where it is customary to recommend lime water and milk. It is invaluable in the treatment of diabetes, either exclusively, or alternating with skimmed milk. In some cases of gastric ulcer and cancer of the stomach, it is the only food that can be retained. _Medical journal._ CURRANT WINE. No. 1. The currants should be quite ripe. Stem, mash and strain them, adding a half pint of water and less than a pound of sugar to a quart of the mashed fruit. Stir well up together and pour into a clean cask, leaving the bung-hole open, or covered with a piece of lace. It should stand for a month to ferment, when it will be ready for bottling; just before bottling you may add a small quantity of brandy or whisky. CURRANT WINE. No. 2. To each quart of currant juice, add two quarts of soft water and three pounds of brown sugar. Put into a jug or small keg, leaving the top open until fermentation ceases and it looks clear. Draw off and cork tightly. _Long Island Recipe._ BLACKBERRY WINE. No. 1. Cover your blackberries with cold water; crush the berries well with a wooden masher; let them stand twenty-four hours; then strain, and to one gallon of juice put three pounds of common brown sugar; put into wide-mouthed jars for several days, carefully skimming off the scum that will rise to the top; put in several sheets of brown paper and let them remain in it three days; then skim again and pour through a funnel into your cask. There let it remain undisturbed till March; then strain again and bottle. These directions, if carefully followed out, will insure you excellent wine. _Orange County Recipe._ BLACKBERRY WINE NO. 2 Berries should be ripe and plump. Put into a large wood or stone vessel with a tap; pour on sufficient boiling water to cover them; when cool enough to bear your hand, bruise well until all the berries are broken; cover up, let stand until berries begin to rise to top, which will occur in three or four days. Then draw off the clear juice in another vessel, and add one pound of sugar to every ten quarts of the liquor, and stir thoroughly. Let stand six to ten days in first vessel with top; then draw off through a jelly-bag. Steep four ounces of isinglass in a pint of wine for twelve hours; boil it over a slow fire till all dissolved, then place dissolved isinglass in a gallon of blackberry juice, give them a boil together and pour all into the vessel. Let stand a few days to ferment and settle; draw off and keep in a cool place. Other berry wines may be made in the same manner. GRAPE WINE. Mash the grapes and strain them through a cloth; put the skins in a tub, after squeezing them, with barely enough water to cover them; strain the juice thus obtained into the first portion; put three pounds of sugar to one gallon of the mixture; let it stand in an open tub to ferment, covered with a cloth, for a period of from three to seven days; skim off what rises every morning. Put the juice in a cask and leave it open for twenty-four hours; then bung it up, and put clay over the bung to keep the air out. Let your wine remain in the cask until March, when it should be drawn off and bottled. FLORIDA ORANGE WINE. Wipe the oranges with a wet cloth, peel off the yellow rind very thin, squeeze the oranges, and strain the juice through a hair-sieve; measure the juice after it is strained and for each gallon allow three pounds of granulated sugar, the white and shell of one egg and one-third of a gallon of cold water; put the sugar, the white and shell of the egg (crushed small) and the water over the fire and stir them every two minutes until the eggs begin to harden; then boil the syrup until it looks clear under the froth, of egg which will form on the surface; strain the syrup, pour it upon the orange rind and let it stand over night; then next add the orange juice and again let it stand over night; strain it the second day, and put it into a tight cask with a small cake of compressed yeast to about ten gallons of wine, and leave the bung out of the cask until the wine ceases to ferment; the hissing noise continues so long as fermentation is in progress; when fermentation ceases, close the cask by driving in the bung, and let the wine stand about nine months before bottling it; three months after it is bottled, it can be used. A glass of brandy added to each gallon of wine after fermentation ceases is generally considered an improvement. There are seasons of the year when Florida oranges by the box are very cheap, and this fine wine can be made at a small expense. METHELIN, OR HONEY WINE. This is a very ancient and popular drink in the north of Europe. To some new honey, strained, add spring water; put a whole egg into it; boil this liquor till the egg swims above the liquor; strain, pour it in a cask. To every fifteen gallons add two ounces of white Jamaica ginger, bruised, one ounce of cloves and mace, one and one-half ounces of cinnamon, all bruised together and tied up in a muslin bag; accelerate the fermentation with yeast; when worked sufficiently, bung up; in six weeks draw off into bottles. _Another Mead._--Boil the combs, from which the honey has been drained, with sufficient water to make a tolerably sweet liquor; ferment this with yeast and proceed as per previous formula. _Sack Mead_ is made by adding a handful of hops and sufficient brandy to the comb liquor. BLACK CURRANT WINE. Four quarts of whisky, four quarts of black currants, four pounds of brown or white sugar, one tablespoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of cinnamon. Crush the currants and let them stand in the whisky with the spices for three weeks; then strain and add the sugar; set away again for three weeks longer; then strain and bottle. RAISIN WINE. Take two pounds of raisins, seed and chop them, a lemon, a pound of white sugar and about two gallons of boiling water. Pour into a stone jar and stir daily for six or eight days. Strain, bottle and put in a cool place for ten days or so, when the wine will be ready for use. CHERRY BOUNCE. To one gallon of wild cherries add enough good whisky to cover the fruit. Let soak two or three weeks and then drain off the liquor. Mash the cherries without breaking the stones and strain through a jelly-bag; add this liquor to that already drained off. Make a with a gill of water and a pound of white sugar to every two of liquor thus prepared; stir in well and bottle, and tightly cork. A common way of making cherry bounce is to put wild cherries and whisky together in a jug and use the liquor as wanted. BLACKBERRY CORDIAL. Warm and squeeze the berries; add to one pint of juice one pound of white sugar, one-half ounce of powdered cinnamon, one-fourth ounce of mace, two teaspoonfuls of cloves. Boil all together for one-fourth of an hour; strain the syrup, and to each pint add a glass of French brandy. Two or three doses of a tablespoonful or less will check any slight diarrhoea. When the attack is violent, give a tablespoonful after each discharge until the complaint is in subjection. It will arrest dysentery if given in season, and is a pleasant and safe remedy. Excellent for children when teething. HOP BEER. Take five quarts of water, six ounces of hops, boil it three hours; then strain the liquor, add to it five quarts of water, four ounces of bruised ginger root; boil this again twenty minutes, strain and add four pounds of sugar. When luke-warm put in a pint of yeast. Let it ferment; in twenty-four hours it will be ready for bottling. GINGER BEER. Put into a kettle two ounces of powdered ginger root (or more if it is not very strong), half an ounce of cream of tartar, two large lemons, cut in slices, two pounds of broken loaf sugar and two gallons of soft boiling water. Simmer them over a slow fire for half an hour. When the liquor is nearly cold, stir into it a large tablespoonful of the best yeast. After it has fermented, which will be in about twenty-four hours, bottle for use. SPRUCE BEER. Allow an ounce of hops and a spoonful of ginger to a gallon of water. When well boiled, strain it and put in a pint of molasses, or a pound of brown sugar, and half an ounce or less of the essence of spruce; when cool, add a teacupful of yeast, and put into a clean tight cask, and let it ferment for a day or two, then bottle it for use. You can boil the sprigs of spruce fir in place of the essence. ROMAN PUNCH. No. 1. Grate the yellow rind of four lemons and two oranges upon two pounds of loaf sugar. Squeeze the juice of the lemons and oranges; cover it and let it stand until next day. Strain it through a sieve, mix with the sugar; add a bottle of champagne and the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth. It may be frozen or not, as desired. For winter use snow instead of ice. ROMAN PUNCH. No. 2. Make two quarts of lemonade, rich with pure juice lemon fruit; add one tablespoonful of extract of lemon. Work well and freeze; just before serving, add for each quart of ice half a pint of brandy and half a pint of Jamaica rum. Mix well and serve in high glasses, as this makes what is called a semi or half ice. It is usually served at dinners as a _coup de milieu_. DELICIOUS JUNKET. Take two quarts of new milk, warm it on the stove to about blood heat, pour it into a glass or china bowl and stir into it two tablespoonfuls of prepared rennet, two tablespoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar, and a small wine-glassful of pale brandy. Let it stand till cold and eat with sugar and rich cream. Half the quantity can be made. RASPBERRY SHRUB. One quart of raspberry juice, half a pound of loaf sugar, dissolved, a pint of Jamaica rum, or part rum and brandy. Mix thoroughly. Bottle for use. SASSAFRAS MEAD. Mix gradually with two quarts of boiling water three pounds and a half of the best brown sugar, a pint and a half of good West India molasses, and a quarter of a pound of tartaric acid. Stir it well and when cool, strain it into a large jug or pan, then mix in a teaspoonful (not more) of essence of sassafras. Transfer it to clean bottles (it will fill about half a dozen), cork it tightly and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit for use next day. Put into a box or boxes a quarter of a pound of carbonate of soda, to use with it. To prepare a glass of sassafras mead for drinking, put a large tablespoonful of the mead into half a tumbler full of ice-water, stir into it a half teaspoonful of the soda and it will immediately foam up to the top. Sassafras mead will be found a cheap, wholesome and pleasant beverage for warm weather. The essence of sassafras, tartaric acid and carbonate of soda, can, of course, be obtained at the druggist's. CREAM SODA WITHOUT THE FOUNTAIN. Coffee-sugar, four pounds, three pints of water, three nutmegs, grated, the whites of ten eggs, well beaten, gum arabic, one ounce, twenty drops of oil of lemon, or extract equal to that amount. By using oils or other fruits, you can make as many flavors from this as you desire. Mix all and place over a gentle fire, and stir well about thirty minutes; remove from the fire and strain, and divide into two parts; into one-half put eight ounces of bicarbonate of soda, into the other half put six ounces of tartaric acid. Shake well, and when cold they are ready for use by pouring three or four spoonfuls from both parts into separate glasses, each one-third full of water. Stir each and pour together, and you have a nice glass of cream soda which you can drink at your leisure, as the gum and eggs hold the gas. WINE WHEY. Sweeten one pint of milk to taste, and when boiling, throw in two wine-glasses of sherry; when the curd forms, strain the whey through a muslin bag into tumblers. LEMON SYRUP. Take the juice of twelve lemons; grate the rind of six in it, let it stand over night; then take six pounds of white sugar and make a thick syrup. When it is quite cool, strain the juice into it, and squeeze as much oil from the grated rind as will suit the taste. Put in bottles, securely corked, for future use. A tablespoonful in a goblet of water will make a delicious drink on a hot day. FOR A SUMMER DRAUGHT. The juice of one lemon, a tumblerful of cold water, pounded sugar to taste, half a small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Squeeze the juice from the lemon; strain and add it to the water, with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. When well mixed, put in the soda, stir well and drink while the mixture is in an effervescing state. NOYEAU CORDIAL. To one gallon of proof spirit add three pounds of loaf sugar and a tablespoonful of extract of almonds. Mix well together and allow to stand forty-eight hours; covered closely; now strain through thick flannel and bottle. This liquor will be much improved by adding half a pint of apricot or peach juice. EGG NOG. Beat the yolks of twelve eggs very light, stir in as much white sugar as they will dissolve, pour in gradually one glass of brandy to cook the egg, one glass of old whisky, one grated nutmeg, and three pints of rich milk. Beat the whites to a froth and stir in last. EGG FLIP, OR MULLED ALE. Boil one quart of good ale with some nutmeg; beat up six eggs and mix them with a little cold ale; then pour the hot ale to it, pour it back and forth several times to prevent its curdling; warm and stir it till sufficiently thick; add a piece of butter or a glass of brandy and serve it with dry toast. MILK PUNCH. One pint of milk made very sweet; a wine-glassful of brandy or rum, well stirred together; grate a little nutmeg over the top of the glasses. Serve with a straw in each glass. FINE MILK PUNCH. PARE off the yellow rind of four large lemons and steep it for twenty-four hours in a quart of brandy or rum. Then mix with it the juice of the lemons, a pound and a half of loaf sugar, two grated nutmegs and a quart of water. Add a quart of rich unskimmed milk, made boiling hot, and strain the whole through a jelly-bag. You may either use it as soon as it is cold, or make a larger quantity (in the above proportions) and bottle it. It will keep several months. TO MAKE HOT PUNCH. Half a pint of rum, half a pint of brandy, quarter of a pound of sugar, one large lemon, half a teaspoonful of nutmeg, one pint of boiling water. Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punch bowl; add the lemon juice (free from pips) and mix these two ingredients, well together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy and nutmeg; mix thoroughly and the punch will be ready to serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to. (This is an old-style punch.) LEMONADE. Three lemons to a pint of water makes strong lemonade; sweeten to your taste. STRAWBERRY WATER. Take one cupful of ripe hulled berries; crush with a wooden spoon, mixing with the mass a quarter of a pound of pulverized sugar and half a pint of cold water. Pour the mixture into a fine sieve, rub through and filter till clear; add the strained juice, of one lemon and one and a half pints of cold water, mix thoroughly and set in ice chest till wanted. This makes a nice, cool drink on a warm day and easily to be made in strawberry season. STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY SYRUP. Mash the fresh fruit, express the juice and to each quart add three and a half pounds of granulated sugar. The juice, heated to 180° Fahrenheit, and strained or filtered previous to dissolving the sugar, will keep for an indefinite time, canned hot in glass jars. The juice of soft fruits is best when allowed to drop therefrom by its own weight; lightly mash the fruit and then suspend in a cloth, allowing the juice to drop in a vessel beneath. Many housekeepers, after the bottles and jars are thoroughly washed and dried, smoke them with sulphur in this way: Take a piece of wire and bend it around a small piece of brimstone the size of a bean; set the brimstone on fire, put it in the jar or bottle, bending the other end over the mouth of the vessel, and cover with a cork; after the brimstone has burned away, fill the vessel with the syrup or preserves and cover tightly. There is no sulphurous taste left by the process. KOUMISS. Koumiss is prepared by dissolving four ounces of white sugar in one gallon of skimmed milk, and placing in bottles of the capacity of one quart; add two ounces of baker's yeast or a cake of compressed yeast to each bottle. Cork and tie securely, set in a warm place until fermentation is well under way, and lay the bottles on their sides in a cool cellar. In three days, fermentation will have progressed sufficiently to permit the koumiss to be in good condition. PINEAPPLE VINEGAR. Cover sliced pineapples with pure cider vinegar; let them stand three or four days, then mash and strain through a cloth as long as it runs clear; to every three quarts of juice add five pounds of sugar. Boil it altogether about ten minutes, skim carefully until nothing rises to the surface, take from the fire; when cool, bottle it. Blackberries and raspberries, and, in fact, any kind of highly flavored fruit, is fine; a tablespoonful in a glass of ice-cold water, to drink in warm weather. RASPBERRY VINEGAR. No. 1. Put a quart of raspberries into a suitable dish, pour over them a quart of good vinegar, let it stand twenty-four hours, then strain through a flannel bag and pour this liquor on another quart of berries; do this for three or four days successively and strain it; make it very sweet with loaf sugar; bottle and seal it. RASPBERRY VINEGAR. NO. 2. Turn over a quart or ripe raspberries, mashed, a quart of good cider vinegar, add one pound of white sugar, mix well, then let stand in the sun four hours. Strain it, squeeze out the juice and put in a pint of good brandy. Seal it up in bottles, air-tight, and lay them on their sides in the cellar; cover them with sawdust. When used, pour two tablespoonfuls to a tumblerful of ice-water. Fine. HOME-MADE TABLE VINEGAR. Put in an open cask four gallons of warm rain-water, one gallon of common molasses and two quarts of yeast; cover the top with thin muslin and leave it in the sun, covering it up at night and when it rains. In three or four weeks it will be good vinegar. If cider can be used in place of rain-water the vinegar will make much sooner--will not take over a week to make a very sharp vinegar. Excellent for pickling purposes. VERY STRONG TABLE VINEGAR. Take two gallons of good cider and thoroughly mix it with two pounds of new honey, pour into your cask or bottle and let it stand from four to six months, when you will have vinegar so strong that it cannot be used at table without diluting with water. It is the best ever procured for pickling purposes. PINEAPPLE-ADE. Pare and slice some very ripe pineapples; then cut the slices into small pieces. Put them with all their juice into a large pitcher, and sprinkle among them plenty of powdered white sugar. Pour on boiling water, allowing a small half pint to each pineapple. Cover the pitcher and let it stand till quite cool, occasionally pressing down the pineapple with a spoon. Then set the pitcher for a while in ice. Lastly, strain the infusion into another vessel and transfer it to tumblers, putting into each glass some more sugar and a bit of ice. This beverage will be found delicious. SEIDLITZ POWDERS. Fold in a white paper a mixture of one drachm of Rochelle salts and twenty-five grains of carbonate of soda, in a blue paper twenty grains of tartaric acid. They should all be pulverized very finely. Put the contents of the white paper into a tumbler, not quite half full of cold water, and stir it till dissolved. Then put the mixture from the blue paper into another tumbler with the same quantity of water, and stir that also. When the powders are dissolved in both tumblers, pour the first into the other, and it will effervesce immediately. Drink it quickly, while foaming. INEXPENSIVE DRINK. A very nice, cheap drink which may take the place of lemonade and be found fully as healthful is made with one cupful of pure cider vinegar, half a cupful of good molasses, put into one quart pitcher of ice-water. A tablespoonful of ground ginger added makes a healthful beverage. [Illustration] THE VARIETIES OF SEASONABLE FOOD TO BE OBTAINED IN OUR MARKETS DURING THE YEAR. JANUARY. MEATS.--Beef, mutton, pork, lamb. POULTRY AND GAME.--Rabbits, hares, partridges, woodcocks, grouse or prairie chickens, snipes, antelope, quails, swans, geese, chickens, capons, tame pigeons, wild ducks, the canvas-back duck being the most popular and highly prized; turkeys. FISH.--Haddock, fresh codfish, halibut, flounders, bass, fresh salmon, turbot. Frozen fresh mackerel is found in our large cities during this month; also frozen salmon, red-snapper, shad, frozen bluefish, pickerel, smelts, green turtle, diamond-back terrapin, prawns, oysters, scallops, hard crabs, white bait, finnan haddie, smoked halibut, smoked salmon. VEGETABLES.--Cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, pumpkins, chives, celery, winter squash, onions, white and sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, chiccory, Brussels-sprouts, kale-sprouts, oyster plant, leeks, cress, cauliflower. Garden herbs, both dry and green, being chiefly used in stuffing and soups, and for flavoring and garnishing certain dishes, are always in season, such as sage, thyme, sweet basil, borage, dill, mint, parsley, lavender, summer savory, etc., may be procured green in the summer and dried in the winter. FEBRUARY. MEATS.--Beef, mutton, pork, lamb, antelope. POULTRY AND GAME.--Partridges, hares, rabbits, snipes, capons, pheasants, fowls, pullets, geese, ducks, turkeys, wild ducks, swan, and pigeons. FISH.--Halibut, haddock, fresh codfish, striped bass, eels, fresh salmon, live lobsters, pompano, sheep's-head, red-snapper, white perch, a panfish, smelts--green and frozen; shad, herring, salmon-trout, whitefish, pickerel, green turtle, flounders, scallops, prawns, oysters, soft-shell crabs--which are in excellent condition this month; hard crabs, white bait, boneless dried codfish, finnan haddie, smoked halibut, smoked salmon. VEGETABLES.--White potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, onions, parsnips, oyster plant, okra, celery, chiccory, carrots, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, French artichokes, Brussels-sprouts, beets, mushrooms raised in hot houses, pumpkins, winter squash, dry shallots and garden herbs for seasoning put up in the dried state. MARCH. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork. POULTRY AND GAME.--Chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, snipes, wild pigeons, capons. FISH.--Striped bass, halibut, salmon, live codfish, chicken halibut, live lobster, Spanish mackerel, flounders, sheep's-head, pompano, grouper, red-snapper. Shad are plentiful this month. Herring, salmon-trout, sturgeon, whitefish, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish, green turtle, terrapin, scallops, soft-shell clams, oysters, prawns, smoked salmon, smoked halibut, smoked haddock, salt codfish. VEGETABLES.--Cabbage, turnips, carrots, parsnips, artichokes, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, leeks, radishes, Brussels-sprouts, celery, mushrooms, salsify-chives, cress, parsley and other garden herbs, greens, rhubarb and cucumbers raised in hot beds. APRIL. MEATS.--Beef, veal, pork, mutton, lamb. POULTRY AND GAME.--Chickens, fowls, green geese, young ducks, capons, golden plover, squabs, wild ducks. FISH.--Haddock, fresh cod, striped bass, halibut, eels, chicken halibut, live lobsters, salmon, white perch, flounders, fresh mackerel, sheep's-head, smelts, red-snapper, bluefish, skate or ray fish, shad, whitefish, brook trout, salmon-trout, pickerel, catfish, prawns, crayfish, green turtle, oysters, scallops, frogs' legs, clams, hard crabs, white bait, smoked halibut, smoked salmon, smoked haddock, salt mackerel, salt codfish. VEGETABLES.--Onions, white and sweet potatoes, kale-sprouts, rhubarb, artichokes, turnips, radishes, Brussels-sprouts, okra, cabbage, parsnips, mushrooms, cress, carrots, beets, dandelion, egg plant, leeks, lettuce, cucumbers, asparagus, string beans, peas, chives. MAY. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork. POULTRY AND GAME.--Fowls, pigeons, spring chickens, young ducks, chickens, green geese, young turkeys. FISH.--Halibut, haddock, striped bass, salmon, flounders, fresh mackerel, Spanish mackerel, blackfish, pompano, butterfish, weakfish, kingfish, porgies, shad, bluefish, clams, brook-trout, whitefish, carp, crayfish, prawns, green turtle, soft crabs, frogs' legs, smoked fish. VEGETABLES.--New potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, young onions, asparagus, beets, carrots, kidney beans, string beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, peas, turnips, squash, rhubarb, spinach, radishes, artichokes, sorrel, egg-plant, cucumbers, salads generally. JUNE. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb. POULTRY AND GAME.--Chickens, geese, ducks, young turkeys, plovers, Pigeons. FISH.--Fresh salmon, striped bass, halibut, fresh mackerel, flounders, kingfish, blackfish, weakfish, butterfish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, porgies, sheeps-head, sturgeon, sea bass, bluefish, skate or rayfish, carp, black bass, crayfish, lobsters, eels, white bait, frogs' legs, soft crabs, clams. VEGETABLES.--Potatoes, spinach, cauliflower, string beans, peas tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, artichokes, parsnips, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, cress, oyster plant, egg plant, rhubarb and all kinds of garden herbs, sorrel, horse-radish. JULY. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork. POULTRY AND GAME.--Fowls, chickens, pigeons, plovers, young geese, turkey-plouts, squabs, doe-birds,-tame rabbits. FISH.--Spanish mackerel, striped bass, fresh mackerel, blackfish, kingfish, flounders, salmon, cod, haddock, halibut, pompano, butterfish, a sweet panfish, sheep's-head, porgies, sea bass, weakfish, swordfish, tantog, bluefish skate, brook trout, crayfish, black bass, moonfish--a fine baking or boiling fish; pickerel, perch, eels, green turtle, frogs' legs, soft crabs, white bait, prawns, lobsters, clams. VEGETABLES.--Potatoes, asparagus, peas, green string beans, butter beans, artichokes, celery, lettuce, carrots, salsify, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, cabbage onions, endive, radishes, turnips, mint, various kinds of greens and salads. AUGUST. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork. POULTRY AND GAME.--Venison, young ducks, green geese, snipe, plover, turkeys, guinea-fowls, squabs, wild pigeons, woodcock, fowls. FISH--Striped bass, cod, halibut, haddock, salmon, flounders, fresh mackerel, ponito, butterfish, sea bass, kingfish, sheep's-head, porgies, bluefish, moonfish, brook trout, eels, black bass, crayfish, skate or rayfish, catfish, green turtle, white bait, squid, frogs' legs, soft crabs, prawns, clams. VEGETABLES.--Carrots, artichokes, onions, string beans, lima beans, cauliflower Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, green corn, tomatoes, peas, summer squash, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, celery, rhubarb, beets, greens, mushrooms, chives. SEPTEMBER. MEAT.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, venison. POULTRY AND GAME.--Larks, woodcock, snipe, wild pigeons, squabs, young geese, young turkeys, plover, wild ducks, wild geese, swans and brant fowls, reed-birds, grouse, doe-birds, partridges. FISH.--Salmon, halibut codfish, pompano, striped bass, haddock, cero, a large fish similar to the Spanish mackerel; flounders, fresh mackerel, blackfish, Spanish mackerel, butterfish, whitefish, weakfish, smelts, porgies, squids, pickerel, crayfish, catfish, bluefish, wall-eyed pike, sea bass, skate, carp, prawns, white bait, frogs' legs, hard crabs, moonfish, soft crabs, herrings, lobsters, clams. VEGETABLES.--Potatoes, cabbages, turnips, artichokes, peas, beans, carrots, onions, salsify, mushrooms, lettuce, sorrel, celery, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, squash, rhubarb, green-peppers, parsnips, beets, green corn, tomatoes, cress. OCTOBER. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, venison, antelope. POULTRY AND GAME.--Turkeys, geese, fowls, pullets, chickens, wild ducks, the canvas-back duck being the most highly prized, for its delicate flavor; woodcock, grouse, pheasants, pigeons, partridges, snipes, reed-birds, golden plover, gray plover, squabs. FISH.--Striped bass, fresh cod, halibut, haddock, Spanish mackerel, fresh mackerel, cero, flounders, pompano, weakfish, white perch, grouper, sheep's-head, whitefish, bluefish, pickerel, red-snapper, yellow perch, smelts, sea bass, black bass, cisco, wall-eyed pike, crayfish, carp, salmon-trout, spotted bass, terrapin, frogs' legs, hard crabs, soft crabs, white bait, green turtle, scallops, eels, lobsters, oysters. VEGETABLES.--Potatoes, cabbages, turnips, carrots, cauliflowers, parsnips, string beans, peas, lima beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, spinach, salsify, egg plant, beets, pumpkins, endive, celery, parsley, squash, cucumbers, mushrooms, sweet herbs of all kinds, salads of all kinds, garlic, shallots. NOVEMBER. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, pork, venison, antelope. POULTRY AND GAME.--Rabbits, hares, pheasants, woodcock, partridges, quails, snipe, grouse, wild ducks, wild geese, fowls, turkeys, pigeons. FISH.--Striped bass, fresh cod, halibut, haddock, salmon, fresh mackerel, blackfish, whitefish, bluefish, catfish, redfish or spotted bass, black bass, yellow perch, skate, red-snapper, salmon-trout, pickerel, shad, wall-eyed pike, cisco, crayfish, terrapin, green turtle, scallops, prawns, white bait, frogs' legs, hard crabs, oysters. VEGETABLES.--Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, onions, dried beans, artichokes, cabbages, beets, winter squash, celery, parsley, pumpkins, shallots, mushrooms, chiccory, all sorts of salads and sweet herbs. DECEMBER. MEATS.--Beef, veal, mutton, pork, venison. POULTRY AND GAME.--Rabbits, hares, grouse, pheasants, woodcock, snipe, partridges, turkey, fowls, chickens, pullets, geese, wild geese, ducks, wild duck, tame duck, canvas-back duck, quails. FISH.--Turbot, sturgeon, haddock, halibut, eels, striped bass, flounders, salmon, fresh cod, blackfish, whitefish, grouper, cusk, shad, mullet, a sweet panfish, black bass, yellow perch, salmon-trout, pickerel, cisco, skate, wall-eyed pike, terrapin, crayfish, green turtle, prawns, hard crabs, soft crabs, scallops, frogs' legs, oysters. VEGETABLES.--- Potatoes, cabbages, onions, winter squash, beets, turnips, pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, dried beans, dried peas, mushrooms, parsley, shallots, Brussels-sprouts, leeks, horse-radish, garlic, mint, sage and small salads. Garden herbs which are mostly used for stuffings and for flavoring dishes, soups, etc., or for garnishing, may be found either green or dried the year round, always in season. Melons can be had at most of our markets from July 1st until the 15th of October; they are received from the South in the early part of the season, and are not as fresh and good as those ripened in our own vicinity. [Illustration] MENUS BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER FOR THE HOLIDAYS And for a Week in Each Month In the Year. * * * * * JANUARY. NEW YEAR'S DAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Apples 515. Hominy 274. Boiled White Fish 59. Ham Omelet 233. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Parker House Rolls 253. Crullers 317. Toast 276. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Roast Turkey 82. Boston Oyster Pie 76. Celery Salad 174. Baked Sweet Potatoes 198. Rusks 256. Fruit Cake 290. Sliced Oranges. Tea 460. DINNER. Oysters on Half Shell. Julienne Soup 33. Baked Pickerel 51. Roast Turkey 82, Oyster Stuffing 83. Mashed Potatoes 192. Boiled Onions 198. Baked Winter Squash 212. Cranberry Sauce 163. Chicken Pie 89. Plain Celery 175. Lobster Salad 171. Olives. Spiced Currants 189. English Plum Pudding 396, Wine Sauce 417. Mince Pie 338. Orange-water Ice 380. Fancy Cakes 310. Cheese. Fruits. Nuts. Raisins. Confectionery. Coffee 458. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Oatmeal, with Cream 274. Broiled Mutton Chops 139. Tomato Sauce 159. Favorite Warmed Potatoes 195. Eggs on Toast 279. Graham Gems 259. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Potted Ham 152. Cheese Cream Toast 223. Celery Salad 174. Cold Raised Biscuit 251. Gooseberry Jam 435. Citron Cake 295. Tea 460. DINNER. Oysters on Half Shell. Mock Turtle Soup 39. Boiled Halibut 57, Sauce Maitre d'Hotel 160. Roast Haunch of Venison 104, Currant Jelly 431. Potato Croquettes No. 1 196. Creamed Parsnips 204. Celery. Pickled White Cabbage 182. Chicken Patties 88. Baked Lemon Pudding 399. Jelly Kisses 372. Raisins. Nuts. Fruit. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Apples 515. Boiled Rice 275. Pork Cutlets 147. Waffles 260, with Maple Syrup. Potato Fillets 196. Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Venison 104. Broiled Oysters 73. Potato Salad 175. Rye Drop-cakes 261. Canned Peaches 439. Tea 460. DINNER. Macaroni Soup 40. Boiled Leg of Mutton 137, Caper Sauce 158. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. Steamed Cabbage 201. Cheese Fondu 222. Cucumber Pickles 180. Boston Cream Pie 331. Sliced Oranges. Crackers. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Raspberry Jam 436. Hominy 274. Saratoga Chips 193. Porterhouse Steak 110. French Griddle-cakes 265. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Scrambled Mutton 141. Welsh Rarebit 224. Olives. Hominy Croquettes 274. Currant Jelly 431. Molasses Cup Cake 308. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Oyster Soup 46. Roast Loin of Pork 145. Apple Sauce 162. Boiled Sweet Potatoes 198. Scalloped Onions 199. Stewed Carrots 213. Pickled Green Peppers 183. Royal Sago Pudding 401. Sweet Sauce 421. Crullers 317. Fruit. Cheese. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Old-fashioned Apple Sauce 162. Fried Mush 273. Pork Tenderloins 147. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Parker House Rolls 253. Omelet 230. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Pork 145. Stewed Codfish 64. Green Tomato Pickles 181. Rusks 256. Strawberry Jam 435. Tea 460. DINNER. Beef Soup 31. Roast Fillet of Veal 127. Tomato Sauce 159. Browned Potatoes 192. Macaroni á la Crême 217. Parsnip Fritters 203. Piccalili 186. Lemon Pie 328. Cocoanut Tarts 341. Cheese. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Peaches. Corn Meal Mush 273. Stewed Beef Kidney 124. Egg Muffins 257. Crisp Potatoes 195. Ham Toast 279. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Croquettes 129. Sardines. Cold Slaw 173. Cheese Toast 277. Canned Plums 442. Soft Ginger Cake 306. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Chicken Cream Soup 34. Boiled Corned Beef 118. Boiled Potatoes 192. Boiled Turnips 214. Boiled Cabbage 200. Beets Boiled 210. Charlotte Russe 361. Preserved Strawberries 425. Fruit Jumbles 315. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Orange Marmalade 434. Oat Flakes 275. Codfish Balls 63. Baked Eggs on Toast 279. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Sally Lunn 255. Raised Doughnuts 317. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Corned Beef 118. Vegetable Hash 212. Deviled Lobster 69. Graham Bread 243. Peach Butter 443. Golden Spice Cake 303. Tea 460. DINNER. Celery Soup 43. Baked Halibut 58. Hollandaise Sauce 161. Browned Potatoes 192. Scalloped Oysters 76. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Fried Salsify 209. Suet Plum Pudding 413. Brandy Sauce 417. Sponge Drops 312. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Apple Sauce 162. Cracked Wheat 275. Beef Hash 123. Fried Raw Potatoes 194. Buckwheat Cakes with Maple Syrup 265-266. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Scalloped Fish 64. Head Cheese 154. Celery 175. Grafton Milk Biscuits 254. Grape Jelly 433. Cream Cake 300. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Tomato Soup 38. Fricassee Chicken 87. Mashed Potatoes 192. Ladies' Cabbage 201. Boiled Rice 202. Cold Slaw 173. Apple Pie 326. Mock Ice 354. Cookies 315. Cheese. Coffee 458. FEBRUARY. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Country Sausage 153. Baked Omelet 234. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Clam Fritters 78. Egg muffins 257. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. DINNER Oysters on Half Shell. Mock Turtle Soup 39. Baked White Fish 56. Bechamel Sauce 160. Boiled Turkey 84. Oyster Sauce 157. Boiled Sweet Potatoes 198. Steamed Potatoes 194. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Scalloped Onions 199. Salmi of Game 103. Olives. Chicken Salad 171. Washington Poe 365. Bavarian Cream 349. Variegated Jelly 374. Marble Cake 297. Candied Fruits. Raisins and Nuts. Coffee 458. SUPPER Cold Boiled Turkey 84. Potato Croquettes 196. Lobster Salad 171. Soda Biscuit 251. English Pound Cake 294. Pineapple Preserves 427. Tea 460. SUNDAY BREAKFAST Old-fashioned Apple Sauce 162. Graham Mush 273. Broiled Ham 152. Potato Croquettes 196. Fried Eggs 228. Virginia Corn Bread 247. German Doughnuts 318. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. DINNER Ox-tail Soup 34 Baked White Fish (Bordeaux Sauce) 56. Braised Ducks with Turnips 97. Mashed Potatoes 192. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Timbale of Macaroni 217. Celery Salad 174. Fried Sweetbreads 135. Sago Apple Pudding 401. Lemon Jelly 373. Fruit. Almond Macaroons 372. Coffee 458. SUPPER Boston Oyster Pie 76. Cold Boiled Tongue 124. Sliced Cucumber Pickle 180. Orange Short-cake 270. Ginger Snaps 309. Tea 460. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Apricots. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Fried Chicken 90. Potato Puffs 193. Flannel Cakes 262. Milk Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Warmed-up Duck 98. Sliced Bologna Sausage 152. Celery 175. Potato Biscuit 254. Canned Grapes 439. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Vermicelli Soup 42. Stewed Brisket of Beef 120. Scalloped Potatoes 194. Stewed Parsnips 203. French Cabbage 201. Mixed Pickles 187. Cranberry Pie 335. Spanish Cream 349. Fruit. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Oranges. Hominy 274. Hamburger Steak 123. Grilled Pork 149. Saratoga Chips 193. Tennessee Muffins 258. Puff Ball Doughnuts 319. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Sliced Beef 120. Potato Puffs 193. Tomato Catsup 176. Light Biscuit 252. Jelly Fritters 369. Tea 460. DINNER. Scotch Mutton Broth 32. Baked Ham 151. Potato Snow 194. Scalloped Tomatoes 204. Veal Croquettes 129. Stewed Beets 210. Sunderland Pudding 415. Custard Sauce 420. Lemon Cookies 316. Fruit. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Fried Apples 147. Corn Meal Mush 273. Fried Pork Chops 148. Newport Waffles 260. Favorite Warmed Potatoes 195. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Sliced Ham 151. Scalloped Oysters 76. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Sweet Pickle 188. Lemon Toast 367. Tea 460. DINNER. Mullagatawny Soup 38. Boned Leg of Mutton, Roasted 136. Boiled Potatoes 192. Stewed Onions 199. Mashed Turnips 214. Hot Slaw 173. Tapioca Blanc Mange 358, with Raspberry Jam 415. Neapolitaines 313. Fruit. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Bananas. Samp 275. Broiled Veal Cutlets 129. Tomato Sauce 159. Fried Potatoes 194. French Rolls 253. Wonders 318. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Hashed Mutton on Toast 138. Potato Croquettes 196. Pickled Oysters 185. Preserved Cherries 424. Feather Cake 300. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Tapioca Cream Soup 41. Curry Chicken with Rice 93. Steamed Sweet Potatoes 198. Stewed Salsify 209. Boiled Squash 212. Pickled Onions 184. Delicate Indian Pudding 395. Orange Jelly 377. Crackers. Cheese. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Boiled Salt Mackerel 60. Veal Hash on Toast 280. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Corn Meal Griddle-cakes 263. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Lobster Croquettes 69. French Stew 119. Cold Slaw 173. Rusks 256. Sweet Omelet 368. Tea 460. DINNER. Lobster Soup 46. Boiled Cod with Oyster Sauce 65. Potato Puffs 193. Fried Cabbage 201. Muttonettes 140. Olives. Cocoanut Pudding 395. Banana Cream 352. Cup Cakes 311. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Apple Jelly 433. Boiled Rice 275. Fried Pickled Pigs' Feet 151. Baked Potatoes 197. Fish Omelet 233. English Crumpets 272. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Dried Beef with Cream 121. Cheese Fondu 222. Potato Salad 174. Grafton Milk Biscuits 254. Corn Meal Puffs 395. Lemon Sauce 418. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Turtle Bean Soup 37. Beef á la Mode 113. Baked Potatoes 197. Sourcrout 202. Macaroni á la Italienne 216. Chowchow 183. Chocolate Custard Pie 328. Little Plum Cakes 313. Fruit. Coffee 458. * * * * * MARCH. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Oranges. Oat Flakes 275. Porterhouse Steak 110. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Oyster Omelet 233. Raised Biscuit 251. Sour Milk Griddle-cakes 263. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Calf's Head Cheese 132. Lobster Patties 70. Potato Salad 174. Warm Soda Biscuits 251. Honey. Lemon Cookies 316. Tea 460. DINNER. Swiss White Soup 42. Boiled Fresh Mackerel 61, Egg Sauce 156. Roast Beef 109. Yorkshire Pudding 110. Browned Potatoes 192. Spinach with Eggs 212. Boiled Parsnips 203. Scalloped Cheese 212. Chicken Croquettes 90. Tapioca Cream Custard 352. Rhubarb Pie 333. Sponge Drops 312. Cheese. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Apples 515. Hominy 274. Fried Ham and Eggs 150. Crisp Potatoes 195. Plain Muffins 258. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Beef 109. Fish Fritters 65. Baked Potatoes 197. Indian Loaf Cake 248. Plum Preserves 425. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Split Pea Soup 35. Braised Veal 132. Steamed Potatoes 194. Cabbage with Cream 200. Stewed Beets 210. Mixed Pickles 187. Superior Bread Pudding 389. Plain Sauce 420. Orange Tarts 340. Fruit. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Bananas. Fried Mush 273. Fried Veal Chops 128. Hasty Cooked Potatoes 195. Egg Biscuit 252. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Oyster Stew 72. Spiced Beef Relish 119. Hominy Croquettes 274. Rusks 256. Canned Peaches 439. Tea 460. DINNER. Consommé Soup 33. Roast Chicken 86. Mashed Potatoes 192. Stewed Carrots 213. Tomato Toast 278. Spiced Currants 189. Almond Pudding 390. Lemon Trifle 356. Angel Cake 302. Fruit. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Lemon Marmalade 435. Cracked Wheat 275. Country Sausages 153. Potato Puffs 193. Bread Griddle-cakes 264. Cream Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Chicken Patties 88. Baked Omelet 234. Potato Croquettes 196. East India Pickle 187. Beaten Biscuit 254. Apple Pudding 403. Tea 460. DINNER. Vegetable Soup 42. Baked Calf's Head 132. Boiled Potatoes 192. Stewed Onions 199. Macaroni and Tomato Sauce 218. Cold Slaw 173. Apple Custard Pie 326. Wine Jelly 373. Cocoanut Cookies 316. Cheese. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Prunes. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Pork Cutlets 147. Baked Potatoes 197. Scrambled Eggs 327. Corn Meal Fritters 266. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Fricasseed Tripe 126. Hashed Beef on Toast 280. Chicken Salad 171. Cream Toast 277. Crullers 318. Grape Jelly 433. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Oyster Soup 46. Spiced Beef 112. Potato Croquettes 196. Spinach with Eggs 212. Scalloped Tomatoes 204. Olives. Plain Charlotte Russe 362. Jam Tarts 343. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Peach Jelly 434. Boiled Rice 275. Fried Pan Fish 51. Veal Hash on Toast 280. Saratoga Chips 193. Feather Griddle-cakes 262. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Spiced Beef 112. Stewed Codfish 64. Fried Potatoes 194. Brown Bread. Apple Fritters 267. Tea 460. DINNER. Tomato Soup No. 2 38. Boiled White Fish 59. Maitre d'Hotel Sauce 160. Potato Snow 194. Fried Parsnips 203. Boiled Cabbage 200, and Ham 151. Cucumber Pickle 180. Cracker Pudding 393. Fruit Sauce 421. Lemon Jelly 373. Delicate Cake 295. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Cider Apple Sauce 162. Hominy 276. Calf's Liver and Bacon 134. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Egg muffins 257. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Ham Omelet 233. Pan Oysters 74. Rice Croquettes 274. Cream Short-cake 269. Strawberry Preserves 425. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Philadelphia Pepper Pot 37. Baked Mutton Cutlets 140. Roast Sweet Potatoes 198. Mashed Turnips 214. Stewed Celery 209. Lobster Salad 171. Apple Dumplings 384. Sweet Sauce 421. Baked Custard 345. Raisins. Nuts. Coffee 458. * * * * * APRIL. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Apples 370. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Veal Cutlets Broiled 129. Shirred eggs 227. Warmed Potatoes 195. French Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Roast Chicken 86. Mayonnaise Fish 62. Welsh Rarebit 224. Baking Powder Biscuit 251. Layer Cake 304, with Banana Filling 289. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Cream of Spinach Soup 34. Broiled Shad 55, Sauce Tartare 156. Leg of Mutton á la Venison 132. Steamed Potatoes 194. Creamed Parsnips 204. Oyster Patties 75. Currant Jelly 431. Lettuce Salad 174. Delmonico Pudding 406 Pineapple Sherbet 380. Rolled Jelly Cake 304. Fruit. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Oranges. Hominy 276. Broiled Halibut 58. Omelet of Herbs 231. Saratoga Chips 193. Raised Muffins 257. Brown Bread 238. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Mutton Pudding 141. Oyster Roast 74. Lettuce with Cream Dressing 170. French Rolls 253. Cup Custard 345. Tea 460. DINNER. Mock Turtle Soup 39. Tenderloin of Beef 113. Boiled Potatoes 192. Steamed Cabbage 201. Stewed Onions 199. Radishes. Snow Pudding 410. Peach Meringue Pie 327. Crisp Cookies 316. Fruit. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Prunes. Oat Flakes 275. Frizzled Beef 118. Grilled Salt Pork 149. Potato Puffs 193. Sally Lunn 255. Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Roast Beef Pie with Potato Crust 116. Fried Tripe 125. Hominy Croquettes 274. Olives. Light Biscuit 252. Jelly Puddings 415. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Celery Soup 43. French Stew 119. Potato Puffs 193. Mashed Turnips 214. Brain Cutlets 133. Pickled Cabbage 182. Golden Cream Cake 300. Orange Cocoanut Salad 368. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Apples 515. Boiled Rice 275. Mutton Chops Fried 139. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Parker House Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Chicken Omelet 233. Fried Eels 56. Radishes 175. Steamed Brown Bread 245. Sponge Cake 293. Quince Preserves 427. Tea 461. DINNER. Mullagatawny Soup 38. Boiled Fillet of Veal 127. Boiled Sweet Potatoes 198. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Baked Sweetbreads 135. Chowchow 183. Mock Cream Pie 331. Lemon Jelly 373. Almond Jumbles 315. Fruit. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Cracked Wheat 275. Dried Beef with Cream 121. Veal Collops 128. Baked Potatoes 197. Grafton Milk Biscuits 254. Dipped Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Pressed Beef 119. Stewed Kidneys 124. Baked Potatoes 197. Pickled Peppers 183. Fried Dinner Rolls 271. Canned Peaches 439. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Beef Soup 31. Chicken á la Terrapin 95. Browned Potatoes 192. Fried Parsnips 203. Macaroni and Cheese 217. Lettuce 176, with French Dressing 170. Banana Pudding 412. Jam Tarts 343. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Bananas. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Stewed Codfish 64. Bread Omelet 234. Boiled Potatoes 192. Hot Cross Buns 255. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Rissoles of Chicken 88. Potted Fish 62, Nun's Toast 277. Potato Biscuit 254. Lemon Cake 295. Peach Jelly 434. Tea 460. DINNER. Vermicelli Soup 42. Baked Shad with Dressing 55. Scalloped Potatoes 194. Spinach with Eggs 212. Veal Croquettes 129. Olives. Fig Pudding 404. Chocolate Eclairs 308. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Apricots. Samp 275. Broiled Ham 151. Fried Eggs 228. Sweet Potatoes Fried 198. Newport Waffles 260. Flannel Cakes 262. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Stew 131. Scalloped Cheese 222. Potato Croquettes 196. Radishes 175. Boston Brown Bread 244. Ginger Snaps 309. Canned Grapes 439. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Onion Soup 41. Pot Roast 112. Mashed Potatoes 192. Boiled Onions 198. Lobster Patties 70. Lettuce 176, with Mayonnaise 169. Pineapple Charlotte Russe 364. Lady Fingers 312. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. * * * * * MAY. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Pineapple. Oat Flakes 275. Fried Chicken 90. Mushroom Omelet 233. Saratoga Chips 193. Sally Lunn 255. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Veal Loaf Sliced 131. Scalloped Clams 79. Ham Salad 172. Rusks 256. Preserved Pears 427. Almond Cake 303. Tea 460. DINNER. Cream of Asparagus Soup 36. Boiled Bass 55. Sauce Tartare 156. Roast Lamb 142, with Mint Sauce 160. Boiled New Potatoes 192. Green Peas 211. Rice Croquettes 274. Lobster Salad 171. Cabinet Pudding 398. Custard Ice-cream 377. Jelly Kisses 371. Fruit. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Boiled Rice 275. Broiled Lamb Chops 139. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Egg Muffins 257. Milk Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Lamb 142. Chicken Turnovers 95. Lettuce 176, with Mayonnaise 169. French Bread 246. Layer Cake with Fig Filling 289. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Macaroni Soup 40. Beefsteak Pie 117. Mashed Potatoes 192. String Beans 208. Ladies' Cabbage 201. Horse-radish 176. Rhubarb Pie 333. Rice Meringue 407. Nuts. Cheese. Raisins. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Rhubarb. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Broiled Shad 55. Scrambled Eggs 227. Browned Potatoes 192. Brown Bread 244. Parker House Rolls 253. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Hamburger Steak 123. Potato Croquettes 196. Bean Salad 175. Sour Milk Biscuits 251. Election Cake 300. Peach Butter 443. Tea 460. DINNER. Swiss White Soup 42. Roast Loin of Veal 126. New Potatoes á la Crême 193. Baked Onions 199. Cheese Fondu 222. Spinach with Egg 212. Transparent Pudding 410. Cold Cream Sauce 399. Cookies 315. Fruit. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Peaches. Fried Mush 273. Frogs' Legs Fried 80, Tomato Sauce 159. New Boiled Potatoes 192. French Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Pie 130. Broiled Ham 152. String Beans 208. Corn Bread 247. Pineapple Fritters 267. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Julienne Soup 33. Boiled Beef Tongue 124. Potato Snow 194. Boiled Turnips 214. Macaroni á la Italienne 216. Lettuce Salad 174. Chocolate Pudding 401, Whipped Cream 349. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Pineapple. Hominy 276. Tripe Lyonnaise 126. Plain Omelet 230. New Potatoes á la Crême 193. Plain Crumpets 272. Wheat Griddle-cakes 262. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Tongue 125. Beefsteak 110. Walnut Catsup 177. Light Biscuit 252. Cheap Cream Cake 306. Preserved Apples 426. Tea 460. DINNER. Split Pea Soup 35. Chicken Pot-pie 94. Boiled Potatoes 192. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Fried Sweetbreads 135. Bean Salad 175. Burnt Almond Charlotte 364. Orange Jelly 374. Cornstarch Cakes 312. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Fresh Salmon Fried 52. Boiled Eggs 226. Warmed Potatoes 193. Cream Waffles 260. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Lamb Stew 143. Asparagus Omelet 232. Lettuce Salad 174. German Bread 234. Canned Peaches 439. Molasses Cup Cakes 308. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Irish Potato Soup 43. Steamed Halibut 57. Egg Sauce 156. Steamed Sweet Potatoes 198. Green Peas 211. Veal Olives 129. Dandelion Greens 213. Cold Lemon Pudding 400. Jelly Fritters 369. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Rhubarb. Cracked Wheat 275. Baked Mutton Chops with Potatoes 140. Eggs aux Fines Herbes 228. Graham Gems 259. Dipped Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Fried Spring Chicken 90. Clam Fritters 78. Sliced Tomatoes. Wheat Drop Cakes 262. Coffee Cake 299. Crab Apple Jelly 434. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Ox-tail Soup 34. Spiced Beef 112. Boiled New Potatoes 192. String Beans 208. Spinach with Eggs 212. Radishes 175. Pineapple Pie 334. Dessert Puffs 366. Fruit. Coffee 458. * * * * * JUNE. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Strawberries and Cream. Hominy 276. Fried Brook Trout 58. Poached Eggs 228. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Corn Meal Muffins 258. Mushrooms on Toast 278. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Scalloped Crabs 61. Cold Pressed Lamb 143. Sliced Tomatoes with Mayonnaise 169. Buns 255. Angel Cake 302. Raspberries. Tea 460. DINNER. Green Pea Soup 36. Boiled Salmon 52, Bechamel Sauce 160. Stewed Whole Spring Chicken 87. Steamed New Potatoes 194. Beet Greens 213. Summer Squash 211. Raw Cucumbers 175. Sweetbread Croquettes 135. Chocolate Blanc Mange 359. Strawberry Ice-cream 378. Queen's Cake 302. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Apricots. Graham Mush 273. Fried Chicken á la Italienne 90. Steamed Potatoes 194. Continental Hotel Waffles 260. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Pickled Salmon 53. Scalloped Chicken 92. Hominy Croquettes 274. Sliced Cucumbers. Strawberry Short-cake 270, with Cream. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Beef Soup 31, with Noodles 43. Veal Pie 130. New Potatoes 192. Cucumbers á la Crême 206. Asparagus 210, White Sauce 156. Lettuce 176, French Dressing 176. Green Currant Pie 332. Boiled Custard 346. Brunswick Jelly Cakes 313. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Raspberries and Cream. Oat Flakes 275. Soft Shell Crabs Fried 71. Ham Omelet 233. Warmed Potatoes 195. Pop-overs 262. Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. French Stew 262. Cold Sliced Tongue 125. Bean Salad 175. Milk Biscuits 254. Cold Custard Pie 331. Iced Tea 461. DINNER. White Mushroom Soup 31. Roast Beef 109. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Fried Cauliflower 200. Spinach with Eggs 212. Sliced Tomatoes, Mayonnaise 169. Strawberry Short-cake 270, with Whipped Cream 349. Wafers 310. Cheese. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Cherries. Cracked Wheat 275. Broiled Lamb Chops 139, Tomato Sauce 159. Saratoga Chips 193. Raised Muffins 257. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Roast Beef Pie 117. Fried Potatoes with Eggs 197. Crab Salad 173. Soda Biscuit 251. Pineapple Fritters 267. Tea 460. DINNER. Veal Soup 32, with Croutons 45. Boiled Chicken 83, Caper Sauce 158. Steamed New Potatoes 194. Asparagus on Toast 210. String Beans 208. Young Onions. Green Gooseberry Tart 341. Golden Cream 350. Cocoanut Macaroons 372. Cheese. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Strawberries and Cream. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Chicken Omelet 233. Corned Beef Hash 123. Potato Fillets 196. Grafton Milk Biscuits 254. Cream Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Smothered Beefsteak 114. Potato Croquettes 196. Lettuce with Mayonnaise 169. Cream Short-cake 269. Cherry Pudding 396. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Clam Soup, French Style 47. Broiled Fore-quarter of Lamb 143, Tomato Sauce 159. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. String Beans 208. Cauliflower 200. Tomato Salad 174. Strawberry Bavarian Cream 350. Sliced Pineapple. Pound Cake 294. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Tomatoes. Boiled Rice 275. Broiled Spanish Mackerel 60. Scalloped Eggs 226. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. French Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Clam Chowder 79. Cold Pressed Beef 119. Mixed Summer Salad 170. Buns 255. Fancy Cakes 310. Currants. Tea 460. DINNER. Cream of Asparagus 36. Baked Blue Fish 56, Tomato Sauce 159. New Potatoes and Cream 193. Summer Squash 211. Muttonettes 140. Sliced Cucumbers 175. Charlotte Russe 362. Strawberries and Cream. Pastry Ramakins 223. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Green Currants. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Porterhouse Steak Broiled with Water-cress 110. New Boiled Potatoes 192. Rusks 256. American Toast 277. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Fricassee Chicken 87. Rice Croquettes 274. Dressed Cucumbers 175. French Bread 246. Cup Cakes 311. Strawberries and Cream. Iced Tea 460. DINNER. Tomato Soup 38. Roast Loin of Mutton 136. Scalloped New Potatoes 194. Cauliflower 200. Beet Greens 213. Radishes 175. Cherry Pie 332. Mock Ice 354. Variegated Cakes 311. Cheese. Coffee 458. * * * * * JULY. FOURTH OF JULY. BREAKFAST. Red Raspberries and Cream. Fried Chicken 90. Scrambled Tomatoes 206. Warmed Potatoes 195. Tennessee Muffins 258. Toast 276. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Sliced Lamb 140. Crab Pie 71. Water-cress Salad 176. Cheese Toast 277. Graham Bread 243. Sponge Cake 292. Blackberries. Tea 460. DINNER. Clam Soup 47. Boiled Cod 65, with Lobster Sauce 157. Roast Lamb 142. Mint Sauce 160. New Potatoes Boiled 192. Green Peas 211. Spinach with Eggs 212. Cucumbers Sliced 175. Chicken Patties 88. Naple Biscuits 362. Vanilla Ice-cream 376. Chocolate Macaroons 373. Strawberries. Coffee 458. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Fresh Cherries. Hominy 274. Broiled Chicken 89. Poached Eggs 227. Saratoga Chips 193. New England Corn Cake 246. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Spiced Beef Tongue 125. Lobster Patties 70. Sliced Tomatoes with Mayonnaise 169. Crumpets 272. White Fruit Cake 291. Blackberries. Tea 460. DINNER. Cream of Spinach Soup 34. Boiled Blue Fish 56, Sauce Maitre d'Hotel 160. Roast Lamb 136, Tomato Sauce 159. New Potatoes with Cream 193. Green Corn 206. Cauliflower 200. White Sauce 156. Crab Sated 173. Salmon Croquettes 66. Cottage Pudding 395. Chocolate Ice-cream 377. Raspberries. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Pears 370. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Veal Chops Fried 128. Plain Omelet 230. Warmed Potatoes 195. Raised Muffins 257. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Lamb 142. Corn Pudding 207. Potato Salad 175. French Bread 246. Currant Fritters 266. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Julienne Soup 33. Beef a la Mode 113. Boiled Potatoes 192. Green Peas 211. Stuffed Baked Tomatoes 204. Lettuce Salad 177. Blackberry Pudding 409. Floating Islands 358. Sponge Cake 292. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Raspberries. Cracked Wheat 275. Beefsteak Broiled 110. Cream Toast 277. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Light Biscuit 252. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Sliced Beef 112. Cheese Soufflé 222. Tomato Salad 174. Graham Bread 243. Green Gooseberry Tart 341. Tea 460. DINNER. Vermicelli Soup 42. Chicken Stewed, with Biscuit 95. Steamed Potatoes 194. Stewed Corn 207. Lobster Croquettes 69. Cucumbers Sliced 175. Ripe Currant Pie 332. Snow Cream 353. Ribbon Cake 302. Cheese. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Blackberries. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Fresh Salmon Fried 52. Beef Hash 123. Potato Fillets 196. Tennessee Muffins 258. Dipped Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Beefsteak Pie 117. Chicken Turnovers 95. Lettuce with Mayonnaise 169. Buns 255. Layer Cake 304. Banana Filling 289. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Spring Vegetable Soup 42. Scalloped Mutton and Tomatoes 142. Boiled Potatoes 192. Spinach with Eggs 212. Clam Fritters 73. Young Onions. Cornstarch Pudding 392. Raspberries with Cream. Silver Cake 296. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Red Raspberries. Graham Mush with Maple Syrup 273. Broiled Lamb Chops 139. Fried Tomatoes 205. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Raised Biscuit 251. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Sliced Veal Loaf 131. Brain Cutlets 133. Fried Potatoes 194. Dressed Cucumbers 175. French Bread 246. Cherry Pie 332. Tea 460. DINNER. Gumbo Soup 41. Roast Beef Pie with Potato Crust 116. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. Cauliflower 200. Stewed Green Peas 211. Lettuce 176, with Mayonnaise 169. Cherry Roley Poley 411. Syllabub 355. Boston Cream Cakes 307. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Fresh Currants. Boiled Rice 275. Perch Fried 51. Scrambled Eggs 227. Baked Potatoes 197. Parker House Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Broiled Chicken on Toast 93. Green Corn Fritters 269. Stewed Tomatoes 204. Blackberries. Berry Tea Cake 261. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Clam Chowder 79. Salmon 52, and Caper Sauce 158. New Potatoes Scalloped 194. Summer Squash 211. Chicken Turnovers 95. New Beets Boiled 210. Rice Pudding 407. Raspberry Sherbet 380. Philadelphia Jumbles 314. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Gooseberries. Corn Meal Mush 273. Broiled Ham 152. Vegetable Omelet 231. Newport Breakfast Cakes 271. Crisp Potatoes 195. Brown Bread 238. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Fricassee Salmon 53. Beefsteak 110. Bean Salad 175. Corn Bread 247. Transparent Pudding 410. Iced Tea 460. DINNER. Green Pea Soup 43. French Stew 119. New Potatoes with Cream 193. Mock Oysters 77. Scalloped Clams 79. Tomato Salad 174. Custard Pie 331. Sponge Drops 312. Red Raspberries and Cream. Coffee 458. * * * * * AUGUST. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Peaches and Cream. Boiled Rice 275. Broiled Spanish Mackerel 60. Eggs aux Fines Herbes 228. Warmed Potatoes 195. Rusks 256. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Boiled Chicken 87. Pickled Salmon 53. Potato Salad 175. French Rolls 253. Raspberries. White Mountain Cake 301. Tea 460. DINNER. Consommé Soup 33. Baked Pickerel 51. Egg Sauce 156. Stewed Ducks 97. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. Cabbage with Cream 200. Lobster Salad 171. Stuffed Baked Tomatoes 204. Lamb Sweetbreads 142. Custard Pudding 391. Frozen Peaches 379. Fruit Jumbles 314. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Plums. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Mutton Cutlets 140. Tomato Toast 278. Potato Fillets 196. Egg Muffins 257. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Pot-pie 130. Vegetable Omelet 231. Lettuce with French Dressing 170. German Bread 247. Peach Fritters 267. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Tomato Soup 38. Roast Beef's Heart 124. Boiled New Potatoes 192. Cauliflower 200. String Beans 208. Cucumbers Sliced 175. Damson Pie 334. Peach Trifle 357. Sponge Cake 292. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Blackberries. Hominy 276. Frizzled Beef 118. Boiled Eggs 226. Saratoga Chips 193. Breakfast Puffs 272. Dipped Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Sliced Beef Heart 124. Fried Tripe 125. Stuffed Baked Tomatoes 204. Pear Pickle 189. Buns 255. Plum Cobbler 413. Tea 460. DINNER. Scotch Mutton Broth 32. Broiled Fore-quarter of Lamb 143. New Potatoes and Cream 193. Green Peas 211. Lettuce 174, French Dressing 170. Corn Pudding 207. Apricot Meringue Pie 332. Lemon Jelly 373. Cookies 315. Fruit. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Fresh Pears. Cracked Wheat 276. Brain Cutlets 133. Meat Omelet 231. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Huckleberry Griddle-cakes 265. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Broiled Salmon 52. Sliced Pressed Lamb 143. Tomatoes with Mayonnaise 169. French Bread 246. Sponge Cake 292. Blackberries and Cream. Iced Tea 460. DINNER. Cream of Spinach Soup 34. Fried Chicken á la Italienne 90, Tomato Sauce 159. Boiled Sweet Potatoes 198. Stuffed Egg Plant 208. Green Corn Boiled 206. Young Onions. Rice Pudding 408. Peaches and Cream. Walnut Cake 305. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Musk Melon. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Calf's Liver and Bacon 134. Broiled Tomatoes 205. Crisp Potatoes 195. New England Corn Cake 246. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Steamed Chicken 87. Green Corn Fritters 269. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Dressed Cucumbers 175. Light Biscuit 252. Peaches and Cream. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Green Pea Soup 36. Stewed Brisket of Beef 120. New Potatoes Boiled 192. Lima Beans 209. Fried Egg Plant 208. Lettuce Salad 174. Huckleberry Pudding 409, Rich Wine Sauce 417. Cream Tarts 343. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Whole Peaches. Corn Meal Mush 273. Fried Blue Fish 51. Dried Beef, with Cream 121. Sweet Potatoes Fried 198. Raised Muffins 257. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Beef Croquettes 121. Scalloped Lobster 69. Mixed Summer Salad 170. German Bread 247. Huckleberry Short-cake 271. Tea 460. DINNER. Corn Soup 35. Baked Salmon Trout 59, Bechamel Sauce 160. Potato Croquettes 196. Spinach with Eggs 212. Hashed Mutton 138. Tomatoes with Mayonnaise 169. Grape Pie 334. Peach Cream 353. Wafers 310. Cheese. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Fresh Greengages. Oat Flakes 275. Broiled Chicken 93. Cream Toast 277. Boiled Potatoes 192. Graham Gems 259. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Broiled Ham 152. Tomato Omelet 232. Dressed Cucumbers 175. French Bread 246. Cold Fruit Pudding 392. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Chicken Cream Soup 34. Irish Stew 141. Steamed Potatoes 194. Green Peas 211. Boiled Corn 206. Crab Salad 173. Huckleberry Pie 333. Peaches and Cream. Cup Cakes 311. Cheese. Coffee 458. * * * * * SEPTEMBER. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Musk Melon. Corn Meal Mush 273. Fried Smelts 58. Veal Hash on Toast 280. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Graham Gems 259. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Potted Ham 152. Small Oyster Pies 78. Rice Omelet 232. Cold Slaw 173. French Bread 246. Cream Cake 300. Sliced Peaches. Tea 460. DINNER. Beef Soup 31, with Croutons 45. Boiled Fresh Mackerel 61, Hollandaise Sauce 161. Roast Partridges 101. Mashed Potatoes 192. Stewed Corn 207. Stuffed Egg Plant 208. Tomato Salad 174. Lobster Croquettes 69. Peach Meringue Pie 327. Tutti Frutti Ice-cream 378. Rochester Jelly Cake 303. Cheese. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Peaches and Cream. Graham Mush with Maple Syrup 273. Broiled Lamb Chops 139. Fried Tomatoes 205. Baked Potatoes 197. Raised Muffins 257. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Salmi of Game 103. Cold Beef Tongue 124. Potato Croquettes 196. Watermelon Pickle 188. Egg Biscuit 252. Layer Cake 304, with Peach Cream Filling 288. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Vegetable Soup 42. Tenderloin of Beef 113. Potato Puffs 193. Lima Beans 208. Fried Tomatoes 205. Mixed Summer Salad 170. Peach Pudding 403, with Whipped Cream 349. Cocoanut Tarts 341. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Huckleberries. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Veal Collops 128. Ham Toast 279. Potato Fillets 196. Newport Breakfast Cakes 271. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Warmed 122. Cheese Fondu 222. Fish Salad 172. Potato Biscuit 254. Peach Cobbler 413. Tea 460. DINNER. Vermicelli Soup 42. Baked Mutton Cutlets 140. Boiled Potatoes 192. Baked Beets 210. Corn Pudding 207. Horse-radish 176. Plum Pie 334. Floating Islands 358. Lemon Cake 295. Cheese. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Tomatoes. Oat Flakes 275. Beef Hash 123. Boiled Eggs 226. Sweet Potatoes Baked 198. Parker House Rolls 253. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Fried Smelts 58. Ham Toast 279. Potato Salad 175. French Bread 246. Huckleberry Cake 308. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Split Pea Soup 35. Roast Tame Duck 96. Browned Potatoes 192. String Beans 208. Baked Tomatoes 205. Lettuce 176, with Mayonnaise 169. Boiled Lemon Pudding 400. Peach Meringue 354. Feather Cake 300. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Whole Pears. Hominy 276. Hamburger Steak 123. Bread Omelet 234. Saratoga Chips 193. Light Biscuit 252. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Duck Pie 98. Grilled Bacon 149. Tomato Salad 174. Graham Bread 243. Cold Berry Pudding 388. Tea 460. DINNER. Corn Soup 35. Steamed Leg of Mutton 138. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. Fried Corn 207. Stewed Salsify 209. Currant Jelly 431. Grape Pie 334. Tapioca Cream Custard 352. Watermelon. Cheese. Coffee 458. FRIDAY BREAKFAST. Musk Melon. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Broiled Spanish Maceral 60. Scalloped Eggs 226. Warmed Potatoes 195. Tennesee Muffins 258. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Hashed Mutton 138. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Cold Greens 213. Corn Bread 247. Boston Cream Cakes 258. Grape Jelly 433. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Clam Soup 47. Fresh Salmon, Fried 52. Tomato Sauce 159. Mashed Potatoes 192. Cauliflower 200. White Sauce 156. Beefsteak Rolls 115. Cucumbers Sliced 175. Country Plum Charlotte 364. German Custard 347. Jumbles 314. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY BREAKFAST. Fresh Apricots Cracked Wheat 275. Stewed Kidneys 124. Grilled Salt Pork 149. Lyonaise Potatoes 196. Sally Lunn 255. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Breaded Chicken 92. Potato Croquettes 273. Tomatoes with Mayonnaise 169. Twist Bread 246. Sponge Drops 312. Hukleberries and Cream Tea 460. DINNER. Gumbo Soup 41. Roast Lopin of Veal 126. Browned Potatoes 192. Succotash 208. Mashed Squash 212. Bean Salad 175. Baked Custard 345. Peaches and Cream. Almond Cake 303. Coffee 458. * * * * * OCTOBER. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Grapes. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Broiled Veal Cutlets 129. Minced Egg 229. Crisp Potatoes 195. Buckwheat Cakes 266. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Oyster Stew 72. Cold Pork and Beans 149. Cold Slaw 173. Boston Brown Bread 244. Peach Meringue Pie 327. Tea 460. DINNER. Ox-tail Soup 34. Broiled Halibut 38. Sauce Tartare 136. Roast Beef 109. Brown Sauce 161. Steamed Potatoes 194. Caulilower 200. Boiled Onions 198. Chicken Salad 171. Scalloped Tomatoes 204. French Cocoanut Pudding 395. Grape Trifle 357. Fancy Cakes 310. Fruit Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Quinces. Lamb 136. Blue Fish Fried 56. Milk Toast 277. Hasty Cooked Potatoes 195. Pop-overs 262. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Beef 109. Onion Omelet 234. Fried Potatoes 194. French Bread 246. Peach Fritters 267. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Julienne Soup 33. Roast Pheasants 101. Cabbage with Cream 200. Boiled Potatoes 192. Mashed Turnips 214. Tomato Salad 174. Apple Custard Pie 326. Baked Quinces 371. Chocolate Eclairs 308. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Pears 370. Cracked Wheat 375. Calf's Liver and Bacon 134. Fried Eggs 228. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Dry Toast 276. New England Corn Cake 246. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Pheasant 101. Potato Croquettes 196. Lobster Salad 171. Graham Bread 243. Country Plum Charlotte 364. Tea 460. DINNER. Game Soup 32. Braised Leg of Mutton 137. Mashed Potatoes 192. Scalloped Oysters 76. Boiled Sweet Potatoes 198. Cold Slaw 173. Peach Cobbler 413. French Custard 346. Layer Jelly Cake 289. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Grapes. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Beefsteak Broiled 110. Tomato Omelet 232. Warmed Potatoes 195. English Crumpets 272. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Scrambled Mutton 141. Sardines. Corn Pudding 207. French Rolls 253. Ginger Bread 306. Sliced Oranges. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Mock Turtle Soup 39. Boiled Fillet of Veal 127. Potatoes á la Delmonico 197. Fried Egg Plant 208. Mashed Squash 212. Olives. Saucer Puddings 406. Apple Snow 356. Crisp Cookies 316. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Quinces 371. Boiled Rice 202. Broiled Grouse 101. Tripe Lyonnaise 126. Potatoes á la Crême 184. Raised Muffins 257. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Croquettes 129. Cheese Soufflé 222. Potato Salad 175. Buns 255. Grape Pie 334. Tea 460. DINNER. Swiss White Soup 42. Pot Roast 112. Steamed Potatoes 194. Lima Beans 209. French Cabbage 201. Lettuce Salad 174. Plum Puff Pudding 411. Blanc Mange 359. Dominoes 310. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Plums. Oat Flakes 275. Eels Fried 56. Beef Hash 123. Potato Fillets 196. Egg Muffins 257. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Oyster-pot Pie 76. Muttonettes 140. Fried Egg Plant 208. French Bread 246. Stewed Crab Apples. Silver Cake 296. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Onion Soup 41. Baked Smelts 59. Potato Snow 194. Cauliflower 200. Beef Croquettes 121. Spiced Plums 189. Plain Charlotte Russe 362. Quince Jelly 432. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Whole Pears. Hominy 276. Mutton Cutlets 140. Tomato Sauce 159. Saratoga Chips 193. Corn Meal Griddle-cakes 263. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Dried Beef with Cream 121. Baked Omelet 234. Tomato Salad 176. Rusks 256. Quince Trifle 357. Tea 460. DINNER. Veal Soup 32, with Noodles 43. Chicken Pot-pie 94. Mashed Potatoes 192. Fried Salsify 209. Baked Onions 199. Ham Salad 172. Chocolate Pie 328. Sliced Oranges. Hickory Nut Cake 305. Coffee 458. * * * * * NOVEMBER. THANKSGIVING DAY. BREAKFAST. Grapes. Oat Flakes 275. Broiled Porterhouse Steak 110. Codfish Balls 63. Browned Potatoes 192. Buckwheat Cakes 266, Maple Syrup. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Roast Turkey 82. Scalloped Oysters 76. Potato Salad 175. Cream Short-cake 269. Eclairs 308. Preserved Egg Plums 425. Tea 460. DINNER. Oysters on Half Shell. Cream of Chicken Soup 34. Fried Smelts 58, Sauce Tartare 156. Roast Turkey 82, Cranberry Sauce 163. Mashed Potatoes 192. Baked Squash 212. Boiled Onions 198. Parsnip Fritters 203. Olives. Chicken Salad 171. Venison Pastry 105. Pumpkin Pie 336. Mince Pie 338. Charlotte Russe 361. Almond Ice-cream 380. Lemon Jelly 373. Hickory Nut Cake 305. Cheese. Fruits. Coffee 458. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Crab Apples. Cracked Wheat 275. White Fish Fried 51. Jelly Omelet 234. Hasty Cooked Potatoes 195. Tennessee Muffins 258. Crullers 317. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Pickled Pigs' Feet 151. Scalloped Potatoes 194. Chicken Salad 171. Light Biscuit 252. Golden Spice Cake 303. Preserved Cherries 424. Tea 460. DINNER. Mullagatawny Soup 38. Boiled Codfish 63, Oyster Sauce 157. Roast Wild Duck 98. Mashed Potatoes 192. Currant Jelly Sauce 161. Baked Squash 212. Boiled Beets 210. Small Oyster Pies 78. Baked Plum Pudding 397, Sweet Sauce 421. Jelly Kisses 371. Fruit. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Grapes. Hominy 276. Fricasseed Tripe with Oysters 126. Baked Potatoes 197. Breakfast Puffs 272. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Duck 98. Welsh Rarebit 224. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Cold Pickled Beets 210. French Bread 246. Cookies 315. Gooseberry Jam 435. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Vermicelli Soup 42. Leg of Mutton á la Venison 138. Steamed Potatoes 194. Ladies' Cabbage 201. Stewed Onions 199. Mixed Pickles 187. Pumpkin Pie 236. Orange Jelly 374. Nut Cakes 318. Cheese. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Prunes. Oatmeal with Cream 274. Snipe on Toast 100. Scrappel 158. Potato Puffs 193. Newport Waffles 260. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Scalloped Mutton and Tomatoes 142. Hominy Croquettes 274. Cold Slaw 173. Beaten Biscuit 254. Chocolate Custard Pie 328. Tea 460. DINNER. Ox-tail Soup 34. Roast Leg of Pork 145. Browned Potatoes 197. Lima Beans 209. Mashed Turnips 214. Celery Salad 174. Apple Corn Meal Pudding 404, Wine Sauce 417. Lemon Tartlets 339. Fruit. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Graham Mush 273. Country Sausages 153. Boiled Eggs 226. Saratoga Chips 193. Buckwheat Cakes 266. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Pork 145. Lobster Salad 171. Baked Sweet Potatoes 198. German Bread 247. Doughnuts 316. Apple Sauce 162. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Turtle Soup from Beans 37. Spiced Beef 112. Mashed Potatoes 192. Fried Parsnips 203. Scalloped Onions 199. Pickled White Cabbage 182. Cranberry Tart Pie 335. Blanc Mange 359. Crackers. Cheese. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Apricots. Oat Flakes 276. Broiled Veal Cutlets 129. Fried Oysters 72. Warmed Potatoes 195. Cream Waffles 260. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Beef Croquettes 121. Fish Omelet 233. Celery Salad 174. Raised Biscuit 251. Feather Cake 300. Canned Peaches 439. Tea 460. DINNER. Squirrel Soup 37. Roast Loin of Mutton 136. Boiled Potatoes 192. Mashed Squash 212. Fried Cabbage 201. Olives. Apple Puff Pudding 389, Grandmother's Sauce 418. Nuts. Raisins. Fruit. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Bananas. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Striped Bass Fried 51. Minced Eggs 229. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Corn Bread 247. Nut Cakes 318. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Mutton 136. Halibut on Toast 281. Potato Salad 175. French Bread 246. Grape Jelly Pie 335. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Fish Chowder 63. Baked Pickerel 51. Steamed Potatoes 194. Boiled Turnips 214. Rabbit Pie 103. Plain Celery. Apple Custard Pudding 391, Hard Sauce 420. Savory Biscuits 312. Fruit. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Baked Sour Apples 515. Boiled Rice 275. Porterhouse Steak Broiled 110. Plain Omelet 230. Potatoes á la Crême 193. Wheat Griddle-cakes 266. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Veal Stew 131. Potato Puffs 193. Pickled Mangoes 184. Grafton Milk Biscuits 254. Chocolate Eclairs 308. Lemon Sponge 335. Tea 460. DINNER. Celery Soup 43. Boiled Ham 151. Baked Sweet Potatoes 198. Lima Beans 209. Stewed Parsnips 203. Sourcrout 202. Oxford Dumplings 385, Sweet Sauce 421. Cream Tarts 325. Fruit. Coffee 458. * * * * * DECEMBER. CHRISTMAS DAY. BREAKFAST. Oranges. Boiled Rice 275. Broiled Salt Mackerel 60. Poached Eggs á la Crême 228. Potato Fillets 196. Feather Griddle-cakes 262. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Roast Goose 86. Oyster Patties 75. Cold Slaw 173. Buns 255. Charlotte Russe 361. Peach Jelly 434. Tea 460. DINNER. Oysters on Half Shell. Game Soup 32. Boiled White Fish 59, Sauce Maitre d'Hotel 160. Roast Goose 86, Apple Sauce 162. Boiled Potatoes 192. Mashed Turnips 214. Creamed Parsnips 204. Stewed Onions 199. Boiled Rice 202. Lobster Salad 171. Canvas Back Duck 99. Christmas Plum Pudding 397, Sauce 417. Vanilla Ice-cream 376. Mince Pie 338. Orange Jelly 374. Delicate Cake 295. Salted Almonds 366. Confectionery. Fruits. Coffee 458. SUNDAY. BREAKFAST. Grapes. Steamed Oatmeal 276. Pickled Pigs' Feet Fried 151. Oyster Toast 278. Potato Puffs 193. Egg Muffins 257. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. SUPPER. Cold Potted Beef 120. Panned Oysters 74. Celery Salad 174. Saratoga Chips 193. Rusks 256. Little Plum Cakes 313. Quince Jelly 432. Tea 460. DINNER. Chicken Cream Soup 34. Boiled Halibut 57, Sauce Hollandaise 161. Roast Goose 86, Apple Sauce 162. Boiled Potatoes 192. Stewed Celery 209. Mashed Turnips 214. Lobster Salad 171. Scalloped Clams 79. Mince Pie 338. Orange Cream 352. Citron Cake 295. Cheese. Coffee 458. MONDAY. BREAKFAST. Sliced Oranges. Graham Mush 273. Codfish Steak 66. Lyonnaise Potatoes 196. Hashed Beef on Toast 280. French Rolls 253. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Roast Goose 86. Scalloped Cheese 222. Ham Salad 172. French Bread 246. Apple Meringue Pie 327. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Onion Soup 41. Roast Spare Rib 146, Cranberry Sauce 163. Browned Potatoes 192. Stewed Carrots 213. Boiled Onions 198. Plain Celery. Boiled Rice Dumplings with Custard Sauce 384. Pastry Sandwiches 312. Fruit. Coffee 458. TUESDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Prunes. Boiled Rice 275. Pork Chops and Fried Apples 147. Warmed Potatoes 195. Buckwheat Cakes 266. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Sliced Head Cheese 154. Bread Omelet 234. Parsnip Fritters 203. Cold Slaw 173. Graham Bread 243. Mince Pie 338. Tea 460. DINNER. Scotch Mutton Broth 32. Boiled Turkey 84, Oyster Dressing 83. Mashed Potatoes 192. Baked Squash 212. Boiled Parsnips 203. Piccalili 186. Baked Corn Meal Pudding 393, Hard Sauce 420. Apple Tarts 342. Cheese. Coffee 458. WEDNESDAY. BREAKFAST. Cider Apple Sauce 162. Hominy 276. Broiled Rabbits 103. Codfish Balls 63. Potato Fillets 196. Continental Hotel Waffles 260. Dry Toast 276. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Turkey Hash 85. Rice Croquettes 274. Lobster Salad 171. Raised Biscuits 251. Almond Custard 347. Cocoa 461. DINNER. Oyster Soup 46. Sliced Beef Tongue 124, Brown Sauce 161. Potato Puffs 193. Steamed Cabbage 201. Lamb Sweetbreads 142, with Tomato Sauce 159. Birds' Nest Pudding 387, Plain Sauce 420. Crackers. Cheese. Coffee 458. THURSDAY. BREAKFAST. Stewed Peaches. Cracked Wheat 275. Mutton-Chops Broiled 139, Tomato Sauce 159. Saratoga Chips 193. New England Corn Cake 246. Bakers' Doughnuts 317. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Spiced Tongue 125. Cheese Cream Toast 223. Pickled Onions 184. Fried Sweet Potatoes 198. Twist Bread 246. Layer Cake 304, with Apple Filling 288. Tea 460. DINNER. Vegetable Soup 42. Beef á la Mode 113. Browned Potatoes 192. Boiled Turnips 214. Fried Onions 199. Oyster Salad 172. Snow Pudding 405. Squash Pie 337. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. FRIDAY. BREAKFAST. Apple Sauce 162. Oatmeal with Cream 274. White Fish Fried 51. Grilled Bacon 149. Baked Potatoes 197. Feather Griddle-cakes 262. Brown Bread 244. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Cold Pork and Beans, 149. Beef Croquettes 121. Green Tomato Pickles 181. Milk Biscuits 251. Angel Cake 302. Preserved Pears 427. Chocolate 461. DINNER. Pea Soup 43, with Croutons 45. Codfish Steaks 66. Potato Snow 194. Baked Beets 210. Chicken, with Macaroni 96. Celery Salad 174. Baked Apple Dumplings 384, Sweet Sauce 421. Bakers' Custard Pie 330. Cheese. Coffee 458. SATURDAY. BREAKFAST. Bananas. Oat Flakes 275. Pork Cutlets 147. Oyster Fritters 75. Hasty Cooked Potatoes 195. Graham Griddle-cakes 264. Wheat Bread 240. Coffee 458. LUNCHEON. Boiled Tripe 125. Chicken Omelet 233. Potato Salad 175. French Bread 246. Ginger Cookies 309. Preserved Citron 428. Tea 460. DINNER. Tapioca Cream Soup 41. Lamb Stew 143. Mashed Potatoes 192. Creamed Parsnips 204. Boston Pork and Beans 149. Cold Slaw 173. Apple Fritters 267, Sugar Sauce 418. Lemon Pie 328. Nuts. Raisins. Coffee 458. SPECIAL MENUS. STATE DINNER AT WHITE HOUSE. Blue Points. Accompanied by: Haute Sauterne. Amontillado. POTAGES. Potage tortue á l'Anglaise Consommé Printaniére Royale. HORS D'OEUVRES. Canapé á la Russe. Timbales á la Talleyrand. Accompanied by: Rauenthaler Berg. POISSONS. Saumon, Sauce Hollandaise. Grenadines de Bass. Pommes de Terre Duchesse. Cucumber Salade. Accompanied by: Ernest Jeroy. RELEVÉS. Selle d'Agneau, Sauce Menthe. Filet de Boeuf á la Richelieu. Accompanied by: Chateau Margause. ENTREES. Ris de Veau á la Perigneux. Cotelettes d'Agneau d'or Maison. Terrapin á la Maryland. Punch Cardinal. Accompanied by: Clas de Vougeot. RÔTI. Canvas Back Duck. ENTREMETS. German Asparagus. Petite Pois. Gelée au Champagne. Plombieré aux Framboise. Pudding Diplomate. Café. Liqueurs. Fruits. Fromage. MRS. CLEVELAND'S WEDDING LUNCH. JUNE 4th, '88. Consommé en tasse. Soft Shell Crabs. Accompanied by: Chateau Iquem. Coquilles de Ris de Vean. Snipes on Toast. Lettuce and Tomato Salade. Accompanied by: Moet & Chandon. Fancy Ice-cream. Cakes. Tea. Coffee. Fruits. Mottos. GENERAL GRANT'S BIRTHDAY DINNER. Clams. Accompanied by: Haute Sauterne. POTAGES. Consommé Imperatrice Bisque de Crabes. Accompanied by: Amontillado. VARIES HORS D'OEUVRE VARIES. Bouchées á la Régence. POISSON. Fruites de riviere Hollandaise vert pré. Pommes de terre á la Parisienne. Coucombres. Accompanied by: Johannisberger. RELEVÉ. Filet de Boeuf á la Bernardi. Accompanied by: Ernest Jeroy. ENTREES. Ailes de Poulets á la Perigord. Petits Pois au Beune. Caisses de ris de Vean á l'Italienne. Haricots verts. Asperges, sauce Crême. Sorbet Fantaisie. RÔTI. Squabs. Salade de Laitue. Accompanied by: Nuits. ENTREMETS SUCRES. Croute aux Mille Fruits. Cornets á la Chantilly. Gelée á la Prunelle. PIECES MONTEES. Glace Varietees. Fruits. Petits Fours. Café. MENU FOR 4 COVERS. Huitres en Coquille. Potage Julienne aux Quenelles. Paupiettes de Turbots á la Joinville. Cucumbers. Pommes d'Auphine. Filets Mignons á la Provencale. Larded Sweetbread á la Meissoniére. Punch au Kirsh. Quails Bardés sur Cronstade. Lettuce Salad. German Asparagus. Plombieré aux Fraises. Fruits. Café. Fromage. MENU FOR 6 COVERS. Huitres en Coquilles. Accompanied by: Sauterne. Purée St. Germain. Consommé Paté d'Italie. Accompanied by: Amontillado. Broiled Blue Fish, Maitre d'Hotel. Cucumbers. Pommes Duchesse. Accompanied by: Hochheimer. Small Tenderloin Sautés, Marrow Sauce. Lamb Chops á la Marechale. Accompanied by: Moet & Chandon. Croutes aux Champignons á la Parisienne. Sorbet Venetienne. Squabs with Water-cresses. Accompanied by: Chateau Latour. Lettuce and Tomato Salad. Artichauts, Sauce Hollandaise. Crême Bavaroise au Chocolat. Fruits. Café. Fromage. MENU FOR 8 COVERS. Huitres en Coquille. Accompanied by: Haute Sauterne. Bisque of Lobster. Lamb Broth with Vegetables. Radishes. Olives. Accompanied by: Amontillado. Timbales á l'Ecossaise. Bass á la Régence. Accompanied by: Rauenthaler Berg. Potatoes Windsor. Filet of Beef Larded á la Parisienne. Saddle of Mutton, Currant Jelly. Accompanied by: Ernest Jeroy. Sweetbreads á la Pompadour. Terrapin á la Maryland. Accompanied by: Chateau Latour. Cauliflower au Gratin. Celery au Jus. Punch Maraschino. Canvas Back Duck. Lettuce Salad. Soufflé á l'Orange. Fruits. Café. Fromage. MENU FOR 10 COVERS. Consommé de Volaille. Accompanied by: Haute Sauterne. Huitres á la Poulette. Radishes. Olives. Bouchées á la Bohemienne. Accompanied by: Johannisberger. Truites Saumoné au Beurre de Montpellier. Tartelette Potatoes. Cucumbers. Filets Mignon de Boeuf á la Trianon. Cotelettes de Pigeon, Marechale. Accompanied by: Moet & Chandon. Petits Pois Garnis de Fleurous. Artichauts á la Barigoule. Punch Romaine. Bécassines au Cresson. Accompanied by: Chas. de Vougert. Lettuce Salad. Pouding Nesselrode. Fruits. Café. Fromage. MENU FOR 12 COVERS. Little Neck Clams. Accompanied by: Haute Sauterne. Cream of Asparagus. Consommé Royal. Radishes. Olives. Accompanied by: Amontillado. Caviar sur Toast. Pompano Maitre d'Hotel. Bass á la Régence. Pommes Parisienne. Accompanied by: Moselbluemchen. Cotelettes d'Agneau á la Purée de Cólen. Filet of Boeuf á la Pocahontas. Accompanied by: Moet & Chandon. Tarrapin á la Richelieu. Sorbet Dunderberg. Canvas Back Ducks. Accompanied by: Nuits. Celery Mayonnaise. Artichauts Bottoms. French Peas. Omelette Célestine. Fruits. Café. Fromage. MENU FOR 24 COVERS. *** Huitres. POTAGES. Consommé Francatelli. Bisque d'Ecrevisses. HORS D'OEUVRE. Timbales á la Reyniére. POISSON. Filet Turbot Portugaise. Pommes de terre Parisienne. Celery Mayonnaise. RELEVÉ. Selle d'Agneau á la Colbert. Haricots verts. ENTREES. Ailes de Poulets á la Hongroise. Cépes á la Bordelaise. Asperges Sauce Crême. Sorbet á la Prunelle. RÔTI. Faisan rotes Franqué de Cailles. ENTREMETS DE DOUCEUR. Croutes aux Ananas. Glaces Fantaisies. Fruits. Café. Petits Fours. BUFFET FOR 1,000 PEOPLE. COLD SERVICE. Consommé on Tasse. Sandwiches. Caviar on Toast. Radishes. Celery. Cold Salmon Mayonnaise. Lobster and Shrimp Salad. Westphalia Ham á la Gelée. Boned Turkey. Galautine of Faison. Cold Game in Season. Mayonnaise of Chicken. Cold Turkey. Fillet of Beef. Game Pig. Saddle of Venison, Currant Jelly. Russian Salad. Neapolitaine Ice-cream. Water Ices. Nesselrode Puddings. Claret and Champagne Jellies. Biscuits Glacée. Charlotte Glacée. Assorted Cakes. Assorted Candies. Tea. Coffee. Lemonade. MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTION OF DINNERS AND RECEPTIONS ON STATE OCCASIONS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Etiquette as observed in European courts is not known at the White House. The President's Secretary issues invitations by direction of the President to the distinguished guests. The Usher in charge of the cloak-room hands to the gentleman on arrival an envelope containing a diagram of the table (as cut shows), whereon the name and seat of the respective guest and the lady he is to escort to dinner are marked. [Illustration] A card corresponding with his name is placed on the napkin belonging to the cover of the seat he will occupy. The President's seat is in the middle of the table. The most distinguished guests sit on his right and left. If their wives are present they will occupy these seats, and the gentlemen will be seated next to the President's wife whose seat is directly opposite the President. Official dinners all over the world are always served after the French fashion, and are divided into three distinct parts. Two of them are served from the kitchen, and the third from the pantry. The first part of the dinner served French style includes from oysters on the shell to the sherbets. The second service continues to the sweet dishes. The third includes ice, cakes, fruits, cheeses, which are all understood as desserts, and are dressed in the pantry. All principal dishes which are artistically decorated are shown to the President first, then are carried around the table before being carved by the Steward in the pantry. Fancy folding of the napkins is considered out of fashion; plain square folded, so as to show monogram in the middle, is much preferred. The following diagram will illustrate the arrangement of the glasses on the table. (See diagram.) [Illustration: DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING HOW TO ARRANGE GLASSES ON TABLE.] A--Plate. I--Glass for Sauterne. II--Glass for Sherry. III--Glass for Rhine Wine. IV--Glass for Water. V--Glass for Champagne. VI--Glass for Burgundy. Flower decorations on the table are to be in flat designs, so as not to obscure the view of the guests. Corsage boquets for ladies consist of not more than eight large roses tied together by silk ribbon, with the name of the lady stamped on in gold letters. Gentlemen's bouttonieres consist only of one rosebud. Boquets for ladies are to be placed on the right side; for gentlemen, on the napkin next to card bearing his name. Printed menus are never used on any official occasion. The private dinners menus are either printed or written on a plain card and placed on each cover. Liquors, cordials, cigars are served on a separate table after the ladies have retired to the parlor. [Illustration] FOR THE SICK. Dishes for invalids should be served in the daintiest and most attractive way; never send more than a supply for one meal; the same dish too frequently set before an invalid often causes a distaste, when perhaps a change would tempt the appetite. When preparing dishes where milk is used, the condition of the patient should be considered. Long cooking hardens the albumen and makes the milk very constipating; then, if the patient should be already constipated, care should be taken not to heat the milk above the boiling point. The seasoning of food for the sick should be varied according to the condition of the patient; one recovering from illness can partake of a little piece of roast mutton, chicken, rabbit, game, fish, simply dressed, and simple puddings are all light food and easily digested. A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed and broiled, is a dish that is often inviting to an invalid. As a rule, an invalid will be more likely to enjoy any preparation sent to him if it is served in small delicate pieces. As there are so many small, dainty dishes that can be made for this purpose, it seems useless to try to give more than a small variety of them. Pudding can be made of prepared barley, or tapioca, well soaked before boiling, with an egg added, and a change can be made of light puddings by mixing up some stewed fruit with the puddings before baking; a bread pudding from stale bread crumbs, and a tiny cup-custard, boiled in a small basin or cup; also various drinks, such as milk punch, wine, whey, apple-toddy, and various other nourishing drinks. BEEFSTEAK AND MUTTON CHOPS. Select the tenderest cuts and broil over a clear, hot fire. Let the steak be rare, the chops well done. Salt and pepper, lay between two _hot_ plates three minutes and serve to your patient. If he is very weak do not let him swallow anything except the juice, when he has chewed the meat well. The essence of rare beef, roasted or broiled, thus expressed, is considered by some physicians to be more strengthening than beef tea prepared in the usual manner. BEEF TEA. One pound of _lean_ beef, cut into small pieces. Put into a glass canning jar, without a drop of water, cover tightly and set in a pot of cold water. Heat gradually to a boil and continue this steadily for three or four hours, until the meat is like white rags and the juice all drawn out. Season with salt to taste and, when cold, skim. VEAL OR MUTTON BROTH. Take a scrag-end of mutton (two pounds), put it in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water and an ounce of pearl barley or rice. When it is coming to a boil, skim it well, then add half a teaspoonful of salt; let it boil until half reduced, then strain it and take off all the fat and it is ready for use. This is excellent for an invalid. If vegetables are liked in this broth, take one turnip, one carrot and one onion, cut them in shreds and boil them in the broth half an hour. In that case, the barley may be served with the vegetables in broth. CHICKEN BROTH. Make the same as mutton or beef broth. Boil the chicken slowly, putting on just enough water to cover it well, watching it closely that it does not boil down too much. When the chicken is tender, season with salt and a very little pepper. The yolk of an egg beaten light and added, is very nourishing. OATMEAL GRUEL. Put four tablespoonfuls of the best grits (oatmeal coarsely ground) into a pint of boiling water. Let it boil gently, and stir it often, till it becomes as thick as you wish it. Then strain it, and add to it while warm, butter, wine, nutmeg, or whatever is thought proper to flavor it. Salt to taste. If you make a gruel of fine oatmeal, sift it, mix it first to a thick batter with a little cold water, and then put it into the saucepan of boiling water. Stir it all the time it is boiling, lifting the spoon gently up and down, and letting the gruel fall slowly back again into the pan. CORN MEAL GRUEL. Two tablespoonfuls of fine Indian meal, mixed smooth with cold water, and a saltspoonful of salt; add one quart of boiling water and cook twenty minutes. Stir it frequently, and if it becomes too thick use boiling water to thin it. If the stomach is not too weak, a tablespoonful of cream may be used to cool it. Some like it sweetened and others like it plain. For very sick persons, let it settle, pour off the top, and give without other seasoning. For convalescents, toast a piece of bread as nicely as possible, and put it in the gruel with a tablespoonful of nice sweet cream and a little ginger and sugar. This should be used only when a laxative is allowed. EGG GRUEL. Beat the yolk of an egg with one tablespoonful of sugar; pour one teacupful of boiling water on it, add the white of an egg, beaten to a froth, with any seasoning or spice desired. Take warm. MILK PORRIDGE. The same as arrowroot, excepting it should be all milk, and thickened with a scant tablespoonful of sifted flour; let it boil five minutes, stirring it constantly, add a little cold milk, give it one boil up, and it is ready for use. ARROWROOT MILK PORRIDGE. One large cupful of fresh milk, new if you can get it, one cupful of boiling water, one teaspoonful of arrowroot, wet to a paste with sold water, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, a pinch of salt. Put the sugar into the milk, the salt into the boiling water, which should be poured into a farina kettle. Add the wet arrowroot and boil, stirring constantly until it is clear; put in the milk and cook ten minutes, stirring often. Give while warm, adding hot milk should it be thicker than gruel. ARROWROOT BLANC MANGE. One large cupful of boiling milk, one even tablespoonful of arrowroot rubbed to a paste with cold water, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, a pinch of salt, flavor with rose-water. Proceed as in the foregoing recipes, boiling and stirring eight minutes. Turn into a wet mold, and, when firm, serve with cream and powdered sugar. TAPIOCA JELLY. Soak a cupful of tapioca in a quart of cold water after washing it thoroughly two or three times; after soaking three or four hours, simmer it in a stewpan until it becomes quite clear, stirring often; add the juice of a lemon, and a little of the grated peel, also a pinch of salt. Sweeten to taste. Wine can be substituted for lemon, if liked. SLIPPERY-ELM BARK TEA. Break the bark into bits, pour boiling water over it, cover and let it infuse until cold. Sweeten, ice, and take for summer disorders, or add lemon juice and drink for a bad cold. FLAX-SEED TEA. Upon an ounce of unbruised flax-seed and a little pulverized liquorice-root pour a pint of boiling (soft or rain) water, and place the vessel containing these ingredients near, but not on, the fire for four hours. Strain through a linen cloth. Make it fresh every day. An excellent drink in fever accompanied by a cough. FLAX-SEED LEMONADE. To a large tablespoonful of flax-seed, allow a tumbler and a half of cold water. Boil them together till the liquid becomes very sticky. Then strain it hot over a quarter of a pound of pulverized sugar, and an ounce of pulverized gum arabic. Stir it till quite dissolved, and squeeze into it the juice of a lemon. This mixture has frequently been found an efficacious remedy for a cold, taking a wine-glass of it as often as the cough is troublesome. TAMARIND WATER. Put tamarinds into a pitcher or tumbler till it is one-third full, then fill up with cold water, cover it, and let it infuse for a quarter of an hour or more. Currant jelly or cranberry juice mixed with water makes a pleasant drink for an invalid. SAGO JELLY. Made the same as tapioca. If seasoning is not advisable the sago may be boiled in milk, instead of water, and eaten plain. Rice jelly made the same, using only half as much rice as sago. ARROWROOT WINE JELLY. One cupful of boiling water, one scant tablespoonful of arrowroot, mixed with a little cold water, one tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, one tablespoonful of brandy, or three tablespoonfuls of wine. Excellent for a sick person without fever. HOMINY. Put to soak one pint of hominy in two and one-half pints of boiling water over night, in a tin vessel with a tight cover; in the morning add one-half pint of sweet milk and a little salt. Place on a brisk fire, in a kettle of boiling water, the tin vessel containing the hominy; let boil one-half hour. Cracked wheat, oatmeal, mush, are all good food for the sick. CHICKEN JELLY. Cook a chicken in enough water to little more than cover it; let it stew gently until the meat drops from the bones, and the broth is reduced to about a pint; season it to taste, with a little salt and pepper. Strain and press, first through a colander, then through a coarse cloth. Set it over the fire again and cook a few minutes longer. Turn it into an earthen vegetable dish to harden; set it on the ice in the refrigerator. Eat cold in slices. Nice made into sandwiches, with _thin_ slices of bread, lightly spread with butter. BOILED RICE. Boil half a cupful of rice in just enough water to cover it, with half a teaspoonful of salt; when the water has boiled nearly out and the rice begins to look soft and dry, turn over it a cupful of milk and let it simmer until the rice is done and nearly dry; take from the fire and beat in a well-beaten egg. Eat it warm with cream and sugar. Flavor to taste. CUP PUDDING. Take one tablespoonful of flour, one egg, mix with cold milk and a pinch of salt to a batter. Boil fifteen minutes in a buttered cup. Eat with sauce, fruit or plain sugar. TAPIOCA CUP PUDDING. This is very light and delicate for invalids. An even tablespoonful of tapioca, soaked for two hours in nearly a cup of new milk; stir into this the yolk of a fresh egg; a little sugar, a grain of salt, and bake it in a cup for fifteen minutes. A little jelly may be eaten with it. BAKED APPLES. Get nice fruit, a little tart and juicy, but not sour; clean them nicely, and bake in a moderate oven--regulated so as to have them done in about an hour; when the skin cracks and the pulp breaks through in every direction they are done and ready to take out. Serve with white sugar sprinkled over them. SOFT TOAST. Toast well, but not too brown, two thin slices of stale bread; put them on a warm plate, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and pour upon them some boiling water; quickly cover with another dish of the same size, and drain off the water. Put a very small bit of butter on the toast and serve at once while hot. IRISH MOSS BLANC MANGE. A small handful of moss (to be purchased at any drug store), wash it very carefully, and put it in one quart of milk on the fire. Let the milk simmer for about twenty minutes, or until the moss begins to dissolve. Then remove from the fire and strain through a fine sieve. Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and half a teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Put away to harden in cups or molds, and serve with sugar and cream. A delicate dish for an invalid. EGG TOAST. Brown a slice of bread nicely over the coals, dip it in hot water slightly salted, butter it, and lay on the top an egg that has been broken into boiling water, and cooked until the white has hardened; season the egg with a bit of butter and a crumb of salt. The best way to cook eggs for an invalid is to drop them, or else pour boiling water over the egg in the shell and let it stand for a few minutes on the back of the stove. OYSTER TOAST. Make a nice slice of dry toast, butter it and lay it on a hot dish. Put six oysters, half a teacupful of their own liquor, and half a cupful of milk, into a tin cup or basin, and boil one minute. Season with a little butter, pepper and salt, then pour over the toast and serve. MULLED JELLY. Take one tablespoonful of currant or grape jelly, beat with it the white of one egg and a teaspoonful of sugar; pour on it a teacupful of boiling water, and break in a slice of dry toast or two crackers. CUP CUSTARD. Break into a coffeecup an egg, put in two teaspoonfuls of sugar, beat it up thoroughly, a pinch of salt and a pinch of grated nutmeg; fill up the cup with good sweet milk, turn it into another cup, well buttered, and set it in a pan of boiling water, reaching nearly to the top of the cup. Set in the oven, and when the custard is set, it is done. Eat cold. CLAM BROTH. Select twelve small, hard-shell clams, drain them and chop them fine; add half a pint of clam juice or hot water, a pinch of cayenne, and a walnut of butter; simmer thirty minutes, add a gill of boiled milk, strain, and serve. This is an excellent broth for weak stomachs. MILK OR CREAM CODFISH. This dish will often relish when a person is recovering from sickness, when nothing else would. Pick up a large tablespoonful of salt codfish very fine, freshen it considerably by placing it over the fire in a basin, covering it with cold water as it comes to a boil; turn off the water and freshen again if very salt, then turn off the water until dry, and pour over half a cupful of milk or thin cream, add a bit of butter, a sprinkle of pepper, and a thickening made of one teaspoonful of flour or cornstarch, wet up with a little milk; when this boils up, turn over a slice of dipped toast. CRACKER PANADA. Break in pieces three or four hard crackers that are baked quite brown, and let them boil fifteen minutes in one quart of water; then remove from the fire, let them stand three or four minutes, strain off the liquor through a fine wire sieve, and season it with sugar. This is a nourishing beverage for infants that are teething, and with the addition of a little wine and nutmeg, is often prescribed for invalids recovering from a fever. BREAD PANADA. Put three gills of water and one tablespoonful of white sugar on the fire, and just before it boils add two tablespoonfuls of the crumbs of stale white bread, stir it well, and let it boil three or four minutes, then add one glass of white wine, a grated lemon and a little nutmeg; let it boil up once, then remove it from the fire, and keep it closely covered until it is wanted for use. SLIPPERY-ELM TEA. Put a teaspoonful of powdered slippery-elm into a tumbler, pour cold water upon it, and season with lemon and sugar. TOAST WATER, OR CRUST COFFEE. Take stale pieces of crusts of bread, the end pieces of the loaf, toast them a nice, dark brown, care to be taken that they do not burn in the least, as that affects the flavor. Put the browned crusts into a large milk pitcher, and pour enough boiling water over to cover them; cover the pitcher closely, and let steep until cold. Strain, and sweeten to taste; put a piece of ice in each glass. This is also good, drank warm with cream and sugar, similar to coffee. PLAIN MILK TOAST. Cut a thin slice from a loaf of stale bread, toast it very quickly, sprinkle a little salt over it, and pour upon it three tablespoonfuls of boiling milk or cream. Crackers split and toasted in this manner, are often very grateful to an invalid. LINSEED TEA. Put one tablespoonful of linseed into a stewpan with half a pint of cold water; place the stewpan over a moderate fire, and when the water is quite warm, pour it off, and add to the linseed half a pint of fresh cold water, then let the whole boil three or four minutes; season it with lemon and sugar. POWDERS FOR CHILDREN. A very excellent carminative powder for flatulent infants may be kept in the house, and employed with advantage whenever the child is in pain or griped, dropping five grains of oil of anise-seed and two of peppermint on half an ounce of lump sugar, and rubbing it in a mortar, with a drachm of magnesia, into a fine powder. A small quantity of this may be given in a little water at any time, and always with benefit. FOR CHILDREN TEETHING. Tie a quarter of a pound of wheat flour in a thick cloth and boil it in one quart of water for three hours; then remove the cloth and expose the flour to the air or heat until it is hard and dry; grate from it, when wanted, one tablespoonful, which put into half a pint of new milk, and stir over the fire until it comes to a boil, when add a pinch of salt and a tablespoonful of cold water and serve. This gruel is excellent for children afflicted with summer complaint. Or brown a tablespoonful of flour in the oven or on top of the stove on a baking tin; feed a few pinches at a time to a child and it will often check a diarrhoea. The tincture of "kino"--of which from ten to thirty drops, mixed with a little sugar and water in a spoon, and given every two or three hours, is very efficacious and harmless--can be procured at almost any druggist's. Tablespoon doses of pure cider vinegar and a pinch of salt, has cured when all else failed. BLACKBERRY CORDIAL. This recipe may be found under the head of COFFEE, TEA, BEVERAGES. It will be found an excellent medicine for children teething, and summer diseases. ACID DRINKS. 1. Peel thirty large Malaga grapes, and pour half a pint of boiling water upon them; cover them closely and let them steep until the water is cold. 2. Pour half a pint of boiling water upon one tablespoonful of currant jelly, and stir until the jelly is dissolved. 3. Cranberries and barberries may be used in the same way to make very refreshing acid drinks for persons recovering from fevers. DRAUGHTS FOR THE FEET. Take a large leaf from the horse-radish plant, and cut out the hard fibres that run through the leaf; place it on a hot shovel for a moment to soften it, fold it, and fasten it closely in the hollow of the foot by a cloth bandage. Burdock leaves, cabbage leaves, and mullein leaves, are used in the same manner, to alleviate pain and promote perspiration. Garlics are also made for draughts by pounding them, placing them on a hot tin plate for a moment to sweat them, and binding them closely to the hollow of the foot by a cloth bandage. Draughts of onions, for infants, are made by roasting onions in hot ashes, and, when they are quite soft, peeling off the outside, mashing them, and applying them on a cloth as usual. POULTICES. _A Bread and Milk Poultice._--Put a tablespoonful of the crumbs of stale bread into a gill of milk, and give the whole one boil up. Or, take stale bread crumbs, pour over them boiling water and boil till soft, stirring well; take from the fire and gradually stir in a little glycerine or sweet oil, so as to render the poultice pliable when applied. _A Hop Poultice._--Boil one handful of dried hops in half a pint of water, until the half pint is reduced to a gill, then stir into it enough Indian meal to thicken it. _A Mustard Poultice._--Into one gill of boiling water stir one tablespoonful of Indian meal; spread the paste thus made upon a cloth and spread over the paste one teaspoonful of mustard flour. If you wish a mild poultice, use a teaspoonful of mustard as it is prepared for the table, instead of the mustard flour. Equal parts of ground mustard and flour made into a paste with warm water, and spread between two pieces of muslin, form the indispensable mustard plaster. _A Ginger Poultice._--This is made like a mustard poultice, using ground ginger instead of mustard. A little vinegar is sometimes added to each of these poultices. _A Stramonium Poultice._--Stir one tablespoonful of Indian meal into a gill of boiling water and add one tablespoonful of bruised stramonium seeds. _Wormwood and Arnica_ are sometimes applied in poultices. Steep the herbs in half a pint of cold water and when all their virtue is extracted stir in a little bran or rye meal to thicken the liquid; the herbs must not be removed from the liquid. This is a useful application for sprains and bruises. _Linseed Poultice._--Take four ounces of powdered linseed and gradually sprinkle it into a half pint of hot water. A REMEDY FOR BOILS. An excellent remedy for boils is water of a temperature agreeable to the feelings of the patient. Apply wet linen to the part affected and frequently renew or moisten it. It is said to be the most effectual remedy known. Take inwardly some good blood purifier. CURE FOR RINGWORMS. Yellow dock, root or leaves, steeped in vinegar, will cure the worst case of ringworm. [Illustration] HEALTH-SUGGESTIONS. HOW COLDS ARE CAUGHT. A great many cannot see why it is they do not take a cold when exposed to cold winds and rain. The fact is, and ought to be more generally understood, that nearly every cold is contracted indoors, and is not directly due to the cold outside, but to the heat inside. A man will go to bed at night feeling as well as usual and get up in the morning with a royal cold. He goes peeking around in search of cracks and keyholes and tiny drafts. Weather-strips are procured, and the house made as tight as a fruit can. In a few days more the whole family have colds. Let a man go home, tired or exhausted, eat a full supper of starchy and vegetable food, occupy his mind intently for a while, go to bed in a warm, close room, and if he doesn't have a cold in the morning it will be a wonder. A drink of whisky or a glass or two of beer before supper will facilitate matters very much. People swallow more colds down their throats than they inhale or receive from contact with the air, no matter how cold or chilly it may be. Plain, light suppers are good to go to bed on, and are far more conducive to refreshing sleep than a glass of beer or a dose of chloral. In the estimation of a great many this statement is rank heresy, but in the light of science, common sense and experience it is gospel truth. Pure air is strictly essential to maintain perfect health. If a person is accustomed to sleeping with the windows open there is but little danger of taking cold winter or summer. Persons that shut up the windows to keep out the "night air" make a mistake, for at night the only air we breathe is "night air," and we need good air while asleep as much or even more than at any other time of day. Ventilation can be accomplished by simply opening the window an inch at the bottom and also at the top, thus letting the pure air in, the bad air going outward at the top. Close, foul air poisons the blood, brings on disease which often results in death; this poisoning of the blood is only prevented by pure air, which enters the lungs, becomes charged with _waste_ particles, then thrown out, and which are poisoning if taken back again. It is estimated that a grown person corrupts _one gallon of pure air every minute_, or twenty-five barrels full in a single night, in breathing alone. Clothes that have been worn through the day should be changed for fresh or dry ones to sleep in. Three pints of moisture, filled with the waste of the body, are given off every twenty-four hours, and this is mostly absorbed by the clothing. Sunlight and exposure to the air purifies the clothing of the poisons which nature is trying to dispose of, and which would otherwise be brought again into contact with the body. Colds are often taken by extreme cold and heat, and a sudden exposure to cold by passing from a heated room to the cold outside air. Old and weak persons, especially, should avoid such extreme change. In passing from warm crowded rooms to the cold air, the mouth should be kept closed, and all the breathing done through the nostrils only, that the cold air may be warmed before it reaches the lungs, or else the sudden change will drive the blood from the surface of the internal organs, often producing congestions. Dr. B. I. Kendall writes that "_the temperature of the body_ should be evenly and properly maintained to secure perfect health; and to accomplish this purpose requires great care and caution at times. The human body is, so to speak, the most delicate and intricate piece of machinery that could possibly be conceived of, and to keep this in perfect order requires constant care. It is a fixed law of nature that every violation thereof shall be punished; and so we find that he who neglects to care for his body by protecting it from sudden changes of weather, or draughts of cold air upon unprotected parts of the body, suffers the penalty by sickness, which may vary according to the exposure and the habits of the person, which affect the result materially; for what would be an easy day's work for a man who is accustomed to hard labor, would be sufficient to excite the circulation to such an extent in a person unaccustomed to work, that only slight exposure might cause the death of the latter when over-heated in this way; while the same exercise and exposure to the man accustomed to hard labor might not affect him. So, we say, be careful of your bodies, for it is a duty you owe to yourselves, your friends, and particularly to Him who created you. When your body is over-heated and you are perspiring, be very careful about sitting down to 'cool off,' as the custom of some is, by removing a part of the clothing and sitting in a cool place, and perhaps where there is a draught of air passing over your body. The proper way to 'cool off' when over-heated is to put on more clothing, especially if you are in a cool place; but never remove a part of the clothing you have already on. If possible get near a fire where there is no wind blowing, and _dry off_ gradually, instead of cooling off suddenly, which is always dangerous." Many colds are taken from the feet being damp or wet. To keep these extremities warm and dry is a great preventative against the almost endless list of disorders which come from a "slight cold." Many imagine if their feet are not thoroughly wet, there will be no harm arising from mere dampness, not knowing that the least dampness is absorbed into the sole, and is attracted nearer the foot itself by its heat, and thus perspiration is dangerously checked. WATER. All beings need drink as much as they need food, and it is just as necessary to health as pure air; therefore the water should be boiled or filtered before being drank. Rain-water filtered is probably the best attainable. Boiling the water destroys the vegetable and animal matter, and leaves the mineral matter deposited on the bottom of the vessel containing it; therefore it leaves it clear from poisonous substances. REGULATION IN DIET. The food we eat is a very important item, and one which it would be difficult to arrange any rule for which would apply to all persons under different circumstances. In health, it is safer to eat by instinct rather than to follow any definite rules. While there are many who have a scanty living, with a small variety of food, there is a large number who have an abundance and a large variety. The former class, in many cases, live miserable lives, either to hoard up for miserly purposes the money which might make them happy, or in some cases through poverty; while the latter class, as a rule, have better health and have much more enjoyment in this life, unless it be some who are gluttonous, and make themselves miserable by abusing the blessings they should enjoy. Avoid extremes in living too free or scanty; have a good nourishing diet and a sufficient quantity, and it should always be properly cooked; for if the cooking is poorly done, it affects not only the nutritious qualities, but is not so easily digested, thus making food, which is originally the best kind, of very little value to us, and with very poor cooking it is sometimes a positive injury. It is very important that the food be taken with regularity at the accustomed time. Be careful not to take too much drink during any meal, but, if thirsty, drink water before meal time so that you will not care for it until some time after eating, as it is a bad plan to drink much either during or for a little time after the meal is taken. It is a very bad plan to hurry in eating, because by so doing the food is not properly masticated; it is better to be a long time in eating and chew the food well. _Dr. B. I. Kendall, Enosburg Falls, Vt._ HOW TO USE HOT WATER. One of the simplest and most effectual means of relieving pain is by the use of hot water, externally and internally, the temperature varying according to the feelings of the patient. For bruises, sprains, and similar accidental hurts, it should be applied immediately, as hot as can be borne, by means of a cloth dipped in the water and laid on the wounded part, or by immersion, if convenient, and the treatment kept up until relief is obtained. If applied at once, the use of hot water will generally prevent, nearly, if not entirely, the bruised flesh from turning black. For pains resulting from indigestion, and known as wind colic, etc., a cupful of hot water, taken in sips, will often relieve at once. When that is insufficient, a flannel folded in several thicknesses, large enough to fully cover the painful place should be wrung out of hot water and laid over the seat of the pain. It should be as hot as the skin can bear without injury, and be renewed every ten minutes or oftener, if it feels cool, until the pain is gone. The remedy is simple, efficient, harmless, and within the reach of every one; and should be more generally used than it is. If used along with common sense, it might save many a doctor's bill, and many a course of drug treatment as well. GROWING PAINS CURED. Following in our mother's footsteps, we have been routed night after night from our warm quarters, in the dead of winter, to kindle fires and fill frosty kettles from water-pails thickly crusted with ice, that we might get the writhing pedal extremities of our little heir into a tub of water as quickly as possible. But lately we have learned that all this work and exposure is needless. We simply wring a towel from salted water--a bowl of it standing in our sleeping room, ready for such an emergency--wrap the limb in it from the ankle to knee, without taking the child from his bed, and then swathe with dry flannels, thick and warm, tucking the blankets about him a little closer, and relief is sure. _Good Housekeeping._ HOW TO KEEP WELL. Don't sleep in a draught. Don't go to bed with cold feet. Don't stand over hot-air registers. Don't eat what you do not need, just to save it. Don't try to get cool too quickly after exercising. Don't sleep in a room without ventilation of some kind. Don't stuff a cold lest you should be next obliged to starve a fever. Don't sit in a damp or chilly room without a fire. Don't try to get along without flannel underclothing in winter. DIPHTHERIA. A gargle of sulphur and water has been used with much success in cases of diphtheria. Let the patient swallow a little of the mixture. Or, when you discover that your throat is a little sore, bind a strip of flannel around the throat, wet in camphor, and gargle salt and vinegar occasionally. COLDS AND HOARSENESS. Borax has proved a most effective remedy in certain forms of colds. In sudden hoarseness or loss of voice in public speakers or singers, from colds, relief for an hour or so may be obtained by slowly dissolving, and partially swallowing, a lump of borax the size of a garden pea, or about three or four grains held in the mouth for ten or fifteen minutes before speaking or singing. This produces a profuse secretion of saliva or "watering" of the mouth and throat, just as wetting brings back the missing notes to a flute when it is too dry. A flannel dipped in boiling water and sprinkled with turpentine, laid on chest as quickly as possible, will relieve the most severe cold or hoarseness. Another simple, pleasant remedy is furnished by beating up the white of one egg, adding to it the juice of one lemon, and sweetening with white sugar to taste. Take a teaspoonful from time to time. It has been known to effectually cure the ailment. Or bake a lemon or sour orange twenty minutes in a moderate oven. When done, open at one end and take out the inside. Sweeten with sugar or molasses. This is an excellent remedy for hoarseness. An old time and good way to relieve a cold is to go to bed and stay there, _drinking nothing_, not even water, for twenty-four hours, and eating as little as possible. Or go to bed, put your feet in hot mustard and water, put a bran or oatmeal poultice on the chest, take ten grains of Dover's powder, and an hour afterwards a pint of hot gruel; in the morning, rub the body all over with a coarse towel, and take a dose of aperient medicine. Violet, pennyroyal or boneset tea, is excellent to promote perspiration in case of sudden chill. Care should be taken next day not to get chilled by exposure to fresh out-door air. MOLASSES POSSET. This old-fashioned remedy for a cold is as effectual now as it was in old times. Put into a saucepan a pint of the best West India molasses, a teaspoonful of powdered white ginger and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Set it over the fire and simmer it slowly for half an hour, stirring it frequently. Do not let it come to a boil. Then stir in the juice of two lemons, or two tablespoonfuls of vinegar; cover the pan and let it stand by the fire five minutes longer. This is good for a cold. Some of it may be taken warm at once, and the remainder kept at hand for occasional use. It is the preparation absurdly called by the common people _stewed quaker_. Half a pint of strained honey mixed cold with the juice of a lemon and a tablespoonful of sweet oil, is another remedy for a cold; a teaspoonful or two to be taken whenever the cough is troublesome. COUGH SYRUP. Syrup of squills four ounces, syrup of tolu four ounces, tincture of bloodroot one and one-half ounces, camphorated tincture of opium four ounces. Mix. Dose for an adult, one teaspoonful repeated every two to four hours, or as often as necessary. LEANNESS. Is caused generally by lack of power in the digestive organs to digest and assimilate the fat-producing elements of food. First restore digestion, take plenty of sleep, drink all the water the stomach will bear in the morning on rising, take moderate exercise in the open air, eat oatmeal, cracked wheat, graham mush, baked sweet apples, roasted and broiled beef, cultivate jolly people, and bathe daily. FOR TOOTHACHE. The worst toothache, or neuralgia, coming from the teeth may be speedily and delightfully ended by the application of a bit of clean cotton saturated in a solution of ammonia to the defective tooth. Sometimes the late sufferer is prompted to momentary laughter by the application, but the pain will disappear. Alum reduced to a powder, a teaspoonful of the powder and an equal quantity of fine salt well mixed, applied to the gums by dipping your moistened finger in the mixed powder; put some also in the tooth, and keep rubbing the gums with it; it scarcely ever fails to cure. TO CURE A STING OF A BEE OR WASP. Bind on common baking soda, dampened with water. Or mix common earth with water to about the consistency of mud. TO CURE EARACHE. Take a bit of cotton batting, put on it a pinch of black pepper, gather it up and tie it, dip it in sweet oil, and insert it in the ear; put a flannel bandage over the head to keep it warm; it often gives immediate relief. Tobacco smoke, puffed into the ear, has often been effectual. Another remedy: Take equal parts of tincture of opium and glycerine. Mix, and from a warm teaspoon drop two or three drops into the ear, stop the ear tight with cotton, and repeat every hour or two. If matter should form in the ear, make a suds with castile soap and warm water, about 100° F., or a little more than milk warm, and have some person inject it into the ear while you hold that side of your head the lowest. If it does not heal in due time, inject a little carbolic acid and water in the proportion of one drachm of the acid to one pint of warm water each time after using the suds. CROUP. Croup, it is said, can be cured in one minute, and the remedy is simply alum and sugar. Take a knife or grater and shave off in small particles about a teaspoonful of alum; then mix it with twice its amount of sugar, to make it palatable, and administer it as quickly as possible. Almost instantaneous relief will follow. Turpentine is said to be an excellent remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of flannel and apply it to the chest and throat, and take inwardly three or four drops on a lump of sugar. _Another remedy._--Give a teaspoonful of ipecacuanha wine every few minutes, until free vomiting is excited. Another recipe said to be most reliable: Take two ounces of the wine of ipecac, hive syrup four ounces, tincture of bloodroot two ounces. Mix it well. Dose for a child one year old, five to ten drops; two years, eight to twelve drops; three years, twelve to fifteen drops; four years, fifteen to twenty drops; five years, twenty to twenty-five drops, and older children in proportion to age. Repeat as often as shall be necessary to procure relief. If it is thought best to produce vomiting, repeat the dose every ten or fifteen minutes for a few doses. BURNS AND SCALDS. A piece of cotton wadding, spread with butter or sweet oil, and bound on the burn instantly, will draw out the pain without leaving a scar; also a handful of flour, bound on instantly, will prevent blistering. The object is to entirely exclude the air from the part affected. Some use common baking-soda, dry or wet, often giving instant relief, withdrawing the heat and pain. Another valuable remedy is to beat the yellow of an egg into linseed oil, and apply it with a feather on the injured part frequently. It will afford ready relief and heals with great rapidity. Some recommend the white part of the egg, which is very cooling and soothing, and soon allays the smarting pain. It is the exposure of the part coming in contact with the air that gives the extreme discomfort experienced from ordinary afflictions of this kind, and anything which excludes air and prevents inflammation is the thing to be at once applied. TO STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD. For a slight cut there is nothing better to control the hemorrhage than common unglazed brown wrapping paper, such as is used by marketmen and grocers; a piece to be bound over the wound. A handful of flour bound on the cut. Cobwebs and brown sugar, pressed on like lint. When the blood ceases to flow, apply arnica or laudanum. When an artery is cut the red blood spurts out at each pulsation. Press the thumb firmly over the artery near the wound, and on the side toward the heart. Press hard enough to stop the bleeding, and wait till a physician comes. The wounded person is often able to do this himself, if he has the requisite knowledge. GRAVEL. Into a pint of water put two ounces of bicarbonate of soda. Take two tablespoonfuls in the early forenoon, and the same toward night; also drink freely of water through the day. Inflammation of the kidneys has been successfully treated with large doses of lime-water. Persons troubled with kidney difficulty should abstain from sugar and the things that are converted into sugar in digestion, such as starchy food and sweet vegetables. SORE THROAT. Everybody has a cure for this trouble, but simple remedies appear to be most effectual. Salt and water is used by many as a gargle, but a little alum and honey dissolved in sage tea is better. An application of cloths wrung out of hot water and applied to the neck, changing as often as they begin to cool, has the most potency for removing inflammation of anything we ever tried. It should be kept up for a number of hours; during the evening is usually the most convenient time for applying this remedy. Cut slices of salt pork or fat bacon, simmer a few minutes in hot vinegar, and apply to throat as hot as possible. When this is taken off as the throat is relieved, put around a bandage of soft flannel. A gargle of equal parts of borax and alum, dissolved in water, is also excellent. To be used frequently. Camphorated oil is an excellent lotion for sore throat, sore chest, aching limbs, etc. For a gargle for sore throat, put a pinch of chlorate of potash in a glass of water. Gargle the throat with it twice a day, or oftener, if necessary. WHOOPING COUGH. Two level tablespoonfuls of powdered alum, two-thirds of a cupful of brown sugar, dissolved in two quarts of water; bottle and put in a dark closet where it is cool. For a child one year old, a teaspoonful three times a day on an empty stomach. For a child two years old, two teaspoonfuls for a dose. For a child five years old, a tablespoonful. The state of the bowels must be attended to, and the doses repeated accordingly. No other medicine to be taken, except an emetic, at first, if desirable. Except in the case of an infant, a milk diet is to be avoided. DIARRHOEA. Take tincture of Jamaica ginger one ounce, tincture of rhubarb one ounce, tincture of opium half ounce, tincture of cardamom one and one-half ounces, tincture of kino one ounce. Mix. Dose for an adult, half to one teaspoonful, repeated every two to four hours; and for children one year old, five drops; two years old, five to ten drops; three years old, ten to twelve drops, and older children in proportion to age. FOR CONSTIPATION. One or two figs eaten fasting is sufficient for some, and they are especially good in the case of children, as there is no trouble in getting them to take them. A spoonful of wheaten bran in a glass of water is a simple remedy, and quite effective, taken half an hour before breakfast; fruit eaten raw; partake largely of laxative food; exercise in the open air; drink freely of cold water during the day, etc. It is impossible to give many of the numerous treatments in so short a space, suffice it to say that the general character of our diet and experience is such as to assure us that at least one-quarter of the food that we swallow is intended by nature to be evacuated from the system; and if it is not, it is again absorbed into the system, poisoning the blood and producing much suffering and permanent disease. The evacuation of the bowels _daily_, and above all, _regularity_, is therefore all important to aid this form of disorder. RELIEF FROM ASTHMA. Sufferers from asthma should get a muskrat skin and wear it over their lungs with the fur side next to the body. It will bring certain relief. Or soak blotting paper in saltpetre water, then dry, burning at night in the patient's bedroom. Another excellent recipe: Take powdered liquorice root, powdered elecampane root, powdered anise-seed, each one drachm, powdered ipecac ten grains, powdered lobelia ten grains; add sufficient amount of tar to form into pills of ordinary size. Take three or four pills on going to bed. An excellent remedy for asthma or shortness of breath. RECIPES FOR FELONS. Take common rock salt, as used for salting down pork or beef, dry in an oven, then pound it fine and mix with spirits of turpentine in equal parts; put it in a rag and wrap it around the parts affected; as it gets dry put on more, and in twenty-four hours you are cured. The felon will be dead. Or purchase the herb of stramonium at the druggist's; steep it and bind it on the felon; as soon as cold, put on new, warm herbs. It will soon kill it, in a few hours at least. Or saturate a bit or grated wild turnip, the size of a bean, with spirits of turpentine, and apply it to the affected part. It relieves the pain at once; in twelve hours there will be a hole to the bone, and the felon destroyed; then apply healing salve, and the finger is well. _Another Way to Cure a Felon:_ Fill a tumbler with equal parts of fine salt and ice; mix well. Sink the finger in the centre, allow it to remain until it is nearly frozen and numb; then withdraw it, and when sensation is restored, renew the operation four or five times, when it will be found the disease is destroyed. This must be done before pus is formed. A simple remedy for felons, relieving pain at once, no poulticing, no cutting, no "holes to the bone," no necessity for healing salve, but simple oil of cedar applied a few times at the commencement of the felon, and the work is done. REMEDY FOR LOCKJAW. If any person is threatened or taken with lockjaw from injuries of the arms, legs or feet, do not wait for a doctor, but put the part injured in the following preparation: Put hot wood-ashes into water as warm as can be borne; if the injured part cannot be put into water, then wet thick folded cloths in the water and apply them to the part as soon as possible, at the same time bathe the backbone from the neck down with some laxative stimulant--say cayenne pepper and water, or mustard and water (good vinegar is better than water); it should be as hot as the patient can bare it. Don't hesitate; go to work and do it, and don't stop until the jaws will come open. No person need die of lockjaw if these directions are followed. _Cure for Lockjaw, Said to be Positive._--Let anyone who has an attack of lockjaw take a small quantity of spirits of turpentine, warm it, and pour it in the wound--no matter where the wound is or what its nature is--and relief will follow in less than one minute. Turpentine is also a sovereign remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of flannel with it, and place the flannel on the throat and chest--- and in very severe cases, three to five drops on a lump of sugar may be taken internally. BLEEDING AT THE NOSE. Roll up a piece of paper and press it under the upper lip. In obstinate cases, blow a little gum arabic up the nostril through a quill, which will immediately stop the discharge; powdered alum, dissolved in water, is also good. Pressure by the finger over the small artery near the ala (wing) of the nose on the side where the blood is flowing, is said to arrest the hemorrhage immediately. Sometimes by wringing a cloth out of very hot water and laying it on the back of the neck, gives relief. Napkins wrung out of cold water must be laid across the forehead and nose, the hands dipped in cold water, and a bottle of hot water applied to the feet. TO TAKE CINDERS FROM THE EYE. In most cases a simple and effective cure may be found in one or two grains of flax-seed, which can be placed in the eye without pain or injury. As they dissolve, a glutinous substance is formed, which envelops any foreign body that may be under the lid, and the whole is easily washed out. A dozen of these seeds should constitute a part of every traveler's outfit. Another remedy for removing objects from the eye: Take a horse-hair and double it, leaving a loop. If the object can be seen, lay the loop over it, close the eye, and the mote will come out as the hair is withdrawn. If the irritating object cannot be seen, raise the lid of the eye as high as possible and place the loop as far as you can, close the eye and roll the ball around a few times, draw out the hair, and the substance which caused the pain will be sure to come with it. This method is practiced by axemakers and other workers in steel. _Montreal Star._ EYE-WASHES. The best eye-wash for granulated lids and inflammation of the eyes is composed of camphor, borax and morphine, in the following proportions: To a large wine-glass of camphor water--not spirits--add two grains of morphine and six grains of borax. Pour a few drops into the palm of the hand, and hold the eye in it, opening the lid as much as possible. Do this three or four times in twenty-four hours, and you will receive great relief from pain and smarting soreness. This recipe was received from a celebrated oculist, and has never failed to relieve the most inflamed eyes. Another remedy said to be reliable: A lump of alum as large as a cranberry boiled in a teacupful of sweet milk, and the curd used as a poultice, is excellent for inflammation of the eyes. Another wash: A cent's worth of pure, refined white copperas dissolved in a pint of water, is also a good lotion; but label it _poison_, as it should never go near the mouth. Bathe the eyes with the mixture, either with the hands or a small piece of linen cloth, allowing some of the liquid to get under the lids. Here is another from an eminent oculist: Take half an ounce of rock salt and one ounce of dry sulphate of zinc; simmer in a clean, covered porcelain vessel with three pints of water until all are dissolved; strain through thick muslin; add one ounce of rose-water; bottle and cork it tight. To use it, mix one teaspoonful of rain-water with one of the eye-water, and bathe the eyes frequently. If it smarts too much, add more water. SUNSTROKE. Wrap a wet cloth bandage over the head; wet another cloth, folded small, square, cover it thickly with salt, and bind it on the back of the neck; apply dry salt behind the ears. Put mustard plasters to the calves of the legs and soles of the feet. This is an effectual remedy. TO REMOVE WARTS. Wash with water saturated with common washing-soda, and let it dry without wiping; repeat frequently until they disappear. Or pass a pin through the wart and hold one end of it over the flame of a candle or lamp until the wart fires by the heat, and it will disappear. Another treatment of warts is to pare the hard and dry skin from their tops, and then touch them with the smallest drop of strong acetic acid, taking care that the acid does not run off the wart upon the neighboring skin; for if it does it will occasion inflammation and much pain. If this is continued once or twice daily, with regularity, paring the surface of the wart occasionally when it gets hard and dry, the wart will soon be effectually cured. SWAIM'S VERMIFUGE. Worm seed, two ounces; valerian, rhubarb, pink root, white agaric, senna, of each one ounce and a half. Boil in sufficient water to yield three quarts of decoction. Now add to it ten drops of the oil of tansy and forty-five drops of the oil of cloves, dissolved in a quart of rectified spirit. Dose: one tablespoonful at night. FAINTING. (Syncope.) Immediately place the person fainting in a lying position, with head lower than body. In this way consciousness returns immediately, while in the erect position it often ends in death. FOR SEVERE SPRAINS. The white of an egg, a tablespoonful of vinegar and a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine. Mix in a bottle, shake thoroughly, and bathe the sprain as soon as possible after the accident. This was published in _Life Secrets_, but it is republished by request on account of its great value. It should be remembered by everyone. An invaluable remedy for a sprain or bruise is wormwood boiled in vinegar and applied hot, with enough cloths wrapped around it to keep the sprain moist. CAMPHORATED OIL. Best oil of Lucca, gum camphor. Pound some gum camphor and fill a wide-necked pint bottle one-third full; fill up with olive oil and set away until the camphor is absorbed. Excellent lotion for sore chest, sore throat, aching limbs, etc. LINIMENT FOR CHILBLAINS. Spirits of turpentine, three drachms; camphorated oil, nine drachms. Mix for a liniment. For an adult four drachms of the former and eight of the latter may be used. If the child be young, or if the skin be tender, the camphorated oil may be used without the turpentine. "THE SUN'S" CHOLERA MIXTURE. More than forty years ago, when it was found that prevention for the Asiatic cholera was easier than cure, the learned doctors of both hemispheres drew up a prescription, which was published (for working people) in _The New York Sun_, and took the name of "The Sun Cholera Mixture." It is found to be the best remedy for looseness of the bowels ever yet devised. It is to be commended for several reasons. It is not to be mixed with liquor, and therefore will not be used as an alcoholic beverage. Its ingredients are well known among all the common people, and it will have no prejudice to combat; each of the materials is in equal proportions to the others, and it may therefore be compounded without professional skill; and as the dose is so very small, it may be carried in a tiny phial in the waistcoat pocket, and be always at hand. It is:-- Take equal parts of tincture of cayenne, tincture of opium, tincture of rhubarb, essence of peppermint and spirits of camphor. Mix well. Dose fifteen to thirty drops in a wine-glass of water, according to age and violence of the attack. Repeat every fifteen or twenty minutes until relief is obtained. No one who takes it in time will ever have the cholera. Even when no cholera is anticipated, it is a valuable remedy for ordinary summer complaints, and should always be kept in readiness. COMP. CATHARTIC ELIXIR. The only pleasant and reliable cathartic in liquid form that can be prescribed. Each fluid ounce contains: sulp. magnesia one drachm, senna two drachms, scammony six grains, liquorice one drachm, ginger three grains, coriander, five grains, with flavoring ingredients. _Dose._--Child five years old, one or two teaspoonfuls; adult, one or two tablespoonfuls. This preparation is being used extensively throughout the country. It was originated with the design of furnishing a liquid cathartic remedy that could be prescribed in a palatable form. It will be taken by children with a relish. GRANDMOTHER'S COUGH SYRUP. Take half a pound of dry hoarhound herbs, one pod of red pepper, four tablespoonfuls of ginger, boil all in three quarts of water, then strain, and add one teaspoonful of good, fresh tar and a pound of sugar. Boil slowly and stir often, until it is reduced to one quart of syrup. When cool, bottle for use. Take one or two teaspoonfuls four or six times a day. GRANDMOTHER'S UNIVERSAL LINIMENT. One pint of alcohol and as much camphor gum as can be dissolved in it, half an ounce of the oil of cedar, one-half ounce of the oil of sassafras, aqua ammonia half an ounce, and the same amount of the tincture of morphine. Shake well together and apply by the fire; the liniment must not be heated, or come in contact with the fire, but the rubbing to be done by the warmth of the fire. These recipes of Grandmother's are all old, tried medicines, and are more effectual than most of those that are advertised, as they have been thoroughly tried, and proved reliable. GRANDMOTHER'S FAMILY SPRING BITTERS. Mandrake root one ounce, dandelion root one ounce, burdock root one ounce, yellow dock root one ounce, prickly ash berries two ounces, marsh mallow one ounce, turkey rhubarb half an ounce, gentian one ounce, English camomile flowers one ounce, red clover tops two ounces. Wash the herbs and roots; put them into an earthen vessel, pour over two quarts of water that has been boiled and cooled; let it stand over night and soak; in the morning set it on the back of the stove, and steep it five hours; it must not boil, but be nearly ready to boil. Strain it through a cloth, and add half a pint of good gin. Keep it in a cool place. Half a wine-glass taken as a dose twice a day. This is better than all the patent blood medicines that are in the market--a superior blood purifier, and will cure almost any malignant sore, by taking according to direction, and washing the sore with a strong tea of red raspberry leaves steeped, first washing the sore with castile soap, then drying with a soft cloth, and washing it with the strong tea of red raspberry leaves. GRANDMOTHER'S EYE-WASH. Take three fresh eggs and break them into one quart of clear, cold rain-water; stir until thoroughly mixed; bring to a boil on a slow fire, stirring often; then add half an ounce of sulphate of zinc (white vitrol); continue the boiling for two minutes, then set it off the fire. Take the curd that settles at the bottom of this and apply to the eye at night with a bandage. It will speedily draw out all fever and soreness. Strain the liquid through a cloth and use for bathing the eyes occasionally. This is the best eye-water ever made for man or beast. I have used it for twenty years without knowing it to fail. HUNTER'S PILLS. These pills can be manufactured at home and are _truly reliable_, having been sold and used for more than fifty years in Europe. The ingredients may be procured at almost any druggist's. The articles should be all in the powder. Saffron one grain, rue one grain, Scot aloes two grains, savin one grain, cayenne pepper one grain. Mix all into a very thick mass by adding sufficient syrup. Rub some fine starch on the surface of a platter or large dinner-plate, then with your forefinger and thumb nip off a small piece of the mass the size of a pill and roll it in pill form, first dipping your fingers in the starch. Place them as fast as made on the platter, set where they will dry slowly. Put them into a dry bottle or paper box. Dose, one every night and morning as long as occasion requires. This recipe is worth _ten times_ the price of this book to any female requiring the _need_ of these regulating pills. HINTS IN REGARD TO HEALTH. It is plainly seen by an inquiring mind that, aside from the selection and preparation of food, there are many little things constantly arising in the experience of everyday life which, in their combined effect, are powerful agents in the formation (or prevention) of perfect health. A careful observance of these little occurences, an inquiry into the philosophy attending them, lies within the province, and indeed should be considered among the highest duties, of every housekeeper. That one should be cautious about entering a sick room in a state of perspiration, as the moment you become cool your pores absorb. Do not approach contagious diseases with an empty stomach, nor sit between the sick and the fire, because the heat attracts the vapor. That the flavor of cod-liver oil may be changed to the delightful one of fresh oyster, if the patient will drink a large glass of water poured from a vessel in which nails have been allowed to rust. That a bag of hot sand relieves neuralgia. That warm borax water will remove dandruff. That salt should be eaten with nuts to aid digestion. That it rests you, in sewing, to change your position frequently. That a little soda water will relieve sick headache caused by indigestion. That a cupful of strong coffee will remove the odor of onions from the breath. That well-ventilated bedrooms will prevent morning headaches and lassitude. A cupful of hot water drank before meals will relieve nausea and dyspepsia. That a fever patient can be made cool and comfortable by frequent sponging off with soda water. That consumptive night-sweats may be arrested by sponging the body nightly in salt water. That one in a faint should be laid flat on his back, then loosen his clothes and let him alone. The best time to bathe is just before going to bed, as any danger of taking cold is thus avoided; and the complexion is improved by keeping warm for several hours after leaving the bath. To beat the whites of eggs quickly add a pinch of salt. Salt cools, and cold eggs froth rapidly. Hot, dry flannels, applied as hot as possible, for neuralgia. Sprains and bruises call for an application of the tincture of arnica. If an artery is severed, tie a small cord or handkerchief above it. For bilious colic, soda and ginger in hot water. It may be taken freely. Tickling in the throat is best relieved by a gargling of salt and water. Pains in the side are most promptly relieved by the application of mustard. For cold in the head nothing is better than powdered borax, sniffed up the nostrils. A drink of hot, strong lemonade before going to bed will often break up a cold and cure a sore throat. Nervous spasms are usually relieved by a little salt taken into the mouth and allowed to dissolve. Whooping cough paroxysms are relieved by breathing the fumes of turpentine and carbolic acid. Broken limbs should be placed in natural positions, and the patient kept quiet until the surgeon arrives. Hemorrhages of the lungs or stomach are promptly checked by small doses of salt. The patient should be kept as quiet as possible. Sleeplessness, caused by too much blood in the head may be overcome by applying a cloth wet with cold water to the back of the neck. Wind colic is promptly relieved by peppermint essence taken in a little warm water. For small children it may be sweetened. Paregoric is also good. For stomach cramps, ginger ale or a teaspoonful of the tincture of ginger in a half glass of water in which a half teaspoonful of soda has been dissolved. Sickness of the stomach is most promptly relieved by drinking a teacupful of hot soda and water. If it brings the offending matter up, all the better. A teaspoonful of ground mustard in a cupful of warm water is a prompt and reliable emetic, and should be resorted to in cases of poisoning or cramps in the stomach from over-eating. Avoid purgatives or strong physic, as they not only do no good, but are positively hurtful. Pills may relieve for the time, but they seldom cure. Powdered resin is the best thing to stop bleeding from cuts. After the powder is sprinkled on, wrap the wound with soft cotton cloth. As soon as the wound begins to feel feverish, keep the cloth wet with cold water. Eggs are considered one of the best remedies for dysentery. Beaten up slightly, with or without sugar, and swallowed, they tend by their emollient qualities to lessen the inflammation of the stomach and intestines, and by forming a transient coating on those organs, enable Nature to resume her healthful sway over the diseased body. Two, or at most, three eggs per day, would be all that is required in ordinary cases; and, since the egg is not merely medicine, but food as well, the lighter the diet otherwise, and the quieter the patient is kept, the more certain and rapid is the recovery. Hot water is better than cold for bruises. It relieves pain quickly, and by preventing congestion often keeps off the ugly black and blue mark. "Children cry for it," when they experience the relief it affords their bumps and bruises. For a sprained ankle, the whites of eggs and powdered alum made into a plaster is almost a specific. MEDICINAL FOOD. Spinach has a direct effect upon complaints of the kidneys; the common dandelion, used as greens, is excellent for the same trouble; asparagus purifies the blood; celery acts admirably upon the nervous system, and is a cure for rheumatism and neuralgia; tomatoes act upon the liver; beets and turnips are excellent appetizers; lettuce and cucumbers are cooling in their effects upon the system; beans are a very nutritious and strengthening vegetable; while onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots, all of which are similar, possess medicinal virtues of a marked character, stimulating the circulatory system, and the consequent increase of the saliva and the gastric juice promoting digestion. Red onions are an excellent diuretic, and the white ones are recommended raw as a remedy for insomnia. They are tonic, nutritious. A soup made from onions is regarded by the French as an excellent restorative in debility of the digestive organs. We might go through the entire list and find each vegetable possessing its especial mission of cure, and it will be plain to every housekeeper that a vegetable diet should be partly adopted, and will prove of great advantage to the health of the family. [Illustration] HOUSEKEEPERS' TIME-TABLE. | MODE OF | TIME OF | TIME OF | |PREPARATION| COOKING |DIGESTION| ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | H. M. | H. M. | Apples, sour, hard |Raw | | 2 50 | Apples, sweet and mellow |Raw | | 1 50 | Asparagus |Boiled | 15 to 30| 2 30 | Beans (pod) |Boiled | 1 00 | 2 30 | Beans with green corn |Boiled | 45 | 3 45 | Beef |Roasted |[A] 25 | 3 00 | Beefsteak |Broiled | 15 | 3 00 | Beefsteak |Fried | 15 | 4 00 | Beef, salted |Boiled |[A] 35 | 4 15 | Bass, fresh |Broiled | 20 | 3 00 | Beets, young |Boiled | 2 00 | 3 45 | Beets, old |Boiled | 4 30 | 4 00 | Bread, corn |Baked | 45 | 3 15 | Bread, wheat |Baked | 1 00 | 3 30 | Butter |Melted | | 3 30 | Cabbage |Raw | | 2 30 | Cabbage and vinegar |Raw | | 2 00 | Cabbage |Boiled | 1 00 | 4 30 | Cauliflower |Boiled | 1-2 00 | 2 30 | Cake, sponge |Baked | 45 | 2 30 | Carrot, orange |Boiled | 1 00 | 3 15 | Cheese, old |Raw | | 3 30 | Chicken |Fricasseed | 1 00 | 3 45 | Codfish, dry and whole |Boiled |[A] 15 | 2 00 | Custard (one quart) |Baked | 30 | 2 45 | Duck, tame |Roasted | 1 30 | 4 00 | Duck, wild |Roasted | 1 00 | 4 50 | Dumpling, apple |Boiled | 1 00 | 3 00 | Eggs, hard |Boiled | 10 | 3 30 | Eggs, soft |Boiled | 3 | 3 00 | Eggs |Fried | 5 | 3 30 | Eggs |Raw | | 2 00 | Fowls, domestic, roasted or |Boiled | 1 00 | 4 00 | Gelatine |Boiled | | 2 30 | Goose, wild |Roasted |[A] 20 | 2 30 | Lamb |Boiled |[A] 20 | 2 30 | Meat and vegetables |Hashed | 30 | 2 30 | Milk |Raw | | 2 15 | Milk |Boiled | | 2 00 | Mutton |Roast |[A] 25 | 3 15 | Mutton |Broiled | 20 | 3 00 | Onions |Boiled | 1-2 00 | 3 00 | Oysters |Roasted | | 3 15 | Oysters |Stewed | 5 | 3 30 | Parsnips |Boiled | 1 00 | 3 00 | Pigs' Feet |Soused | | 1 00 | Pork |Roast |[A] 30 | 5 15 | Pork |Boiled |[A] 25 | 4 30 | Pork, raw or |Fried | | 4 15 | Pork |Broiled | 20 | 3 15 | Potatoes |Boiled | 30 | 3 30 | Potatoes |Baked | 45 | 3 30 | Potatoes |Roasted | 45 | 2 30 | Rice |Boiled | 20 | 1 00 | Salmon, fresh |Boiled | 8 | 1 45 | Sausage |Fried | 25 | 4 00 | Sausage |Broiled | 20 | 3 30 | Soup, vegetable |Boiled | 1 00 | 4 00 | Soup, chicken |Boiled | 2 00 | 3 00 | Soup, oyster or mutton |Boiled |[B]3 30 | 3 30 | Spinach |Boiled | 1-2 00 | 2 30 | Tapioca |Boiled | 1 30 | 2 00 | Tomatoes |Fresh | 1 00 | 2 30 | Tomatoes |Canned | 30 | 2 30 | Trout, salmon, fresh, boiled or|Fried | 30 | 1 30 | Turkey, boiled or |Roasted |[B] 20 | 2 30 | Turnips |Boiled | 45 | 3 30 | Veal |Broiled | 20 | 4 00 | Venison steak |Broiled | 20 | 1 35 | [Footnote A: Minutes to the pound.] [Footnote B: Mutton soup.] The time given is the general average; the time will vary slightly with the quality of the article. MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. USES OF AMMONIA. All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs and hats, in fact cleans everything it touches. A few drops of ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc., and does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning. Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left in it an hour or two before washing; and if a cupful is put into the water in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which the articles can be washed, and their great whiteness and clearness when dried, will be very gratifying. Remembering the small sum paid for three quarts of ammonia of common strength, one can easily see that no bleaching preparation can be more cheaply obtained. No articles in kitchen use are so likely to be neglected and abused as the dish-cloth and dish-towels; and in washing these, ammonia, if properly used, is a greater comfort than anywhere else. Put a teaspoonful into the water in which these cloths are, or should be, washed everyday; rub soap on the towels. Put them in the water; let them stand half an hour or so; then rub them out thoroughly, rinse faithfully, and dry outdoors in clear air and sun, and dish-cloths and towels need never look gray and dingy--a perpetual discomfort to all housekeepers. A dark carpet often looks dusty soon after it has been swept, and you know it does not need sweeping again; so wet a cloth or a sponge, wring it almost dry, and wipe off the dust. A few drops of ammonia in the water will brighten the colors. For cleaning hair-brushes it is excellent; put a tablespoonful into the water, having it only tepid, and dip up and down until clean; then dry with the brushes down and they will be like new ones. When employed in washing anything that is not especially soiled, use the waste water afterward for the house plants that are taken down from their usual position and immersed in the tub of water. Ammonia is a fertilizer, and helps to keep healthy the plants it nourishes. In every way, in fact, ammonia is the housekeeper's friend. Ammonia is not only useful for cleaning, but as a household medicine. Half a teaspoonful taken in half a tumbler of water is far better for faintness than alcoholic stimulants. In the Temperance Hospital in London, it is used with the best results. It was used freely by Lieutenant Greely's Arctic party for keeping up circulation. It is a relief in nervousness, headache and heart disturbances. TO DESTROY INSECTS AND VERMIN. Dissolve two pounds of alum in three or four quarts of water. Let it remain over night till all the alum is dissolved. Then with a brush, apply boiling hot to every joint or crevice in the closet or shelves where croton bugs, ants, cockroaches, etc., intrude; also to the joints and crevices of bedsteads, as bed bugs dislike it as much as croton bugs, roaches, or ants. Brush all the cracks in the floor and mop-boards. Keep it boiling hot while using. To keep woolens and furs from moths, be sure that none are in the articles when they are put away; then take a piece of strong brown paper, with not a hole through which even a pin can enter. Put the article in it with several lumps of gum camphor between the folds; place this in a close box or trunk. Cover every joint with paper. A piece of cotton cloth, if thick and firm, will answer. Wherever a knitting-needle can pass, the parent moth can enter. Place pieces of camphor, cedar-wood, Russia leather, tobacco-leaves, whole cloves, or anything strongly aromatic, in the drawers or boxes where furs and other things to be preserved from moths are kept and they will never be harmed. Mice never get into drawers or trunks where gum camphor is placed. _Another Recipe_.--Mix half a pint of alcohol, the same quantity of turpentine and two ounces of camphor. Keep in a stone bottle and shake well before using. The clothes or furs are to be wrapped in linen, and crumbled-up pieces of blotting-paper dipped in the liquid to be placed in the box with them, so that it smells strong. This requires renewing but once a year. Another authority says that a positive, sure recipe is this: Mix equal quantities of pulverized borax, camphor gum and saltpetre together, making a powder. Sprinkle it dry under the edges of carpets, in drawers, trunks, etc., etc. It will also keep out all kinds of insects, if plentifully used. If the housekeeper will begin at the top of her house with a powder bellows and a large quantity of this fresh powder, and puff it thoroughly into every crack and crevice, whether or not there are croton bugs in them, to the very bottom of her house, special attention being paid to old furniture, closets, and wherever croton water is introduced, she will be freed from these torments. The operation may require a repetition, but the end is success. MOTHS IN CARPETS. If you fear that they are at work at the edge of the carpet, it will sometimes suffice to lay a wet towel, and press a hot flat-iron over it; but the best way is to take the carpet up, and clean it, and give a good deal of attention to the floor. Look in the cracks, and if you discover signs of moths, wash the floor with benzine, and scatter red pepper on it before putting the carpet lining down. Heavy carpets sometimes do not require taking up every year, unless in constant use. Take out the tacks from these, fold the carpets back, wash the floor in strong suds with a tablespoonful of borax dissolved in it. Dash with insect powder, or lay with tobacco leaves along the edge, and re-tack. Or use turpentine, the enemy of buffalo moths, carpet worms and other insects that injure and destroy carpets. Mix the turpentine with pure water in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls to three quarts of water, and then after the carpet has been well swept, go over each breadth carefully with a sponge dipped in the solution and wrung nearly dry. Change the water as often as it becomes dirty. The carpet will be nicely cleaned as well as disinfected. All moths can be kept away and the eggs destroyed by this means. Spots may be renovated by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and water. A good way to brighten a carpet is to put half a tumbler of spirits of turpentine in a basin of water, and dip your broom in it and sweep over the carpet once or twice and it will restore the color and brighten it up until you would think it new. Another good way to clean old carpets is to rub them over with meal; just dampen it a very little and rub the carpet with it and when perfectly dry, sweep over with meal. After a carpet is thoroughly swept, rub it with a cloth dipped in water and ammonia; it will brighten the colors and make it look like new. TO TAKE OUT MACHINE GREASE. Cold water, a tablespoonful of ammonia and soap, will take out machine grease where other means would not answer on account of colors running, etc. TO WASH FLANNELS. The first thing to consider in washing flannels so that they retain their size, is that the articles be _washed_ and _rinsed_ in water of the _same temperature_, that is, about as warm as the hands can bear, and not allowed to cool between. The water should be a strong suds. Bub through two soapy waters; wring them out, and put into plenty of clear, clean, warm water to rinse. Then into another of the same temperature, blued a little. Wring, shake them well and hang up. Do not take out of this warm water and hang out in a freezing air, as that certainly tends to shrink them. It is better to dry them in the house, unless the sun shines. They should dry _quickly_. Colored flannels should never be washed in the same water after white clothes, or they will be covered, when dry, with lint; better be washed in a water for themselves. In washing worsteds, such as merino dress goods, pursue the same course, only do not wring them hard; shake, hang them up and let drain. While a little damp, bring in and press smoothly on the wrong side with as hot an iron as can be used without scorching the goods. Flannels that have become yellow from being badly washed, may be nicely whitened by soaking them two or three hours in a lather made of one-quarter of a pound of soft soap, two tablespoonfuls of powdered borax and two tablespoonfuls of carbonate of ammonia, dissolved in five or six gallons of water. TO STARCH, FOLD AND IRON SHIRTS. To three tablespoonfuls of dry, fine starch allow a quart of water. First wet the starch smooth in a little cold water in a tin pan, put into it a little pinch of salt and a piece of enamel, or shirt polish the size of a bean, or a piece of clean tallow, or a piece of butter the size of a cranberry; pour over this a quart of _boiling_ water, stirring rapidly, placing it over the fire. Cook until clear, then remove it from the fire and set the pan in another of warm water to keep the starch warm. Turn the shirt wrong side out and dip the bosom in the hot starch as warm as the hands can bear the heat; rub the starch evenly through the linen, saturating it thoroughly; wring hard to make dry as possible. Starch the collar and wristbands the same way, then hang them out to dry. Three hours before ironing them, wet the bosom and cuffs in cold water, wring out, shake and fold, roll up tightly, wrap in a towel and let remain two or three hours. The back of the shirt should be ironed first by doubling it lengthwise through the centre, the wristbands may be ironed next, and both sides of the sleeves, then the collar band; now place a bosom board under the bosom and with a fresh clean napkin dampened a little, rub the bosom from the top toward the bottom, arranging and smoothing each plait neatly; then with a smooth, moderately-hot flat-iron, begin ironing from the top downward, pressing hard until the bosom becomes smooth, dry and glossy. Remove the bosom board and iron the front, fold both sides of the shirt towards the centre of the back, fold together below the bosom and hang on the bars to air. CLEANING OIL-CLOTHS. A dingy oil-cloth may be brightened by washing it with clear water with a little borax dissolved in it; wipe it with a flannel cloth that you have dipped into milk and then wring as dry as possible. TO CLEAN BLACK LACE. No. 1. A teaspoonful of gum arabic dissolved in one teacupful of boiling water; when cool, add half a teaspoonful of black ink; dip the lace and spread smoothly between the folds of a newspaper and press dry with book or the like. Lace shawls can be dressed over in this way, by pinning a sheet to the carpet and stretching the shawl upon that; or black lace can be cleaned the same as ribbon and silk. Take an old kid glove (black preferable), no matter how old, and boil it in a pint of water for a short time; then let it cool until the leather can be taken in the hand without burning; use the glove to sponge off the ribbon; if the ribbon is very dirty, dip it into water and draw through the fingers a few times before sponging. After cleaning, lay a piece of paper over the ribbon and iron; paper is better than cloth. The ribbon will look like new. TO CLEAN BLACK LACE. No. 2. Black laces of all kinds may be cleaned by alcohol. Throw them boldly into the liquid; churn them up and down till they foam; if very dusty, use the second dose of alcohol; squeeze them out, "spat" them, pull out the edges, lay them between brown paper, smooth and straight; leave under a heavy weight till dry; do not iron. TO WASH WHITE LACE. No. 1. First, the soiled laces should be carefully removed from the garment and folded a number of times, keeping the edges evenly together, then basted with a coarse thread without a knot in the end. Now put them in a basin of luke-warm suds. After soaking a half hour, rub them carefully between the hands, renewing the suds several times; then, after soaping them well, place them in _cold_ water and let them come to a scald. Take them from this and rinse them thoroughly in luke-warm water, blued a very little, then dip them into a _very thin,_ clear starch, allowing a teaspoonful of starch to a pint of water, so thin that it will be scarcely preceptible. Now roll them in a clean, fresh towel without taking out the bastings; let them lie for an hour or more, iron over several thicknesses of flannel, taking out the bastings of one piece at a time, and ironing on the wrong side, with a moderately-hot iron; the laces should be nearly dry, and the edges and points pulled gently with the fingers into shape, before ironing. TO WASH WHITE THREAD LACE. No. 2. To wash white lace, cover a bottle with linen, stitched smoothly to fit the shape. Wind the lace about it, basting both edges to the linen. Wash on the bottle, soaping and rinsing well, then boil in soft water. Dry in the sun. Clip the basting threads and do not iron. If carefully done it will look like new lace. TO CLEAN SILKS OR RIBBONS. Half a pint of gin, half a pound of honey, half a pound of soft soap, one-eighth of a pint of water. Mix the above ingredients together; then lay each breadth of silk upon a clean kitchen table or dresser, and scrub it well on the soiled side with the mixture. Have ready three vessels of cold water; take each piece of silk at two corners, and dip it up and down in each vessel, but do not wring it; and take care that each breadth has one vessel of quite clean water for the last dip. Hang it up dripping for a minute or two, then dab in a cloth, and iron it quickly with a very hot iron. Where the lace or silk is very much soiled, it is best to pass them through a warm liquor of bullock's gall and water; rinse in cold water; then take a small piece of glue, pour boiling water on it, and pass the veil through it, clap it, and frame to dry. Instead of framing, it may be fastened with drawing-pins closely fixed upon a very clean paste, or drawing-board. TO CLEAN BLACK DRESS SILKS. One of the things "not generally known," at least in this country, is the Parisian method of cleaning black silk; the _modus operandi_ is very simple, and the result infinitely superior to that achieved in any other manner. The silk must be thoroughly brushed and wiped with a cloth, then laid flat on a board or table, and well sponged with hot coffee, thoroughly freed from sediment by being strained through muslin. The silk is sponged on the side intended to show; it is allowed to become partially dry, and then ironed on the wrong side. The coffee removes every particle of grease, and restores the brilliancy of silk, without imparting to it either the shiny appearance or crackly and papery stiffness obtained by beer, or, indeed, any other liquid. The silk really appears thickened by the process, and this good effect is permanent. Our readers who will experimentalize on an apron or cravat, will never again try any other method. TO WASH FEATHERS. Wash in warm soap-suds and rinse in water a very little blued; if the feather is white, then let the wind dry it. When the curl has come out by washing the feather or getting it damp, place a hot flat-iron so that you can hold the feather just above it while curling. Take a bone or silver knife, and draw the fibres of the feather between the thumb and the dull edge of the knife, taking not more than three fibres at a time, beginning at the point of the feather and curling one-half the other way. The hot iron makes the curl more durable. After a little practice one can make them look as well as new feathers. Or they can be curled by holding them over the stove or range, not near enough to burn; withdraw and shake out; then hold them over again until they curl. When swansdown becomes soiled, it can be washed and look as good as new. Tack strips on a piece of muslin and wash in warm water with white soap, then rinse and hang in the wind to dry. Rip from the muslin and rub carefully between the fingers to soften the leather. INCOMBUSTIBLE DRESSES. By putting an ounce of alum or sal ammoniac in the _last_ water in which muslins or cottons are rinsed, or a similar quantity in the starch in which they are stiffened, they will be rendered almost uninflammable; or, at least, will with difficulty take the fire, and if they do, will burn without flame. It is astonishing that this simple precaution is so rarely adopted. Remember this and save the lives of your children. HOW TO FRESHEN UP FURS. Furs when taken out in the fall are often found to have a mussed, crushed-out appearance. They can be made to look like new, by following these simple directions: Wet the fur with a hair-brush, brushing up the wrong way of the fur. Leave it to dry in the air for about half an hour, and then give it a good beating on the right side with a rattan. After beating it, comb it with a coarse comb, combing up the right way of the fur. NOVEL DRESS MENDING. A novel way of mending a woolen or silk dress in which a round hole has been torn, and where only a patch could remedy matters, is the following: The frayed portions around the tear should be carefully smoothed, and a piece of the material, moistened with very thin muscilage, placed under the hole. A heavy weight should be put upon it until it is dry, when it is only possible to discover the mended place by careful observation. TO RENEW OLD CRAPE. Place a little water in a tea-kettle, and let it boil until there is plenty of steam from the spout; then, holding the crape in both hands, pass it to and fro several times through the steam, and it will be clean and look nearly equal to new. TO RAISE THE PILE ON VELVET. To raise the pile on velvet, put on a table two pieces of wood; place between them, bottom side up, three very hot flat-irons, and over them lay a wet cloth; hold the velvet over the cloth, with the wrong side down; when thoroughly steamed, brush the pile with a light wisp, and the velvet will look as good as new. TO CLEAN KID GLOVES. Make a thick mucilage by boiling a handful of flax-seed; add a little dissolved toilet soap; then, when the mixture cools, put the gloves on the hands and rub them with a piece of white flannel wet with the mixture. Do not wet the gloves through. Or take a fine, clean, soft cloth, dip it into a little sweet milk, then rub it on a cake of soap, and rub the gloves with it; they will, look like new. Another good way to clean any color of kid gloves is to pour a little benzine into a basin and wash the gloves in it, rubbing and squeezing them until clean. If much soiled, they must be washed through clean benzine, and rinsed in a fresh supply. Hang up in the air to dry. STARCH POLISH. Take one ounce of spermaceti and one ounce of white wax; melt and run it into a thin cake on a plate. A piece the size of a quarter dollar added to a quart of prepared starch gives a beautiful lustre to the clothes and prevents the iron from sticking. FOR CLEANING JEWELRY. For cleaning jewelry there is nothing better than ammonia and water. If very dull or dirty, rub a little soap on a soft brush and brush them in this wash, rinse in cold water, dry first in an old handkerchief and then rub with buck or chamois skin. Their freshness and brilliancy when thus cleaned cannot be surpassed by any compound used by jewelers. TO CLEAN SILVER PLATE. Wash well in strong, warm soap-suds, rinse and wipe dry with a dry soft cloth; then mix as much hartshorn powder as will be required into a thick paste, with cold water; spread this over the silver, with a soft cloth, and leave it for a little time to dry. When perfectly dry brush it off with a clean soft cloth, or brush and polish it with a piece of chamois skin. Hartshorn is one of the best possible ingredients for plate powder for daily use. It leaves on the silver a deep, dark polish, and at the same time does not injure it. Whiting, dampened with liquid ammonia, is excellent also. TO REMOVE STAINS FROM MARBLE. Mix together one-half pound of soda, one-half pound of soft soap and one pound of whiting. Boil them until they become as thick as paste, and let it cool. Before it is quite cold, spread it over the surface of the marble and leave it at least a whole day. Use soft water to wash it off, and rub it well with soft cloths. For a black marble, nothing it better than spirits of turpentine. Another paste answers the same purpose: Take two parts of soda, one of pumice stone and one of finely-powdered chalk. Sift these through a fine sieve and mix them into a paste with water. Rub this well all over the marble and the stains will be removed; then wash it with soap and water and a beautiful bright polish will be produced. TO WHITEN WALLS. To whiten walls, scrape off all the old whitewash, and wash the walls with a solution of two ounces of white vitriol to four gallons of water. Soak a quarter of a pound of white glue in water for twelve hours; strain and place in a tin pail in a kettle of boiling water. When melted, stir in the glue eight pounds of whiting and water enough to make it as thick as common whitewash. Apply evenly with a good brush. If the walls are very yellow, blue the water slightly by squeezing in it a flannel blue-bag. Before kalsomining a wall all cracks should be plastered over. Use plaster of Paris. Kalsomine may be colored easily by mixing with it yellow ochre, Spanish brown, indigo; squeeze through a bag into the water, etc. PAPER-HANGERS' PASTE. To make paper-hangers' paste, beat up four pounds of good, white wheat flour (well sifted previously) in sufficient cold water to form a stiff batter. Beat it well in order to take out all lumps, and then add enough cold water to make the mixture of the consistency of pudding batter. To this add about two ounces of well-pounded alum. Pour gently and quickly over the batter boiling water, stirring rapidly at the same time, and when it is seen to lose the white color of the flour, it is cooked and ready. Do not use it, however, while hot, but allow it to cool. Pour about a pint of cold water over the top to prevent a skin from forming. Before using, the paste should be thinned by the addition of cold water. TO WASH COLORED GARMENTS. Delicately colored socks and stockings are apt to fade in washing. If they are soaked for a night in a pail of tepid water containing a half pint of turpentine, then wrung out and dried, the colors will "set," and they can afterwards be washed without fading. For calicoes that fade, put a teaspoonful of sugar of lead into a pailful of water and soak the garment fifteen minutes before washing. THE MARKING SYSTEM. Mark all your own personal wardrobe which has to be washed. If this were invariably done, a great deal of property would be saved and a great deal of trouble would be spared. For the sake of saving trouble to others, if for no other reason, all of one's handkerchiefs, collars and underclothing should be plainly and permanently marked. A bottle of indelible ink is cheap, a clean pen still cheaper, and a bright, sunny day or a hot flat-iron will complete the business. Always keep on hand a stick of linen tape, written over its whole length with your name, or the names of your family, ready to be cut off and sewed on to stockings and such other articles as do not afford a good surface on which to mark. Then there are the paper patterns, of which every mother has a store. On the outside of each, as it is tied up, the name of the pattern should be plainly written. There are the rolls of pieces, which may contain a good deal not apparent from the outside. All these hidden mysteries should be indicated. The winter things, which are wrapped up and put away for summer, and the summer things, which are wrapped up and put away for the winter, should all be in labeled packages, and every packing trunk should have on its lid a complete list of its contents. _Congregationalist_ TO REMOVE STAINS AND SPOTS. Children's clothes, table linens, towels, etc., should be thoroughly examined before wetting, as soap-suds, washing-fluids, etc., will fix almost any stain past removal. Many stains will pass away by being simply washed in pure, soft water; or alcohol will remove, before the article has been in soap-suds, many stains; iron mold, mildew, or almost any similar spot, can be taken out by dipping in diluted citric acid; then cover with salt and lay in the bright sun till the stain disappears. If of long standing, it may be necessary to repeat the wetting and the sunlight. Be careful to rinse in several waters as soon as the stain is no longer visible. Ink, fruit, wine, and mildew stains must first be washed in clear, cold water, removing as much of the spots as can be, then mix one teaspoonful of oxalic acid and a half pint of rain-water. Dip the stain in this and wipe off in clear water. Wash at once, if a fabric that will bear washing. A tablespoonful of white currant juice, if any can be had, is even better than lemon. This preparation may be used on the most delicate articles without injury. Shake it up before using it. Mark it "poison," and put it where it will not be meddled with. OIL STAINS IN SILKS AND OTHER FABRICS. Benzine is most effectual, not only for silk, but for any other material whatever. It can be procured from any druggist. By simply covering both sides of greased silk with magnesia, and allowing it to remain for a few hours, the oil is absorbed by the powder. Should the first application be insufficient, it may be repeated, and even rubbed in with the hand. Should the silk be Tussah or Indian silk, it will wash. To remove an acid stain on violet silk: Brush the discoloration with tincture of iodine, then saturate the spot well with a solution of hyposulphite of soda, and dry gradually. This restores the original color perfectly. Muriatic acid is successfully used for removing ink stains and iron mold on a number of colors which it does not attack. Sulphurous acid is only employed for whitening undyed goods, straw hats, etc., and for removing the stains of certain fruits on silks and woolens. Sulphurous gas is also used for this purpose, but the liquid gas is safer. Oxalic acid is used for removing ink and rust stains, and remnants of mud stains, which do not yield to other deterrents. It may also be used for destroying the stains of fruits and astringent juices, and old stains of urine. However, its use is limited to white goods, as it attacks fugitive colors and even light shades of those reputed to be fast. The best method of applying it is to dissolve it in cold or luke-warm water, to let it remain a moment upon the spot, and then rub it with the fingers. Wash out in clear, warm water immediately. Citric acid serves to revive and brighten certain colors, especially greens and yellows. It restores scarlets which have been turned to a crimson by the action of alkalies. Acetic acid or tartaric acid may be used instead. Where it is feared that soap may change the color of an article, as, for instance, scarlet hosiery or lilac print, if the garment be not badly soiled, it may be cleansed by washing without soap in water in which pared potatoes have been boiled. This method will also prevent color from running in washing prints. To prevent blue from running into a white ground, dissolve a teaspoonful of copperas in a pailful of soft water, add a piece of lime the size of an acorn, and soak the garments in this water two hours before washing. To keep colors from running in washing black prints, put a teaspoon of black pepper in the first water. Salt or beef's gall in the water helps to set black. A tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine to a gallon of water sets most blues, and alum is very efficacious in setting green. Black or very dark calicoes should be stiffened with gum arabic--five cents' worth is enough for a dress. If, however, starch is used, the garment should be turned wrong side out. A simple way to remove grass stains is to spread butter on them, and lay the article in hot sunshine, or wash in alcohol. Fruit stains upon cloth or the hands may be removed by rubbing with the juice of ripe tomatoes. If applied immediately, powdered starch will also take fruit stains out of table linen. Left on the spot for a few hours, it absorbs every trace of the stain. For mildew stains or iron rust, mix together soft soap, laundry starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon. Apply to the spots and spread the garment on the grass. Or wet the linen, rub into it white soap, then finely powdered chalk; lay upon the grass and keep damp. Old mildew stains may be removed by rubbing yellow soap on both sides and afterwards laying on, very thick, starch which has been dampened. Rub in well and expose to light and air. There are several effectual methods of removing grease from cloths. First, wet with a linen cloth dipped in chloroform. Second, mix four tablespoonfuls of alcohol with one tablespoonful of salt; shake together until the salt is dissolved and apply with a sponge. Third, wet with weak ammonia water; then lay a thin white blotting or tissue paper over it and iron lightly with an iron not too hot. Fourth, apply a mixture of equal parts of alcohol, gin and ammonia. Candle grease yields to a warm iron. Place a piece of blotting or other absorbing paper under the absorbing fabric; put a piece of the paper also on the spot, apply the warm iron to the paper and as soon as a spot of grease appears, move the paper and press again until the spot disappears. Lard will remove wagon grease. Rub the spot with the lard as if washing it, and when it is well out, wash in the ordinary way with soap and water until thoroughly cleansed. To make linen beautifully white, prepare the water for washing by putting into every ten gallons a large handful of powdered borax or boil with the clothes one teaspoonful of spirits of turpentine. Fruit stains may be taken out by boiling water. Place the material over a basin or other vessel and pour the boiling water from the kettle over the stains. Pure water, cold or hot, mixed with acids, serves for rinsing goods in order to remove foreign and neutral bodies which cover the color. Steam softens fatty matters and thus facilitates their removal by reagents. Sulphuric acid may be used in certain cases, particularly for brightening and raising greens, reds, yellows, etc., but it must be diluted with at least one hundred times its weight of water and more in cases of delicate shades. CEMENT FOR CHINA AND GLASS. To half a pint of milk put an equal quantity of vinegar in order to curdle it; then separate the curd from the whey and mix the whey with the whites of four or five eggs, beating the whole well together. When it is well-mixed, add a little quick-lime, through a sieve, until it has acquired the consistency of a thick paste. With this cement broken vessels and cracks of all kinds may be mended. It dries quickly and resists the action of fire and water. Another: Into a thick solution of gum arabic, stir plaster of Paris until the mixture assumes the consistency of cream; apply with a brush to the broken edges of china and join together. In three days the article cannot be broken in the same place. The whiteness of the cement adds to its value. CLEANING SINKS. To purify greasy sinks and pipes, pour down a pailful of boiling water in which three or four pounds of washing soda have been dissolved. A disinfectant is prepared in the same way, using copperas. Copperas is a poison and should not be left about. _Leaks in Waste Pipes:_--Shut yourself into a room from which the pipe starts. Put two or three ounces of oil of peppermint into a pail of boiling hot water and pour down the pipe. Another person who has not yet inhaled the strong odor should follow the course of the pipe through the house. The peppermint will be pretty sure to discover a break that even an expert plumber might overlook. _The Examiner._ MANAGEMENT OF STOVES. If the fire in a stove has plenty of fresh coals on top not yet burned through it will need only a little shaking to start it up; but if the fire looks dying and the coals look white, don't shake it. When it has drawn till it is red again, if there is much ash and little fire, put coals on very carefully. A mere handful of fire can be coaxed back into life by adding another handful or so of new coals on the red spot, and giving plenty of draught, but don't shake a dying fire, or you lose it. This management is often necessary after a warm spell, when the stove has been kept dormant for days, though I hope you will not be so unfortunate as to have a fire to coax up on a cold winter morning. They should be arranged over night, so that all that is required is to open the draughts in order to have a cherry glow in a few minutes. _Good Housekeeping_ TO REMOVE INK FROM CARPETS. When freshly spilled, ink can be removed from carpets by wetting in milk. Take cotton batting and soak up all the ink that it will receive, being careful not to let it spread. Then take fresh cotton, wet in milk, and sop it up carefully. Repeat this operation, changing cotton and milk each time. After most of the ink has been taken up in this way, with fresh cotton and clean, rub the spot. Continue till all disappears; then wash the spot in clean warm water and a little soap; rinse in clear water and rub till nearly dry. If the ink is dried in, we know of no way that will not take the color from the carpet as well as the ink, unless the ink is on a white spot. In that case, salts of lemon, or soft soap, starch and lemon juice, will remove the ink as easily as if on cotton. TO TAKE RUST OUT OF STEEL. If possible, place the article in a bowl containing kerosene oil, or wrap the steel up in a soft cloth well saturated with kerosene; let it remain twenty-four hours or longer, then scour the rusty spots with brick dust; if badly rusted, use salt wet with hot vinegar; after scouring rinse every particle of brick dust or salt off with boiling hot water; dry thoroughly with flannel cloths and place near the fire to make sure, then polish off with a clean flannel cloth and a little sweet oil. TO MAKE A PASTE OR MUCILAGE TO FASTEN LABLES. Soften good glue in water, then boil it with strong vinegar and thicken the liquid, during boiling, with fine wheat flour, so that a paste results; or starch paste with which a little Venice turpentine has been incorporated while it was warm. A recipe for a transparent cement which possesses great tenacity and has not the slightest yellow tinge: Mix in a well-stoppered bottle ten drachms of chloroform with ten and one-half of non-vulcanized caoutchouc (rubber) cut in small pieces. Solution is readily effected and when it is completed add two and one-half drachms of mastic. Let the whole macerate from eight to ten days without the application of any heat and shake the contents of the bottle at intervals. A perfectly white and very adhesive cement is the result. POSTAGE STAMP MUCILAGE. Take of gum dextrine two parts, acetic acid one part, water five parts. Dissolve in a water bath and add alcohol one part. _Scientific American._ Gum of great strength, which will also keep for a long time, is prepared by dissolving equal parts of gum arabic and gum tragacanth in vinegar. A little vinegar added to ordinary gum water will make it keep much better. FAMILY GLUE. Crack the glue and put it in a bottle, add common whisky; shake up, cork tight, and in three or four days it can be used. It requires no heating, will keep for almost any length of time, and is at all times, ready to use, except in the coldest of weather, when it will require warming. It must be kept tight, so that the whisky will not evaporate. The usual corks or stoppers should not be used. It will become clogged. A tin stopper covering the bottle, but fitting as closely as possible, must be used. GLUE. Glue to resist _heat_ and _moisture_ is made as follows: Mix a handful of quick-lime in four ounces of linseed oil, boil to a good thickness, then spread it on tin plates in the shade, and it will become very hard, but may be easily dissolved over the fire as glue. A glue which will resist the action of water is made by boiling one pound of common glue in two quarts of skimmed milk. FURNITURE CREAM. Shred finely two ounces of beeswax and half an ounce of white wax into half a pint of turpentine; set in a warm place until dissolved, then pour over the mixture the following, boiled together until melted: Half a pint of water, an ounce of castile soap and a piece or resin the size of a small nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and keep in a wide-necked stone bottle for use. This cleans well and leaves a good polish, and may be made at a fourth of the price it is sold at. CEMENT CRACKS IN FLOOR. Cracks in floors may be neatly but permanently filled by thoroughly soaking newspapers in paste made of half a pound of flour, three quarts of water and half a pound of alum mixed and boiled. The mixture will be about as thick as putty, and may be forced into the crevice with a case knife. It will harden like papier-mache. A POLISH FOR LADIES' KID SHOES. A fine liquid polish for ladies' kid shoes, satchels, etc., that is easy of application, recommended as containing no ingredients in any manner injurious to leather, is found by digesting in a closed vessel at gentle heat, and straining, a solution made as follows: Lampblack one drachm, oil turpentine four drachms, alcohol (trymethyl) twelve ounces, shellac one and one-half ounces, white turpentine five drachms, saudarac two drachms. PASTE FOR SCRAP BOOKS, ETC. _Paste that Will Keep_.--Dissolve a teaspoonful of alum in a quart of water. When cold, stir in flour, to give it the consistency of thick cream, being particular to beat up all the lumps. Stir in as much powdered resin as will lie on a dime, and throw in half a dozen cloves to give it a pleasant odor. Have on the fire a teacupful of boiling water; pour the flour mixture into it, stirring well all the time. In a few minutes it will be of the consistency of molasses. Pour it into an earthen or china vessel, let it cool, and stir in a small teaspoonful each of oil of cloves and of sassafras; lay a cover on, and put in a cool place. When needed for use, take out a portion and soften it with warm water. This is a fine paste to use to stiffen embroidery. TO REMOVE INDELIBLE INK. Most indelible inks contain nitrate of silver, the stain of which may be removed by first soaking in a solution of common salt, and afterward washing with ammonia. Or use solution of ten grains of cyanide of potassium and five grains of iodine to one ounce of water, or a solution of eight parts each bichloride of mercury and chloride of ammonium in one hundred and twenty-five parts of water. A CEMENT FOR ACIDS. A cement which is proof against boiling acids may be made by a composition of India rubber, tallow, lime and red lead. The India rubber must first be melted by a gentle heat, and then six to eight per cent by weight of tallow is added to the mixture while it is kept well stirred; next day slaked lime is applied, until the fluid mass assumes a consistency similar to that of soft paste; lastly, twenty per cent of red lead is added in order to make it harden and dry. TO KEEP CIDER. Allow three-fourths of a pound of sugar to the gallon, the whites of six eggs, well beaten, a handful of common salt. Leave it open until fermentation ceases, then bung up. This process a dealer of cider has used for years, and always successfully. _Another Recipe_.--To keep cider sweet allow it to work until it has reached the state most desirable to the taste, and then add one and a half tumblers of grated horse-radish to each barrel, and shake up well. This arrests further fermentation. After remaining a few weeks, rack off and bung up closely in clean casks. A gentleman of Denver writes he has a sure preservative: Put eight gallons of cider at a time into a clean barrel; take one ounce of powdered charcoal and one ounce of powdered sulphur; mix and put it into some iron vessel that will go down through the bung-hole of the barrel. Now put a piece of red-hot iron into the charcoal and sulphur, and while it is burning, lower it through the bung-hole to within one foot of the cider, and suspend it there by a piece of wire. Bring it up and in twelve hours you can cure another batch. Put the cider in a tight barrel and keep in a cool cellar and it will keep for years. _A Holland Recipe_.--To one quart of new milk, fresh from the cow (not strained), add one half pound of ground black mustard seed and six eggs. Beat the whole well together and pour into a barrel of cider. It will keep cider sweet for one year or more. TO BLEACH COTTON CLOTH. Take one large spoonful of sal soda and one pound of chloride lime for thirty yards; dissolve in clean, soft water; rinse the cloth thoroughly in cold, soft water so that it may not rot. This amount of cloth may be bleached in fourteen or fifteen minutes. A POLISH FOR LEATHER. Put a half-pound of shellac broken up in small pieces into a quart bottle or jug, cover it with alcohol, cork it tight, and put it on the shelf in a warm place; shake it well several times a day, then add a piece of camphor as large as a hen's egg; shake it well, and in a few hours shake it again and add one ounce of lampblack. If the alcohol is good, it will all be dissolved in two days; then shake and use. If the materials were of the proper kind, the polish correctly prepared, it will dry in about five minutes, giving a gloss equal to patent leather. Using aniline dyes instead of the lampblack, you can have it any desired color, and it can be used on wood or hard paper. TO SOFTEN WATER. Add half a pound of the best quick-lime dissolved in water to every hundred gallons. Smaller proportions may be more conveniently managed, and if allowed to stand a short time the lime will have united with the carbonate of lime, and been deposited at the bottom of the receptacle. Another way is to put a gallon of lye into a barrelful of water, or two or three shovelfuls of wood-ashes, let stand over night; it will be clear and soft. WASHING FLUID. One gallon of water and four pounds of ordinary washing soda, and a quarter of a pound of soda. Heat the water to boiling hot, put in the soda, boil about five minutes, then pour it over two pounds of unslaked lime, let it bubble and foam until it settles, turn it off and bottle it for use. This is the article that is used in the Chinese laundries for whitening their linen, and is called "Javelle water;" a tablespoonful put into a suds of three gallons, and a little, say a quarter of a cupful, in the boiler when boiling the clothes, makes them very white and clear. Must be well rinsed afterwards. This preparation will remove tea stains and almost all ordinary stains of fruit, grass, etc. This fluid brightens the colors of colored clothes, does not rot them, but should not be _left long in any water_; the boiling, sudsing, rinsing and bluing, should be done in quick succession, until the clothes are ready to hang on the line. HARD SOAP. (Washing.) Six pounds of washing soda and three of unslaked lime. Pour on four gallons of boiling water, let it stand until perfectly clear, then drain off, and put in six pounds of clean fat. Boil it until it begins to harden, about two hours, stirring most of the time. While boiling, thin it with two gallons of cold water, which you have previously poured on the alkaline mixture, after draining off the four gallons. This must be settled clear before it is drawn off. Add it when there is danger of boiling over. Try the thickness by cooling a little on a plate. Put in a handful of salt just before taking from the fire. Wet a tub to prevent sticking; turn in the soap and let it stand until solid. Cut into bars, put on a board and let it dry. This makes about forty pounds of soap. It can be flavored just as you turn it out. SOAP FOR WASHING WITHOUT RUBBING. A soap to clean clothes without rubbing: Take two pounds of sal soda, two pounds of common bar soap and ten quarts of water. Cut the soap in thin slices and boil together two hours; strain and it will be fit for use. Put the clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pailful of water in which you boil them add a pound of soap. They will need no rubbing, but merely rinsing. TO MAKE SOFT SOAP WITHOUT COOKING. Pour two pailfuls of boiling water upon twenty pounds of potash and let it stand two hours. Have ready thirty pounds of clean grease, upon which pour one pailful of the lye, adding another pail of water to the potash; let it stand three or four hours, stir it well; then pour a gallon of the lye upon the grease, stir it well; and in half an hour another gallon of the lye, stir it thoroughly; in half an hour repeat the process, and thus proceed until you have poured off all the lye; then add two pails of boiling hot water to the remainder of the potash, and let it stand ten hours; then stir the mixture, and if it has become stiff and the grease has disappeared from the surface, take out a little and see whether the weak lye will thicken it; if it does, add the lye; if it does not, try water, and if that thickens it, let it stand another day, stirring it well five or six times during the day; if the lye does not separate from the grease you may fill up with water. OLD-STYLE FAMILY SOFT SOAP. To _set the leach_, bore several holes in the bottom of a barrel, or use one without a bottom; prepare a board larger than the barrel, then set the barrel on it, and cut a groove around just outside the barrel, making one groove from this to the edge of the board, to carry off the lye as it runs off, with a groove around it, running into one in the centre of the board. Place all two feet from the ground and tip it so that the lye may run easily from the board into the vessel below prepared to receive it. Put half bricks or stones around the edge of the inside of the barrel; place on them one end of some sticks about two inches wide, inclining to the centre; on those place some straw to the depth of two inches, over it scatter two pounds of slaked lime. Put in ashes, about half of a bushel at a time, pack it well, by pounding it down, and continue doing so until the barrel is full, leaving a funnel-shaped hollow in the centre large enough to hold several quarts of water. Use rain-water boiling hot. Let the water disappear before adding more. If the ashes are packed very _tightly_ it may require two or three days before the lye will begin to run, but it will be the stronger for it, and much better. _To Make Boiled Soft Soap_.--Put in a kettle the grease consisting of all kinds of fat that has accumulated in the kitchen, such as scraps and bones from the soup-kettle, rinds from meat, etc.; fill the kettle half full; if there is too much grease it can be skimmed off after the soap is cold, for another kettle of soap. This is the only true test when enough grease is used, as the lye will consume all that is needed and no more. Make a fire under one side of it. The kettle should be in an out-house or out of doors. Let it heat very hot so as to fry; stir occasionally to prevent burning. Now put in the lye a gallon at a time, watching it closely until it boils, as it sometimes runs over at the beginning. Add lye until the kettle is full enough, but not _too full to boil well_. Soap should boil from the _side_ and not the middle, as this would be more likely to cause it to boil over. To test the soap, to one spoonful of soap add one of rain-water; if it stirs up very thick, the soap is good and will keep; if it becomes thinner, it is not good. This is the result of one of three causes, either it is too weak, or there is a deposit of dirt or it is too strong. Continue to boil for a few hours, when it should flow from the stick with which it is stirred like thick molasses; but if after boiling it remains thin, let it stand over night, removing it from the fire, then drain it off very carefully into another vessel, being very particular to prevent any sediment from passing. Wash the kettle, return the soap and boil again, if dirt was the cause; it will now be thick and good; otherwise if it was _too strong_, rain-water added will make it right, adding the water gradually until right and just thick enough. [Illustration] FACTS WORTH KNOWING. _An Agreeable Disinfectant:_--Sprinkle fresh ground coffee on a shovel of hot coals, or burn sugar on hot coals. Vinegar boiled with myrrh, sprinkled on the floor and furniture of a sick room, is an excellent deodorizer. _To Prevent Mold:_--A small quantity of carbolic acid added to paste, mucilage and ink, will prevent mold. An ounce of the acid to a gallon of whitewash will keep cellars and dairies from the disagreeable odor which often taints milk and meat kept in such places. _To Make Tracing-Paper:_--Dissolve a ball of white beeswax, one inch in diameter, in half a pint of turpentine. Saturate the paper in this bath and let it dry two or three days before using. _To Preserve Brooms:_--Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and pliable. A carpet wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in this manner. _To Clean Brass-Ware, etc.:_--Mix one ounce of oxalic acid, six ounces of rotten stone, all in powder, one ounce of sweet oil, and sufficient water to make a paste. Apply a small portion, and rub dry with a flannel or leather. The liquid dip most generally used consists of nitric and sulphuric acids; but this is more corrosive. _Polish or Enamel for Shirt Bosoms_ is made by melting together one ounce of white wax, and two ounces of spermaceti; heat gently and turn into a very shallow pan; when cold cut or break in pieces. When making boiled starch the usual way, enough for a dozen bosoms, add to it a piece of the polish the size of a hazel nut. _An Erasive Fluid for the Removal of Spots on Furniture_, and all kinds of fabrics, without injuring the color, is made of four ounces of aqua ammonia, one ounce of glycerine, one ounce of castile soap and one of spirits of wine. Dissolve the soap in two quarts of soft water, add the other ingredients. Apply with a soft sponge and rub out. Very good for deaning silks. _To Remove the Odor of Onion_ from fish-kettle and saucepans in which they have been cooked, put wood-ashes or sal soda, potash or lye; fill with water and let it stand on the stove until it boils; then wash in hot suds, and rinse well. _To Clean Marble Busts:_--First free them from all dust, then wash them with very weak hydrochloric acid. Soap injures the color of marble. _To Remove old Putty from Window Frames_, pass a red hot poker slowly over it and it will come off easily. _Hanging Pictures:_--The most safe material and also the best, is copper wire, of the size proportioned to the weight of the picture. When hung the wire is scarcely visible, and its strength is far superior to cord. _To Keep Milk Sweet:--_Put into a panful a spoonful of grated horse-radish, it will keep it sweet for days. _To Take Rust from Steel Implements or Knives:--_Rub them well with kerosene oil, leaving them covered with it a day or so; then rub them hard and well with finely powdered unslaked lime. _Poison Water:--_Water boiled in galvanized iron becomes poisonous, and cold water passed through zinc-lined iron pipes should never be used for cooking or drinking. Hot water for cooking should never be taken from hot water pipes; keep a supply heated in kettles. _Scouring Soap for Cotton and Silk Goods:_--Mix one pound of common soap, half a pound of beef-gall and one ounce and a half of Venetian turpentine. _A Paint for Wood or Stone that Resists all Moisture:_--Melt twelve ounces of resin; mix with it, thoroughly, six gallons of fish oil and one pound of melted sulphur. Rub up some ochre or any other coloring substance with a little linseed oil, enough to give it the right, color and thickness. Apply several coats of the hot composition with a brush. The first coat should be very thin. _To Ventilate a Room:_--Place a pitcher of cold water on a table in your room and it will absorb all the gases with which the room is filled from the respiration of those eating or sleeping in the apartment. Very few realize how important such purification is for the health of the family, or, indeed, understand or realize that there can be any impurity in the rooms; yet in a few hours a pitcher or pail of cold water--the colder the more effective--will make the air of a room pure, but the water will be entirely unfit for use. _To Fill Cracks in Plaster:_--Use vinegar instead of water to mix your plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not "set" for twenty or thirty minutes; whereas, if you use water the plaster will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it. Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife. _To Take Spots from Wash Goods:_--Rub them with the yolk of egg before washing. _To Take White Spots from Varnished Furniture:_--Hold a hot stove lid or plate over them and they will soon disappear. _To Prevent Oil from Becoming Rancid:_--Drop a few drops of ether into the bottle containing it. _Troublesome Ants:_--A heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from your sugar box and all around (there must be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants from troubling. _To Make Tough Meat Tender:_--Lay it a few minutes in a strong vinegar water. _To Remove Discoloration from Bruises:_--Apply a cloth wrung out in very hot water, and renew frequently until the pain ceases. Or apply raw beefsteak. _A Good Polish for Removing Stains, Spots and Mildew from Furniture_ is made as follows: Take half a pint of ninety-eight per cent, alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverized resin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil; shake well and apply with a brush or sponge. _To Remove Finger-Marks:_--Sweet oil will remove finger-marks from varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture. _To Remove Paint from Black Silk:_--Patient rubbing with chloroform will remove paint from black silk or any other goods, and will not hurt the most delicate color or fabric. _To Freshen Gilt Frames:_--Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dusting them, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whites of three eggs. Scraped patches might be touched tip with any gold paint. Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oil paintings; other methods should not be employed without some skill. _To Destroy Moths in Furniture:_--All the baking and steaming are useless, as, although the moths may be killed, their eggs are sure to hatch, and the upholstery to be well riddled. The naphtha-bath process is effectual. A sofa, chair or lounge may be immersed in the large vats used for the purpose, and all insect life will be absolutely destroyed. No egg ever hatches after passing through the naphtha-bath; all oil, dirt or grease disappears, and not the slightest damage is done to the most costly article. Sponging with naphtha will not answer. It is the immersion for two hours or more in the specially prepared vats which is effectual. _Slicing Pineapples:_--The knife used for peeling a pineapple should not be used for slicing it, as the rind contains an acid that is apt to cause a swollen mouth and sore lips. The Cubans use salt as an antidote for the ill effects of the peel. _To Clean Iron Sinks:_--Rub them well with a cloth wet with kerosene oil. _To Erase Discoloration on Stone China:_--Dishes and cups that are used for baking custards, puddings, etc., that require scouring, may be easily cleaned by rubbing with a damp cloth dipped in whiting or "Sapolio," then washed as usual. _To Remove Ink, Wine or Fruit Stains:_--Saturate well in tomato juice; it is also an excellent thing to remove stains from the hands. _To Set Colors in Washable Goods:_--Soak them previous to washing in a water in which is allowed a tablespoonful of ox-gall to a gallon of water. _To Take out Paint:_--Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine will take paint out of clothing, no matter how dry or hard it may be. Saturate the spot two or three times, then wash out in soap-suds. Ten cents' worth of oxalic acid dissolved in a pint of hot water will remove paint spots from the windows. Pour a little into a cup, and apply to the spots with a swab, but be sure not to allow the acid to touch the hands. Brasses may be quickly cleaned with it. Great care must be exercised in labeling the bottle, and putting it out of the reach of children, as it is a deadly poison. _To Remove Tar from Cloth:_--Saturate the spot and rub it well with turpentine, and every trace of tar will be removed. _To Destroy Ants:_--Ants that frequent houses or gardens may be destroyed by taking flour of brimstone half a pound, and potash four ounces; set them in an iron or earthen pan over the fire until dissolved and united; afterwards beat them to a powder, and infuse a little of this powder in water, and wherever you sprinkle it the ants will fly the place. _Simple Disinfectant:_--The following is a refreshing disinfectant for a sick room, or any room that has an unpleasant aroma prevading it: Put some fresh ground coffee in a saucer, and in the centre place a small piece of camphor gum, which light with a match. As the gum burns, allow sufficient coffee to consume with it. The perfume is very pleasant and healthful, being far superior to pastiles, and very much cheaper. _Cure for Hiccough:_--Sit erect and inflate the lungs fully. Then, retaining the breath, bend forward slowly until the chest meets the knees. After slowly arising again to the erect position, slowly exhale the breath. Repeat this process a second time, and the nerves will be found to have received an access of energy that will enable them to perform their natural functions. _To Keep out Mosquitoes and Bats:_--If a bottle of the oil of pennyroyal is left uncorked in a room at night, not a mosquito, nor any other blood-sucker, will be found there in the morning. Mix potash with powdered meal, and throw it into the rat-holes of a cellar, and the rats will depart. If a rat or a mouse get into your pantry, stuff into its hole a rag saturated with a solution of cayenne pepper, and no rat or mouse will touch the rag for the purpose of opening communication with a depot of supplies. _Salt will Curdle New Milk_; hence, in preparing porridge, gravies, etc., the salt should not be added until the dish is prepared. _To Prevent Rust on Flat-Irons:_--Beeswax and salt will make your rusty flat-irons as smooth and clean as glass. Tie a lump of wax in a rag and keep it for that purpose. When the irons are hot, rub them first with the wax rag, then scour with a paper or cloth sprinkled with salt. _To Prevent Rust on Knives:_--Steel knives which are not in general use may be kept from rusting if they are dipped in a strong solution of soda: one part water to four of soda; then wipe dry, roll in flannel and keep in a dry place. _Flowers May be Kept Very Fresh over Night_ if they are excluded from the air. To do this, wet them thoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot. _To Sweeten Milk:_--Milk which is slightly turned or changed may be sweetened and rendered fit for use again by stirring in a little soda. _To Scour Knives Easily:_--Mix a small quantity of baking soda with your brick-dust and see if your knives do not polish better. _To Soften Boots and Shoes:_--Kerosene will soften boots and shoes which have been hardened by water, and render them as pliable as new. Kerosine will make tin kettles as bright as new. Saturate a woolen rag and rub with it. It will also remove stains from clean varnished furniture. _Faded Goods:_--Plush goods and all articles dyed with aniline colors, which have faded from exposure to the light, will look as bright as new after sponging with chloroform. _Choking:_--A piece of food lodged in the throat may sometimes be pushed down with the finger, or removed with a hair-pin quickly straightened and hooked at the end, or by two or three vigorous blows on the back between the shoulders. _To Prevent Mold on the Top of Glasses of Jelly_, lay a lump of paraffine on the top of the hot jelly, letting it melt and spread over it. No brandy paper and no other covering is necessary. If preferred the paraffine can be melted and poured over after the jelly is cold. _To Preserve Ribbons and Silks:_--Ribbons and silks should be put away for preservation in brown paper; the chloride of lime in white paper discolors them. A white satin dress should be pinned up in blue paper with brown paper outside sewn together at the edges. _To Preserve Bouquets:_--Put a little saltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets and the flowers will live for a fortnight. _To Destroy Cockroaches:_--Hellebore sprinkled on the floor at night. They eat it and are poisoned. _To Remove Iron Rust:_--Lemon juice and salt will remove ordinary iron rust. If the hands are stained there is nothing that will remove the stains as well as lemon. Cut a lemon in halves and apply the cut surface as if it were soap. _To Keep Bar Soap:_--Cut it into pieces and put it into a dry place; it is more economical to use after it has become hard, as it does not waste so readily. _To Brighten Carpets:_--Carpets after the dust has been beaten out may be brightened by scattering upon them corn meal mixed with salt and then sweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets should be thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side, after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and water. _Silver Tea and Coffeepot:_--When putting away those not in use every day lay a little stick across the top under the cover. This will allow fresh air to get in and prevent the mustiness of the contents, familiar to hotel and boarding-house sufferers. _To Prevent Creaking of Bedsteads:_--If a bedstead creaks at each movement of the sleeper, remove the slats, and wrap the ends of each in old newspapers. _To Clean Unvarnished Black Walnut:_--Milk, sour or sweet, well rubbed in with an old soft flannel, will make black walnut look new. _To Prevent Cracking of Bottles and Fruit Jars:_--If a bottle or fruit-jar that has been more than once used is placed on a towel thoroughly soaked in hot water, there is little danger of its being cracked by the introduction of a hot liquid. _To Prevent Lamp-wicks from Smoking:_--Soak them in vinegar and then dry them thoroughly. Rub the nickel stove-trimmings and the plated handles and hinges of doors with kerosene and whiting, and polish with a dry cloth. _Death to Bugs:_--Varnish is death to the most persistent bug. It is cheap--ten cents' worth will do for one bedstead--is easily used, is safe, and improves the looks of the furniture to which it is applied. The application, must, however, be thorough, the slats, sides, and every crack and corner receiving attention. That salt should be eaten with nuts to aid digestion. That milk which stands too long makes bitter butter. _To Clean Drain Pipes:_--Drain pipes, and all places that are sour or impure, may be cleaned with lime-water or carbolic acid. If oil-cloth be occasionally rubbed with a mixture of beeswax and turpentine, it will last longer. _To Remove Mildew from Cloth:_--Put a teaspoonful of chloride of lime into a quart of water, strain it twice, then dip the mildewed places in this weak solution; lay in the sun; if the mildew has not disappeared when dry, repeat the operation. Also soaking the article in sour milk and salt; then lay in the sun; repeat until all the mildew is out. _To Take Ink out of Linen:_--Dip the ink spot in pure melted tallow, then wash out the tallow and the ink will come out with it. This is said to be unfailing. Milk will remove ink from linen or colored muslins, when acids would be ruinous, by soaking the goods until the spot is very faint and then rubbing and rinsing in cold water. Ink spots on floors can be extracted by scouring with sand wet in oil of vitriol and water. When ink is removed, rinse with strong pearl-ash water. _To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glass-ware:_--Immerse the article in a pot filled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boil the water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resist any sudden change of temperature. _To Remove Paint from Window-glass:_--Rub it well with hot sharp vinegar. _To Clean Stove-pipe:_--A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stove will clean out the stove-pipe. _Packing Bottles:_--India-rubber bands slipped over them will prevent breakage. _To Clean Ivory Ornaments:_--When ivory ornaments become yellow or dusky, wash them well in soap and water with a small brush, to clean the carvings, and then place them, while wet, in the sunshine. Wet them with soapy water for two or three days, several times a day, still keeping them in the sunshine, then wash them again, and they will be perfectly white. _Stained Brass:_--Whiting wet with aqua ammonia, will cleanse brass from stains, and is excellent for polishing faucets and door-knobs of brass or silver. "Sapolio" is still better. _Hartshorn_ applied to the stings of poisonous insects will allay the pain and stop the swelling; or apply oil of sassafras, which is better. Bee stings should be treated in this way. _For Cleaning Glass Bottles:_--Crush egg-shells into small bits, or a few carpet tacks, or a small quantity of gunshot, put into the bottle; then fill one-half full of strong soap-suds; shake thoroughly, then rinse in clear water. Will look like new. _Cutting off Glass Bottles for Clips and Jars:_--A simple, practical way is to take a red-hot poker with a pointed end; make a mark with a file to begin the cut; then apply the hot iron and a crack will start, which will follow the iron wherever it is carried. This is, on the whole, simple, and better than the use of strings wet with turpentine, etc. _Cistern Water may be Purified_ by charcoal put in a bag and hung in the water. _Salt will Remove the Stain from Silver_ caused by eggs, when applied dry with a soft cloth. _Opened Fruit, Fish or Vegetables:_--Never allow opened fruit, fish or vegetables to stand in the tin can. Never stir anything in tin, or, if it is done, use a wooden spoon. In lifting pies or cakes from bright tin pans, use great caution that the knife does not scrape off flecks of bright metal. Never use water which has stood in a lead pipe over night. _Not less than a wooden bucketful should be allowed to run._ Never use water from a stone reservoir for cooking purposes. Never allow fresh meat to remain in paper; it absorbs the juices. Never keep vinegar or yeast in stone crocks or jugs; their acid attacks the glazing, which is said to be poisonous. Glass for either is better. _Squeaking Doors_ ought to have the hinges oiled by putting on a drop from the sewing machine oil-can. _Plate Glass and Mirrors:_--A soft cloth wet in alcohol, is excellent to wipe off plate glass and mirrors, and prevents their becoming frosty in winter. A red-hot iron will soften old putty so that it can be easily removed. _To Test Nutmegs:_--Prick them with a pin; if good, the oil will instantly spread around the puncture. _A Good Way to Clean Mica_ in a stove that has become blackened with smoke, is to take it out, and thoroughly wash it with vinegar. If the black does not come off at once, let it soak a little. _To Banish Rats from the Premises_, use pounded glass mixed with dry corn meal, placed within their reach. Sprinkling cayenne pepper in their holes will also banish them. Chloride of lime is an infallible remedy, spread around where they come, and thrown into their holes; it should be renewed once in two weeks. Tar is also a good remedy. _To Prevent the Odor of Boiling Ham or Cabbage:_--Throw red pepper pods or a few bits of charcoal into the pan they are cooking in. _To Brighten Gilt Frames:_--Take sufficient flour of sulphur to give a golden tinge to about one and one-half pints of water, and in this boil four or five bruised onions, or garlic, which will answer the same purpose. Strain off the liquid, and with it, when cold, wash with a soft brush any gilding which requires restoring, and when dry, it will come out as bright as new work. All cooking utensils, including iron-ware, should be washed outside and inside in hot, soapy water; rinsed in clean, hot water, wiped dry with a dry towel; a soapy or greasy dish-cloth should never be used for the purpose. A cake of sapolio should be kept in every kitchen, to be used freely on all dishes that require scouring and cleansing. All tins that have become discolored can be made as bright and clean as new by the use of sapolio; also shines dishes; and, in fact, almost all articles that require any scouring. Purchased at all groceries. One of the most useful articles ever used in the kitchen. [Illustration] TOILET RECIPES, ITEMS. COLOGNE WATER. (Superior.) Oil of lavender two drachms, oil of rosemary one drachm and a half, orange, lemon and bergamot, one drachm each of the oil; also two drachms of the essence of musk, attar of rose ten drops, and a pint of proof spirit. Shake all together thoroughly three times a day for a week. JOCKEY CLUB BOUQUET. Mix one pint extract of rose, one pint extract of tuberose, half a pint of extract of cassia, four ounces extract of jasmine, and three ounces tincture of civet. Filter the mixture. ROSE-WATER. Preferable to the distilled for a perfume, or for culinary purposes. Attar of rose, twelve drops; rub it up with half an ounce of white sugar and two drachms carbonate magnesia; then add gradually one quart of water and two ounces of proof spirit, and filter through paper. BAY RUM. French proof spirit one gallon, extract bay six ounces. Mix and color with caramel; needs no filtering. LAVENDER WATER. Oil of lavender two ounces, orris root half an ounce, spirits of wine one pint. Mix and keep two or three weeks. It may then be strained through two thicknesses of blotting-paper and is ready for use. CREAM OF LILIES. Best white castor oil; pour in a little strong solution of sal tartar in water, and shake it until it looks thick and white. Perfume with lavender. CREAM OF ROSES. Olive oil one pound, attar of roses fifty drops, oil of rosemary twenty-five drops; mix, and color it with alkanet root. COLD CREAM. Melt one ounce oil of almonds, half ounce spermaceti, one drachm white wax, and then add two ounces of rose-water, and stir it constantly until cold. LIP-SALVE. Melt one ounce white wax, one ounce sweet oil, one drachm spermaceti, and throw in a piece of alkanet root to color it, and when cooling, perfume it with oil rose, and then pour it into small white jars or boxes. FOR DANDRUFF. Take glycerine four ounces, tincture of cantharides five ounces, bay rum four ounces, water two ounces. Mix, and apply once a day and rub well down the scalp. HAIR INVIGORATOR. Bay rum two pints, alcohol one pint, castor oil one ounce, carb. ammonia half an ounce, tincture of cantharides one ounce. Mix them well. This compound will promote the growth of the hair and prevent it from falling out. MACASSAR OIL FOR THE HAIR. Renowned for the past fifty years, is as follows: Take a quarter of an ounce of the chippings of alkanet root, tie this in a bit of coarse muslin and put it in a bottle containing eight ounces of sweet oil; cover it to keep out the dust; let it stand several days; add to this sixty drops of tincture of cantharides, ten drops of oil of rose, neroli and lemon each sixty drops; let it stand one week and you will have one of the most powerful stimulants for the growth of the hair ever known. _Another:_--To a pint of strong sage tea, a pint of bay rum and a quarter of an ounce of the tincture of cantharides, add an ounce of castor oil and a teaspoonful of rose, or other perfume. Shake well before applying to the hair, as the oil will not mix. PHALON'S INSTANTANEOUS HAIR DYE. To one ounce of crystallized nitrate of silver, dissolved in one ounce of concentrated aqua ammonia, add one ounce of gum arabic and six ounces of soft water. Keep in the dark. Remember to remove all grease from the hair before applying the dye. There is danger in some of the patent hair dyes, and hence the _Scientific American_ offers what is known as the walnut hair dye. The simplest form is the expressed juice of the bark or shell of green walnuts. To preserve the juice a little alcohol is commonly added to it with a few bruised cloves, and the whole digested together, with occasional agitation, for a week or fortnight, when the clear portion is decanted, and, if necessary, filtered. Sometimes a little common salt is added with the same intention. It should be kept in a cool place. The most convenient way of application is by means of a sponge. DYE FOR WHITE OR LIGHT EYEBROWS. Boil an ounce of walnut bark in a pint of water for an hour. Add a lump of alum the size of a filbert, and when cold, apply with a camel's-hair brush. HAIR WASH. One penny's worth of borax, half a pint of olive oil, one pint of boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the borax and oil; let it cool; then put the mixture into a bottle. Shake it before using, and apply it with a flannel. Camphor and borax, dissolved in boiling water and left to cool, make a very good wash for the hair; as also does rosemary water mixed with a little borax. After using any of these washes, when the hair becomes thoroughly dry, a little pomatum or oil should be rubbed in to make it smooth and glossy--that is, if one prefers oil on the hair. OXMARROW-POMADE FOR THE HAIR. One marrow bone, half a pint of oil, ten cents' worth of citronella. Take the marrow out of the bone, place it in warm water, let it get almost to boiling point, then let it cool and pour the water away; repeat this three times until the marrow is thoroughly "fined." Beat the marrow to a cream with a silver fork, stir the oil in, drop by drop, beating all the time; when quite cold add the citronella, pour into jars and cover down. TO INCREASE THE HAIR IN THE BROWS. Clip them and anoint with a, little sweet oil. Should the hair fall out, having been full, use one of the hair invigorators. BANDOLINE. To one quart of rose-water add an ounce and a half of gum tragacanth; let it stand forty-eight hours, frequently straining it, then strain through a coarse linen cloth; let it stand two days, and again strain; add to it a drachm of oil of roses. Used by ladies dressing their hair, to make it lie in any position. COMPLEXION WASH. Put in a vial one drachm of benzoin gum in powder, one drachm nutmeg oil, six drops of orange-blossom tea, or apple blossoms put in half pint of rain-water and boiled down to one teaspoonful and strained, one pint of sherry wine. Bathe the face morning and night; will remove all flesh-worms and freckles, and give a beautiful complexion. Or, put one ounce of powdered gum of benzoin in a pint of whisky; to use, put in water in wash-bowl till it is milky, allowing it to dry without wiping. This is perfectly harmless. Cream cures sun-burn on some complexions, lemon juice is best on others, and cold water suits still others best. BURNET'S CELEBRATED POWDER FOR THE FACE. Five cents' worth of bay rum, five cents' worth of magnesia snowflake, five cents' worth of bergamot, five cents' worth of oil of lemon; mix in a pint bottle and fill up with rain-water. Shake well, and apply with a soft sponge or cloth. TOILET OR FACE POWDER. Take a quarter of a pound of wheat starch pounded fine; sift it through a fine sieve, or a piece of lace; add to it eight drops of oil of rose, oil of lemon thirty drops, oil of bergamot fifteen drops. Rub thoroughly together. The French throw this powder into alcohol, shaking it, letting it settle, then pouring off the alcohol and drying the powder. In that case, the perfume is added lastly. TO REMOVE FRECKLES. The following lotion is highly recommended: One ounce of lemon juice, a quarter of a drachm of powdered borax, and half a drachm of sugar; mix in a bottle, and allow them to stand a few days, when the liquor should be rubbed occasionally on the hands and face. Another application is: Friar's balsam one part, rose-water twenty parts. Powdered nitre moistened with water and applied to the face night and morning, is said to remove freckles without injury to the skin. Also, a tablespoonful of freshly grated horse-radish, stirred into a cupful of sour milk; let it stand for twelve hours, then strain and apply often. This bleaches the complexion also, and takes off tan. TO REMOVE MOTH PATCHES. Into a pint of rum put a tablespoonful of flour of sulphur. Apply this to the patches once a day, and they will disappear in two or three weeks. CURE FOR PIMPLES. One teaspoonful of carbolic acid and one pint of rose-water mixed is an excellent remedy for pimples. Bathe the skin thoroughly and often, but do not let the wash get into the eyes. This wash is soothing to mosquito bites, and irritations of the skin of every nature. It is advisable, in order to clear the complexion permanently, to cleanse the blood; then the wash would be of advantage. To obtain a good complexion, a person's diet should receive the first attention. Greasy food, highly spiced soups, hot bread and butter, meats or game, rich gravies, alcoholic liquors, coffee--all are injurious to the complexion. Strong tea used daily will after a time give the skin the color and appearance of leather. Coffee affects the nerves more, but the skin less, and a healthy nervous system is necessary to beauty. Eating between meals, late suppers, over-eating at meals, eating sweetmeats, candies, etc., all these tend to disorder the blood, producing pimples and blotches. Washing of the face or skin is another consideration for a good complexion; it should be thoroughly washed in plenty of luke-warm water with some mild soap--then rinsed in clear water _well_; dry with a thick soft towel. If suds is left or wiped off the skin, the action of the air and sun will tan the surface, and permanently deface the complexion; therefore one should be sure to thoroughly rinse off all soap from the skin to avoid the tanning, which will leave a brown or yellow tinge impossible to efface. PEARL SMELLING SALTS. Powdered carbonate of ammonia one ounce, strong solution of ammonia half a fluid ounce, oil of rosemary ten drops, oil of bergamot ten drops. Mix, and while moist put in wide-mouthed bottle which is to be well closed. PEARL TOOTH POWDER. Prepared chalk half a pound, powdered myrrh two ounces; camphor two drachms, orris root, powdered, two ounces; moisten the camphor with alcohol and mix well together. REMOVING TARTAR FROM THE TEETH. This preparation is used by dentists. Pure muriatic acid one ounce, water one ounce, honey two ounces, mix thoroughly. Take a tooth-brush, and wet it freely with this preparation, and briskly rub the black teeth, and in a moment's time they will be perfectly white; then immediately wash out the mouth well with water, that the acid may not act on the enamel of the teeth. This should be done only occasionally. BAD BREATH. Bad breath from catarrh, foul stomach, or bad teeth, may be temporarily relieved by diluting a little bromo chloralum with eight or ten parts of water, and using it as a gargle, and swallowing a few drops before going out. A pint of bromo chloralum costs fifty cents, but a small vial will last a long time. SHAVING COMPOUND. Half a pound of plain, white soap, dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol, as little as can be used; add a tablespoonful of pulverized borax. Shave the soap and put it in a small tin basin or cup; place it on the fire in a dish of boiling water; when melted, add the alcohol, and remove from the fire; stir in oil of bergamot sufficient to perfume it. BARBER'S SHAMPOO MIXTURE. Dissolve half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia and one ounce of borax in one quart of water; then add two ounces of glycerine in three quarts of New England rum, and one quart of bay rum. Moisten the hair with this liquid; shampoo with the hands until a light lather is formed; then wash off with plenty of clean water. RAZOR-STROP PASTE. Wet the strop with a little sweet oil, and apply a little flour of emery evenly over the surface. CAMPHOR ICE. Melt together over a water bath white wax and spermaceti each one ounce, camphor two ounces, sweet almond oil, one pound, then triturate until the mixture has become homogeneous, and allow one pound of rose-water to flow in slowly during the operation. Excellent for chapped lips or hands. ODORIFEROUS OR SWEET-SCENTING BAGS. Lavender flowers one ounce, pulverized orris, two drachms, bruised rosemary leaves half ounce, musk five grains, attar of rose five drops. Mix well, sew up in small flat muslin bags, and cover them with fancy silk or satin. These are very nice to keep in your bureau drawers or trunk, as the perfume penetrates through the contents of the trunk or drawers. An acceptable present to a single gentleman. HOW TO KEEP BRUSHES CLEAN. The best way in which to clean hair-brushes is with spirits of ammonia, as its effect is immediate. No rubbing is required, and cold water can be used just as successfully as warm. Take a tablespoonful of ammonia to a quart of water, dip the hair part of the brush without wetting the ivory, and in a moment the grease is removed; then rinse in cold water, shake well, and dry in the air, but not in the sun. Soda and soap soften the bristles and invariably turn the ivory yellow. TOILET ITEMS. Mutton tallow is considered excellent to soften the hands. It may be rubbed on at any time when the hands are perfectly dry, but the best time is when retiring, and an old pair of soft, large gloves thoroughly covered on the inside with the tallow and glycerine in equal parts, melted together, can be worn during the night with the most satisfactory results. Four parts of glycerine and five parts of yolks of eggs thoroughly mixed, and applied after washing the hands, is also considered excellent. For chapped hands or face: One ounce of glycerine, one ounce of alcohol mixed, then add eight ounces of rose-water. Another good rule is to rub well in dry oatmeal after every washing, and be particular regarding the quality of soap. Cheap soap and hard water are the unknown enemies of many people, and the cause of rough skin and chapped hands. Castile soap and rain-water will sometimes cure without any other assistance. Camphor ice is also excellent, and can be applied with but little inconvenience. Borax dissolved and added to the toilet water is also good. For chapped lips, beeswax dissolved in a small quantity of sweet oil, by heating carefully. Apply the salve two or three times a day, and avoid wetting the lips as much as possible. To soften the hands: One can have the hands in soap-suds with soft soap without injury to the skin if the hands are dipped in vinegar or lemon juice immediately after. The acids destroy the corrosive effects of the alkali, and make the hands soft and white. Indian meal and vinegar or lemon juice used on hands where roughened by cold or labor will heal and soften them. Rub the hands in this, then wash off thoroughly and rub in glycerine. Those who suffer from chapped hands will find this comforting. To remove stains, rub a slice of raw potato upon the stains; or wash the hands in lemon juice or steeped laurel-leaves. To give a fine color to the nails, the hands and fingers must be well lathered and washed with fine soap; then the nails must be rubbed with equal parts of cinnebar and emery, followed by oil of bitter almonds. To take white spots from the nails, melt equal parts of pitch and turpentine in a small cup; add to it vinegar and powdered sulphur. Rub this on the nails and the spots will soon disappear. TOILET SOAP. One pound of washing soda, one pound of lard or clear tallow, half a pound of unslaked lime, one tablespoonful of salt, three quarts of water. Put the soda and lime in a large dish, and pour over the water, boiling hot; stir until dissolved; let it stand until clear, then pour off the clear liquid, add the grease and salt; boil four hours, then pour into pans to cool. If it should be inclined to curdle or separate, indicating the lime to be too strong, pour in a little more water, and boil again. Perfume as you please, and pour into molds or a shallow dish, and, when cold, cut into bars to dry. ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS. The following list gives some of the more common poisons and the remedies most likely to be on hand in case of need:-- _Acids:_--These cause great heat and sensation of burning pain from the mouth down to the stomach. The remedies are-: Magnesia, soda, pearl ash, or soap dissolved in water, every two minutes; then use the stomach pump, or an emetic. _Alkali:_--Drink freely of water with vinegar or lemon juice in it, made very strong of the sour. _Ammonia:_--Remedy is lemon juice or vinegar. _Arsenic Remedies:_--Give prompt emetic of mustard and salt, a tablespoonful of each, in a coffeecup of _warm_ water; then follow with sweet oil, butter made warm, or milk. Also may use the white of an egg in half a cupful of milk or lime water. Chalk and water is good, and the preparation of iron, ten drops in water every half hour: hydrated magnesia. _Alcohol:_--First cleanse out the stomach by an emetic, then dash cold water on the head, and give ammonia (spirits of hartshorn). _Laudanum, Morphine, Opium:_--First give a strong emetic of mustard and water, then very strong coffee and acid drinks; dash cold water on the head, then keep in motion. _Belladonna:_--Give an emetic of mustard, salt and water; then drink plenty of vinegar and water or lemonade. _Charcoal:_--In poisons, by carbonic gas, remove the patient to the open air, dash cold water on the head and body, and stimulate the nostrils and lungs with hartshorn, at the same time rubbing the chest briskly. _Corrosive Sublimate, Saltpetre, Blue Vitriol, Bed-bug Poison:_--Give white of egg, freshly mixed with water, in large quantities; or give wheat flour and water, or soap and water freely, or salt and water, or large draughts of milk. _Lead:_--White lead and sugar of lead. Give an emetic, then follow with cathartics, such as castor oil, and epsom salts especially. _Nux Vomica:_--First emetics, and then brandy. _Oxalic Acid (frequently taken for epsom salts):_--First give soap and water, or chalk or magnesia and water. Give every two minutes. _White Vitriol:_--Give plenty of milk and water. _Tartar Emetic:_--Take large doses of tea made of white oak bark, or peruvian bark. Drink plenty of warm water to encourage vomiting; then, if the vomiting should not stop, give a grain of opium in water. _Nitrate of Silver (lunar caustic):_--Give a strong solution of common salt and water, and then an emetic. _Verdigris:_--Give plenty of white of egg and water. _Tobacco:_--Emetics, frequent draughts of cold water; camphor and brandy. MISCELLANEOUS. FRENCH WORDS IN COOKING. _Aspic:_--Savory jelly for cold dishes. _Au gratin:_--Dishes prepared with sauce and crumbs and baked. _Bouchées:_--Very thin patties or cakes, as name indicates--mouthfuls. _Baba:_--A peculiar, sweet French yeast cake. _Bechamel:_--A rich, white sauce made with stock. _Bisque:_--A white soup made of shell fish. _To Blanch:_--To place any article on the fire till it boils, then plunge it in cold water; to whiten poultry, vegetables, etc. To remove the skin by immersing in boiling water. _Bouillon:_--A clear soup, stronger than broth, yet not so strong as _consommé_, which is "reduced" soup. _Braisé:_--Meat cooked in a closely covered stewpan, so that it retains its own flavor and those of the vegetables and flavorings put with it. _Brioche:_--A very rich, unsweetened French cake made with yeast. _Cannelon:_--Stuffed rolled-up meat. _Consommé:_--Clear soup or bouillon boiled down till very rich, _i.e._ consumed. _Croquettes:_--A savory mince of fish or fowl, made with sauce into shapes, and fried. _Croustades:_--Fried forms of bread to serve minces or other meats upon. _Entrée:_--A small dish, usually served between the courses at dinner. _Fondue:_--A light preparation of melted cheese. _Fondant:_--Sugar boiled and beaten to a creamy paste. _Hollandaise Sauce:_--A rich sauce, something like hot mayonnaise. _Matelote:_--A rich fish stew, with wine. _Mayonnaise:_--A rich salad dressing. _Meringue:_--Sugar and white of egg beaten to sauce. _Marmade:_--A liquor of spices, vinegar, etc., in which fish or meats are steeped before cooking. _Miroton:_--Cold meat warmed in various ways, and dished in circular form. _Purse:_--This name is given to very thick soups, the ingredients for thickening which have been rubbed through a sieve. _Poulette Sauce:_--A bechamel sauce, to which white wine and sometimes eggs are added. _Ragout:_--A rich, brown stew, with mushrooms, vegetables, etc. _Piquante:_--A sauce of several flavors, acid predominating. _Quenelles_:--Forcemeat with bread, yolks of eggs highly seasoned, and formed with a spoon to an oval shape; then poached and used either as a dish by themselves, or to garnish. _Remoulade:_--A salad dressing differing from mayonnaise, in that the eggs are hard boiled and rubbed in a mortar with mustard, herbs, etc. _Rissole:_--Rich mince of meat or fish rolled in thin pastry and fried. _Roux:_--A cooked mixture of butter and flour, for thickening soups and stews. _Salmi:_--A rich stew of game, cut up and dressed, when half roasted. _Sauter:_--To toss meat, etc., over the fire, in a little fat. _Soufflé:_--A very light, much whipped-up pudding or omelette. _Timbale:_--A sort of pie in a mold. _Vol au vents:_--Patties of very light puff paste, made without a dish or mold, and filled with meat or preserves, etc. _Catherine Owen, in Good Housekeeping._ * * * * * ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR THE KITCHEN. The following list will show what articles are necessary for the kitchen, and will be quite an aid to young housekeepers when about commencing to furnish the utensils needed in the kitchen department, and may prove useful to many. 3 Sweeping brooms and 1 dust-pan. 1 Whisk broom. 1 Bread box. 2 Cake boxes. 1 Large flour box. 1 Dredging box. 1 Large-sized tin pepper box. 1 Spice box containing smaller spice boxes. 2 Cake pans, two sizes. 4 Bread pans. 2 Square biscuit pans. 1 Apple corer. 1 Lemon squeezer. 1 Meat cleaver. 3 Kitchen knives and forks. 1 Large kitchen fork and 4 kitchen spoons, two sizes. 1 Wooden spoon for cake making. 1 Large bread knife. 1 Griddle cake turner, also 1 griddle. 1 Potato masher. 1 Meat board. 1 Dozen patty pans; and the same number of tartlet pans. 1 Large tin pail and 1 wooden pail. 2 Small tin pails. 1 Set of tin basins. 1 Set of tin measures. 1 Wooden butter ladle. 1 Tin skimmer. 1 Tin steamer. 2 Dippers, two sizes. 2 Funnels, two sizes. 1 Set of jelly cake tins. 4 Pie pans. 3 Pudding molds, one for boiling, two for baking, two sizes. 2 Dish pans, two sizes. 2 Cake or biscuit cutters, two sizes. 2 Graters, one large and one small. 1 Coffee canister. 1 Tea canister. 1 Tin or granite-ware teapot. 1 Tin or granite-ware coffeepot. 4 Milk pans, 1 milk strainer. 1 Dozen iron gem pans or muffin rings. 1 Coarse gravy strainer, 1 fine strainer. 1 Colander. 1 Flour sifter. 2 Scoops, one for flour, one for sugar. 2 Jelly molds, two sizes. 1 Can opener, 1 egg beater. 1 Cork screw. 1 Chopping-knife. 2 Wooden chopping-bowls, two sizes. 1 Meat saw. 2 Large earthen bowls. 4 Stone jars. 1 Coffee mill. 1 Candlestick. 2 Market baskets, two sizes. 1 Clock. 1 Ash bucket. 1 Gridiron. 2 Frying pans or spiders, two sizes. 4 Flat-irons, 2 number 8 and 2 number 6. 2 Dripping pans, two sizes. 3 Iron kettles, porcelain lined if possible. 1 Corn beef or fish kettle. 1 Tea-kettle. 2 Granite-ware stewpans, two sizes. 1 Wire toaster. 1 Double kettle for cooking custards, grains, etc. 2 Sugar boxes, one for coarse and one for fine sugar. 1 Waffle iron. 1 Step ladder. 1 Stove, 1 coal shovel. 1 Pair of scales. 2 Coal hods or buckets. 1 Kitchen table, 2 kitchen chairs. 1 Large clothes basket. 1 Wash boiler, 1 wash board. 8 Dozen clothes pins. 1 Large nail hammer and one small tack hammer. 1 Bean pot. 1 Clothes wringer. An ingenious housewife will manage to do with less conveniences, but these articles, if they can be purchased in the commencement of housekeeping, will save time and labor, making the preparation of food more easy--and it is always economy in the end to get the best material in all wares, as, for instance, the double plate tin will last for years, whereas the poor kind has to be replaced in a short time; the low-priced earthenware is soon broken up, whereas the strong stoneware, costing but a trifle more, lasts almost a lifetime. In relation to the economy and management of the kitchen, I might suggest that the most essential thing is cleanliness in cooking, and also cleanliness with your person as well as in the keeping of the kitchen. The hands of the cook should be always thoroughly cleansed before touching or handling anything pertaining to the cooking. Next there should never be anything wasted or thrown away that can be turned to account, either for your own family or some family in poor circumstances. Bread that has become hard can be used for toasting, or for stuffing and pudding. In warm weather any gravies or soups that are left from the preceding day should be boiled up and poured into clean pans. This is particularly necessary where vegetables have been added to the preparation, as it then so soon turns sour. In cooler weather, every other day will be often enough to warm up these things. In cooking, clear as you go; that is to say, do not allow a host of basins, plates, spoons, and other utensils, to accumulate on the dressers and tables whilst you are engaged in preparing the dinner. By a little management and forethought, much confusion may be saved in this way. It is as easy to put a thing in its place when it is done with, as it is to keep continually moving it to find room for fresh requisites. For instance, after making a pudding, the flour-tub, paste-board, and rolling-pin, should be put away, and any basins, spoons, etc., should be neatly packed up near the sink, to be washed when the proper time arrives. Neatness, order and method should be always observed. Never let your stock of spices, salt, seasoning, herbs, etc., dwindle down so low that some day, in the midst of preparing a large dinner, you find yourself minus a very important ingredient, thereby causing much confusion and annoyance. After you have washed your saucepans, fish-kettle, etc., stand them before the fire for a few minutes to get thoroughly dry inside, before putting them away. They should then be kept in a dry place, in order that they may escape the deteriorating influence of rust, and thereby be quickly destroyed. Never leave saucepans dirty from one day's use to be cleaned the next; it is slovenly and untidy. Do not be afraid of hot water in washing up dishes and dirty cooking utensils. As these are essentially greasy, luke-warm water cannot possibly have the effect of cleansing them effectually. Do not be chary also of changing and renewing the water occasionally. You will thus save yourself much time and labor in the long run. Keep a cake of sapolio always on hand in the kitchen--always convenient for rubbing off stains from earthenware, tin, glass, in fact, almost everything but silver; it is a cheap and valuable article, and can be purchased at nearly every grocery in the United States. DYEING OR COLORING. GENERAL REMARKS. Everything should be clean. The goods should be scoured in soap and the soap rinsed out. They are often steeped in soap lye over night. Dip them into water just before putting them into preparations, to prevent spotting. Soft water should be used, _sufficient to cover the goods well; this is always understood where quantity is not mentioned_. When goods are dyed, air them; then rinse well, and hang up to dry. Do not wring silk or merino dresses when scouring or dyeing them. If cotton goods are to be dyed a light color, they should first be bleached. SILKS. _Black:_--Make a weak lye as for black or woolens; work goods in bichromate of potash a little below boiling heat, then dip in the log-wood in the same way; if colored in blue vitriol dye, use about the same heat. _Orange:_--For one pound goods, annotto one pound, soda one pound; repeat as desired. _Green--Very Handsome:_--For one pound goods, yellow oak bark eight ounces; boil one-half hour; turn off the liquor from bark and add alum six ounces; let it stand until cold; while making this, color goods in blue dye-tub a light blue, dry and wash, dip in alum and bark dye. If it does not take well, warm the dye a little. _Purple:_--For one pound goods. First obtain a light blue, by dipping in home-made dye-tub; then dry; dip in alum four ounces, with water to cover, when little warm. If color is not full enough add chemic. _Yellow:_--For one pound goods, alum three ounces, sugar of lead three-fourths ounce; immerse goods in solution over night; take out, drain, and make a new lye with fustic one pound; dip until the required color is obtained. _Crimson:_--For one pound goods, alum three ounces; dip at hand heat one hour; take out and drain while making new dye by boiling ten minutes, cochineal three ounces, bruised nutgalls two ounces and cream of tartar one-fourth ounce, in one pail of water; when little cool, begin to dip, raising heat to boil; dip one hour; wash and dry. _Sky Blue on Silk or Cotton--Very Beautiful:_--Give goods as much color from a solution of blue vitriol two ounces, to water one gallon, as it will take up in dipping fifteen minutes; then run it through lime water. This will make a beautiful and durable sky blue. _Brown on Silk or Cotton--Very Beautiful:_--After obtaining a blue color as above, run goods through a solution of prussiate of potash one ounce, to water one gallon. _Light Blue:_--For cold water one gallon, dissolve alum one-half tablespoonful, in hot water one teacupful, and add to it; then add chemic, one teaspoonful at a time to obtain the desired color--the more chemic the darker the color. WOOLEN GOODS. _Chrome Black--Best in Use:_--For five pounds of goods, blue vitriol six ounces; boil a few minutes, then dip the goods three-fourths of an hour, airing often; take out the goods, make a dye with three pounds of log-wood, boil one-half hour; dip three-fourths of an hour, air goods, and dip three-fourths of an hour more. Wash in strong suds. This will not fade by exposure to sun. _Wine Color:_--For five pounds of goods, camwood two pounds; boil fifteen minutes and dip the goods one-half hour; boil again and dip one-half hour then darken with blue vitriol one and one-half ounces; if not dark enough, add copperas one-half ounce. _Scarlet--Very Fine:_--For one pound of goods, cream of tartar one-half ounce, cochineal, well pulverized, one half ounce, muriate of tin two and one-half ounces; boil up the dye and enter the goods; work them briskly for ten or fifteen minutes, then boil one and one-half hours, stirring goods slowly while boiling. Wash in clear water and dry in the shade. _Pink:_--For three pounds of goods, alum three ounces; boil and dip the goods one hour, then add to the dye, cream of tartar four ounces, cochineal, well pulverized, one ounce; boil well and dip the goods while boiling until the color suits. _Blue--Quick Process:_--For two pounds of goods, alum five ounces, cream of tartar three ounces; boil goods in this one hour, then put them into warm water which has more or less extract of indigo in it, according to the depth of color desired, and boil again until it suits, adding more of the blue if needed. _Madder Red:_--To each pound of goods, alum five ounces, red or cream of tartar one ounce. Put in the goods and bring the kettle to a boil for one-half hour; then air them and boil one-half hour longer; empty the kettle and fill with clean water; put in bran one peck; make it milk-warm, and let it stand until the bran rises; then skim off the bran and put in one-half pound madder; put in the goods and heat slowly until it boils and is done. Wash in strong suds. _Green:_--For each pound of goods, fustic one pound, with alum three and one-half ounces; steep until strength is out, and soak the goods therein until a good yellow is obtained, then remove the chips, and add extract of indigo or chemic, one tablespoonful at a time, until color suits. _Snuff Brown, Dark:_--For five pounds of goods, camwood one pound; boil it fifteen minutes; then dip the goods three-fourths of an hour; take them out and add to the dye two and one-half pounds fustic; boil ten minutes, and dip the goods three-fourths of an hour; then add blue vitriol one ounce, copperas four ounces; dip again one-half hour. If not dark enough add more copperas. _Another Method--Any Shade:_--Boil the goods in a mordant of alum two parts, copperas three parts; then rinse them through a bath of madder. The tint depends on the relative proportions of the copperas and alum; the more copperas, the darker the dye; joint weight of both should not be more than one-eighth of weight of goods. Mixtures of reds and yellows with blues and blacks, or simple dyes, will make any shade. _Orange:_--For five pounds of goods, muriate of tin six tablespoonfuls, argol four ounces; boil and dip one hour and add again to the dye one teacupful of madder; dip again one-half hour. Cochineal, about two ounces, in place of madder, makes a much brighter color. _Purple:_--For each pound of goods, two ounces of cudbear; rinse the goods well in soap-suds, then dissolve cudbear in hot suds--not quite boiling, and soak the goods until of required color. The color is brightened by rinsing in alum water. _Yellow--Rich:_--Work five pounds of goods one-half hour in a boiling bath with three ounces bichromate of potassa and two ounces alum; lift and expose till well cooled and drained; then work one-half hour in another bath with five pounds of fustic. Wash out and dry. _Crimson:_--Work for one hour in a bath with one pound cochineal paste, six ounces of dry cochineal, one pound of tartar, one pint of protochloride of tin. Wash out and dry. _Salmon:_--For each pound of goods, one-fourth pound of annotto, one-fourth pound of soap; rinse the goods well in warm water, put them into mixture and boil one-half hour. Shade will be according to the amount of annotto. _Dove and Slate Colors of All Shades:_--Boil in an iron vessel a teacupful of black tea with a teaspoonful of copperas and sufficient water. Dilute till you get the shade wanted. COTTON GOODS. _Black:_--For five pounds of goods, boil them in a decoction of three pounds of sumach one-half hour and steep twelve hours; dip in lime-water one-half hour; take out and let them drip one hour, run them through the lime-water again fifteen minutes. Make a new dye with two and one-half pounds log-wood (boiled one hour) and dip again three hours; add bichromate potash two ounces, to the log-wood dye and dip one hour. Wash in clear, cold water and dry in the shade. Only process for permanent black. _Sky Blue:_--For three pounds of goods, blue vitriol four ounces; boil a few minutes, then dip the goods three hours; then pass them through a strong lime-water. A _beautiful_ brown can be obtained by next putting the goods through a solution of prussiate of potash. _Green:_--Dip the goods in home-made blue; dye until blue enough is obtained to make the green as dark as required; take out, dry and rinse a little. Make a dye with fustic three pounds, of log-wood three ounces, to each pound of goods, by boiling dye one hour; when cooled so as to bear the hand put in the goods, move briskly a few minutes, and let lie one hour; take out and thoroughly drain; dissolve and add to the dye for each pound of cotton, blue vitriol one-half ounce, and dip another hour. Wring out and let dry in the shade. By adding or diminishing the log-wood and fustic any shade may be had. _Yellow:_--For five pounds of goods, seven ounces of sugar of lead; dip the goods two hours; make a new dye with bichromate of potash four ounces; dip until the color suits; wring out and dry. If not yellow enough, repeat. _Orange:_--For five pounds of goods, sugar of lead four ounces; boil a few minutes; when a little cool, put in the goods; dip for two hours; wring out; make a new dye with bichromate potash eight ounces, madder two ounces; dip until it suits; if color is too red, take a small sample and dip into lime-water and choose between them. _Red:_--Muriate of tin two-thirds of a teacupful; add water to cover the goods; raise to boiling heat; put in the goods one hour, stir often; take out, empty the kettle, put in clean water with nic-wood one pound; steep one-half hour at hand heat; then put in the goods and increase the heat one hour--not boiling. Air the goods and dip them one hour as before. Wash without soap. SMALL POINTS ON TABLE ETIQUETTE. Delicacy of manner at table stamps both man and woman, for one can, at a glance, discern whether a person has been trained to eat well--_i.e._ to hold the knife and fork properly, to eat without the slightest sound of the lips, to drink quietly, to use the napkin rightly, to make no noise with any of the implements of the table, and last, but not least, to eat slowly and masticate the food thoroughly. All these points should be most carefully taught to children, and then they will always feel at their ease at the grandest tables in the land. There is no position where the innate refinement of a person is more fully exhibited than at the table, and nowhere that those who have not been trained in table etiquette feel more keenly their deficiencies. The knife should never be used to carry food to the mouth, but only to cut it up into small mouthfuls; then place it upon the plate at one side, and take the fork in the right hand, and eat all the food with it. When both have been used finally, they should be laid diagonally across the plate, with both handles toward the right hand; this is understood by well-trained waiters to be the signal for removing them, together with the plate. Be careful to keep the mouth shut closely while masticating the food. It is the opening of the lips which causes the smacking which seems very disgusting. Chew your food well, but do it silently, and be careful to take small mouthfuls. The knife can be used to cut the meat finely, as large pieces of meat are not healthful, and appear very indelicate. At many tables, two, three or more knives and forks are placed on the table, the knives at the right hand of the plate, the forks at the left,--a knife and a fork for each course, so that there need be no replacing of them after the breakfast and dinner is served. The smaller ones, which are for game, dessert, or for hot cakes at breakfast, can be tucked under the edges of the plate, and the large ones, for the meat and vegetables, are placed outside of them. Be very careful not to clatter your knives and forks upon your plates, but use them without noise. When passing the plate for a second helping, lay them together at one side of the plate, with handles to the right. When you are helped to anything, _do not_ wait until the rest of the company are provided, as it is not considered good breeding. Soup is always served for the first course, and it should be eaten with dessert spoons, and taken from the sides, not the tips, of them, without any sound of the lips, and not sucked into the mouth audibly from the ends of the spoon. Bread should not be broken into soup or gravy. Never ask to be helped to soup a second time. The hostess may ask you to take a second plate, but you will politely decline. Fish chowder, which is served in soup plates, is said to be an exception which proves this rule, and when eating of that it is correct to take a second plateful if desired. Another generally neglected obligation is that of spreading butter on one's bread as it lies in one's plate, or but slightly lifted at one end of the plate; it is very frequently buttered in the air, bitten in gouges, and still held in the face and eyes of the table with the marks of the teeth on it; This is certainly not altogether pleasant, and it is better to cut it, a bit at a time, after buttering it, and put piece by piece in the mouth with one's finger and thumb. Never help yourself to butter, or any other food with your own knife or fork. It is not considered good taste to mix food on the same plate. Salt must be left on the side of the plate and never on the tablecloth. Let us mention a few things concerning the eating of which there is sometimes doubt. A cream-cake and anything of similar nature should be eaten with knife and fork, never bitten. Asparagus--which should be always served on bread or toast so as to absorb superfluous moisture--may be taken from the finger and thumb; if it is fit to be set before you the whole of it may be eaten. Pastry should be broken and eaten with a fork, never cut with a knife. Raw oysters should be eaten with a fork, also fish. Peas and beans, as we all know, require the fork only; however food that cannot be held with a fork should be eaten with a spoon. Potatoes, if mashed, should be mashed with the fork. Green corn should be eaten from the cob; but it must be held with a single hand. Celery, cresses, olives, radishes, and relishes of that kind are, of course, to be eaten with the fingers; the salt should be laid upon one's plate, not upon the cloth. Fish is to be eaten with the fork, without the assistance of the knife; a bit of bread in the left hand sometimes helps one to master a refractory morsel. Fresh fruit should be eaten with a silver-bladed knife, especially pears, apples, etc. Berries, of course, are to be eaten with a spoon. In England they are served with their hulls on, and three or four are considered an ample quantity. But then in England they are many times the size of ours; there they take the big berry by the stem, dip into powdered sugar, and eat it as we do the turnip radish. It is not proper to drink with a spoon in the cup; nor should one, by-the-way, ever quite drain a cup or glass. Don't, when you drink, elevate your glass as if you were going to stand it inverted on your nose. Bring the glass perpendicularly to the lips, and then lift it to a slight angle. Do this easily. Drink sparingly while eating. It is far better for the digestion not to drink tea or coffee until the meal is finished. Drink gently, and do not pour it down your throat like water turned out of a pitcher. When seating yourself at the table, unfold your napkin and lay it across your lap in such a manner that it will not slide off upon the floor; a gentleman should place it across his right knee. Do not tuck it into your neck like a child's bib. For an old person, however, it is well to attach the napkin to a napkin hook and slip it into the vest or dress buttonholes, to protect their garments, or sew a broad tape at two places on the napkin, and pass it over the head. When the soup is eaten, wipe the mouth carefully with the napkin, and use it to wipe the hands after meals. Finger bowls are not a general institution, and yet they seem to be quite as needful as the napkin, for the fingers are also liable to become a little soiled in eating. They can be had quite cheaply, and should be half-filled with water, and placed upon the side table or butler's tray, with the dessert, bread and cheese, etc. They are passed to each person half filled with water, placed on a parti-colored napkin with a dessert plate underneath, when the dessert is placed upon the table. A leaf or two of sweet verbena, an orange flower, or a small slice of lemon, is usually put into each bowl to rub upon the fingers. The slice of lemon is most commonly used. The finger tips are slightly dipped into the bowl, the lemon juice is squeezed upon them, and then they are dried softly upon the napkin. At dinner parties and luncheons they are indispensable. Spoons are sometimes used with firm puddings, but forks are the better style. A spoon should never be turned over in the mouth. Ladies have frequently an affected way of holding the knife half-way down its length, as if it were too big for their little hands; but this is as awkward a way as it is weak; the knife should be grasped freely by the handle only, the forefinger being the only one to touch the blade, and that only along the back of the blade at its root, and no further down. At the conclusion of a course, where they have been used, knife and fork should be laid side by side across the middle of the plate--never crossed; the old custom of crossing them was in obedience to an ancient religious formula. The servant should offer everything at the left of the guest, that the guest may be at liberty to use the right hand. If one has been given a napkin ring, it is necessary to fold one's napkin and use the ring; otherwise the napkin should be left unfolded. One's teeth are not to be picked at table; but if it is impossible to hinder it, it should be done behind the napkin. One may pick a bone at the table, but, as with corn, only one hand is allowed to touch it; yet one can easily get enough from it with knife and fork, which is certainly the more elegant way of doing; and to take her teeth to it gives a lady the look of caring a little too much for the pleasures of the table; one is, however, on no account to suck one's finger after it. Whenever there is any doubt as to the best way to do a thing, it is wise to follow that which is the most rational, and that will almost invariably be found to be proper etiquette. To be at ease is a great step towards enjoying your own dinner, and making yourself agreeable to the company. There is reason for everything in polite usage; thus the reason why one does not blow a thing to cool it, is not only that it is an inelegant and vulgar action intrinsically, but because it may be offensive to others--cannot help being so, indeed; and it, moreover implies, haste, which, whether from greediness or a desire to get away, is equally objectionable. Everything else may be as easily traced to its origin in the fit and becoming. If, to conclude, one seats one's self properly at table and takes reason into account, one will do tolerably well. One must not pull one's chair too closely to the table, for the natural result of that is the inability to use one's knife and fork without inconveniencing one's neighbor; the elbows are to be held well in and close to one's side, which cannot be done if the chair is too near the board. One must not lie or lean along the table, nor rest one's arms upon it. Nor is one to touch any of the dishes; if a member of the family, one can exercise all the duties of hospitality through servants, and wherever there are servants, neither family nor guests are to pass or help from any dish. Finally, when rising from your chair leave it where it stands. DINNER GIVING. THE LAYING OF THE TABLE AND THE TREATMENT OF GUESTS. In giving "dinners," the apparently trifling details are of great importance when taken as a whole. We gather around our board agreeable persons, and they pay us and our dinner the courtesy of dressing for the occasion, and this reunion should be a time of profit as well as pleasure. There are certain established laws by which "dinner giving" is regulated in polite society; and it may not be amiss to give a few observances in relation to them. One of the first is that an invited guest should arrive at the house of his host at least a quarter of an hour before the time appointed for dinner. In laying the table for dinner _all_ the linen should be a spotless white throughout, and underneath the linen tablecloth should be spread one of thick cotton-flannel or baize, which gives the linen a heavier and finer appearance, also deadening the sound of moving dishes. Large and neatly folded napkins (ironed without starch), with pieces of bread three or four inches long, placed between the folds, but not to completely conceal it, are laid on each plate. An ornamental centre-piece, or a vase filled with a few rare flowers, is put on the centre of the table, in place of the large table-castor, which has gone into disuse, and is rarely seen now on well-appointed tables. A few choice flowers make a charming variety in the appearance of even the most simply laid table, and a pleasing variety at table is quite as essential to the enjoyment of the repast as is a good choice of dishes, for the eye in fact should be gratified as much as the palate. All dishes should be arranged in harmony with the decorations of the flowers, such as covers, relishes, confectionery, and small sweets. Garnishing of dishes has also a great deal to do with the appearance of a dinner-table, each dish garnished sufficiently to be in good taste without looking absurd. Beside each plate should be laid as many knives, forks and spoons as will be required for the several courses, unless the hostess prefers to have them brought on with each change. A glass of water, and when wine is served glasses for it, and individual salt-cellars may be placed at every plate. Water-bottles are now much in vogue with corresponding tumblers to cover them; these, accompanied with dishes of broken ice, may be arranged in suitable places. When butter is served a special knife is used, and that, with all other required service, may be left to the judgment and taste of the hostess, in the proper placing of the various aids to her guests' comfort. The dessert plates should be set ready, each with a doily and a finger-glass partly filled with water, in which is dropped a slice of lemon; these with extra knives, forks and spoons, should be on the side-board ready to be placed beside the guest between the courses when required. If preferred, the "dinner" may all be served from the side-table, thus relieving the host from the task of carving. A plate is set before each guest, and the dish carved is presented by the waiter on the left-hand side of each guest. At the end of each course the plates give way for those of the next. If not served from the side-table, the dishes are brought in ready carved, and placed before the host and hostess, then served and placed upon the waiter's salver, to be laid by that attendant before the guest. Soup and fish being the first course, plates of soup are usually placed on the table before the dinner is announced; or if the hostess wishes the soup served at the table, the soup-tureen, containing _hot_ soup, and the _warm_ soup-plates are placed before the seat of the hostess. Soup and fish being disposed of, then come the joints or roasts, _entrees_ (made dishes), poultry, etc., also relishes. After dishes have been passed that are required no more, such as vegetables, hot sauces, etc., the dishes containing them may be set upon the side-board, ready to be taken away. Jellies and sauces, when not to be eaten as a dessert, should be helped on the dinner-plate, not on a small side dish as was the former usage. If a dish be on the table, some parts of which are preferred to others, according to the taste of the individuals, all should have the opportunity of choice. The host will simply ask each one if he has any preference for a particular part; if he replies in the negative, you are not to repeat the question, nor insist that he must have a preference. Do not attempt to eulogize your dishes, or apologize that you cannot recommend them--this is extreme bad taste; as also is the vaunting of the excellence of your wines, etc., etc. Do not insist upon your guests partaking of particular dishes. Do not ask persons more than once, and never force a supply upon their plates. It is ill-bred, though common, to press any one to eat; and, moreover, it is a great annoyance to many. In winter, plates should always be warmed, but not made hot. Two kinds of animal food, or two kinds of dessert, should not be eaten _off_ of one plate, and there should never be more than two kinds of vegetables with one course. Asparagus, green corn, cauliflower and raw tomatoes comprise one course in place of a salad. All meats should be cut across the grain in very thin slices. Fish, at dinner, should be baked or boiled, never fried or broiled. Baked ham may be used in every course after fish, sliced thin and handed after the regular course is disposed of. The hostess should retain her plate, knife and fork, until her guests have finished. The crumb-brush is not used until the preparation for bringing in the dessert; then all the glasses are removed, except the flowers, the water-tumblers, and the glass of wine which the guest wishes to retain with his dessert. The dessert plate containing the finger-bowl, also a dessert knife and fork, should then be set before each guest, who at once removes the finger-bowl and its doily, and the knife and fork to the table, leaving the plate ready to be used for any dessert chosen. Finely sifted sugar should always be placed upon the table to be used with puddings, pies, fruit, etc., and if cream is required, let it stand by the dish it is to be served with. To lay a dessert for a small entertainment and a few guests outside of the family, it may consist simply of two dishes of fresh fruit in season, two of dried fruits and two each of cakes and nuts. Coffee and tea are served _lastly_, poured into tiny cups and served clear, passed around on a tray to each guest, then the sugar and cream passed that each person may be allowed to season his black coffee or _café noir_ to suit himself. A _family dinner_, even with a few friends, can be made quite attractive and satisfactory without much display or expense; consisting first of good soup, then fish garnished with suitable additions, followed by a roast; then vegetables and some made dishes, a salad, crackers, cheese and olives, then dessert. This sensible meal, well cooked and neatly served, is pleasing to almost any one, and is within the means of any housekeeper in ordinary circumstances. MEASURES AND WEIGHTS. IN ORDINARY USE AMONG HOUSEKEEPERS. 4 Teaspoonfuls equal 1 tablespoonful liquid. 4 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 wine-glass, or half a gill. 2 Wine-glasses equal one gill or half a cup. 2 Gills equal 1 coffeecupful, or 16 tablespoonfuls. 2 Coffeecupfuls equal 1 pint. 2 Pints equal 1 quart. 4 Quarts equal 1 gallon. 2 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 ounce, liquid. 1 Tablespoonful of salt equals 1 ounce. 16 Ounces equal 1 pound, or a pint of liquid. 4 Coffeecupfuls of sifted flour equal 1 pound. 1 Quart of unsifted flour equals 1 pound. 8 or 10 ordinary sized eggs equal 1 pound. 1 Pint of sugar equals 1 pound. (White granulated.) 2 Coffeecupfuls of powdered sugar equal 1 pound. 1 Coffeecupful of cold butter, pressed down, is one-half pound. 1 Tablespoonful of soft butter, well rounded, equals 1 ounce. An ordinary tumblerful equals 1 coffeecupful, or half a pint. About 25 drops of any thin liquid will fill a common sized teaspoon. 1 Pint of finely chopped meat, packed solidly, equals 1 pound. A set of tin measures (with small spouts or lips), from a gallon down to half a gill, will be found very convenient in every kitchen, though common pitchers, bowls, glasses, etc., may be substituted. INDEX. ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR THE KITCHEN, 588 BEVERAGES, 458 Ale, Mulled, or Egg Flip, 468 Beer, Ginger, 465 Hop, 465 Spruce, 466 Buttermilk as a Drink, 461 Cherry Bounce, 465 Chocolate, 461 Cocoa, 461 Coffee, 458 Filtered or Drip, 459 Healing Properties of, 458 Iced, 460 Substitute for Cream in, 460 Vienna, 459 Cordial, Blackberry, 465 Noyeau, 468 Cream Soda Without Fountain, 467 Egg Flip, or Mulled Ale, 468 Egg Nog, 468 General Remarks, 458 Inexpensive Drink, 472 Junket, Delicious, 466 Koumiss, 470 Lemonade, 469 For a Summer Draught, 463 Lemon Syrup, 467 Mead Sassafras, 467 Pineappleade, 471 Punch, Hot, To Make, 469 Milk, 468 Milk, Fine, 469 Roman. No. 1, 466 Roman. No. 2, 466 Raspberry Shrub, 466 Seidlitz Powder, 471 Syrup, Lemon, 467 Strawberry and Raspberry, 469 Tea, Iced, 461 To Make, 460 The Healing Properties of Tea or Coffee, 458 Vinegar, Home-made Table, 471 Pineapple, 470 Raspberry. No. 1, 470 Raspberry. No. 2, 471 Very Strong Table, 471 Water, Strawberry, 469 Wine, Blackberry No. 1, 462 Blackberry. No. 2, 463 Black Currant, 464 Currant. No. 1, 462 Currant. No. 2, 462 Grape, 463 Honey or Methelin, 464 Orange, Florida, 463 Raisin, 464 Whey, 467 BREAD, 238 Bread, Brown, Boston, 244 Brown, Boston Unfermented, 244 Brown, Rhode Island, 245 Brown, Steamed, 245 Brown, Virginia, 245 Compressed Yeast, 241 Corn, 247 Corn and Rye, 245 Corn, Boston, 247 Corn, Virginia, 247 French, 246 German, 247 Graham, 243 Graham, Unfermented, 244 Milk Yeast, 243 Rye, 245 Rye and Corn, 245 Salt-raising, 242 Twist, 246 Wheat, 240 Cake, Corn, New England, 246 Corn, Spider, 249 Indian Loaf, 248 Johnnie, 248 Potato, Raised, 249 General Directions, 238 Southern Corn Meal Pone, or Corn Dodgers, 249 Yeast, Dried, or Yeast Cakes, 242 Home-made, 241 Unrivaled, 242 BISCUITS, ROLLS, MUFFINS, ETC, 249 Biscuit, Baking Powder, 251 Beaten, 254 Egg, 252 Graham (With Yeast), 252 Grafton Milk, 254 Light. No. 1, 252 Light. No. 2, 252 Potato, 254 Raised, 251 Soda, 251 Sour Milk, 251 Vinegar, 254 Bread Crumbs, Prepared, 272 Bread, Warm for Breakfast, 250 Buns, London Hot Cross, 255 Cake, Newport Breakfast, 271 Cakes, Buckwheat, 266 Buckwheat (Raised), 265 Buckwheat (Without Yeast), 265 Drop (Rye), 261 Drop (Wheat), 262 Flannel (With Yeast), 262 Tea, Berry, 261 Griddle (Very Good), 263 Griddle, Bread, 264 Griddle, Corn Meal, 263 Griddle, Corn Meal (With Yeast), 263 Griddle, Feather, 262 Griddle, French, 265 Griddle, Graham, 264 Griddle, Green Corn, 265 Griddle, Huckleberry, 265 Griddle, Potato, 264 Griddle, Rice, 264 Griddle, Sour Milk, 263 Griddle, Swedish, 266 Griddle, Wheat, 262 Cannelons, or Fried Puffs, 268 Cracked Wheat, 275 Crackers, 272 French, 273 Cracknels, 257 Croquettes, Hominy, 274 Rice, 274 Crumpets, English, 272 Plain, 272 Fritters, Apple, 267 Cream, 266 Corn Meal, 266 Currant, 266 German, 269 Golden Ball, 268 Green Corn, 269 Hominy, 269 Parsnip, 269 Peach, 267 Pineapple, 267 Wheat, 267 Gems, Graham. No. 1, 259 Graham. No. 2, 259 Graham, Plain, 259 General Suggestions, 249 Hominy, 274, 276 Hulled Corn or Samp, 275 Muffins, Corn Meal (Without Eggs), 258 Egg (Fine), 257 Hominy, 259 Plain, 258 Raised. No. 1, 257 Raised. No. 2, 257 Tennessee, 258 Without Eggs, 258 Mush, Corn Meal, or Hasty Pudding, 273 Fried, 273 Graham, 273 Oat Flakes, 275 Oat Meal, 274 Steamed, 276 Pop-overs, 262 Prepared Bread Crumbs, 272 Puff Balls, 271 Puffs, Breakfast, 272 Rolls, Dinner, Fried, 271 French, 253 Parker House, 253 Parker House (Unfermented), 253 Stale (To Renew), 250 Rice, Boiled, 275 Rusks, 256 With Yeast, 256 Unfermented, 256 Sally Lunn, 255 Unfermented, 255 Samp, or Hulled Corn, 275 Scones, Scotch, 256 Short Cake, Cream, 269 Huckleberry, 271 Lemon, 270 Orange, 270 Strawberry, 270 Waffles, 260 Continental Hotel, 260 Cream, 260 Newport, 260 Rice. No. 1, 261 Rice. No. 2, 261 Rice, German, 261 TOAST, 276 American, 277 Apple, 281 Cheese. No. 1, 277 No. 2, 278 Chicken Hash with Rice, 281 Codfish on (Cuban Style), 280 Cream, 277 Eggs on, 279 Baked on, 279 Halibut on, 281 Ham, 279 Hashed Beef on, 280 Milk, 277 Minced Fowls on, 279 Mushrooms on, 278 Nuns', 277 Oyster, 278 Reed Birds on, 279 Tomato, 278 Veal Hash on, 280 BUTTER AND CHEESE, 219 Butter, A Brine to Preserve, 220 Putting up to Keep, 220 To Make, 219 To Make Quickly, 220 Cheese, Cottage, 221 Cream (New Jersey), 221 Cream Toast, 223 Fondu, 222 Scalloped, 222 Soufflé, 222 Straws, Cayenne, 223 Curds and Cream, 221 Pastry Ramakins, 223 Rarebit, Welsh, 224 Slip, 222 Welsh Rarebit, 224 CAKE, ETC., 282 Suggestions in Regard to Cake Making, 282 FROSTING OR ICING, 284 Almond, 285 Boiled, 286 Chocolate, 285 Gelatine, 287 Golden, 287 Without Eggs, 287 Icing, Chocolate, Plain, 285 Sugar, 286 Tutti Frutti, 286 FILLINGS FOR LAYER CAKES, 287 No. 1. Cream Filling, 287 No. 2. Cream Filling, 288 No. 3. Ice Cream Filling, 288 No. 4. Apple Filling, 288 No. 5. Apple Filling, 288 No. 6. Cream Frosting, 288 No. 7. Peach Cream Filling, 288 No. 8. Chocolate Cream Filling, 289 No. 9. Chocolate Cream Filling, 289 No. 10. Banana Filling, 289 No. 11. Lemon Jelly Filling, 289 No. 12. Orange Cake Filling, 289 No. 13. Fig Filling, 289 No. 14. Fruit Filling, 290 Cake, Almond, 303 Angel, 302 Bread or Raised, 290 Bride, 294 Chocolate, No. 1, 298 Chocolate, No. 2, 298 Chocolate, No. 3, 298 Chocolate, French, 297 Citron, 295 Cocoanut, 299 Cocoanut and Almond, 299 Coffee, 299 Cream, 300 Cream (Cheap), 306 Cream, Whipped, 304 Custard or Cream, 305 Delicate, 295 Election, 300 Feather, 300 Fruit (Superior), 290 Fruit, by Measure (Excellent), 291 Fruit, Dried Apple, 300 Fruit, Layer, 304 Fruit, Molasses, 291 Fruit, White, 391 Gingerbread, Hard, 306 Gingerbread, Plain, 307 Ginger, Soft, 306 Gold, 296 Gold and Silver, 307 Golden Spice, 303 Golden Cream, 300 Gold or Lemon, 296 Hickory Nut or Walnut, 305 Huckleberry, 308 Jelly, Layer, 305 Jelly, Rochester, 303 Jelly, Rolled, 304 Layer, To Cut, 304 Lemon, 295 Lemon or Gold, 296 Loaf (Superior), 297 Loaf (Washington), 302 Marble, 297 Pound, Citron, 295 Pound, Cocoanut, 295 Pound, English, 294 Pound, Plain, 294 Queen's, 302 Ribbon, 302 Silver or Delicate, 296 Snow (Delicious), 296 Sponge, 292 Sponge, Almond, 292 Sponge, Lemon, 293 Sponge (Old-fashioned), 293 Sponge, Plain, 293 Sponge, White, 292 Sweet Strawberry, 308 White Mountain, No. 1, 301 White Mountain, No. 2, 301 Without Eggs, 301 Cakes, Corn Starch, 312 Cream, Boston, 307 Cup, 311 Cup, Molasses 308 Fancy, 310 Fried, or Doughnuts, 316 Fried, or Crullers, 317 Jelly, Brunswick, 313 Molasses Cup, 308 Nut, Fried, 318 Peach, 310 Plum, Little, 313 Variegated, 311 Cookies, 315 Cocoanut, 316 Crisp (Very Nice), 316 Favorite, 315 Fruit, 315 Ginger, 309 Lemon, 316 Crullers, or Fried Cakes, 317 or Wonders, 318 Doughnuts, Bakers' Raised, 317 German, 318 or Fried Cakes, 316 Puff Ball, 319 Raised, 317 Drops, Sponge, 313 Dominoes, 310 Eclairs, Chocolate, 308 Ginger Biscuit, White, 307 Cookies, 309 Snaps, 309 Snaps, Bakers', 309 Gingerbread, Hard, 306 Plain, 307 Jumbles, 314 Almond, 315 Cocoanut, 314 Fruit, 315 Philadelphia, 314 Wine, 314 Lady Fingers, or Savory Biscuit, 312 Neapolitaines, 313 Sandwiches, Pastry, 313 Savory Biscuit, 312 Trifles, 319 Wafers, 310 CANNED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, 438 Boiled Cider, Canned, 442 Canned Corn, 441 Fruit Juices, 440 Grapes, 439 Mince Meat, 442 Peaches, 439 Peas, 441 Pineapple, 440 Plums, 442 Pumpkin, 442 Quinces, 440 Strawberries, 439 Tomatoes, 440 Peach Butter, 443 General Remarks, 438 Peaches Dried with Sugar, 443 To Can Corn, 441 Peas, 441 Pineapple, 440 CARVING, 7 Beef, Hind-Quarter, 8 Fore-Quarter, 8 Sirloin of, 14 Duck, Roast, 24 Fowls, Roast, 23 Goose, Roast, 23 Ham, Roast, 20 Lamb, Fore-Quarter, 19 Mackerel, 26 Mutton, 11 Leg of, 18 Partridges, 24 Pheasant, 25 Pigeons, 25 Pork, 12 Salmon, Boiled, 26 Turkey, Roast, 22 Veal, Breast of, 15 Fore-Quarter, 10 Fillet of, 16 Hind-Quarter, 10 Neck of, 17 Venison, 13 Haunch of, 21 COLORING FOR FRUIT, CONFECTIONERY, ETC., 444 Caramel, or Burnt Sugar, 445 Coloring, Green, 444 Red, Deep, 444 Red or Pink, 444 Yellow, 444 Sugar Grains, 445 Colored, 445 To Clarify Jelly, 445 CONFECTIONERY, 446 Candy, Butter Scotch, 453 Chocolate Caramels, 450 Chocolate Creams, 448 Chocolate Cream Drops, 457 Cocoanut, 452 Cocoanut Caramels, 456 Cocoanut Creams, 457 Cocoanut Creams, 449 Currant Drops, 451 Everton Taffy, 452 Fig, 454 French Cream, 447 French Vanilla Cream, 456 Fruit Creams, 448 Fruit and Nut Creams, 457 Grilled Almonds, 450 Hoarhound, 453 Lemon Drops, 451 Maple Sugar Creams, 450 Molasses, 455 Molasses and Nut, 451 Nut, Sugar, 452 Nut, Molasses, 451 Nut Creams, 450 Orange Drops, 457 Peppermint Drops, 451 Pop Corn. No. 1, 453 Pop Corn. No. 2, 453 Raspberry Creams, 449 Roley Poley, 454 Stick, 450 Variegated Creams, 449 Walnut Creams, 448 Candied Oranges, 454 Candies Without Cooking, 456 Conserves, Peach, 455 Strawberry, 455 Dried Preserves, 456 General Remarks, 446 Jujube Paste, 454 Maple Walnuts, 452 Peach Leather, 455 Pop Corn Balls, 452 CUSTARDS, CREAMS AND DESSERTS, 344 Almonds, Salted or Roasted, 366 Apples, Stewed. No. 1, 370 Stewed. No. 2, 370 Blanc Mange. No. 1, 359 No. 2, 359 Chocolate, 359 Corn Starch, 359 Fruit, 360 Tapioca, 358 Cake, Peach, 366 Charlotte, Burnt Almond, 364 Country Plum, 364 Orange, 360 Orange, 363 Strawberry, 360 Tipsy, 363 Russe, 361 Russe, Fine, 361 Russe (Another), 362 Russe, Economical, 363 Russe or Naples Biscuit, 362 Russe, Plain. No. 1, 362 Russe, Plain. No. 2, 362 Russe with Pineapple, 364 Cheese Custard, Recipe for, 375 Chestnuts, Roast, 367 Cream, Banana, 352 Bavarian, 349 Bavarian Strawberry, 350 Chocolate. No. 1, 350 Chocolate or Custard. No. 2, 351 For Fruit, 355 Golden, 350 Italian, 353 Lemon. No. 1, 351 Lemon. No. 2, 351 Lemon. No. 3, 351 Mock, or Boiled Custard, 346 Orange, 352 Peach. No. 1, 353 Peach. No. 2, 353 Pie, 366 Snow, 353 Solid, 352 Spanish, 349 Tapioca Custard, 352 Velvet, with Strawberries, 365 Whipped. No. 1, 349 Whipped. No. 3, 349 Croutons, After Dinner, 367 Crystallized Fruit, 369 Custard, Almond. No. 1, 347 Almond. No. 2, 348 Apple, 347 Baked, 345 Boiled, 346 Boiled or Mock Cream, 346 Caramel, Soft, 345 Cocoanut, Baked, 348 Cup, 345 French, 346 German, 347 Snowball, 348 Tapioca Cream, 352 Dessert Puffs, 366 Float, Apple, 354 Orange, 367 Floating Island, 358 Islands, 358 Fritters, Jelly, 369 Fruit, Crystallized, 369 Short Cake, 366 General Remarks, 344 Gooseberry Fool, 371 Honey, Lemon, 358 Jelly, Cider, 374 Kisses, 371 Lemon. No. 1, 373 Lemon. No. 2, 373 Orange, 374 Strawberry, 377 Variegated, 374 Wine, 373 Kisses, Jelly, 372 or Meringues, 371 Meringue, Corn Starch, 365 Peach, 354 Meringues or Kisses, 371 Macaroons, Almond, 372 Chocolate, 373 Cocoanut, 372 Mock Ice, 354 Naples Biscuit, or Charlotte Russe, 362 Omelet, Sweet. No. 1, 368 No. 2, 368 Peaches and Cream, 369 Pears, Baked, 370 Stewed, 370 Puffs, Dessert, 366 Quinces, Baked, 371 Salad of Mixed Fruits, 368 Orange Cocoanut, 368 Short Cakes, Fruit, 366 Snow Pyramid, 369 Apple, 356 Quince, 356 Sponge, Lemon, 355 Strawberry, 355 Syllabub, 355 Toast, Lemon, 367 Trifle, Apple, 357 Fruit, 357 Gooseberry, 357 Grape, 357 Lemon, 356 Orange, 356 Peach, 357 Washington Pie, 365 DINNER GIVING, 599 DINNERS AND RECEPTIONS AT WHITE HOUSE, 507 DRESSINGS AND SAUCES, 156 DUMPLINGS AND PUDDINGS, 381 DYEING AND COLORING, 591 Cotton Goods, 594 General Remarks, 591 Silks, 591 Woolen Goods, 592 EGGS AND OMELETS, 225 Eggs and Bacon Mixed, 229 aux Fines Herbes, 228 Boiled, 226 Boiled, Soft, 226 Cold, for Picnic, 229 Fried, 228 in Cases, 229 Minced, 229 Mixed Generally, Savory or Sweet, 229 Poached, á la Crême, 228 Poached or Dropped, 227 Scalloped, 226 Scrambled, 227 Shirred, 227 To Preserve, 225 Omelets, 230 Omelet, Asparagus, 232 Baked, 234 Bread. No. 1, 234 Bread. No. 2, 234 Cheese, 232 Chicken, 233 Fish, 233 Ham, 233 Jelly, 234 Meat or Fish, 231 Mushroom, 233 of Herbs, 231 Onion, 234 Oyster, 233 Plain, 230 Rice, 232 Rum, 235 Soufflé, 235 Tomato. No. 1, 232 Tomato. No. 2, 232 Vegetable, 231 FACTS WORTH KNOWING, 566 FISH, 49 Fish, To Fry, 51 and Oyster Pie, 54 General Remarks, 49 Bass, Boiled, 55 Blue Fish, Boiled, 56 Baked, 56 Chowder (Rhode Island), 63 Clam Chowder, 79 Fritters, 78 Clams, Roast, in Shell, 78 Scalloped, 79 Stewed, 78 Codfish, 63 á la Mode, 64 Baked, 66 Balls, 63 Boiled (Fresh), 64 Boiled (Salt), 65 Boiled, and Oyster Sauce, 65 Steak, New England Style, 66 Stewed (Salt), 64 Crab Croquettes, 71 Pie, 71 Crabs, Baked, 70 Deviled, 71 Scalloped, 61 Soft Shell, 71 Fried, 51 Eels, Fried, 56 Fritters, 65 Frogs, Fried, 80 Stewed, 80 Halibut, Baked, 58 Boiled, 57 Broiled, 58 Fried. No. 1, 57 Fried. No. 2, 57 Steamed, 57 Fish in White Sauce, 63 Lobsters Boiled, 68 Lobster a la Newburg, 70 Croquettes, 69 Deviled, 69 Patties, 70 Scalloped, 69 Mackerel, Baked (Salt), 60 Boiled (Fresh), 61 Boiled (Salt), 60 Broiled (Spanish), 60 Fried (Salt), 61 Mayonnaise, 62 Oyster Fritters, 75 Patties, 75 Pie (Boston), 76 Pies, Small, 78 Pot Pie, 76 Oysters, 72 Broiled, 73 Fried, 72 Fried in Batter, 72 Fried (Boston), 73 Fricasseed, 77 Mock, 77 Pan. No. 1, 74 Pan. No. 2, 74 Plain Stew, 73 Roast (Fulton Market), 76 Roast in Shell. No. 1, 73 Roast. No. 2, 74 Scalloped, 76 Soup, 78 Steamed, 74 Steamed in Shell, 74 Stew (Dry), 73 Stewed in Cream, 72 Pan, 51 Pickerel, Baked, 51 Pie, 54 Potted, 63 Potted (Fresh), 61 Salmon and Caper Sauce, 52 Boiled, 52 Broiled, 52 Broiled (Salt), 53 Croquettes, 66 Fricassee, 53 Fried (Fresh), 52 Patties, 54 Pickled, 53 Smoked, 53 Scalloped, 64 Scallops, 79 Shad, Baked, 55 Broiled, 55 Roe, To Cook, 55 Sheepshead, with Drawn Butter, 56 Smelts, Baked, 59 Fried, 58 Steamed, 54 Sturgeon, Fresh Steak Marinade, 62 Terrapin, Stewed, 68 Stew, 67 Stew, with Cream, 67 Trout, Brook, Fried, 58 Salmon, Baked, 59 Turtle or Terrapin Stew, 67 White, Baked, 59 Bordeaux Sauce, 59 Boiled, 59 FRENCH WORDS IN COOKING, 587 GAME AND POULTRY, 81 HEALTH SUGGESTIONS, 521 Bleeding at the Nose, 532 Burns and Scalds, 528 Camphorated Oil, 535 Colds and Hoarseness, 525 Compound Cathartic Elixir, 536 Cough Syrup, 527 Croup, 528 Diarrhoea, 530 Diphtheria, 525 Eye Washes, 533 Fainting, 534 For Constipation, 530 Severe Sprains, 535 Toothache, 527 Gravel, 529 Grandmother's Cough Syrup, 536 Eye Wash, 537 Family Spring Bitters, 537 Universal Liniment, 536 Growing Pains Cured, 525 Hints in Regard to Health, 538 Hoarseness and Colds, 525 How Colds are Caught, 521 To Keep Well, 525 Use Hot Water, 524 Hunters' Pills, 537 Leanness, 527 Liniment for Chilblains, 535 Medicinal Food, 540 Molasses Posset, 526 Recipe for Felons, 531 Regulation in Diet, 523 Relief from Asthma, 531 Remedy for Lockjaw, 532 Sore Throat, 529 Sun Stroke, 534 Swaim's Vermifuge, 534 "The Sun's" Cholera Mixture, 535 To Cure the Sting of Bee or Wasp, 527 Cure Earache, 527 Toothache, For, 527 To Stop the Flow of Blood, 529 Take Cinders from the Eye, 533 Remove Warts, 534 Vermifuge, Swaim's, 534 Water, 523 Whooping Cough, 530 HOUSEKEEPERS' TIME TABLE, 542 ICE-CREAMS AND ICES, 376 Cream, Fruit, 378 Frozen Fruits, 379 Peaches, 379 Ice, Almond, 380 Currant, 380 Lemon, 379 Orange Water, 380 Ice-Cream, 376 Chocolate. No. 1, 377 Chocolate. No. 2, 377 Cocoanut, 377 Custard, 377 Fruit, 376 Pure, 376 Strawberry, 378 Tutti Frutti 378 Without a Freezer, 378 Sherbet, Pineapple, 380 Raspberry, 380 JELLIES AND PRESERVES, 423 MEATS, 107 Beef á la Mode, 113 Brisket of, Stewed, 120 Cold Roast, Warmed. No. 1, 122 Cold Roast, Warmed. No. 2, 122 Croquettes. No. 1, 121 Croquettes. No. 2, 121 Corned or Salted (Red), 116 Corned, To Boil, 118 Dried, 116 Dried, with Cream, 121 Flank of, to Collar, 115 Frizzled, 118 Hash. No. 1, 123 Hash. No. 2, 123 Heart, Stewed, 124 Heart, To Roast, 124 Kidney, Stewed, 124 Liver, Fried, 119 Pot Roast (Old Style), 112 Pressed, 119 Roast, 109 Pie, Roast, 117 Pie, Roast, with Potato Crust, 116 Spiced, Excellent, 112 Spiced, Relish, 119 Beefsteak. No. 1, 110 No. 2, 111 and Onions, 111 and Oysters, 111 Flank, 118 Hamburger, 123 Pie, 117 Rolls, 115 Smothered, 114 Stewed with Oysters, 114 To Fry, 111 Beef-stew, French, 119 Beef, Tenderloin of, 113 To Clarify Drippings of, 126 Tongue, Boiled, 124 Tongue, Spiced, 125 To Pot, 120 Brain Cutlets, 133 Calf's Head, Baked, 132 Head, Boiled, 133 Head Cheese, 133 Liver and Bacon, 134 Meat and Potato Croquettes, 121 Cold, and Potatoes, Baked, 122 Thawing Frozen, Etc., 109 To Keep from Flies, 109 Sweetbreads, 135 Baked, 135 Croquettes of, 135 Fricasseed, 136 Fried, 135 Tripe, Fricasseed, 126 Lyonnaise, 126 To Boil, 125 To Fry, 125 Veal, Braised, 132 Cheese, 129 Chops, Fried (Plain), 128 Collops, 128 Croquettes, 129 Cutlets, Broiled (Fine), 129 Cutlets, Fried, 128 Fillet of, Roast, 127 Fillet of, Boiled, 127 for Lunch 131 Loaf 131 Loin of, Roast 126 Olives, 129 Patties, 132 Pie, 130 Pot Pie, 130 Pudding, 127 Stew, 131 Yorkshire Pudding, For Veal, 110 LAMB AND MUTTON, 136 Lamb, Croquettes of Odds and Ends of, 144 Fore-Quarter of, To Broil, 143 Pressed, 143 Quarter of, Roasted, 142 Stew, 143 Sweetbreads and Tomato Sauce, 142 Mutton, Boned Leg of, Roasted, 136 Chops and Potatoes, Baked, 140 Broiled, 139 Fried. No. 1, 139 Fried. No. 2, 139 Cutlets (Baked), 140 Hashed, 138 Irish Stew, 141 Leg of, á la Venison, 138 Leg of, Boiled, 137 Leg of, Braised, 137 Leg of, Steamed, 138 Pudding, 141 Roast, 136 Scalloped, and Tomatoes, 142 Scrambled, 141 Muttonettes, 140 PORK, 144 Bacon and Eggs, Cold, 150 To Cure English, 155 Cheese, Head, 154 Ham and Eggs, Fried, 150 Boiled, 151 Broiled, 152 Potted, 152 To Bake a (Corned), 151 Hams and Bacon, To Cure, 154 and Fish, To Smoke at Home, 154 Head Cheese, 154 Lard, To Try Out, 155 Pig, Roast, 145 Pigs' Feet, Pickled, 151 Pork and Beans, Baked, 149 and Beans (Boston Style), 149 Chops and Fried Apples, 147 Chops, Fried, 148 Cutlets, 147 Fresh, Pot Pie, 146 Leg of, Boiled, 146 Leg of, Roast, 145 Loin of, Roast, 145 Pie, 148 Pot Pie, 148 Salt, Fried, 149 Salt, Grilled, 149 Spare Rib of, Roasted, 146 Tenderloins, 147 Roast Pig, 145 Sausage, Bologna (Cooked), 152 Sausages, Country Pork, 153 To Fry, 153 Scrappel, 150 MEASURES AND WEIGHTS, 603 MENUS FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCHEON AND DINNER, 478 January, 478 February, 480 March, 482 April, 484 May, 486 June, 488 July, 490 August, 493 September, 494 October, 496 November, 498 December, 500 MENUS, SPECIAL, 503 MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES, 543 Ammonia, Uses of, 543 Cement, Cracks in Floors, 559 for Acids, 560 for China and Glass, 556 Cider, To Keep, 561 Cleaning Jewelry, For, 551 Oil Cloth, For, 547 Sinks, For, 557 Crape, To Renew Old, 551 Family Glue, 559 Feathers, To Wash, 549 Flannels, To Wash, 546 Fluid, Washing, 562 Furniture Cream, 559 How to Freshen up Furs, 550 Garments, To Wash Colored, 553 Gloves, To Clean Kid, 551 Glue, 559 Family, 559 Hard Soap (Washing) 562 Incombustible Dresses, 550 Insects and Vermin, 544 Indelible Ink, To Remove, 560 Lace, To Clean Black. No. 1, 547 To Clean Black. No. 2, 548 To Wash White. No. 1, 548 To Wash White Thread. No. 2, 548 Leather, A Polish for, 561 Machine Grease, To Take Out, 546 Management of Stoves, 557 Marble, To Remove Stains from, 552 Moths in Carpets, 545 Mucilage, Postage Stamp, 559 Novel Dress Mending, 550 Oil Cloth Cleaning, 547 Stains in Silk and Other Fabrics, 554 Old Style Family Soft Soap, 563 Paper Hangers' Paste, 553 Paste for Scrap Books, Etc, 560 Polish for Ladies' Kid Shoes, 560 for Leather, 561 Shirts, to Starch, Fold and Iron, 547 Silks or Ribbons, to Clean, 549 To Clean Black Dress, 549 Silver Plate, To Clean, 552 Starch Polish, 551 Soap for Washing Without Rubbing, 563 Hard (Washing), 562 Old Style Family, 563 Soft, To Make Without Cooking, 563 Stoves, Management of, 557 The Marking System, 553 To Bleach Cotton Cloth, 561 To Cement Cracks in Floors, 559 To Clean Black Lace, 547 To Clean Black Dress Silks, 549 To Clean Kid Gloves, 551 To Clean Silks and Ribbons, 549 To Clean Silver Plate, 552 To Destroy Insects and Vermin, 544 To Keep Cider, 561 To Make a Paste to Fasten Labels, 558 To Raise the Pile on Velvet, 551 To Remove Indelible Ink, 560 To Remove Ink from Carpets, 558 To Remove Stains and Spots, 554 To Remove Stains from Marble, 552 To Renew Old Crape, 551 To Soften Water, 562 To Starch, Fold and Iron Shirts, 547 To Take Out Machine Grease, 546 To Take Rust Out of Steel, 558 To Whiten Walls, 552 Uses of Ammonia, 543 Velvet, to Raise the Pile on, 551 Walls, to Whiten, 552 Washing Fluid, 562 MODES OF FRYING, 48 OMELETS AND EGGS, 225 PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS, 320 Crust, Potato, 324 Chess Cakes, 343 General Remarks, 320 How to Make a Pie, 321 Icing Pastry, 321 Maids of Honor, 342 Meat for Mince Pies (Cooked), 337 Mince Meat, Mock, Without Meat, 338 Patties or Shells for Tarts, 325 Pie, Apple, Green, 326 Apple and Peach Meringue, 327 Apple Custard. No. 1, 326 Apple Custard. No. 2, 326 Apple Custard. No. 3, 327 Apple Custard. No. 4, 327 Apple, Irish, 327 Apple, Mock, 327 Apricot Meringue, 332 Berry, Ripe, 335 Blackberry, 333 Cocoanut. No. 1, 328 Cocoanut. No. 2, 328 Cherry, 332 Cranberry, 335 Cranberry Tart, 335 Cream, 330 Cream, Boston, 331 Cream, Mock, 331 Cream, Whipped, 331 Currant. No. 1, 332 Currant, Ripe. No. 2, 333 Custard, 331 Custard, Bakers', 330 Custard, Chocolate. No. 1, 328 Custard, Chocolate. No. 2, 328 Custard, Fruit, 332 Dried Fruit, 335 Fruit, German, 342 Gooseberry, 336 Grape, 334 Huckleberry, 333 Jelly and Preserved Fruit, 335 Lemon. No. 1 (Superior), 328 Lemon. No. 2, 329 Lemon. No. 3, 329 Lemon. No. 4, 329 Lemon, Raisin, 333 Mince. No. 1, 338 Mince. No. 2, 338 Molasses, 333 Orange, 330 Peach, 335 Pineapple, 334 Plum or Damson, 334 Pumpkin. No. 1, 336 Pumpkin. No. 2, 336 Pumpkin, Without Eggs, 337 Rhubarb, 333 Rhubarb (Cooked), 334 Ripe Berry, 335 Squash, 337 Sweet Potato, 337 Tomato, Green, 332 Pie Crust, Plain, 324 To Make Flaky, 325 Rule for Undercrust, 324 Puff Paste, Fine, 322 for Pies, 322 of Suet, 324 Soyer's Recipe for, 323 Pumpkin or Squash for Pies, Stewed, 336 Baked, 336 Tartlets. No. 1, 325 No. 2, 325 Lemon. No. 1, 339 Lemon. No. 2, 340 Meringue Custard, 340 Orange, 340 Plum Custard, 339 Tarts, 326 Apple, 342 Berry, 341 Chocolate, 341 Cocoanut, 341 Cream, 343 Gooseberry, Green, 341 Jam, Open, 343 Strawberry Cream, 341 Turnover, Fruit, Suitable for Picnics, 339 POULTRY AND GAME, 81 Chicken, Boiled, 87 Breaded, 92 Broiled, 89 Broiled on Toast, 93 Croquettes. No. 1, 90 Croquettes. No. 2, 91 Croquettes, To Fry, 91 Curry, 93 Dressed as Terrapin, 95 Fricassee, 87 Fried, 90 Fried á la Italienne, 90 Lunch for Traveling, 91 Macaroni and, 96 Patties, 88 Pickled, 88 Pie, 89 Pot Pie. No. 1, 94 Pot Pie. No. 2, 94 Potted, 92 Pressed, 91 Pudding, 96 Rissoles of, 88 Roast, 86 Roley Poley, 95 Scalloped, 92 Steamed, 87 Stewed (Whole Spring), 87 Stewed with Biscuit, 95 Turnovers, 95 Dressing or Stuffing for Fowls, 83 Oyster, 83 Duck, Braised, 97 Canvas Back, 99 Duck Pie, 98 Roast (Tame), 96 Roast (Wild), 98 Stewed, 97 Warmed Up, 98 Wild, 98 Game Pie, 101 Salmi of, 103 Goose, Roast, 86 Grouse, To Roast, Etc., 101 Hare, Roast, 102 Partridges, To Roast, Etc., 101 Pigeon Pie, 99 Pigeons, Broiled, or Squabs, 100 Roast, 99 Stewed, 99 Quail, To Roast, 101 To Roast, Etc., 101 Rabbit, Broiled, 103 Fricassee, 102 Fried, 103 Pie, 103 Roast, 103 Reed Birds, 100 Salmi of Game, 103 Snipe, 100 Snow Birds, 102 Squab Pot Pie, 100 Squirrels, 102 Turkey, Boned, 85 Boiled, 84 Hashed, 85 Roast, 82 Scallop, 84 Warmed Over, 85 Venison, Baked Saddle of, 105 Steak, Broiled, 104 Steak, Fried, 106 Hashed, 106 Pie or Pastry, 105 Roast Haunch of, 104 Woodcock, Roasted, 100 PRESERVES, JELLIES, ETC, 423 A New Way of Keeping Fruit, 436 Brandied Peaches or Pears, 436 General Remarks, 423 Jam, Gooseberry, 435 Raspberry, 436 Strawberry, 435 Jellies, Fruit, 431 Jelly, Apple, 433 Crab Apple, 434 Currant, 431 Currant (New Method), 432 Grape, 433 Orange, Florida, 433 Peach, 434 Quince, 432 Raspberry, 432 Macedoines, 436 Marmalade, Lemon, 435 Orange, 434 Orange Syrup, 434 Pineapple Preserves, 427 Preserved Apples (Whole), 426 Preserved Cherries, 424 Cranberries, 424 Egg Plums, 425 Peaches, 426 Pears, 427 Pumpkins, 429 Quinces, 427 Strawberries, 425 Tomatoes (Green), 426 Preserving Fruit, (New Mode), 429 (New Method of), 430 Raisins (A French Marmalade), 435 To Preserve and Dry Green Gages, 428 Berries Whole (Excellent), 425 Fruit Without Sugar, 430 Water Melon and Citron Rind, 428 PUDDINGS AND DUMPLINGS, 381 A Royal Dessert, 416 Batter, Common, 386 Berry Rolls, Baked, 414 Cobbler, Peach, 413 Currants, To Clean, 383 Dumplings, Apple, 384 Apple (Boiled), 385 Lemon, 386 Oxford, 385 Preserve, 385 Rice, Boiled (Custard Sauce), 384 Suet. No. 1, 385 Suet. No. 2, 386 General Remarks, 381 Geneva Wafers, 414 Huckleberries with Crackers and Cream, 416 Pudding, Almond, 386 Almond. No. 1, 390 Almond. No. 2, 390 Apple and Brown Bread, 388 Apple, Baked, 386 Apple, Boiled, 387 Apple Custard, 391 Apple Puff, 389 Apple Roley Poley, 411 Apple Sago, 401 Apple Tapioca, 388 Banana, 412 Batter, Baked, 390 Batter, Boiled, 390 Berry, Cold, 388 Bird's Nest, 387 Blackberry and Whortleberry, 409 Bread and Butter. No. 1, 387 Bread and Butter. No. 2, 387 Bread, Baked Plain, 389 Bread, Boiled, 389 Bread (Superior), 389 Cabinet, 398 Cherry, 396 Cherry, Boiled or Steamed, 396 Chocolate. No. 1, 401 Chocolate. No. 2, 402 Chocolate. No. 3, 402 Chocolate. No. 4, 402 Christmas Plum, by Measure, 397 Cocoanut. No. 1 (French), 395 Cocoanut. No. 2, 396 Cocoanut. No. 3, 396 Cold Fruit, 392 Corn Meal, 404 Corn Meal, Apple, 404 Corn Meal, Baked Without Eggs, 393 Corn Meal, Baked with Eggs, 394 Corn Meal, Boiled, 394 Corn Meal, Boiled Without Eggs, 394 Corn Meal, Fruit, 404 Corn Meal Puffs, 395 Corn Starch, 392 Cottage, 305 Cracker, 393 Cranberry, Baked, 398 Cream, 392 Cream Meringue, 392 Cuban, 393 Currant, Boiled, 410 Custard, 391 Custard. No. 1, 391 Custard. No. 2, 391 Custard Apple, 391 Delmonico, 406 English Plum (The Genuine), 396 Fig, 404 Fruit, 405 Fruit, 409 Fruit, Cold, 392 Fruit, Puff, 411 Fruit, Rice, 407 Graham, 412 Green Corn, 414 Hominy, 413 Huckleberry, Baked, 409 Indian, Delicate, 395 Jelly, 415 Lemon, 400 Lemon, Baked (Queen of Puddings), 399 Lemon, Boiled, 400 Lemon, Cold, 400 Minute. No. 1, 414 Minute. No. 2, 415 Nantucket, 406 Orange. No. 1, 399 Orange. No. 2, 399 Orange Roley Poley, 411 Peach, Dried, 412 Peach, Pear and Apple, 403 Pie Plant or Rhubarb, 405 Pineapple, 410 Plum, English (The Genuine), 396 Plum, Baked, 397 Plum, Without Eggs, 398 Prune, 409 Quick, 416 Raspberry, 403 Ready, 416 Rhubarb or Pie Plant, 405 Rice, Boiled. No. 1, 408 Rice, Boiled. No. 2, 408 Rice, Fruit, 408 Rice (Fine), 407 Rice (Plain), 406 Rice, Lemon, 407 Rice, Meringue, 407 Rice, Snow Balls, 408 Rice, Without Eggs, 407 Roley Poley (Apple), 411 Roley Poley (Orange), 411 Sago, Apple, 401 Sago, Plain, 401 Sago, Royal, 401 Saucer, 406 Snow, 405 Sponge Cake. No. 1, 411 Sponge Cake. No. 2, 412 Strawberry Tapioca, 403 Suet, Plain, 413 Suet, Plum, 413 Sunderland, 415 Sweet Potato, 410 Tapioca, 403 Tapioca, Apple, 388 Toast, 406 Transparent, 410 Whortleberry and Blackberry, 409 Puffets, Apple, Boiled, 386 Royal Dessert, A, 416 To Chop Suet, 383 Stone Raisins, 383 SANDWICHES, 236 Cheese, 237 Chicken, 236 Egg, 237 Ham, 236 Plain, 236 Mushroom, 237 Sardine, 236 Water Cress, 237 SAUCES AND DRESSINGS FOR MEATS, 156 Butter, Drawn, 156 To Brown, 164 Cocoanut Prepared (For Pies, Puddings, Etc.), 165 Curry Powder, 164 Sauce, 164 Flour, To Brown, 164 Herbs for Winter, 166 Meats and Their Accompaniments, 166 Mustard, French, 165 To Make, 164 Omelet, Apple, 163 Pepper, Kitchen, 165 Sauce, Apple, 162 Apple, Cider, 162 Apple, Old-fashioned, 162 Bechamel, 160 Bread, 159 Brown, 161 Brown, Sharp, 160 Caper, 158 Celery, 158 Chili, 159 Cranberry, 163 Curry, 164 Egg or White, 156 Fish. No. 1, 158 Fish. No. 2, 158 for Boiled Cod, 157 for Salmon and Other Fish, 157 Hollandaise, 161 Jelly, Currant, 161 Lobster, 157 Maitre d'Hotel, 160 Mint, 160 Mushroom, 161 Onion, 159 Oyster, 157 Tartare, 156 Tomato, 159 Wine, for Game, 160 Spices, 165 Vegetables Appropriate to Different Dishes, 167 for Breakfast, 168 Vinegar, Cucumber, 163 Flavored, 163 Warm Dishes for Breakfast, 167 SALADS, 168 Celery, Undressed, 175 Cucumbers, to Dress Raw, 175 Dressing, Cream Salad. No. 1, 170 Cream Salad. No. 2, 170 for Cold Slaw (Cabbage Salad), 169 Mayonnaise, 169 Salad, French, 170 Endive, 174 Horse-radish, 176 Lettuce, 176 Peppergrass and Cress, 176 Radishes, 175 Salad, Bean, 175 Cabbage or Cold Slaw, 169 Celery, 174 Chicken, 171 Crab, 173 Dutch, 172 Fish, 172 Ham, 172 Lettuce, 174 Lobster. No. 1, 171 Lobster. No. 2, 171 Oyster, 172 Potato, Cold, 175 Potato, Hot, 174 Summer, Mixed, 170 Tomato, 174 Slaw, Cold, 173 Cold, Dressing for, 169 Cold, Plain, 173 Hot, 173 CATSUPS, 176 Catsup, Apple, 178 Cucumber, 178 Currant, 178 Gooseberry, 178 Mushroom, 178 Oyster, 177 Tomato. No. 1, 176 Tomato. No. 2, 176 Tomato, Green, 177 Walnut, 177 Vinegar, Celery, 179 Spiced, 179 Chocolate. (See BEVERAGES) Cocoa. (See BEVERAGES) Coffee. (See BEVERAGES) PICKLES, 179 General Remarks, 179 Green Pepper Mangoes, 183 Piccalili, 186 Pickle, An Ornamental, 186 East India, 187 Pear, 189 Sweet, for Fruit, 188 Watermelon, 188 Pickled Butternuts and Walnuts, 188 Cabbage (Purple), 182 Cabbage (White), 182 Cauliflower, 183 Cherries, 190 Eggs, 186 Green Peppers, 183 Mangoes, 184 Mushrooms, 182 Onions, 184 Oysters, 185 Pickles, Blue Berry, 187 Chow Chow (Superior English Recipe), 183 Cucumber, 180 Cucumber, for Winter Use, 180 Cucumber, Ripe, 185 Cucumber, Sliced, 180 Cucumber, Sweet, Ripe, 186 East India, 187 Green Tomato (Sour), 181 Green Tomato (Sweet), 181 Mixed, 187 Spiced Currants, 189 Grapes, 190 Plums, 189 SAUCES FOR PUDDINGS, 417 Brandy, Cold, 417 Liquid, 418 or Wine. No. 1, 417 or Wine. No. 2, 417 Caramel, 419 Cream, Cold, 419 Warm, 419 Custard, 420 Fruit, 421 Grandmother's, 418 Hard, Plain, Cold, 420 Jelly, 421 Lemon, 418 (Cold), 419 Brandy for Cakes and Puddings, 422 Cream (Hot), 418 Milk, 420 or Cream, 421 Old Style, 420 Orange Cream (Hot), 419 (Cold), 419 Plain, A Good, 420 Plum Pudding, Superior, 418 Rose Brandy for Cakes and Puddings, 423 Sugar, 418 Sweet Common, 421 Syrup for Fruit, 421 Wine, Rich, 417 SEASONABLE FOODS, VARIETIES OF, 473 SICK, COOKING FOR THE, 510 Acid Drinks, 519 Apples, Baked, 515 A Remedy for Boils, 520 Arrowroot Blanc Mange, 512 Milk Porridge, 512 Wine Jelly, 514 Baked Apples, 515 Beefsteak and Mutton Chops, 510 Beef Tea, 511 Blackberry Cordial, 518 Blanc Mange, Arrowroot, 512 Irish Moss, 515 Boiled Rice, 514 Boils, Remedy for, 520 Bread Panada, 517 Broth, Veal or Mutton, 511 Clam, 516 Chicken, 511 Chicken Jelly, 514 Broth, 511 Clam Broth, 516 Codfish, Milk or Cream, 516 Corn Meal Gruel, 512 Cracker Panada, 517 Cup Pudding, 515 Pudding, Tapioca, 515 Custard, 516 Cure for Ringworms, 520 Draughts for the Feet, 519 Egg Gruel, 512 Toast, 515 Flax Seed Tea, 513 Seed Lemonade, 513 For Children Teething, 518 General Remarks, 510 Gruel, Corn Meal, 512 Egg, 512 Oat Meal, 511 Hominy, 514 Irish Moss Blanc Mange, 515 Jelly Arrowroot Wine, 514 Chicken, 514 Mulled, 516 Sago, 514 Tapioca, 513 Linseed Tea, 518 Milk Porridge, 512 or Cream Codfish, 516 Milk Toast, Plain, 517 Mulled Jelly, 516 Mutton Chops and Beefsteak, 510 or Veal Broth, 511 Oat Meal Gruel, 511 Oyster Toast, 516 Panada, Bread, 517 Cracker, 517 Porridge Milk, 512 Arrowroot, Milk, 512 Poultices, 519 Powders for Children, 518 Pudding, Cup, 515 Cup, Tapioca, 515 Rice, Boiled, 514 Ringworms, Cure for, 520 Sago Jelly, 514 Soft Toast, 515 Slippery Elm Tea, 517 Elm Bark Tea, 513 Tamarind Water, 513 Tapioca Jelly, 513 Tea, Beef, 511 Flax Seed, 513 Linseed, 518 Slippery Elm, 517 Slippery Elm Bark, 513 Toast, Water, or Crust Coffee, 517 Milk, Plain, 517 Egg, 515 Oyster, 516 Soft, 515 Veal or Mutton Broth, 511 SMALL POINTS ON TABLE ETIQUETTE, 595 SOUPS, 27 Asparagus, Cream of, 36 Bean (Dried), 36 Beef, 31 Calf's Head or Mock Turtle, 39 Chicken Cream, 34 Consommé, 33 Corn, 35 Game, 32 Gumbo or Okra, 41 Herbs and Vegetables Used in, 29 Julienne, 33 Macaroni, 40 Mullagatawny, 38 Mutton Broth (Scotch), 32 Okra or Gumbo, 41 Ox Tail, 34 Pea (Green), 36 Split, 35 Pepper Pot (Philadelphia), 37 Plain, Economical, 34 Spinach, Cream of, 34 Squirrel, 37 Stock, 30 White, 31 To Clarify, 31 Tapioca Cream, 41 Tomato. No. 1, 38 No. 2, 38 No. 3, 38 Turkey, 40 Turtle, Mock, 39 Green, 40 from Beans, 37 Veal (Excellent), 32 SOUPS WITHOUT MEATS, 41 Celery, 43 Clam, Plain and French, 47 Croutons for, 45 Dumpling, Egg for, 44 Suet for, 44 Egg Balls for, 44 Fish, 45 Force Meat Balls for, 43 (Soyer's Recipe), 44 Lobster or Bisque, 46 Noodles for, 43 Onion, 41 Oyster Soup. No. 1, 46 No. 2, 46 Pea, 43 Potato (Irish), 43 Stock, Fish, 45 Vegetable, Spring, 42 Winter, 42 Vermicelli, 42 White (Swiss), 42 TABLE ETIQUETTE, SMALL POINTS ON, 595 TOILET RECIPES, ITEMS, ETC., 577 Antidotes for Poisons, 585 Bad Breath, 582 Bandoline, 580 Barbers' Shampoo Mixture, 583 Bay Rum, 577 Burnett's Celebrated Powder for the Face, 580 Camphor Ice, 583 Cold Cream, 578 Cologne Water (Superior), 577 Complexion Wash, 580 Cream of Lilies, 578 of Roses, 578 Cure for Pimples, 581 Dye for White or Light Eye-brows, 579 For Dandruff, 578 Hair Invigorator, 578 Wash, 579 How to Keep Brushes Clean, 583 Jockey Club Bouquet Cologne, 577 Lavender Water, 577 Lip Salve, 578 Macassar Oil for the Hair, 578 Odoriferous or Sweet Scenting Bags, 583 Ox-marrow Pomade, 579 Pearl Smelling Salts, 582 Tooth Powder, 582 Phalon's Instantaneous Hair Dye 579 Pimples, Cure for, 581 Razor-strop Paste, 583 Removing Tartar from the Teeth, 582 Rose-water, 577 Shaving Compound, 583 Toilet or Face Powder, 580 Items, 584 Toilet Soap, 585 To Increase the Hair in the Brows, 580 Remove Freckles, 581 Remove Moth Patches, 581 VEGETABLES, 191 Asparagus, 210 with Eggs, 211 Beans, Lima and Kidney, 209 String, 208 Beets, Baked, 210 Boiled, 210 Stewed, 210 Cabbage, Boiled, 200 French Way of Cooking, 201 Fried, 201 Ladies', 201 Sourcrout, 202 Steamed, 201 with Cream, 200 Carrots, Mashed, 214 Stewed, 213 Cauliflower, 200 Fried, 200 Celery, 209 Corn, Boiled, Green, 206 Fried, 207 Pudding, 207 Roasted (Green), 207 Stewed, 207 Succotash, 208 Cucumbers, á la Crême, 206 Fried, 206 Cymblings, or Squashes, 211 Egg Plant, Fried, 208 Stuffed, 208 Endive, Stewed, 214 General Remarks, 191 Greens, 213 Mushrooms, Baked, 214 Canned, 215 for Winter Use, 215 Stewed, 215 Okra, 210 Onions, Baked, 199 Boiled, 198 Fried, 199 Scalloped, 199 Stewed, 199 Oyster Plant or Salsify Fried, 209 Stewed, 209 Parsnips, Boiled, 203 Creamed, 204 Fried, 203 Fritters, 203 Stewed, 203 Peas, Green, 211 Stewed, 211 Potato Croquettes. No. 1, 196 Croquettes. No. 2, 196 Fillets, 196 Puffs, 193 Snow, 194 Potatoes, á la Crême, 193 á la Delmonico, 197 Baked, 197 Browned, 192 Browned--With Roast. No. 1, 197 Browned--With Roast. No. 2, 198 Crisp, 195 Favorite, Warmed, 195 Fried, with Eggs, 197 Hasty Cooked, 195 Lyonnaise, 196 Mashed, 192 Mashed, Warmed Over, 193 New, and Cream, 193 New, To Boil, 192 Raw, Fried, 194 Saratoga Chips, 193 Scalloped (Kentucky Style), 194 Steamed, 194 Sweet, 198 Sweet, Baked, 198 Pumpkin, Stewed, 214 Rice, To Boil, 202 Salsify, Fried, 209 or Oyster Plant, Stewed, 209 Sourcrout, 202 Spinach, 212 Squashes or Gymblings, 211 Squash, Winter, Baked, 212 Winter, Boiled, 212 String Beans, 208 Succotash, 208 Tomatoes, Baked (Plain), 205 Broiled and Fried, 205 Fried and Broiled, 205 Scalloped, 204 Scrambled, 206 Stewed, 204 Stuffed, Baked, 204 To Peel, 204 Raw, To Prepare, 205 Truffles, 216 (Italian Style of Dressing), 216 Au Naturel, 216 Turnips, 214 Vegetable Hash, 212 MACARONI, 216 Macaroni, á la Crême, 217 á la Italienne, 216 and Cheese, 217 and Tomato Sauce, 218 Timbale of, 217 5763 ---- Transcriber's Comments This is an adaption of the electronic transcription made by Paul Hubbs and Bob Gravonic. Using microfiche of the original (Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions no. 42355) as a copy-text, I've made corrections and added a considerable amount of material. Irregular spellings in the original have been retained. Explanatory remarks regarding numbering are enclosed in square brackets. Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets; or A Collection of Above 500 Useful Receipts on a Variety of Subjects. Printed by Rowsell & Ellis, Toronto, 1861. INTRODUCTION The object of the present work is clearly announced in its title. It is to collect within a small compass the instructions of experimental knowledge upon a great variety of subjects which relate to the present interests of man. It contains above five hundred genuine and practical receipts, which have been compiled by the publisher with extreme difficulty and expense. A reference to the list of subjects which the work contains, will show that the publisher's researches have been extensive, while a comparison of the work with others of the same general character evinces patient labour, and cannot fail to give it pre-eminence. While the track pursued is not new, it is more thorough, and more easily followed than that marked out by any previous compiler known to myself. The work contains not merely the outlines on the subjects to which it refers, but, what appears to my own mind one of its excellences, the full and clear explanations of these subjects. To all classes of people, without exception, the work is of great value. It is fit, on every account, that the publisher should be encouraged in this production. The work is worthy the acceptance of all, and one which every man may prize. 1. ORIENTAL PAINTING Any bunch of roses or flowers, or anything of the kind that you admire, take the pattern of by placing them against a light of window glass, then lay a piece of white paper over them, and through the latter you will see the roses, &c. Now with a lead pencil take the pattern of the roses, &c., on the paper; when you have them all marked, cut then out with a scissors, so that you have a complete pattern of them. Now take a piece of glass, whatever size your pattern requires, stick the pattern on it with wafers, then paint the glass all over, except where the pattern covers, with black paint, composed of refined lampblack, black enamel, copel varnish and turpentine, mixed. Now let this dry, then take off your patterns and paint your roses, flowers, &c., with tube paints, mixed with demar varnish, so that your roses, &c., may be, in a manner, transparent. Paint your large roses red, some of the smaller ones yellow, or any colour to suit your taste. Paint one side of the leaves a darker shade of green than the other, which will make the picture appear as though the sun was shining on it. When this painting is dry, take silver or gold foil, (gold is best,) wrinkle it up in your hand then nearly straighten it, and cover the back of the glass all over with it; over the large roses let the wrinkles be larger, over the small ones smaller, &c.; then lay a piece of stiff paper, the size of the glass, over the foil, and a piece of very thin board again over this; have it framed in this manner and it is completed. You now have one of the richest of paintings, which is commonly taught at a cost of $5. You may buy all you require for this painting at the druggist's. 2. TRANSFER PAINTING ON GLASS This is for transferring any picture plate you please to glass, to be framed. First give the glass a coat of demar varnish; let it remain for eight hours, or until dry; at this time have your picture thoroughly soaked in warm water; then give the glass another coat of demar varnish, and take the picture out of the water; then let it and the glass remain for twenty minutes, by which time the water will be struck in from the face of the picture, after which you will place the front of the picture on the varnished glass, (avoiding wrinkles and spots of water,) press it well on until every part is stuck fast, then carefully rub the paper all away to a mere film; give the glass then, over this film, another coat of demar varnish, which will make the film transparent; let it dry; then place the glass, with the varnished side towards you, between you and the light, and you will see the outlines of the picture quite distinctly; you may then paint on the back with tube paints, mixed with a little demar varnish to assist in drying, to suit your taste. For instance, if the picture is that of a lady, you may paint the dress red, the shawl or cape, as it may be, blue, the face flesh colour, (which colour may be made by mixing a little red with white,) the bonnet scarlet, the shoes black; if trees, have them green, &c. All you want for this painting you may also buy at the druggist's. This painting is very simple and elegant, it is commonly taught at a cost of $3. Try it, you cannot fail. 3. TRANSFER VARNISH Take of Canada balsam 3 drachms; gum sandric 3 drachms; spirits of wine 1/2 pint. Dissolve the balsam and gum in the spirits of wine and it is ready for use. 4. WHITE SPIRIT VARNISH--THE VERY BEST. Take of gum sandrack 4 ounces; mastic 1 ounce; Elmi rosin 1/2 ounce; Venice turpentine 1 ounce; alcohol 15 ounces. Digest in a bottle, frequently shaking, till the gums are dissolved, and it is ready for use. 5. TRANSFER PAINTING ON WOOD By this you may transfer any picture you please from paper to a cutter back, or any other substance you please. Give the board three coats of white spirit varnish, receipt No. 4; damp the back of the print with strong vinegar; give the front a very heavy coat of the transfer varnish, receipt No. 3; then press it on the board, avoiding creases; when perfectly dry and fast, rub the paper away; the print is indelibly fixed; then varnish it over as you would any other painting. This receipt has been commonly sold for $5. 6. ELECTRO GOLD PLATING--NEW METHOD Take 100 grams of laminated gold, mixed with 20 grams of hydrochloric acid; 10 grams of nitric acid; the liquid thus composed is placed over a moderate fire, and stirred constantly until the gold passes into the state of chlorine; it is then allowed to cool. A second liquid is formed by dissolving 60 grams of cyanide of potassium in 80 grams of distilled waters; the two liquids are mixed together in a decanter and stirred for 20 minutes, and then filtered. Finally 100 grams of whiting, dry and sifted, are mixed with 5 grams of pulverised supertartrate of potass; this new powder is dissolved in a portion of the above described liquid, in sufficient quantity to form a paste of the proper consistency to be spread with a pencil on the article or part to be gilded. The superabundant powder is then removed by washing and the article is beautifully gilded with a heavy or light coat, according to the quantity of paste used. Grams belong to French weights, four grams are a little more than one drachm. 7. ELECTRO SILVERING--NEW METHOD 10 grams of nitrate of silver are dissolved in 50 grams of distilled water; then 25 grams of cyanide of potassium in 50 grams of distilled water; the two liquids are mixed in a decanter, and stirred for 10 minutes; it is then filtered. Finally, 100 grams of sifted whiting are mixed with 10 grams of pulverised supertartrate of potass and one gram of mercury. This powder and dissolving liquid are used in the same manner as in the above method of gold plating. These excellent methods of silvering and gilding were discovered in June 1860, by the great French chemist Baldooshong of Paris France. It is far superior to any other method ever discovered, and will eventually take the place of all. 8. ELECTRO GOLD PLATING--USUAL METHOD Take a $2 50c. piece of gold, and put it into a mixture of 1 ounce of nitric and 4 ounces of muriatic acids, (glass vessels only are to be used in this work,) when it is all cut dissolve 1/2 an ounce of sulphate of potash in one pint of pure rain water, and mix the gold solution, stirring well; then let stand and the gold will be thrown down; then pour off the acid fluid, and wash the gold in two or three waters, or until no acid is tasted by touching the tongue to the gold. Now dissolve one ounce of cyanuret of potassium in one pint of pure rain water, to which add the gold, and it is ready to use. Clear the article to be plated from all dirt and grease with whiting and a good brush; if there are cracks it may be necessary to put the article in a solution of caustic potash. At all events every particle of dirt and grease must be removed; then suspend the article in the cyanuret of gold solution, with a small strip of zinc cut about the width of a common knitting needle, hooking the top over a stick which will reach across the top of the vessel or bottle holding the solution. If the zinc is too large the deposit will be made so fast that it will scale off. The slower the plating goes on the better, and this is arranged by the size if the zinc used. When not using the plating fluid keep it well corked and it is always ready to use, bearing in mind that it is poison as arsenic, and must be put high out of the way of children, and labelled poison, although you need have no fear using it; yet accidents might arise if its nature were not known. 9. ELECTRO SILVERING--USUAL METHOD This is done every way the same as gold plating (using coin) except that rock salt is used instead of the cyanuret of potassium to hold the silver in solution for use, and when it is of the proper strength of salt it has a thick curdy appearance, or you can add salt until the silver will deposit on the article to be plated, which is all that is required. No hesitation need be felt in trying these receipts, as they are obtained from a genuine source, and are in every day use. 10. GOLD PLATING FLUID Warm six ounces of pure rain water, and dissolve in it 2 ounces of cyanide of potassium, then add a 1/4 ounce oxide of gold; the solution will at first be yellowish, but will soon subside to white; then half fill a bottle with whiting, fill it up with this solution and shake it well; you may now take a piece of old cotton, wet it with the solution, rub it well over brass, copper, &c., and it is nicely washed with gold. 11. SILVER PLATING FLUID Dissolve one ounce of nitrate of silver, in crystal, in 12 ounces of soft water; then dissolve in the water two ounces of cyanuret of potash; shake the whole together and let it stand until it becomes clear. Have ready some 1/2 ounce vials, and fill them half full of whiting, then fill up the bottles and it is ready for use. The whiting does not increase the coating powder--it only helps to clear the articles and save the silver fluid by half filling the bottles. The above quantity of materials will cost about $1.62c., so that the fluid will be about 3 cents a bottle. It is used in the same way as the gold plating fluid. 12. QUICKSILVER PLATING FLUID Take of quicksilver one ounce, one ounce nitric acid, one ten cent piece, rain water 1/2 pint to a pint, put the three first articles into a tumbler together; let them stand until dissolved, occasionally stirring, then add the water, and it is ready for use. This is used in the same way as the silver and gold plating fluid. 13. TO GILD STEEL Pour some of the ethereal solution of gold into a wine-glass, and dip into it the blade of a new penknife, lancet, razor, &c., withdraw the instrument and allow the ether to evaporate, the blade will then be found to be covered with a beautiful coat of gold; the blade may be moistened with a clean rag or a small piece of very dry sponge dipped into the ether, and the same effect will be produced. 14. TO GILD COPPER, BRASS, &c.--BY AN AMALGAM The gilding of these inferior metals and alloys of them is effected by the assistance of mercury with which the gold is amalgamated. The mercury is evaporated while the gold is fixed by the application of heat, the whole is then burnished of left mat in the whole or in part, according as required. 15. GILDING GLASS AND PORCELAIN Dissolve in boiling linseed oil an equal weight either of copal or amber, and add as much oil of turpentine as will enable you to apply the compound or size thus formed as thin as possible to the parts of the glass intended to be gilt; the glass is to be placed in a stove till it is so warm as almost to burn the fingers when handled. At this temperature the size becomes adhesive, and a piece of leaf gold applied in the usual way will immediately stick. Sweep off the superfluous portions of the leaf, and when quite cold it may be burnished, taking care to interpose a piece of india paper between the gold and the burnisher. It sometimes happens when the varnish is not very good that by repeated washing the gold wears off; on this account the practice of burning it in is sometimes had recourse to; for this purpose some gold powder is ground with borax, and in this state applied to the clean surface of the glass by a camel hair pencil; when quite dry the glass is put into a stove, heated to about the temperature of an annealing oven, the gum burns off; and the borax, by vitrifying, cements the gold with great firmness to the glass, after which it may be burnished. The gilding upon porcelain is in like manner fixed by heat and the use of borax, and this kind of ware, being neither transparent nor liable to soften, and thus to be injured in its form in a low red heat, is free from the risk and injury which the finer and more fusible kinds of glass are apt to sustain from such treatment. Porcelain and other wares may be platinized, silvered, tinned, or bronzed, in a similar manner. 16. GILDING THE EDGES OF PAPER The edges of the leaves of books and letter paper are gilded whilst in a horizontal position in the bookbinder's press or some arrangement of the same nature, by first applying a composition formed of four parts of Armenian-bole and one of candied sugar, ground together with water to a proper consistence, and laid on by a brush with the white of an egg. This coating, when nearly dry is smoothed by the burnisher, it is then slightly moistened by a sponge dipped in clean water and squeezed in the hand; the gold leaf is now taken up on a piece of cotton from the leathern cushion and applied on the moistened surface; when dry it is to be burnished by rubbing the burnisher over it repeatedly from end to end, taking care not to wound the surface by the point. 17. PROFESSOR WORTS' AMALGAM FOR SILVERING This is the only means yet discovered for silvering iron directly, yet it is not so lasting as some of the other processes. Take quicksilver and the metal potassium, equal parts by volume, put them together in a tumbler, and if both metals be good there will be a brisk ebullition, which continues until an amalgam of the two is formed, then add as much quicksilver as there is of the amalgam; let it work till thoroughly mixed, and it is ready for use. This amalgam you may apply with a cloth to any metal, even iron, though it be a rusty bar, and you have it neatly silvered over. 18. FOR COPPERING IRON This is the latest method, and that now in use. To a solution of sulphate of copper, add a solution of ferrocyanide of pottasium, so long as a precipitate continues to be formed. This is allowed to settle, and the clear liquor being decanted the vessel is filled with water, and when the precipitate settles the liquor is again decanted, and continue to repeat these washings until the sulphate of potash is washed quite out; this is known by adding a little chloride of barium to a small quantity of the washings, and when there is no white precipitate formed by the test, the precipitate is sufficiently washed. A solution of cyanide of potassium is now added to this precipitate until it is dissolved, during which process the solution becomes warm by the chemical re-action which takes place. The solution is filtered, and allowed to repose all night. If the solution of cyanide of potassium that is used is strong, the greater portion of the ferrocyanide of potassium crystalises in the solution, and may be collected and preserved for use again. If the solution of cyanide of potassium used to dissolve the precipitate is dilute, it will be necessary to condense the liquor by evaporation to obtain the yellow prussiate in crystals. The remaining solution is the coppering solution; should it not be convenient to separate the yellow prussiate by crystallization, the presence of that salt in the solution does not deteriorate it nor interfere with its power of depositing copper. 19. PECULIARITIES IN WORKING CYANIDE OF COPPER SOLUTION The true composition of the salts thus formed by copper and cyanide of potassium has not yet been determined, but their relations to the battery and electrolyzation are peculiar. The solution must be worked at a heat not less than from 150 to 200 degrees Farenheit (that is not quite as hot a boiling water, which is 212 degrees Farenheit.) All other solutions we have tried follow the laws, that if the electricity is so strong as to cause gas to be evolved at the electrode, the metal will be deposited in a sandy or powdered state, but the solution of cyanide of copper and potassium is an exception to these laws, as there is no reguline deposit obtained unless gas is freely evolved from the surface of the article upon which the deposit is taking place. As this solution is used hot, a considerable evaporation takes place, which requires that additions be made to the solution from time to time. If water alone be used for this purpose it will precipitate a great quantity of the copper as a white powder, but this is prevented by dissolving a little cyanide of potassium in the water at the rate of 4 ounces to the gallon. The vessels used in factories for this solution are generally of copper, which are heated over a flue or in a sand-bath, the vessel itself serving as the positive electrode of the battery; but any vessel will suit if a copper electrode is employed when the vessel is not of copper. 20. PREPARATION OF IRON FOR COATING WITH COPPER When it is required to cover an iron article with copper, it is first steeped in hot caustic potash or soda to remove any grease or oil. Being washed from that it is placed for a short time in diluted sulphuric acid, consisting of about one part acid to 16 parts of water, which removes any oxide that may exist. It is then washed in water and scoured with sand till the surface is perfectly clean, and finally attached to the battery and immersed in the cyanide solution. All this must be done with despatch so as to prevent the iron combining with oxygen. An immersion of five minutes duration in the cyanide solution is sufficient to deposit upon the iron a film of copper, but it is necessary to the complete protection of the iron that it should have a considerably thick coating, and as the cyanide process is expensive, it is preferable when the iron has received a film of copper by the cyanide solution, to take it out, wash it in water, and attach to it a simple cell or weak battery, and put it into a solution of sulphate of copper. If there is any part not sufficiently covered with copper by the cyanide solution, the sulphate will make these parts of a dark colour, which a touch of the finger will remove. When such is the case, the article must be taken out, scoured, and put again into the cyanide solution till perfectly covered. A little practice will render this very easy. The sulphate solution for covering iron should be prepared by adding it by degrees a little caustic potash, so long as the precipitate formed is re-dissolved. This neutralizes a great portion of the sulphuric acid, and thus the iron is not so readily acted upon. When the iron is thus coppered, proceed to silver it in the manner recommended for silvering according to receipt No. 9; or if you want to put a very heavy coating of silver on it, make use of a strong battery. 21. SOLDERING FLUID For mending articles of tin, iron, zinc, copper, and almost all other metals. Take 2 fl. ounces of muriatic acid, add zinc till bubbles cease to rise, add 1/2 a teaspoonful of sal-ammoniac and 2 ounces of water. Damp the part you wish to solder with this fluid, lay on a small piece of lead, and with a piece of hot iron or soldering iron solder the part. 22. SOLDER FOR TIN Take of pewter 4 parts, tin 1 part, bismuth 1 part; melt them together. Resin is used with this solder. 23. COLD METHOD OF SILVERING IRON WITH SILVER-PLATE Polish the iron toy wish to silver, then damp it over with soldering fluid (receipt No. 21) When this is done give it a coat of No. 22 solder. This is done by laying a piece of cold solder on the iron, and spreading it over with a heated soldering iron, when by this means you get the iron nicely plated with solder, then lay on your silver-plate evenly, and gently rub it over with the heated soldering iron, and it will become firmly united with the solder as the solder is with the iron, so that you have the iron beautifully plated with silver with very little cost or trouble. 24. HOT METHOD OF SILVERING IRON WITH SILVER-PLATE First polish the iron you wish to silver, wet it well over with No. 21 soldering fluid; then having procured that kind of silver-plate which is tin on one side and silver on the other, place it evenly on, with the tined side next to the iron, then place it on the fire until the silver-plate melts down, then at once take it from the fire, and it will be firmly attached to the iron, and will be excellent plate; yet No. 23, the cold method, is to be preferred in most cases. 25. SILVERING LOOKING-GLASSES WITH QUICKSILVER Take a piece of marble or some other substance very smooth, true, and level, lay on this the glass you wish to silver, then make a ridge of putty on the marble against the edge of the glass all round it, so that you can pour quicksilver on the glass until it is all covered over, and will be prevented from running off by the ridge of putty; an inch or two, or three outside this ridge make another of putty; then cover the quicksilver on the glass all over with tin-foil, and press it firmly but cautiously against the glass until you have squeezed out all the quicksilver you can. While you press this, you may remove part of the first ridge of putty to give the quicksilver a chance of escape. When it is well pressed against the glass there will be an amalgam formed of the tin-foil and the quicksilver that is left, which will firmly adhere to the glass. By this means you have a very beautiful and cheap looking-glass; the quicksilver that escapes, being saved by the second ridge of putty, may be used again. 26. SILVERING LOOKING-GLASSES WITH PURE SILVER Prepare a mixture of 3 grains of ammonia, 60 grains of nitrate of silver, 90 minims of spirits of wine, 90 minims of water; when the nitrate of silver is dissolved, filter the liquid and add a small quantity of sugar (15 grains) dissolved in 1-1/2 oz. of water, and 1 1/2 oz. of spirits of wine. Put the glass into this mixture, having one side covered with varnish, gum, or some substance to prevent the silver being attached to it. Let it remain for a few days and you have a most elegant looking-glass, yet it is far more costly than the quicksilver. 27. PATENT BURNING FLUID To 1 gallon of 95 per cent. alcohol, add 1 quart of camphene oil; mix and shake well, and if transparent it is fit for use, if not, add sufficient alcohol, shaking it well, to bring it to the natural colour of the alcohol. It may be coloured to suit the fancy by adding a little tincture of golden seal, or any other colouring drug. This receipt has been sold for $10. 28. BURNING FLUID Take 4 quarts alcohol, and 1 quart spirits of turpentine; mix well together, and it is ready for use. 29. NON-EXPLOSIVE BURNING FLUID Take 1 gallon 44 proof alcohol, 1 quart camphene, 3 oz. of alum pulverized, 1/2 oz. camphor gum, 65 drops cuicuma; mix all together and let it stand 12 hours, and it is ready for use. 30. VINEGAR IN THREE DAYS WITHOUT DRUGS Take 2 barrels and saw one of them in two in the centre, and put one-half on the top, and the other at the bottom of the whole barrel, (or you may use three whole barrels if you like.) The middle barrel is to be filled with maple, beech, of baswood shavings, which are to be planed from the edge of boards only two or three feet long, which allows the shavings to roll, and prevents them from packing tight, and also allows air to circulate through them, which is admitted through a number of inch holes, which are to be made near the bottom of the barrel and just above the faucet, which lets the vinegar run into the tub below. The top tub has its bottom pierced with small bit holes, having several threads of twine hanging in them to conduct the vinegar evenly over the top of the shavings in the middle of the barrel. Air must be permitted to pass out between the top tub and barrel, which comes in at the holes in the bottom. The shavings which fill the barrel must be soaked three or four days in good vinegar before they are put in. When thus arranged, for every gallon of water use 1/2 lb. of sugar; (that you get from molasses barrels does vary well.) If you wish to make vinegar from whiskey, put in 4 gallons of water to 1 gallon of whiskey; and if from cider, put in one-third water, and fill the top tub with this fluid, putting 1 pint good yeast to each barrel making; and have the holes with threads or twine so arranged that it will run through every twelve hours; and dip or pump up with a wooden pump every night or morning, and three days will make good substantial vinegar, which will keep and also improve by age. Some use only 1 gallon of whiskey to 7 gallons of water. This accounts for so much poor vinegar. Make good vinegar, it will pay you. If a few gallons of water is made boiling hot so as to warm the whole of a gentle warmth, it will make faster than if used cold. This must be done in cool weather, and the room also should be kept warm. For families, small kegs will do, but for manufacturers large casks are best. Many make vinegar by just putting fluid into the barrels of shavings, soaked as directed above, and do not let it run through, but let it stand in the shavings till sour; but it does not work fast enough for manufacturers. It will do where only a small amount is needed, keeping the same strength of fluid as for the other plan, which is best. Two or three years ago, this receipt was sold for from $50 to $150. If vinegar is made from whiskey, it will have a more beautiful colour if 5 or 6 lbs. of sugar is put into each barrel, of course keeping the same proportions of water as though only one kind was used. The shavings will last the whole season. 31. CUBA HONEY Good brown sugar 11 lbs., water 1 quart, old bee honey in the comb 2 lbs., cream tartar 50 grains, gum arabic 1 oz., oil of peppermint 5 drops, oil of rose 2 drops, mix and boil two or three minutes and remove from the fire, have ready strained one quart of water, in which a table-spoonful of pulverized slippery elm bark has stood sufficiently long to make it ropy and thick life honey, mix this into the kettle with egg well beat up, skim well in a few minutes, and when a little cool, add two pounds of nice strained bees' honey, and then strain the whole, and you will have not only an article which looks and tastes like honey, but which possesses all its medicinal properties. It has been shipped in large quantities under the name of Cuba honey. It will keep fresh and nice for any length of time if properly covered. 32. EXCELLENT HONEY Take 5 lbs. of good common sugar, two pounds of water, gradually bring to a boil, skimming well, when cool, add 1 lb. bees' honey, and 4 drops of peppermint. If you desire a better article use white sugar and 1/2 lb. less water, and one half pound more honey. 33. GUNPOWDER Take pulverized saltpetre, moisten it, and subject it to the action of a slow fire until completely dried and granulated, of this take 75 parts, purified sugar 12 and a-half parts, moisten and grind together till completely blended, which will require several hours, pulverize on heaters till dried. 34. EXCELLENT MATCHES The ends of the tapers or wood should be very dry, and then dipped in hot melted sulphur and laid aside to dry; then take 4 parts of glue, dissolve it and while hot add one part of phosphorus, and stir in a few spoonsful of fine whiting to bring to the proper thickness. This preparation should be kept hot by being suspended over a lamp, while dipping the wood or tapers. Colour the mixture by adding a little vermillion, lamp black or prussian blue; be careful not to ignite the compound while dipping. 35. FIRE AND WATER-PROOF CEMENT To half a pint of milk add half a pint of vinegar to curdle it; then separate the curd from the whey, and mix the whey with 4 or 5 eggs; beating the whole well together; when it is well mixed, add a little quick-lime through a sieve, until it has acquired the consistence of a thick paste. This is a prime article for cementing marble, in or out of the weather. It is excellent for broken vessels, &c. 36. FRENCH CHEMICAL SOAP Take 5 lbs. castile soap, cut fine, 1 pint alcohol, 1 pint soft water, 2 ounces aquafortis (if for black cloth 1/2 ounce of lampblack,) 2 ounces saltpetre, 3 ounces potash, 1 ounce camphor, 4 ounces cinnamon in powder. Fist dissolve the soap, potash, and saltpetre by boiling, then add all the other articles, and continue to stir until it cools, then pour it into a box, let it stand 24 hours, and cut it into cakes. It is used for taking grease, stains, and paints from cloth, wood, &c. This receipt has frequently sold for $10. 37. BLACK INK WITHOUT SEDIMENT This ink is not injured by frost--is a beautiful article, and only costs 5 cents. per gallon, and is sold for from $1 to $3. Take 1 lb. logwood, 1 gallon soft water, simmer in an iron vessel for one hour, then dissolve in a little hot water 24 grains bychromate of potash, and 12 grains prussiate of potash, and stir into the liquid while over the fire, then take it off and strain it through fine cloth. This ink is a jet black flows freely from the pen and will stand the test of oexylic acid. 38. INDELIBLE INK 1 inch of the stick of the nitrate of silver dissolved in a little water, and stirred into each gallon of the above, makes first rate indelible ink for cloth. Judge what indelible ink costs. 39. INDELIBLE INK Nitrate of silver 1-1/2 oz., dissolved in liquor ammonia fortisine 5-1/2 oz., orchil for colouring 3/4 oz., gum mucilage 12 oz., mix the two latter, then mix them with the two former, and it is ready to use. 40. WRITING FLUID OR BLACK COPYING INK Take two gallons of rain water and put into it gum arabic 1/4 lb., brown sugar 1/4 lb., clean copperas 1/4 lb., powdered nut galls 3/4 lb., mix and shake occasionally for ten days and strain. If needed sooner, let it stand in an iron kettle until the strength is obtained. This ink can be depended on for deeds or records, which you may want someone to read hundreds of years to come. Oexylic acid 1/4 oz., was formerly put in, but as it destroys the steel pens, and does just as well without it--it is now never used. 41. BEST INK POWDER This is formed of the dry ingredients for ink, powdered and mixed. Take powdered galls one pound, powdered green vitriol half a pound, powdered gum 4 ounces, mix all together, put it up into 2 ounce packages, each of which will make a pint if ink. 42. BEST RED INK Take of best carmine (nakarot) 2 grains, rain water 1/2 ounce, water of ammonia 20 drops, add a little gum arabic, and it is in a few minutes ready for use. 43. YELLOW INK Dissolve alum in saffron water to whatever shade of yellow you please. It makes a beautiful ink. 44. BLUE INK Take Prussian blue, and oexylic acid, in equal parts, powder finely, and add soft water to bring it to a soft paste, and let it stand for a few days, then add soft water to the desired shade of colour; add a little gum arabic to prevent spreading. 45. GOLDEN INK Take some white gum arabic, reduce it to an impalpable powder in a brass mortar, dissolve it in strong brandy, and add a little common water to render it more liquid, provide some gold in a shell, which must be detached in order to reduce it to a powder, when this is done moisten it with the gum solution, and stir the whole with a small hair brush, or your finger, then leave it for a night that the gold may be better dissolved. If the composition becomes dry during the night, dilute it with more gum water in which a little saffron has been infused, but take care that the gold solution be sufficiently liquid to flow freely in a pen; when the writing is dry polish it with a dry tooth. 46. WHITE INK FOR WRITING ON BLACK PAPER Having carefully washed some egg shells remove the internal skin and grind them on a piece of porphyry, then put the powder in a small vessel of pure water, and when it has settled at the bottom, draw off the water and dry the powder in the sun. This powder must be preserved in a bottle; when you want to use it put a small quantity of gum ammoniac into distilled vinegar, and leave it to dissolve during the night, next morning the solution will appear exceedingly white, and if you then strain it through a piece of linen cloth, and add to it the powder of egg shells in sufficient quantity, you will obtain a very white ink. 47. SECRET INK FOR YOUNG LADIES AND GENTS Take a drachm of clean rain water, put into it, in a clean vial, 10 or 12 drops of pure, clean sulphuric acid, and it is ready for use; write with this using a clean quill pen on letter paper, and when dry you can see no mark at all, then hold it to a strong heat and the writing becomes as black as jet. If you want to write to a young lady or gentleman, as the case may be, and fearing that the letter might be opened before she or he gets it, write with common black ink something of no importance, then between the lines write what you want to say with the secret ink. The person to whom you are writing must understand the scheme so that she or he may hold it to the heat and thereby make the writing visible. 48. CIDER WITHOUT APPLES To each gallon of cold water put 1 lb. common sugar, 1/2 ounce of tartaric acid, one tablespoonful of yeast, shake well, make in an evening and it will be fit for use next day. I make in a keg a few gallons at a time, leaving a few quarts to make into next time, not using yeast again until the keg needs rinsing. If it gets a little sour, make a little more into it or put as much water with it as there is cider and put it with the vinegar. If it is desired to bottle this cider by manufacturers of small drinks, you will proceed as follows: put in a barrel 5 gallons of hot water, 30 lbs. of brown sugar, 3/4 lb. of tartaric acid, 25 gallons of cold water, 3 pints of hop or brewer's yeast, work into paste with 3/4 lb. of flower, and one pint water will be required in making this paste; put all together in a barrel which it will fill and let it work 24 hours, the yeast running out at the bung all the time by putting in a little occasionally to keep it full; then bottle, putting in two or three broken raisins to each bottle, and it will nearly equal champagne. 49. SPRUCE OR AROMATIC BEER Take 3 gallons of water, 2-1/2 pints molasses, 3 eggs well beaten, 1 gill yeast, put into two quarts of the water boiling hot, put in 50 drops of any oil you wish the flavour of, or mix one ounce each, oil sarsafras, spruce, and wintergreen; then use the 50 drops. For ginger flavour take 2 ounces ginger root bruised and a few hops, and boil for 30 minutes in one gallon of the water, strain and mix all; let it stand 2 hours and bottle, using yeast, of course, as before. 50. LEMON BEER To make 20 gallons, boil 6 ounces of ginger root bruised, 1/4 lb. cream-tartar for 20 or 30 minutes in 2 or 3 gallons of water; this will be strained into 13 lbs. of coffer sugar on which you have put 1 oz. oil of lemon and six good lemons all squeezed up together, having warm water enough to make the whole 20 gallons, just so you can hold your hand in it without burning, or some 70 degrees of heat; put in 1-1/2 pint hops or brewer's yeast worked into paste as for cider, with 5 or 6 oz. of flower; let it work over night, then strain and bottle for use. This will keep a number of days. 51. PHILADELPHIA BEER Take 30 gallons of water, brown sugar 20 lbs., ginger root bruised 1/4 lb., cream tartar 1-1/4 lb., carbonate of soda 3 ounces, oil of lemon 1 teaspoonful, put in a little alcohol, the white of 10 eggs well beaten, hops 2 ounces, yeast one quart. The ginger root and hops should be boiled for 20 or 30 minutes in enough of the water to make all milk warm; then strain into the rest, and the yeast added and allowed to work itself clear as the cider and bottled. 52. SILVER TOP DRINK Take of water 3 quarts, white sugar 4 lbs., oil of lemons one teaspoonful, white of 5 eggs, beaten with one teaspoonful of flour; boil to form syrum, then divide into equal parts, and to one add 3 ounces of tartaric acid, and to the other part 4 oz. of carbonate of soda, then take two thirds of a glass of water, and put in a spoonful of each of the syrups, more or less, according to the size of the glass. 53. DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING SODA DRINKS In getting up any of the soda drinks which are spoken of hereafter it will be preferable to put about 4 oz. of carbonate (sometimes called supercarbonate) of soda into one pint of water, and shake when you wish to make a glass of soda, and pour from this into the glass until if foams well instead of using dry soda as directed. 54. IMPERIAL CREAM NECTAR Part 1st.--Take 1 gallon water, 6 lbs. loaf sugar, 6 ounces tartaric acid, gum arabic 1 oz. Part 2nd.--Take 4 teaspoonsful of flour, the whites of four eggs beat finely together, then add 1/2 pint of water. Heat the first part until it is blood warm, then put in the second, boil 3 minutes and it is done. Directions.--To 3 tablespoonfuls of the syrup in a glass half or two thirds full of water add one third of a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda made fine, stir well, and drink at your leisure. 55. A SUPERIOR GINGER BEER Take of sugar 10 lbs., lemon juice 9 oz., honey 1/2 lb., bruised ginger root 11 oz., water 9 galls., yeast 3 pints, boil the ginger in the water until the strength is all extracted, which you may tell be tasting the root, then pour it into a tub, throwing the roots away, let it stand until nearly luke warm, then put in all the rest of the ingredients, stir well until all dissolved, cover it over with a cloth, and if it be in the evening, let it remain until next morning, then strain through cloth, and bottle it, and in a short time it will be fit for use. Some use less sugar, and some less lemon juice, to make it with less expense; but it is not so elegant a drink as this. 56. GINGER POP No. 1 Take of water 5-1/2 galls., ginger root bruised 3/4 lb., tartaric acid 1/2 oz., white sugar 2-1/4 lbs., the whites of 3 eggs well beat, a small teaspoonful of oil of lemon, yeast 1 gill; boil the root for 30 minutes in 1 gallon of the water, strain off, and put the oil in while hot, mix all well, make over night, in the morning skim, and bottle, keeping out sediment. 57. GINGER POP No. 2 Take best white Jamaica ginger root bruised 2 oz., water 6 quarts, boil 20 minutes and strain, then add cream tartar 1 oz., white sugar 1 lb.; put on the fire, then stir until all the sugar is dissolved; then put into an earthen jar, now put in tartaric acid 1/4 oz., and the rind of 1 lemon, let it stand until 70 degrees of Fahrenheit, or until you can bear your hand in it with comfort, then add two tablespoonsful of yeast, stir well, bottle for use, and tie the corks; make a few days before it is wanted for use. 58. YEAST Take a good single handful of hops, and boil for 20 minutes in 3 pints of water, then strain, and stir in a teacupful of flour, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt; when a little cool put in 1 gill of brewer's yeast, and after four or five hours cover up, and stand in a cool place for use; make again from this unless you let it get sour. 59. SODA SYRUPS Take of loaf or crushed sugar 8 lbs., pure water 1 gall., gum arabic 1 oz., mix in a brass or copper kettle, boil until the gum is dissolved, then skim and strain through white flannel, after which add tartaric acid 5-1/2 oz., dissolved in hot water. To flavour use extract of lemon, orange, rose, sarsaparilla, strawberry, &c., 1/2 oz., or to your taste. If you use the juice of lemon, add 1-1/2 lbs., of sugar to a pint; you do not need any tartaric acid with it; now use 2 or 3 tablespoonsful of syrup to 3/4 of a tumbler of water, and 1/3 teaspoonsful of supercarbonate of soda made fine, stir well and be ready to drink; the gum arabic, however, holds the carbonic acid so it will not fly off so readily as common soda. For soda fountains, 1 oz., of supercarbonate of soda is used to 1 gallon of water. for charged fountains no acids are needed in the syrups. 60. MINERAL WATER Epsom salts 1 oz., cream tartar 1/2 oz., tartaric acid 1/4 oz., loaf sugar 1 lb., oil of birch 20 drops; put 1 quart boiling water on all these articles, and add 3 quarts of cold water to 2 tablespoonsful of yeast; let it work 2 hours and then bottle. 61. IMPROVED ENGLISH STRONG BEER If you have malt use it, if not, take 1 peck of barley, and put it into a stove oven, and steam the moisture from them, grind coarsely, and pour into them 3-1/2 gallons of water, at 170 or 172 degrees. (If you use malt it does not need quite so much water, as it does not absorb so much as the other. The tub should have a false bottom with many gimblet holes to keep back the grain.) Stir them well and let stand 3 hours and draw off, put on 7 gallons more water at 180 or 182 degrees, stir well, let stand 2 hours and draw off, then put 1 gallon or 2 of cold water, stir well and draw off; you should have about 5 or 6 gallons; mix 6 lbs., coarse brown sugar in equal amount of water, add 4 oz. of good hops, boil for 1-1/2 hour; you should have from 8 to 10 gallons when boiled; when cooled to 80 degrees, put in a teacupful of good yeast and let it work 18 hours covered with a sack. Use sound iron-hooped kegs, or porter bottles, bung or cork tight, and in two weeks it will be good sound beer, nearly equal in strength to London porter, or good ale, and will keep a long time. 62. SANGAREE Take wine, ale, or porter, 1/3, and 2/3 water, hot, or cold, according to the season of the year, loaf sugar to the taste with nutmeg. 63. GINGER WINE Put 1 oz. good ginger root bruised in 1 quart of 95 per cent. alcohol, let it stand 9 days, and strain, add 4 quarts of water, and 1 lb. of white sugar, dissolved in hot water, 1 pint port wine to this quantity, for what you retail at your own bar makes it far better; colour with tincture of saunders to suit; drink freely of this hot on going to bed, when you have a bad cold, and in the morning you will bless ginger wine. 64. HOP BEER Take of hops 6 oz., molasses 5 quarts, boil the hops in water till the strength is out, strain them into a 30 gallon barrel, add the molasses and a teacupful of yeast, and fill up with water, shake it well and leave the bung out until fermented, which will be in about 24 hours; bung up, and it will be fit for use in about 3 days. A most excellent summer drink, smaller quantities in proportion. 65. USQUEBAUGH OR IRISH WHISKEY Best brandy 1 gallon, stoned raisins 1 lb., cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom, each 1 oz., crushed in a mortar, saffron 1/2 oz., or the rind of 1 Seville orange, and a little sugar candy; shake these well, and it is ready for use in 14 days. 66. ICE CREAM Add a little rich sweet cream, and 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar to each quart of cream or milk; if you cannot get cream the best imitation is to boil a soft custard; 6 eggs to each quart of milk, (eggs well beaten); or another way, boil a quart of milk, and stir into it, while boiling, a tablespoonful of arrow-root, wet with cold milk, then cool stir in the yolk of one egg, to give a rich colour; five minutes boiling is enough for either plan; put the sugar in after they cool, keep the same proportions for any amount desired. The juice of strawberries, or raspberries, give a beautiful colour and flavour to ice creams; or about 1/2 oz. of the essence or extracts to a gallon, or to suit the taste. Have your ice well broken, add 1 quart of salt to a bucket of ice, then place in this the vessel containing your cream, and about one half hour's constant stirring and occasional scraping down and beating together will freeze it. 67. CHICAGO ICE CREAM Irish moss soaked in warm water about an hour, and rinsed well to clear it of a certain foreign taste, then steep it in milk, keeping it just at the point of boiling or simmering for an hour, or until a rich yellow colour is given to the milk, without cream or eggs; 1 or 1-1/2 oz. of moss is enough for a gallon of cream, and this will do to steep twice. Sweeten and flavour as other cream. 68. CREAM SODA Loaf sugar 10 lb., water 3 gills, mix, and warm gradually, so as not to burn, good rich cream 2 quarts, extract vanilla 1-1/2 oz., extract nutmeg 1/4 oz., and tartaric acid 4 oz.; just bring to a boiling heat; for if you cook it any length of time it will crystallize. Use 4 or 5 spoonsful of this syrup instead of 3, as in other syrups; put 1/3 teaspoonful of soda to a glass, if used without fountain. For charged fountains no acid is used. 69. LEMON SYRUP Take of the juice of lemons one pint, white sugar one and a half pound, and a little of the peel. Mix and boil a few minutes, strain, and when a little cool, bottle, and cork, for use. 70. ORANGE AND RASPBERRY SYRUPS Take of the juice of either, as the case may be, one pint; white sugar one and a half pound. If it be orange a little of the peel; tartaric acid 4 oz. Mix and boil a few minutes; strain, and when a little cool, bottle and cork for use. When to be drank, mix three or four tablespoonsful of syrup with three quarters of a glass of water, and add a teaspoonful of soda. If water be added to the syrup it will not keep well. 71. PURE WINE Take three pounds of nice raisins free of stems, cut each one in two or three pieces, put them into a stone jug with one gallon pure soft water, let them stand two weeks uncovered, shaking occasionally (put in a warm place in winter,) strain through three or four thicknesses of woollen, or filter; colour with burned sugar; bottle and cork for use. For saloon purposes, add one pint of good brandy. The more raisins the better the wine, not exceeding 5 lbs. 72. PURE WINE VINEGAR This is made by putting the same quantity of water on the above raisins, after the wine is poured off, as at first for making wine, and standing the same length of time, in the same way. 73. PORT WINE Take 42 gallons of worked cider, 12 gallons of good port wine, 3 gallons good brandy, 6 gallons pure spirits. Mix together. Elder-berries and sloes, or fruit of the black hawes, make a fine purple colour for wines. 74. CHAMPAGNE WINE Take of good cider (crab-apple cider is best) seven gallons, best fourth proof brandy one quart, genuine champagne wine five quarts, milk one gill, bitartrate of potash 2 oz. Mix and let it stand a short time; bottle while fermenting. This makes an excellent imitation of champagne with age. 75. CURRANT AND OTHER FRUIT WINES For currant, cherry, raspberry, elderberry, strawberry, whortleberry, and wild grape wines, any one can be used alone, or in combination of several of the different kinds; to make a variety of flavours, or suit persons who have some and not the other kinds of fruits, to every gallon of expressed juice, add 2 galls. of soft water, put in 6 or 8 lbs. of brown sugar, and 1-1/2 oz. of cream of tartar, have them dissolved; put 1 quart of brandy to every 6 galls. Some prefer it without brandy. After fermentation, take 4 oz. isinglass, dissolved in a pint of the wine, put to each barrel, and it will refine and clear it; then it must be drawn off into clear casks, or bottled, which is far the best. Give these wines age and they are most delicious. 76. DINNER WINE OR ENGLISH PATENT WINE From garden rhubarb, which will not lend to intemperance. An agreeable and healthy wine is very frequently made from the expressed juice of the garden rhubarb. To each gallon of juice add 1 gallon of soft water, in which 7 lbs. of brown sugar have been dissolved; fill a keg or barrel with this proportion, leaving the bung out, and keep it filled with sweetened water as it works off until clear. Any other vegetable extract may be added, if this flavour is not liked. Then bung down, or bottle, as you desire. These stalks will furnish about 3/4 their weight in juice; fine and settle with isinglass, as in the fruit wines. This has been patented in England. 77. VARIOUS WINES Take 28 gallons of clarified cider; 1 gallon good brandy, 1 lb. crude tartar, (this is what is deposited by grape wines) 5 gallons of any wine you wish to represent, 1 pint of sweet milk to settle it; draw off in 24 or 36 hours after thoroughly mixing. 78. BLACKBERRY AND STRAWBERRY WINES These are made by taking the above wine when made with port wine; and for every 10 gallons, form 4 to 6 quarts of the fresh fruit, bruised and strained, are added, and let it stand till the flavour is extracted; more or less may be used to suit the tastes of different persons. In bottling any of those wines 3 or four broken raisins put into each bottle will add to their richness and flavour. 79. FRENCH BRANDY Take of pure spirit 1 gallon, best French brandy, or any kind you wish to imitate, even Otard, 1 quart; loaf sugar 2 oz., sweet spirits of nitre 1/2 oz., a few drops of tincture of catechu, or oak bark, to roughen the taste if desired; colour to suit your taste, and bottle. 80. BRANDY FROM OIL COGNAC Take of pure spirits 10 gallons, New England rum 2 quarts, or Jamaica rum 1 quart, and oil cognac from 30 to 40 drops, put in half a pint of alcohol, colour with tincture of kino, or burned sugar, which is generally preferred. Mix well and bottle. 81. PALE BRANDY This is made as the French brandy, using pale instead of the French, and using 1 oz. of tincture of kino for colour, only for 5 gallons. 82. CHERRY BRANDY To every 10 gallons of brandy add 3 quarts of wild black cherries, stones and all bruised, and crushed sugar 2 lbs. Let it stand until the strength and flavour is obtained, and draw from it as wanted for use. Never attempt to use oil of bitter almonds for this purpose, instead of the cherries, for it is a most deadly poison. 83. BLACKBERRY BRANDY Take of brandy 10 gallons, nice rich blackberries mashed from 4 to 6 quarts, according to the degree of flavour you wish. Mix and add a little sugar to overcome the acidity of the berries, according to their ripeness will the amount vary from one to 4 oz. to each gallon. 84. STRAWBERRY BRANDY This is made as the above, using very nice ripe strawberries, and only about half the quantity of sugar. [There are no entries for receipts 85, 86 and 87 in the original.] 88. HOLLAND GIN Take of pure spirits 1 gallon, best Holland gin, schnapps, or any kind desired, 1 quart, oil of juniper 2 scruples, oil of anise 1/4 oz.; mix all well together. 89. COLOURING Take of white sugar 1 lb., put it into an earthen kettle, moisten a little, let boil, and burn red, black and thick, remove from the fire and put in a little hot water to keep it from hardening as it cools. Use this to colour any liquors, needing colour, to your taste, or as near the colour of the liquor you imitate as you can. Tincture of kino is a good colour, and is made by dissolving 1 oz. of kino in a pint of alcohol. For a cherry red use tincture of saffron; for light amber to deep brown use sugar colouring; for brandy colour, sugar; for red use beet root or saunders; for port wine colour use extract of rhatany. 90. TO KEEP SWEET AND SWEETEN SOUR CIDER To keep cider sweet take a keg, put several holes in the bottom of it, and a piece of woollen cloth at the bottom, then fill with pure sand closely packed, then pass your cider through this, and put up in clean barrels that have had a piece of cotton or linen cloth 2 by 6 inches, dipped in sulphur, and burned in them, then keep in a cool place and add 1/2 lb. of white mustard seed to each barrel. If cider is souring, about 1 quart of hickory ashes, (or a little more of other hard wood ashes), stirred into each barrel, will sweeten and clarify it, nearly equal to rectifying; but if it is not rectified it must be racked off to get clear of pomace, for while this is in it, it will remain sour. Oil or whiskey barrels are best to put up cider in, or 1/2 pint of sweet oil, or a gallon of whiskey, or both may be added to a barrel with decidedly good effects. Isinglass 4 oz. to each barrel helps to clarify and settle cider that is not going to be rectified. 91. SCHRUB Take of lemon juice 1 pint, white sugar 2 pints, rum 3 pints, water 4 pints; mix and colour ready for use. 92. STOUGHTON BITTERS Take of gentian 4 oz., orange peel 4 oz., columbo 4 oz., chamomile flowers 4 oz., quassia 4 oz., burned sugar 1 lb., whiskey 2-1/2 galls., water 2-1/2 galls,; mix and let stand one week, then bottle the clear liquor. 93. TO IMPROVE THE FLAVOUR OF NEW WHISKEY Take of whiskey 1 gall., add tea 4 oz., allspice 4 oz., caraway seed 4 oz., cinnamon 2 oz., shake occasionally for a week and use one pint to a barrel. Keep this mixture in a jug. 94. CHERRY BOUNCE OR BRANDY Take 10 galls. of good whiskey, put into it from 4 to 6 quarts of wild black cherries with the stones broken, common almonds shelled 1 lb., white sugar 1-1/2 lb., cinnamon 1/2 oz., nutmeg 1/2 oz., all bruised. Let stand 12 or 13 days and draw off; this, with the addition of 2 galls. of brandy, make very nice cherry brandy. 95. MONONGAHALE Take of good common whiskey 36 gall., dried peaches 2 quarts, rye, burned and ground as coffee, 1 quart, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, bruised, of each 1 oz., loaf sugar 5 lbs., sweet spirits of nitre 2 oz., put all these articles into 4 galls. of pure spirits, and shake every day for a week, then draw off through a woollen cloth, and add the whole to the 36 galls. of whiskey. 96. RYE WHISKEY Take of dried peaches 1/2 a peck, put them into a pan in a stove, scorch a little, not to burn however, then bruise, and place in a woollen (pointed) bag, and leach good common whiskey over them twice, having the barrel up so as to hang the bag under the faucet and draw slowly over them; this is for a barrel. Add 10 or 12 drops of aqua ammonia to each barrel, after leaching through the peaches; with age this is nearly, if not quite, equal to whiskey made from rye. 97. STOMACH BITTERS Take of gentian root 6 oz., orange peel 10 oz., cinnamon 1 oz., anise seed 2 oz., coriander seed 2 oz., cardamom seed 1/2 oz., Peruvian bark, unground, 2 oz., bruise all the articles and add of gum kino 1 oz., and put them into 2 quarts of alcohol, and two quarts of pure spirits or good whiskey; shake occasionally for 10 or 12 days, and strain or filter through several thicknesses of woollen. Half a pint of this may be added to a gallon of whiskey, more or less, as desired, and you have an article as good, or better, and more healthy than that for which you will pay three times as much; or you may use it the same as stoughton, to which it is preferred. 98. PEPPERMINT CORDIAL Take of good whiskey 10 galls., water 10 galls., white sugar 10 lbs., oil of peppermint 1 oz., flour 1 oz., burned sugar 1/2 lb. to colour, alcohol 1 pint; put the oil of peppermint in the alcohol, then with this work the flour well, add the burned sugar, work again, and mix all the ingredients together; let them stand a week and they are ready for use. If you wish a different flavour from that of oil of peppermint use any other oil of which you desire the flavour. 99. ST. CROIX RUM Take of pure spirits 28 galls., of pure St. Croix run 3 galls., sal-ammonia (cut in alcohol) 1 OZ., sweet spirits of nitre 6 ozs., mix all together and let stand for 24 hours, occasionally shaking, and it is ready for use. 100. LEMONADE Take of fresh lemon juice 4 oz., fresh lemon peel 1/2 oz., white sugar 4 oz., boiling water 3 pints; mix all together; let them stand till cool, and then strain off for use; if you wish you can cool at once with ice. Where this is used as a cooling drink in fevers a little sweet spirits of nitre may be added. 101. A BRILLIANT WHITEWASH This bears a gloss like ivory, and will not rub off. Take of clean unslacked lime 5 or 6 quarts, slack with hot water in a tub, cover to keep in the steam; when ready, pass it through a fine sieve, and add 1/4 lb. of whiting, 1 lb. of good sugar pulverized, and 3 pints of rice flour, first made into a thin paste; boil this mixture well, then dissolve 1 lb. of clean glue in water, and add it to the mixture, and apply while warm with a whitewash brush, except when particular neatness is required you may then use a paint brush; in both cases put it on warm. You may add colouring matter to give it any shade you please. 102. CHANGING VARNISHES Varnishes of this description are call changing because, when applied to metals such as copper, brass, or tin or silver foil, they give them a more agreeable colour; indeed, the common metals, when coated with them acquired a lustre approaching to that of the precious metals, and hence these varnishes are much employed in manufacturing imitations of gold and silver. Put four ounces of the best gum gamboge into 32 ozs. of spirits of turpentine, 4 ozs. of dragon's blood into the same quantity of spirits of turpentine as the gamboge, and 1 oz. of anatto into 8 ozs. of the same spirits. The three mixtures being made in different vessels, they should then be kept for about a fortnight in a warm place, and as much exposed to the sun a possible; at the end of that time they will be fit for use; and you can procure any tints you wish by making a composition from them, with such proportions of each liquor as practice and the nature of the colour you are desirous of obtaining will point out. Changing varnishes may likewise be employed, with very good effect, for furniture, such as picture frames, &c.--See Lackers. 103. GOLD LACKER OR VARNISH In using the changing varnish or any of these lackers, for picture frames for instance, lay them over with tin or silver leaf, by means of plaster of Paris glue, or cement of some kind, that the foil may be perfectly adherent to the wood, then apply your varnish; apply as many coats as may suit your taste, and if it be the gold lacker you use it has the appearance of being laid with gold leaf, and if the pale brass lacker, of being laid with brass, &c., and if you use the changing varnish you may make it just what colour you wish, by mixing the three materials in different proportions. For making gold lacker, put into a clean 4 gallon tin 1 lb. ground turmeric, 1-1/2 oz. powdered gamboge, 3-1/2 lbs. powdered gum sandrack, 3/4 lb. shellac, and 2 galls. spirits of wine; after being dissolved and strained add 1 pint of turpentine varnish, receipt No. 112, well mixed, and it is ready for use. 104. RED SPIRIT LACKER Take 2 galls. spirits of wine, 1 lb. dragon's blood, 3 lbs. Spanish annatto, 3-1/2 lbs. gum sandrack, 2 pints turpentine. Made exactly as the gold lacker. 105. PALE BRASS LACKER Take 2 galls. spirits of wine, 3 ozs. cape aloes, cut small, 1 lb. fine pale shellac, 1 oz. gamboge, cut small, no turpentine. Varnish made exactly as before, but observe, that those who make lackers frequently want some paler and some darker and sometimes inclining more to the particular tint of certain of the component ingredients; therefore if a 4 oz. vial of a strong solution of each ingredient be prepared, a lacker of any tint can be prepared at any time as by changing varnish. 106. DEMAR VARNISH This is a fine clear varnish, being harder and less coloured than mastic, while it is as soluble, and may be had at one-tenth the price. Put 6 oz. of gum demar in a bottle with 10 ozs. of spirits of turpentine, and put into another bottle 6 ozs. of gum demar, with 16 ozs. alcohol, when they are dissolved put them together, and you have an excellent cheap varnish which dries quickly and is very clear. 107. COPAL VARNISH Take 1 oz. of copal, and 1/2 oz. of shellac, powder them well and put them into a bottle or jar containing 1 quart of spirits of wine; place the mixture in a warm place and shake it occasionally, till you see that the gums are completely dissolved, and when strained the varnish is fit for use. 108. WHITE HARD VARNISH Take 1 lb. of mastic, 4 oz. of gum anima; and 5 lbs. of gum sandrack, put them all together to dissolve, into a vessel containing 2 oz. of rectified spirits of wine, which should be kept in a warm place and frequently shaken till all the gums are quite dissolved; then strain the mixture through a lawn sieve, and it will be fit for use. 109. CRYSTAL VARNISH Procure a bottle of Canada balsam, which can be had at any druggist's; draw out he cork and set the bottle of balsam at a little distance from the fire, turning it round several times, until the heat has thinned it; then have something that will hold as much as double the quantity of balsam; carry the balsam from the fire, and, while fluid mix it with the same quantity of good turpentine, and shake them together until they are well incorporated. In a few days the varnish is fit for use, particularly if it is poured into a half gallon glass or stone bottle, and kept in a gentle warmth. This varnish is used for maps, prints, charts, drawings, paper, ornaments, &c. 110. BLACK VARNISH FOR OLD STRAW OR CHIP HATS Take a 1/2 oz. of the best black sealing wax, pound it well, and put it into a 4 oz. vial, containing 2 ozs. of rectified spirits of wine; place it in a sand-bath or near a moderate fire till the wax is dissolved, then lay it on warm, with a fine soft hairbrush, before a fire or in the sun. It gives a good stiffness to old straw hats, and a beautiful gloss equal to new. It likewise resists wet. 111. VARNISH FOR VIOLINS &c. Take 1 gallon of rectified spirits of wine, 12 ozs. of mastic, and 1 pint of turpentine varnish; put them altogether in a tin can, and keep it in a very warm place, shaking it occasionally till it is perfectly dissolved; then strain it, and it is fit for use. If you find it necessary, you may dilute it with turpentine varnish. This varnish is also very useful for furniture of plumtree, mahogany, or rosewood. 112. TURPENTINE VARNISH Take 5 lbs. of clear good resin, pound it well, and put it into 1 gallon of oil of turpentine; boil the mixture over a stove till the resin is perfectly dissolved, and when cool, it will be fit for use. 113. IRON WORK BLACK OR BLACK VARNISH FOR IRON Put 48 lbs. asphaltum into an iron pot, and boil for four hours; during the first two hours, introduce 7 lbs. litharge, 3 lbs. dried copperas, and 10 gallons boiled oil; add 1/8 lb. run of dark gum, with 2 gallons hot oil; after pouring the oil and gum, continue the boiling two hours, or until it will roll into hard pills like Japan; when cool, thin it off with three gallons of turpentine, or until it is of proper consistence. This varnish is intended principally for the iron work of coaches and other carriages. 114. VARNISH FOR HARNESS Take 1/2 lb. of india rubber, 1 gallon of spirits of turpentine; dissolve enough to make it into a jelly by keeping it almost new milk warm; then take equal quantities of good linseed oil, (in a hot state,) and the above mixture, incorporate them well on a slow fire, and it is fit for use. 115. QUICK DRYING HARNESS BLACKING VARNISH Break 1/2 cake (which is about 1 ounce) of white wax into an earthen pan, and just cover it with oil of turpentine; place a board over the pan to keep out the air; let it stand for 24 hours or until formed into a paste; then in another pan, mix 1 lb. of best ivory black with neatsfoot oil, until it assumes a thick consistency; then mix the contents of both pans together. It may be reduced with spirits of turpentine. Bottle, and it is fit for use. 116. OIL PASTE BLACKING Take oil vitriol, 2 ozs., tanners oil, 5 ozs., ivory black, 2 lbs., molasses, 5 ozs; mix the oil and vitriol together, let it stand a day, then add the ivory black, the molasses, and the white of an egg; mix well, and it is ready for use. 117. WATER PROOF OIL OR PASTE BLACKING Take 1 pint of camphene, and put into it all the india rubber it will dissolve, 1 pint currier's oil, 7 lbs. tallow, and 2 ozs. of lampblack; mix thoroughly by heat. This is a nice thing for old harness and carriage tops, as well as for boots and shoes. 118. BEST VARNISH BLACKING EXTANT Take of alcohol, 1 gallon; white turpentine, 1-1/2 lbs.; gum shellac 1-1/2 lbs.; venice turpentine, 1 gill; let these stand in a jug in the sun, or by a stove, until the gums are dissolved; then add sweet oil, 1 gill; lampblack, 2 oz., and you have a varnish that will not crack when the harness is twisted like the old shellac varnish. It is good also for boots and shoes, looking well, and turns water. 119. ASPHALTUM OR WALNUT STAIN Take of asphaltum, 2 lbs.; boiled linseed oil, 1/2 pint; spirits of turpentine, 1 gallon; mix the two first in an iron pot, boil slowly until the asphaltum is melted, then take it some distance from the fire, cool a little, and add the turpentine (avoiding ignition) before it cools too much, and it is finished. 120. POLISH FOR OLD FURNITURE Take 1 pint best spirits of wine, 1 pint raw linseed oil, 1 pint spirits of turpentine; mix all three together, and shake well before use. Apply with a rubber of cotton wool covered with a piece of clean old white cotton cloth. Apply slightly and you will be astonished at the effect. Old furniture that is scratched, soiled, or stained, if the wood is not torn up, being polished with this, has the appearance of new. 121. OIL TO MAKE THE HAIR GROW AND CURL Take of olive oil 1/2 a pint, oils of rosemary and origanum, of each 1/8 of an oz. Mix well and apply rather freely. 122. BEST SHAVING SOAP Take 4-1/2 lbs. white bar soap, 1 quart rain water, 1 gill of beef's gall, and 1 gill spirits of turpentine; cut the soap thin, and boil five minutes, stir while boiling, and colour with 1/2 oz. of vermillion; scent with oil of rose or almonds. 10 cents worth will positively make $6 worth of soap. 123. NEW YORK BARBERS' STAR HAIR OIL Take of castor oil, 6-1/2 pints; alcohol, 1-1/2 pint; citronella and lavender oils, of each 2 ozs.; mix and shake well, and it is ready for use. 124. ROWLAND'S MACASSAR HAIR OIL Take of sweet oil, 8 ozs.; cantharides and oil of lemon, of each 60 drops; alkanet sufficient to colour it. 125. ROSE HAIR OIL Take 1 quart olive oil, 2-1/2 ozs. alcohol, 1-1/2 ozs. rose oil; after this tie 1 oz. of chipped alkanet root in 3 or 4 little muslin bags, and let them lie in the oil until a pretty red is manifested, then change them to other oil. do not press them. 126. BEAR'S OIL Take of good sweet lard oil, 1 quart; bergamot, 1 ounce; mix well together. 127. OX MARROW FOR THE HAIR Take of ox marrow, 4 ozs.; white wax, 1 oz.; nice fresh lard, 6 ozs; mix and melt; when cool, add 1-1/2 ozs. oil of bergamot, and mix well. 128. COLOGNE Take oils of rosemary and lemon, of each, 1/4 oz.; oils of bergamot and lavender, of each, 1/8 oz.; oil of cinnamon, 8 drops; oils of cloves and rose, of each 15 drops; best alcohol, 2 quarts; mix and shake 2 or 3 times a day for a week. This will be better if deoderized, or cologne alcohol is used. 129. HARD SOAP Take of soft soap, 12 lbs.; (that made of olive oil is best,) common salt, 9 lbs.; mix and boil for 2 hours, run it into bars, or as you want it, and you will have 7-1/2 lbs. of soap. Add a little resin when you melt it over. Scent with fragrant oil if you wish to do so. 130. BAR SOAP Take of lime water 1 teacupful, spirits of turpentine 2 teaspoonsful, resin 1/2 lb., sal. soda 1-1/2 lbs., of bar shop soap 4 lbs.; melt and boil all together to a proper consistency, then pour into moulds. 131. CARVER'S POLISH In a pint of spirits of wine dissolve 2 oz. of seed lac, and 2 oz. of resin. The principal use of this polish is for the carved parts of cabinet work, such as standards, pillars, claws, &c. It should be laid on warm, and it will be still better; but all moisture and dampness should be carefully avoided. 132. FRENCH POLISH Take 1 oz. of shellac, 1/4 oz. of gum-arabic, and 1/4 oz. of gum copal; bruise them well, and sift them through a piece of muslin, then put them along with a pint of spirits of win into a closely corked vessel, place it in a very warm situation, and shake it frequently every day till the gums are dissolved, then strain through a piece of muslin, and keep it corked for use. 133. WATER-PROOF POLISH Put 2 ozs. of gum benjamin, 1/4 oz. of gum sandrac, and 1/4 oz. of gum anima, into a pint of spirits of wine, in a closely stopped bottle, place the bottle either in a sand bath, or in hot water, till the gums are dissolved, then strain off the mixture, shake it up with a 1/4 of a gill of the best clear poppy oil, and put by for use. 134. FINISHING POLISH Put 2 drachms of shellac, and 2 drachms of gum benjamin, into 1/2 pint of the very best rectified spirits of wine, in a bottle closely corked; keep the bottle in a warm place, and shake it frequently till the gums are dissolved, when cold shake up with it 2 teaspoonsful of the best clear poppy oil, and it will be fit for use. This polish may be applied with great advantage after any of those mentioned in the foregoing receipts have been used. It removes the defects existing in them, increasing their lustre and durability, and gives the surface a most brilliant appearance. 135. COMPOSITION USED IN WELDING CAST STEEL Take of borax, 10 parts; sal-ammoniac, 1 part; grind or pound them roughly together, then fuse them in a metal pot over a close fire, taking care to continue the heat until all spume has disappeared from the surface, when the liquid appears clear, the composition is ready to be poured out to cool and concrete; afterward being ground to a fine powder. To use this composition, the steel to be welded is raised to a heat, which may be expressed by bright yellow, it is then dipped among the welding powder, and again placed in the fire until it attains the same degree of heat as before, it is then ready to be placed under the hammer. 136. COMPOSITION USED IN WELDING CAST IRON Take good clear white course sand, 3 parts; refined solton, 1 part; fosterine, 1 part; rock salt 1 part; borax, 1 part; mix all together. Take 2 pieces of cast iron, heat them in a moderate charcoal fire, occasionally taking them out while heating, and dipping them into the composition, until they are of a proper heat to weld, then at once lay them on the anvil, and gently hammer them together, and if done carefully by one who understands welding iron, you will have them nicely welded together. One man prefers heating the metal, then cooling it in the water of common beans, and heating it again for welding. 137. CAST IRON CEMENT Take of clean borings or turning of cast iron, 16 parts; of sal-ammoniac, 2 parts; and flour of sulphur, 1 part; mix them well together on a mortar, and keep them dry. When required for use, take 1 part of the mixture, and 20 parts of clean borings, mix thoroughly, and add a sufficient quantity of water. Note.--A little grindstone added improves the cement. 138. CASE HARDENING This is the conversion of the surface of wrought iron into steel, for the purpose of adapting it to receive a polish, or to bear friction, &c. The best method in the world of effecting this is by heating the iron to cherry red in a close vessel, in contact with carbonacious material, and then plunging it into cold water. Bones, leather, hoofs, and horns of animals, are best for this purpose, after having been burnt or roasted, so that they can be pulverized. Soot is very frequently used; it answers, but not so well. 139. TO SOFTEN IRON OR STEEL Either of the following simple methods will make iron or steel as soft as lead: 1. Anoint it all over with tallow, temper it in a gentle charcoal fire, and let it cool of itself. 2. Take a little clay, cover your iron with it, temper in a charcoal fire. 3. When the iron or steel is red hot, strew hellebore on it. 4. Quench the iron or steel in the juice, or water, of common beans. 140. SOLDER FOR LEAD Melt 1 part of block tin, and when in a state of fusion, add 2 parts of lead; if a small quantity of this, when melted, is poured upon the table, there will, if it be good, arise little bright stars upon it. Resin should be used with this solder. 141. SOLDER FOR TIN Take 4 parts of pewter, 1 of tin, and 1 of bismuth, melt them together, and run them into thin slips. Resin is also employed in using this solder. 142. SOLDER FOR IRON The best solder for iron is good tough brass, with a little borax. 143. SOLDER FOR COPPER Take of brass, 6 parts; zinc, 1 part; tin, 1 part; melt all together, mix well, and pour out to cool. 144. SOLDER FOR STEEL JOINTS Silver, 19 parts; copper, 1 part; brass, 2 parts; melt all together. 145. HARD SOLDER Fuse together 2 parts of copper, and 1 of zinc. 146. SOLDER FOR SILVER Fuse together 5 parts of silver, and 1 part of brass. 147. GOLD SOLDER No. 1 Take of gold, 4 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper 1 part; and zinc, 1 part. 148. GOLD SOLDER No. 2 Take of gold, 3 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper, 1 part; zinc, 1/2 part. 149. GOLD SOLDER No. 3 Take of gold, 2 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper, 1 part; and zinc 1/2 a part. The gold, silver, and copper must be fused in a crucible before the zinc is added, or else you cannot keep them in the vessel while heating. When all are completely fused, they must be well stirred, and run into bars. Solder No. 1 is for gold 16 carats and upwards; No. 2 is for that 14 carats fine; and No. 3 for lower qualities. If more zinc is added, it will fuse at a lower heat, but the colour is not so good. 150. MOCK GOLD Fuse together 16 parts of copper, 7 of platinum, and 1 of zinc. When steel is alloyed with 1/500 part of platinum, or with 1/500 part of silver, it is rendered much harder, more malleable, and better adapted for all kinds of cutting instruments. Note.--In making alloys, care must be taken to have the more infusible metals melted first, and afterwards add the others. 151. BRITANNIA METAL Take 4 parts of brass, and 4 parts of tin; when fused add 4 parts of metallic bismuth, and 4 parts of metallic antimony. This composition is added at discretion to metallic tin, according to the quality you wish to make. 152. BLANCHED COPPER Melt together 8 parts of copper and a half part of arsenic. 153. COMMON PEWTER Melt together 4 parts of tin and 1 part of lead. 154. BEST PEWTER Melt together 100 parts of tin and 17 of antimony. 155. A METAL THAT EXPANDS IN COOLING Melt together 9 parts of lead, 2 of antimony and one of bismuth. This metal is very useful in filling small defects in iron castings, &c. 156. QUEEN'S METAL Melt together 9 parts of tin, 1 of antimony, 1 of bismuth, and 1 of lead. 157. IMITATION PLATINUM This metal, or alloy, very closely resembles platinum. Melt together 8 parts of brass and 5 parts of zinc. 158. CHINESE WHITE COPPER Melt together 40.4 parts of copper, 31.6 parts of nickel, 25.4 of zinc, and 2.6 of iron. 159. MANHEIM GOLD Melt together 3 parts copper, 1 of zinc, and a little tin. 160. TOMBACK, OR RED BRASS Melt together 8 parts of copper, and 1 part of zinc. 161. IMITATION GOLD Take of platina 8 parts, of silver 4 parts, copper 12 parts, melt all together. 162. IMITATION SILVER Take of block tin 100 parts, metallic antimony 8 parts, bismuth 1 part, and 4 parts of copper; melt all together. 163. TRUE IMITATION OF GOLD Dr. Harmsteadt's imitation of gold, which is stated not only to resemble gold in colour, but also in specific gravity and ductility, consists of 16 parts of platinum, 7 parts of copper, and 1 of zinc, put in a crucible, covered with charcoal powder, and melted into a mass. 164. TRUE IMITATION OF SILVER Imitation of pure silver, so perfect in its resemblance that no chemist living can tell it from pure virgin silver. It was obtained from a German chemist now dead; he used it for unlawful purposes to the amount of thousands, and yet the metal is so perfect that he was never discovered. It is all melted together in a crucible, here it is: 1/4 oz. of copper, 2 oz. of brass, 3 oz. of pure silver, 1 oz. of bismuth, 2 ozs. of saltpetre, 2 ozs. of common salt, 1 oz. of arsenic, and 1 oz. of potash. 165. MOULDS AND DIES Take copper, zinc, and silver, in equal proportions, and melt them together, and mould into the forms you desire, and bring the same to a nearly white heat; now lay on the thing that you would take the impression of, and press it with sufficient force, and you will find that you have a perfect and beautiful impression. All of the above metals should be melted under a coat of powdered charcoal. 166. TO SOFTEN HORN To 1 lb. of wood ashes, add 2 lbs. of quicklime; put them into a quart of water, let the whole boil till reduced to one third, then dip a feather in, and if, on drawing it out, the plume should come off, it is a proof that it is boiled enough, if not, let it boil a little longer; when it is settled filter it off, and in the liquor thus strained put in shavings of horn; let them soak for three days, and, first anointing your hands with oil, work the horn into a mass, and print or mould it into any shape you please. 167. TO MAKE MOULDS OF HORN If you wish to take the impression of any coin, medal, &c., previously anoint it with oil, then lay the horn shavings over it in its softened state; when dry the impression will be sunk into the horn, and this will serve as a mould to reproduce, either by plaster of Paris, putty and glue, or isinglass and ground egg shells, the exact resemblance of the coin or medal. 168. TO CASE FIGURES IN IMITATION OF IVORY Make isinglass and strong brandy into a paste, with powder of egg shells, very finely ground; you may give it what colour you please, but cast it warm into your mould, which you previously oil over; leave the figure in the mould till dry, and you will find, on taking it out, that it bears a very strong resemblance to ivory. 169. TRUE GOLD POWDER Put some gold leaf, with a little honey or thick gum water, (whenever I speak of gum I mean gum arabic,) into an earthen mortar, and pound the mixture till the gold is reduced to very small particles; then wash out the honey or gum repeatedly with warm water, and the gold will be left behind in a state of powder, which, when dried, is fit for use. 170. TRUE GOLD POWDER Another, and perhaps better method of preparing gold powder is to heat a prepared amalgam of gold in a clean open crucible, (an amalgam of any metal is formed by a mixture of quicksilver with that metal) continuing a very strong heat till all the mercury has evaporated, stirring the amalgam all the while with a glass rod; when the mercury has entirely left the gold, grind the remainder in a Wedgewood's mortar, with a little water, and when dried it will be fit for use. The subliming the mercury is, however, a process injurious to the health. 171. COLOUR HEIGHTENING COMPOSITIONS For yellow gold, dissolve in water 6 ozs. of saltpetre, 2 ozs. of copperas, 1 oz. of white vitriol, and 1 oz. of alum. If wanted redder, add a small portion of blue vitriol. 172. FOR GREEN GOLD Dissolve in water a mixture consisting of 1-1/2 oz. of saltpetre; vitriol and sal-ammoniac, 1-1/4 oz. of each, and 1 oz. verdigris. 173. FOR RED GOLD Take 1-1/2 oz. of red ochre in fine powder, the same quantity of calcined verdigris, 1/2 oz. of calcined borax, and 4 oz. of melted yellow wax; the verdigris must be calcined, or else, by the heat applied in melting the wax, the vinegar becomes so concentrated as to corrode the surface, and make it appear speckled. These last three are colours for heightening compositions. 174. MOSAIC GOLD Mosaic gold, or aurum mosaicum, is used for inferior articles. It is prepared in the following manner: 1 lb. of tin is melted in a crucible, and 1/2 lb. of purified quicksilver added to it; when this mixture is cold, it is reduced to powder, and ground with 1/2 lb. of sal-ammoniac, and 7 ozs. of flower of sulphur, till the whole is thoroughly mixed; they are then calcined in a mattrass, and the sublimation of the other ingredients leaves the tin converted into the aurum mosaicum, which is found at the bottom of the glass, like a mass of bright flakey gold powder. Should any black or discoloured particles appear, they must be removed. The sal-ammoniac used here must be very white and clear, and the mercury quite pure and unadulterated. When a shade of deeper red is required, it can easily be obtained by grinding a very small quantity of red lead along with the above materials. 175. DUTCH OR GERMAN GOLD A gilding powder is sometimes made from Dutch gold, which is sold in books at a very low price. This is treated in the same way as the real gold leaf in making the true gold powder. It is necessary, when this inferior powder is used, to cover the gilding with a coat of clear varnish, otherwise it soon loses its metallic appearance. The same remark applies, though to a less degree, to Mosaic gilding. 176. COPPER POWDER This is prepared by dissolving filings or slips of copper with nitrous acid in a receiver. When the acid is saturated, the slips are to be removed; or, if filings be employed, the solution is to be poured off from what remains undissolved; small bars are then put in, which will precipitate the copper from the saturated acid, in a powder of the peculiar appearance and colour of copper, and the liquid being poured from the powder, this is to be washed clean of the crystals by repeated levigations. 177. COMMON SIZE The size used by painters for most sorts of common work is prepared by boiling in water pieces of parchment, and of the skins of animals and fins of fish, and evaporating the solution to a proper consistency. It only differs, however, from a solution of glue containing fewer foreign ingredients, and in not being so strong. 178. DR. JOHN'S VARNISH FOR PLASTER OF PARIS CASTS Take of white soap and white wax, each half an ounce, of water two pints; boil them together for a short time in a clean vessel. This varnish is to be applied when cold, by means of a soft brush. It does not sink in, it readily dries, and its effect may be heightened by lightly using a silk pocket handkerchief. 179. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR BRONZING This art is nothing but a species of painting, but far from being of the most delicate kind. The principal ingredients made use of in it are the true gold powder, the German gold, the aurum mosaicum, and copper powder, (all above described.) The choice of these powders is, of course, to be determined by the degree of brilliancy you wish to obtain. The powder is mixed with strong gum water or isinglass, and laid on with a brush or pencil; and when not so dry as to have still a certain clamminess, a piece of soft leather wrapped round the finger, is dipped in the powder and rubbed over the work; when the work has been all covered with the bronze, it must be left to dry, and any loose powder then cleared away by a hair pencil. 180. BRONZING IN WOOD This may be effected by a process somewhat differing from the above, Prussian blue, patent yellow, raw amber, lamp-black, and pipe clay are ground separately with water on a stone, and as much of them as will make a good colour put into a small vessel three-fourths full of size. This mixture is found to succeed best on using about half as much more pipe clay as of any of the other ingredients. The wood being previously cleaned and smoothed, and coated with a mixture of clean size and lamp-black, receives a new coating with the above compound twice successively, having allowed the first to dry. Afterwards the bronze powder is to be laid on with a pencil, and the whole burnished or cleaned anew, observing to repair the parts which may be injured by this operation; next, the work must be coated over with a thin lather of castile soap, which will take off the glare of the burnishing, and afterwards be carefully rubbed with a woollen cloth. The superfluous powder may be rubbed off when dry. 181. IN BRONZING IRON The subject should be heated to a greater degree than the hand can bear; and German gold, mixed with a small quantity of spirit of wine varnish, spread over it with a pencil; should the iron be already polished, you must heat it well and moisten it with a linen rag dipped in vinegar. 182. BRONZING CASTS OF PLASTER OF PARIS There is a method of bronzing casts of plaster of Paris analogous to that which we have above given for bronzing wood, but it is not in much repute. Such figures may be beautifully varnished by means of Dr. John's varnish, receipt No. 178. Casts of plaster of Paris may be made by receipt No. 167. 183. SHELL-LAC VARNISH Dissolve in an iron kettle, one part of pearl-ash in about 8 parts of water; add one part of shell-lac, and heat the whole to ebullition. When the lac is dissolved, cool the solution, and impregnate it with chlorine, till the lac is all precipitated. The precipitate is white, but its colour deepens by washing and consolidation; dissolved in alcohol, lac bleached by the above process yields a varnish which is as free from colour as any copal varnish. 184. CHLORINE FOR SHELL-LAC VARNISH This may be formed by mixing intimately eight parts of common salt, and three parts of the black oxide of manganese in powder; put this mixture into a retort, then pour four parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with an equal weight of water, and afterwards allowed to cool upon the salt and manganese; the gas will then be immediately liberated, and the operation may be quickened by a moderate heat. A tube leading from the mouth of the retort must be passed into the resinous solution, where the gas will be absorbed, and the lac precipitated. 185. SHELL-LAC VARNISHES OF VARIOUS COLOURS These may be made by using ant colour in fine powder with the varnish, in the following manner: rub up the colour with a little alcohol or spirits of turpentine till it becomes perfectly smooth, then put it into the cup with the varnish. Shell-lac varnish is the best spirit varnish we have, and may be made any colour by the above process. 186. GOLD OIL-COLOUR, OR SIZE The English method of preparing the colour in size, which serves as the ground on which the gold is laid, is, to grind together some red oxide of lead with the thickest drying oil that can be procured, the older the better. To make it work freely, it is mixed, before being used, with a little oil of turpentine, till it is brought to a proper consistence. The above four receipts are used in japanning. 187. JAPANNING If it be woodwork you are about to japan, it must be prepared with size, and some coarse material mixed with it to fill up and harden the grain of the wood, (such as may best suit the colour to be laid on,) which must be rubbed smooth with glass paper when dry. In cases of accident, it is seldom necessary to resize the damaged places, unless they are considerable. 188. GRINDING COLOURS IN JAPANNING Be very careful in japanning, to grind your colours smooth in spirits of turpentine, then add a small quantity of turpentine and spirit varnish, lay it carefully on with a camel hair brush, and varnish it with brown or white varnish, according to the colour. 189. COLOURS REQUIRED IN JAPANNING Flake white, red lead, vermillion, lake, Prussian blue, patent yellow, orpiment, orchres, verditers, vandyke brown, umber, lamp-black, and siennas raw and burnt. With these you may match almost any colour in general use in japanning. For a black japan, it will be found sufficient to mix a little gold-size with lamp-black; this will bear a good gloss, without requiring to be varnished afterwards. 190. TO PREPARE A FINE TORTOISE-SHELL JAPAN Take 1 gallon of good linseed oil, and 1/2 lb. of umber; boil them together till the oil becomes very brown and thick, then strain it through a coarse cloth, and set it again to boil; in which state it must be continued till it acquires a consistence resembling that of pitch; it will then be fit for use. 191. DIRECTIONS FOR USING TORTOISE-SHELL JAPAN Having thus prepared the varnish or japan, clean well the substance which is to be japanned; then lay vermillion, tempered with shell-lac varnish, or with drying oil, very thinly diluted with oil of turpentine, on the places intended to imitate the more transparent parts of the tortoise-shell; when the vermillion is dry, brush the whole over with black varnish, tempered to a due consistence with the oil of turpentine. When set and firm, put the work into a stove, where it may undergo a very strong heat, which must be continued a considerable time; if even three weeks or a month it will be the better. This tortoise-shell ground it not less valuable for its great hardness, and enduring to be made hotter than boiling water without damage, than for the superior beauty and brilliancy of its appearance. 192. TO MAKE CLOTH, SILK &c., WATER-PROOF Mix equal quantities of alum and acetate of lead, and dissolve the mixture in 1-1/2 gallons of boiling water. When the solution has cooled, remove the supernatent liquid from the sediment, which consists of sulphate of lead, and is ready for use. Any article of dress, when well saturated in this liquid, and allowed to dry slowly, bears the action of boiling water, and does not permit it to pass through, although steam and air penetrate if freely. 193. CROCKERY CEMENT Dissolve 1 oz. of common salt in 1 quart of water, bring to a boil, and put in 1-1/4 lbs. gum shell-lac; when it shall have dissolved, pour into cold water, and work like wax; make into small sticks. This will make crockery as firm as a rock. Directions: Warm the stick, apply it to the broken edges, then heat the edges, place them together and hold for a minute, and they are firm. 194. A CEMENT FOR CHINA, GLASS-WARE, &c. Take a thick mucilage of gum arabic, and stir into it plaster of Paris to form a thick paste, apply to the edges with a brush, and press firmly together and confine them two or three days, and you will be astonished at their firmness. 195. ANGLER'S SECRET The juice of loveage or smellage mixed with any kind of bait, or a few drops of the oil of rhodium; India cockle, also, is sometimes mixed with flour dough, and sprinkled on the surface of still water. This intoxicates the fish, and makes him turn up on the top of the water, when he is taken and put in a tub of fresh water until he revives, when all is right; he may be eaten without fear; but this will destroy many fish. 196. MORELLA WINE Take the juice of morella or tame cherries, and to each quart put 3 quarts of water, and 4 lbs. of coarse brown sugar; let them ferment, and skim until worked clear; then draw off, avoiding the sediment at the bottom, bung up, or bottle, which is best for all wines, letting the bottles lie always on the side, either for wines or beers. 197. HAIR DYE No. 1 Crystalised nitrate of silver, 1 drachm; soft water, 1 oz. No. 2 Sulphide (sulphuret is the same) of potassium, 1 drachm; soft water, 1 oz.; wash the beard or hair with soap to remove oil, dry with a towel a little then apply No. 1, and directly after it No. 2, for a few minutes, alternately, using different tooth brushes for each No. Clear days are best on which to apply it. As soon as dry, wash out well with soap. Keep it from shirt bosoms and face, especially No. 1, as it will make the face sore as well as colour it. If you do get it on the skin, cyanide (cyanuret is the same) of potassium, 1 drachm, to 2 ozs. of water, will take it off. This last is poison, however, and should not touch sore places, nor be left where children may get at it. 198. TALLOW CANDLES IN IMITATION OF WAX Purify melted mutton tallow by throwing in powdered quicklime, then add 2 parts of wax to 1 of tallow. A most beautiful article of candle, resembling wax, will be produced by the mixture. Dip the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre on making. 199. TO STAIN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS A CRIMSON STAIN Take of ground Brazil, 1 lb.; water, 3 quarts; cochineal, 1/2 oz.; boil the Brazil in the water for an hour; then strain, and add the cochineal; then boil it gently for half-an-hour, when it will be fit for use. If you wish a scarlet tint, boil an ounce of saffron in a quart of water, and pass over the work before you stain it. The article must be very clean, and of firwood, or the best sycamore. When varnished over this stain it is most elegant. 200. A PURPLE STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c. Take of chipped logwood, 1 lb.; of water, 3 quarts; of pearl-ash, 4 ozs.; of indigo, pounded, 2 ozs.; put the logwood in the water, boil well for an hour, then add the pearl-ash and indigo, and when dissolved, you will have a beautiful purple. 201. A BLUE STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c. Take of oil of vitriol in a glass bottle, 1 lb.; put into it 4 ozs. of indigo, and precede as directed in dyeing. 202. GREEN STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c. Take of strong vinegar, 3 pints; of best verdigris, 4 ozs., ground fine; of sap green, 1/2 oz.; of indigo, 1/2 oz.; mix all together. 203. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR DYEING The materials should be perfectly clean; soap should be rinsed out in soft water; the article should be entirely wetted, or it will spot; light colours should be steeped in brass, tin or earthen; and, if set at all, should be set with alum. Dark colours should be boiled in iron, and set with copperas; too much copperas rots the thread. 204. FOR COLOURING SKY BLUE Get the blue composition; it may be had at the druggist's, or clothier's, for a shilling an ounce. If the articles are not white, the old colours should all be discharged by soap or a strong solution of tartaric acid, then rinsed; 12 or 16 drops of the composition, stirred into a quart-bowl of warm water, and strained if settlings are seen, will dye a great many articles. If you want a deeper colour, add a few drops more of the composition. If you wish to colour cotton goods, put in pounded chalk to destroy the acid, which is very destructive to all cotton; let it stand until the effervescence subsides, and then it may be safely used for cotton or silk. 205. FOR LILAC COLOUR Take a little pinch of archil, and put some boiling-hot water upon it, add to it a very little lump of pear-lash. Shades may be altered by pear-lash, common slat, or wine. 206. TO COLOUR BLACK Logwood and cider, boiled together in iron, water being added for the evaporation, makes a good durable black. Rusty nails or any bits of rusty iron, boiled in vinegar, with a small piece of copperas, will also dye black; so will ink powder, if boiled with vinegar. In all cases, black must be set with copperas. 207. TO DYE LEMON COLOUR Peach leaves, bark scraped from the barberry bush, or saffron, steeped in water, and set with alum, will colour a bright lemon, drop in a little gum-arabic to make the articles stiff. 208. TO DYE ROYAL PURPLE Soak logwood chips in soft water until the strength is out, then add a teaspoonful of alum to a quart of the liquid; if this is not bright enough, add more alum, rinse and dry. When the dye is exhausted, it will colour a fine lilac. 209. TO DYE SLATE COLOUR Tea grounds, boiled in iron vessels, set with copperas, makes a good slate colour. To produce a light slate colour, boil white maple bark in clear water, with a little alum. The bark should be boiled in brass utensils. The goods should be boiled in it, and then hung where they will drain and dry. 210. TO DYE SCARLET Dip the cloth in a solution of alkaline or metallic salt, then in a cochineal dye, and let it remain some time, and it will come out permanently coloured. Another method: 1/2 lb. of madder, 1/2 oz. of cream tartar, and 1 oz. of marine acid to 1 lb. of cloth; put it all together, and bring the dye to a scalding heat; put in your materials, and they will be coloured in ten minutes. The dye must be only scalding hot. Rinse your goods in cold water as soon as they come from the dye. 211. TO COLOUR A BRIGHT MADDER For 1 lb. of yard or cloth, take 3 ozs. of madder; 3 ozs. of alum; 1 oz. of cream tartar; prepare a brass kettle with two gallons of water, and bring the liquor to a steady heat, then add your alum and tartar, and bring it to a boil; put in your cloth, and boil it two hours; take it out, and rinse it in cold water; empty your kettle, and fill it with as much water as before; then add your madder; rub it in fine in the water before your cloth is in. When your dye is as warm as you can bear your hand in, then put in your cloth, and let it lie one hour, and keep a steady heat; keep it in motion constantly, then bring it to a boil fifteen minutes, then air and rinse it. If your goods are new, use 4 ozs. of madder to a lb. 212. TO COLOUR GREEN If you wish to colour green, have your cloth as free as possible from the old colour, clean, and rinsed; and, in the first place, colour it deep yellow. Fustic, boiled in soft water, makes the strongest and brightest yellow dye; but saffron, barberry-bush, peach-leaves, or onion-skins, will answer pretty well. Next take a bowlful of strong yellow dye, and pour in a great spoonful or more of the blue composition, stir it up well with a clean stick, and dip the articles you have already coloured yellow into it, and they will take a lively grass-green. This is a good plan for old bombazet-curtains, dessert-cloths, old flannel for desk coverings, &c. 213. TO DYE STRAW COLOUR AND YELLOW Saffron, steeped in earthen and strained, colours a fine straw colour. It makes a delicate or deep shade, according to the strength of the tea. Colouring yellow is described in receipt No. 212. In all these cases a little bit of alum does no harm, and may help to fix the colour. Ribbons, gauze handkerchiefs, &c., are coloured well in this way, especially if they be stiffened by a bit of gum-arabic, dropped in while the stuff is steeping. 214. TO DYE A DRAB COLOUR Take plum tree sprouts, and boil them an hour or more; add copperas, according to the shade you wish your articles to be. White ribbons take very pretty in this dye. 215. TO DYE PURPLE Boil an ounce of cochineal in a quart of vinegar. This will afford a beautiful purple. 216. TO DYE BROWN Use a teaspoonful of soda to an ounce of cochineal, and a quart of soft water. 217. TO COLOUR PINK Boil 1 lb. of cloth an hour in alum water, pound 3/4 of an oz. of cochineal and mix 1 oz. of cream of tartar; put in a brass kettle, with water, enough to cover the cloth; when about blood hot, put in your cloth, stir constantly, and boil about fifteen minutes. 218. TO DYE A COFFEE COLOUR Use copperas in a madder-dye, instead of madder compound. 219. TO DYE NANKIN COLOUR The simplest way is to take a pailful of lye, to which put a piece of copperas half as big as a hen's egg; boil in a copper or tin kettle. 220. TO MAKE ROSE COLOUR Balm blossoms, steeped in water, colour a pretty rose colour. This answers very well for the linings of children's bonnets, for ribbons, &c. 221. TO DYE STRAW AND CHIP BONNETS BLACK Boil them in strong logwood liquor 3 or 4 hours, occasionally adding green copperas, and taking the bonnets out to cool in the air, and this must be continued for some hours. Let the bonnets remain in the liquor all night, and the next morning take them out, dry them in the air, and brush them with a soft brush. Lastly, rub them inside and out with a sponge moistened with oil, and then send them to be blocked. Hats are done in the same way. 222. TO DYE WHITE GLOVES A BEAUTIFUL PURPLE Boil 4 oz. of logwood, and 2 oz. of roche-alum, in 3 pints of soft water, till half wasted; let it stand to be cold after straining. If they be old gloves let them be mended; then do them over with a brush, and when dry repeat it. Twice is sufficient unless the colour is to be very dark; when dry, rub off the loose dye with a coarse cloth; beat up the white of an egg, and with a sponge, rub it over the leather. The dye will stain the hands, but wetting them with vinegar before they are washed will take it off. 223. TO BLEACH STRAW HATS, &c. Straw hats and bonnets are bleached by putting them, previously washed in pure water, in a box with burning sulphur; the fumes which arise unite with the water on the bonnets, and the sulphurous acid, thus formed, bleaches them. 224. TO DYE SILKS BLACK To 8 gallons of water add 4 ozs. of copperas; immerse for 1 hour and take out and rinse; boil 2 lbs. logwood chips, or 1/2 lb. of extract; 1/2 lb. of fustic; and for white silks, 1/2 lb. of nicwood; dissolve 2 lbs. of good bar-soap in a gallon of water; mix all the liquids together, and then add the soap, having just enough to cover the silk; stir briskly until a good lather is formed, then immerse the silk and handle it lively. The dye should be as warm as the hand will bear; dry quickly and without rinsing. The above is enough for 10 yards or one dress. 225. TO COLOUR YELLOW ON COTTON Wet 6 lbs. of goods thoroughly; and to the same quantity of water add 9 oz. of sugar of lead; and to the same quantity of water in another vessel, add 6 oz. of bichromate of potash; dip the goods first into the solution of sugar of lead, and next into that of the potash, and then again into the first; wring out, dry, and afterwards rinse in cold water. 226. FOR STAINING GLASS--No. 1 FLUX Minimum, or red lead, 3 parts; white sand, washed, 1 part. This mixture is melted, by which it is converted into a greenish-yellow glass. 227. No. 2 FLUX Of No. 1, 8 parts; fused borax, in powder, 1 part. This mixture is melted. 228. No. 3 FLUX Fused borax, 5 parts; calcined flint, 3 parts; pure minium, 1 part. This mixture is also melted. The above fluxes are used in procuring the different colours for staining glass. 229. INDIGO BLUE Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; flux No. 3, 2 parts. 230. TURQUOISE BLUE Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 3 or 4 parts; flux No. 3, 6 parts; melt and pour out. If it is not sufficiently green, increase the zinc and flux. 231. AZURE BLUE Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 8 parts; melt them together. 232. DEEP AZURE BLUE Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 5 parts. The beauty of this colour depends on the proportion of flux. As little as possible is to be used; it must, however, be brilliant. Sometimes less is used than the proportion indicated. 233. SKY BLUE Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 12 parts; pound up, melt, and pour out. 234. EMERALD GREEN Oxide of copper, 1 part; antimonic acid, 10 parts; flux No. 1, 30 parts; pulverize together, and melt. 235. BLUEISH GREEN Green oxide of chromium, 1 part; oxide of cobalt, 2 parts; triturate, and melt at a high heat. The product is a button slightly melted, from which is removed the portion in contact with the crucible. This button is pounded up, and three parts of flux No. 3, for one of the button, are added to it. 236. GRASS GREEN Green oxide of chromium 1 part, flux No. 3, 3 parts, triturate and melt. 237. DEEP YELLOW Antimonic acid 2 parts, subsulphate of iron 1 part, flux No. 1, 10 parts; melt and pour out. The subsulphate of iron may be increased a little, the proportions of flux vary. 238. JONQUILLE YELLOW FOR FLOWERS Litharge 18 parts, sand 6 parts. The product of the calcination of equal parts of lead and tin 2 parts, carbonate of soda 1 part, antimonic acid 1 part, rub together, or triturate, and melt. 239. WAX YELLOW Litharge 18 parts, sand 4 parts, oxide of antimony 2 parts, sienna earth 2 parts; melt. If it is too deep the proportion of sienna earth may be decreased. 240. ORANGE YELLOW Chromate of lead 1 part, minium 3 parts. 241. BRICK RED Yellow No. 240, 12 parts; red oxide of iron, 1 part. 242. DEEP BLOOD RED Subsulphate of iron, calcined in a muffle until it becomes a beautiful capucine red, 1 part; flux No. 2, 3 parts; mix without melting. 243. BROWN YELLOW OCHRE Yellow ochre No. 244, 10 parts; sienna earth, 1 part; triturate without melting. 244. DEEP YELLOW OCHRE--CALLED YELLOW BROWN Subsulphate of iron, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 1 part; flux No. 2, 5 parts; triturate without melting. 245. PURE PURPLE The purple powder of Cassius mixed while moist with flux No. 3, and sometimes a little chloride of silver previously melted with flux No. 3. If the purple, when prepared, does not melt sufficiently easy, some flux may be added when it is dry. 246. DEEP VIOLET The purple of Cassius, in place of flux No. 3, flux No. 1 is mixed with it. Sometimes a little of blue No. 233 is added. 247. FLESH RED The sulphate of iron, put in a small crucible, and lightly calcined, produces a suitable red oxide. Those which have the desired tone are selected. All the flesh reds are made in this way, and vary only in the degree of heat which they receive. 248. HAIR BROWN Yellow ochre, No. 244, 15 parts; oxide of cobalt, 1 part; well triturated and calcined, in order to give the tone to it. 249. LIVER BROWN Oxide of iron made of a red brown, and mixed with three times its weight of flux No. 2. A tenth of sienna earth is added to it if it is not sufficiently deep. 250. WHITE The white enamel of commerce in cakes. 251. YELLOWISH GREY Yellow No. 252, 1 part; blue No. 233, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 or 3 parts; flux No. 2, 5 parts; sometimes a little black is added, according to the tone which the mixture produces. The proportions of the blue and yellow vary. 252. YELLOW FOR BROWNS & GREENS Antimonic acid, 2 parts; sulphate of iron 1 part; flux No. 1, 9 parts. This colour is melted and sometimes a little Naples Yellow is added if it is too soft, i.e., melts too easily. 253. BLUEISH GREY FOR MIXTURES Blue previously made by melting together three parts of flux No. 1, and one part of the mixture of oxide of cobalt, 8 parts; oxide of zinc, 1 part; sulphate of iron calcined at a forge heat, 1 part; flux No. 2, 3 parts; triturate and add a little manganese in order to render it more grey. 254. GRAYISH BLACK FOR MIXTURES Yellow ochre, No. 244, 15 parts; oxide of cobalt, 1 part; triturate and calcine in a crucible until it has the desired tone. A little oxide of manganese is added in order to make it blacker; sometimes a little more of oxide of cobalt. 255. DEEP BLACK Oxide of cobalt, 2 parts; oxide of copper, 2 parts; oxide of manganese, 1 part; flux No. 1, 6 parts; fused borax, 1/2 part; melt and add oxide of manganese, 1 part; oxide of copper, 2 parts; triturate without melting. 256. GENERAL DIRECTIONS The colours thus prepared after having been rubbed up on a plate of ground glass with the spirits of turpentine or lavender, thickened in the air are applied with a hair pencil. Before using them, however, it is necessary to try them on small pieces of glass, and expose them to the fire, to ascertain if the desired tone of colour is produced. The artist must be guided by these proof pieces in using his colours. The proper glass for receiving these colours should be uniform, colourless, and difficult of fusion. For this reason crown glass made with a little alkali or kelp is preferred. A design must be drawn upon paper and placed beneath the plate of glass. The upper side of the glass being sponged over with gum-water affords, when dry, a surface proper for receiving the colours, without the risk of their running irregularly, as they would be apt to do on the slippery glass. The artist draws on the plate, with a fine pencil all the traces which mark the great outlines and shades of the figures. This is usually done in black, and afterwards, when it is dry, the vitrifying colours are laid on by means of larger hair pencils. The yellow formed with chloride of silver is generally laid on the back of the glass, for it is apt to run with the other colours while heating. The pigments used in painting on glass are principally matallic oxides and chlorides, and as, in most of these, the colour is not brought out until after the painting is submitted to heat, it is necessary to ascertain beforehand if the colours are properly mixed by painting on slips of glass, and exposing them to heat in a muffle. The painter is guided by these trial pieces in laying on his colours. To fire the paintings a furnace with a muffle is used. The muffles are made of refractory clay. 257. WHITE COATING FOR GOLD VARNISHES A quart of strong parchment size and half a pint of water are to be made quite hot, and to these are to be added, (in small portions from time to time,) two good handsful of common whiting, passed through a fine sieve; this mixture is to be left to infuse for half an hour, when it is to be stirred carefully so that the amalgamation may be perfect. This coating is preferable to any glue or cement for coating picture frames, &c., on which is to be laid the tin or silver leaf, to be varnished with gold varnishes or lackers. 258. LEAD COLOURING PAINT Whiting, 112 lbs...................... $1.12 Blue-black, 5 lbs..................... 0.25 White lead ground in oil, 28 lbs...... 2.24 Road-dirt, 56 lbs..................... 0.10 Lime-water, 5 galls................... 0.05 Residue of the oil, 2-1/4 galls....... 1.25 -------- Weights, 256 lbs....... $5.01 To the above add two galls. of the incorporated oil, and 2 galls. of the linseed oil to thin it for use, and it will not exceed two cents and a quarter. The lime-water, whiting, road-dirt, and blue-black, must be first mixed together, then add the ground lead, first blending it with 2-1/2 galls. of the prepared fish oil; after which, thin the whole with 2 galls. of linseed oil and 2 galls. of incorporated oil, and it will be fit for use. For garden doors, and other work liable to be in constant use, a little spirits of turpentine may be added to the paint whilst laying on, which will have the desired effect. 259. BRIGHT GREEN PAINT 112 lbs. yellow ochre in powder at 5 cts. per lb.... $5.50 168 lbs. road-dust.................................. 0.25 112 lbs. wet blue, at 20 cts. per lb................ 22.40 10 lbs. blue-black, at 5 cts. per lb............... 0.50 6 galls. of lime-water............................ 0.06 4 galls. fish oil, prepared....................... 2.40 7-1/2 galls. incorporated oil..................... 4.28 7-1/2 galls. linseed oil, at 90 cts. per gal...... 6.75 -------- Weights, 592 lbs.............. $42.24 It will be seen that the bright green paint costs but about 7 cts. per lb., ready to lay on; and the inventor challenges any colour-man or painter to produce a green equal to it for five times the price. After painting, the colour left in the pot may be covered with water to prevent it from sinking, and the brushes, as usual, should be cleaned with the painting-knife, and kept under water. A brighter green may be formed by omitting the blue-black. A lighter green may be had by the addition of 10 lbs. of ground white lead. Observe that the wet blue must be ground with the incorporated oil, preparatory to its being mixed with the mass. 260. STONE-COLOURED PAINT Lime-water, 4 galls................. $0.04 Whiting, 112 lbs.................... 1.12 White lead, ground, 28 lbs.......... 2.24 Road-dust, 56 lbs................... 0.10 Prepared fish oil, 2 galls.......... 1.20 Incorporated oil, 3-1/2 galls....... 2.00 Linseed oil, 3-1/2 galls............ 3.15 -------- Weights, 293 lbs....... $9.85 The above stone-colour fit for use, is not three and a half cents per pound. 261. BROWN-RED COLOURED PAINT Lime-water, 8 galls................. $0.08 Spanish brown, 112 lbs.............. 3.36 Road-dust, 224 lbs.................. 0.40 4 galls. of fish oil................ 2.40 4 galls. incorporated oil........... 2.28 4 galls. linseed oil................ 3.60 -------- Weights, 501 lbs....... $12.12 This paint is scarcely two and a half cents per pound. The Spanish brown must be in powder. 262. A GOOD CHOCOLATE COLOURED PAINT This is made by the addition of blue black in powder, or lamp-black to receipt No. 261, till the colour is to the painter's mind; and a lighter brown may be formed by adding ground white lead. By ground lead is meant white lead ground in oil. 263. YELLOW PAINT This is prepared with yellow ochre in powder, to receipt No. 261, in the same proportion as Spanish brown. 264. BLACK PAINT This is also prepared in the same proportion, as in receipt No. 261, using lamp-black or blue-black, instead of Spanish brown. 265. WHITE PAINT Slack a peck of nice, clean, fresh lime in a covered vessel, with water which is boiling hot; when well slacked, strain it well, then add to it 1-1/2 lbs. of finely ground rice; let the rice be boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in while very hot; 1/2 peck of common salt, well dissolved in warm water; 1/2 lb. of clean glue, dissolved in water; and 1/4 lb. of whiting; when well mixed, add 5 gallons of very hot water, then stir well, and let stand a few days well covered. Pit it on hot, and it will stand the weather as well as a good deal of white lead. You may colour this paint to suit your taste, using and stirring in well Spanish brown for a red pink colour. Take common clay finely powdered, and mixed well with Spanish brown for a reddish stone-colour. For yellow colour use yellow ochre if you please, but chrome yellow makes a richer colour and less does. You may make the colours dark or light according to the quantity of colouring matter used. 266. COMPOUND COLOURED PAINTS The various colours that may be obtained by the mixture of other colours, are innumerable. I only propose here to give the best and simplest modes of preparing those which are required for use. Compound colours, formed by the union of only two colours, are called by painters virgin tints. The smaller the number of colours of which any compound colour is composed, the purer and the richer it will be. They are prepared as follows: 267. LIGHT GREY This is made by mixing white lead with lamp-black, using more or less of each material, as you wish to obtain a darker or lighter colour. 268. BUFF COLOUR This is made from yellow ochre and white lead. 269. SILVER OR PEARL GREY Mix white lead, indigo, and a very light portion of black, regulating the quantities by the shade you wish to obtain. 270. FLAXEN GREY This is obtained by a mixture of white lead and Prussian blue, with a small quantity of lake. 271. BRICK COLOUR This is prepared by mixing yellow ochre, and red lead, with a little white lead. 272. OAK WOOD COLOUR Mix together three-fourths white lead, and one-fourth part umber and yellow ochre; the proportions of the last two ingredients being determined by the required tints. 273. WALNUT TREE COLOUR Two-thirds white lead, and one-third red ochre, yellow ochre, and umber, mixed according to the shade sought. If veining is required, use different shades of the same mixture, and for the deepest places, black. 274. JONQUIL Mix together yellow, pink, and white lead. This colour is only proper for distemper. 275. LEMON YELLOW Mix together realgar and orpiment; some object to this mixture on account of the poisonous nature of the ingredients. The same colour can be obtained by mixing yellow-pink with Naples yellow; but it is then only fit for distemper. 276. ORANGE COLOUR For this colour mix red lead and yellow ochre. 277. VIOLET COLOUR Make, by mixing vermillion, or red lead, with black or blue, and a small portion of white: vermillion is far preferable to red lead, in mixing this colour. 278. PURPLE Made by mixing dark-red with violet-colour. 279. CARNATION Mix together lake colour and white. 280. GOLD COLOUR This is procured by mixing massicot, or Naples yellow, with a small quantity of realgar, and a very little Spanish white. 281. OLIVE COLOUR This may be obtained by various mixtures: black and a little blue, mixed with yellow; yellow-pink, with a little verdigris and lamp-black; or ochre and a small quantity of white, will also produce a kind of olive colour. For distemper, indigo and yellow-pink, mixed with white lead or Spanish white, must be used. If veined, it should be done with umber. 282. LEAD COLOUR Mix together indigo and white lead or whiting. 283. CHESTNUT COLOUR Mix red-ochre and black, for a dark-chestnut. To make it lighter, employ a mixture of yellow-ochre. 284. LIGHT TIMBER COLOUR For this colour mix together spruce-ochre, white and a little umber. 285. FLESH COLOUR Mix lake, white-lead, and a little vermilion. 286. LIGHT WILLOW GREEN This is made by mixing white with verdigris. 287. STONE COLOUR Mix white with a little spruce-ochre. 288. DARK LEAD COLOUR Mix black and white with a little indigo. 289. FAWN COLOUR Mix white lead, stone-ochre, and a little vermilion. 290. CHOCOLATE COLOUR Mix lamp-black and Spanish brown. On account of the fatness of the lamp-black, mix some litharge and red lead. 291. PORTLAND STONE COLOUR Mix umber, yellow ochre, and white lead. The variety of shades of brown that may be obtained, are nearly as numerous as those of green. 292. TO IMITATE MAHOGANY Let the first coat of painting be white lead, the second orange, and the last burned umber or sienna; imitating the veins according to your taste and practice. 293. TO IMITATE WAINSCOAT Let the first coat be white, the second half white and half yellow-ochre, and the third yellow-ochre only. Shadow with umber or sienna. 294. TO IMITATE SATIN WOOD Take white for your first coating, light blue for the second, and dark blue or dark green for the third. 295. TURNER'S PATENT YELLOW PAINT When sea-salt is made into a paste with litharge, it is decomposed, its acid unites with the litharge, and the soda is set free. Hence Turner's patent process for decomposing sea-salt, which consists in mixing two parts of the former with one of the latter, moistening and leaving them together for about twenty-four hours. The product is then washed, filtered, and evaporated, by which soda is obtained. A white substance is now left undissolved; it is a compound of muriatic acid and lead, which, when heated, changes its colour, and forms Turner's yellow; a very beautiful colour, much in use among coach-painters. 296. TO PAINT IN IMITATION OF BLACK WALNUT Wash the surface of the wood with weak alum-water, after being well sand-papered; then go over it with linseed oil, coloured with murat amber and red lead. It is better to have this colour rather light, and renew the application; when this has sufficiently dried, go over the surface with a strong sizing of transparent glue, and then use two castors of copal varnish. Any good grained pine will bear a very close resemblance to walnut, and the surface will be nearly as hard. NOTE For mixing the foregoing paints it is impossible to lay down any particular rule as to quantity, as each person mixes them of a shade to suit his own taste. They are mixed with oil and a little turpentine, and sometimes a little japan is added to assist in drying. When they are not mixed in this way the particular mode is mentioned. 297. RULES FOR MAKING PICKLES Select the best vinegar, for on this will depend the quality of your pickles; use glass bottles or stone jars for your pickles, never use earthenware glazed; use wooden knives and forks in making; leave the jars three-fourths full of the articles to be pickled; then fill the jar or bottle with vinegar. If you add alum at all let it be very little; look your pickles over occasionally and remove any that may not be doing well. Small cucumbers, beans, green plums, tomatoes, onions, and radish pods, may be used for assorted pickles; one red pepper for forty or fifty cucumbers is sufficient; if the vinegar on pickles becomes white or weak, take it out and scald and skim it, then return it to the pickles. 298. ASPARAGUS PICKLED Cut and wash the heads of the largest asparagus; place them in cold water for two hours; scald carefully in salt and water, then lay on a cloth until cool; make a pickle of salt and vinegar and boil it; to one gallon of pickles put a quarter of an ounce of mace, two nutmegs, a quarter of an ounce of whole pepper, and pour your pickle hot over them, cover tight with a cloth, and let stand a week, then boil the pickle, and let stand a week again, and boil again, when cold, cover closely. 299. BEANS AND FRENCH BEANS PICKLED Lay them in salt and water for nine days; then add a little vinegar and boil them in the liquor; when they become green strain them, wipe them dry, and put the beans into the jar; boil some vinegar, ginger, mace, pepper, cloves, and mustard seed, all bruised, and while hot pour it on the beans; cover them close when cold. 300. TO PICKLE RED CABBAGE Take the quarter of a purple head of cabbage, cut out the stalk, then slice it down endways, put them on a drying sieve, sprinkle each layer of cabbage with salt, which let lay and drain for two or three days, then put into a jar, boil some vinegar with spice tied up in a muslin bag, cut a beet root of good colour into slices; the branches of cauliflower cut off after it has lain in salt will look and be of a beautiful red; put it into a stone jar and pour boiling vinegar over it. 301. TO PICKLE CUCUMBERS Lay them upon dishes, sprinkle salt over them, let them lie a week, drain then off, and put them into stone jars, pour boiling vinegar over them, place them near fire, cover them well with vine leaves, and if not a good green pour off the vinegar and boil it again; cover them with fresh vine leaves and continue doing so until they are a good colour; as, to make a better green, you must use a mettle stew pan or brass kettles, which are very poisonous; use wooden spoons with holes to dish all pickles, keeping them always well covered and free from air. 302. TO PICKLE ONIONS Peel the onions till they look white, boil some strong salt and water and pour it over them; let them stand in this twenty-four hours; keep the vessel closely covered to retain the steam; after this wipe the onions quite dry, and when they are cold pour boiling vinegar, with ginger and white pepper over them; the vinegar must cover the onions. 303. TO PICKLE MUSHROOMS These are pickled in salt water and brandy, but they are of little advantage. 304. RAILROAD SYSTEM OF HORSE TRAINING This excellent and very simple method of horse training is nearly all accomplished by what is called the persuader or bit; which is made as follows: take a piece of strong rope eight or ten feet long and a quarter of an inch thick, then part the horse's mane in the centre, turning one half towards the ears, and the other towards the back of the horse; next tie the rope by one end in a hard knot that will not slip--not too tightly--round the horse's neck in the place at which the mane is divided, having the knot on the right side of the neck; then pass the loose end of the rope forwards, along the right side of the neck, into the horse's mouth and back along the left side of the neck to that part of the rope which surrounds the horse's neck, and underneath which it is passed; than take the loose end of the rope in your hand, and you have the persuader or bit completed. By pulling on the end which you now hold, you draw his mouth up towards his throat, and can thereby inflict the most excruciating torture that is possible for a horse to undergo, and the beauty of it is, without the least injury to the animal. One pull on this persuader is more dreaded by the horse than a whole day's flogging with raw-hide. In fact he cannot stand it; no matter how ugly his tricks may be, such as kicking, balking or anything else, if you use the persuader on him at the time, you can conquer him at once; make him as meek as a lamb, and glad to do anything to escape the torture inflicted by the persuader. A few times is all you will have to use it, even on the most sulky animal, until you will see no more of his tricks, and he is completely conquered. 305. TO HALTER WILD COLTS How to approach and halter the wildest colt of any age without danger, and lead him quietly, is as follows: choose a large floor, that of a wagonhouse answers well, strew it over with straw two or three inches deep, turn your colt into it, follow him in with a good whip, shut the door, and he will clear to the furthest corner, follow him, and whip him well on the hips, he will clear to another corner, follow him, treat him in the same manner, and he will soon begin to turn his head towards you, then stop and bid him come to you, if he does not come, lay on the whip again, being always careful not to touch him about the head or shoulders, but always about the hips, in a short time he will come to you when you bid him, then rub his ears, nose, neck, chest, &c., and pet him all you can; halter and lead him about the floor; it at any time he clears from you, pay the whip well on his hips until he comes to you again; after a little use him the same way in a small yard, and after this you can do as you like with him in any place. 306. HORSES WITH TENDER EARS How to make a horse, that is afraid of his head or ears, easy to bridle or halter, is as follows: if your horse is very fractious and wild, you will need to treat him according to receipt No. 305, first: at all events you will want the floor well covered with straw, then raise the left fore leg and strap it so that your horse will stand on three legs, then tie a strap just above his right fore foot, and standing on the left side of the horse, holding the strap in your hand, chirp to him, and the moment he attempts to move forwards, he is on his knees; you may then fasten the strap to that on the left leg, or hold it in your hand, as you please; then after the horse gets done struggling and working, rub his nose and ears gently, and put the halter on and take it off repeatedly, to show him that it may be done without hurting him, and in a short time he will not mind the halter or bridle. 307. HOW TO CONTROL A VICIOUS HORSE How to acquire the most perfect control over the most vicious and wildest horse, in a short time, without the use of drugs or charms, is by going according to receipts No. 305 and No. 306, and sometimes you may have to use the persuader. 308. TO BREAK A WILD COLT How to break the wildest colt in a short time, so that a boy of 14 years old can ride or handle him in perfect safety. This is done by means of the persuader receipts No. 305 and No. 306, and if the boy is to ride him, after the horse is on his knees, as directed in receipt No. 306, and the horse is tired out by struggling, then let somebody get on his back, sit there for a while, then move on to his shoulders, and back unto his hips, and so work round the horse until he does not mind it, and has no fear from it. When he has a few lessons like this, any lad may ride him in safety. 309. TO MAKE A STALLION LIE DOWN How to make the worst stallion lie down and allow you to perform any surgical operation on him that you wish, without the assistance of any one. If the horse is very ugly, you may need to follow, first, receipt No. 305, and perhaps, use the persuader, but it is principally done by receipt No. 306, with this addition: when you have the horse on his knees, you standing on his left side, and holding the strap which is attached to his right fore foot in your hand, as taught in receipt No. 306, then put a headstall on him, and to its ring on the left side of his mouth, tie firmly a stick about an inch and a half thick, which, let run up on the left side of his neck, to the top of his shoulders, then tie the strap, which is attached to the right foot, to this pole; now pull the horse over on his left side, and you have him powerless, his fore feet are drawn up, and on account of the pole he cannot raise his head, so that you have perfect control over him to do as you please. 310. PULLING AT THE HALTER To break a horse from pulling at the halter. This is done by means of the persuader; if he pulls once on this, he will never try it again. 311. WILD STALLIONS How to break the wildest stallion in a short time, so that a boy can lead him in perfect safety. This is done by putting the horse through a regular course of training, according to receipts No. 305 and No. 306, and the use of the persuader. 312. BALKY HORSES How to make the worst of balky horses pull true. Whenever your horse balks, if you there and then, openly and publicly make use of the persuader, and jerk him well with it, he will be glad to go, and in a short time you will have to use it no more; but as long as this system is kept secret, and when a horse balks, you do not then use the persuader, you will never break the horse from balking. 313. SHOEING HORSES How to make a horse stand to be shod. This is accomplished by having the persuader fitted on, and whenever the horse makes an attempt to be ugly, pull on the persuader, and he will very soon be glad to stand as quiet as a lamb. 314. "WHOA" How to make a horse understand the word "whoa" so perfectly, that he will always stop when spoken to, no matter what may occur to frighten him. This is done by having the persuader fitted on, and whenever you sat "whoa", in a loud and stern tone of voice, pull on the persuader, and it is impossible for a horse to fear or dread anything else as much as this, he will stop instantly, no matter what may occur to frighten him. 315. THROWING How to break a horse off the habit of throwing his rider. This is accomplished by means of the persuader, and receipt No. 308. 316. SCARING How to break a horse off scaring at umbrellas or buffalo robes, so that you may toss them at him without disturbing him. To accomplish this you want to get the horse on his knees, according to receipt No. 306; then bring your robes and umbrellas near him, let him smell them, toss them at him, and throw them over his head carefully, and so continue to work, showing him that they do not harm him, until all fear of them is lost. 317. KICKING HORSES How to break the worst class of kicking horses. To accomplish this, you will want to put the horse through a regular course of training, according to this system, until you have him well conquered; then keep the persuader on, and if he should ever attempt to kick, at that moment jerk well on the persuader, and he will think of everything but kicking; when he attempts it a few times, and you check him in this manner, he will quit it altogether. 318. TO BIT A HORSE How to bit a horse more perfectly, in ten minutes, at a cost of ten cents, that can be done with any other bit and rig, at a cost of five to ten dollars. This bit is what is called the persuader, and it is the best bit that ever was used for bitting colts. It puts a most beautiful curve in the neck, and leaves the colt at ease while wearing it. When it is used for this purpose, the end that you hold in your hand in other cases, is now to be tied to that part of the persuader which surrounds the neck of the horse or colt. 319. JOCKEY TRICKS--TO PRODUCE FOUNDER How to make a horse appear as if he was badly foundered in one night's time. Take a fine wire, or any substitute, and fasten it tightly round the castor tit, the back side of the pasture joint at night; smooth the hair down nicely over it, and by morning he will walk as stiff as any foundered horse. 320. FOOD AND STARVATION How to make a horse stand by his food and starve to death. Grease the front teeth and roof of the mouth with common beef-tallow, and he will not eat until you wash it out; this, in conjunction with the above, will consummate a complete founder. 321. GLANDERS How to make a horse appear as if he had the glanders, in one night's time. This is done by melting fresh butter and pouring it into his ears, not too hot. 322. BALKING How to make a true pulling horse balk. Take tincture of cantharides 1 oz., and corrosive sublimate 1 drachm; mix and bathe his shoulders at night. 323. TO COVER UP HEAVES How to cover up the heaves so effectually, that you may work, ride, or run him, and they cannot be detected. This will last from twelve to twenty-four hours, long enough to trade off. Drench the horse with one-fourth pound of common bird shot, and he will not heave until they pass through him. 324. THE COUNTENANCE How to put a young countenance on a horse. Make a small incision near the sunk place over the eye, insert the point of a blow-pipe or goose-quill, and blow it up; close the external wound with thread, and it is done. 325. THE CRIB How to cure a horse of the crib, or sucking wind; saw between the upper front teeth. 326. QUESTIONS To teach a horse to answer questions. This is done by pricking him with a pin; for instance, you may say to the horse, is your name Tom? and at that moment prick him with a pin so that he will squeal; then ask him is your name Sam? don't prick him and he will not squeal. Then say again is your name Tom, prick him again, and he will squeal; so continue, and after a time he will squeal without being pricked when you ask him the first question, &c. 327. TO NERVE A HORSE How to nerve a horse that is lame. Make a small incision about half way from the knee to the joint on the outside of the leg, and at the back part of the shin bone; you will find a small white tendon or cord; cut it off and close the external wound with a stick, and he will walk off on the hardest pavement, and not lame a particle. 328. A HORSE'S AGE The following rules will enable any man to ascertain with tolerable certainty the age of any horse. Every horse has six teeth above and six below; before he arrives at the age of three he sheds his two middle teeth by the young teeth rising and shoving the old ones out of their place. When he arrives at the age of three, he sheds one more on each side of the middle teeth; when four years old he sheds two corner and the last of his fore teeth; between four and five he cuts his under tusks, and when five will cut his upper tusks, and have a mouth full and complete, and the teeth will have hollows of a very dark brown colour. At six years old the grooves and hollows in a horse's mouth will begin to fill up a little and their tusks have their full growth, with their points sharp, and a little concave. At seven years old the grooves and hollows will be pretty well filled below. At eight the whole of the hollows and groves are filled up, and you see the appearance of what is termed smooth below. At nine years old, the point of the tusk is worn off, and the part that was concave begins to fill up and become rounded. Between nine and ten years of age a horse generally looses the marks of the mouth. After nine years old a wrinkle comes on the eyelid at the upper corner of the lower lid, and every year thereafter he has one well defined wrinkle for each year over nine. If, for instance, a horse has three wrinkles, he is twelve; if four, he is thirteen, &c. 329. HEAD, NECK OR LUNGS How to tell by looking at a horse whether there is anything the matter with his head, neck or lungs. A knowledge of this is as useful as it is simple. If there is nothing the matter with the head, neck or lungs of a horse, the nostrils will have a clean, healthy, and bright appearance, but if there is, they have always a dirty, muddy, or in some way an unhealthy appearance. 330. PROF. MANDIE'S HORSE TAMING Take finely grated horse caster, or the warty excrescence from the horse's leg, oils of rhodium, and cumin, keep these in separate bottles well corked; put some of the oil of cumin on your hand and approach the horse on the windy side that he may smell it; he will then move towards you, then rub some of the cumin on his nose; give him a little of the castor on sugar, salt, or anything he likes, and get 8 or 10 drops of the oil of rhodium on the point of his tongue; you can then get him to do anything you please. Follow up your advantage by all the kindness and attention possible towards the animal, and your control is certain. This is only fit for nervous horses; but the railroad system is certain. In all kinds of ugly horses it is the best of methods. 331. BOTTS IN HORSES This may be relied on as a certain and safe remedy for botts in horses. When the horse is attacked, pound some common glass very fine, sift it through a fine piece of muslin, take a tablespoonful, put it inside a ball of dough, (not mixed with the dough,) then put it down the horse's throat, and in from two to five minutes the horse will get up and feel and will be well. The moment the glass touches the botts though they may have eaten their way into the coats of the stomach, so that but a small portion is exposed, they will let go their hold, will pucker up and be driven off by the bowels. This remedy is perfectly safe, and is the only certain cure for botts under the sun. Try it. 332. RING BONE AND SPAVIN Take of sweet oil, 4 oz.; spirits of turpentine, 2 ozs.; oil if stone, 1/2 oz. Mix and apply three times a day. If the horse is over four years old, or in any case where there is not sufficient, in addition to it, you will fit a bar of lead just above it, wiring the ends together, so it constantly wears upon the enlargement, and the two together, will cure nine cases out of every ten in six weeks. 333. POLL EVIL AND FISTULA Take 1 lb. common potash dissolved in 1/2 pint of water. Add 1/2 oz. extract of belladona and 1 oz. gum-arabic dissolved in a little water; work all into a paste with wheat flour, and box or bottle up tight. In applying this, the place should be well cleansed with soap-suds, (castile soap is best) then tallow should be applied all around by the paste dissolving and running over it. Now this paste must be pressed to the bottom of all the orifices; if very deep it must be made sufficiently thin to inject by means of a small syringe, and repeated once in two days, until the callous pipes, and hard fibrous base around the poll evil, or fistula, is completely destroyed. Sometimes one application has cured cases of this kind, but it will generally require two or three. If the horse cannot be kept up, you will put a piece of oiled cloth over the place. The advantage of this caustic over all others is that less pain and inflammation is induced. The sores may be cured by the following or Sloan's ointment: ceder oil is to be applied to the tendons, to prevent them stiffening, in pole evil, or other cases. 334. DeGRAY, OR SLOAN'S HORSE OINTMENT Take of rosin 4 oz., lard 8 oz., honey 2 oz., mix and melt slowly, gently bring it to a boil, and as it begins to boil slowly, add a little less than a pint of spirits of turpentine, stirring all the time it is being added, then remove from the stove, and stir till cool. This is an extraordinary ointment for bruses in flesh or hoof, broken knees, galled backs, bites, cracked heels, &c. or when a horse is gelded, to heal and keep away flies. 335. NERVE AND BONE LINIMENT Take of beef's gall 1 quart, alcohol 1 pint, volatile liniment 1 lb., spirits of turpentine 1 lb., oil of origanum 4 oz., aqua ammonia 4 oz., tincture of cayenne 1/2 pint, oil of amber 3 oz., tincture of spanish fly 6 oz., mix and shake well. Uses too well known to need description. 336. TO CURE FOUNDERS IN 24 HOURS Boil or steam oat straw for half an hour, then wrap it round the horses legs while quite hot, cover up with wet woollen rags to keep in the steam: in six hours renew the application. Take 1 gallon of blood from the neck vein, and give a quart of linseed oil. He may be worked next day. 337. TO CURE COLIC IN TEN MINUTES Bleed freely at the horse's mouth, and take 1 oz. of oil of juniper, 1 oz. of laudanum, and 2 ozs. of sweet spirits of nitre. Mix in a pint of gruel, and drench him with it. 338. GARGLING OIL Take of tanner's oil 1 quart, oil of vitriol 2 oz., spirits of turpentine 1 oz. Mix all together, leave the bottles open till it stops working, then it is ready for use. 339. MERCHANT'S GARGLING OIL Take of linseed oil 2-1/2 galls., spirits of turpentine 2-1/2 galls., western petroleum 1 gall., liquor potass 8 oz., sap green 1 oz., mix all together, and it is ready for use. 340. PURGING BALLS Take of aloes, 3 oz.; anise seed, 3 oz.; pulverise and mix with castile soap. This makes one ball for a horse. 341. URINE BALLS Take of white resin, 1/2 lb.; castile soap, 1/2 lb.; venice turpentine, 1/2 pint; mix well together; make the balls the size of butternuts. Give the horse three the first day, two the second day, and one the third day. 342. FOR THE HEAVES Give the horse 1/2 drachm of nitric acid, in a pint of sweet milk. Repeat once in two days, once in three days, and once in four days. This receipt is highly prized, and is good; but the best remedy for heaves is so simple that scarcely any one will try it; it is to take fresh sumack tops, break two or three bunches of them up in the horse's feed, three times a day. This will actually cure the heaves unless, they are very bad. 343. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS The symptoms of inflammation of the lungs in the horse is as follows: it is usually ushered in by a shivering fit, the horse is cold all over, reaction soon takes place, the body becomes warmer, and the extremities extremely cold. The breathing is quick, he refuses to lie down. If when wearied out, he lies down, it is but for a moment. Treatment--This may be commenced by a good bleeding, which is to be followed by a drachm of emetic tartar, and three drachms of nitre, every eight hours, rubbing the extremities, and giving bran-mashes; throw warm blankets over the animal, hanging down to the floor, and place vessels of hot water in which put hot stones or bricks, and sweat freely, also, give one scruple of opium, and two of calomel, twice a day. The sides of the chest may be thoroughly blistered. This is the proper treatment. 344. STOMACH AND BOWELS Inflammation of the stomach and bowels in the horse, resembles colic in its symptoms, except in colic the pains pass off at times, and return again, whereas in inflammation, the pain is constant, and the animal is never easy; after a time the eye acquires a wild haggard, unnatural stare, and the pupil, or dark spot in the eye, dilates. Treatment--Take away, at once, six or eight quarts of blood, and repeat the bleeding if the pain returns. Follow the bleeding by one scruple of opium, and two of calomel, twice a day; also blister the sides of the chest; give him bran mash and purging balls, (Receipt No. 340). 345. INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS The principal symptoms of inflammation of the kidneys in the horse, is, pressure on the loins elicit symptoms of pain, the breathing is hurried, there is a constant desire to void urine, although passed in small quantities, highly coloured, and sometimes tinged with blood. Treatment--This is blood letting, active purging, mustard poultices as near the kidneys as possible, and the horse warmly clothed, &c., as in other inflammations. 346. CONDITION POWDERS Take of flax-seed meal 2 lbs., finygreek meal 2 lbs., liver antimony 1/2 lb., and nitre 1/2 lb., mix well; give a tablespoon for three days and omit three days, &c. 347. FOR BONE SPAVIN Take of cantharides 2 oz., strong mercurial ointment 4 oz., oil of turpentine 4 oz., iodine 3 oz., mix all with a sufficiency of lard to make a thin ointment; apply to the spavin only once a day until it bursts; then oil it with sweet oil until healed. If the bunch is not then removed, apply it again, and again if necessary, which is seldom the case. 348. TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU The horse is treated in the same manner as mentioned in the receipt No. 305, always being careful to whip him on the hips. When he will follow you round the barn floor, then treat him in the same manner in a yard, and when he follows you here, he will any place. 349. COLTS CHEWING HALTERS Take scab from the wart on the inside of the leg, rub the halter thoroughly with it, and they will not be found chewing their halters very soon. [There are two consecutive receipts numbered 350 in the original.] 350. HORSES JUMPING FENCES Pass a small and strong cord around his body just behind his shoulders, and tie the halter to this cord between his forelegs, so as to leave the distance about two feet from the cord to his head; if then he attempts to jump, he is compelled to throw his head forward, which draws hard on the cord, and causes it to cut into his back, and he instantly desists. The cord should not be more than a quarter of an inch in diameter. 350. BLAZE OR STAR When we have a pair of horses that match well in every respect, except that one has a blaze or star on the face, it becomes very interesting and important to know how to make their faces match. Take a piece of oznaburgs the size you want the star or blaze; spread it with warm pitch and apply it to the horses face; let it remain two or three days, by which time it will bring off the hair clean, and make the part a little tender; then take of elixor vitriol a small quantity, anoint the part two or three times; or, take of a very common weed called asmart, a small handful, bruise it, and add to it about a gill of water, use it as a wash until the face gets well, when the hair will grow out entirely white. 351. BLACK SPOTS To spot a white horse with black spots, take litharge 3 oz., quick lime 6 oz., beat fine and mix together; put it into a pan and pour a sharp ley over it; then boil it and you will have a fat substance swim on top, with which anoint the horse in such places as you design to have black, and it will turn to the colour immediately. 352. INFLUENZA OR HORSE-AIL The first symptom is debility. The horse appears dumpish, refuses to eat, mouth hot, in six or twelve hours the appetite diminishes, legs and eyelids swell. This disease may end in chronic cough, a bad discharge from the nose, and in inveterate cases in glanders. Treatment--Keep the horse on light food, as mashes, scalded shorts, green grass, &c., and if he is very plethoric, he should be half starved and bled from the mouth. If the throat is sore, rub it with warm vinegar and salt, or blister; walk him a little for exercise, administer the following: oil of croton, 5 drops; nitrate of potassa 4 to 6 drachms; potassio-tartrate of antimony, 1 drachm; spirit of nitric ether, 4 drachms to 1 oz; solution of acetate of ammonia 2 to 4 ozs.; and warm water sufficient to make a draught; and when the head is much affected, add a drachm of camphor. This draught may be administered once and sometimes twice a day, the croton oil being omitted after the first dose; after the first day, 2 drachms of powdered gentian may be added. 353. STRANGLES OR HORSE DISTEMPER Symptoms--A discharge from the nostrils, with a swelling under the throat, a disinclination to eat. Thirst, but after a gulp or two the horse ceases to drink. In attempting to swallow, a convulsive cough comes on; mouth hot and tongue coated with a white fur. The tumor under the jaw soon fills the whole space, and is evidently one uniform body, and may thus be distinguished from glanders or the enlarged glands of catarrh. Treatment--Blister over the tumor at once; when the glands remain hard and do not suppurate, it may lead to glanders, in which case rub it with iodine ointment, and give internally, hydriodate of potash in daily doses of 10 to 40 grains, combined with gentian and ginger. As soon as the swelling is fit, lance it freely and apply a linseed poultice; give bran mashes, fresh grass, &c. 354. STAGGERS Symptoms--Giddiness, he may fall down, or suddenly turn several times round first; he may be quiet, or struggle violently. Treatment--If the horse be full and well fed, take 3 or 4 quarts of blood at once; cease using him for a time, and give him an occasional physic ball or powdered aloes 6 drachms and a little in honey. 355. GREEN OINTMENT Take of lard, 6 lbs., put into a ten gallon kettle; add 2 gallons of water; cut jimpson seeds and fill them in, and cook from 4 to 6 hours slowly, till all the water is gone; then put into jars, and add to each pound of ointment one ounce of turpentine. Good for galls, cuts, scratches, &c. 356. HOOF EVIL OR THRUSH GREASE HEELS Bleed and physic, and poultice the feet with boiled turnips and some finely ground charcoal at night, for two or three nights; then wash the feet clean with castile soap and soft water, and apply the blue ointment every day; keep the horse on a floor and he will be well in 12 days. 357. BLUE OINTMENT Take the ointment of rosin, 4 ozs; finely ground verdigris, 1/2 oz; turpentine, 2 oz; mutton tallow, 2 lbs; oil of origanum, 1/2 oz; tincture of iodine, 1/2 oz. Mix all together. This is one of the best medicines that can be made for scratches, hoof-evil, and cuts, and is good to apply on fistula after the rowels have been taken out. It is as good for human as horse flesh. 358. HOOF BOUND OR TENDER FEET Never have the feet spread at the heels, nor rasped about the nail holes; use the liquid, and apply it according to directions. For hoof bound or tender feet, apply it all around the top of the hoof down one inch every day. First have a stiff shoe on the foot, and cleanse the cut or cork. Never cut or burn for it. 359. HOOF LIQUID Take of linseed or neatsfoot oil, 1/2 a pint; turpentine, 4 oz; oil of tar, 6 oz; origanum, 3 oz; mix and shake well together. 360. HOOF AIL Apply blue vitriol, and put on a tarred rag to keep out the dirt. 361. BIG, OR MILK LEG Apply the liquid blister every there hours until it blisters; then in six hours grease with soft oil of any kind; then in eight days wash the part clean, and apply it again. Repeat it there or four times, then use the iodine ointment. If this does not remove it all, apply the ringbone and spavin medicine, this will remove it all. 362. IODINE OINTMENT Get 1 oz. of the grease iodine, put in 1 pint of alcohol; let this stand in the sun two days, and you have the tincture of iodine. Take 2 oz. of the tincture and 1/2 lb. of lard; mix well, and you have the iodine ointment. 363. SPRAIN IN THE STIFLE Symptoms--The horse holds up his foot, moans when moved, swells in the stifle. This is what is called stifling; there is no such thing as this joint getting out of place. Treatment--Bleed two gallons, foment the stifle with hot water, rub it dry, then bathe it well with the general liniment every morning and night, give him mash, and he will soon be well. Never allow any stifle-shoe or cord on the foot or leg. 364. GENERAL LINIMENT Take of turpentine, 1/2 pint; linseed oil, 1/2 pint; aqua-ammonia, 4 oz.; tincture of iodine, 1 oz.; shake all well together. This is used for different things spoken of in the different receipts, sores or swellings, sprains, &c. 365. LIQUID BLISTER Take of alcohol, 1 pint; turpentine, 1/2 pint; aqua-ammonia, 4 oz.; oil of origanum, 1 oz.; mix, apply this as spoken of, every three hours until it blisters. 366. TO CURE CORNS Take of the shoe, cut out the corns, and drop in a few drops of muriatic acid, then make the shoes so they will not bear on the part affected. Apply the hoof liquid to the hoof to remove the fever. This is a sure cure for corns in horses. 367. WATER FARCY, OR DROPSY This is a swelling along under the chest, and forward to the breast; bleed, rowel in the breast and along the swelling, six inches apart, apply the general liniment to the swelling, move the rowels every day, let them stay in until the swelling goes down. Give soft food, mashes, with the cleansing powder in them. 368. CLEANSING POWDER This is to be used when the blood is out of order. It is good to restore lost appetite, good for yellow water, whenever it is to be used it is spoken of in the receipts. Take of good ginger 1 lb., powdered gentian 4 oz., crude antimony 1/2 oz., mix well together. Give one large spoonful every day in wet food. This is perfectly safe. 369. POLL EVIL Cure before it breaks, run a rowel or seaton from the lower part of the top through the centre of the enlargement, then make the following lotion. Take of sal-ammoniac 2 oz., spirts of turpentine 1/2 a pint, linseed oil 4 oz., and spirits of tar 4 oz., shake well, and apply it all over the swelling every other day. Let the seaton stay in until all the swelling is gone down, move it every day, and when all is gone throw it out. Bleed when you first open it, and keep the part clean. 370. GLANDERS Bleed copiously, put a rowel or seaton of polk root between the jaw and breast, put tar thoroughly up the nostrils twice a day. This is the best remedy ever in use. 371. FRESH WOUNDS If there is an artery cut, tie it if possible; if not possible, or if there is much bleeding without the separation of an artery, apply the following wash: nitrate of silver 4 grains, soft water 1 oz., wet the wound with this, then draw the edges together by stitches one inch apart, then wash clean, and if any swelling in twenty-four hours, bleed and apply the blue ointment, or any of the liniments spoken of, Keep the bowels open. 372. THE LIVER In disease of the liver or yellow water, give the following ball every morning until it operates upon the bowels. Take of aloes 7 drachms, calomel 1 drachm, ginger 4 drachms, and molassas enough to make it into a ball, wrap it in a paper and give it; give scalded bran and oats, grass if it can be got; when his bowels have moved, stop the physic, and give 1 oz. spirits of camphor in half a pint of water, every morning, for twelve days, rowel in the breast, and give a few doses of cleansing powder. Turn him out. 373. BALLS FOR WORMS IN HORSES Take of barbadose aloes 6 drachms, powdered ginger 1-1/2 oz., oil of wormwood 20 drops, powdered natron 2 drachms, and molassas to form a ball. 374. BALLS FOR HIDE BOUND Take of barbadose aloes 1 oz., castile soap 9 drachms, and ginger 6 drachms. Make into a ball. 375. HEALING OINTMENT Take of lard 5 parts, rosin 1 part, melt them together; when they begin to get cool add two parts of calamine powder, stirring well till cool. If the wound is unhealthy add a little turpentine. 376. GALLS ON HORSES Bathe the parts affected with spirits saturated with alum. 377. GRUBS IN HORSES Take of red precipitate a teaspoonful, form into a ball, repeat if necessary in 30 minutes. 378. STIFF SHOULDERS OR SWEENEY Rowel from the top of the shoulder blade down as far as there is no pealing. First cut through the skin, and then two thin fibres or strippings, use the blunt needle, move it back and forwards five or six inches, draw in a tape or seaton, and the next morning wet it with tincture of cantharides, do this every other day, move them every day, wash the part clean, let the tape stay in until the matter changes to blood, this is for both diseases. Let him run out if possible. He will be well in six or eight weeks. If for sweeney you may work him all the time. 379. SICK STOMACH IN HORSES Bleed half a gallon, then if he will eat a mash give him one, give no hay, then give him 1/2 oz. of rhubarb every night until it moves his bowels, then take of gentian root 4 oz., fenu-greek 2 oz., nitre 1/2 oz., mix and give a large spoonful every day. Do not give him too much to eat when his appetite returns. 380. LUNG FEVER Bleed four gallons from the neck vein, and take 1 oz. of aquanite, add to it half a gallon of cold water, drench him with a gill of it every three hours, drench him over the lungs, then give him water to drink that hay has been boiled in, and to each gallon of it add 1 oz. of gum-arabic, and 1/2 oz. of spirits of nitre; give this every four hours; foment and rub the legs with alcohol and camphor, until they get warm; do not move the horse. Keep him in open stall if hot weather. 381. EYE WASH FOR HORSES Take of sugar of lead, 2 drachms; white vitriol, 1 drachm; and soft water, 1 quart; mix and dissolve; wash the eyes out well every morning, having first washed then well with cold water, continue this for three or four weeks; and then, if the eyes are not much better, bleed and give a mild physic. The horse should be kept on low diet, and not over heated or worked too hard. Scalded shorts or oats are good. 382. MANGE AND SURFEIT Bleed and physic, then take sulphur, 1/2 lb.; and lard, 2 lbs.; mix well; grease the part affected every three or four days; stand the horse in the sun until it dries in; give him a few doses of the cleansing powder. 383. CONTRACTION OF THE NECK If it is taken in the first stages, bleed from the neck 2 galls.; then ferment or bathe the part well with hot water; rub it dry, and apply the general lineament every day, two or three times; this will cure if it is of long standing. Then blister all along the part affected with the liquid blister. Do this every three weeks until he is well, and rub with the white ointment. Do not work the horse till well. 384. WHITE OINTMENT For rheumatism, sprains, burns, swelling, bruises, or any inflammation on man or beast, chapped hands or lips, black eyes, or any kind of bruises. Take of fresh butter 2 lbs.; tincture of iodine, 1/2 oz.; oil of origanum, 2 ozs.; mix well for fifteen minutes, and it is fit for use; apply it every night; rub it in well with your hand. 385. OLD HORSES YOUNG Drops to make old horses as lively as young. Take the tincture of assafoetida, 1 oz.; tincture of cantharides, 1 oz.; antimony, 2 oz.; fenugreek, 1 oz.; and fourth proof brandy, 1/2 gal.; mix all and let stand ten or twelve days; then give ten drops in a pail, or one gallon, of water. 386. RHEUMATIC LINEAMENT Take of alcohol, 1/2 pint; oil of origanum, 1/2 oz.; cayenne pepper, 1/2 oz.; gum myrrh, 1/2 oz.; and lobelia, 1 teaspoonful; mix and let stand one day; then bathe the part affected. 387. TO KILL LICE ON CATTLE Take of buttermilk, 1 quart; salt, 1/3 pint; mix and dissolve; pour this along the back, letting it run down each side; if this should ever fail use the water in which potatoes have been boiled, in the same way, it will be effectual. 388. HORSES FROM FIRE The difficulty of getting horses from burning stables is well known. The remedy is to blindfold them perfectly, and by gentle usage, they may be easily led out. If you like you may also throw the harness upon them. 389. SNOW BALLS To prevent snow balls on horses' feet clean their hoofs well, and rub with soft soap before going out in the snow. 390. ROT IN SHEEP To prevent and cure this keep them from exposure in bad weather, and above all from wet pasture; pair their hoofs into the quick, and put them to stand occasionally in quick lime for a few hours. This cauterizes the disease and generally affects a cure. To destroy the flukes and worms, give the following: take of common salt 8 oz., spirits of turpentine 2 oz.; put in a quart bottle and add water till filled; give one teaspoonful morning and night for eight days. 391. DISTEMPER IN HOGS To cure this take equal parts of sulphur and copperas; pulverise them well together, and give one teaspoonful every three days in the slop. 392. CURE FOR SWELLED CATTLE If the beast affected is full grown, administer one English pint of train oil, and smaller doses in proportion to the age. The cure is certain. The above medicines from receipt No. 331 are for horses, cattle, &c. 393. A TURKISH PREPARATION FOR LADIES Take of best white wine vinegar 1 quart; of best brazil wood 1/2 lb. Infuse together for four days; then boil for half an hour, strain through a linen cloth, and place the liquid again over the fire. Having dissolved 1/4 lb. of alum in a pint of white wine vinegar, mix both liquids together and stir them well. Take the scum that arises on the surface, gradually dry and powder it, and it is ready for use. 394. MINCE PIE This is the manner in which mince pie was prepared for the Prince of Wales in New York. The articles of three following receipts were also prepared for him in that city; take of moist sugar 1 lb., currants 1 lb., suet well mashed 1 lb., apples cut very fine 1 lb., best raisins, stoned and cut very small 1/4 lb., the juice of five Seville oranges, the juice of two lemons, the rind of one mashed fine, a glass of brandy, and mace and nutmeg to suit your taste. Put all together in a pan and tie up closely. 395. HONEY CAKE Take of loaf sugar 1/2 lb., honey 3/4 lb., of orange peel cut very fine 1/2 oz., of cinnamon 1/2 oz., ginger 1/2 oz., one quarter of a citron, four eggs well beaten, and a pound of sifted flour. First melt the honey and sugar together, then mix all. Make into any shape you please. 396. SODA BISCUITS Take of butter 2 oz., sugar 4 oz., cream tartar 1/4 oz., two eggs; one teaspoonful of soda, and a half pint of sweet milk. Stir quite still, &c. 397. BEEF STEAK Put two large onions, peeled and sliced, into a stew-pan, put in a little water, cover closely, set on a slow fire until the water is all gone, then add 1/2 a pint of good broth, and boil till the onions are tender, now strain off the broth, chop the onions fine, and season to your taste with mushroom catsup, salt and pepper, let it boil for five minutes, with the onion in it, then pour it into the dish, and lay a broiled steak over it. Good beef gravy is far superior to broth. In broiling your steak use a strong fire. 398. WEDDING CAKE Take of flour, 18lbs.; fine sugar, 10 lbs.; butter, 9 lbs.; 11 nutmegs; 18 eggs; milk, 5 quarts; yeast, 1 quart; fruit, 10 lbs.; mace, 1 oz.; wine 1 quart; and brandy, 1 pint. Roll the butter and sugar together, then mix all the rest with them, putting the fruit in last, just before it is put in the oven. 399. DOMESTIC YEAST Take of good flour, 1 lb.; brown sugar, 1/4 lb.; water, 2 galls.; and a little salt. Boil all together for one hour. When milk warm, bottle and cork it tightly. It will be fit for use in 24 hours. One pint of this is sufficient for 18 lbs. of bread. 400. TO PRODUCE MUSHROOMS If the water wherein mushrooms have been steeped be poured upon an old bed, or if the broken parts of mushrooms be strewed thereon, there will speedily arise great numbers. 401. HOW TO MAKE CIDER INTO WINE Take of good cider, 25 galls.; brandy, 1gall.; crude tartar, 1 lb.; of the wine you wish to resemble, 5 galls.; of milk to settle it, 1 pint. Mix all together, and let it stand for 24 hours, and then draw off, being careful not to draw any of the sediment. 402. SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM Take two or there whole eggs, beat them well up in a basin; then pour boiling hot tea over them; pour it gradually to prevent curdling. It is difficult from the taste to distinguish it from rich cream. 403. TO PRESERVE FRESH MEATS Meat may be kept for several days in the height of summer sweet and good by lightly covering it with bran, and hanging it in some high, or windy room, or in a passage where there is a current of air. 404. GRAFTING WAX Take of tallow one part, beeswax two parts, and resin four parts; melt them together and dip strips of rags in the mixture while hot, and use them for grafting. 405. FOR THE TEETH Cuvileer's grand preparation for beautifying the teeth. Take of chloride of lime one part, prepared chalk 15 parts, pulverised peruvian bark 1/2 a part and a little otto of roses; mix all well together and it is ready for use. 406. TO MAKE HAIR CURL Take of common soap 2 lbs., spirits of wine 3 pints, and potash 3 oz.; cut the soap small and melt all together, stirring it with a clean piece of wood; then add a quarter of an ounce each of essence of amber, vanilla and nevoli, to render the fluid agreeable. Never use curling irons, for they destroy the hair, rendering it crisp and harsh. The above may be depended on as being genuine and harmless. 407. TO PRESERVE PORK Take 1 lb. of black pepper and grind it fine for one barrel of pork, and sprinkle on each layer until is quite brown, then put on the salt. It helps to preserve the meat and adds greatly to the smell and flavour of it. 408. TO RESTORE TAINTED PORK In warm weather the brine on pork frequently becomes sour, and the pork tainted; pour off the brine, boil it, skim it well, then pour it back again upon the meat boiling hot. This will restore it even where it was much injured. 409. FIRE-PROOF CEMENT Fire and water proof cement for roofs of houses. Slack stone lime with boiling water in a covered barrel; when slacked pass six quarts through a fine sieve; to this add one quart of rock salt, and a gallon of water, boil the mixture and skim it clean; to every 5 gallons of this add 1 lb. of alum, and 1/2 lb. copperas, and add by degrees, potash 3/4 lb., and fine sand or wood ashes sifted 4 quarts; colour to suit your taste and apply. It will be as durable as stone. 410. BUG POISON Take of spirits of wine 1/2 pint, turpentine 1/2 pint, crude sal-ammoniac 1 oz; mix all together and let it saturate for seven days, and it is ready for use. 411. DISINFECTING AGENT Take of green vitriol 3 lbs., hot water one pailful; dissolve the vitriol in the water; place this wherever there is any offensive odours, as that of a corpse, cesspool, privies, &c., and in a short time all smell will be removed. Try it. 412. BOOTH PATENT Booth's patent grease for railway axles, waggons, machinery, &c. Take of water 1 gallon, clean tallow 3 lbs.; palm oil 6 lbs., and common soda 1/2 lbs.; or tallow 8 lbs., and palm oil 10 lbs. The mixture is to be heated to about 210 degrees, and well stirred till it cools down to about 70 degrees, when it is ready for use. 413. GUM-ARABIC STARCH Take 2 oz. of white gum-arabic powdered finely; put it into a pitcher and pour on it a pint of boiling water; then cover it and let stand all night; in the morning pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle; cork and keep it for use. A tablespoonful of this gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner will give to launs either black, white, or printed, the appearance of new, to which nothing else can restore them after washing. It is a good article for collars and shirt bosoms; also, when much diluted, for thin white muslin and bobbinet. 414. ROMAN OR MASTIC CEMENT Take of pulverised sand stone sifted fine, 20 lbs., litharge 2 lbs., mix both well with linseed oil to the consistency of paste; brush both broken parts over; press them snugly together, and let them dry, this forms an excellent cement. 415. PORTABLE BALLS For taking stains out of cloths, &c.--Dry fullers' earth so as to crumble it into powder, and moisten it well with lemon juice; add a quantity of pure pulverised pearl-ash, and work the whole up into a thick paste with a little water; roll it into small balls; let them completely dry in the sun, and they will be fit for use. The manner of using them is to moisten, with water, the spots on the cloth, rubbing the ball over, and leaving it to dry in the sun. On washing the spots in the water they will immediately disappear. 416. CLOTH, RAIN PROOF, &c. To render cloth wind and rain proof. Boil together 2 lbs. of turpentine, 1 lb. of litharge in powder, and 2 or 3 pints of linseed oil. The article is then to be brushed over with this varnish, and dried in the sun. 417. CHOICE CEMENT A choice cement for china, crockery, and glass. Take of white glue 1/2 lb., dry white lead 1/2 lb., alcohol 1/4 pint, and rain water 1 quart; put the glue, alcohol, and water into a tin pan together; let stand until the glue is soft; then set the pan into a kettle of hot water, occasionally stirring it until the glue is about dissolved; then add the lead, being previously powdered, and stir until it is about dissolved. Bottle while warm, and it is ready for use. If cold when about to be used, set the bottle in warm water until soft; then apply while soft to both edges, set together and let then dry. 418. MAHOGANY STAIN Take of chip logwood 1 lb., sal-soda two pence worth, water 1 gallon, boil all together, apply it while hot, to every kind of white wood, using a brush or sponge, and it will produce a most beautiful mahogany colour. 419. MAHOGANY COLOUR Method of darkening every sort of wood. Take soap suds, wash your wood with it; every coat you put on will make it a shade darker. 420. SATIN WOOD STAIN Take of water 1 quart, fustic 2 oz., and the size of a small nut of alum; boil all together, apply it while hot, and it will produce a most beautiful yellow. When the article to which this has been applied has got perfectly dry, rub it over with lime water, and it will make a beautiful red. 421. RED STAIN Take of water 1 quart, brazil dust 2 oz., and the size of a nut of alum; boil together, apply while hot and the stain is red; when dry, wash it over with lime water, and it will be a beautiful purple. 422. BROWN STAIN Take of water 1 quart, logwood 2 oz., and one penny worth of soft soap, (such as is kept in bladders, by druggists), boil them together, apply while hot, and it will be brown; let it dry, and apply lime water, and you will have a beautiful black. 423. SCARLET STAIN Take a solution of aqua-fortis in water, apply it to the black, and it will produce a beautiful scarlet. 424. BRUSH VARNISH Take of spirits of wine 1 pint, gum benzion half a pound; dissolve the gum in the spirits. It may be laid on with a camel hair brush, or a small piece of wool rolled in old cotton. 425. TO BORE GLASS Fill a vial with turpentine spirits, dissolve in it as much camphor as it will take, insert then into this liquid the point of a common diamond pointed drill, and with it you can bore glass as fast as you please. 426. GERMAN SILVER Take of nickle 25 parts, zinc 25 parts, copper 50 parts, melt all together, and you have good german silver. 427. BRASS Brass is made by melting together a little less than two parts of copper, and one part of zinc. 428. CHEMICAL SOAP This is for washing cloths with one-half the labour of that with common bar soap. Take 16 lbs. English bar white soap, 3-1/2 lbs. sal-soda, 1 lb. pulverized rosin, 8 oz. salt; put these into 5 gallons soft water over a fire until dissolved; then put the same into a barrel, and fill it with cold water, after which add 2 oz. spirits of turpentine, and stir while cooling. 429. ENGLISH BAR SOAP Take of water 6 gallons, good stone lime 3 lbs., sal-soda 20 lbs., borax 4 oz., fat 15 lbs., (tallow is best,) pulverized rosin 10 lbs., and 4 oz. of beeswax; put the water in a kettle on the fire, and when nearly boiling, add the lime and sal-soda; when these are dissolved, add the borax, boil gently and stir until this is also dissolved, then add the fat, rosin and beeswax, and boil all very gently until it shows flaky on the stick, then pour into moulds. 430. BROWN WINDSOR SOAP This is made by colouring the English bar soap with the precipitate of iron, Venetian red, or vandyke brown, and scenting while not too hot with any of the essential oils, or a mixture of them according to fancy. 431. YELLOW SOAP This is made in the same way as the English bar soap, except that you add three percent of palm oil, deducting the same amount of fat. 432. SOLID LARD CANDLES Dissolve 1/4 lb. of alum, and 1/4 lb. of saltpetre in 1/2 a pint of water on a slow fire; then take 3 lbs. of lard cut into small pieces, and put into the pot with this solution, stirring it constantly over a very moderate fire until the lard is all dissolved; then let it simmer until all steam ceases to rise, and then at once remove it from the fire. If you leave it too long it will become discoloured. These candles are harder and better than tallow. 433. MEDICINES The following medicines are for man, while those commencing at receipt No. 331, and ending at No. 392 are for horses, cattle, &c., unless when stated to the contrary. 434. FOR DROPSY Take of powdered jalap 5 gr., powdered rhubarb 5 gr., powdered scammony 5 gr., powdered elaterium 1/2 gr., bitartrate of potash 1/2 drm., sulphate of potash 1/2 drm., and syrup of ginger sufficient to make into pills; mix and divide into five pills. These five pills given at once form an excellent hydragogue cathartic to clear the chest, relieve breathing and diminish the dropsical effusion. 435. ANTIBILIOUS PILLS Take of camomel 20 grs., jalap powder 20 grs., tartar-emetic 2 grs., and syrup sufficient to form into pills; divide into eight pills. The dose is tow at bed time; repeated in the morning if necessary. This forms an excellent antibilious pill. 436. JAUNDICE Take of rhubarb powder 1 scruple, castile soap half a drachm, calomel 12 grs., mix and divide into pills; two or three to be taken at bed time; emetrics, purges, fomentations about the stomach and liver, and exercise will seldom fail to cure jaundice when it is a simple disease; and when complicated with dropsy, a scirrous liver, or other chronic complaints, it is hardly to be cured by any means. Castile soap has been looked upon as a kind of specific. 437. ASTHMA Take of powdered squills 2 drms., powdered assafoetida 1 drachm, mix and divide into 30 pills, two to be taken twice or thrice a day. Useful in chronic asthma. 438. DR. DEWEES' ANTI-COLIC MIXTURE Take of carbonate of magnesia 1/2 drm., tincture of assafoetida 60 drops, tincture of opium 20 drops, white sugar 1 drm., and distilled water 1 oz.; mix and shake; twenty-five drops to be given to an infant of two to four weeks old, in flatulent colic, diarrhoea, &c. 439. DR. HUN'S ANTI-DIARRHOEAL MIXTURE Take of oil of cajeput 1 oz., oil of cloves 1 oz., oil of peppermint 1 oz., oil of anise 1 oz., alcohol 4 oz.; mix and shake; dose, from one to two drachms in hot brandy and water or syrup. This will afford the most speedy relief in diarrhoea accompanied with pain. 440. HOPE'S MIXTURE Take of camphor water 4 oz., nitric acid 4 drops, tincture of opium 40 to 60 drops; mix cork, and shake; dose, a tablespoonful every two hours in diarrhoea and dysentery. 441. ANTI-CHOLERA MIXTURE Take of tincture of opium 1 drm., liquor ammonia 1/2 drm., tincture of the oil of peppermint 1/2 drm., ether 25 drops, tincture of camphor 1 drm., tincture of capsicum, 1 drachm; mix, cork and shake. In real cholera give this all immediately; if the patient throws it up, repeat at once. This is an excellent prescription in extreme cases when the patient is cramped. 442. FOR HYSTERIC FITS Take of tincture assafoetida 2 drms., aromatic spirits of ammonia 2 drms., camphor water 7 ozs., mix and cork; give two tablespoonsful every three or four hours. 443. ANTI-ASTHMATIC MIXTURE Take of mixture of ammoniacum 4 oz., syrup of squill 3 drms., antimonial wine 60 drops, wine 1/2 oz., mix and cork. Give two tablespoonsful often, or when either the cough or shortness of breath is troublesome. 444. ANTI-RHEUMATIC MIXTURE Take of ammoniated tinc. of quack 1/2 oz., honey 1/2 oz., camphor water 6 oz., mix and cork. Take two tablespoonsful three or four times a day in chronic rheumatism; rub well the affected part with anti-rheumatic liniment. 445. ANTI-RHEUMATIC LINIMENT Take of tinc. of opium 2 oz., tinc. of belladonna 2 oz., powdered camphor 2 oz., oil of turpentine 2 oz., oil of sassafras 2 oz., oil of origanum 2 oz., and tinc. of capsicum 1 pint; mix all together. 446. DIURETIC MIXTURE Take of peppermint water 5 oz., wine 6 drachms, sweet spirits of nitre 1/2 oz.; mix. Two tablespoonsful to be taken three times a-day in obstruction of urinary passages. 447. SWEATING MIXTURE Take of acetated liquor of ammonia 3 oz., ipecacuanha 10 gr., tincture of oil of peppermint 15 drops, distilled water 5 oz.; mix. Three tablespoonsful to be taken every two hours, until it produces the desired effects. 448. FOR CRAMP IN THE STOMACH Take of ether 2 drms, white sugar 1-1/2 drms., tinc. of opium 60 drops, cinnamon water 2 oz.; mix. Give a teaspoonful every hour in cramp of the stomach. 449. FOR HOOPING COUGH Take of tinc. of assafoetida 1 drm, ipecacuanha 10 gr., tinc. of opium 10 drops, distilled water 2 ozs.; mix. Give to a child two years old a teaspoonful every four hours, increasing ten drops for every additional year. 450. FOR WINTER COUGH, &c. Take of powered extract of liquorice 2 drms, gum acacia 2 drms, hot water 4 oz.; mix. Let all dissolve, and add tinc. of opium 40 drops, spirits of nitric ether 1 drm., wine of antimony 2 drms. Dose, one tablespoonful in catarrh and common winter cough. 451. TONIC MIXTURE Take of calomba 2 ozs., tinc. of muriate of iron 1-1/2 oz., sulphate of quinine 20 grs., brandy 6 ozs., water 1-1/2 pint, bruise the calumba and pour the water on it boiling hot, cover tightly for two hours, then strain, bottle, and add all the other ingredients, when the quinine is dissolved it is ready for use. This forms an excellent tonic in cases of debility. Dose, one tablespoonful three times a-day half an hour before meals. 452. ANTI-PERIODIC MIXTURE Take of sulphate of quinine 20 grs., sulphuric acid 1 drop, white sugar 1 drm., cinnamon water 2-1/2 oz.; put the quinine, acid and water into a vial together, when dissolved add the sugar. Dose, a teaspoonful every hour, between the paroxysms of intermittent fevers, fever and ague, &c. 453. EMMENAGOGUE MIXTURE Take of tinc. of aloes 1/2 oz., tinc. of chloride of iron 1/2 drm., tinc. of valerian 1/2 oz.; mix. Take a teaspoonful in chamomile tea two or three times a-day in cases of amenorrhoea. 454. ANTI-GOUT MIXTURE Take of ammoniated tinc. of guaiac 6 drms., camphor water 6 ozs., tinc. of rhubarb 1/2 oz., and honey 1/2 oz.; mix, by rubbing the honey and the guaiac up in a glass mortar, and then add the other articles by degrees. Give two tablespoonsful every four or six hours, and rub with the anti-rheumatic liniment. 455. ANTI-GONORRHOEAL MIXTURE Take of copaibe 1/2 oz., spirts of nitric ether 1/2 oz., powdered acacia 1 drm., powered white sugar 1 drm., compound spts. of lavender 2 drms., tinc. of opium 1 drm., distilled water 4 oz.; mix. Dose, a tablespoonful three times a-day. Shake before using. 456. ANOTHER Take of copaibe 1 oz., sweet spirits of nitre 1 oz., gum acacia powdered white sugar 1 drm., peppermint water 4 oz.; mix, and let all dissolve. Dose, a tablespoonful three times a-day. Shake before using. 457. ASTRINGENT EYE-WATER Take of solution of acetate of lead 12 drops, wine of opium 11 drops, rose water 4 ozs.; mix, and let dissolve. This should be applied with a linen rag four or five times a-day. 458. EYE-WATER Take of distilled vinegar 1 oz., diluted spirits of wine 1/2 oz., rose water 8 ozs., mix. An excellent application to weak eyes after depletion. 459. ALUM EYE-WATER Take of rose water 2 ozs., distilled water 2 oz., and alum 1 scruple; mix and let dissolve. Excellent in chronic inflamations. 460. GARGLE OF BORAX Take of borax 1 drm., tinc. of myrrh 1/2 oz., clarified honey 1 oz., rose or distilled water, 4 oz.; mix. To be used as a gargle or mouth wash in sore mouth or affection of the gums. Omit the myrrh and water, and there is nothing better for the thrush in children; clean rain water answers about the same purpose, in all cases, as distilled water. 461. GARGLE FOR SORE THROAT Take of sulphate of quinine 15 grains, sulphate of copper 16 grains, aramotic sulphuric acid 1 drm., water 8 ozs.; mix and dissolve. To be used frequently in chronic and obstinate sore throats. 462. OINTMENT FOR PILES Take of lard 1 oz., solution of subacetate of lead 25 drops, tinc. of opium 1 drm.; mix well. Anoint the parts twice a day. 463. OINTMENT FOR ITCH Take of sublimed sulphur 2 ozs., lard 4 ozs., oil of lavender 1 drm. Make into an ointment. To be rubbed on the parts affected every night, till the eruption disappears. The internal use of sulphur will, in all cases, assist its external application. 464. BLISTERING OINTMENT Take of lard 32 parts, oil of almonds 2 parts, strong liquor of ammonia 17 parts; melt the lard, add the oil, then the ammonia, must be strong, and keep the contents of the bottle well mixed by shaking them until cold. This will blister in half an hour. 465. IODINE OINTMENT Take of iodine 3 grs., lard 2 drms.; make into an ointment; applied to scrofulous swellings when the skin is unbroken. It is the only cure for what is popularly termed thick neck. 466. OINTMENT OF IODINE OF ZINC Take of iodide of zinc 1 drm., lard 1 oz.; make onto an ointment. A drm. to be rubbed on twice a day in tumors. 467. OINTMENT FOR CHILBLAINS Take of lard 7-1/2 drms., creosote 10 drops, solution of subacetate of lead 10 drops, watery extract of opium 1 grain; mix. Apply to the affected parts. 468. OINTMENT FOR DISEASES OF THE SKIN Take of citrine ointment 1-1/2 drm., sublimed sulphur 1 drm., lard 3 ozs.; make an ointment. This is a good application for almost all affections of the skin. 469. EMOLLIENT OINTMENT Take of palm oil 2 lbs., olive oil 1 pint, turpentine 4 oz., red beeswax 6 ozs.; melt the wax in the oils, and then add the turpentine and strain the ointment. This is a most excellent application for inflamed parts, &c. 470. POKE ROOT OINTMENT Take of poke root 3 ozs., lard 1 lb., boil for a quarter of an hour and strain. This ointment has quite a reputation in Virginia, with the old ladies, for all kinds of old sores and ulcers, and it is an excellent application to indolent and purulent ulcers and sores. 471. OINTMENT FOR HYDROCEPHALUS Take of iodide of mercury 2 parts, iodide of potassium 3 parts, camphor 2 parts, lard 32 parts; mix and keep well corked. To be rubbed on the head in hydrocephalus or water on the brain in doses of half a drachm to a drachm. 472. LINAMENT FOR BURNS Take of olive oil 1 oz., linseed oil 1 oz., lime water 1 oz.; mix well. This forms an excellent application for recent scalds and burns. 473. VOLATILE LINAMENT Take of olive oil 1 oz., aqua ammonia 1 oz.; mix. To be applied to bruises, rheumatic parts, &c., and to the neck in inflammation of the throat. 474. ALKALINE CATAPLASM Take of lye, rather weak, warm it and stir in of slippery elm bark or flaxseed, or meal sufficient to form a poultice. This is a most excellent poultice, and should be used more than it is. It is useful in inflammation of the breast and other parts, felons, wounds, fistula, &c. 475. ANODYNE FOMENTATION Take of laudanum 4 ozs., water 1 pint; mix. For painful affections of the joints, as chronic rheumatism, &c., hops dipped in hot vinegar will answer as well. 476. COMMON CLYSTER Take of flaxseed tea or cornmeal gruel, from one to two pints, sweet oil 2 or 3 ounces, common salt one teaspoonful, brown sugar two tablespoonsful; mix. 477. ANODYNE CLYSTER Take of a solution of starch in water, of jelly, or water half a pint, laudanum forty drops; mix. The whole to be injected in cases of dysentery, violent purging and pain in the bowels. 478. INJECTION FOR LEUCORRHOEA Take of sulphate of zinc 10 grs., tinc. of opium 1/2 drm., rose water 4 oz.; mix and dissolve. To be injected several times a day. 479. ANOTHER Take of alum 10 grs., rose water 4 oz.; mix and dissolve. To be used frequently. 480. ESSENCE OF BEEF Take of lean beef sliced 1 lb., put it into a bottle or jar closely corked; place this in a vessel of cold water and boil for an hour or more; then decant and skim the liquid. Chicken tea may be made in the same way. For more nourishing and palatable than beef tea, season it to suit the taste. 481. IMPERIAL DRINK Take of cream of tartar one drm., the outer rind of fresh lemon or orange peel half a drm., loaf sugar one ounce, boiling water two pints. When they have stood in a pitcher about ten minutes, strain off the liquor. This makes a beautiful cooling drink, and is an excellent article in fevers. 482. RINGWORM LOTION Take of sublimate of mercury, 5 grains; spirits of wine, 2 oz.; tinc. of musk, 1 drachm; rose water, 6 oz.; mix well, and rub well in. 483. WHISKERS AND MOUSTACHES The best method of promoting the growth of whiskers and moustaches, is to shave the parts frequently, and use as a stimulant the ashes of burned tobacco macerated in bay water. 484. COUGH SYRUP Take of hoarhound, 1 quart; water 1 quart; mix and boil down to a pint; then add two or three sticks of liquorice and a tablespoonful of essence of lemon; dose, a tablespoonful three times a day, or as often as the cough is troublesome. 485. BLACK SALVE Take of sweet oil 1 oz., linseed oil 1 oz., pulverized red lead 1 oz.; put all into an iron dish over a moderate fire, constantly stirring until you can draw your finger over a drop of it on a board, when a little cool, without sticking; when it is done, spread on a cloth and apply as other salves. 486. SEIDLITZ POWDERS Take of rochelle salts, 2 drachms; bicarbonate of soda, 2 scruples; put these into a blue paper, and put 35 grains of tartaric acid into a white paper. To use, put each into different tumblers, half fill each with water, and put a little loaf sugar in with the acid, then pour them together and drink; this makes a very pleasant cathartic. Effervescing draught is made by leaving out the rochelle salts. 487. CAMPHOR ICE Take of spermaceti, 1-1/2 oz.; gum camphor, 3/4 oz.; oil of sweet almonds, 4 teaspoonsful; mix, and apply heat just enough to melt all together. Whilst warm, pour into small moulds, then paper, and put up in tin-foil. This, for chaps on hands or lips, cannot be equalled. 488. FOR SALT RHEUM Take a quantity of the pokeweed, any time in summer, pound it, press out the juice, strain it into a pewter dish, and set it in the sun until it acquires the consistency of salve; then put it into an earthen mug, add to it water and beeswax sufficient to make an ointment of common consistency. Simmer the whole over a fire till thoroughly mixed; when cold, it is ready for use. To be rubbed on the part affected. The most obstinate cases have yielded to this in three or four months. Try it. 489. ARTIFICIAL SKIN Dissolve gun cotton in sulphuric ether, and thicken it with gum mucilage. This article touched upon a cut or bruise, forms, immediately, an artificial skin, which cannot be washed off. It is very useful as it obviates the necessity of finger cots or bandages. It is excellent for sore nipples. 490. HAIR RESTORATIVE Take of sugar of lead, 1 oz.; lack sulphur, 1 oz.; essence of bergamot, 1/2.; bay rum, 1 gill; alcohol, 1 gill; and half a teaspoonful of salt; dissolve, first, the sugar of lead and sulphur in the alcohol, then the other ingredients; and add the whole to a gallon of warm soft water, then bottle it tightly, and it is fit for use. To be applied several times a day. This is a most excellent article, give it a trail. 491. TO REMOVE WARTS AND CORNS This is very often done by means of nitrate of silver, or some of the mineral acids; but the best caustic for this purpose is that recommended for cancer in the skin. 492. CANCER IN THE SKIN No one but an impostor will presume to cure a true cancer, containing the cancer cell, and situated in the muscles. Many times hard tumors, not containing the cancer cell, are called cancers, and are removed by different methods, which is very easily accomplished, without a danger of their returning; by which means base quacks become lauded by the illiterate, for their superior skill in banishing this dreadful malady, and the orphan, and finally, in consequence thereof, plunge themselves headlong over yonder precipice of eternal misery. Cancer which are situated in the skin, and are sometimes called spider cancers, &c., may be cured by the following caustic: take of sulphate of iron, 1 part; and acetate of lead, 1 part; pulverize each separately, as fine as possible, and mix well together; then, by means of a probe or knitting-needle, touch the cancer with it every morning for three or four times, and you will be able to draw it all out; after which apply adhesive straps that it may heal. It is used in the same way to destroy corns and warts. In the case of cancer, physic well before applying it. 493. FOR WORMS Give a child one year old 15 drops of spirits of turpentine on sugar, fasting, for three mornings in succession; follow the last dose with a good dose of castor oil; this forms an excellent vermifuge. The dose of spirits of turpentine for a child two years old is 20 drops, three years old 25 drops, four years old 30 drops, &c. 494. SPASMODIC CROUP Genuine croup is indeed of very rare occurrence, and is a fearfully dangerous disease, the only chances are to call in a physician at once. In genuine croup, the child seems to have a cold and is hoarse for a few days previous to the attack; but the fit generally comes on suddenly in spasmodic croup, which may be treated as follows. During the fit put the child in a warm bath, apply hot water to the throat, allow fresh air, and sprinkle the face and chest with cold water. 495. FOR FLATULENCY Make a tea of the seeds of anise, caraway, and coriander, and drink freely of it. 496. FOR HICCOUGH Take five drops of oil of anise on sugar when they commence to be troublesome. 497. FOR HEARTBURN This is a very disagreeable sensation, but may be banished by taking a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda dissolved in half a tumbler full of sweetened water. 498. ERYSIPELAS This when very bad needs the attendance of a physician; when not so bad, paint the inflamed part over with white lead, mixed with paint oil, it is an excellent remedy. 499. FOR FELON Poultice well with flaxseed meal until matter begins to form, then at once have it well laid open with a lance, continue the poultice for some time afterwards. 500. HAIR RESTORATIVE Take of black mustard seed 1/2 oz., red pepper 15 grains, blood root 1/2 oz., cantharides 15 grains, castile soap 1/2 oz., alcohol one quart; mix all together in a bottle, let stand for a week, occasionally shaking. Perfume with oil of bergamot, and apply three or four times a day. 501. TO KILL RATS AND MICE WITHOUT POISON Slice up a quantity of corks, grease, and scent them with oil of anise; throw them in the way of the rats and mice; they will eat, but cannot digest them; the result is they will die. 502. EYE WATER One part of good brandy, to six of clean rain or distilled water, makes an admirable eye water for most cases of sore eyes. 503. FOR CHRONIC GOUT AND RHEUMATISM Take of bicarbonate of potash 1/2 drachm, tincture of orange 2 drachms, compound decoction of aloes 8 oz., mix. Dose, a wine glass full whenever the fit is expected. This is Sir A. Cooper's prescription. 504. FOR SICKNESS AND VOMITING Take of creosote 16 drops, acetic acid 16 drops, compound spirit of juniper 1 oz., syrup 1 oz., water 14 oz.; mix the creosote with the acid, add gradually the water, and lastly the syrup and spirit. Dose from two to four tablespoonsful. 505. LAXATIVE PILL Take of powdered aloes 1 drachm, gamboge 10 grains, Castile soap and water sufficient to make a pill mass; mix and divide into 34 pills. Dose, one, two, or three, to be given when necessary, for torpid bowels. 506. FOR HEADACHE In case of a severe attack of headache the best remedy is, generally, to take a good strong physic of salts and senna. If this does not relieve it, or where the person is very frequently troubled with headache, apply a blister to the back of the neck, you will find it an excellent remedy. 507. FOR MAKING SIZE This, with the following four, are currier's receipts. Take of sizing 1 quart, soft soap 1 gill, stuffing 1 gill, sweet milk 1/2 pint; boil the sizing in water to a proper consistence, strain and add the other ingredients, and when thoroughly mixed it is ready for use. 508. FOR PASTE First coat.--Take of water 2 quarts; flour 1/2 pint, castile soap 1 oz.; make into paste. Second coat.--Take of the first paste 1/2 pint, gum tragacanth 1 gill, water 1 pint; mix all together. This will finish eighteen sides of upper. 509. SKIRTING This is for finishing skirting and the flesh of harness leather in imitation of oak tanning. Take of chrome yellow 1/2 lb., yellow ochre 1 lb., cream of tartar 1 oz., soda 1/2 oz., paste 5 quarts; mix well. This will finish twelve sides. 510. SKIRTING For the grain of skirting to imitate oak tan, take of chrome yellow 1/2 lb., yellow ochre 1/2 lb., cream of tartar 1 oz., soda 1 oz., paste 2 qts., spirits of turpentine 1 pint. Mix well; this will finish twelve sides. 511. GRAIN BLACK This is for the grain of harness leather. First, stain in tallow, then take of spirits of turpentine 1 pint, cream of tartar 1 oz., soda 1 oz., gum shellac 1/2 oz., thick paste reduced thin 2 qts. Mix well. This will finish 24 sides. 512. ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS The antidotes for poisoning with the strong mineral acids, such as nitric, muriatic, sulphuric, or oxalic acids are magnesia, chalk, whiting, in milk or water; mucilaginous or soapy liquids. When sulphuric acid has been taken, use very little water if any. Irritate the throat with a feather to produce vomiting. The antidote for poisoning with corrosive sublimate or any other preparation of mercury, is albumen, as whites of eggs, in large quantity, flour and water, and milk. The whites of eggs are best. The antidotes for poisoning by opium, or any of its preparations, as morphia, laudanum, &c., are the stomach pump if it can be had; tartar emetic, 2 to 5 grains, or sulphate of zinc, 15 to 30 grains, or sulphate of copper, 12 to 15 grs., for an adult. The sulphates of zinc or copper are best, because they act quicker. External excitation, keep in motion, mechanical excitement of respiration, cold effusion to the head and face, feet in hot water, electro-magnetism, internal stimulants, as bicarbonate of ammonia, 5 to 25 grains in water, carbonate of ammonia, 5 to 15 grains in water, coffee and vegetable acids. Some propose as an antidote for every case of poisoning, half a pint of bland oil, as sweet oil, fresh butter melted to oil, &c., to be drank at once, for an adult. 513. TREATMENT OF DROWNING If respiration has ceased when the body is taken out of the water, it should instantly be commenced artificially, by putting a pipe into one nostril, and closing the mouth and the other nostril, and very gently blowing through it about 15 times in a minute; but it is a better plan to use a small pair of bellows, putting its muzzle into the nostril, at the same time the body should be wiped dry, and be assiduously rubbed with hot cloths; hot bricks and bottles of hot water should be put into the armpit, between the thighs, and to the feet; the head should be raised, the nostrils irritated with a feather, or the fumes of hartshorn, and a warm injection of turpentine, made as follows, may be thrown up--oil of turpentine, 3 drachms; gruel, 1/2 a pint; and the yolk of 1 egg. Incorporate the turpentine with the egg, then add the gruel. Galvanism should be resorted to, if respiration is not quickly restored. As soon as the patient can swallow, he should have some weak wine and water; and soon afterwards an emetic of a large tablespoonful of mustard, mixed with 6 ozs. of water, to clear the stomach of the water which he has swallowed, and to restore the circulation by the impetus of vomiting. After some hours he will suffer from severe headache and fever, which must be relieved by bleeding, purgatives, &c., which will be attended to by a physician, who will be present by this time. A case is related in which life was restored by the most persevering friction, which was kept up for eight hours before the humanity of the surgeon, Dr. Douglass, of Havre, was rewarded by a return of respiration. 514. ELASTIC CEMENT FOR BELTS Take of white glue, 1 lb., dry white lead, 1 lb., alcohol, 1/2 pint, rain water, 3 pints, and proceed as directed in receipt No. 417. When ready for use apply to the ends of the belt, lay them together and place upon them a heavy weight until perfectly dry, then use the belt as you please. 515. GOOD SAMARITAN OR PAIN-KILLER Take of 95 percent alcohol 2 quarts, and add to it the following articles: oils of sarsafras and hemlock, spirits of turpentine, balsam of fir, chloriform, tincture of catechu and guaiacum, of each 1 oz., oil of origanum 2 oz., oil of wintergreen 1/2 oz., and gum of camphor 1/2 oz. Let it all be well incorporated and you have the most excellent pain killer that was ever made. It is good for rheumatism, headache, neuralgia, cuts, sprains, burns, bruises, spinal affections, ear-ache, tooth-ache, sore throat, &c. This is used internally and externally, the dose internally is 10 drops; take on sugar. 516. DIAMOND PASTE FOR RAZORS By rubbing a little of this paste on your razor-strap, it is astonishing how speedily you will be able to sharpen a razor. It is made simply by mixing flour of emery and sweet oil, to the consistence of paste. 517. FOR STAGGERS IN SHEEP Dissolve assafoetida in warm water, and put half a tablespoonful in each ear of the sheep. It is a speedy remedy. 518. WATER-PROOF FOR LEATHER Take of linseed oil, 1 pint; yellow wax and white turpentine, of each, 2 oz.; burgundy pitch, 1 oz.; melt all together, and colour with lampblack. This being applied to boots, you may stand in water all day, and your feet will be dry at night. 519. TO BROWN GUN-BARRELS Rub the barrel, after it is finished, with aquafortis, or spirit of salt diluted in water; leave it by for a week, till a complete coat is formed; then apply a little oil, and after rubbing the surface dry, polish it with a hard brush and a little beeswax. 520. LIQUID GLUE Put 1 oz. of borax into a pan with 1 quart of water, set it on the fire; when melted, which will be very soon, put in 8 oz. of gum shellac, and boil until dissolved; if too thin add more gum; when cool bottle for use. 521. TO TAKE INK SPOTS OUT OF MAHOGANY Apply spirits of salt with a rag, until the spot disappears, and immediately wash with clean water; or to half a pint of soft water put 1 oz. of oxalic acid, and 1/2 oz. of butter of antimony; shake it well, and when dissolved it will be very useful for extracting stains out of mahogany, as well as ink, if not of too long standing. 522. TO CLEAN MARBLE, SIENNA, JASPER, PORPHYRY, &c. Mix up a quantity of strongest soap-lees with quicklime, to the consistence of milk, and lay it on the stone, &c., for 24 hours; clean it afterwards with soap and water, and it will appear as new. This may be improved by rubbing or polishing it afterwards with fine putty powder and olive oil. This is a beautiful article for cleaning marble monuments, &c. 523. TO CLEAN SILVER FURNITURE Lay the furniture piece by piece upon a charcoal fire; and when they are just red, take them off and boil them in tartar and water, and your silver will have the same beauty as when first made. Try this method once and you will never forsake it; it will not remove a portion of the silver, as article that are sold in vials, boxes, &c., for this purpose will do. 524. A FINE BLACK VARNISH Take 2 ozs. of bitumen of Palestine, 2 ozs. of resin, and 12 ozs. of umber; melt them separately, and afterwards mix them together over a moderate fire; then pour upon them, while on the fire, 6 ozs. of clear boiled linseed oil, and keep stirring the whole from time to time; take it off the fire, and, when pretty cool, pour in 12 ozs. of essence of turpentine. This varnish is for coaches and iron work. 525. TO PAINT SAIL-CLOTH, SO AS TO MAKE IT PLIANT, DURABLE, AND WATER-PROOF Grind 96 lbs. of English ochre with boiled oil, and add to it 16 lbs. of black paint; dissolve 1 lb. of yellow soap in one pail of water, on the fire, and mix it while hot with the paint. Lay this composition, without wetting it, upon the canvass, as stiff as can conveniently be done with the brush, so as to form a smooth surface; the next day, or the day after, (if the latter, so much the better,) lay on a second coat of ochre and black, with a very little, if any, soap; allow this coat a day to dry, and then finish the canvass with black paint. 526. PHOTOCROMATIC OIL PAINTING INSTRUCTION: Chemicals used in executing them:--chemical varnish, No. 1, 2 oz. damar varnish, 1 oz. spirits turpentine; (mix well together.) Finishing varnish, No. 2, 1 oz. spirits turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, 1 oz. salt, 1 quart water. A camel's hair brush is needed for varnishing. Take a smooth pane of common window-glass, any size you choose, clean it well, then varnish one side of it with chemical varnish No. 1, lay it away where it will be perfectly free from dust, and let it dry twenty-four hours; next varnish the same side of the glass again, and let it dry about one half hour, or until the varnish becomes stickey. Immediately after varnishing the glass the second time, take the print that you wish to get an impression of, and immerse it in the solution No. 3; put the solution in a flat pan, and lay the print in with the face side up; let the print lay in the solution about five minutes, or until the paper is completely saturated, then remove it, taking care not to stretch it, and lay it on paper with the face side up, in order that the solution may dry from the face of the print. In this way prepare the print, getting it ready by the time the glass has dried one half hour. Next, carefully lay the face of the print on the varnished side of the glass, being particular to lay it on smooth and press it firmly to the glass, so as to exclude every particle of air; should there be any air left under the paper, it will show itself in spots, and must be pressed out. You now lay it away and let it dry another twenty-four hours; then, wet the back part of the print with water and with your hand or a wet cloth, rub the paper from the back of the print until it is so thin that the outlines of the picture can be seen from the back and of uniform thickness. You next spread a thin coat of finishing varnish (No. 2) on it and lay it away to dry. This will render it perfectly clear and transparent.--After this coat of varnish has dried, rub it over with a bit of fine sand paper, to make it smooth, and finish with two or three coats of No. 2 varnish. When dry, put it in a frame with the varnished side out, placing a sheet of light coloured paper on the back, this will give it the appearance of an oil painting. By following these directions you cannot fail to produce a beautiful picture. 527. FOR THE COMPLEXION Boil a small piece of gum benzoin in some spirits of wine till it is dissolved, (five minutes boiling will be sufficient,) then bottle for use. A few drops of this in a glass of soft water (sufficient to make the water a milky colour) makes a delicious wash; apply with a towel or linen cloth. This article will make the skin as soft as velvet, and will constantly preserve rosy cheeks and lips, and for this it has not equal in the world; besides, it is as harmless as a sun-shower. As it is not a paint, it will not act just on the moment when applied. 528. ORIENTAL CREAM OF ROSES Take of tincture of elder blossoms 1/2 oz., best beef marrow 1 teaspoonful, orange flower water 1/2 pint, cassia buds 1 oz., blanched bitter almonds 2 oz., spirits of oriental roses 4 drms.; mix all, and when the solution acquires the colour and consistency of milk it is fit for use. This article is for beautifying the complexion, making the skin as soft, as fair, and as rosy as that of a healthy infant; apply at pleasure. It is not only harmless, but will prove a speedy cure for all pimples, blotches, &c. 529. INSTRUCTION FOR GILDING Dissolve a gold dollar in nitro-muriatic acid,--(2 ozs. muriatic to 1 of nitric,) then dissolve a 1/4 lb. of copperas in a pint of hot water, and pour it into the dish containing the gold and acid, pouring in a little at a time, till it stops boiling or foaming up; then let it stand and settle about six hours; then strain off the copperas-water carefully, and the gold will appear like a brown or dark yellow powder in the bottom of the dish. You will then proceed to wash the gold, which is done by pouring hot water on it; let it stand and settle a few minutes, and then drain off. Continue washing in this manner till there is no acid or copperas taste; then add to the gold in the bottom of the dish from 1-1/2 to 2 oz. cyanuret potassa, dissolved in about 1/2 pint pure soft water. The solution is then ready for use. Gild by laying a piece of pure zinc in contact with the article to be gilded, in the solution. 530. DIRECTIONS FOR SILVERING Dissolve a silver dollar in about 2 ozs. of nitric acid by heating; then dissolve a tablespoonful of salt in about a quart of water; pour it into the dish with the silver and acid; let it stand and settle a few minutes, and the silver will settle to the bottom in a white powder. Then drain off the water carefully, and add more water, then drain off again. Continue washing in this manner till no acid or salt taste remains; then add a quart or more of pure soft water, and cyanuret potassa enough to take it up, or nearly so. The solution is then nearly ready for use. Silver by laying a piece of zinc in contact with the article, the same as in gilding. If the article you are silvering or gilding corrodes or turns black, it wants a little more cyanuret. In gilding or silvering, the article must be thoroughly cleaned, and great care must be taken that the water used is of the purest kind. When the plating is as heavy as you wish, polish it with a mixture of chalk and alcohol, or of chalk alone, applied with a fine brush, or else a bit of chamois leather or rag. If you wish to put on a very heavy coat of silver or gold, instead of using zinc alone as a battery, use the following, attach a piece of copper to one end of an iron wire about ten inches long, and a piece of zinc to the other end, and place both zinc and copper in contact with the article being silvered or gilded. 531. USING FRENCH POLISH There is a mode of using shell-lac varnish which is sometimes denominated the German, but more commonly the French mode. It merits to be generally known, as the process is easy and economical, and the effect beautiful. It has been much employed by cabinet and musical instrument makers, but is not yet so extensively practised as it merits to be. The varnish is applied by means of what is called a rubber, made by rolling up a piece of thick woollen cloth, which has been torn off so as to have a soft, elastic edge. The varnish, put into a narrow-mouthed bottle, is applied to the middle of the flat face of the rubber by laying the rubber on mouth of the bottle and quickly shaking the varnish at once, as the rubber will thus imbibe a sufficient quantity to varnish a considerable extent of surface. The rubber is then enclosed in a soft linen cloth doubled, the remainder of the cloth being gathered together at the back of the rubber to form a handle to hold it by; and the face of the linen cloth must be moistened with a little raw linseed oil, which may either be coloured with alkanet root or not, applied with the finger to the middle of it. The work to be varnished should be placed opposite to the light, in order that the effect of the polishing may be better seen, and a surface of from ten to eight feet square may be varnished at once. The rubber must be quickly and lightly rubbed upon the surface of the article to be varnished, and the rubbing continued until the varnish becomes nearly dry. The coil of woollen cloth must then be again wetted with the varnish, (no more oil need be applied to the surface of the linen cloth,) and the rubbing renewed till the varnish becomes nearly dry as before; a third coat must be applied in the same manner, then a fourth with a little oil, which must be followed by two others without oil, as before. You proceed thus until the varnish has acquired some thickness, which will be after a few repetitions of the series. Apply then a little alcohol to the inside of the linen cloth, and wet the coil with the varnish; after which, rub very quickly, lightly, and uniformly, over every part of the varnished surface, which will tend to make it even, and very much conduce to its polish. The linen cloth must now be wetted with a little alcohol and oil, without varnish; and the varnished surface being rubbed over, with the precautions last mentioned, until it is nearly dry, the effect of the operation will be seen. If it be found not complete, the process must be continued, with the introduction of alcohol in its turn as directed before, until the surface becomes smooth and of a beautiful lustre. The preceding process is that in general use; but Dr. Jones recommends, in the Franklin Journal, a rubber of a different sort, as well as a simpler mode of employing it. He takes a piece of thick woollen cloth, six or eight inches in diameter, and upon one side of this pours a teaspoonful of the varnish; he then collects the edges together, so as to enclose the varnish in the cloth and form a handle by which to hold it: this is finally covered with a piece of oiled linen cloth, and the rubber is ready for use. More varnish is added as often as it is required; and when it becomes occasionally too thick to ooze through, a little alcohol is poured into the cloth. Some difficulties may be at first experienced in performing this process; but Dr. Jones states that a very little practice will enable any handy person to surmount them. The peculiar advantage said to attend it is, that a beautiful polish may be at once obtained by a continued application of the rubber in this way; while, according to the method previously described, successive coats of varnish, which require considerable time to dry, must be used, and a great deal of additional trouble incurred. In varnishing recesses or carved work, where parts of the surface are difficult to reach with the rubber, a spirit varnish, made with or without lac of the usual gum resins, and considerably thicker than that used for the rest of the work, may be applied to those parts with a brush or hair pencil. 532. LACQUER FOR BRASS Seed-lac, 6 ozs.; amber or copal, ground on porphyry or very clean marble, 2 ozs.; dragon's blood, 40 grains; extract of red sandal-wood, 30 grains; oriental saffron, 36 grains; pounded glass, 4 ozs.; very pure alcohol, 40 ozs. Articles, or ornaments of brass, to which this varnish is to be applied, should be exposed to a gentle heat and then dipped into the varnish. Two or three coatings may be thus applied, if necessary. Articles varnished in this manner may be cleaned with water and a bit of dry rag. 533. TO CLEAN OLD BRASS WORK FOR LACQUERING First boil a strong lye of wood-ashes, which you may strengthen with soap-lees; put in your brass work, and the lacquer will immediately come off; then have ready a pickle of aquafortis and water, strong enough to take off the dirt; wash it immediately in clean water, dry it well, and lacquer it. 534. TO PREPARE FISH OIL FOR PAINT Into a cask which will contain about 40 galls., put 32 galls. of good common vinegar; add to this 12 lbs. of litharge, and 12 lbs. of white copperas in powder: bung up the vessel, and shake and roll it well twice a-day for a week, when it will be fit to put into a ton of whale, cod, or seal oil, (but the southern whale oil is to be preferred, on account of its good colour and little or no smell:) shake and mix all together, when it may settle until the next day; then pour off the clear, which will be about seven-eighths of the whole. To clear this part, add 12 galls. of linseed oil, and 2 galls. of spirits of turpentine; shake them well together, and, after the whole has settled two or three days, it will be fit to grind white lead and all fine colours in; and, when ground, cannot be distinguished from those ground in linseed oil, unless by the superiority of colour. If the oil be wanted only for coarse purposes, the linseed oil and oil of turpentine may be added at the same time that the prepared vinegar is put in; and, after being well shaken up, is fit for immediate use, without being suffered to settle. The residue or bottom, when settled by the addition of half its quantity of fresh lime-water, forms an excellent oil for mixing with all the coarse paints for preserving outside work. All colours ground in the above oil, and used for inside work, must be thinned with linseed oil and oil of turpentine. Gain by the above process. One ton of fish oil, or 252 galls................ $151.20 32 galls. of vinegar, at 12-1/2 cts. per gall.... 4.00 12 lbs. litharge, at 7 cts. per lb............... 84 12 lbs. white copperas, at 8 cts. ditto.......... 96 12 galls. of linseed oil, at 90 cts. per gall.... 10.80 2 galls. of spirit of turpentine, at 40 cts..... 80 -------- $168.60 252 galls. of fish oil 12 ditto linseed oil 2 ditto spirit of turpentine 32 ditto vinegar --- 298 galls., at 90 cts. per gal. $268.20 Deduct the expense............. 168.60 -------- $ 99.60 535. PAINTING IN MILK In consequence of the injury which has often resulted to sick and weakly persons from the smell of common paint, the following method of painting with milk has been adopted by some workmen, which, for the interior of buildings, besides being as free as distemper from any offensive odour, is said to be nearly equal to oil-painting in body and durability. Take 1/2 gall. of skimmed milk, 6 ozs. of lime newly slaked, 4 ozs. of poppy, linseed, or nut-oil, and 3 lbs. of Spanish white. Put the lime into an earthen vessel or clean bucket, and having poured on it a sufficient quantity of milk to make it about the thickness of cream, add the oil in small quantities at a time, stirring the mixture with a wooden spatula. Then put in the rest of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish white. It is, in general, indifferent which of the oils above-mentioned you use; but, for a pure white, oil of poppy is the best. The oil in this composition, being dissolved by the lime, wholly disappears; and, uniting with the whole of the other ingredients, forms a kind of calcareous soap. In putting in the Spanish white, you must be careful that it is finely powdered and strewed gently over the surface of the mixture. It then, by degrees, imbibes the liquid and sinks to the bottom. Milk skimmed in summer is often found to be curdled; but this is of no consequence in the present preparation, as its combining with the lime soon restores it to its fluid state. But it must on no account be sour; because, in that case, it would, by uniting with the lime, form an earthy salt, which could not resist any degree of dampness in the air. Milk paint may likewise be used for out-door objects by adding to the ingredients before-mentioned 2 ozs. each more of oil and slaked lime, and 2 ozs. of Burgundy pitch. The pitch should be put into the oil that is to be added to the milk and lime, and dissolved by a gentle heat. In cold weather, the milk and lime must be warmed, to prevent the pitch from cooling too suddenly, and to enable it to unite more readily with the milk and lime. Time only can prove how far this mode of painting is to be compared, for durability, with that in oil; for the shrinking to which coatings of paint are subject depends in great measure upon the nature and seasoning of the wood. The milk paint used for in-door work dries in about an hour; and the oil which is employed in preparing it entirely loses its smell in the soapy state to which it is reduced by its union with the lime. One coating will be sufficient for places that are already covered with any colour, unless the latter penetrate through it and produce spots. One coat will likewise suffice, in general, for ceilings and stair-cases; two will be necessary for new wood. Milk painting may be coloured, like every other in distemper, by means of the different colouring substances employed in common painting. The quantity I have given in the receipt will be sufficient for one coat to a surface of about twenty-five square yards. 536. ETHEREAL SOLUTION OF GOLD The following mode of effecting this solution (used chiefly for gilding steel) is recommended by Mr. H. Mill, in the "Technical Repository," as being superior to any previously made known. "The instructions," he says, "given in most elementary works on chemistry for this purpose are either erroneous or not sufficiently explicit." The process answers equally well for either gold or platina. Dissolve any quantity of gold or platina in nitro-muriatic acid, (aqua regia,) until no further effervescence is occasioned by the application of heat. Evaporate the solution of gold or platina, thus formed, to dryness, in a gentle heat, (it will then be freed from all excess of acid, which is essential,) and re-dissolve the dry mass in as little water as possible: next take an instrument which is used by chemists for dropping liquids, known by the name of a separating funnel, having a pear-shaped body, tapering to a fine sharp point, and a neck capable of being stopped with the finger or a cork, which may contain a liquid once or more; fill it with the liquid about one-quarter part, and the other three parts must be filled with the very best sulphuric ether. If this be rightly managed, the two liquids will not mix. Then place the tube in a horizontal position, and gently turn it round with the finger and thumb. The ether will very soon be impregnated with the gold or platina, which may be known by its changing its colour; replace it in a perpendicular position, and let it rest for twenty-four hours; having first stopped up the upper orifice with a cork. The liquid will then be divided into two parts--the darkest colouring being underneath. To separate them, take out the cork and let the dark liquid flow out: when it has disappeared, stop the tube immediately with the cork, and what remains in the tube is fit for use, and may be called gilding liquid. Let it be put into a bottle, and tightly corked. The muriate of gold or platina, formed by digesting these metals in nitro-muriatic acid, must be entirely free from all excess of acid; because it will otherwise act too forcibly on the steel, and cause the coating of gold to peel off. Pure gold must be employed; the ether must not be shaken with the muriate of gold, as is advised in chemical publications, for it will be sure, then, to contain acid; but if the two liquids be brought continually into contact by the motion described, the affinity between ether and gold is so strong as to overcome the obstacle of gravity, and it will hold the gold in solution. The ethereal solution may also be concentrated by gentle evaporation. 537. VARNISH POLISH Take 2 ozs. of tripoli, reduced to fine powder; put it into an earthen pot or basin, with water to cover it; then take a piece of fine flannel, four times doubled, lay it over a piece of cork or rubber, and proceed to polish your varnish, always wetting it with the tripoli and water. You will know when the process is completed, by wiping a part of the work with a sponge and observing whether there is a fair and even gloss. Take a bit of mutton-suet and fine flour, and clean off the work. Or, the powdered tripoli may be mixed up with a little pure oil, and used upon a ball of serge, or of chamois leather, which is better. The polishing may afterwards be completed with a bit of serge or cloth, without tripoli. Putty powder, and even common whiting and water, are sometimes used for polishing; but they produce a very inferior effect to tripoli, except in the case of ivory, for which putty and water, used upon a rubber made of a hat, forms the best and quickest polish. Putty and water may likewise be used, in the same manner as just mentioned for ivory, in finishing off the polish of pearl work, after it has first been polished very smooth with pumice-stone, finely powdered, and well washed to free it from impurities and dirt. 538. VARNISH FOR COLOURED DRAWINGS Mix together 1 oz. of Canada balsam and 2 ozs. of spirits of turpentine. Before applying the composition, size the drawing or print with a solution of isinglass in water; when this is dry, apply the varnish with a camel's-hair brush. The use of this varnish gives to coloured drawings and prints an appearance resembling that of oil paintings. 539. VARNISH FOR GLASS Reduce a quantity of gum tragacanth to powder, and let it dissolve for twenty-four hours in the white of eggs well beat up; then rub it gently on the glass with a brush. 540. TO CLEAN PICTURES Having taken the picture out of its frame, take a clean towel, and making it quite wet, lay it on the face of your picture, sprinkling it from time to time with clear soft water; let it remain wet for two or three days; take the cloth off, and renew it with a fresh one; after wiping your picture with a clean wet sponge, repeat the process till you find all the dirt soaked out of your picture; then wash it well with a soft sponge, and let it get quite dry; rub it with some clear nut or linseed oil, and it will look as well as when freshly done. 541. ANOTHER METHOD Put into two quarts of strong lye a quarter of a pound of Genoa soap rasped very fine, with about a pint of spirits of wine; let them simmer on the fire for half an hour, then strain them through a cloth; apply it with a brush to the picture, wipe it off with a sponge, and apply it a second time, which will effectually remove all dirt; then, with a little nut oil warmed, rub the picture, and let it dry; this will make it look as bright as when it came out of the artist's hands. 542. VARNISH FOR CLOCK FACES, &c. Take of spirits of wine, 1 pint; divide it into four parts; mix one part with half an ounce of gum mastic, in a bottle by itself; one part of spirits and half an ounce of gum sandrac in another bottle; and one part of spirits and half an ounce of the whitest part of gum benjamin; mix and temper them to your mind; if too thick, add spirits; if too thin, some mastic; if too soft, some sandrac or benjamin. When you use it, warm the silvered plate before the fire, and with a flat camel-hair pencil stroke it over till no white streaks appear; which will preserve the silvering for many years. 543. VARNISH FOR BALLOONS Take some linseed oil, rendered drying by boiling it with 2 ozs. of sugar of lead and 3 ozs. of litharge for every pint of oil till they are dissolved, which may be in half an hour. Then put 1 lb. of birdlime and half a pint of the drying oil into an iron or copper vessel, whose capacity should equal about a gallon, and let it boil very gently over a slow charcoal fire, till the birdlime ceases to crackle, which will be in about half or three-quarters of an hour; then pour upon it 2-1/2 pints more of the drying oil, and let it boil about an hour longer, stirring it frequently with an iron or wooden spatula. As the varnish, whilst boiling, and especially when nearly ready, swells very much, care should be taken to remove, in those cases, the pot from the fire, and to replace it when the varnish subsides; otherwise, it will boil over. Whilst the stuff is boiling, the operator should occasionally examine whether it has boiled enough , which may be known by observing whether, when rubbed between two knives, which are then to be separated from one another, the varnish forms threads between them, as it must then be removed from the fire. When nearly cool, add about an equal quantity of oil of turpentine. In using the varnish, the stuff must be stretched, and the varnish applied lukewarm. In 24 hours it will dry. As the elastic resin, known by the name of Indian rubber, has been much extolled for a varnish for balloons, the following method of making it, as practiced by M. Blanchard, may not prove unacceptable: dissolve elastic resin cut small in five times its weight of rectified essential oil of turpentine, by keeping them some days together. Then pour 1 oz. of this solution in 8 ozs. of drying linseed oil for a few minutes; strain the solution, and use it warm. 544. TO PREPARE RENNET TO TURN MILK Take out the stomach of a calf as soon as killed, and scour it inside and out with salt; after it is cleared of the curd always found in it, let it drain a few hours, then sew it up with two good handsful of salt in it, or stretch it well salted on a stick, or keep it in the salt wet; and when wanted soak it a little in fresh water, and repeat the same when again required. 545. TO MAKE CHEESE Put the milk into a large tub, warming a part till it is of a degree of heat quite equal to new; if too hot the cheese will be tough. Put in as much rennet as will turn it, and cover it over; let it stand till completely turned, then strike the curd down several times with the skimming-dish, and let it separate, still covering it. There are two modes of breaking the curd, and there will be a difference in the taste of the cheese according as either is observed: one is, to gather it with the hands very gently towards the side of the tub, letting the whey pass through the fingers till it is cleared, and ladling it off as it collects; the other is, to get the whey from it by early breaking the curd; the last method deprives it of many of its oily particles, and is therefore less proper. Put the vat on a ladder over the tub, and fill it with curd by the skimmer; press the curd close with your hand, and add more as it sinks, and it must be finally left two inches above the edge. Before the vat is filled, the cheese-cloth must be laid at the bottom, and when full, draw smoothly over on all sides. These are two modes of salting cheese; one by mixing it in the curd while in the tub, after the whey is out, and the other by putting it into the vat and crumbling the curd all to pieces with it, after the first squeezing with the hands has dried it. The first method appears best on some accounts, but not on all, and therefore the custom of the country must direct. Put a board under and over the vat, and place it in the press; in two hours turn it out and put a fresh cheese-cloth; press it again for eight or ten hours; then salt it all over, and turn it again in the vat, and let it stand in the press fourteen or sixteen hours, observing to put the cheese last made undermost. Before putting them the last time into the vat, pare the edges if they do not look smooth. The vat should have holes at the sides and at bottom, to let all the whey pass through; put on clean boards, and change and scald them. 546. TO PRESERVE CHEESE SOUND Wash in a warm whey, when you have any, wipe it once a month, and keep it on a rack. If you want to ripen it, a damp cellar will bring it forward. When a whole cheese is cut, the larger quantity should be spread with butter inside, and the outside wiped to preserve it. To keep those in daily use moist, let a clean cloth be wrung out from cold water, and wrapt round them when carried from the table. 547. TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE Put 5 quarts of strippings, that is, the last of the milking, into a pan, with 2 spoonsful of rennet. When the curd is come, strike it down two or three times with the skimming-dish, just to break it; let it stand two hours, then spread a cheese-cloth on a sieve, put the curd on it, and let the whey drain; break the curd a little with your hand, and put it into a vat with a 2 lb weight upon it; let it stand twelve hours, take it out, and bind a fillet round; turn every day till dry, from one board to another, cover them with nettles or clean dock leaves, and put between two pewter-plates to ripen. If the weather be warm, it will be ready in three weeks. 548. ELEGANT AND INGENIOUS ARTS, &c. Accomplishments.--These are very desirable for the household, because the inmates are made happier by refined and ingenious arts and pursuits, and are fitted to improve the taste of others. Children and young persons, of both sexes, should learn as many of these arts as they possibly can without neglecting duties. Pleasant modes of employing leisure hours save people from many temptations, and add much to the happiness of life. 549. GRECIAN PAINTING Grecian painting is the art of imitating oil paintings. This truly beautiful imitation, if well done, is so perfect that none save connoisseurs can discern, at sight, the difference. Engravings best suited to this style of painting are mezzotint or aquatint, though fine lithographs are used. Rule First.--Procure a frame one inch longer than the engraved part of the print. Second.--Cut the engraving the size of the frame, then make a stiff paste, and spread thickly on the frame. Third.--Place the engraving face down and sponge it gently with water; then press the frame firmly and evenly down on; leave it till entirely dry (not by the fire) and it will become even and tight. To make the Grecian Varnish.--Take one part turpentine, two parts alcohol, (90 proof,) three parts balsam of fir, and mix. To use the Varnish.--Pour sufficient spirits of turpentine on the back of the picture to moisten it well, then put on the varnish and rub it THOROUGHLY with a stiff brush, and continue to apply it until the picture is perfectly transparent. Spots.--Leave the picture for twenty-four hours, after which if white spots appear, showing that the varnish has not been effectual, repeat the process. Sometimes it has to be done several times. Drying.--Place the picture, face downward, where it will be free from dust, and leave it three or four days. Paints.--These are put on the back of the engraving. Eyes.--For blue eyes, permanent blue and white; for hazel eyes, yellow ochre and vandyke brown. Flesh Tints.--Flake white, with a very little vermillion and Naples yellow. Foliages.--Chrome yellow and Prussian blue, with any of the browns. Sky.--Clouds touched in with white; the rest permanent blue and white. Water.--The light parts with white, the rest the same as the sky. If a bright scene, and with trees, of a greenish brown. Hair and Eyebrows.--Yellow ochre and vandyke brown, or raw sienna. Backgrounds.--The most agreeable tint is a greenish brown. White Background.--Flake and silver white. Buff Background.--Naples yellow. Orange Background.--Chrome yellow, with vermillion. Blue Background.--Flake white and Prussian blue. Gray Background.--White, Prussian blue, and vermillion. Pink Background.--White and vermillion. Crimson Background.--Vermillion and white, with carmine. Green Background.--Chrome yellow and Prussian blue. Paints for the front of the picture.--Drying oil must be used with all the colours on the front. Shading for the flesh on the front.--Carmine and vandyke brown laid on lightly, and the edges touched off with the finger. Cheeks.--Carmine; soften the edges carefully. Lips.--Carmine, with a touch of vermilion. Hair and Eyebrows.--Yellow lake and vandyke brown. Draperies.--These are always painted on the back, and shaded on the front with vandyke brown. Backgrounds.--If plain, glaze with yellow lake. Foliages.--Yellow lake and vandyke brown. General Directions.--First.--Lay the paint thickly on the back, and be careful to cover every part, but not to go over the edges. Second.--When the painting is finished let it dry four days, and then cover the front with a coat of mastic varnish. Materials required are a palette, palette-knife, flat varnish brush, three sizes of bristle brushes, three sizes of table brushes, drying oil, mastic varnish, spirits of turpentine, Grecian varnish. Colours used are oil colours in tubes. Those generally needed are silver white, Naples yellow, yellow ochre, brilliant yellow, vermilion, Prussian blue, raw sienna, ivory black, carmine, yellow lake, vandyke brown. If economy is an object, some of the above-mentioned materials can be dispensed with. 550. DIAPHANIE This is a beautiful, useful, and inexpensive art, easily acquired, and producing imitation of the richest and rarest stained glass; and also of making blinds, screens, skylights, Chinese lanterns, &c., in every variety of colour and design. In decorating his house, a gentleman spends as much money as he can conveniently spare; the elegancies and refinements of modern taste demand something more than mere comfort; yet though his walls are hung with pictures, his drawing-room filled with bijouterie, how is it that the windows of his hall, his library, his staircase, are neglected? The reason is obvious. The magnificent historical glass might be envied, but could not be brought within the compass of ordinary means. Recent improvements in printing in colours led the way to this beautiful invention, by which economy is combined with the most perfect results. A peculiar kind of paper is rendered perfectly transparent, upon which designs are printed in glass colours, (vitro de couleurs,) which will not change with the light. The paper is applied to the glass with a clear white varnish, and when dry, a preparation is finally applied, which increases the transparency, and adds tenfold brilliancy to the effect. There is another design, printed in imitation of the half-light (abatiour;) this is used principally for a ground, covering the whole surface of the glass, within which (the necessary spaces having been previously cut out before it is stuck on the glass,) are placed medallion centres of Watteau figures, perfectly transparent, which derive increased brilliancy from the semi-transparency of the surrounding country. To ascertain the quantity of designs required, measure your glass carefully, and then calculate how many sheets it will take. The sheets are arranged so that they can be joined together continuously, or cut to any size or shape. Practical Instructions.--Choose a fine day for the operation, as the glass should be perfectly dry and unaffected by the humidity of the atmosphere. Of course, if you have a choice, it is more convenient to work on your glass before it is fixed in the frame. If you are working on a piece of unattached glass, lay it on a flat table, (a marble slab is preferable,) over which you must previously lay a piece of baize of cloth to keep the glass steady. The glass being thus fixed, clean and polish the side on which you intend to operate, (in windows this is the inner side,) then with your brush lay on it very equably a good coat of the prepared varnish; let this dry for an hour, more or less, according to the dryness of the atmosphere and the thickness of the coat of varnish. Meantime cut and trim your designs carefully to fit the glass, (if it is one entire transparent sheet you will find it little trouble;) then lay them on a piece of paper, face downwards, and damp the back of them with a sponge, applied several times, to equalise the moisture. After this operation, arrange your time so that your designs may now be finally left to dry for fifteen minutes before application to the glass, the varnish on which has now become tacky or sticky, and in a proper state to receive them. Apply the printed side next to the glass without pressure; endeavour to let your sheet fall perfectly level and smooth on your glass so that you may avoid leaving creases, which would be fatal. Take now your palette, lay it flat on the design, and press out all the air bubbles, commencing in the centre, and working them out from the sides; an ivory stick will be found useful in removing creases; you now leave this to dry, and after twenty-four hours apply a slight coat of the liqueur diaphane, leaving it another day, when if dry, apply a second coat of the same kind, which must be left several days: finally, apply a coat of varnish over all. If these directions are carefully followed, your glass will never be affected by time or by any variations in the weather: it will defy hail, rain, frost and dust, and can be washed the same as any ordinary stained glass, to which, in some respects, it is even superior. It is impossible to enumerate the variety of articles to the manufacture of which diaphanie may be successfully applied as it is not confined to glass, but can be done on silk, parchment, paper, linen, &c., after they have been made transparent, which may be accomplished in the following manner:-- stretch your paper, or whatever it may be, on a frame or drawing board, then apply two successive coats (a day between each,) of diaphanous liquor, and after leaving it to dry for several days, cover it with a thin layer of very clear size, and when dry it will be in a fit state to receive the coat of varnish and the designs. Silk, linen, or other stuffs, should be more carefully stretched, and receive a thicker coat of size than paper or parchment; the latter may be strained on a drawing or any other smooth board, by damping the sheet, and after pasting the edges, stretching it down while damp. Silk, linen, or other stuffs require to be carefully stretched on a knitting or other suitable frame. Take great care to allow, whatever you use, time to dry before applying the liqueur diaphane. All kinds of screens, lamp-shades, and glasses, lanterns, &c., &c., may be made in this way, as heat will produce no effect upon them. The transparent pictures are successful, because they may be hung on a window frame or removed at will, and the window blinds are far superior to any thing of that kind that have yet been seen. Instead of steeping the designs in the transparent liquor at the time of printing them, which was previously done in order to show their transparency to the purchaser, but which was practically objectionable, as the paper in that state was brittle, and devoid of pliancy, necessitating also the use of a peculiarly difficult vehicle to manage (varnish) in applying it to the glass, the manufacturer now prepares his paper differently, in order to allow the use of parchment size in sticking them on the glass. The liqueur diaphane, which is finally applied, renders them perfectly transparent. In this mode of operation, no delay is requisite, the designs being applied to the glass immediately after laying on the size, taking care to press out all the air bubbles, for which purpose a roller will be found indispensable. The designs should be damped before the size is applied to them. We are of opinion that this art may be applied to the production of magic-lantern slides, dissolving views, and dioramic effects; though we are not aware whether such experiments have been tried. 551. WATER-COLOURS USED IN DRAWING Indian Ink.--The best is stamped with Chinese characters, breaks with a glossy fracture, and feels smooth when rubbed on the plate. Hair Pencils are made of camel's-hair; if they come to a point, when moistened, without splitting, they are good. Drawing Paper.--That made without any wire marks, and called wove paper, is the best; it is made of various sizes and thicknesses. To make a good white.--Clarify white lead with white-wine vinegar. After the powder has settled, pour off the vinegar, put the powder into a glass of water, stir it, and pour the water off while it is white into another glass; when it is settled, pour off the water, and an excellent white will be obtained. To this add gum enough to give it a gloss. 552. DIRECTIONS FOR MIXED COLOURS Ash Colour.--Ceruse white, Keating's black and white, shaded with cherry-stone black. Bay.--Lake and flake white, shaded with carmine; bistre and vermilion shaded with black. Changeable Silk.--Red lead and masticot water, shaded with sap-green and verdigris. Another.--Lake and yellow, shaded with lake and Prussian blue. Cloud Colour.--Light masticot, or lake and white, shaded with blue verditer. Another.--Constant white and Indian ink, and a little vermilion. Another.--White, with a little lake and blue verditer, make a good cloud colour for that part next the horizon. Crimson.--Lake and white, with a little vermilion, shaded with lake and carmine. Flame Colour.--Vermilion and orpiment, heightened with white. Another.--Gamboge, shaded with minium and red lead. Flesh Colour.--Ceruse, red lead, and lake, for a swarthy complexion, and yellow ochre. Another.--Constant white and a little carmine, shaded with Spanish liquorice washed with carmine. French Green.--Light pink and Dutch bice, shaded with green pink. Glass Grey.--Ceruse, with a little blue of any kind. Hair Colour.--Masticot, ochre, umber, ceruse, and cherry-stone black. Lead Colour.--Indigo and white. Light Blue.--Blue bice, heightened with flake white. Another.--Blue verditer, and white of any sort, well ground. Light Green.--Pink, smalt, and white. Another.--Blue verditer and gamboge. Another.--Gamboge and verdigris. This is chiefly used for the ground colours of trees, fields, &c. Lion Tawney.--Red lead and masticot, shaded with umber. Murrey.--Lake and white lead. Orange.--Red lead and a little masticot, shaded with umber. Orange Tawney.--Lake, light pink, a little masticot, shaded with gall-stone and lake. Pearl Colour.--Carmine, a little white, shaded with lake. Popinjay Green.--Green and masticot; or pink and a little indigo, shaded with indigo. Purple.--Indigo, Spanish brown, and white; or blue bice, red and white lead; or blue bice and lake. Russet.--Cherry-stone black and white. Scarlet.--Red lead and lake, with or without vermilion. Sea Green.--Bice, pink and white, shaded with pink. Sky Colour.--Light masticot and white, for the lowest and lightest parts; second, red ink and white; third, blue bice and white; fourth, blue bice alone. These are all to be softened into one another at the edges, so as not to appear harsh. Sky Colour for Drapery.--Blue bice and ceruse, or ultramarine and white, shaded with indigo. Straw Colour.--Masticot and a very little lake, shaded with Dutch pink. Yellow Colour.--Indigo, white, and lake; or fine Dutch bice and lake, shaded with Indigo; or litmus smalt and bice, the latter predominant. Water.--Blue and white, shaded with blue, and heightened with white. To prevent Colours from Cracking.--Boil 2 ozs. of the best and clearest glue, with 1 pint of clear water, and a 1/2 oz. of alum, till dissolved. With this temper those colours intended for the sky. To make a Solution of Gum.--Dissolve 1 oz. of white gum arabic, and a 1/2 oz. of double refined sugar, in a quart of spring water; strain it through a piece of muslin, and bottle it to keep it free from dust. To keep Flies from the Work.--Having prepared the gum water for the colours, add a little coloquintida. To prepare Alum Water.--Take 4 ozs. of alum, and 1 pint of spring water; boil it till the alum is thoroughly dissolved, and then filter it through blotting-paper. To use Alum Water.--Before laying on the colours, take some of this water, hot, and with a sponge wet the back of the paper, which, if not good, must be wet three or four times, letting the paper dry each time before wetting it again. This will prevent the sinking of the colours, and give them additional lustre. To make Lime Water.--Put unslacked lime in a well-glazed pan; cover it with pure water, and let it remain for one day. Then strain off the water. This water will change sap-green into blue. 553. TO PREPARE WASH COLOURS FOR MAPS Blue.--Dilute Saxon blue with water; or to the solution of litmus add distilled vinegar. Green.--Dissolve verdigris in distilled water and add gum arabic. Or, dissolve sap-green in water and add gum. Red.--Steep Brazil dust in vinegar, with alum. Or, dissolve litmus in water and add spirit of wine. Or, steep cochineal in water, strain, and add gum. Yellow.--Dissolve gamboge in water; or French berries steeped in water, the liquor strained, and gum arabic added. 554. TO MIX WATER-COLOURS FOR ANIMALS Horses, black.--Black lightly laid on, shaded with Keating's black and bistre, heightened with masticot. Horses, chestnut brown.--Red ochre and black mixed together, shaded with black, heightened with red ochre and white. Horses, grey.--Black and white mixed, shaded with black, white, and bistre; heightened with pure water. Lions.--Colour much in the same manner as horses, adding lake in the ground colour. Bears.--Brown ochre, red ochre, and black, mixed; shaded with bistre and ivory black. Wolves.--Spanish liquorice and black, shaded with black. Asses.--Black and white mixed; or, add a little brown ochre, shaded with black. Elephants.--Black, white, and Spanish liquorice, mixed; shaded with black and bistre; the inner part of the nose, vermilion and white, shaded with black. Monkeys.--Dutch pink and black, heightened with masticot and white: the face, black and bistre mixed, as also their feet; their bodies, shaded underneath with black and pink mixed with a little brown ochre. 555. FRUIT IN WATER-COLOURS Apples.--Thin masticot mixed with verdigris, shaded with brown ochre. Cherries.--Vermilion and lake, shaded with carmine, heightened with vermilion and white. Grapes, blue.--Dark purple shaded with blue; the bloom, bice. Grapes, white.--Verdigris and masticot mixed, shaded with thin verdigris heightened with masticot and white. Peaches.--Thin masticot shaded with brown ochre; the bloom, lake heightened with white. Pears.--Masticot deepened and mellowed with brown ochre. Strawberries.--White; draw it over with vermilion and lake, shaded with fine lake, heightened with red lead and masticot mixed, and then with white; stipple them with white and thin lead. 556. TO PAINT FLOWERS Anemones.--A thin wash of gamboge shaded with bistre; or carmine and sap-green blended together. The stripes carmine, shaded with the same; indigo in the darkest parts, or stipple with it. Leaves.--Sap-green, shaded with indigo and French berries; the stalk brown. Honeysuckles.--Inside of the petals, white shaded with sap-green, or gamboge and bistre. The insides are to be shown by curling the leaves back at the ends, or by splitting them. The outsides, a thin wash of carmine and lake mixed, shaded with carmine--indigo for the darkest shades. Stalks.--Sap-green and carmine. Leaves.--Sap-green, shaded with indigo and French berries. Roses.--A light tint of pure carmine, over which another equally light of Peruvian blue; proceed with the darker shades of carmine of the best sort. In the darkest part of the flower add a little indigo to give a roundness. If the seeds are seen lay on gamboge, shaded with gall-stone. Leaves.--Upper side, sap-green, shaded with indigo and French berries mixed; under-side, white indigo and sap-green mixed, shaded with the same. Stalks.--Sap-green and carmine, shaded with indigo. Rose-buds.--A pale wash of carmine, shaded with a stronger wash of the same. Stalks and leaves, sap-green with a slight wash of carmine. 557. BIRDS IN WATER-COLOURS Eagles.--black and brown, shaded with indigo; feathers heightened by brown ochre and white; beak and claws saffron, shaded with bistre; eyes vermilion, heightened with masticot or saffron, shaded with vermilion. Geese.--Ceruse shaded with black; legs, black; bill, red. Owls.--Ochre mixed with white, in different shades; legs, yellow ochre. Pheasants.--White and black mixed; legs, Dutch pink, shaded with black. Swans.--White shaded with black; the legs and bills black; eyes yellow; a ball in the midst. Turkeys.--Black, black and white mixed, shaded off to a white underneath; sprinkled and shaded with black. 558. LANDSCAPES IN WATER-COLOURS Sketch the outlines faintly with a black-lead pencil. Then colour. Colours.--The most useful are: lake, burnt ochre, gamboge, indigo, light red, sepia, Prussian blue, sienna, and burnt umber. The gray colour is made of burnt umber, indigo, and lake; each rubbed separately in a saucer, and then mixed in a fourth saucer as to produce the exact colour--a warm gray. This is thinned for the light tints, as sky and distances. Deeper is to be used for the shadows and near parts, softening with water till the exact effect is produced. Buildings are sometimes tinted with a mixture of lake and gamboge. Burnt ochre is also used. The shadows have an excess of lake. Breadths of Light are obtained by destroying the scattered lights with grays. Clouds are produced by a thin mixture of indigo and lake. They should be tinted with sepia. The lower or horizontal clouds are tinged with ultramarine. Figures are touched with lake and indigo. Force is acquired by adding sepia to indigo, in the cold parts, and sepia with lake to the glowing parts. Grass is washed with a mixture of burnt sienna, indigo, and gamboge; that in shadow has more indigo. Grass and bushes may be brought out by a tint of gamboge; distances may be heightened by lake. Hills, retiring.--Tint the whole with weak blue; then the nearer ones with indigo and lake; add a little gamboge to the next, keeping one subordinate to the other; the most distant being lost in the aerial tints. Land, distant.--Ultramarine and lake. Ground near is tinted with ochre. Road and Paths.--A mixture of lake, burnt umber, and burnt sienna. It may be tinted with ochre. Smoke.--Lake and indigo. Trees, distant.--Ultramarine, with a wash of indigo, gamboge, and burnt sienna, tinted with gray. The middle trees have a thin wash of burnt sienna and gamboge. Nearer trees a wash of burnt sienna, indigo, and gamboge. In the shadows more indigo is used. Opposing masses of trees are tinted with sepia and indigo. Windows.--Indigo and burnt umber. 559. POTICHOMANIE This elegant accomplishment, which has become so extremely popular and fashionable, promises not only to supercede altogether many of those accomplishments which have hitherto absorbed the attention of our fair countrywomen, but to rank among the fine arts. Advantages of this Art.--It possesses many advantages: and the process is simple and easily acquired. It is an exceedingly pleasing and interesting employment, requiring no previous knowledge of drawing, yet affording abundant space for the exercise of the most exquisite taste. The time employed is richly repaid; the results produced are of actual value; articles of ornament and domestic utility being produced, in perfect imitation of the most beautiful Chinese and Japanese porcelain, of Sevres and Dresden china, and of every form that is usual in the productions of the Ceramic Art. It furnishes an inexhaustible and inexpensive source for the production of useful and elegant presents, which will be carefully preserved as tokens of friendship, and as proofs of the taste and talent of the giver. Articles necessary in the Art of Potichomanie.--Glass vases, (Potiches en verre,) of shapes suitable to the different orders of Chinese, Japanese, Etruscan, and French porcelain, Alumettes, &c.; cups, plates, &c., &c., of Sevres and Dresden design. Sheets of coloured drawings or prints, characteristic representations of the designs or decorations suitable to every kind of porcelain and china. A bottle of liquid gum, and three or four hog-hair brushes. A bottle of varnish, and very fine pointed scissors for cutting out. An assortment of colours for the foundation, in bottles. A packet of gold powder, and a glass vessel for diluting the colours. Directions.--We will suppose the object selected for imitation to be a Chinese vase. After providing yourself with a plain glass vase, of the proper shape, you take your sheets of coloured prints on which are depicted subjects characteristic of that peculiar style. From these sheets you can select a great variety of designs, of the most varied character, on the arrangement and grouping of which you can exercise your own taste. After you have fully decided upon the arrangement of your drawings, cut them out accurately with a pair of scissors, then apply some liquid gum carefully over the coloured side of the drawings, and stick them on the inside of the vase, according to your own previous arrangement--pressing them down till they adhere closely, without any bubbles of air appearing between the glass and the drawings. When the drawings have had sufficient time to dry, take a fine brush and cover every part of them (without touching the glass) with a coat of parchment size or liquid gum, which prevents the oil colour (which is next applied) from sinking into or becoming absorbed by the paper. When the interior of the vase is perfectly dry, and any particles of gum size that may have been left on the glass have been removed, your vase is ready for the final and most important process. You have now to tint the whole of the vase with a proper colour to give it the appearance of porcelain; for up to this time, you will recollect, it is but a glass vase, with a few coloured prints stuck thereon. Select from your stock of prepared colours, in bottles, the tint most appropriate to the kind of china you are imitating, (as we are now supposed to be making a Chinese vase, it will be of a greenish hue,) mix fully sufficient colour in a glass vessel, then pour the whole into the vase. Take now your vase in both hands, and turn it round continually in the same direction, until the colour is equally spread over the whole of the interior: when this is satisfactorily accomplished, pour back the remainder. If the prepared colour is too thick, add a little varnish to the mixture before applying it. If preferred, the colour may be laid on with a soft brush. Should the vase be intended to hold water, the interior must be well varnished after the above operations, or lined with zinc or tin foil. If the potichomanist wishes to decorate the mouth of his vase with a gold border, he can do so by mixing some gold powder in a few drops of the essence of lavender and some varnish, applying it on the vase with a fine brush; or he can purchase gold bands, already prepared for application, in varied sheets, suitable to the potichomanie designs. Potichomanists have found the art capable of greater results than the mere imitation of porcelain vases, by the introduction of glass panels (previously decorated with beautiful flowers on a white ground) into drawing-room doors, and also into walls which, being panel papered, offer opportunities of introducing centre pieces of the same character as the doors; elegant chess and work-tables, folding and cheval-screens, panels for cabinets, chiffoniers and book-cases, slabs for pier and console-tables, glove-boxes, covers for books, music, albums, &c. The most common cause of failure is, that the drawings inside are not thoroughly pressed down. 560. COLOURING FOR CHEESE The colouring for cheese is, or at least should be, Spanish arnotto; but as soon as colouring became general in this country, a colour of an adulterated kind was exposed for sale in almost every shop; the weight of a guinea and a half of real Spanish arnotto is sufficient for a cheese of fifty pounds' weight. If a considerable part of the cream of the night's milk be taken for butter, more colouring will be requisite. The leaner the cheese is, the more colouring it requires. The manner of using arnotto is to tie up, in a linen rag, the quantity deemed sufficient, and put into half a pint of warm water over night. This infusion is put into the tub of milk, in the morning, with the rennet infusion; dipping the rag into the milk, and rubbing it against the palm of the hand as long as any colour runs out. 561. TO SHARPEN EDGE TOOLS Take equal parts of flour of emery and crocus; make into a paste with sweet oil; have now a piece of buck-skin, (hemlock tan,) tack it by each end on a piece of board, with the grain uppermost; then on this spread a little of the paste, and sharpen your tools on it. You will, indeed, be astonished at the effect. Try it. 562. BLUE COMPOSITION FOR DYEING Take equal parts of vitriol and indigo; powder them very finely, separately, and mix. 563. TO GILD LETTERS ON VELLUM OR PAPER Letters written on vellum or paper are gilded in three ways; in the first, a little size is mixed with the ink, and the letters are written as usual; when they are dry, a slight degree of stickiness is produced by breathing on them, upon which the gold leaf is immediately applied, and by a little pressure may be made to adhere with sufficient firmness. In the second method, some white lead of chalk is ground up with strong size, and the letters are made with this by means of a brush; when the mixture is almost dry, the gold leaf may be laid on, and afterwards burnished. The last method is to mix up some gold powder with size, and make the letters of this by means of a brush. 564. TO PRESERVE STRAWBERRY PLANTS Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the experience of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry plants, when the fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the sun, the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning fruit kept from damage by resting on the ground, particularly in wet weather, and much labour in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long straw are sufficient for 1800 feet of plants. 565. MANAGEMENT OF STRAWBERRY PLANTS On the management of strawberries in June and July, the future prosperity of them greatly depends; and if each plant has not been kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they will be in a state of confusion, and you will find three different sorts of plants. 1. Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and woody. 2. Young plants, not strong enough to flower. 3. Flowering plants, which ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them. Before the time of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up every old plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted to flower, you may depend upon it they never will produce any after, being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave two or three, set a stick to them, and observe them the next year. If the young plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some of them away, and do not leave them nearer than a foot of the scarlet, alpines, and wood, and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the larger sorts; and in the first rainy weather in July or August, take them all up, and make a fresh plantation with them, and they will be very strong plants for flowering next year. Old beds, even if the plants be kept single at their proper distance, examine, and pull all the old plants which have not flowered. When the fruit is nearly all gathered, examine them again, and cut off the runners; but if you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of the two first, and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a trowel, or three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to transplant. If you have omitted in July, do not fail in August, that the runners may make good roots, to be transplanted in September; for, if later, the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost afterwards will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of which is, their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year. 566. THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS What each flower enumerated, signifies, when sent to a friend or lover. Almond, flowering--Concealed love. Althea, Frutex--I am deeply in love. Amaranth--Immortality, or piety. Anemone--Fading hope. Arbor-Vitae--Unchanging friendship. Auricula, Scarlet--Pride. You are proud. Bachelor's button--Hope in love. Balm--I long for your society. Balsamine--Impatience; or, pray come. Bay Leaf--I change but in dying. Box--I believe in your constancy. Buttercup--Riches. You are rich. Calla Ethiopica--Magnificent beauty. Carnation--Pride and Beauty. Camelia Japonica--Surpassing excellence. Cedar--Think of me. China Aster--Caprice. Cypress--Despair, and without hope. Dahlia--Dignity--I will sustain it. Daisy--Youthful beauty. Dandelion--Coquetry, I accuse you of. Eglantine--I wound to heal. Forget-me-not--True love for ever. Fox-glove--Insincerity. You are false. Geranium--Gentility and elegance. Gilly-Flower--Thou art fair. Golden Rod--Encouragement. You will succeed. Grass--Submission. Heart's Ease--Love in idleness. Heliotrope--Devotion. Let us pray for each other. Hellebore--Calumny. You have listened. Hollyhock--Ambition. I seek glory. Honeysuckle--Dost thou love me? Houstonia--Content ever with thee. Hyacinth, Purple--Sorrow. I am sad. Hydrangea--Heartlessness. Ivy--Wedded Love. We are happy. Jasmine, White--I desire a return of my affection. Larkspur--Haughtiness. Laurel--Ambition. I will win. Laurustinus--A token. Pray remember. Lavender--Acknowledgment. Lilac--Fastidiousness. Lily, White--Purity and beauty. Magnolia--You are beautiful. Marigold--Jealousy--I have cause. Mignionette--I live for thee. Moss--Patience, or pray wait. Oak-Leaf--Courage. I will endure. Passion-Flower--Piety. Trust in God. Periwinkle--Memory. Never forget. Pink--Household love. I am at home. Poppy--Forgetfulness. Primrose--Neglected merit. Rose--Love, or I love you. Rue--Disdain. Go: never return. Saffron--Marriage--when? Snow-drop--Faithful in adversity. Thyme--Thriftiness. I am diligent. Tulip--Beautiful eyes. Look on me. Violet--I dream of thee. Willow--Forsaken--never more. Wheat--Prosperity--I wish thee. Yew--Penitence. I am sorry. 567. FRENCH POLISH FOR BOOTS, &c. Logwood chips, half a pound; glue, quarter of an ounce; soft soap, quarter of an ounce; isinglass, quarter of an ounce; boil these ingredients in two pints of vinegar and one of water, during ten minutes after ebulition, then strain the liquid. When cold it is fit for use. To apply the French polish, the dirt must be washed from the boots, &c.; when these are quite dry, the liquid polish is put on with a bit of sponge. 568. AN ILLUMINOUS BOTTLE By putting a piece of phosphorus, the size of a pea, into a phial, and adding boiling oil until the bottle is a third full, a luminous bottle is formed; for, on taking out the cork, to admit atmospheric air, the empty space in the bottle will become luminous. Whenever the stopper is taken out in the night, sufficient light will be evolved to show the hour upon a watch; and if care be taken to keep it in general well closed, it will preserve its illuminative power for several months. 569. CHINESE METHOD OF MENDING CHINA Take a piece of flint-glass, beat it to a fine powder, and grind it well with the white of an egg, and it joins china without riveting, so that no art can break it in the same place. You are to observe, that the composition is to be ground extremely fine. 570. TO MAKE STILTON CHEESE Take the night's cream, and put it in the morning's new milk, with the rennet; when the curd is come it is not to be broken, as is done with other cheeses, but take it out with a soil dish all together, and place it on a sieve to drain gradually, and, as it drains, keep gradually pressing it, till it becomes firm and dry; then place it in a wooden hoop; afterwards to be kept dry on boards, turned frequently, with cloth-binders round it, which are to be tightened as occasion requires. In some dairies the cheese, after being taken out of the wooden hoop, are bound tight round with a cloth, which cloth is changed every day until the cheese becomes firm enough to support itself; after the cloth is taken away, they are rubbed every day all over, for two or three months, with a brush; and if the weather is damp or moist, twice a day; and even before the cloth is taken off, the top and bottom are well rubbed every day. 571. TO PRESERVE BEER In a cask containing eighteen gallons of beer, becoming vapid, put a pint of ground malt, suspended in a bag, and close the bung perfectly; the beer will be improved during the whole time of drawing it for use. 572. TO RECOVER SOUR BEER When beer has become sour, put into the barrel some oyster-shells, calcined to whiteness, or a little fine chalk or whiting. Any of these will correct the acidity, and make the beer brisk and sparkling; but it cannot be kept long after these additions are made. 573. CARVACROL--THE NEW REMEDY FOR TOOTH-ACHE Dr. Bushman gives (in the Medical Times) the following account of this new compound, which, though well known in Germany as a quick and effectual cure for one of the most worrying ills "that flesh is heir to," is now for the first time published in England. Carvacrol is an oily liquid, with a strong taste and unpleasant odor. It may be made by the action of iodine on oil of caraway or on camphor. A few drops applied on cotton wool (to a decayed and painful tooth) give immediate relief. Carvacrol much resembles creosote in appearance, and is used in similar cases of tooth-ache, but its effect is much more speedy and certain. 574. CAMPHOR CERATE FOR CHAPPED HANDS The following receipt was given to the contributor by a maid of honour to Queen Victoria. It is an excellent one. Scrape into an earthen vessel one ounce and a half of spermaceti and half an ounce of white wax; add six drachms of pounded camphor, and four tablespoonsful of the best olive oil. Let it stand near the fire till it dissolves, stirring it well when liquid. Before the hands are washed, rub them thoroughly with a little of the cerate, then wash them as usual. Putting the cerate on before retiring answers very well. This quantity costs about twenty-five cents, and will last three winters. The vessel it is kept in should be covered, to prevent evaporation. 575. THE WAY TO WEALTH "The way to wealth," says Doctor Franklin, "is as plain as the way to market." Many men, however, either miss the way, or stumble and fall on the road. Fortune, they say, is a fickle dame--full of her freaks and caprices; who blindly distributes her favours without the slightest discrimination. So inconsistent, so wavering is she represented, that her most faithful votaries can place no reliance on her promises. Disappointment, they tell us, is the lot of those who make offerings to her shrine. Now, all this is a vile slander upon the dear blind lady. Although wealth often appears the result of mere accident, or a fortunate concurrence of favourable circumstances, without any exertion of skill or foresight, yet every man of sound health and unimpaired mind may become wealthy, if he takes the proper steps. Foremost in the list of requisites, are honesty and strict integrity in every transaction of life. Let a man have the reputation of being fair and upright in his dealings, and he will possess the confidence of all who know him. Without these qualities, every other merit will prove unavailing. Ask concerning a man, "Is he active and capable?" Yes. "Industrious, temperate, and regular in his habits?" O Yes. "Is he honest? is he trustworthy?" Why, as to that, I am sorry to say that he is not to be trusted; he wants watching; he is a little tricky, and will take an undue advantage, if he can. "Then I will have nothing to do with him:" will be the invariable reply. Next, let us consider the advantages of a cautious circumspection in our intercourse with the world. Slowness of belief, and a proper distrust are essential to success. The credulous and confiding are ever the dupes of knaves and impostors. Ask those who have lost their property how it happened, and you will find in most cases it has been owing to misplaced confidence. One has lost by endorsing; another by crediting; another by false representatives; all of which a little more foresight and a little more distrust would have prevented. In the affairs of this world, men are not saved by faith, but by the want of it. Judge men by what they do, not by what they say. Believe in looks rather than in words. Before trusting a man, before putting it in his power to cause you a loss, possess yourself of every available information relative to him. Learn his history, his habits, inclinations and propensities; his reputation for honesty, industry, frugality, and punctuality; his prospects, resources, supports, advantages and disadvantages; his intentions and motives of action; who are his friends and enemies, and what are his good and bad qualities. You may learn a man's good qualities and advantages from his friends--his bad qualities and disadvantages from his enemies. Make due allowance for exaggeration in both. Finally, examine carefully before engaging in anything, and act with energy afterward. Have the hundred eyes of Argus beforehand, and the hundred hands of Briarius afterward. 576. MAXIMS BY DR. FRANKLIN ON THE WAY TO WEALTH God helps those who help themselves. Many words won't fill a bushel. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears. The key often used is always bright. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. There will be time enough for sleep, in the grave. If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. Lost time is never found again. What we call time enough, always proves little enough. Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy. He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night. Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him. Drive thy business, lest it drive thee. Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Industry need not wish. He that lives upon hope, will die fasting. There are no gains without pains. Help, hands, for I have no lands. He that hath a trade, hath an estate, and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honour; but the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither will enable us to pay our taxes. The drone in the hive makes no honey. At the working man's house hunger looks in, but does not enter. Industry pays debts, but despair increaseth them. Diligence is the mother of good luck. God gives all things to industry. Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell and to keep. One today is worth two tomorrow. Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today. If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you, then, your own master? be ashamed to catch yourself idle. The cat in gloves catches no mice. Light strokes fell great oaks. By diligence and patience, the mouse ate into the cable. Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since thou art not sure of a minute throw not away an hour. A life of leisure and a life of laziness, are two things. Troubles spring from idleness, and grievous toils from needless ease. Many would live by their wits, without labour, but they break for want of stock. Industry gives comfort, plenty, and respect. Now I have a sheep, and a cow, everybody bids me good-morrow. I never saw an oft-removed tree, Nor yet an oft-removed family, That throve so well as one that settled be. Three removes are as bad as a fire. Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. If you would have your business done, go; if not, send. He that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive. The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands. Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge. Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open. In the affairs of the world, men are saved not by faith, but for the want of it. Learning is to the studious, and riches to the careful, as well as power to the bold, and heaven to the virtuous. If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself. A little neglect may breed great mischief. For want of a nail the shoe was lost; For want of a shoe the horse was lost; For want of a horse the rider was lost-- Being overtaken and slain by the enemy. If a man save not as he gets, he may keep his nose to the grindstone all his life, and die not worth a groat. A fat kitchen makes a lean will. Many estates are spent in the getting, since women for tea, forsook spinning and knitting, and men for punch, forsook hewing and splitting. The Indians did not make Spain rich, because her out-goes were greater than her incomes. What maintains one vice would bring up two children. Many a little makes a mickle. Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship. Who dainties love, shall beggars prove. Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them. Buy what thou dost not need, and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries. At a great bargain pause awhile. It is foolish to lay out money in the purchase of repentance. Wise men learn by another's harms, fools scarcely by their own. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire. A ploughman on his legs, is higher than a gentleman on his knees. Always taking out of the meal tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom. When the well is dry we know the worth of water. If you would know the value of money, try to borrow. Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse. Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse. Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more saucy. Vessels large may venture more, but little boats should keep the shore. Pride that shines on vanity sups on contempt. Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. What is a butterfly? At best He's but a caterpillar dress'd; The gaudy fop's his picture just. The second vice is lying; the first is running in debt. Lying rides upon debt's back. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. Creditors have better memories than debtors. Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times. The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor. For age and want save while you may, No morning sun lasts a whole day. Get what you can, and what you get hold; 'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold. Experience keeps a dear school; but fools will learn in no other and scarce in that; for we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. They that will not be counselled cannot be helped. Distrust and caution are the parents of security. After feasts made, the maker shakes his head. There is neither honour nor gain got in dealing with a villain. Visits should be like a winter's day, short. A house without woman and firelight, Is like a body without soul or sprite. Light purse, heavy heart. Ne'er take a wife till thou hast a house (and a fire) to put her in. Great talkers, little doers. Relation without friendship, friendship without power, power without will, will without effect, effect without profit, and profit without virtue, are not worth a farthing. He has changed his one-eyed horse for a blind one. [There was no entry for receipt no. 577 in the original.] 578. EXCELLENT PASTE Excellent paste for fruit or meat pies may be made with two-thirds of wheat flower, one-third of the flour of boiled potatoes, and some butter or dripping; the whole being brought to a proper consistence with warm water, and a small quantity of yeast added when lightness is desired. This will also make very pleasant cakes for breakfast, and may be made with or without spices, fruit, &c. Picnic Biscuits.--Take two ounces of fresh butter, and well work it with a pound of flour. Mix thoroughly with it half a salt-spoonful of pure carbonate of soda; two ounces of sugar; mingle thoroughly with the flour; make up the paste with spoonsful of milk--it will require scarcely a quarter of a pint. Knead smooth, roll a quarter of an inch thick, cut in rounds about the size of the top of a small wine-glass; roll these out thin, prick them well, lay them on lightly floured tins, and bake in a gentle oven until crisp; when cold put into dry canisters. Thin cream used instead of milk, in the paste, will enrich the biscuits. Caraway seeds or ginger can be added, to vary these at pleasure. 579. BLACK CAKE Beat separately the whites and yolks of three eggs. Mix half a pound of butter with one pound of flour, one tumbler of milk, one tumbler of molasses, one pound of sugar. Then put in the eggs and one and one-half teaspoonful of soda. Wine, currants, raisins and citron to your taste. 580. MAIZE CAKE Take six eggs, a paper of Oswego corn starch, one pound of loaf sugar, half pound of butter, half teacup of milk, half a teaspoon of soda, one teaspoon of cream of tartar, the grated rind of the lemon; dissolve the soda in half the milk, and add it the last thing. Bake in an oven as quick as you can make it without burning. It is a very delicate cake to bake well. Use flat pans, a little deeper than Spanish bun pans, and put paper over the top. 581. COMPOSITION CAKE Take three pounds of flour, half pound of butter, one and three- quarter pounds of sugar, three eggs--beat the eggs--add half a pint of yeast to them, half a pint of new milk, three spoonsful of rose- water, and a little cinnamon and cloves; put the butter in the flour and half the sugar, the other half mix with the eggs; make a hole in the flour, pour the ingredients into it; set it to lighten in the morning by the fire; after it is made out into rolls, you may put it into tins, and set it before the fire for an hour or two; when sufficiently risen, bake it in rather a slow oven. 582. GINGER BISCUITS AND CAKES Work into small crumbs three ounces of butter, two pounds of flour, add three ounces of powdered sugar and two of ginger, in fine powder; knead into a stiff paste, with new milk, roll thin, cut out with a cutter; bake in a slow oven until crisp through; keep of a pale colour. 583. TO SILVER IRON WITH SILVER FOIL This is the method now adopted all over Canada and the United States for silvering iron for carriages, cutters, &c. You may get the silver foil, (which is sometimes called silver plate,) of any thickness you please; and by so doing, have the iron plated either light or heavy. If you get small iron rods plated they will cost you from four to five cents per inch: you may do it yourself for one-quarter the price. Directions in full.--First polish the iron you are about to plate, then wet it with soldering fluid, (receipt No. 21,) then give it a coat of solder, (receipt No. 22;) this is done by laying a piece of solder on the iron, and spreading it over with a heated soldering iron; or it is sometimes done by having the solder melted, and then dipping the iron to be silvered into it. After the iron is coated by either of these methods, with solder, some workmen propose to then place it in the fire for a few moments, that the coating of solder may be thereby made smoother. The next thing to be done is to dampen with soldering fluid, then lay on your silver foil, and rub it over with a soldering iron heated to such a degree as to melt the solder, and thereby fasten the plate at once to the iron; or rather to the solder on the iron; or else as some workmen prefer, have your soldering iron only hot enough to slightly stick the foil to the solder, and then place the article in the fire until the solder melts, and thereby the foil becomes firmly united with the iron. Whichever of these methods you adopt, as soon as the silver is united to the iron, you must then at once proceed to polish it, which is done by taking a piece of coarse cloth, dipping it in whiting, previously dampened with alcohol, and rubbing it over the surface until it is well polished. If at any time, as sometimes will happen, the plate of silver becomes stained so that you cannot polish it, wet it with the fluid, put another plate of silver foil over it, and proceed to fasten it to the iron as you did with the first plate,then polish it with the whiting, &c. Some merely spit on the whiting instead of dampening it with the alcohol, but it is not so speedy a method. A friend of mine prefers heating the iron, then applying the soldering fluid, then the coat of solder, and then laying on the silver foil, and pressing on by means of a cloth, which he does by taking a piece of cloth about four inches wide and eight or ten inches long, catching one end in each hand and pressing and rubbing it from side to side, and round the article until the silver foil is firmly united, and then polishing as mentioned above. Some prefer plating the iron first with tin foil, then covering the tin with silver foil, and it is a good plan. A very good plan, if it is plane work (not carved) you are doing, is to take a piece of board one or two inches wide, and six or eight inches long, and lay it over the cloth you are polishing with, which gives you a greater purchase. I never knew this receipt to be sold for less than from $24 to $60. TO ALL WHO HAVE PURCHASED THIS WORK You are now in possession of about all the latest and most useful receipts that are in the country; many of which are now being sold, frequently, for from $5 to $10 and $20 each; and if you will now be wise, do that which will be to your own interest, allow no man to see this work, but keep the receipts profoundly secret, except as you sell them. You may dispose of enough of them, written off, every year you have the book, to amount to twenty times the price of it. 9101 ---- DOMESTIC COOKERY, USEFUL RECEIPTS, AND HINTS TO YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS. BY ELIZABETH E. LEA "The Source of Liberal Deeds is Wise Economy." ADVERTISEMENT TO THIRD EDITION. This Work having passed through two editions, and having met with a very favorable reception, the Authoress has been induced to thoroughly revise and re-arrange the whole work. Numerous additions have also been made, particularly under the heads Miscellaneous Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers, which she hopes will be found to have enhanced its value. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. The compiler of "Useful Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers" having entered early in life upon a train of duties, was frequently embarrassed by her ignorance of domestic affairs. For, whilst receipt books for elegant preparations were often seen, those connected with the ordinary, but far more useful part of household duties, were not easily procured; thus situated, she applied to persons of experience, and embodied the information collected in a book, to which, since years have matured her judgment, she has added much that is the result of her own experiments. Familiar, then, with the difficulties a young housekeeper encounters, when she finds herself in reality the mistress of an establishment, the Authoress offers to her young countrywomen this Work, with the belief that, by attention to its contents, many of the cares attendant on a country or city life, may be materially lessened; and hoping that the directions are such as to be understood by the most inexperienced, it is respectfully dedicated to those who feel an interest in domestic affairs. MEATS AND POULTRY. To Boil Fresh Meat. In boiling fresh meat, care is necessary to have the water boiling all the time it is in the pot; if the pot is not well scummed, the appearance of the meat will be spoiled. Mutton and beef are preferred, by some, a little rare; but pork and veal should always be well done. A round of beef that is stuffed, will take more than three hours to boil, and if not stuffed, two hours or more, according to the size; slow boiling is the best. A leg of mutton requires from two to three hours boiling, according to the size; a fore-quarter from an hour to an hour and a half; a quarter of lamb, unless, very large, will boil in an hour. Veal and pork will take rather longer to boil than mutton. All boiled fresh meat should have drawn butter poured over it, after it is dished, and be garnished with parsley. The liquor that fresh meat, or poultry, is boiled in, should be saved, as an addition of vegetables, herbs, and dumplings make a nourishing soup of it. A large turkey will take three hours to boil--a small one half that time; secure the legs to keep them from bursting out; turkeys should be blanched in warm milk and water; stuff them and rub their breasts with butter, flour a cloth and pin them in. A large chicken that is stuffed should boil an hour, and small ones half that time. The water should always boil before you put in your meat or poultry. When meat is frozen, soak it in cold water for several hours, and allow more time in the cooking. To Boil a Turkey. Have the turkey well cleaned and prepared for cooking, let it lay in salt and water a few minutes; fill it with bread and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, parsley and thyme; secure the legs and wings, pin it up in a towel, have the water boiling, and put it in, put a little salt in the water; when half done, put in a little milk. A small turkey will boil in an hour and a quarter, a middle sized in two hours, and a large one in two and a half or three hours; they should boil moderately all the time; if fowls boil too fast, they break to pieces--half an hour will cook the liver and gizzard, which should be put round the turkey; when it is dished, have drawn butter, with an egg chopped and put in it, and a little parsley; oyster sauce, and celery sauce are good, with boiled turkey or chicken. To Boil Beef Tongue, Corned Beef &c. If the tongue is dry, let it soak for several hours, put it to boil in cold water, and keep it boiling slowly for two hours; but if it is just out of the pickle, the water should boil when it goes in. Corned or pickled beef, or pork, require longer boiling than that which is dry; you can tell when it is done by the bones coming out easily. Pour drawn butter over it when dished. To Boil a Ham. A large ham should boil three or four hours very slowly; it should be put in cold water, and be kept covered during the whole process; a small ham will boil in two hours. All bacon requires much the same management,--and if you boil cabbage or greens with it, skim all the grease off the pot before you put them in. Ham or dried beef, if very salt, should be soaked several hours before cooking, and should be boiled in plenty of water. To Boil Calf's Head. Cut the upper from the lower jaw, take out the brains and eyes, and clean the head well; let it soak in salt and water an hour or two; then put it in a gallon of boiling water, take off the scum as it rises, and when it is done, take out the bones; dish it, and pour over a sauce, made of butter and flour, stirred into half a pint of the water it was boiled in; put in a chopped egg, a little salt, pepper, and fine parsley, when it is nearly done. You can have soup of the liquor, with dumplings, if you wish. To Boil Veal. Have a piece of the fore quarter nicely washed and rubbed with Hour; let it boil fast; a piece of five pounds will boil in an hour and a half; dish it up with drawn butter. Oyster sauce is an improvement to boiled veal. Roasting Meat. Roasting either meat or poultry requires more attention than boiling or stewing; it is very important to baste it frequently, and if the meat has been frozen, it should have time to thaw before cooking. Beef, veal, or mutton, that is roasted in a stove or oven requires more flour dredged on it than when cooked before the fire in a tin kitchen. There should be but little water in the dripping pan, as that steams the meat and prevents its browning; it is best to add more as the water evaporates, and where there is plenty of flour on the meat it incorporates with the gravy and it requires no thickening; add a little seasoning before you take up the gravy. Meat that has been hanging up some time should be roasted in preference to boiling, as the fire extracts any taste it may have acquired. To rub fresh meat with salt and pepper will prevent the flies from troubling it, and will make it keep longer. To Roast a Turkey--to make Gravy, &c. A very large turkey will take three hours to roast, and is best done before the fire in a tin oven. Wash the turkey very clean, and let it lay in salt and water twenty minutes, but not longer, or it changes the color; rub the inside with salt and pepper; have ready a stuffing of bread and butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, an onion, if agreeable, and an egg; if the bread is dry, moisten it with boiling water; mix all well together, and fill the turkey; if you have fresh sausage, put some in the craw; have a pint of water in the bottom of the dripping pan or oven, with some salt and a spoonful of lard, or butter; rub salt, pepper and butter over the breast; baste it often, and turn it so that each part will be next the fire. Gravy may be made from the drippings in the oven by boiling it in a skillet, with thickening and seasoning. Hash gravy should be made by boiling the giblets and neck in a quart of water, which chop fine, then season and thicken; have both the gravies on the table in separate tureens. Cranberry and damson sauce are suitable to eat with roast poultry. To Roast a Goose. Make a stuffing of bread, butter, salt, pepper, sage, thyme and onions; it requires but little butter, as geese are generally fat; wash it well in salt and water, wipe it, and rub the inside with salt and pepper. A common sized goose will roast in an hour, and a small one in less time; pour off nearly all the fat that drips from the goose, as it will make the gravy too rich. Make hash gravy of the giblets the same as for turkey. Ducks. Wild ducks are generally cooked without stuffing, and for those that like them rare, fifteen or twenty minutes will be long enough; for common ducks, a stuffing should be made the same as for a goose; they will roast in half an hour. Currant jelly and apple sauce should be eaten with ducks and geese. Chickens. A large fowl will roast in an hour, and a small one in half an hour; boil the livers and gizzards in a skillet with a pint of water; thicken and season for gravy. The breasts of the chickens should be rubbed with butter or lard to keep them from breaking. Tie the legs in, to keep them from bursting out. When butter is scarce, it is a good way to make rich short cake to stuff poultry with; it will require nothing added but pepper, parsley, &c. To Roast Beef. Season the beef with pepper and salt, and put it in the tin kitchen, well skewered to the spit, with a pint of water in the bottom: baste and turn it frequently, so that every part may have the fire. A very large piece of beef will take three hours to roast; when it is done, pour the gravy out into a skillet, let it boil, and thicken it with flour mixed with water; if it be too fat, skim off the top, which will be useful for other purposes. To Roast Veal and Lamb. Veal should be well seasoned, and rubbed with lard; when it begins to brown, baste it with salt and water; a large loin will take from two to three hours to roast, the thin part of the fore-quarter an hour; it should be well done; boil up and thicken the gravy. A leg of veal or mutton may be stuffed before baking. Lamb and mutton do not require to be rubbed with lard, as they are generally fatter than veal; make the gravy as for veal. A quarter of lamb will roast in an hour; a loin of mutton in two hours. To Roast a Pig--Hash Gravy, &c. Have a pig of a suitable size, clean it well, and rub the inside with pepper and salt. Make a stuffing of bread, butter, parsley, sage and thyme; if the bread is stale, pour a little boiling water on it; mix altogether; fill the pig, and sew it up with strong thread; put in the skewers and spit, and tie the feet with twine; have a pint and a half of water in the bottom of the tin kitchen, with a spoonful of lard and a little salt, with this baste it and turn it, so as each part will have the benefit of the fire. It should be basted until the skin begins to get stiff with the heat of the fire; then grease it all over with butter or lard, and continue to turn it before the fire, but baste no more, or the skin will blister. A pig will take from two to three hours to roast, according to the size; when it is done, pour the water out in a skillet; season it and thicken it with flour and water. To make hash gravy, put the liver and heart to boil in three pints of water; after they have boiled an hour, chop them very fine, put them back in the pot and stir in a thickening of flour and water, with salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Have the gravies in separate tureens on either side of the pig. Apple sauce and cold slaw are almost indispensable with pig. To Roast Pork. After washing the pork, cut the skin in squares or stripes; season it with salt and pepper, and baste it with salt and water; thicken, and boil up the gravy. To Bake a Stuffed Leg of Veal. Cut off the shank, and make holes round the hone for stuffing, which should be of bread and butter, the yelk of an egg, and seasoning; fill the holes with this, and spread it over the top, with little pieces of the fat of ham; dust salt and pepper over, put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan, and bake it brown; put a pint of water in the bottom, and if it should dry up, put in more; when it is done, dust in some flour for the gravy. If done carefully, meat is almost as good roasted in the stove as before the fire. If you let the gravy boil over in the stove, it makes an unpleasant smell through the house, and spoils the flavor of the meat. The ham of fresh pork is good, done in the same way. To Bake a Pig's Head. Have the head nicely cleaned, with the eyes taken out, and the ears cut off; season it with salt and pepper; rub crumbs of bread over, with a spoonful of lard; put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan, with a pint of water; bake it an hour; thicken and season the gravy. To Cook Pigeons. Pigeons should be roasted about fifteen minutes before a quick fire; as the meat is dry, they should have a rich stuffing, and be basted with butter. You may bake them in a dutch-oven or stew them in a pot, with water enough to cover them, and some crumbs of bread or flour dusted over them; let them cook slowly half an hour; mix together flour and water, with salt, pepper, and parsley to season, and a lump of butter; stir this in and let it boil up; put them in a deep dish and pour the gravy over. Pigeons make a very nice pie in the same way as chickens. To Bake a Ham. Make a dressing of bread, seasoned with pepper and herbs, moisten it with about five eggs, instead of water. Take a ham that has been cut at the table, either fresh or salt, fill up the place where it has been cut, and cover the top with the dressing, bake it half an hour, and garnish it with parsley before sending it to the table. To Bake Beef's Heart. After washing the heart, make a rich stuffing with bread and suet, highly seasoned; fill it with this, and put it in a dutch-oven, or the dripping pan of a stove, with half a pint of water; let it bake an hour and a half; the gravy will not need any thickening, as some of the stuffing will fall out. Put the gravy in the dish. Beef A la mode. Take part of a round of beef, bone it, and make holes for stuffing, which is made of bread, suet, thyme, parsley, chopped onions, mace, cloves, pepper, salt and a raw egg; stuff the meat, bind it with tape, and put it in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom to keep it from burning; just cover it with water, and let it stew from three to four hours according to the size. Make gravy with some of the water it was stewed in, seasoned with claret and butter, and thickened with flour. If you wish it to taste of any other sort of wine, add a glass to the gravy. Beef Steak. Choose the tenderest part of beef, cut it an inch thick, broil it gently over good coals, covered with a plate; have butter, salt, pepper, and a little water in a dish; and when you turn the beef, dip it in this; be careful to have as much of the juice as you can. When done, put it in a warm dish, and pour the basting over, with some more butter. Mutton Chops. Cut some pieces of mutton, either with or without bone, about an inch thick; have the gridiron hot, first rubbing it with a little suet; put on the chops, turning them frequently, and butter and season them with pepper and salt as you cook them; then dish them on a hot dish and add more butter. Rabbits and Squirrels. Rabbits and squirrels, or birds, may be fried as chickens, or stewed in a pot with a little water. If you make a pie of rabbits or squirrels, they should be stewed first to make them tender, and then made in the same way as chicken pie. Rabbits ace very good cooked with chopped onions, in a pot with a little water, and thickening of milk and flour stirred in when they are nearly done. Squirrels make very good soup. To Fry Ham. Slice the ham and if it is very salt, pour boiling water on it, and let it soak a while; then fry it with a small piece of lard; when done, dish it; mix together flour, milk, parsley and pepper, let it boil, and pour it over the ham. To Fry Beef with Kidney. Cut the kidney in small pieces; take out all the strings and let it soak several hours in salt and water; wash and drain it; season some pieces of beef and kidney, and put them in a frying pan, with hot lard or drippings of any kind; dust a little flour over; when it is fried on both sides, take it up in a dish; mix a spoonful of flour in some water with salt and pepper, and pour in; when it has boiled, pour it over the beef. To Fry Liver. Liver should be cut across the grain in slices about half an inch thick; pour boiling water over it, drain and season it with pepper and salt; flour each piece and drop it in a frying-pan of hot bacon drippings; do not fry it any longer than it is done, or it will he hard; take it up in a dish, make gravy as for beef, and pour over it. Veal Cutlets. Cut the veal in slices near an inch thick; wash, drain, and season it; beat up an egg, and have ready some pounded crackers or bread crumbs; dip the slices first in the egg, and then in the bread, and fry them in hot lard; mix a gravy of flour and water, with salt, pepper and parsley; when the veal is taken up, pour it in; let it boil a few minutes and pour it over the dish, and grate a little nutmeg over. To Fry Veal, Lamb or Pork. Cut up the meat in thin slices, and season it; dip it in flour and drop it in a pan of hot lard; when brown, take it up, and make gravy with flour, milk, parsley, pepper and salt, which stir in. To Stew Veal, Lamb or Pork. Cut the meat small, season it, and put it in a pot with water enough to cover it; let it cook for half an hour; then pour in thickening of flour and milk, with parsley and thyme, and a piece of butter, (if the meat is not fat;) take it up in a deep dish. Brains and Tongue. Pour boiling water on the brains, and skin them; tie them tight in a cloth, and boil them and the tongue with the head; when done put them on a plate, chop three leaves of green sage fine, and beat up with the brains, spread them round a small dish, and after skinning the tongue, place it in the middle. Veal Hash. Take the lights, heart, and some of the liver, boil them in a pint of water, when done, take them out and chop them fine, season it with salt, pepper and a little sweet marjoram, put it hack in the pot, and thicken it with butter and flour. Let it boil a few minutes, and dish it in a small tureen. Brain Cakes. When the head is cloven, take out the brains and clear them of strings, beat them up with the yelks of two eggs, some crumbs of bread, pepper, salt, fine parsley, a spoonful of cream, and a spoonful of flour; when they are well mixed, drop them with a spoon into a frying-pan with a little hot butter, and fry them of a light-brown color. Force Meat Balls. Take a pound of veal, half a pound of suet, two slices of ham, and some crumbs of bread, chop them very fine, and put in the yelks of two eggs, season it with parsley, thyme, mace, pepper and salt, roll it into small balls, and fry them brown. They are nice to garnish hashes, roast veal or cutlets, and to put in soup. To Fry Veal's Liver. Cut the liver and heart across the grain, wash it well, pour boiling water on, and let it stand a few minutes, then drain and season it with salt and pepper, flour it and drop it in hot lard; when it is brown on both sides, dish it, dust a little flour in the pan, and pour in some water, let it boil a minute, stirring in a seasoning of parsley, thyme, or sweet marjoram; pour the gravy over the liver. This is a good breakfast dish. To Fry Veal Sweet Breads. Dip them in the yelk of an egg beaten, then in a mixture of grated bread, or flour and salt and pepper, fry them a nice brown. To Stew Sweet Breads. Stew them in a little water, with butter, flour, and a little cream; season with salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. To Brown A Calf's Head With The Skin On. After scalding and washing the head clean, take out the eyes, cut off the ears, and let it boil half an hour, when cold, cleave the upper from the lower jaw, take out the tongue, strike off the nose, score the part which has the skin on, rub it over with beaten egg, sprinkle it over with salt, parsley, cayenne and black pepper, lay pieces of butter over it, and put it in a dutch-oven to brown, basting it often, cut down the lower part in slices, skin the tongue and palate, and cut them up, put them in a pot with a little water, when done, thicken it with brown flour and butter, season it with pepper, salt, some pickled oysters, wine or brandy (if you like it,) and let it stew fifteen minutes. Lay the baked head in a dish and put the hash around it, and lay force meat balls or brain cakes round the edge of the dish. Bacon Fraise. Cut streaked bacon in small thin slices, make a batter of a pint of milk, two eggs, and two large spoonsful of flour; some salt and pepper; put some lard or dripping in a frying-pan, and when it is hot pour in half of the batter, and strew the bacon over it; then pour on the remainder of the batter; let it fry gently, and be careful in turning, that the bacon does not come to the pan. Irish Stew. Take five thick mutton chops, or two pounds of the neck or loin, two pounds of potatoes, peel them and cut them in halves, six onions or half a pound of onions, peel and slice them also. First put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of your stew-pan, then a couple of chops and some onions, then again potatoes, and so on till the pan is quite full; season with pepper and salt, and three gills of broth or gravy, and two tea-spoonsful of mushroom catsup; cover it very close to prevent the escape of steam, and stew on a slow fire for an hour and a half; a slice of ham is an addition. Great care should be taken not to let it brown. To Brown Flour for Gravy, &c. Put some flour in a dutch-oven and set it over some hot coals; keep stirring it until it is of a light-brown color; in this way several pounds can be done at once, and kept in a jar covered; and is very convenient to thicken brown soups and gravies with. Drawn Butter. Put half a pint of water in a skillet; rub a quarter of a pound of butter in a large spoonful of flour; when the water boils, stir it in and let it boil a few minutes, season it with parsley, chopped fine. Stuffing or Dressing. Stuffing for poultry is made of bread and butter, an egg, salt, pepper, chopped parsley or thyme, mixed together; if the bread is dry, it should have a little boiling water poured on it. Egg Sauce. This is made as drawn butter, with one or two eggs boiled hard and chopped into it, and a little salt. Celery Sauce. Take a large bunch of celery, cut it fine, and boil it till soft, in a pint of water; thicken it with butter and flour, and season it with salt, pepper, and mace. Bacon Dumplings. Cut slices of cooked bacon, and pepper them; roll out crust as for apple dumplings; slice some potatoes very thin, and put them in the crust with the meat; close them up, and let them boil fast an hour; when done, take them out carefully with a ladle. Drop Dumplings. These are good for almost any kind of soup, and may be made of a quart of flour, two eggs, a spoonful of butter, some salt and pepper, wet with milk and water; drop them in while it is boiling, and let them boil ten or fifteen minutes. Vermicelli. Beat three fresh eggs very light, make them into a stiff paste, with flour and water; knead it well, and roll it very thin, cut it in narrow strips, give them a twist, and dry them quickly, on tin sheets or dishes, in the sun or a moderate oven; soak them a few minutes in cold water, and put them in chicken soup. They are very good and convenient. Hash made of Fowls. Take the bones and pieces that have been left of roast or boiled fowls, either turkeys or chickens, crack the bones, cut off the meat, and chop it fine, put it in a small iron pot, or stew pan, cover it with water, put in the gravy that may be left from the fowls, season with pepper and salt, put in some chopped celery, crumbs of bread, a lump of butter, and if it requires it, dust in a little flour, if you like it you may slice in an onion. Beef Steak Pudding. Take two pounds of beef from the round or sirloin, and after taking out the bone, season it according to fancy; some prefer a seasoning of pepper, salt, onions, thyme, marjoram or sage; others the pepper and salt alone. Then prepare a plain stiff crust, either with or without butter or lard; spread the crust over a deep dish or bowl, put in the beef, and if you like it, add some butter; cover it close with a crust which must be closely turned in to prevent the water from penetrating; tie it up tight in a cloth, put it in a pot of boiling water and let it boil quickly for an hour. The cloth should be dipped in hot water, and floured, as for other boiled puddings. Beef Steak Pie. Take some fine beef steaks, beat them well with a rolling pin, and season them with pepper and salt according to taste. Make a good crust; lay some in a deep dish or tin pan; lay in the beef, and fill the dish half full of water; put in a table-spoonful of butter and some chopped thyme and parsley, and cover the top with crust; bake it from one to two hours, according to the size of the pie, and eat it while hot. Baked Beef Pudding. Par-boil some tender pieces of beef, in water enough to barely cover it; grease a pan with lard, season the beef and lay it in; make a batter of eggs, milk and flour, with a little salt, and pour it over; bake it an hour in a stove or dutch-oven, and when done keep it hot till it is eaten. Save the water the beef was boiled in, add a little butter, flour, pepper, salt and chopped parsley, thyme or sweet marjoram, and boil it up; when you dish up the pudding pour this over, or put it in a gravy dish to be served hot at the table. Pork Stew Pie. Take small bones and pieces of pork that will not do for sausage; roll out some crust with but little shortening; lay in the meat and small pieces of crust alternately; sprinkle in flour and seasoning, cover it with water, and put on a crust. Spiced Beef in the Irish Style. To a round weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds, take a pint of salt, one ounce of saltpetre, two ounces of pepper, two ounces of cloves, one ounce of allspice, four ounces of brown sugar, all well pulverized, and mixed together; rub the round well with it, and lay it in a small tub or vessel by itself. Turn and rub it once a day for ten days. It will not injure if it remain a week longer in the spices, if it should not be convenient to bake it. When you wish to have it cooked, strew over the top of the round a small handful of suet. Be particular to bind it tight round with a cord, or narrow strip of muslin, which must be wrapped several times round to keep it in shape; put it in a dutch-oven, and add three pints of water when it is first put down; keep water boiling in the tea-kettle, and add a little as it seems necessary, observing not to add too much. It will require a slow heat, and take four hours to bake. This is a very fine standing dish, and will be good for three weeks after cooking. Keep the gravy that is left to pour over it to keep it moist. To Bake Fowls. Season and stuff them the same as for roasting; put them in a dutch-oven or stove, with a pint of water; when they are half done, put in the giblets; when these are done, chop them with a knife, and put in thickening and a lump of butter. If chickens are young, split them down the back, and put them in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom, and a pint of water; when they are done, stir in a spoonful of flour, mixed in half a pint of milk, a piece of butter, salt, pepper and parsley; let it boil up and dish them. To Fry Chickens. After cutting up the chickens, wash and drain them; season them with salt and pepper; rub each piece in flour, and drop them separately in a frying-pan or dutch-oven of hot lard; when brown, turn the other side to fry; make a thickening of rich milk, flour, a piece of butter, salt, and chopped parsley; take up the chicken on a dish; pour a little water in the pan to keep the gravy from being too thick; put in the thickening, stir it, and let it boil a few minutes; then pour it over the chicken. Chickens Fried in Batter. Make a batter of two eggs, a tea-cup of milk, a little salt, and thickened with flour; have the chickens cut up, washed and seasoned; dip the pieces in the batter separately, and fry them in hot lard; when brown on both sides, take them up on a dish, and make a gravy as for fried chickens. Lard fries much nicer than butter, which is apt to burn. Chickens in Paste. Make a crust as for pies, and roll it out in cakes, large enough to cover a chicken. The chickens should be very nicely picked and washed, and the inside wiped dry; put in each a small lump of butter, a little salt, pepper, and parsley; have the pot boiling, close the chickens in the dough, pin them up in separate cloths, and boil them three-quarters of an hour; dish them, and pour drawn butter over. Pigeons can be cooked in the same manner. To Fricassee Chickens. Cut up the chickens, and put them in a pot with just water enough to cover them; let it boil half an hour; have ready some thickening made of milk, flour, and butter, seasoned with parsley, thyme, pepper, and salt; let it boil a few minutes longer, and when it is dished, grate a little nutmeg over, if you like it. This is one of the easiest, cheapest and best ways of cooking chickens. Chicken Pie. Cut up the chickens, and if they are old, boil them fifteen minutes in a little water, which save to put in the pie; make a paste like common pie crust, and put it round your pan, or dish; lay in the chicken, dust flour over, and put in hotter, pepper, and salt; cover them with water, roll out the top crust quite thick, and close the pie round the edge; make an opening in the middle with a knife; let it bake rather more than an hour. If you warm a pie over for the next day, pour off the gravy and warm it separately, and add it to the pie. Pot Pie. Cut up two large chickens; grease your pot, or dutch-oven, with lard; roll out crust enough in two parts, to go round it, but not to cover the bottom, or it will burn before the pie is done. As you put in the pieces of chicken, strew in flour, salt, and pepper, some, pieces of the crust rolled thin, and a few potatoes; cover this with water, and put on a covering of paste, with a slit cut in the middle; let it cook slowly for about two hours; have hot water in a tea kettle, and if it should dry up too much, pour some in; just before you dish it, add a little parsley and thyme. Veal, lamb and pork pies, may be made in the same way. If you like more top crust, cook it in a dutch-oven, and when the first crust is done, take it off in a pan and set it near the fire, and cover the pie again with dough. Giblet Pie and Soup. If you can get livers and gizzards from market, you can have a very nice pie made, the same as chicken pie, or soup with dumplings made of milk, egg and flour, beaten together, and dropped in when the soup is nearly done, and season it with parsley, pepper, and salt. Chicken Stewed with New Corn. Cut up the chickens as for pies; season them well; have green corn cut off the cob; put a layer of chicken in the bottom of a stew pan, and a layer of corn, and so till you fill all in; sprinkle in salt, pepper and parsley, and put a piece of butter in; cover it with water, and put on a crust, with slits cut in it; let it boil an hour; when done, lay the crust in a deep dish; dip out the chicken and corn, and put it on the crust; stir in the gravy a thickening of milk and flour; when this boils up, pour it in with the corn and chicken. Chicken and corn boiled together in a pot, make very nice soup, with dumplings. To Broil Chickens. Split the chickens down the back; season them, and put them on the gridiron over clear coals; cover them over with a plate, (which will make them cook faster,) baste with melted butter: be careful not to let them burn. Make gravy of the giblets, boiled in water and chopped fine; put in butter, thicken and season it; pour this in a dish, and put the chickens on the top. Chicken Pudding. Make a batter of six eggs, milk, flour and a little salt; par-boil the chickens; have each joint cut, grease a pan with lard, and lay the pieces in; put in some lumps of butter, and season it well with pepper and salt; then pour the batter over, and bake it an hour, in a stove or dutch-oven. Veal or beef makes a very nice pudding, done in the same way; but the batter need not be as rich as for chicken, and it requires no butter. Or it makes a good dish, if you cut slices of ham, after it will not do to appear on the table; make a batter, as for other pudding; put in a little butter and pepper, and bake it in a pan. Cold Chicken With Vinegar. Cut up the chicken in small pieces, and crack the bones; season it with salt and pepper, and put it in a deep baking plate, with a lump of butter and a table-spoonful of vinegar; cover it with hot water, put a plate over, and let it stew on a stove or hot embers. Chicken Salad. Cut up the white parts of a cold chicken, season it with oil, or drawn butter, mustard, pepper, salt, and celery, chopped very fine, and a little vinegar. Turkey salad is made in the same manner as above. Stewed Chickens With Rice. The rice must first be soaked in water, and very nicely washed, or it will not be white; two tea-cupsful of rice are sufficient to serve with one chicken, and must be boiled in a quart of water, which should be boiling when you put the rice in; add a dessert-spoonful of salt; generally half an hour is long enough to boil rice, and it must not be too long in the water after it is done, or it is less wholesome. Drain the water off, if the rice has not absorbed it, and place it in the bottom of the dish; the chicken must be in preparation at the same time with the rice, and should be cut up at the joints, as for fried or fricasseed chicken, and salted and seasoned; boil it in a little more water than sufficient to cover it; and when it is done, take it out, and lay it over the rice on the dish; then rub a small piece of butter with sufficient flour to thicken it, and stir both together in the liquor, which must remain over the fire for about two minutes; and just before it is taken up, add the yelk of an egg well beaten, and some chopped parsley; it must then be immediately poured over the chicken. In preparing this dish, take care that it does not get smoked. SOUPS. In making soup, allow yourself plenty of time. Dumplings should be put in about half an hour before the soup is done, and herbs a quarter of an hour--vegetables, about an hour,--rice, twenty minutes. If herbs are put in too soon, the flavor will fly off and be lost. Chicken Soup. Cut up the chicken; cut each joint, and let it boil an hour; make dumplings of a pint of milk, an egg, a little salt and flour, stirred in till quite stiff; drop this in, a spoonful at a time, while it is boiling; stir in a little thickening, with enough pepper, salt and parsley, to season the whole; let it boil a few minutes longer, and take it up in a tureen. Chopped celery is a great improvement to chicken soup; and new corn, cut off the cob, and put in when it is half done, gives it a very nice flavor. Brown Calf's Head Soup. Scald and clean the head, and put it to boil with two gallons of water, a shank of veal, three onions, two carrots, a little bacon, and a bunch of sweet herbs. When they have boiled half an hour, take out the head and shank of veal, and cut all the meat off the bones into pieces of two inches square; let the soup boil half an hour longer, when strain it, and put in the meat; season it with salt, cayenne and black pepper, and cloves, if you like; thicken it with butter and browned flour, and let it boil nearly an hour; put some fried force meat balls in the tureen, and just before you pour out the soup, stir into it a table-spoonful of sugar, browned in a frying pan, and half a pint of wine. This resembles turtle soup. Beef Shin Soup, Mutton Soup, &c. Crack the shin in several pieces, and wash it through three waters; put it in a pot of water four hours before dinner; when it begins to boil, take off the scum as it risen, and keep it covered; an hour before it is done, skim off all the fat, and put in potatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, and cut cabbage, if you like it; either beat up dumplings with eggs and milk, or roll them out of dough made as pie crust; a few minutes before it is done, stir in thickening with parsley, thyme, pepper and salt, and tomatoes, if they are in season; then dish it for dinner. A shin will make a good dinner for a large family, and will do to warm up, if any is left. To eat pickles with it, or pour a little vinegar in your plate, is an improvement. Soup made of mutton, veal and lamb, does not require many vegetables; carrots and potatoes are the most suitable. A shank of veal or mutton will make a small pot of very good soup. Celery, cut fine, is very nice seasoning. Gumbo Soup. Take two pounds fresh beef; put this in a dinner-pot, with two gallons of water; after boiling two hours, throw in a quarter of a peck of ocra, cut into small slices, and about a quart of ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut up; slice four or five large onions; fry them brown, and dust in while they are frying from your dredge box, several spoonsful of flour; add these, with pepper, salt and parsley, or other herbs, to your taste, about an hour before the soup is finished; it will require six hours moderate boiling. Another Way. Cut up a large fat chicken; boil it in two gallons of water, adding at the time you put in the chicken the same quantity of ocra, two large onions cut fine; season with pepper, salt, thyme and parsley; and when nearly done, drop in dumplings made of one egg, half a pint of rich milk, and flour sufficient to make them so that they will drop from a spoon. This soup requires from four to five hours moderate boiling. Just before serving, take up the chicken, and after taking out all the bones, return the chicken into the soup, and dish it up. Pea Soup. Leave a pint of peas in the pot, with the water they were boiled in; make a thickening of flour, milk and butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley and thyme; toast two or three slices of bread; cut it up in the tureen; and when the soup has boiled about ten minutes, pour it over. Children are mostly fond of pea soup, and it seldom disagrees with them. A few slices of fat ham will supply the place of butter. Soup of Dried White Beans, &c. Dried beans or peas should be soaked before boiling; they make very good soup with a small piece of bacon or salt pork boiled with them; put them to boil in plenty of water, and after they have boiled an hour, pour it off, and put in cold water--and the meat or bones, and let them boil an hour longer; stir in a little thickening, with pepper, salt, parsley and thyme; mix up some dumplings, and drop in half an hour before the soup is done. Where you have a large family, you should always be provided with dried beans for winter use. A Vegetable Soup. Take an onion, a turnip, two pared potatoes, a carrot, a head of celery; boil them in three pints of water till the vegetables are cooked; add a little salt; have a slice of bread toasted and buttered, put it into a bowl, and pour the soup over it. Tomatoes when in season form an agreeable addition. FISH, OYSTERS, &c. To Bake a Rock Fish. Rub the fish with salt, black pepper, and a dust of cayenne, inside and out; prepare a stuffing of bread and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, parsley and thyme; mix an egg in it, fill the fish with this, and sew it up or tie a string round it; put it in a deep pan, or oval oven and bake it as you would a fowl. To a large fish add half a pint of water; you can add more for the gravy if necessary; dust flour over and baste it with butter. Any other fresh fish can be baked in the same way. A large one will bake slowly in an hour and a half, small ones in half an hour. To Stew a Rock Fish. Rub the fish with salt and pepper, and a little cayenne on the inside; put it in an oval stew-pan. To a fish that weighs six pounds, put a pint of water; when it is about half done; season it well with salt and pepper, and a little mace or cloves; rub a quarter of a pound of butter in a half a tea-cup of flour, with a little parsley and thyme; stir this in with a pint of oysters. Serve it with the gravy in the dish. A large fish should be allowed an hour, small ones half an hour. To Broil Shad. Soak a salt shad a day or night previous to cooking, it is best to drain an hour before you put it to the fire; if it hangs long exposed to the air, it loses its flavor: grease the gridiron to keep it from sticking; have good coals, and put the inside down first. Fresh shad is better to be sprinkled with salt, an hour before it is put to broil; put a plate over the top to keep the heat in. In broiling shad or other fresh fish you should dust them with corn meal before you put them down. To Bake a Fresh Shad. Make a stuffing of bread, butter, salt, pepper and parsley; fill a large shad with this, and bake it in a stove or oven. To Fry Fresh Fish. Have the fish well scalded, washed and drained; cut slits in the sides of each; season them with salt and pepper, and roll them in corn flour; have in your frying-pan hot lard or bacon drippings; if the fish have been kept several days, dip them in egg before rolling them in corn flour, to keep them from breaking; fry them light brown on both sides. To Fry Clams. After opening them as oysters, wash them in their own liquor and drain then; make a batter of an egg, flour and pepper; dip them in this, and fry them in butter. To Stew Clams. Strain the liquor and stew them in it for about twenty minutes; make a thickening of flour, water and pepper; stir this in and let it boil up; have some bread toasted and buttered in a deep dish, and pour the clams over. Clam soup may be made by putting an equal quantity of water with the liquor, and putting in toasted bread, crackers or dumplings. To Pot Fresh Herring. Scale and wash them well; cut off the heads and fins, and season them with salt, pepper and cloves; pack them neatly in a large jar, and pour on enough cold vinegar to cover them; put a plate over the top of the jar, and set it in a moderately warm oven, or on the top of a stove, in a pan of hot water, for five or six hours; they will keep in a cool place several weeks, and are an excellent relish. The jar or pan should be of stone ware, or fire-proof yellow ware. To Boil Salt Cod. Put your fish to soak over night; change the water in the morning, and let it stay till you put it on, which should be two hours before dinner; keep it at scalding heat all the time, but do not let it boil, or it will get hard; eat it with egg sauce or drawn butter. If you have any cod fish left from dinner, mix it with mashed potatoes, and enough flour to stick them together; season with pepper; make it into little cakes, and fry them in ham drippings. To Boil Salt Shad, Mackerel Or Herring. Wash the fish from the pickle; put it in a frying-pan; cover it with water, and let it boil fifteen minutes; take it up and drain it between two plates; put a little butter over and send it hot to the table: or, after boiling, you can flour, and fry it in drippings of any kind. To Boil Salt Salmon. Let salmon soak over night, and boil it slowly for two hours; eat it with drawn butter. To pickle salmon after it has been boiled, heat vinegar scalding hot, with whole peppers and cloves; cut the fish in small square pieces; put it in a jar, and pour the vinegar over. Shad may be done in the same way. To Boil Fresh Fish. After being well cleaned, rub the fish with salt, and pin it in a towel; put it in a pot of boiling water, and keep it boiling fast;--a large fish will take from half to three-quarters of an hour--a small one, from fifteen to twenty minutes. A fat shad is very nice boiled, although rock and bass are preferred generally; when done, take it up on a fish dish, and cover it with egg sauce or drawn butter and parsley. Pickled mushrooms and walnuts, and mushroom catsup, are good with boiled fish. To Stew Terrapins. Wash four terrapins in warm water; then throw them in a pot of boiling water, which will kill them instantly; let them boil till the shells crack; then take them out, and take off the bottom shell; cut each quarter separate; take the gall from the liver; take out the eggs; put the pieces in a stew-pan, pour in all the liquor, and cover them with water; put in salt, cayenne, and black pepper, and a little mace; put in a lump of butter the size of an egg, and let them stew for half an hour; make a thickening of flour and water, which stir in a few minutes before you take it up, with two glasses of wine; serve it in a deep covered dish; put in the eggs just as you dish it. Oyster Soup. Strain the liquor from the oysters, and put it on to boil, with an equal quantity of water; take off the scum as it rises; put in pepper, salt, parsley, thyme and butter; stir in a thickening of flour and water; throw in the oysters, and let them scald. If you have cream, put in half a pint just before you take them up. Another Way. Strain the liquor from a gallon of oysters, and add to it an equal quantity of water; put it on the fire, and boil and skim it before you add the seasoning; then put in six large blades of mace, a little cayenne, and black or white pepper; (the latter, on account of the color, is preferable, as it is desirable to have the soup as white as possible;) afterwards, permit all to boil together about five minutes; then pour in the oysters and a quarter of a pound of butter, into which a dessert-spoonful of wheat flour has been rubbed fine; keep this at boiling heat until the oysters begin to look plump--when it is ready for the table, and must be served up very hot. If you can procure a pint of good cream, half the amount of butter will answer,--if you believe the cream to be rather old, even if it seems to be sweet, add before it goes into the soup, half a small tea-spoonful of soda, well mixed with it; after you put in the cream, permit it to remain on the fire long enough to arrive at boiling heat again, when it must be taken up, or it may curdle; throw into the tureen a little finely cut parsley. Scolloped Oysters. Toast several slices of bread quite brown, and butter them on both sides; take a baking dish, and put the toast around the sides, instead of a crust. Pour your oysters into the dish, and season, to your taste, with butter, pepper and salt, adding mace or cloves. Crumb bread on the top of the oysters, and bake it with a quick heat about fifteen minutes. To Fry Oysters. Pick out the largest oysters and drain them; sprinkle them with pepper and salt; beat up an egg, and dip them first in it, and then in pounded crackers, and fry them in butter. It is a plainer way to dip them in corn meal. Oyster Fritters. Make a thick batter with two eggs, some crumbs of bread and flour, and a little milk; season this well with pepper and salt; have in a frying-pan equal parts of lard and butter; drop in a spoonful of the batter and put into it one large oyster, or two small ones, let them brown slowly, so as not to burn; turn them carefully. This is a good way to have oysters at breakfast. To Stew Oysters. Open them and throw them in a stew-pan, with a lump of butter; make a thickening of flour and water, salt and pepper, and stir it in just as the oysters boil; when they are done, take them up in a deep covered dish, with buttered toast in the bottom. A Rich Oyster Pie. Strain off the liquor from the oysters, and put it on to boil, with some butter, mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt; just as it boils, stir in a thickening of milk and flour; put in the oysters, and stir them till they are sufficiently stewed; then take them off, and put in the yelks of two eggs, well beaten; do not put this in while it is boiling, or it will curdle. Line a dish, not very deep, with puff paste; fill it with white paper, or a clean napkin, to keep the top paste from falling in; put on a lid of paste, and bake it. When done, take off the lid carefully; take out the paper or napkin, and pour in the oysters. Send it hot to table. A Baltimore Oyster Pie. Make a crust after the directions given for puff paste; grease the bottom of a deep dish, cover it with paste; then season two quarts of raw oysters, (without the liquor,) with spices to your taste, (some preferring nutmeg, mace, cayenne pepper,--others, black pepper alone,) add butter and a heaped tea-cup of grated bread; put all together in the dish; then cover it with your paste, cut in strips, and crossed, or ornamented as your fancy dictates; a pound of butter to two quarts of oysters makes a rich pie; if the oysters are fine, less butter will answer. A pie of this size will bake in three-quarters of an hour, if the oven is in good order; if the heat is not quick allow it an hour. If in baking, the crust is likely to become too brown, put a piece of paper doubled over it, and the light color will be retained; when taken from the oven, if it should look dry, pour some of the liquor that was drained from the oysters in the dish, having previously strained and boiled it. As paste always looks more beautiful when just from the oven, arrange your dinner so that the pie may be placed on the table immediately it is done. Plain Oyster Pie. Take from the shell as many oysters as you want to put in the pie; strain the liquor, put it with them over the fire and give them one boil; take off the scum, put in, if you wish to make a small pie, a quarter of a pound of butter, as much flour mixed in water as will thicken it when boiled, and mace, pepper, and salt to your taste; lay a paste in a deep dish, put in the oysters and cover them with paste; cut a hole in the middle, ornament it any way you please, and bake it. A shallow pie will bake in three-quarters of an hour. Oyster Sauce. Plump the oysters for a few minutes over the fire; take them out and stir into the liquor some flour and butter mixed together, with a little mace and whole pepper, and salt to your taste; when it has boiled long enough, throw in the oysters, and add a glass of white wine, just as you take it up. This is a suitable sauce for boiled fowls. To Pickle 100 Oysters. Drain off the liquor from the oysters, wash them and put to them a table-spoonful of salt, and a tea-cup of vinegar; let them simmer over the fire about ten minutes, taking off the scum as it rises; then take out the oysters, and put to their own liquor a table-spoonful of whole black pepper, and a tea-spoonful of mace and cloves; let it boil five minutes, skim, and pour it over the oysters in a jar. Oysters Pickled another way. Wash and drain the oysters, and put them in salt and water, that will bear an egg; let them scald till plump, and put them in a glass jar, with some cloves and whole peppers, and when cold cover them with vinegar. To Brown Oysters in their own Juice. Take a quart of large oysters, wash them in their own juice, drain and dip them in the yelk of eggs; heat butter in a frying-pan, and after seasoning them with pepper and salt, put them in separately; when they are brown on both sides, draw them to one side of the pan; strain the liquor, and put it in with a piece of butter and flour enough to thicken it. A Dish of Poached Eggs. Have ready a kettle of boiling water, pour it in a pan or speeder, which is set on coals; have the eggs at hand; put a little salt in the water, and break them in, one at a time, till you get all in; let them remain till the white is set, and take them out with an egg-spoon, and put on a dish that has buttered toast on it. Fried Eggs. Slice and fry any kind of bacon, dish it; have the eggs ready in a dish, and pour them into the gravy; when done, take them up and lay them on the meat. Fried Eggs another way. Have your lard or butter boiling hot; break in one egg at a time; throw the hot fat over them with an egg slice, until white on the top; slip the slice under and take them out whole, and lay them on the dish or meat without breaking; season with salt. Omelet. Beat six or eight eggs, with some chopped parsley and a little salt; have the pan or speeder nicely washed; put in a quarter of a pound of butter, when it is hot, pour in the eggs; stir it with a spoon till it begins to form; when it is of a light-brown on the under side it is done; turn it out on a plate, and send to table immediately. Grated bread, soaked in cream, put in the omelet, some think an improvement. The dripping of a nice ham, some persons use for omelet instead of butter. To Boil Eggs. Have the water boiling, and look at your watch as you put them in; two minutes and a half will cook them to please most persons; if you want them very soft, two minutes will be sufficient, or if less soft three minutes. If you wish them hard, as for lettuce, let them boil ten minutes. Spoons that have been used in eating eggs should be put in water immediately, as the egg tarnishes them. VEGETABLES. To Boil Green Corn. Pick out ears near the same size, and have the water boiling when you put them in; half an hour is long enough for young corn; that which is old and hard will take an hour or more; if young corn is boiled too long, it becomes hard and indigestible. To Fricassee Corn. Cut green corn off the cob; put it in a pot, and just cover it with water; let it boil half an hour; mix a spoonful of flour with half a pint of rich milk, pepper, salt, parsley, thyme and a piece of butter; let it boil a few minutes, and take it up in a deep dish. Corn will do to cook in this way when too old to boil on the cob. To Keep Corn for Winter. When boiled, cut the corn off the cob, and spread it on dishes; set these in the oven to dry after the bread comes out. If you have no oven, it can be dried in a stove of moderate heat, or round a fire. When perfectly dry, tie it up in muslin bags, and hang them in a dry place; when you use it, boil it till soft in water; mix flour, milk, butter, pepper and salt together, and stir in. Corn Fritters. Cut the corn through the grain, and with a knife scrape the pulp from the cob, or grate it with a coarse grater, and to about a quart of the pulp, add two eggs beaten, two table-spoonsful of flour, a little salt and pepper, and a small portion of thin cream, or new milk; beat the whole together; have the butter or lard hot in the pan, and put a large spoonful in at a time, and fry brown, turning each fritter separately; this makes an agreeable relish for breakfast, or a good side dish at dinner. Hominy. Large hominy, after it is washed; must be put to soak over night; if you wish to have it for dinner, put it to boil early in the morning, or it will not be done in time; eat it as a vegetable. Small hominy will boil in an hour; it is very good at breakfast or supper to eat with milk or butter, or to fry for dinner. Both large and small hominy will keep good in a cool place several days. Be careful that the vessel it is cooked in, is perfectly clean, or it will darken the hominy. To Fry Hominy. Put a little lard in your frying-pan, and make it hot; mash and salt the hominy; put it in, and cover it over with a plate; let it cook slowly for half an hour, or longer if you like it very brown; when done, turn it out in a plate. If you do not like it fried, mash it well, with a little water, salt, and butter, and warm it in a frying-pan. To Boil Potatoes. When the potatoes are old, pare them, put them in plenty of boiling water, and boil them till you can run a fork through easily; if you wish to have them whole, pour off all the water, throw in some salt, and let them stand a few minutes over coals, to let the steam go off; they will then be white and mealy. It is a mistaken notion, to boil potatoes in but little water, as they are sure to turn dark and taste strong. In cold weather they may be kept pared several days in a pan of water, by changing the water every day, and will be whiter. If you like mashed potatoes, take them up when barely done, sprinkle them with salt and mash them; put in a spoonful of cream and a small lump of butter; keep them hot till they are taken to table. In the summer when potatoes are young, put them in a small tub, with a little water, and rub them with a piece of brick, to break the skin; you can then peel enough for dinner with a knife in a few minutes. When they are older, boil them with the skins on, and squeeze them separately in a cloth, to make them mealy. New potatoes are nice with cream and butter over them. In boiling old potatoes, some persons cut them round without paring, which allows the moisture to escape; this is an improvement: you can then either peel them or send them to table without peeling. To Stew Potatoes. Chop or slice cold potatoes; season with pepper and salt; stew them, with a little butter and milk, and a dust of flour; when nearly done, stir in a yelk of egg with some chopped parsley--they will cook in a few minutes, and may be sliced over night if you wish an early breakfast. Sweet Potatoes. To boil sweet potatoes, put them in a pot with plenty of water; let them boil fast till you can run a fork through the largest; then pour off the water, and leave them in the pot a quarter of an hour; you can then peel the skin off or leave it on. Some prefer them baked in a dutch-oven; they should have a quick heat; large potatoes will take an hour to bake. It has been found a good way to boil them, till nearly done; then peel and bake them--they are drier and nicer. To Fry Potatoes. Cold potatoes are very good fried for breakfast with scraps of bacon; if they have been mashed, make them out in cakes with a little flour, and fry them brown, or slice them. Tomatoes. If you wish to bake tomatoes in the oven with bread, pour boiling water on, and skin them; cut them in small pieces; season with salt and pepper, and put them in a pan with crumbs of bread and butter; cover the pan with a plate, and bake three-quarters of an hour; when done, mash them and take them out on a dish. To Fry Tomatoes. Slice them, season with pepper and salt, and fry in hot butter; if they are green, dip them in flour after being seasoned. Tomato Omelet. Pour boiling water on the tomatoes, skin and cut them fine; to one quart of this, put two chopped onions and a lump of butter the size of an egg; let them boil half an hour, then mash them; put in grated bread, pepper, salt, and the yelks of two eggs. To Stew Tomatoes. Wash and pour boiling water over them; peel off the skins, and cut them up; season them with pepper and salt; put in a lump of butter, and boil them in their own juice for half an hour; stir in enough crumbs of bread to thicken them; let them cook slowly ten minutes longer; be careful that the bread does not burn. To Bake Tomatoes. Take out the inside of large tomatoes, make a stuffing of bread, butter, pepper, salt and an egg; fill them with this, and set them in a deep pie-plate; let them bake slowly half an hour. Tomato Jelly, to eat with Roast Meat. Wash the tomatoes, and put them in a bell-metal kettle, with a little water; let them boil thirty minutes; take them out and strain them through a sieve, till you get all the pulp; let it settle and pour off the top; put the thick part in deep plates, and set them in the oven after the bread is drawn; season it with pepper and salt to your taste, and put it away in a jar. It can either be eaten cold, or warmed up with crumbs of bread and butter. Some persons slice tomatoes, and dry them on dishes in an oven. To Fricassee Tomatoes. Wash and cut them in two, if large; if small, leave them whole, but do not peel them or they go too much to pieces; have a broad speeder or stove-pan; put in a half spoonful of butter; season the tomatoes with pepper and salt, and flour them; cover them with a plate; they will cook in ten minutes, stirring them once; pour in half a tea-cup of cream just as they are done; let them boil up and dish them while hot: this dish is much liked either for breakfast, dinner or tea. To Broil Tomatoes for Breakfast. Take large round tomatoes, wash and wipe them, and put them on the gridiron over lively coals--the stem side down; when this is brown, turn them and let them cook till quite hot through; place them on a hot dish and send them quickly to table, where each one may season for himself with pepper, salt and butter. To Bake Tomatoes for Breakfast. Season them with pepper and salt; flour and bake them in a stove, in a deep plate with a little butter over them. Tomatoes sliced with Onions. Pick the best tomatoes; let them stand a little while in cold water, then peel and slice them. To about six tomatoes, you may add two red onions, also sliced; season with pepper, plenty of salt, and a small portion of vinegar. To put up Tomatoes for Winter. Gather a quantity of tomatoes, wash, scald, skin and cut them up; season them highly with pepper and salt, and put them in a large stone jar; set this in the oven with your bread, and leave it till it is cold; stir them, and set them in the oven every time you bake for several weeks; when the juice is nearly dried up, put a piece of white paper over the jar, melt some lard and pour on it. When you use them, stew them with bread, butter and water. Baked Egg Plant. Boil them ten minutes; then cut them in half and take out the seeds, fill them with a stuffing of crumbs of bread, seasoned with butter, pepper, salt, the yelk of an egg, and if you choose, the juice of a tomato; close them and tie each one with a string; put a little water in the dutch-oven, and lay them in with some of the stuffing on the top; let them cook slowly half an hour, basting them with butter; take them out, thicken the gravy, and pour it over them on the dish. To Fry Egg Plant. Cut them in slices half an inch thick; sprinkle them with salt, and let them stand a few minutes to extract the bitter taste; wash them in cold water, and wipe them dry; season with salt and pepper; dip them in flour, and fry them in butter. Another way of cooking them is to cut them in thin slices, and bake them on a bake-iron that is hot enough to bake cakes. Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scrape the roots, and boil them till soft; mash them, and put in butter, pepper, salt, and egg and flour enough to stick them together; make this in cakes as large as an oyster, and fry them in butter; or after boiling, you can cut them in slices and stew them in water; then butter and season, and thicken with a little flour and cream. To Stew or Fry Mushrooms. Be careful in gathering mushrooms that you have the right kind; they are pink underneath, and white on the top, and the skin will peel off easily, but it sticks to the poisonous ones. After you have peeled them, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and put them in a stew pan, with a little water, and a lump of butter; let them boil fast ten minutes, and stir in a thickening of flour and cream. They may be fried in butter, or broiled on a gridiron. They are sometimes very abundant in the fall, on ground that has not been ploughed for several years; they appear after a warm rain; they may be peeled, salted, and allowed to stand some hours before cooking. Cucumbers, to Fry or Slice. To fry cucumbers, take off the rinds in long pieces, a quarter of an inch thick; season them with pepper and salt; dip them in flour, and fry them in butter. Many persons think cucumbers unwholesome, and they certainly are if kept for several days before they are eaten; but if sliced thin, with onions, pepper, salt and good vinegar, they may generally be eaten without danger. Lettuce. Persons that are fond of lettuce may have it nearly all the year, by sowing the different kinds, and keeping it covered through the winter; the most approved way of dressing it is to cut it fine, and season with oil, mustard, pepper, salt, vinegar, and a hard egg chopped. The essence of ham is also very good to season lettuce. Where there is a large family, it is a good and economical way to cut the fat of ham in small pieces, fry it, and make a gravy with flour, water and pepper, to eat with lettuce. To cook lettuce you must fry a little ham; put a spoonful of vinegar into the gravy; cut the lettuce, put it in the pan; give it a stir, and then dish it. Cold Slaw. Cut hard white cabbage across the leaves, and put it in a deep plate, scald two large spoonsful of vinegar with a piece of butter, some pepper and salt; pour this over the slaw; have an egg boiled hard; chop it fine, and spread it over the top. Some persons like it heated in a pan with vinegar and water, and the yelk of a raw egg mixed through it. Cauliflowers, &c. Have a pot with half milk, and the rest water; when this boils, put in the cauliflowers, and let them boil till tender; put in some salt just before you take them up; have ready drawn butter with parsley, to pour over them, or a sauce of cream and butter. Good heads of yellow Savoy cabbage, cooked in this way, resemble cauliflowers. Brocolli is a delightful vegetable, and may be cooked in the same manner. To Boil Cabbage. In summer, you should allow a large head of cabbage an hour to boil, but when it has been tendered by the frost, it will boil in half that time. Most persons prefer cabbage boiled with ham; the pot should be well skimmed before it goes in or the grease will penetrate the cabbage, and make it unwholesome; take it up before it boils to pieces. It is very good boiled with corned beef or pork, or with milk and water, with a little salt added. Some like it with a little salaeratus thrown in while boiling, as that tenders it and makes it of a more lively green. To Boil Greens and Poke. After skimming the pot that the bacon has been boiled in, put in cabbage sprouts, and let them boil till the stalks are tender; all greens are best boiled in a net. Spinach cooks in a few minutes; some persons prefer it when boiled in salt and water; you should have drawn butter or hard eggs to eat with it when done in this way. There are several kinds of wild greens to be found in the country in the spring, as wild mustard, poke and lambs-quarter, which are very good cooked as cabbage sprouts. Pour boiling water on poke, after tying it in bunches, as asparagus, let it stand a few minutes; pour off the water; boil it with a little salt in the water, and if you choose a little salaeratus; dress it with butter, and dish it as asparagus. String Beans. String beans, if boiled in salt and water, will require fully two hours; but if boiled in a net, in a pot with bacon, they will not take so long; if they are cooked in the same pot with cabbage, it will injure the flavor. It is a good way to boil a very small piece of pork or bacon, or a ham-bone in the pot with beans; when they are done, season them with cream, butter, salt and pepper. Lima Beans. Shell them, and wash them in cold water; let them boil about an hour; when done, dip them from the water, and season with salt, pepper, cream or butter; keep them hot till they are sent to table. Dried Lima beans should be soaked over night, and boiled two hours or longer, if they are not soft. Peas. Early peas require about half an hour to boil, and the later kinds rather longer; the water should boil when they are put in; when they are tough and yellow, they may be made tender and green, by putting in a little pearl-ash, or ashes tied up in a rag, just before they are taken up; this will tender all green but do not put too much--when done, dip them out: drain and season them with butter, pepper and salt; put a bunch of parsley in the middle of the dish. To Keep Green Beans for Winter. Boil salt and water to make a strong pickle; string the beans, and put them in a tight wooden firkin; sprinkle them with salt as they go in; when the pickle is cold, pour it on, and put on a weight to keep the beans under; they will keep in the cellar till the next spring. They should soak several hours in cold water before they are boiled. Asparagus. All persons that have a garden should have an asparagus-bed; it is valuable as being one of the first vegetables in the spring. Put the stalks of the same length, in bunches together, and tie them with strings; boil it three-quarters of an hour in clear water; (if you put salt in, it turns it dark;) have buttered toast in the bottom of a deep dish; untie the strings, and put the asparagus in; sprinkle it over with pepper and salt, and put butter on. Asparagus is also agreeable in chicken soup. Cymlings, or Squashes. In cultivating this vegetable, the small bunch cymling is the best, as it takes so little room in the garden, and comes soon to maturity; if they are so hard that a pin will not run in easily, they are unfit for use. Boil the cymlings till soft; cut them open, and take out the seeds; put them in a colander, and mash them; when the water is drained off, put them in a small pot, and stew them with cream and butter for ten minutes; just as you dish them, season with pepper and salt. If boiled with salt meat, they require but little seasoning. Pumpkins. Young pumpkins resemble cymlings, when cooked in the same way. When they are ripe, they should be pared and cut up, and boiled till soft in a good deal of water; take them up as soon as they are done, or they will soak up the water; mash them and season them with salt, pepper and butter. They are good to eat with roast or boiled beef. To Bake Pumpkins. The long striped pumpkin, with a thick long neck, called by some potato pumpkin, is the best for baking; cut it up in slices, leaving on the rind; put it in a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and let it bake an hour with a quick heat. Where sweet potatoes cannot be had, pumpkins make a very good substitute. If you put ripe pumpkins that have not been frosted; in a dry place, they will keep to make puddings till spring. To Dry Pumpkins. Pare them, and cut them in thin slices; have a strong thread, and string them on it with a needle; hang them out in the sun till dry, taking them in at night; tie them up in a muslin bag, and hang them in a dry place. Soak them before they are stewed, and they are nearly as good for puddings as when in season. Some dry them, as apples, by spreading on boards. Parsnips. Scrape and split them, and boil until quite soft, either in salt and water, or with meat; they are very good served up in this way, with plenty of butter. They may, when boiled, either be baked with a few slices of salt meat, and require no seasoning but pepper, or made into small round cakes, seasoned with butter, pepper and salt, and fried. Carrots. Carrots should be scraped, and boiled till soft, in plenty of water; when they are done, take them up, and slice them thin; season them with salt, pepper and butter. They are suitable to eat with boiled meat or fowls. Turnips. Pare and quarter the turnips, and put them in a pot of clear water, or with fresh meat; boil them half an hour; drain, and season them with butter, pepper and salt; mash them. Onions. After they are peeled, boil them in milk and water; if small, they will cook in half an hour; when they are done, pour off the water; put in cream, butter and salt, and let them stew a few minutes. Small onions are much better for cooking, as they are not so strong. Beets. Wash the beets; cut the tops off, and put them in boiling water; the early turnip beet is best for summer, and will boil in less than an hour; the long winter beet should be boiled two hours,--when they are done, drop them in cold water for a minute; peel and slice them; season with butter, pepper and salt; send them hot to table. To pickle beets, put them in a jar after they have been boiled; fill it up with weak vinegar; put in salt, cayenne and black pepper. To Boil Rice. Pick a pint of rice, wash it clean--put it in three pints of boiling water: it should boil fast, and by the time the water evaporates, the rice will be sufficiently cooked; set it where it will keep hot, until you are ready to dish it. To Keep Vegetables in Winter. Beets, parsnips, carrots and salsify should he dug up before the frost is severe; those wanted for use in the winter should be put in barrels, and covered with sand; what you do not want till spring should be buried in the garden, with sods on the top. Celery may be dug in November, and set in a large box covered with sand, in the cellar, with the roots down; it will keep till the frost is out of the ground. Or it may be left in the ground all winter, and dug as you want it for use. BREAD, &c. As bread is the most important article of food, great care is necessary in making it, and much judgment, as the weather changes so often. In warm weather, the rising should be mixed with water nearly cold; if there should be a spell of damp weather in the summer, have it slightly warm and set it to rise on a table in the kitchen. In winter it should be mixed with warm water, and left on the warm hearth all night. If the yeast is fresh, a small quantity will do; if several weeks old, it will take more. If you use dry yeast, let it soak fifteen minutes, and put in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus to prevent it from getting sour. Light Bread, Baking in a Stove, &c. For two loaves of bread, thicken a quart of water with flour, till it will just pour easily; put in a table-spoonful of salt and half a tea-cup of yeast; this should be done in the evening. If the weather is cold, set it where it will be warm all night; but, if warm, it will rise on a table in the kitchen. (If it should not be light in the morning, and the water settles on the top, stir in a little more yeast, and set it in a pan of hot water for a few minutes;) knead in flour till it is nearly as stiff as pie crust, and let it rise again. Have your baking pans greased, and when it is light, mould out the bread, and put it in them; set it by the fire, covered with a cloth, till it begins to crack on the top--when it is light enough to bake. To bake in a stove requires care to turn it frequently; if it browns too fast at first, leave the door open a little while; a thick loaf will bake in an hour, and a small one in less time. In trying the heat of a stove, drop a few drops of water on the top, if it boils gently it is in good order, and the heat should be kept at this point. To Bake a Dutch-oven Loaf. If you wish to make a large loaf, it will take three pints of water, more than half a tea-cup of yeast, and two spoonsful of salt; when the rising is light, knead it up, have the dutch-oven greased; put it in, and set it near the fire, but not so near that it will scald. When it rises so as to crack on the top, set the oven on coals; have the lid hot, cut the loaf slightly across the top, dividing it in four; stick it with a fork and put the lid on, when it is on a few minutes, see that it does not bake too fast, it should have but little heat at the bottom, and the coals on the top should be renewed frequently, turn the oven round occasionally. If baked slowly, it will take an hour and a half when done, wrap it in a large cloth till it gets cold. To Bake in a Brick Oven. If you have a large family, or board the laborers of a farm, it is necessary to have a brick oven, so as to bake but twice a week; and to persons that understand the management of them, it is much the easiest way. If you arrange every thing with judgment, half a dozen loaves of bread, as many pies or puddings, rusk, rolls or biscuit may be baked at the same time. Some persons knead up their bread over night in winter, to do this, the sponge should be made up at four o'clock in the afternoon. If you wish to put corn flour in your bread, scald one quart of it to six loaves, and work it in the flour that you are going to stir in the rising, to make six loaves of bread, you should have three quarts of water and a tea-cup of yeast. Scalded corn flour, or boiled mashed potatoes, assists bread to rise very much in cold weather. Have a quart of potatoes well boiled and rolled fine with a rolling-pin on your cake board; mix them well in the rising after it is light; if the oven is not ready, move the bread to a cool place. If the bread is sour before you mould it out, mix a heaped tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a little water, spread out the bread on the board, dust a little flour on it, and spread the salaeratus and water over, and work it well through. This quite takes away the sour taste, but if the bread is made of good lively yeast, it seldom requires it; let it rise in the pans about half an hour. Many persons that make their own bread, are in the constant practice of using salaeratus, putting in the rising for six loaves a heaped tea-spoonful, dissolved in a little warm water; in this there is no disadvantage, and it insures sweet bread, and will also answer in making rolls or light cakes. Common sized loaves will bake in an hour in the brick oven. If they slip easily in the pans, and, upon breaking a little piece from the side, it rises from the pressure of the finger, it is done; but if it should not rise, put it back again; when the bread is taken out of the oven, wrap it in a cloth till quite cold. You should have a large tin vessel with holes in the top, to keep bread in; in this way, it will be moist at the end of the week in cool weather. Coarse brown flour or middlings makes very sweet light bread, by putting in scalded corn meal, say, to two loaves, half a pint, and is also good to use for breakfast made as buckwheat cakes. Directions for Heating a Brick Oven, &c. It is very important to have good oven wood split fine, and the oven filled with it as soon as the baking is out; by this precaution it is always ready and dry. Early in the morning, take out half of the wood, and spread the remainder over the oven, in such a way as it will take fire easily; light a few sticks in the fire, and put them in; when it burns well, turn the wood about, and occasionally add more till it is all in; when it is burnt to coals, stir them about well with a long-handled shovel made for the purpose. When it looks bright on the top and sides, it is hot enough; let the coals lay all over the bottom till near the time of putting in the bread, when draw them to the mouth, as it is apt to get cool the quickest. If you have biscuit to bake, put some of the coals on one side near the front, as they require a quick heat, and should be put in immediately after the coals are taken out; they will bake in fifteen or twenty minutes. When all the coals are taken out, if the bottom of the oven sparkles, it is very hot, and should wait a few minutes; but if not, you may put in the bread first, and then the pies; if you have a plain rice pudding to bake, it should be put in the middle of the front, and have two or three shovels of coals put round it, if the oven is rather cool. Close the oven with a wooden stopper made to fit it; after they have been in a few minutes, see that they do not brown too fast; if so, keep the stopper down a little while. Pies made of green fruit will bake in three-quarters of an hour; but if the fruit has been stewed, half an hour will be long enough. Rusk, or rolls, take about half an hour to bake in a brick oven; if you should have to open the oven very often before the bread is done, put in a few shovels of coals and shut it up. When all is taken out, fill the oven with wood ready for the next baking. There is nothing in any department of cooking that gives more satisfaction to a young housekeeper than to have accomplished what is called a good baking. Graham Bread. Take six quarts of unbolted flour, one tea-cup of good yeast, and six spoonsful of molasses; mix them with a pint of milk, warm water, and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make a hole in the flour and stir this mixture in it, till it is like batter; then proceed as with fine flour. Mould it, when light, into four loaves Have your oven hotter than for other bread, and bake it fully one hour and a half. It is an excellent article of diet for dyspeptic and sedentary persons. Dyspepsy Bread. This is three-fourths unbolted flour, and the remaining fourth common flour, and is risen and made as other light bread, but should be baked rather more. Yeast. It is important to those that make their own bread, to make their own yeast, or they cannot judge of its strength. The best is the old-fashioned hop yeast, which will keep for six weeks in winter. Put a pint of hops in a pot, with a quart of water; cover it tightly, and let it boil slowly for half an hour; strain it while boiling hot on a pint of flour, and a heaped table-spoonful of salt; stir it well, and let it stand till nearly cool; when put in a tea-cupful of good yeast; if it is not sweet, put in a little salaeratus, just as you stir it in; keep it in a warm place till it rises, when put it in a stone jug, and cork it tightly. Keep it in a cool place in summer, but do not let it freeze in winter; shake it before you use any. When your yeast jug is empty, fill it with water, and let it soak; wash it well, and if it should smell sour, rinse it with salaeratus water. If you have a garden, raise your own hops by all means; pick them by the first of September, or they will lose their strength; dry them on sheets spread on the garret floor. If you buy hops, choose light green ones, with the yellow dust about them. Brown hops have generally stayed too long on the vines. Another Method. Put two handsful of hops into three pints of water; let it boil to one quart; when cold, strain it on to a pint of best flour, a table-spoonful of salt, half a pint of sugar-house molasses, and a tea-cup of good yeast: as it rises, skim off the top several times, when the yeast looks white bottle it up tight and it will keep for several weeks. Corn Flour Dry yeast. Put a large handful of good hops in a quart of water; cover it close, and let it boil nearly half away, when strain it over corn flour; it must all be wet, but not so soft as for bread; put in a large spoonful of salt, and mix it well; when about milk warm, put in two table-spoonsful of yeast, (observe that the yeast is lively,) rub it through with your hands; it must be so stiff as just to stick together; set it in a warm place to rise, which it should do in a few hours. When light, rub in more corn flour, and scatter it in dishes, very thin, (or put it on a cloth on a large waiter, spread thinly.) It should be dried quickly, or it may turn sour, either in the sun, (which is best,) or a warm stove room; stir it over frequently; when perfectly dry, cover it close, either in a jar or wooden box, and keep it in a dry closet. Select a sunny day, and begin early in the morning, as by this method you may have your yeast dry by night. Half a tea-cupful is enough for two loaves of wheat bread, (it should be soaked in water some minutes before using it,) and it is generally best to put in half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, as dry yeast is more apt to turn sour than the liquid yeast. Some good housekeepers use this yeast where hops are scarce, and it answers very well. It will keep good six weeks or two months. Potato Yeast. Boil four large potatoes with a tea-cupful of hops tied loosely in a bag; mash the potatoes in a pan, with a spoonful of salt, and four of flour; pour the hop-water on it, and mix all together; when nearly cold, put in two table-spoonsful of yeast; put it in a quart jar, and let it rise; it will do to use in five or six hours. This yeast is much weaker than the first receipt; but it has this advantage,--that with a pint of it you may knead up four loaves of bread at night without making rising. It is best to make this yeast once a week, always being careful to have the jar sweet before you put it in. Potato Yeast with Sugar. To about a quart of potatoes, boiled and made thin enough with warm water to pass through a sieve, add, when cold, a tea-cupful of sugar, a table-spoonful of salt, and a gill of common yeast. This is a quick yeast, but will not keep so long as those before mentioned. Dry Yeast. Put a pint of hops in half a gallon of water; cover it close and boil it down to one half; strain it over flour enough to make a thick batter; when nearly cold, put in a tea-cup of yeast, and three table-spoonsful of salt; when well risen, work in as much corn meal as will make it as stiff as biscuit dough; add a spoonful of sugar and one of ginger; when it rises again, make it out into little cakes, which must be dried in the shade, and turned twice a day. If made in dry weather, this yeast will keep for several months, and is useful when hops are scarce; it should be kept in a tight box, or a bag hung up in a dry place. Milk Yeast. If you have no yeast, you may make some with milk, to rise with. Take a pint of new milk and stir in it two tea-spoonsful of salt, and half a tea-cup of flour; keep it moderately warm by the fire, and it will lighten in about an hour; stir in flour enough to make a large loaf of bread, with more milk or water. This yeast should be used immediately, and will do to lighten hop yeast. To thicken half a gallon of water with a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little salt and flour, makes very good yeast when you cannot get hops. It will do to use in a day. Superior Boiled Milk Rolls. Boil a quart of new milk; pour it on a quart of flour, while boiling hot, and stir it well; when nearly cold, add two tea-spoonsful of salt, two table-spoonsful of lard, and half a tea-cup of good yeast; set it in a warm place to rise for about two hours; when light, work flour in it on the cake-board, and, when quite smooth, mould it out into rolls, and put them in a baking-pan, which has been rubbed with lard or butter; set them in a warm place to rise again;--if the weather is warm, on a table in the kitchen, but if cold, set them by the fire. When light, put them in a cool place till you are ready to bake; they should have a moderate heat, and will bake in half an hour. In winter they may be moulded out and placed in the bake pan over night for breakfast, or some hours before wanted for tea, and kept in a cool place till half an hour before baking, when set them near the stove to rise up. With the addition of nutmeg and sugar, you may make nice rusk. Egg Rolls. Boil a quart of new milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, the same of lard, and a little salt; beat up two eggs, and pour the boiling milk on them, stirring all the time; when nearly cold, add a tea-cup of yeast and as much wheat flour as will make it a thick batter, when quite light knead it up as bread, and let it lighten before moulding out; grease the pans, and bake them with a moderate heat. A little sugar and water rubbed on just before baking rolls makes them glossy. Soft Rolls. Rub two ounces of butter into two pounds of flour; stir in as much boiling milk as will make a soft dough, when cold enough, add half a tea-cup of yeast, and a little salt; beat it well with a spoon, and let it rise as long as bread; mould them out in pans, and bake as other rolls. Water Rolls. Make a rising of a quart of warm water, a little salt, a tea-cup of yeast, two spoonsful of butter and flour; let this rise, and knead it with as much flour as will make a soft dough, and work it well; when it has risen again, mould it out, and bake half an hour. A nice griddle cake may be made by rolling this out, and baking it on the griddle or dripping-pan of a stove. Potato Rolls. Boil potatoes enough to make a quart when mashed, which should be done with a rolling-pin on a cake-board; mix these with a gallon of flour, a spoonful of butter, one of lard, and some salt; stir in water sufficient to make dough, not quite so stiff as for light bread, and a tea-cup of yeast; knead it for half an hour, and set it to rise; when it is light, set it away in a cold place, and as you require it, cut off a piece; mould it in little cakes, and let them rise an hour before baking. These rolls will keep several days in cold weather. If the dough should get sour, mix in some salaeratus. Another Way. Boil a quart of pared potatoes--pour off the water, mash them, add half a pint of sweet milk, warmed, and a small table-spoonful of salt; stir well, and pour it scalding hot into a quart of flour; add cold milk enough to make it the right consistence for rising; stir in half a tea cup of yeast, and set it by to rise, it will soon be light, and is then to be made into dough, with shortened flour, as other rolls, and made out into cakes; and after standing in a warm place to become light again, which should not take long, bake with rather a quick heat. These rolls may be eaten warmed over. Mush Rolls, without Milk or Eggs. When milk is scarce, (or for a change,) you can make good rolls with mush. Take a pint of corn meal, pour on it three pints of boiling water--stirring it as you pour; put in three ounces of lard, a table-spoonful of salt, and when milk warm, put in two table-spoonsful of yeast, then mix in wheat flour, and make it a soft dough; cover the pan close, set it in a warm place till it begins to rise; as soon as light, set it in a cold place; mould them out an hour before you bake them, and allow them to rise in the dripping-pan. It will do to bake in a large cake rolled out. Twist Rolls. Boil a pint of milk, put in a small lump of butter and a little salt; beat up an egg and put in, when nearly cold, with a spoonful of yeast and some flour; when light, knead in more flour to make it quite stiff; work it well, and let it rise again; grease a dutch-oven or spider, flour your hands, and roll it out in rings, or round several times, a little higher in the middle. They will be nearly all crust, and suit delicate persons that cannot eat other warm bread. French Rolls. To one quart of sweet milk, boiled and cooled, half a pound of butter, half a tea cup of yeast, a little salt, and flour enough to make a soft dough, beat up the milk, butter and yeast in the middle of the flour, let it stand till light, in a warm place; then work it up with the whites of two eggs, beaten light; let it rise again, then mould out into long rolls; let them stand on the board or table, to lighten, an hour or two, then grease your pans and bake in a oven or stove. Bread Rolls. In the morning, when your bread is light, take as much as would make one loaf; pour boiling water on half a pint of corn meal--stir it well--add a little salt, spread open the dough and work in the mush, with the addition of a table-spoonful of lard or butter, and a little flour, work well and mould out, placing them in your pans, and set them in a moderately warm place to lighten for tea; bake in a stove, if the weather is cold. This dough will keep two days, and may be baked as you need them. Maryland Biscuit. Rub half a pound of lard into three pounds of flour; put in a spoonful of salt, a tea cup of cream, and water sufficient to make it into a stiff dough; divide it into two parts, and work each well till it will break off short, and is smooth; (some pound it with an iron hammer, or axe;) cut it up in small pieces, and work them into little round cakes; give them a slight roll with the rolling-pin, and stick them, bake them in a dutch-oven, brick-oven, or dripping-pan of a stove, with a quick heat. These biscuits are very nice for tea, either hot or cold. Light Biscuit. Boil a quart of milk, and when nearly cold, stir it in the middle of your pan of flour, with two spoonsful of yeast, and one of butter and salt; let it lighten for two or three hours; knead the flour in it, and let it rise again: a little while before you bake, roll it out, and cut it with the top of your dredging-box. Let them rise a few minutes in the dripping-pan. Salaeratus Biscuit. Warm a quart of sweet milk, and put in it half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, and a heaped spoonful of lard or butter, and half a spoonful of salt; pour this in as much flour as will make a stiff dough; work it a quarter of an hour; mould and bake them as other biscuit. Quick Biscuit. Rub a small table-spoonful of lard into a quart of flour, and mix in two tea-spoonsful of finely powdered cream of tartar, with a tea-spoonful of salt; put a tea-spoonful of super carbonate of soda in a pint of warm milk,--work it in and make the paste of ordinary consistence for biscuit or pie crust, adding flour or milk, if either is needed; make it out in biscuit form, or roll it about half an inch thick, and cut in shapes,--bake them about twenty minutes. Tea Biscuit. Melt half a pound of butter in a quart of warm milk; add a spoonful of salt, sift two pounds of flour, make a hole in the centre, put in three table-spoonsful of yeast, add the milk and butter; make a stiff paste; when quite light, knead it well, roll it out an inch thick, cut it with a tumbler, prick them with a fork, bake in buttered pans, with a quick heat; split and butter before sending them to table. Dyspepsy Biscuit. Make them as Maryland biscuit, except that, instead of either lard or butter, you must use a portion of rich cream, beat or work them well, and roll them moderately thin. Salaeratus Cake. Warm a pint of butter-milk, put in it a tea-spoonful of powdered salaeratus, and a piece of lard the size of an egg; stir it into flour till it is a soft dough; roll it out, and bake it on the griddle, or in the dripping-pan of a stove. If you have no sour milk, put a table-spoonful of vinegar in sweet milk. Wafer Cakes. Rub half a pound of lard into two pounds and a half of flour, add a little salt and water sufficient to make a stiff dough: work it well for half an hour, make it in small round lumps, and roll these until they are as thin as possible; bake them with a slow heat and they will look almost white. These are nice cakes for tea either hot or cold. Short Cake. To three quarts of flour take three-quarters of a pound of lard, and a spoonful of salt; rub the lard in the flour, and put in cold water, sufficient to make a stiff dough; roll it out without working in thin cakes; have the bake-iron hot, flour it, and bake with a quick heat; when one side is brown, turn and bake the other; when baked in the dripping-pan of a stove, they do without turning;--you may cut them in round cakes, if you choose. Some use half milk and half water; in that case, less lard is required. Cold Water Muffins. Sift a quart of flour, add to it a little salt, a large spoonful of yeast, beat the white of a fresh egg to a froth; after mixing the flour up with cold water into a soft dough, add the egg; set it in a moderately warm place. Next morning beat it well with a spoon, put it on the bake-iron in round cakes; when one side is nicely brown, turn them; keep them hot till sent to table, split and butter them. If you wish to have muffins for tea, they should be made up early in the Morning. Smith Muffins. Boil a quart of new milk, have three pounds of flour, three eggs well beaten, a quarter of a pound of lard, a table-spoonful of salt; rub the lard in the flour and while the milk is still warm, (but not hot,) stir it in the flour, put in the eggs, and a tea-cup of good yeast: beat all well, and set them in a warm place to rise, when light they should be set in a cool place till you are ready to bake them, which should be in rings, or round cakes on the bake-iron, in a dutch-oven, or the dripping-pan of a stove, butter just as you send them to table. If the batter is kept in a cold place it will keep good for two days in winter. Before baking muffins, or any kind of light cakes, taste the batter, and if at all sour, put in a small portion of salaeratus, (previously dissolved in hot water.)--In this way superior muffins may be made. Mansfield Muffins. Take a quart of milk, three eggs, quarter of a pound of butter or lard, a tea-cup of yeast, and flour to make a soft dough; heat the whites of the eggs alone, the yelks with the milk; melt the butter and stir it in after all is mixed; bake them in rings, or in round cakes on the griddle: split and butter before sending them to table. Rice Muffins. Pour a quart of milk on four heaped spoonsful of rice flour, stir it well, and put in a little salt and wheat flour, to make it a proper thickness, two eggs and two spoonsful of yeast, allow it four hours to rise, and bake in rings, or thin it and bake as batter cakes. Muffins. Warm a pint of milk, and stir into it a pound and a quarter of flour, (a quart of flour is about equal to a pound and a quarter,) and two eggs, the yelks beaten with the batter, the whites alone, mix with these two spoonsful of lively yeast and a little salt, let them rise, and when you are nearly ready to bake them, stir in a large spoonful of melted butter, butter the rings and bake on a griddle, or in the dripping-pan of a stove. Split and butter before sending them to table. Mush Muffins. Make a quart of mush, put into it a lump of butter or lard, the size of two eggs, and a little salt, previously to making the mush, have ready a pint of light rising, stir into it a pint of new milk, and the mush, with as much wheat flour as will make it a very thick batter, let it rise four or five hours, and when light, set it in a cold place, till you are ready to bake, dip a spoon in water each time, and put the batter on the griddle in small cakes, or bake in rings. You may make it a little stiffer, and roll it out to bake in large cakes. If it should sour, put in a little salaeratus. If you have no milk, water will do instead. They will be nice toasted. A Loaf of Muffin Batter. Stir into a pint of mush a small lump of butter, a little salt, a pint of milk, and wheat flour to make a thick batter; stir into it half a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, when it is light, butter a pan, pour it in and bake, eat it hot, at breakfast or supper. It will bake in a shallow pan in half an hour, if in a deep vessel, allow more time. Boiled Milk Muffins. Boil a quart of new milk, and pour it boiling hot, on as much flour as will make a thick batter, put in a table-spoonful of butter, and the same of lard, two tea-spoonsful of salt, half a tea cup of yeast, one egg beaten; allow time to rise from six to eight hours; when perfectly light, set them in a cool place, till you are ready to bake, when you may use rings, or not, as you please--but be sure to butter the rings. Cream Muffins. Take a quart of sour cream, and two eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of salt; stir the eggs into the cream, gradually; add sifted flour enough to make a thick batter, dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as much vinegar as will cover it, and stir it in at the last; bake in small cakes on the griddle, or in muffin rings in the dripping-pan of a stove. Waffles. Make a batter of a pound and a half of flour, quarter of a pound of melted butter, and two large spoonsful of yeast; put in three eggs, the whites and yelks beaten separately; mix it with a quart of milk, and put in the butter just before you bake, allow it four hours to rise; grease the waffle-irons, fill them with the batter--bake them on a bed of coals. When they have been on the fire two or three minutes, turn the waffle-irons over,--when brown on both sides, they are sufficiently baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard, and very hot before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon. Quick Waffles. Take a pint of milk, and beat into it three eggs, and enough wheat flour to make a thick batter; add a table-spoonful of melted butter, and a little salt; bake them immediately. Some persons add two table-spoonsful of sugar, and a little cinnamon; others dust loaf sugar and cinnamon, or nutmeg over each waffle, as it is baked. Rice Waffles. To six spoonsful of soft boiled rice, add two tea-cups of water or milk, and some salt, stir in three tea-cups of ground rice, and bake as other waffles. Flannel Cakes. Warm a quart of milk, put in a spoonful of butter, a little salt, and two eggs well beaten, stir in flour till it is a thin batter, and two spoonsful of yeast; beat all well together, adding the eggs at the last; allow it five hours to rise, and bake it on the griddle in cakes, the size of a breakfast plate. Do not butter them till you send them to the table. Mush Flannel Cakes. Mix a pint of corn mush with two of wheat flour, a spoonful of butter or lard, two eggs and half a tea-cup of yeast; make it in a batter with water or milk, and bake like buckwheat cakes. Bread Batter Cakes. Soak slices of stale bread in cold sweet milk for half an hour, then put it over the fire, and let it come to a boil; and mash it well, when nearly cool, add wheat flour enough to make a stiff batter, beat this together with two eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a table-spoonful of good yeast, let it rise and bake as buckwheat cakes, if light before you are ready, set them in a cold place. Butter-milk Cakes. You may make a very good batter cake without eggs. To a quart of butter-milk, put a piece of lard, the size of an egg; warm them together, and stir in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make it in a thin batter with flour; beat it a few minutes, and bake it as other cakes. Buckwheat Cakes. Take quart of buckwheat flour, half a pint of wheat flour, and a spoonful of salt; make them into a thick batter, with milk-warm water, put in a half tea-cup of yeast, and beat it well, set it by the fire to rise, and if it should be light before you are ready to bake, put a tea-cup of cold water on the top, to prevent it from running over, if it should get sour, pour in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in hot water, just before you bake. It is best to make them up quite thick, and thin them with a little warm water before you bake; butter them just as you send them to table. If you can get brewers' yeast, it is much better for buckwheat cakes. In very cold weather, they may be kept made up for several days, and baked as required. Sally Lunn. Warm a quart of milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, and a heaped spoonful of sugar, beat up three eggs, and put in, with a little salt, and flour enough to make it stiffer than pound cake, beat it well, put in a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, butter a fluted pan and pour it in, bake it in a quick oven, slice and butter it. If you wish tea at six o'clock, set it to rise at ten in the morning. Bake it an hour. Butter-milk Batter Cakes. Soak pieces of dry stale bread in a quart of butter-milk, until soft, break in two eggs, add a little butter or lard, and salt and flour enough to make it stick together, beat it well, add a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in warm water; thin it with a little sweet milk, and bake as other batter cakes. They may be prepared in a short time. Toast. Cut your bread (which is better to be stale) in tolerably thick slices, brown it slowly before the fire on each side; you may either butter it dry, or mix butter in water, with a little salt added, and after making it boiling hot, pour over each slice as you send it to table. A Dish of Milk Toast for Breakfast. Boil a quart of rich milk, take it off, and stir in half a pound of fresh butter, mixed with a small spoonful of flour, let it again come to a boil; have ready a dish of toast, pour it from a spoon over each piece, and what remains, pour over the whole, keep it covered and hot, till you send to table. General Remarks on making Bread of Indian Corn Meal. A wooden spoon with a long handle, is the best for stirring and mixing the bread or cakes. It requires more salt than other bread, and should be well mixed or beaten. If it is mixed over night, it should generally be done with cold water, and set in the cellar or some cool place in summer, in winter it requires rather a warmer place to stand. It sours more easily than bread made of other flour. In the morning, if you find that it is at all acid, dissolve half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in warm water, and stir it just before it is put to bake. Where milk is used, it should be baked immediately, and the richer the milk, the more palatable it is. Whatever you bake this bread in, should be well greased first, as it is more apt to adhere to the oven than some other kinds of flour. It should bake with a quick heat. When you buy salaeratus, pound it fine, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it tight. Some persons keep it dissolved in water, but you cannot judge of the strength of it so well. Corn Meal Porridge. Put on to boil in a sauce-pan a quart of milk, mix a small tea-cup of corn meal with half a pint of cold water, (let it settle, and pour off what swims on the top,) then stir it in well to keep it from being lumpy; let it boil only a few minutes; add salt to the taste. This makes a good breakfast for children, and is a light diet for an invalid. It can be seasoned with sugar. Mush, Mush Cakes, and Fried Mush. Mush will keep for several days in cool weather; the best way of making it is to have a pot of boiling water, and stir in corn meal, mixed with water, and salt enough to season the whole; let it boil, and if it is not thick enough you can add more meal; keep stirring all the time to prevent it from being lumpy. It should boil an hour. To make the cakes, take a quart of cold mush, mix in it half a pint of wheat flour, and a little butter or lard, make it out in little cakes with your hands, flour them and bake them on a griddle or in a dripping pan. Fried mush is a good plain dessert, eaten with sugar and cream. Cut the cold mush in slices, half an inch thick, or make them into small cakes, dip them in flour, and fry them in hot lard. Journey Cake. Pour boiling water on a quart of meal, put in a little lard and salt, and mix it well, have an oak board with a rim of iron at the bottom, and an iron handle fastened to it that will prop it up to the fire; put some of the dough, on it, dip your hand in cold water and smooth it over; score it with a knife, and set it before coals to bake. Corn Batter Cakes. Take a quart of good milk, three eggs, a little salt, and as much sifted corn meal as will make a thin batter; beat all well together, with a spoonful of wheat flour to keep them from breaking, bake in small cakes, keep them hot, and butter just as you send to table. Another way to make corn batter cakes, is to take a quart of corn meal, two eggs, a small lump of butter or lard, and mix it up with milk, or half water, if milk is scarce, and bake them either thin or thick. Rice Cakes. Take a pint of soft boiled rice, a pint of milk, a little salt, and as much corn meal as will make a thin batter with two eggs; beat all together, and bake as corn batter cakes, or make it thicker and bake it in a pan. Corn Bannock. To one quart of sour milk, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in water; warm the milk slightly, beat up an egg, and put in corn meal enough to make it as thick as pudding batter, and some salt; grease a pan and bake it, or you may put it in six or eight saucers. Virginia Pone. Beat three eggs, and stir them in a quart of milk, with a little salt, a spoonful of melted butter, and as much sifted corn meal as will make it as thick as corn batter cakes; grease the pans and bake quick. Lightened Pone. Take half a gallon of corn meal, and pour boiling water on one-third of it; mix it together with warm water till it is a thick batter; put in two table-spoonsful of lively yeast, and one of salt; stir it well and set it by the fire to rise; when it begins to open on the top, grease the dutch-oven and put it to bake, or bake it in a pan in a stove. Cold Water Pone. Make a stiff batter with a quart of Indian meal, cold water and a little salt; work it well with the hand; grease a pan or oven, and bake it three-quarters of an hour. Eat it hot at dinner, or with milk at supper. Indian Bread with Butter-milk. To one quart of butter-milk, slightly warmed, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in water, two eggs, well beaten, a table-spoonful of melted butter or lard, a little salt; stir in with a spoon as much Indian meal as will make a thick batter; beat it for a few minutes, grease your pans, and bake quickly. If you bake this quantity in two pans, a half hour will be sufficient, or if in one, it will take an hour. Look at it often while baking, as it is liable to burn. An excellent recipe. Little Indian Cakes. Put a spoonful of lard in a quart of meal, and two tea-spoonsful of salt, pour boiling water on half the meal, stir it; then add as much cold water as will enable you to make it out in cakes of a convenient size, bake on the bake-iron over the fire. Maryland Corn Cakes. Mix a pint of corn meal with rich milk, a little salt, and an egg, it should be well beaten with a spoon, and made thin enough to pour on the iron; take in cakes the size of a breakfast plate; butter and send them hot to table. A Virginia Hoe Cake. Pour warm water on a quart of Indian meal, stir in a spoonful of lard or butter, some salt, make it stiff, and work it for ten minutes, have a board about the size of a barrel head, (or the middle piece of the head will answer,) wet the board with water, and spread on the dough with your hand, place it before the fire, prop it aslant with a flat-iron, bake it slowly, when one side is nicely brown, take it up and turn it, by running a thread between the cake and the board, then put it back, and let the other side brown. These cakes used to be baked in Virginia on a large iron hoe, from whence they derive their name. Batter Bread with Yeast. Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, into a quart of com meal, add a little salt, make it in a batter with two eggs and some new milk, add a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little pans, and bake with a quick heat. Carolina Corn Rolls. Take a pint of corn meal; pour over it sufficient boiling water to make a very stiff dough, then add a table-spoonful of salt, and permit it to stand until about milk-warm; work it well with the hand, then make out the rolls, of an oblong shape, and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour, according to their size. The addition of a small lump of butter or lard is an improvement. If they are rightly made, they will split on the top in baking, and can be eaten by those who cannot partake of other preparations made of corn flour. Mixed Bread. Put a little salt, and a spoonful of yeast, into a quart of flour; make it sufficiently soft with corn meal gruel; let it rise; bake in a mould. New England Hasty Pudding, or Stir-about. Boil three quarts of water in an iron pot; mix a pint of Indian meal in cold water, and make it thin enough to pour easily; when the water boils, pour it in; stir well with a wooden stick kept for the purpose; it takes about an hour to boil; salt to your taste; stir in dry meal to make it thick enough, beating it all the time. Eat it with milk or molasses, or butter and sugar. This is said to be a wholesome diet for dyspeptic patients, and makes a good meal for children. Corn Muffins. Warm three pints of milk, and stir into it as much corn meal as will make it as thick as pudding batter, add two handsful of wheat flour, two tea-spoonsful of salt, three eggs, and a tea-cup of yeast. Beat the whole well together, and let it rise about six hours, when bake as other muffins. Soaked Crackers for Tea. Pour boiling water on crackers, put in some butter and a little salt; cover them close and keep them warm till tea is ready; if you have milk, boil it, and pour over instead of water. This is easily prepared. PIES, PUDDINGS, CAKES, &c. To Make Common Pies. One pound of lard to a gallon of flour will make very good common pies. Work the lard in the flour, put in some salt, and wet it with water, make it so that it can just be rolled out, when you have put in the fruit, wet the crust with water, put on the top and close it up, stick it with a fork on the top. To Stew Fruit for Pies. All fruits that are not fully ripe should be stewed and sweetened. To boil a gallon of molasses at a time, and keep it to sweeten pies, is cheaper than sugar, and answers a very good purpose, where there is a large family. When fruit is fully ripe it does very well to bake in pies, without being stewed. After washing the dried fruit, put it on to stew in a bell-metal kettle over the fire, or in a tin pan in a stove, let it have plenty of water, as it swells very much, and if it seems dry, put in more water. Apples take longer to stew than peaches, and should have more water. Fruit stewed in this way is very good to put on the table to eat with meat. Do not stir the fruit while it is stewing, or it will burn. Dried cherries and damsons may be stewed in the same manner, adding the sugar before they are quite done. Pie Crust. Sift a pound and a half of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling; cut in it a quarter of a pound of lard, mix it with water, and roll it out; cut half a pound of butter, and put it in at two rollings with the flour that was left out. For making the bottom crust of pies, cut half a pound of lard into a pound of flour, with a little salt; mix it stiff, and grease the plates before you make pies; always make your paste in a cold place, and bake it soon. Some persons prefer mixing crust with milk instead of water. Paste for Puddings. Sift a pound of flour, have half a pound of butter and quarter of a pound of lard, save out a quarter of the flour for rolling, cut the lard into the remainder, and mix it with water; roll it out, and flake in half of the butter; dust over it some of the flour, close it up; roll it again, and put in the rest of the butter. This quantity will make crust for five or six puddings. Another Way. To three and a half pounds of sifted flour, put two pounds of lard, and a piece of volatile salts (as large as a full sized nutmeg) dissolved in a little water;--make a pretty stiff paste; then roll in three-quarters of a pound of butter. This will make about eight pies and twelve shells. Puff Paste. Sift a pound of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling, divide a pound of butter into four parts, cut one part of the butter into the flour with a knife, make it a stiff dough with water, roll it out, and flake it with part of the butler, do this three times till it is all in, handle it as little as possible, and keep it in a cool place. This quantity will make crust sufficient for three puddings and ten puffs. They should bake with a quick beat, but do not let them burn, they will take from ten to fifteen minutes to bake, according to the number of layers of paste. Do not put on the preserves till a short time before they are eaten. Rich Mince Pies. Take four pounds of beef, boiled and chopped fine, pick and chop three pounds of suet, wash two pounds of currants, and one of raisins; grate the peel of two lemons, and put in the juice, pound a spoonful of dried orange peel, slice an ounce of citron, and chop twelve large apples, mix these together with three pounds of sugar, half a pint of wine, and the same of brandy--and sweet cider to make it a proper thickness, put in mace and nutmeg to your taste. If the cider is not sweet, you must put in more sugar before the pies are baked, cut several places in the top of each with a pair of scissors. Mince Pies not so Rich. Take four pounds of beef after it has been boiled and chopped, one of suet, two of sugar, two of raisins, and four of chopped apples, mix these together with a pint of wine and cider, to make it thin enough, season to your taste with mace, nutmeg and orange peel; if it is not sweet enough, put in more sugar. Warm the pies before they are eaten. Where persons are not fond of suet, put butter instead, and stew the apples instead of so much cider. Farmers' Mince Pies. When you kill a beef, save the head for pies; it is some trouble to prepare it, but it is very nice for the purpose. Split the head, take out the brains and eyes, wash it well in cold water, and soak it all night with two hog's heads that have been cleaned; in the morning, boil them till you can take out the bones easily; skim off the froth as it rises, or it will stick to the meat; pick out the bones, and chop it fine, with three pounds of suet. This should be done the day before you want to bake. Mix to this quantity of meat, two gallons of chopped apples, four pounds of raisins, half a gallon of boiled molasses, a pint of currant wine, a tea-cup of rose brandy, an ounce of cinnamon, orange peel and mace, from two to four nutmegs, and sweet cider enough to make it the right thickness; if the cider is not sweet, put in more molasses; when all is mixed, it is best to bake a small pie, as you can alter the seasoning, if it is not to your taste. If you have not raisins, dried cherries or small grapes, that have been preserved in molasses, are very good, or stewed dried apples, instead of green; and where you have no cider, stew the apples in plenty of water, so as to have them very soft; a little good vinegar, sweetened and mixed with water, also does instead of cider, but is not so good. This will make about forty pies, and if you have a convenient way of keeping them, you may bake all at once, as they will keep for two months very readily when the weather is cold. If you do not bake all at once, put what is left in a jar, cover the top with melted suet, and over this put a piece of white paper, with a tea-cup of spirits poured on the top; tie it up and keep it where it will not freeze. Where persons have a large family, and workmen on a farm, these pies are very useful. Rhubarb Pie. Peel the stalks, cut them in small pieces, and stew them till very soft in a little water; when done, mash and sweeten with sugar; set it away to cool; make a puff paste, and bake as other pies. Some prefer it without stewing, cutting the stems in small pieces, and strewing sugar over them before the crust is put on. These pies will lose their fine flavor after the first day. They take less sugar than gooseberries. Peach Pie. Take mellow clingstone peaches, pare, but do not cut them; put them in a deep pie plate lined with crust, sugar them well, put in a table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the peaches; cover with a thick crust, in which make a cut in the centre, and bake from three-quarters to one hour. Sweet Potato Pie. Boil the potatoes, skin and slice them; put a layer of potatoes and a layer of good apples sliced thin in a deep dish; put potatoes and apples alternately till the dish is filled, mix together wine, water, sugar, butter and nutmeg, and pour over, cover it with crust, and bake as oyster pie. Pork Mince Pies. Take pieces of fresh pork that have been left from sausage meat, or any trimmings of the hams or shoulders; boil them, then chop. Have two heads nicely washed and cleaned, boil, pick out the bones and chop them; mix with the other meat, and season as you do other mince pies, they do not require any suet. The lower crust of mince pies need not be so rich as the top; always cut several places in the top crust with scissors, to keep the juice from wasting. When you warm mince pies, do it gradually, and do not have the crust scorched. Some prefer them cold. When the pies are very plain, a little preserve syrup, and a glass of wine added is an improvement. Currant Pie. After stemming green currants, scald them, and allow them to stand awhile; pour off the water; have the crust in your plates; put in the currants, sweeten them well; put in a little water, a dust of flour and a little orange peel. Gooseberries are prepared in the same way, but require more sugar. Cherries should not be scalded. Pumpkin Pudding. Choose a yellow pumpkin, with a fine grain, pare and cut it in small pieces, boil it in plenty of water, and take it up as soon as it is done, or it will soak up the water; to a gallon of pumpkin, stewed and mashed, put two quarts of milk, eight eggs, half a pound of butter, half a tea-cup of lemon or rose brandy; nutmeg and sugar to your taste; bake it in deep plates, with a bottom crust. Apple Pudding. Take three pints of stewed apples, well mashed, melt a pound of butter, beat ten eggs with two pounds of sugar, and mix all together with a glass of brandy and wine; pat in nutmeg to your taste, and bake in puff paste. Quince Pudding Take six quinces, pare them, cut them in quarters, and stew them, in a little water with lemon peel; cover them and let them cook gently till soft, when mash, or rub them through a sieve; mix them with sugar till very sweet, season with mace and nutmeg; beat up four eggs and stir in with a pint of cream; bake it in paste. Potato Pudding. Take a pound and a half of well mashed potatoes; while they are warm put in three-quarters of a pound of butter; beat six eggs with three-quarters of a pound of sugar, rolled fine, mix all well together, and put in a glass of brandy; season with nutmeg, mace or essence of lemon, and bake in paste. Cocoanut Pudding. Take three-quarters of a pound of grated cocoanut, with the brown skin taken off, half a pound of sugar, the same of butter, the whites of six eggs, beaten light, half a pint of cream, a glass of brandy, or rose-water, and a quarter of a pound of crackers, pounded fine, beat them together and bake in paste. If you wish the pudding rich, take a pound of butter, the same quantity of cocoanut, of sugar and whites of eggs, omitting the crackers and cream. Season as above. This quantity will fill six dessert plates of large size. Sweet Potato Pudding. Boil the potatoes, take off the skin, mash and strain them while warm; to a pound of potatoes put half a pound of butter; beat six eggs with half a pound of loaf-sugar, add a little mace or nutmeg; mix all together, and bake with or without paste. Lemon Pudding. Grate the rind of six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and strain it; beat the yelks of sixteen eggs very light, put to them sixteen table-spoonsful of powdered sugar, not heaped, with four crackers finely powdered; beat it till light; put a puff paste in your dish and bake in a moderate oven. Another Way. Take one pound of potatoes strained through a sieve, half a pound of butter, the same of rolled sugar, the juice of two lemons and the peel of one; beat five eggs, and mix all together with a glass of wine and a nutmeg. A Preserve Pudding. Take a deep dish, butter it well and spread a layer of preserves, without syrup--either quinces, citron, apples or peaches; rub together a pound of fresh butter, and the same of powdered loaf-sugar, and add the yelks of sixteen eggs well beaten; pour this on the preserves, bake it in a quick oven for half an hour; it may be set by till the next day; beat the whites of the eggs as for island, seasoning with currant jelly, and spread it over the pudding cold, just as it goes to table. This makes a rich dish and is eaten without sauce. This quantity will bake in four ordinary pie plates. Arrow Root Pudding. Take four table spoonsful of arrow root, mixed in a little cold milk; pour on this a quart of boiling milk, beat six eggs with three table spoonsful of sugar, and stir all together with a spoonful of butter, bake it twenty minutes in paste. Rice Pudding. Pour a quart of boiling milk on a pint of rice flour, stir it well, and put in six spoonsful of sugar, one of butter, and four eggs, beat all together, and bake in deep plates, with or without crust. Another Way. Boil half a pound of rice till soft, when nearly cold stir in half a pound of white sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, and three eggs well beaten; grate in half a nutmeg, stir in a pint of rich milk; pour all in a yellow dish and bake half an hour; then, put a thick coating of loaf sugar on the top, and eat hot, with or without cream. Pudding Of Whole Rice. Boil a pint of washed rice in milk or water, till soft, put in a lump of butter, five eggs, and sugar to your taste, season with essence of lemon, or lemon peel, and mix in cream to make it thin enough to pour, bake it in paste, in deep plates. A Pudding Of Corn Meal. Pour three pints of boiling milk on nearly half a pint of sifted corn meal, stir in half a pound of butter, add four eggs, a little nutmeg, rose brandy, and the grated peel of a lemon, sweeten it, and bake it in paste. Corn Pudding in Paste. To two pounds of mush moderately warm, put three-quarters of a pound of butter, the yelks of six eggs, the rind of one lemon, and juice of two; sugar and nutmeg to your taste, and bake in paste as potato puddings. This is much admired. Richmond Pudding. Take one pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, half a pound of currants rubbed in flour, a pound and a half of grated bread, a pound of suet shred fine, eight eggs, two glasses of brandy, and two of wine; beat them all together, adding the eggs at the last; dip your bag or cloth in boiling water and flour it well; pour in the pudding and tie it up, leaving room for it to swell; allow it four hours to boil; eat it with white sauce. Suet Pudding. Take half a pound of suet chopped fine, four tea-cups of flour, and five eggs; beat these together with a quart of milk, and half a spoonful of salt; put in three tea-cups of raisins just before you tie it up; they should be rubbed in flour to prevent them from sinking; dried cherries, or pared dried peaches, are very good instead of raisins; scald the cloth and flour it; leave room for the pudding to swell. If you put one-fourth corn meal, you can do with fewer eggs. Cheese Cakes. Take one quart of curd, after the whey has been strained off, mix with it half a pound of fresh butter, an ounce of pounded blanched almonds, the whites of three eggs, a tea-cup of currants; season with sugar and rose water to your taste, and bake in plates with paste. Baked Apples. Wash and core your apples, and in the vacancy left by the core, put brown sugar, and bake them in a stove or oven. Batter Pudding with Green Fruit. Make a batter as for suet pudding. If you have small fruit, put it in whole; if apples, chop them fine; boil it three hours. Custard Bread and Butter Pudding. Fill a pan with slices of buttered bread, with raisins, grated nutmeg and sugar over each slice; beat six eggs with a tea-cup of sugar; add two quarts of rich milk, and pour it over the bread and butter; bake it in a stove or oven. Balloon Puddings. Mix a pint of rich milk with a pound and a quarter of flour; break nine eggs; beat the yelks with the batter, the whites alone; when they are mixed, stir in three-quarters of a pound of melted butter; grease cups or bowls with butter; pour in the batter, and bake them half an hour; if in a dutch-oven, put some water in the bottom; eat them with white sauce. Plain Rice Pudding. Put two quarts of good milk in a tin pan, with a tea-cup of whole rice, the same of stemmed raisins, and a little nutmeg or cinnamon, and sugar to your taste. If you bake it in a dutch-oven, it is best to put a little water in the bottom before you set it in; bake it till the rice is soft, and there is a brown crust on the top. A Rice Dish with Fruit. Put a tea-cup of rice in a quart of milk, and boil it very slowly to keep it from burning; when done, add a little salt, a tea-cup of cream, and sugar enough to sweeten it; have ready, in a deep dish, any fruit that is in season,--cherries, blackberries or apricots, apples, or peaches, cut up and well sweetened, but uncooked; spread the rice roughly over, and bake it slowly two hours. It may be eaten with cream, and nutmeg, and is quite as good cold as warm. Bread Pudding. Bread pudding is made out of bread that is too dry to use; cut it fine, boil it in milk, and mash it well; beat four eggs and put in, with half a pound of raisins; boil it an hour and a half, or bake it. Bread and Apple Pudding. _To be eaten with Sauce_. Put a layer of buttered bread in the bottom of a well buttered dish, with chopped apples, sugar, grated bread and butter, and a little pounded cinnamon; fill up the dish with alternate layers of these articles, observing that it is better to have the inner layer of bread thinner than that of the top and bottom. This is a nice dish for those who cannot partake of pastry. Custard Hasty Pudding. Put a quart of new milk on to boil; then mix a tea-cup of rice flour with a little milk, two eggs, and three spoonsful of sugar; beat it, and when your milk boils, stir it in; let it boil five minutes--when pour it out on some buttered toast, in a bowl or dish, and grate nutmeg over it. Elkridge Huckleberry Pudding. One pound of flour, one of light-brown sugar, eight eggs--beat as sponge cake, and add one quart of berries, nicely picked, washed, and allowed to dry, bake as sponge cake. This maybe served with sauce; either Lot or cold. Huckleberry Pudding. Make a batter of five eggs to a quart of milk, and a little butter; pick, wash, and rub in flour a pint or more of huckleberries, put them in, and bake as long as other puddings, or boil it in a bag. Green Corn Pudding. Cut the green corn through the grain, and scrape it off the cob with the back of a knife; prepare a batter made of a quart of rich milk, two eggs, and wheat flour, and a little salt; then add the corn, and beat it well for a few minutes: it should be of a consistence to pour easily; grease the pan, and pour it in; bake with quick heat in a stove or spider, about half an hour. Six ears of corn will be enough for a quart of milk, or you may double the quantity; eat it with butter, sugar and cream, molasses, or any sauce that is convenient. Baked Pudding. Boil a quart of milk, and stir into it half a pint of corn meal and a tea-spoonful of salt--mix this well together; beat two eggs, stir in when nearly cold; add a tea-cup of chopped suet, two table-spoonsful of sugar, a little spice--grease a pan, and pour it in; bake three-quarters of an hour. Eat it with sugar and cream, or molasses sauce. A Boiled Indian Pudding. Boil a quart of milk, and stir in meal to make it a thick batter; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cup of suet, a spoonful of sugar; mix; these well together, add two eggs, well beaten. If you have dried peaches, soak them; sprinkle them with dry flour, and put them in, or put in raisins, previously rubbed with wheat flour-beat it well; have your pot boiling, scald the bag, flour it, and put in the pudding,--it will boil in two hours. Eat with sugar and cream, molasses, or any kind of pudding sauce. Boiled Bread Pudding. Take a loaf of stale light bread, tie it in a cloth, boil it an hour, and eat it with sauce. A Bird's Nest Pudding. Pare and core some apples, enough to fill a deep dish, they should be ripe, and such as will cook easily. Make a custard of five eggs, to a quart of milk, and sugar and nutmeg to taste; pour this over, and bake half an hour. Little Puddings in Pans. Beat four eggs very light; make a batter of two tea-cups of flour, three of milk, and one of cream; pour in the eggs, and beat all well together; put in a spoonful of melted butter; grease your shallow pins or cups, and bake from twenty to thirty minutes; eat them with sauce, or sugar, cream and nutmeg. Switzerland Pudding. Make a hatter of five eggs, a quart of milk and flour; pare and core enough good apples to cover the bottom of your pan, fill the holes where the cores came out with sugar, grease the pan, lay them in, and pour the batter over, bake it an hour and a half, and make wine sauce to eat with it. Boiling Puddings. In boiling puddings, you must observe to have plenty of water in the pot; the pudding should be turned frequently, have the water boiling when it goes in, and do not let it stop. Have a tea-kettle of water by the fire to pour in as it evaporates. When the pudding is done, it should be dipped in a pan of cold water, to prevent its adhering to the cloth. Screw Dumplings. Roll out some paste thin, in a long strip, lay in preserves of any kind, or stewed fruit, well sweetened, roll it up and close it tight, pin it up in a towel, and boil it an hour, eat it with butter, sugar and cream, or sauce. Large Dumplings. Take green fruit of any kind--peaches, apples, cherries, blackberries, or huckleberries, make crust as for pies, roll it out, put in the fruit, and pin it in a cloth, boil it two hours. Peach and Apple Dumplings. Make crust as for plain pies, cut it in as many pieces as you want dumplings, pare and core the apples, roll out the crust, and close them up, have the water boiling when they go in, and let them boil three-quarters of an hour. Peaches pared and stoned make very good dumplings, eat them with sauce of any kind, or sugar, cream and butter. Light Bread Dumplings Take as much lightened dough as will make a loaf of bread, work into it half a pound of stemmed raisins, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it an hour and a half. Rice Dumplings Wash and pick a pint of rice, boil it in water till it is soft; have some apples pared and cored whole, fill the holes with sugar, cover them over with the rice, and tie each one separately in a cloth; boil them till the apples are done. Indian Suet Dumplings Chop beef suet fine, and to a pint of Indian meal, take a table-spoonful of the suet and a little salt; pour on boiling water enough to make a stiff dough, work it well, make into round cakes, and boil in clear water. These are good when vegetables are scarce, to eat with meat, or as a dessert with sugar or molasses. Corn Dumplings. When you boil corned beef, new bacon, or pork, you can make dumplings, by taking some grease out of the pot, with some of the water, and pouring it hot on a quart of Indian meal, mix and work it well, (it will not require salt,) make it into little round cakes; (they should be stiff, or they will boil to pieces;) take out the meat when it is done, and boil the dumplings in the same water for half an hour. They may be eaten with molasses, and make a good common dessert. Pan Cakes. Take five eggs to a quart of milk, make a thin batter with flour, have a little hot lard in the frying-pan, and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom; turn and fry the other side; if eggs are scarce, a tea-spoonful of salaeratus will supply the place of two. Eat them with wine and sugar. Water Pan Cakes--a cheap Dessert. Stir a quart of warm water in sufficient flour to make a batter of moderate thickness; dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, with a little salt, into a tea-cupful of butter-milk, or sour cream; beat it well; put a little lard in a frying-pan, and when it is hot, fry them. They are much better to be eaten hot, with sauce, sugar and cream, or any thing you may fancy. This is a very cheap dessert, and has been thought nearly equal to pan cakes made with milk and eggs. Apple Fritters. Allow four eggs to a quart of milk; make a thick batter with flour, and beat it well; stir in a quart of apples, chopped fine: have a frying-pan with hot lard, and drop a spoonful in a place; fry them light brown on both sides, and eat with sugar and wine, or sweet cider. Rice Fritters. To a pint of rice flour add a tea-spoonful of salt and a pint of boiling water; beat four eggs and stir them in, have hot lard in a frying-pan, and fry them as other fritters. Indian Meal Fritters. Take a quart of butter-milk, (in which dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus,) stir in meal to make a batter of suitable thickness, a tea-spoonful of salt and two eggs; beat all well together, and fry in hot lard, as other fritters. If you like, you can put in chopped apples. Eat with sugar or molasses. Snow Fritters. Take of light new fallen snow, three table-spoonsful for every egg you would otherwise use--that is, if you would wish the quantity that three eggs would make in the usual way, take nine table-spoonsful of snow, and stir in a quart of rich milk that has been setting in a very cold place, so that it will not melt the snow, and destroy its lightness; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and enough wheat flour to make a stiff batter; have ready a frying-pan with boiling lard, and drop a spoonful in a place as with other fritters, and set the remainder in a cold place till the first are done. Eat them with wine sauce, or sugar, butter and cream, or any thing you fancy. Rice Flummery. Rice that is ground coarse, in a hand-mill, is much better for making flummery than the flour you buy: put three pints of milk to boil, mix with water two tea-cups of ground rice, and stir it in the milk when it boils; while the milk is cold, put in it two dozen peach kernels, blanched, and rolled with a bottle; wet your moulds with cold cream or water; keep stirring the rice till it is thick, when pour it out in the moulds; just before dinner turn them out on dishes, have cream, sugar and nutmeg mixed, to eat with it. Rice Milk. Take a tea-cupful of rice, boil it till about half done, and let all the water be evaporated; then add the milk, and beat an egg with some flour, and stir in; let it boil n few minutes, and season with sugar and nutmeg. Wine Sauce for Puddings. Mix a spoonful of flour in a tea-cup of water, with two spoonsful of sugar and one of butter; stir this in half a pint of boiling water; let it boil a few minutes, when add a glass of wine and some nutmeg. White Sauce. Take half a pound of powdered white sugar, and quarter of a pound of butter, beat them well together with a glass of wine, and grate in half a nutmeg. A little currant jelly is preferred by some in this sauce instead of wine. Cream Sauce. Boil half a pint of cream, thicken it a very little, and put in a lump of butter; sweeten it to your taste, and after it gets cold add a glass of white wine; this is good to eat with boiled rice, plain pudding, or apple dumplings. Molasses Sauce. Put half a pint of molasses to boil in a skillet, with a piece of butter the size of an egg; when it has boiled a few minutes, pour in a tea-cup of cream, and grate in half a nutmeg; this is the most economical way of making sauce. Egg Sauce. Take the whites of three eggs and the yelks of two, beat them till very light, and add a large table-spoonful of butter ready creamed, with sugar and nutmeg to your taste; boil three glasses of wine, and pour over the other ingredients, put it over the fire, and let it boil two minutes, stirring all the time. This is nice sauce for any kind of pudding. Cherry Toast. Stone and stew a quart of ripe cherries, sweeten them, place some slices of buttered toast in a deep dish, and put the stewed cherries over them. A little powdered cinnamon or grated nutmeg may be put on the toast. Apple Custard. Lay a crust in your pie plates, slice apples thin and half fill the plates, pour over a custard made of four eggs to a quart of milk, sweeten and season it; bake it slowly. Custard baked in Cups. Beat up five eggs with two heaped spoonsful of sugar, mix these with a quart of rich milk and a little nutmeg; fill the cups, pour water in the bottom of a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and set them in and bake them till thick. Boiled Custard. Put on to boil a quart of new milk; have ready a dozen peach kernels, scalded, peeled, and rubbed fine with a bottle, beat five or six eggs, with some sugar, and when the milk boils stir them in with the kernels; keep stirring till it thickens, but do not let it boil, or it will curdle; then take it off the fire, pour it in a pitcher, and continue to stir till it is nearly cold, when pour it into your cups, and grate nutmeg over the top of each. If you wish to have it flavored with lemon, boil some peel with the milk. This custard may be put in a glass bowl, and an island on the top. Cold Custard. Sweeten half a gallon of milk, put into it a table-spoonful of rennet wine, and let it stand in a warm place till it begins to come, when it should be set in cold water till dinner time; just as you take it to table, pour some cream on it, and grate nutmeg over the top. Cream Custard. To a pint of thin cream, take one egg, and beat and season as other custard; bake it in a plate with paste; this quantity is sufficient for one large plate, and is more delicate than custard made in the usual way. Ice Custard with Vanilla. Boil three pints of rich milk with as much vanilla as will give it a good flavor; sweeten it to your taste; have ready four eggs well beaten, pour the boiling milk on them, and keep stirring till cool; when put it to freeze. Custard with Raisins. Stone and cut a tea-cup of raisins, put them in a quart of milk; when it boils stir in five eggs well beaten, with two table-spoonsful of sugar, and a little lemon peel; keep stirring till it boils again, then take it off the fire, and stir till nearly cold; when put it in cups, or in a large bowl; beat the whites of three eggs with sugar, and when quite cold put them on the top of the custard. To Boil Custard in Water. Beat the eggs, sugar and seasoning together, and put it in a pitcher or nice stone jar; put in the milk and stir it well together; set the pitcher in a pot of boiling water, and stir till it is cooked, when take the pitcher out and stir till nearly cool. Custard should never be boiled or baked two much--a minute too long will sometimes spoil it. Whips. Grate the peel of a lemon in a pint of cream, sweeten it with loaf sugar, and whip it well; beat the whites of three eggs and mix with it; put apple jelly, seasoned with lemon, in the bottom of your glasses, and as the froth rises put it on the top of the jelly. Trifle. Put slices of sponge cake or Naples biscuit in the bottom of a deep glass dish; on this put slices of preserved citron, or apples preserved with lemon; pour over this a boiled custard, and on the top put a whip made by the foregoing receipt. Floating Island. Beat the whites of five eggs till the beater will stand up in them; then add, a little at a time, four spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar, and currant jelly, or preserved syrup of any kind; put rich milk in the bottom of a glass, or china bowl, and put the island on the top. In making floating island, you should allow the whites of six eggs to six persons. You can have very good custards at the same time with the yelks of the eggs. Apple Float. To a quart of apples, slightly stewed and well mashed, put the whites of three eggs, well beaten, and four table-spoons heaping full of loaf sugar, heat them together for fifteen minutes, and eat with rich milk and nutmeg. Carrageen or Irish Moss Blancmange. Wash in three waters half an ounce of Carrageen moss; drain and put it in two quarts of new milk, let it boil for a few minutes, strain it in a pitcher, wet the moulds, and pour it in while hot; let it stand till it becomes thick, when it may be eaten with sugar and cream, seasoned with peach or rose water, or with a lemon rolled in the sugar. Some prefer seasoning the blancmange before putting it in the moulds. It will keep in a cool place two days, and is better to be made the day before it is eaten. To Keep Suet for several Months. Chop the suet you wish to preserve until summer as fine as for mince pies or puddings, then add a table-spoonful of salt to three table-spoonsful of suet; mix all well together, and put it in jars. Keep it tied up close, as exposure to the air makes it strong. It should be soaked an hour before you wish to use it, to remove the salt taste. Skim Curds. Put to boil a gallon of sweet milk; when it fairly boils, pour in a quart of butter-milk; in a few minutes the curd will rise, which skim off and set by, to cool for dessert; season it as you help to it at table, with cream and sugar to the taste. Whey Skim Curds. Boil the whey, and put in a pint of sour butter-milk; when the curds rise to the top take them off, and set them in a cold place; they make a nice dessert to eat with sugar, cream and nutmeg. Cheese Curds. Put to boil a gallon of skim milk, stir into it two spoonsful of rennet wine; when it turns, dip up the curds and set them away to cool; eat them with sweetened cream and nutmeg. Rennet Wine for cold Custards or Curds. Rub the salt from a nicely dried rennet, and cut it up; put it in a bottle, and fill it up with good wine. If care is taken to keep it filled up, it will last for several years, to make cold custard and cheese curds. To Preserve Milk to use at Sea. To every quart of new milk put a pound of loaf-sugar; let it boil very slowly in an iron pot, over clear coals, till it is as thick as thin cream--stirring it all the time, pour it out in a pitcher, and stir till it is cold; put in bottles, cork it tight, and put sealing wax over the corks; it must be shaken before it is used. SYRUPS, ICES, &c. Lemon Syrup. Clarify a pound of loaf or Havana sugar, or if you wish to make a large quantity, allow half a pint of water to every pound of sugar, and boil it, skimming it when the scum arises, until it is of the consistency of honey; then to every pound of sugar, add an ounce of tartaric acid. If you do not find it sour enough, after it has stood two or three days, add more of the acid. If you like the taste of oil of lemon, add a few drops. A small quantity of the syrup prepared in this way, poured into cold water, makes a refreshing drink in warm weather. Lemon Syrup for Seasoning. Pare the lemons very thin, and put the peel to boil in a quart of water; cover it, to keep in the flavor; put two pounds of loaf sugar to the peel of a dozen lemons, and boil it till it becomes a rich syrup; keep it corked up in a bottle, to season ice cream. Syrup of Lemon Juice. Dissolve three pounds of loaf-sugar in three quarts of water, squeeze and strain lemons enough to make a quart of juice; boil it slowly with the water and sugar, and take off the scum as it rises; when it is quite clear, strain and bottle it. It will supply the place of fresh lemons when they cannot be had. Pine Apple Syrup. Pare the pine apples, cut them in pieces, and to three pounds of pine apple put a quart of water; cover it and let it boil till very soft, when mash and strain it; to a pint of this juice put a pound of sugar, boil it till it is a rich syrup, and keep it corked up in bottles to season ice cream. Almond Cream. Take a pound of blanched almonds, and roll them fine with a bottle; mix them with a few drops of rose-water, and stir them into a quart of cream; sweeten it with loaf-sugar, put it in a pot over the fire, and stir it till it thickens. Tincture of Vanilla. Vanilla beans, well bruised, half an ounce; French brandy, one gill; let it stand one week, and it will be fit for use. Keep it corked tight. This article will keep any length of time, and is very convenient for seasoning ices. Superior Receipt for Ice Cream. One gallon of cream, two pounds rolled loaf-sugar, one tea-spoonful of oil of lemon. If for vanilla cream; use a table-spoonful of tincture of vanilla, two eggs beaten; mix well and freeze in the usual way. The seasoning should be well mixed with the sugar, before it is added to the cream; by this means, it will be all flavored alike. This has been much admired. Coloring for ice cream, may be made in this way: take of powdered cochineal, cream of tartar and powdered alum, each two drachms; of salts of tartar, ten grains; pour upon the powders half a pint of boiling water; let it stand for two hours to settle, or filter through paper. Use as much of this infusion as will give the desired shade. This produces a brilliant pink color. Freezing Ice Cream. Take a bucket of ice and pound it fine; mix with it two quarts of salt; put your cream in a freezer; cover it close, and immerse it in the bucket; draw the ice round it, so as to touch every part; after it has been in a few minutes, put in a spoon, and stir it from the edge to the centre. When the cream is put in a mould, close it and move it in the ice, as you cannot use a spoon without waste. Ice Cream with Lemon. Roll two fresh lemons, in as much powdered loaf-sugar as will sweeten a quart of cream; if you wish the juice, you can put some in with more sugar; freeze it. A good plan is to rub the lemon on a large lump of sugar, and then use the sugar in sweetening the cream. Ice Cream with Fruit. Mix the juice of the fruit with as much sugar as will be wanted before you add the cream, which need not be very rich. Pokeberry Juice to Stain Ices. Mash and strain ripe pokeberries; to each pint of juice put a pound of sugar; boil them together till it becomes a jelly; when cold put it in a jar and tie it close; use a small quantity of this to stain ice cream or jelly. Isinglass Jelly. To one ounce of shaved isinglass, put a quart of water; boil it down, to a pint, and strain it through a flannel bag; add some sugar and wine; stir it and put it in glasses. Blancmange. Shave an ounce of isinglass, and dissolve it in boiling water; then boil it in a quart of new milk; strain it and sweeten it to your taste; season as you prefer, with rose water, cinnamon, or vanilla. Blancmange of Jelly. To one pint of calf's foot jelly, add a pint of cream, a little mace, and a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it fifteen minutes, stirring it constantly; strain it through a flannel bag, and when nearly cold put in n glass of white wine; wet your moulds with cold cream before putting it in. Calf's Foot Jelly. Split the feet, and soak them in cold water, four or five hours; wash them clean, and put them to boil in six quarts of water; when it has boiled down to one-half, strain it through a colander, and skim off all the fat that is on the top; set it away to cool, and when the jelly is quite stiff, wipe it with a towel, to take off any grease that should remain; cut it in pieces, and pare of the discolored parts; put it in your preserving kettle, with half a pint of wine, the juice and peel of two lemons, mace and sugar to your taste, and the whites and shells of six eggs; after it has boiled twenty minutes, pour in a little cold water, to make it settle; if any scum arises, take it off; let it boil five minutes longer, and take it off the fire; keep it covered for about an hour, when strain it through a bag that has been dipped in hot water, and put it in your glasses. When eggs are used in calf's foot and other jellies, care should be taken to have the ingredients cool. If the jelly is hot when the eggs are added, it cannot be clarified so well--they should only cook by heating the jelly after they have been diffused, by stirring them through it. Raisins in Syrup. Make a syrup of half a pound of sugar to a pint of water, boil and skim it; put in five bunches of raisins, and let them boil twenty minutes; if you prefer, you can pick off the stems. To Blanch Almonds and Peach Kernels. Pour boiling water on them, which will make them peel easily; either roll them with a bottle on the cake board or pound in a mortar, with a little loaf-sugar; they should not be pounded too much or they will be oily; peach kernels make a fine flavoring for custard, but as they contain prussic acid, do not use too many. Snow Cream. Take the richest cream you can procure, season it with a few drops of essence of lemon, or syrup of lemon peel, and powdered white sugar, and if you choose a spoonful of preserve syrup, and just as you send it to table, stir in light newly fallen snow till it is nearly as stiff as ice cream. Kisses. Beat the whites of eight eggs till they will stand alone; put with them, a little at a time, a pound of powdered sugar; roll a lemon in some of the sugar till the flavor is extracted. After it is beaten very well, drop it in heaps about the size of half an egg on a sheet of paper; smooth them over with a spoon, and let them be of a regular shape; bake them in an oven that has been moderately heated, till they are of a pale brown color; do not have the oven too cool, or they will run together; take them from the papers carefully, and stick two together. CAKES. Remarks on Making and Baking Cake. The materials for making cake should be of the best quality, as your success very much depends on it. Flour should be dried and sifted, sugar rolled fine, spices pounded and sifted. Where brown sugar is used, it should be spread on a dish and dried before rolling it. I have known very good pound cake made with brown sugar; also jumbles, &c. Persons that make their own butter sometimes use it fresh from the churn, which prevents the necessity of washing the salt out of it for cake, and it mixes more readily than hard butter. Currants should be picked over, washed and dried; raisins should be stemmed and stoned. When these preparations are made the day before, it is a great assistance. Eggs should be fresh, or they will not beat light: in beating the whites, take a broad flat dish, and beat them until you can hold the dish upside down,--this is a test of their lightness. A large bowl is best for mixing and beating cake. You must use your hand for mixing the sugar and butter, and as you add the other ingredients, you may take a large wooden spoon; beat it some time after all is mixed. The oven should be ready to bake immediately, as standing makes cake heavy. A brick oven is the most certain,--and over your pans of cake, you should spread several layers of newspaper, to prevent its browning too suddenly. Cake requires more time than bread: a large cake should stay in the oven from an hour and a half to two hours, turning and looking at it from time to time; when you think it is sufficiently baked, stick a broad bright knife in the centre; if it is dry and free from dough when drawn out, the cake is likely to be done, though sometimes this is not a certain test, and you will have to draw a little from the centre of the cake with the knife. A broom straw will sometimes answer in a small cake instead of a knife. A large stone pan, with a cover, is the best for keeping cake, or a large covered bowl. Icing for Cake. Roll and sift a pound of loaf-sugar; whip the whites of three eggs; put in the sugar gradually, and beat it for half an hour; if it is so thick that it will not run, put in some rose water; let the cake be nearly cool; dry it in an oven that is nearly cool. Another Way. Put the white of one egg and a little rose water into half a pound of pulverized sugar, and heat them together till they stand; when it is nearly light enough, add a few drops of lemon juice, or a small portion of tartaric acid, dissolved in a _little_ water. It must be beaten in a bowl which has never had any thing greasy in it, (either cream or butter). The cake must have a little flour sifted over it, and wiped off with a towel, then cover it with a thin coat of the icing, set it under the stove or in a place that is a little warm, and let it harden; then add the second coat thicker; this will he perfectly white, but the first is always dark and has crumbs through it. A Rich Fruit Cake. Have the following articles prepared before you begin the cake: dry and sift four pounds of flour, four pounds of butter with the salt washed out, two pounds of loaf-sugar pounded, one ounce of nutmegs grated, an ounce of mace pounded; wash four pounds of currants; dry, pick, and rub them in flour; stone and cut two pounds of raisins; slice two pounds of citron, blanch a pound of sweet almonds and cut them in very thin slices; break thirty eggs, separate the whites and yelks, and beat them till very light; work the butter with your hand till it is soft as cream; put in alternately the flour, sugar and eggs. When all are mixed in, and the cake looks very light, add the spice, fruit, almonds, and half a pint of brandy; set it in a well heated oven to bake; when it has risen, and the top is beginning to brown, cover it with paper; let it bake four hours, and when it is nearly cool, ice it. This will keep a long time in a stone pan, covered close. A cheaper Fruit Cake. Take four pounds of flour, three of butter, three of sugar, two of raisins, one of currants, two dozen eggs, an ounce of mace, three nutmegs, and a half pint of brandy; if you want it dark, put in a little molasses; mix the ingredients together, as the above fruit cake, and bake it from two to three hours. Fruit or Plum Cake. Dry and sift a pound of flour, roll a pound of sugar, and beat it with a pound of butter, and the yelks of ten eggs well beaten; wash and dry a pound of currants and rub them in flour; stone and cut half a pound of raisins, and mix in with a glass of rose brandy, and a grated nutmeg, or mace; when all the rest are well mixed together, beat up the whites of the eggs, and add them; bake it an hour and a half. Pound Cake. Wash the salt from a pound of butter, and beat it with a pound of loaf sugar till it is as soft as cream; have a pound of flour sifted, and beat ten eggs, the whites and yelks separately; put alternately into the butter and sugar the flour and eggs, continue to beat till they are all in, and the cake looks light; add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and half a wine-glass of brandy; butter the pan, and bake it an hour; when it is nearly cold, ice it. If you want a very large cake, double the quantity. You can tell when a cake is done by running in a broom-straw, or the blade of a bright knife; if it comes out without sticking, it is done, but if not, set it back. You can keep a cake a great while in a stone pan that has a lid to fit tight. White Cake. Beat the whites of twenty eggs; wash the salt out of a pound of butter; sift a pound of flour, roll a pound of loaf-sugar, blanch a pound of almonds; roll them fine with a bottle, and mix them with rose water. Work the butter, sugar and almonds together till they look like cream; have the eggs beaten very light, and add them and the flour alternately till you get all in; beat the whole together till it is very light; have a pan buttered, and put it in a heated oven to bake; when it begins to brown, put white paper over the top; bake it about three hours; when it is nearly cold, prepare an icing, flavored with rose water; put it on the top and sides. Washington Cake. Take a pound and three-quarters of sugar, the same of flour, three-quarters of a pound of butter, eight eggs, a pint of milk, and mix them as a pound-cake; just as it is ready to bake, dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a little sour cream, and stir in; season with nutmeg and rose brandy, or essence of lemon; bake it as pound cake. Some persons put in a tea-spoonful of lemon juice just before baking. Madison Cake. Take a pound and a quarter of flour, and the same of sugar and butter; five eggs, a pound, of raisins, and one of currants; two glasses of wine or brandy; mace, nutmeg, and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in a pint of new milk; bake it as pound cake. Indian Pound Cake. Take three-quarters of a pound of Indian meal sifted, and one-quarter of wheat flour; roll a pound of sugar, work into it three-quarters of a pound of butter; season with nutmeg and rose brandy; add four eggs beaten light; mix and bake as other pound cake. Rice Flour Pound Cake. Take seven eggs, a pound of rice flour, one of sugar, and half a pound of butter; season it with rose water and nutmeg; mix and bake it as other pound cake, and ice it. Sponge Cake. Balance twelve fresh eggs with sugar, and six with flour; beat the eggs very light, the whites and yelks separately; mix alternately the sugar and eggs, and add the grated peel of a lemon; butter a large pan, or several small ones; add the flour just as it is put in the oven, stirring it just sufficiently to mix. Beating it after the flour is added makes it heavy; pour it in, and put it to bake as soon as possible. This makes a good pudding, with white sauce. One-half rice flour is an improvement. Rice Sponge Cake. Take three-quarters of a pound of rice flour, one pound of white sugar, finely powdered, and ten eggs; beat the yelks with the sugar, the whites alone; add them and the flour to the yelks and sugar, a little at a time; season it with rose brandy and nutmeg, and bake it in shallow pans. Sponge Cake in Small Pans. Take twelve eggs, with the weight of them in sugar, and the weight of six of them in flour; beat the yelks with the sugar, the whites alone; season with nutmeg or grated lemon peel; put all together, adding the flour the last; stir it quickly after the flour is added, as it will make it heavy to beat it much; grease several small pans and pour it in, bake with a quick heat, and they will be done in half an hour, or less, according to the size. They are pretty iced. Lemon Sponge Cake. Take ten eggs, separate them, a pound of loaf-sugar, half a pound of flour, the grated peel of two lemons and the juice of one; beat the yelks with the sugar, the whites alone, when add them and sift in the flour by degrees; beat well, have your pan buttered, and bake with a quick heat either in a stove or dutch-oven, or a brick oven, the heat should not be quite so great as for light bread--it will bake in about an hour. Cup Cake. Take four cups of flour, three of sugar, one of melted butter, one of sour cream, with a tea-spoonful of salaeratus dissolved in it, and three eggs; season it with brandy and nutmeg; mix, and bake it as pound cake. Loaf Cake. Take about a pound of risen bread dough, work into it a tea-cup of butter, three eggs beaten, a pound of sugar, a nutmeg grated and a glass of brandy or wine; a pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, should be added after it is well beaten; half a pint of cream slightly warmed, with a table-spoonful of vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of dissolved salaeratus should be stirred in just as you are ready to bake it; also sifted flour enough to make it the proper consistence; bake in a large pan, in a brick oven or stove, and it will require an hour and a quarter. Queen Cake. Mix a pound of dried flour, the same of sifted sugar, and currants; wash a pound of butter, add rose water--beat it well--a tea-cup of cream; then mix with it eight eggs, yelks and whites beaten separately; add the dry ingredients by degrees; beat the whole an hour, bake in little tins, or saucers, filling only half. Rich Jumbles. Rub a pound of butter into a pound and a quarter of flour; beat four eggs with a pound and a quarter of sugar; when very light, mix them with the butter and flour; mix in a glass of rose water, and a nutmeg; roll them in rings, and bake them slowly; sift powdered sugar over after they are baked. Common Jumbles. Take a pound of flour, half a pound of butter, and three-quarters of sugar, three eggs, a little nutmeg and rose brandy; mix the butter and sugar together, and add the flour and eggs; mould them in rings, and bake them slowly. Molasses Jumbles. Beat three-quarters of a pound of sugar, the same of butter, and three eggs together; stir in half a pint of molasses; add rose brandy and nutmeg, and enough flour to make a soft dough; roll it in rings, and bake as other jumbles. By the addition of half a pint of molasses and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, you will have a common black cake, which may be baked in one large pan. Jumbles for Delicate Persons. Roll a heaped pint of light-brown sugar, and rub it in two pints or flour, half a pound of butter, and a dessert spoonful of cinnamon; beat an egg, and mix it with half a tea-cup of rich milk (in which a very small lump of salaeratus has been dissolved;) stir all together with a wine glass of rose brandy; work it well, roll thin and cut them out--bake with moderate heat. Cup Jumbles. Five tea-cups of flour, three of sugar, one heaped of butter, one of sweet cream, three eggs and the peel of one lemon grated, or nutmeg, or mace if you like; roll them thin, and bake in a quick oven. Jackson Jumbles. Three tea-cups of sugar, one of butter, five of flour, one tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a cup of sour cream and two eggs; bake in a quick oven; season them with the peel of a fresh lemon grated, and half a wine-glass of brandy. Macaroons. Blanch a pound of almonds, beat them in a mortar, and put with them a little rose water to keep them from oiling, the white of an egg, and a large spoonful of flour; roll a pound of loaf-sugar, and beat the whites of four eggs; beat them all together; shape them on white paper with a spoon, and bake them on tin plates in a slow oven; let them be quite cold before you remove them from the paper. Naples Biscuit. Beat twelve eggs till light; add to them a pound of dried flour and one of powdered sugar; beat all together till perfectly light; put in some rose water and nutmeg, and bike it in small shallow pans in a moderately heated oven. New Year Cake. Mix together three pounds of flour, a pound and a half of sugar, and three-quarters of a pound of butter: dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in enough new milk to wet the flour; mix them together; grate in a nutmeg, or the peel of a lemon; roll them out, cut them in shapes, and bake. Cider Cake. Take a pound and a half of flour, three-quarters of sugar, and a quarter of a pound of butter; dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as much cider as will make it a soft dough, and bake it in shallow pans; season it with spice to your taste. Dover Cake. One pound of flour, one of sugar, half a pound of butter, six eggs, half a nutmeg, a spoonful of rose brandy; beat the butter and sugar together, adding the other ingredients, the whites of the eggs beaten separately; bake as pound cake. Jelly Cake. This cake can be made by the sponge, cup, or Dover cake recipe; have shallow tin pans or plates of the same size, butter them, and pour in the batter so as to be about half an inch thick when baked; they take but a few minutes to bake of a light-brown; and as you take them from the oven, put them on a china plate, with a layer of jelly between each cake, till you have four or five layers; cut the cake in slices before handing it. Currant jelly is to be preferred, but quince will answer, or peach marmalade. Almond Cake. Ten eggs, one pound of loaf-sugar, half a pound of almonds, half a pound of flour, one nutmeg; beat the yelks first, then put in the sugar, beating them very light; blanch the almonds and pound them in a mortar, with rose water or the juice of a lemon; add them alternately with the flour, and the whites of the eggs well beaten. If you bake in one large cake, it will require an hour and a half in a slow oven; in small pans, it will take less time, and in either case, will require watching. Raised Plum Cake. Take three pounds of flour, and mix to it as much new milk as will make a thick batter, and a tea-cup of yeast; when it is light, beat together a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, and four eggs; mix this in with a pound of raisins, stoned and cut, half a pound of currants, a grated nutmeg, and a glass of rose brandy; bake it two hours. Black Cake. Rub a pound and a half of softened butter in three pounds of flour, add a pound of brown sugar, rolled fine, a pint of molasses, a table-spoonful of rose brandy, a nutmeg or some mace, four eggs well beaten, a pound of raisins stoned and chopped; mix the whole well, and before baking add a tea-cup of sour cream with a tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in it--beat it up again, have the pans well buttered, and put in about three parts full; this quantity will make about six cakes, in bread pans; bake as bread and if it brown too much, put paper on it, if it seems too stiff, add a little more molasses or cream. It will keep several weeks in cold weather. Bunns. Take a pound and a quarter of flour, half a pound of butter, and three-quarters of a pound of sugar, six eggs, half a pound of currants, half a nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and a pint of new milk; mix all well together, and put in half a tea-cup of yeast; let it rise, and when light, bake it in shallow pans. Butter-milk Cakes. One pound of sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, three eggs, a tea-cup of butter-milk, nutmeg or cinnamon to taste; add as much flour as will make a dough that will roll out; cut in round cakes and bake with a quick heat. A Composition Cake. One pound of sugar, one of flour, half a pound of butter, six eggs, two and a half wine-glasses of milk, one tea-spoonful of soda and one of tartaric acid; warm the milk and butter; add the sugar, then the yelks of the eggs beaten light, then the whites and the flour alternately, then the soda, (to be dissolved in half a wine-glass of water;) season with nutmeg, mace, or a little essence of lemon, and add lastly, the tartaric acid, dissolved in half a wine-glass of water. Bake it one hour in an oven, as hot as is usual for bread; when brown at the top, cover it with paper. A pound of dried currants is an agreeable addition. Ginger Cup-cake. Three cups of flour, one of sugar, one of molasses, one of butter, a table-spoonful of ginger, one tea-spoonful of salaeratus, and three eggs; bake in pans. A pound of stoned and chopped raisins is an improvement. Light Ginger bread. Take three cups of molasses, five of flour, one of sugar, three eggs, and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in a cup of sour cream; work the sugar with a quarter of a pound of butter; beat two dozen cloves, and put in with two table-spoonsful of ginger; mix all together, and bake in shallow pans or cups. Crisp Ginger-cake. Take three pounds of flour, one of sugar, and one of butter; mix these together with three table-spoonsful of ginger, some cloves and anise seed, and wet it with molasses; roll it thin; cut it in shapes, and bake with a quick heat. Ginger-bread Nuts. Take a pound and a half of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, the same of butter, some cloves and cinnamon pounded fine, and an ounce of ginger; mix these well together, and make it into a stiff dough, with molasses; roll it thin, and cut it in small cakes. Crullers. Take two pounds of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, six eggs, and some mace or nutmeg; mix the flour, sugar and butter together, and wet it with the eggs; if too stiff, put in some cream, roll the dough thin; cut it in shapes, and fry them in boiling lard. The more lard there is, the less they will soak it up. Rusk. Take a quart of milk, a tea-cup of cream, half a pound of lard, quarter of a pound of butter, a spoonful of salt, and boil them together; beat well two eggs with a pound of sugar, and pour the boiling milk on them gradually, stirring all the time; when nearly cold, add a tea-cup of yeast, and flour sufficient to make a stiff batter; when quite light, knead it up as bread, and let it lighten again before molding out; when they are moulded out, wet them over with sugar and cream, and let them rise a few minutes and bake them; grate a little sugar over when they come out of the oven. Rusk for Drying. Boil a quart of milk, and put in it half a pound of butter, and a little salt; when nearly cold, stir in a tea-cup of yeast, a pound of sugar, and flour to make a batter; when it is light, knead it up with flour, and let it rise again; grease your pans, and make it out in cakes, about the size of a tea-cup, and an inch thick; put two layers in each part, and bake them three-quarters of an hour; when take them out, break them apart, and put the top ones in other pans, and let them dry slowly in the oven for an hour or more. This rusk will keep for months, and is very useful in sickness, to make panada; it is also good for delicate persons that rich cake disagrees with, or to take on a journey. Nutmeg or mace to your taste. If you like it richer, two eggs may be put in. Bread Rusk. Take as much lightened dough, as would make a loaf of bread, spread it open, and put in a tea-cup of sugar, some nutmeg and a piece of butter; work it well, mould it out, and bake it with your bread; wet the top with sugar and cream before it goes in the oven. Dough-nuts. Boil a quart of new milk and melt in it half a pound of butter; beat three eggs with two pounds of sugar, and pour on them the boiling milk, stirring all the time; when it is nearly cold, star in a tea-cup of yeast, a spoonful of salt, and flour enough to make a stiff batter; when this is quite light, knead in flour to make a soft dough, two grated nutmegs and a little mace; let it rise again till it is very light; roll it out thin, cut it in shapes, and fry them in hot lard; dust over cinnamon and loaf-sugar, pounded fine, while they are hot. Common Dough-nuts. Pour a pint of boiling water into a pint of new milk, put in a quarter of a pound of lard, and a table-spoonful of salt; stir in a tea-cup of yeast and flour to make a stiff batter; let it rise, and when very light put in two pounds of light-brown sugar, two nutmegs, and enough flour to make a soft dough; work it well and let it rise again till it is very light; roll out and fry as other dough-nuts. PRESERVES, JELLIES, &c. To Clarify Sugar. To every four pounds of sugar put a quart of water and the whites of two eggs; if you put in the egg after it gets hot, it will cook before it has the desired effect; when it comes to a boil, and the scum rises, pour in a little cold water; let it boil up; take it off to settle, and skim it well; let it boil up, and skim it three times, when it will be fit to preserve with. You should always clarify white Havana sugar. Apples. Apples should be preserved in November, and they will keep till June. Take firm pippins, pare them and take out the cores, leaving them whole; or after you have cored them, cut them across in two pieces, they will then be in rings; put them in cold water as fast as they are pared, to keep them from turning dark; make a syrup of a pound of loaf-sugar, and half a pint of water to each pound of apples; wipe the apples, and put in as many as will go in, without one laying on another; let them boil swiftly till they look clear, then take them up carefully on dishes, and put in some more; when all are done, if the syrup should seem too thin, boil it up after the apples are taken out; cut the peel of several lemons in thin rings, boil them in a little water till they are soft, and throw them in the syrup after the apples are taken out; put the syrup in a bowl, and set all away till the next day, when put the apples in glass jars or large bowls, spread the lemon peel about them and put the syrup on the top; paste several thicknesses of paper over, and set them in a dry cool closet. If you only want the apples to keep a few weeks, they may be done with half a pound of sugar to a pound of apples, and will look and taste quite as well. Apples with Brown Sugar. Pare and halve your apples, either pippins, red-streaks or wine-saps; make a syrup of light-brown sugar, allowing half a pound to a pound of the fruit; after boiling and clarifying the syrup, pour it over the fruit, and set it by for two days, then cook them, and seasoned with green ginger root they are excellent; they will not require much cooking, and should be of a light-brown color. Crab Apples. Put the crab apples in a kettle with grape leaves in and around them, with some alum; keep them at scalding heat for an hour, take them out, skin them, and take out the seeds with a small knife, leaving on the stems; put them in cold water, make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a pound of apples; wipe the apples and put them in; let them stew gently till they look clear; take them out, and let the syrup boil longer. Currants. Make a syrup of one pint of currant juice to three pounds of sugar; if it is brown sugar, put in the white of an egg to clarify it; let it boil and skim it; have three pounds of currants picked and stemmed; put them in the syrup, and let them boil slowly, about twenty minutes; take them up and let the syrup boil longer. Pine Apples. Pare and slice the pine apples, and make a syrup of a pound of sugar and half a pint of water to a pound of fruit; clarify and skim it, then put in the apples and let them cook gently for half an hour; if you do not want to keep them long, much less sugar will do. Blackberries. Allow a pint of currant juice and a pint of water to six pounds of blackberries; give them their weight in brown sugar; let them boil till they appear to be done, and the syrup is rich. Blackberry jelly can be made as currant jelly, and is good for sick children, mixed with water. Blackberry Flummery. Stew three pints of blackberries with one pint of sugar--soak a tea-cup full of ground rice--and when the berries have been stewing about fifteen minutes, stir in the rice, and stir the whole time until it becomes thick. This should be eaten cold with cream, and will keep two days. Cherries. To preserve four pounds of cherries, take one pint of currant juice, into which put five pounds of sugar; when this boils up, take off any scum that rises, and put in half of the cherries, with part of each stem on; when they look so clear that you can see the stone, they are done; take these up on a dish and put in the rest, and let them do slowly the same length of time; take them up and let the syrup boil a few minutes longer; do not put them in the jars till they are quite cold. Glass jars are the best to keep all early fruits in, as you can then see if they begin to ferment; if they do, you must boil them over; always put them in a window where they will be exposed to the sun. Common Cherries. Stone the light-colored common cherries, and to every pound of fruit, allow a pound of sugar, which boil up with the juice; after you have skimmed it, throw in the cherries, and let them boil till the syrup is rich. Cherries for Common Use. Stone twelve pounds of morel cherries; allow half a pound of brown sugar to each pound of fruit, after it is stoned, let them cook slowly for two hours; examine them through the summer, and if they show any signs of fermentation, set them in a brick-oven, after the bread is done, or in a dutch-oven of hot water, which keep at boiling heat for an hour. It is a good plan to know the weight of your preserving kettle, as you can then weigh the fruit in it, with a pair of steelyards. Apricots. Pour boiling water on the apricots and wipe them dry; then cut them in half and take out the stone; make a syrup of their weight in sugar, and a little water; when this has boiled, put in the fruit, and let it cook slowly till it is clear, and the syrup is rich. Ginger. Scrape the outside from the green ginger, and boil it in a little water, till it is soft; then take it out, and scrape off any spots that are on it; make a syrup of half a pint of water to a pound of sugar and a pound of ginger; let it boil slowly about half an hour; take it up and boil the syrup a little longer. Green Gage Plums. Take an equal quantity of fruit and sugar, pour boiling water on the plums, and wipe them dry; stick them over with a pin; make a syrup of the sugar and some water, and when it boils, put in half of the plums; let them do slowly till they are clear, then take them out and put in the rest; if the syrup should be thin, let it boil longer. Do not put them in the jars till the next day. Egg plums may be done in the same way. Green Lemons. Take the young lemons, cut them in half, scrape them, and take out the pulp; cut them in such shapes as you please; put them in a preserving kettle and cover them with water; put in a little alum to green them, and let them boil till they are transparent, then take them out and drain them on a cloth; give the kettle another cleansing, and put them in with their weight in sugar; let them stew gently, but be careful that they do not boil; let them cook till the syrup is rich. Raspberries. Boil three pounds of raspberries in a pint of currant juice, for ten minutes; put in four pounds of sugar, and let them boil half an hour, or until it is a jelly. Paste paper over the jar. Citron Melon. Pare the melon and cut it in slices half an inch thick, without the seeds; let it lay in salt and water for an hour, then wash the salt off, and boil it in strong ginger tea; make a thin syrup and boil it again, then make a syrup of a pound of loaf-sugar to a pound of citron, and boil it in this till it is clear; season it with mace and lemon peel. Watermelon Rinds. Cut the rinds in any form you please; put them in strong salt and water, with cabbage leaves over and around them, and set them in a warm place till they become yellow; then wash them, and put them in a kettle with alum and water, and grape or cabbage leaves over and through them; set them on the fire, and keep it at scalding heat for two hours--but do not let them boil. If they are not of a fine green color, change the water and leaves; when they are green enough, put them in cold soft water for three days, changing the water twice a day; then make a syrup of rather more than a pound of sugar to a pound of melon, some sliced ginger, the peel of a lemon, and a little mace; let them boil slowly fifteen minutes, take them up, and boil them again at the end of a week. Cantelopes, Cucumbers, or Melons. Take young watermelons, cucumbers or cantelopes; scrape the melons, and cut the rinds in shapes--leave the cucumbers whole; put them in a preserving kettle with alum and water; cover them, and let them boil till they are transparent; take them out, wash them in cold water, and wipe each piece separately; have your kettle nicely cleaned, and give them rather more than their weight in sugar; put a layer of sugar, and a layer of melon, some slices of green ginger, and the rind and juice of a lemon; let them stew over the fire till the syrup is rich; take them up, and stew them over again in about a week. Cranberries. To preserve cranberries, allow them their weight in sugar; make a syrup of the proportions of half a pint of water to two pounds of the sugar; boil and skim it before you put the fruit in; then let them boil until clear. To make sauce to eat with roast fowls, put three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Gooseberries. Take the large gooseberries, pick off the stems and blossoms, give them their weight in sugar; put them in the kettle alternately, with the sugar, and pour over them a pint of water to four pounds of fruit; let them boil gently till the scum arises; when this is taken off, let them cook faster; when clear, take them up on dishes, and boil the syrup longer. Peaches. Have sweet, white clingstone peaches--pare and stone them; to each pound, take a pound of sugar made in a syrup, put the peaches in, and when they look clear, take them up on dishes; let the syrup boil longer. A New Mode of Preserving Peaches. Pare, halve and weigh the peaches; put them in a preserving kettle of boiling water, and to six pounds of peaches, put a tea-spoonful of soda or pearl-ash; let them boil one minute; then take them out, and throw them in cold water; scrape off the black scum which adheres to the peaches; wipe and lay them on a dish; have the kettle cleaned, and put the peaches in layers, with half their weight in sugar; they will not require any water; let them cook slowly at first, then boil till clear--when take them out, and let the syrup boil till it becomes rich. The flavor of the peach is retained, and they are not so sweet as in the old way. Damsons. Weigh out as much sugar as you have fruit; if it is brown you must clarify it; put a pint of water to three pounds of sugar, make a syrup, wash the damsons, put them in and let them cook slowly for half an hour; then take them out on dishes, and let them dry in the sun for two days, taking them in the house at night; boil the syrup half an hour after the fruit is taken out; when done in this way they will be whole and clear. You can make a jam by boiling them slowly for two hours; or a jelly as currants. To Preserve Strawberries. Gather the strawberries in the mid-day, pick out the largest and best, stem them, and to each pound of strawberries put a pound of loaf-sugar and a glass of white wine; let them stand four or five hours; take off the syrup so as not to mash the fruit, and clarify it; then put in the strawberries, and to each pound put as much fine alum as will lay on the blade of a penknife; let them boil up several times, and shake them round in the kettle, but do not stir them with a spoon, as that will mash them; a few minutes boiling is sufficient; after you take out the fruit, let the syrup boil up, and when it is nearly cold pour it over them in the jar; put a piece of white paper over the top, and pour a spoonful of brandy on it; paste several thicknesses of paper over the jar. If you like your preserved strawberries, cherries, or peaches, to have a fine pale color, allow them to bob half the time recommended in the receipt, then spread the fruit thin on dishes, with but little syrup, pour the rest of the syrup also on dishes, and set them daily in the sun; if the weather be clear and the sun hot, four days will be sufficient. Preserves done in this manner do not ferment. You should spread a piece of gauze or netting over them to keep out insects or dust. Another Way. To each pound of the fruit take a pound of crushed sugar; put them in the preserving kettle, a layer of sugar and a layer of fruit; let them stand a little while to make syrup before putting them over the fire; they should boil fast for twenty minutes; watch them all the time, taking off the scum as it rises; stir them gently without mashing the berries; put them in jars, put brandy papers over them and paste or tie them close. Preserves should never be put in jars that have had pickles in them. Tomatoes. Take solid round tomatoes, scald and peel them, give them their weight in sugar, put a layer of sugar and of tomatoes alternately; let them boil slowly till the syrup forms, then boil faster, till clear, and the syrup is rich; season with lemon peel, ginger or mace; some prefer the yellow tomato for preserving. Quinces. Pick out the finest quinces, pare them, and cut them in halves, or in rings; take the best of the parings and the seed, and boil them in water till they are very soft, strain the liquor, and have the kettle cleaned again, wash and weigh the quinces, and give them their weight in sugar, put the sugar in the water the parings were boiled in--skin it, and put in the quinces, let them boil very slowly till clear, take them up on dishes, and boil the syrup longer. Green Peppers. Get peppers that have a sweet taste, take out the seeds, leaving on the stems, lay them in salt and water for three days, changing the water each day, then put them in a kettle with leaves around them, and a small piece of alum, let them scald, but not boil, for two hours, take them out, and let them lay in water three days, changing it twice each day, then boil them in sugar and water fifteen minutes, then make a syrup, allowing them their weight in sugar, and boil them gently in it half an hour, take them out and boil the syrup longer. Pumpkin. Choose a fine grained, high colored pumpkin, fully ripe, cut it in thin slices, about four inches long and two wide, to two pounds of pumpkin, put two pounds of sugar in a bowl, cut the peel of two lemons in rings, and squeeze the juice over the pumpkin, let it stand all night, the next day put it on to preserve with two tea cups of water, let it cook gently till the pumpkin seems clear and crisp, take it up, scald the lemon peel, and boil it in the syrup, cool it on dishes, and put it in a jar. Green Fox-Grape Jelly. Fill a kettle with grapes, and let them boil with a pint of water till the skins burst, mash and strain them, put a pound of sugar to a pint of juice, and let it boil half and hour. Ripe fox-grapes may be made into very nice jelly in the same way, and is very good to drink in sickness, mixed with water. Pears. Pare and core the fruit, but leave the stems on; put them in a syrup of a pound of sugar, and a half a pint of water to a pound of pears, with some green ginger or lemon peel; boil the syrup half an hour after they are done. Ripe Fox-Grape Jam. To two quarts of grapes, allow three pounds of brown sugar, and a pint of water; have the grapes picked over and washed; put them all together and let them boil more than an hour; take them up on shallow dishes, and pick out as many seeds as you can with a spoon. This makes a good common preserve when other fruits are scarce; they are also very good for pies. Currant Jelly. Pick the leaves from the currants and fill your kettle with them; put a tea-cup of water to keep them from sticking; cover them with a plate and let them boil slowly half an hour; take them out, and strain them through a flannel bag; to every pint of juice put a pound of loaf-sugar; let it boil till it is a thick jelly, which will be in about fifteen minutes, and put it in tumblers or jars. Lemon Butter or French Honey. Take half a pound of butter, melt it in an earthen dish and squeeze in the juice of six lemons; beat twelve eggs with two pounds of brown sugar, stir it in with the rind of two lemons grated, mix it all together, and let it boil twenty minutes, when it will be about the consistency of honey; the flavor is agreeable, and it may be eaten on bread, or as a sauce for boiled pudding. Currant Syrup. Prepare the currants as for jelly; to every pint of juice put a pint of water and a pound of sugar; let it boil half an hour and skim it well; if the flavor of the raspberry is preferred, it may be added in the proportion of one pint of it to four of currant juice. It is a very pleasant drink mixed with water in warm weather. Quince Jelly. Wash and wipe the quinces; cut them in small pieces, and take out the seeds carefully; have your kettle cleaned and half full of water; throw the quinces and seeds in till you get it full; cover them over and let them boil till very soft; mash them well and strain them; to every pint of juice put a pound of sugar; clean the kettle again, pour in the juice and sugar, and let it boil till it forms a jelly; it should be put into tea-cups, if you want to turn it out whole, with brandy papers on top, and pasted over. It is a nice jelly to use with whips or trifle. Apple Jelly. Pare and quarter a preserving kettle full of pippin apples; cover them with water, and lay a plate close over them; let them boil until perfectly soft, taking the plate off to skim them; spread a coarse thin cloth over a large bowl; pour the apples on the cloth, and let the juice run through, without squeezing; hold the towel by the corners, and move it gently; take three-quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar to a pint of the juice, and boil it fast, skimming it, until it becomes jelly, which will be in from ten to fifteen minutes, pour it in tumblers or glass jars, and when quite cold, paste them over. This will keep a year. Red streak apples make a fine red jelly, boiled with the skins on them. If you have currant or grape jelly that has candied, they can be restored by making some apple syrup, and mixing it hot; it will not require any more sugar--about one-third apple juice; let it boil a few minutes. Very sweet preserves that have candied can be improved by this process. Apple Marmalade. Apples make a very good marmalade when other fruits are scarce, and can be done at any time through the fall, or winter, pare the apples, cut them up, and put them to boil, with some water and green ginger scraped, and tied up in a bag, after they have boiled an hour, take out the ginger, and put in half a pound of sugar to one of fruit, let it cook an hour longer. Peach Marmalade. Take soft yellow peaches, pare them, and cut them in quarters, give them their weight in sugar, put the peaches in the preserving kettle with a pint of water, without the sugar, and let them boil till they are well cooked, covered over with a plate, when done, mash them in the kettle till very fine, and stir in the sugar, let them cook slowly an hour, or they may be finished in a stone jar in the oven, or set in a stove boiler, and the water kept boiling all the time, they are not then so likely to burn as when finished over the fire, they will do with less sugar, if they are dried in the sun two days previous to preserving. Another Way. Pare and quarter the peaches, and to eight pounds of peaches, allow five pounds of sugar, put them on, sugar and peaches at once, mixing them through, let them stew slowly until a syrup forms, when they may cook pretty fast for several hours, without once stirring, then take them up, and mash them well, if the marmalade is not thick enough, spread it on dishes, and dry in your oven after the bread is taken out. Quinces and apples may be done in the same way. Quince Marmalade. Pare the quinces and cut them up fine, put the parings and cores to boil, then strain them, put in the quinces, and let them boil till soft-when mash them fine, and put in three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, let them cook gently for two hours, and take them up in pint bowls; when cold, put brandy papers on the top of each, and paste them over, they will turn out whole to put on table. Marmalade of Mixed Fruits. Pare equal quantities of peaches, apples, pears and quinces, cut them fine, and put them to boil with a pint of water to six pounds of fruit, let them cook thoroughly, but do not let them burn, take them out, and mash them well, clean the kettle, and put them back, with half their weight in sugar, let them cook very slowly for two hours. Lemon Marmalade. Soak the peel of lemons that have been left after making lemonade, changing the water twice a day for three days, to extract the bitter, boil them till soft, then mash and put in enough sugar to make it pleasant to the taste; stew it a short time after the sugar is put in; put it in a bowl, and when cold, cut it in slices for the table; it will keep several weeks. To Conserve Pears. Have the nicest pears you can get, pare them, and leave on the stems; take half a pound of loaf-sugar to a pound of pears; put them in the kettle together, with water enough to moisten the sugar; if the pears are very juicy, they will not need any; cover them over with a plate, and let them boil very gently for two hours; take them out on dishes, and boil the syrup to jelly, and put it away by itself; set the pears in the sun, or in a moderately heated oven; when quite dry, sprinkle them with loaf-sugar, and put them away in glass jars. Peaches in Cider. Scald and wipe the peaches; cut them from the stone, and dry them in the sun two days; boil a gallon of sweet cider half away; put in the peaches, and let them stew slowly till done; they will keep without any sugar, but you can put some in, if you wish them sweeter. Pears can be kept in the same way. Peaches, &c. in Brandy. Take fresh yellow peaches, or large clingstones, pour boiling water on them, and wipe off the down; make a syrup of half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and boil and skim it; put in the peaches, and let them cook for fifteen minutes; take them up without any syrup, and cool them on dishes; boil the syrup down to half, and put an equal quantity of peach or French brandy, pour this over the peaches after they are in jars. Plums or cherries may be done in the same way. Grapes in Brandy. Put some close bunches of grapes, not too ripe, in a jar, and prick each one with a needle, strew over them half their weight in pounded rock candy, and fill up the jar with brandy. To Conserve Peaches. Take the yellow peaches, pare them, and cut them from the stone in one piece, to six pounds of peaches have two pounds of sugar, make a syrup of three-quarters of a pound of sugar, and a little water, put them in, and let them stay till they are quite clear, then take them up carefully on a dish, and set them in the sun to dry, pound the sugar fine, and strew over them, turning them over to let each part have some, do not put much on at a time, and if any syrup is made, remove them to fresh dishes, when they are sufficiently dry, lay them lightly in a jar, with a little sugar between each layer. If the peaches are sweet clings, three pounds of sugar to twelve of peaches will be enough, if you dry them a day in the sun before they are stewed. Sauce of Cherries, or Damsons. Allow half a pound of brown sugar to every pound of fruit, and to each seven pounds a pint of molasses, and one of strong vinegar, let them cook slowly, so as not to break the skins, take them up in a jar, put in a few cloves, let the syrup boil longer, and pour it over. Frosted Fruit. Take large ripe cherries, apricots, plums or grapes; if cherries, cut off half of the stem; have in one dish some white of an egg beaten, and in another some powdered loaf-sugar; take the fruit, one at a time, and roll them first in the egg, and then in the sugar; lay them on a sheet of white paper in a sieve, and set it on the top of a stove or near a fire till the icing is hard. Grapes for Pies. After the first frost, pick the wild grapes, and put them in a jar, free from stems; fill it with boiling molasses, and tie it up close; set it on a hot hearth, or on the top of a stove, in a pan of water, for several days. These are very useful to make common pies in the winter. Green Tomatoes for Pies. Pick the green tomatoes before they are much frosted; scald them and take off the skins; put them in your kettle and let them boil for half an hour; cut them up, and put in a pound of sugar to three pounds of tomatoes, and let them cook for half an hour longer; season them with the juice and peel of a lemon, and put them away in jars. They make very good pies in the winter, and resemble gooseberries. Conserve of Roses. Gather the leaves of the damask rose, while they are fresh; spread a pound of loaf-sugar on your cake-board, and roll in about half a pound of rose leaves, or as many as will work into it, have your kettle cleaned, and stew them in it very gently for about half an hour; put it in tumblers to use when you have a cough. It is very good for children that are threatened with the croup; you should have some by the side of the bed to use at night. To keep Damsons for Pies. To every twelve pounds of damsons take seven pounds of brown sugar; put them together in a stone jar, a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar; tie it up close, and set it in a heated oven; let it stay till it is cold, and continue to set it in, after every baking, for several weeks; or you can cook them on the top of a stove, in a pan of hot water. Dried Cherries, &c. Dried cherries should be kept in a jar, with sugar sprinkled among them; they are very useful in sickness; a tea-cupful of cherries, with a quart of boiling water poured on them, and left to draw for half an hour, with sweetening, makes a very agreeable drink when you cannot get lemonade. When stewed for pies you should allow them plenty of water, and not put in the sugar till they are nearly done. Boiling water poured on dried apples also makes a good drink in sickness. Apple Butter. _With Remarks on the Use of Earthen Vessels_ Have your kettle well cleaned, and fill it early in the morning with cider made of sound apples, and just from the press; let it boil half away, which may be done by three o'clock in the afternoon; have pared and cut enough good apples to fill the kettle; put them in a clean tub, and pour the boiling cider over; then scour the kettle and put in the apples and cider, let them boil briskly till the apples sink to the bottom; slacken the fire and let them stew, like preserves, till ten o'clock at night. Some dried quinces stewed in cider and put in are an improvement. Season with orange peel, cinnamon or cloves, just before it is done; if you like it sweeter, you can put in some sugar an hour before it is done. If any thing occur that you cannot finish it in a day, pour it in a tub, and finish it the next day; when it is done put it in stone jars. Any thing acid should not be put in earthen vessels, as the glazing is poisonous. This way of making apple butter requires but little stirring; you must keep a constant watch that it does not burn. Pears and peaches may be done in the same way, and if they are sweet, will not require sugar. Another Way. It is important to have a large copper or bell-metal kettle, into which put the cider as soon as it comes from the press; put it over a brisk fire, and boil it half away; then put the cider from the kettle into clean stone jars, (warm the jars to prevent the danger of breaking them;) have your apples pared and cut over night, as many as would fill your kettle twice; have the kettle well cleaned, and in the morning put in half the cider, and fill the kettle nearly full of apples, and put it over a brisk fire; when they begin to boil up, stir them down, which may be done two or three times, before you put in your stick to stir constantly; then put in the rest of the apples and cider, as fast as the kettle will take them, and boil it four hours after the last apples are put in, stirring it all the time; you should have for the purpose a stick made of hickory wood, somewhat like a common hoe, with holes in it. Candied Preserves, &c. If your preserves candy, set the jars in hot water for half an hour; if they are in glass jars put them in something else, as glass cracks easily, when exposed to heat. Preserves made with white Havana sugar are not so liable to candy as others. Common preserves are improved, and are more certain to keep well, by being placed on flat dishes and set in a brick-oven after the bread is taken out: they may remain two or more hours without injury. When preserves are about to boil over, you should have a common fan at hand and fan them, which will sometimes answer instead of taking them from the fire. Cider Marmalade. Boil two gallons of sweet cider down to one gallon; have ready two gallons of apples, pared and cut; pour the cider out of the kettle, and clean it; then put in the apples, and pour the cider in, and two or three pounds of sugar; if it will not hold all conveniently, add at intervals; let them stew four hours; do not stir till they are nearly done--stirring makes fruit stick to the kettle and burn; if you stir once you must keep on. This is a pleasant sauce for dinner, or eaten with bread and butter at tea, and will keep in a cool place through the winter. Tomato Figs. Take six pounds of sugar, to one peck (or sixteen pounds) of ripe tomatoes--the pear-shaped look best; put them over the fire (_without peeling_) in your preserving kettle, their own juice being sufficient without the addition of water; boil them until the sugar penetrates and they are clarified. They are then taken out, spread on dishes, flattened and dried in the sun, or in a brick-oven after the bread is taken out. A small quantity of the syrup should be occasionally sprinkled over them whilst drying; after which, pack them down in jars, sprinkling each layer with powdered sugar. The syrup is afterwards concentrated and bottled for use. They retain surprisingly their flavor, which is agreeable and somewhat similar to the best figs. Ordinary brown sugar may be used, a large portion of which is retained in syrup. Molasses Candy or Taffy. Put a quart of good molasses (not sugar house) in a dutch-oven or iron pot, having previously greased it with butter; let it boil very fast, stirring it all the time for fifteen minutes; then put in a tea-cup of sugar and let it boil fifteen minutes longer, stirring all the time; take a little out on a plate, and when it is brittle, pour it while hot into tin plates rubbed with butter; put it in a cold place and break it up when you want it for use; never put taffy in china or earthen plates, as they would probably be broken in taking it out. Some think it an improvement to add the kernels of black walnuts, nicely picked--put them in just as you take up the taffy and give it one stir; a tea-cup of kernels to a pint of molasses is a good proportion. Walnut Cheese. Take a pint of nice kernels and pound them in a mortar with two tea-cups of brown sugar, and a table-spoonful of water; put it in cups or small bowls and it will turn out like other cheese. It is a favorite refreshment with some country children. CORDIALS, WINES, VINEGAR, PICKLES, &c. Peach Cordial. Put a gallon of peach brandy into a wide-mouthed vessel, and five pounds of fine flavored peaches, cut from the stone; boil five pints of water with two pounds of loaf-sugar and a pound of peaches, till it is a clear and rich syrup; pour this boiling hot on the brandy and stir it well; put in two dozen peach kernels, blanched and pounded, and a little mace; let it stand three weeks covered tight--at the end of which time, bottle it for use. It is a nice seasoning for cake. Quince Cordial. Grate the quinces and strain them; to every quart of juice, put a pound of loaf-sugar and a pint of spirits; boil, strain and bottle it. Cherry Cordial. Mash and strain the cherries, boil the juice, and to a gallon, put two pounds of sugar, and half a pint of spirits; the sugar should be boiled in it; skim and strain; when cold, bottle it. Lemon Brandy. Have a bottle three-quarters full of brandy; when you use lemons for other purposes, pare off the yellow skin very thin, cut it small and drop it in the bottle, till you get it full. Be careful not to put in any of the tough white part, as that will give it a bitter taste; cork the bottle and keep it to season cakes and puddings. Rose Brandy. Fill a large bottle with damask rose leaves, picked while they are fresh; fill the bottle with brandy, or good spirits of any kind; cork it tightly and set it away for use. It will bear filling up several times. Blackberry Cordial. Mash and strain the blackberries; put the juice on to boil in a brass or bell-metal kettle; skim it well, and to each gallon of juice put three pounds of sugar and a quart of spirits; bruise some cloves and put in. This is valuable as a medicine for children in summer. Rose Water. Gather the damask rose leaves; have a tin pan that will fit under your warming-pan; wring a thin towel out of water, spread it over the pan, and put rose leaves on this about two inches thick; put another wet towel on top of the leaves, and three or four thicknesses of paper on it; put hot embers in the warming-pan, and set it on top of the paper, propped up so as not to fall; when you renew the coals, sprinkle the towel that is at the top of the rose leaves; when all the strength is out of the leaves, they will be in a cake; dry this, and put it in your drawers to scent the clothes; put another set of leaves in, sprinkle the towels, and so till you have used up all your rose leaves. Rose water is a very nice seasoning for cake or pudding; it should be kept corked tightly. Cologne. Put into a bottle half an ounce of oil of lavender, one drachm of oil of rosemary, two of essence of lemon, two of essence of bergamot, forty drops of oil of cinnamon, and a little musk, if you like it; pour on it three pints of best alcohol. Blackberry Wine. Gather the fruit when fully ripe, but before the sun has had time to dry the juice; put it in a tub and pour in clear cold water enough to cover it; mash it to a pulp with a wooden masher; strain it through a linen bag or towel; a deal of juice will remain in the pulp, which in order to get you must add some sugar to it, and boil it in your preserving kettle, when you may strain again, and will have little left but seeds; to every gallon of the liquor, add three pounds of good brown sugar; pour it in a keg, (which should stand in a cellar, or cool dry place:) let it stand two or three weeks, with the bung laid loosely on; as the froth works out fill it up, (with some of the liquor kept out for the purpose.) French brandy in the proportion of a quart to five gallons, is an improvement. At the end of three or four weeks, it may be closely bunged and put away in a safe dry closet, where it should remain undisturbed for a year, when it may be racked off, bottled and sealed over. Gooseberry Wine. Put three pounds of lump sugar in a gallon of water; boil and skim it; when it is nearly cold, pour in it four quarts of ripe gooseberries, that have been well mashed, and let it stand two days, stirring it frequently; steep half an ounce of isinglass in a pint of brandy for two days, and beat it with the whites of four eggs till they froth, and put it in the wine; stir it up, and strain it through a flannel bag into a cask or jug; fasten it so as to exclude the air; let it stand six months, and bottle it for use; put two or three raisins in each bottle, and cork it up. Currant Wine. Pick and mash the currants, either with your hands or a clean block, in a tub; strain them, and to one gallon of juice, put two gallons of water; and to each gallon of the mixture, put three pounds of sugar; stir it until the sugar is dissolved, then put it in a clean cask that has never been used for beer or cider; put it in a cellar or cool place, and let it work out at the bung for several weeks; have a gallon of it saved in a jug to fill up with, as it works out. When it is done working, bung it up. You may rack it off towards spring, or it will not hurt it to stand a year. If you want a barrel of wine, you must have eight gallons of currant juice, sixteen of water, and seventy-two pounds of sugar; put in a quart of brandy after it has done working; if you can get a clean brandy barrel to put it in, it is better than a new one. Another Way. Mash well together equal quantities of currants and water, strain the juice and to every gallon add three pounds of best brown sugar; fill the cask two-thirds full, bung it tight and put clay over; by this means the air is excluded while the process of fermentation is going on; the cask should be iron-bound; rack it off and bottle or put in demijohns the next spring after making. Elderberry Wine, &c. To each gallon of berries, put one of water; mash them in a tub, and leave them two days, stirring them frequently; then strain them, and to each gallon of juice put three pounds of brown sugar, and to every five gallons, two ounces of bruised ginger, and one of cloves, which tie up in a bag, and boil in the wine for an hour, and put it in a cask; when it is nearly cold, put in two spoonsful of lively yeast; let it ferment two days, and put in a pint of spirits with the bag of spice, and close it up. This is excellent as a medicine for delicate or elderly persons. Fill a bottle with elderberries, with a dozen cloves, and fill it up with spirits. It is good to give children that have the summer disease; mix a tea-spoonful of it with sugar and water for a child, or a table-spoonful for a grown person. Ginger Wine. Boil nine quarts of water with six pounds of lump sugar, the rinds of three lemons very thinly pared, and two ounces of face ginger pounded; when it has boiled half an hour, skim it, and pour it on the juice of two lemons: when nearly cold, add two spoonsful of yeast; put a pound of raisins in the cask, with a half a pint of brandy, and half an ounce of shaved isinglass; strain it in the cask, and stop it tight; bottle it in six or seven weeks. Raspberry Wine. Pick over the raspberries, and to every quart put a quart of water; bruise them, and let them stand two days; strain off the liquor, and to every gallon put three pounds of lump sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved, and put it in a clean barrel, or keg; at the end of two months, bottle it, and put a spoonful of brandy, or a glass of wine in each bottle. Raspberry Vinegar, and its uses. Put two pounds of raspberries in a large bowl, and pour on them two quarts of white-wine vinegar; the next day, strain the liquor on two pounds of fresh raspberries; let this stand a day, and strain it into a stone jar; to each pint of the liquor put a pound of loaf sugar; stir till it is dissolved, and put the jar in a sauce-pan of water, which keep boiling for an hour; skim it, and bottle it when cold. This is used not only as a refreshing drink, mixed with water, but is said to be of use in complaints of the chest. No glazed or metal vessels should be used in making it. Spruce Beer. Boil some spruce boughs with some wheat bran, till it tastes sufficiently of the spruce; bruise some allspice, and put in; strain it, and put two quarts of molasses to half a barrel; when it is nearly cold, put in half a pint of yeast; after it has worked sufficiently, bung up the barrel. To Make Two Gallons of Beer. Put two pounds of brown sugar in a jug, with a heaped spoonful of ginger, and a pint of strong hop tea; pour in a gallon and a half of warm water, and a tea-cup of yeast; leave out the cork a day--then fasten it up, and set it in a cool place; or if you bottle it, put two or three raisins in each bottle. Harvest Beer. To make fifteen gallons of beer, put into a keg three pints of yeast, three pints of molasses, and two gallons of cold water; mix it well, and let it stand a few minutes; then take three quarts of molasses, and three gallons of boiling water, with one ounce of ginger; mix them well, and pour into the keg, and fill it up with cold water. A decoction of the root of sassafras is good to put in beer. Porter Beer. A pleasant drink in summer is to take one bottle of porter, five bottles of water, and a pint of molasses, or a pound of sugar; make a spoonful of ginger into a tea, and mix all well together; have seven clean bottles, with two or three raisins in each; fill them, cork them tight, and lay them on their sides on the cellar floor. Molasses Beer. Take five pints of molasses, half a pint of yeast, two spoonsful of pounded ginger, and one of allspice; put these into a clean half-barrel, and pour on it two gallons of boiling water; shake it till a fermentation is produced; then fill it up with warm water, and let it work with the bung out, a day, when it will be fit for use; remove it to a cold place, or bottle it. This is a very good drink for laboring people in warm weather. To Make Cider. To make cider that will keep sweet for a length of time, requires particular attention to all the points. All the works and utensils in use must be perfectly clean, so that nothing acid shall come in contact with the pulp or liquor while pressing. The casks should be cleaned in the following manner: After washing each barrel clean, put in a lump of unslaked lime, and pour in a gallon of boiling water; bung it up, and roll the barrel several times a day, letting it lay with the bung down; in the evening, empty out the lime-water, and wash the barrel clean in several waters; after the water is drained out, burn a brimstone match in it, made of a piece of coarse muslin one inch broad, and four long, dipped in melted brimstone; light one end of the match, and put it in; put the bung on slightly, so as to hold the other end, and allow air sufficient to make it burn; when the rag has burned out, drive in the bung to keep in the sulphuric gas, which, if allowed time, will condense on the sides. The apples should be kept under cover, and secured from rain. After they have laid to mellow for two or three weeks, select those that are sound; break off the stems and leaves; have the trough perfectly clean, and after they are ground, keep them from the sun and rain for twenty-four hours; then press them, and fill into the casks; the first running is always the best; each cask that is filled should be numbered, so as to know the quality; and after they are all filled, draw off and mix them, the weak with the strong; keep the casks filled up with cider while they are fermenting; when the fermentation is subsiding, there will be a thin white scum rise slowly: when this is all off, lay on the bung lightly; rack it off in a few days in barrels, in which brimstone has been used, and bung it tight; rack it off again in March, and keep the bungs in tight. To Make Vinegar. You may always have good vinegar for pickling, and other purposes, by taking a little pains. Get a tight whiskey barrel, if it is clean you need not rinse it, and put into it ten gallons of the best vinegar you can procure, with one quart of whiskey and one quart of molasses; every day for a week, add a gallon of good cider that has not been watered, and shake the barrel each time; let it stand in this state two weeks, shaking the barrel frequently. After this, you may put in a gallon of cider occasionally, with any that has been left at table, or the settlings of decanters or bottles that have had wine in, but do not put in any water. It will make much sooner in the garret or a warm place, but if the barrel is fixed early in the summer, you will have plenty to pickle with in the fall; taste it so as not to add cider too fast. Have a phial with a string attached to it that you can put in at the bung. You should have a barrel of good hard cider before you begin to make vinegar. If you are in want of vinegar, fill a jug from the barrel, and set it in the hot sun, where it will turn sour much quicker. It is a good plan to keep a jug in a closet, where you can empty all the slops of cider and wine; and when you get it full, empty it in the barrel. After the pickling is done, you can put as much hard cider in the barrel, a gallon at a time, as you have taken out, with a little molasses, and half a pint of whiskey; if you put too much of the latter it will prevent it from getting sour, but a little gives strength to the cider, and the molasses increases the acidity, and helps to color it. If you should have any juice of cherries, currants, or blackberries, put it in, or if you can get cheap sour raisins, they will be an improvement to the flavor of the vinegar; a tea-cup of burnt sugar will give it a good color. Vinegar made in this way will keep pickles good for several years. If the cider has not sufficient strength it will take longer to make. To Pickle Mangoes. Pick your musk-melons at a proper age, before they get too hard; make a slit in the sides and take out the seeds with a tea-spoon; boil a pickle of ground alum salt, that will bear an egg, and let the melons lay in this a week; then make a new pickle, and let them lay in it another week; then wash them, and scald them in weak vinegar, or sour cider, with cabbage leaves around the kettle; put them in a jar, and put the vinegar and leaves in with them; leave them two days, then wipe them carefully, and to two dozen mangoes, have an ounce of mace, one of cloves, some nasturtions, small onions, scraped horse-radish, and mustard seed sufficient to fill them; fill up the inside of each one, and tie them round with strings. Put them in your kettle with strong vinegar, and let them scald a few minutes; then put them in a wide-mouthed jar, and pour the vinegar over; have them covered close, and they will keep good for several years. Large green tomatoes make good mangoes, previously salted and drained, when fill them as other mangoes. For Pickling Mangoes with Oil and Vinegar. Cut a square piece out to remove the inside; lay them in salt and water nine or ten days, and afterwards green them as any other pickle. For stuffing, take two ounces of garlic, dried and pulverized, two ounces of horse-radish, prepared as the garlic, two ounces of nutmegs, two ounces of cloves, two ounces of mace, two ounces of whole mustard seed. When the mangoes are large, put a small cucumber, and two beans in each. Wipe each mango perfectly dry before the stuffing is put in; sew each up, and tie twine around it; then put them in a pot, and pour the pot two-thirds full of sharp vinegar; pour sweet oil on the top till covered. The ingredients must be mixed with sweet oil. The spices, &c. mentioned, are sufficient for a dozen mangoes. Cucumbers. Gather the cucumbers while they are small, lay them in a jar with salt enough to make a pickle; pour in a little water, and if there is not salt enough to cover them, in a few days put in more. At the end of two weeks put them in a kettle, with cabbage leaves around and through them; fill it up with weak vinegar, and let them scald three hours; put all in a jar for three days, then take out the cucumbers, pour out the vinegar and leaves; put them back in the jar, with some cloves, peppers, horse-radish and mustard; boil some strong vinegar and pour over them. Small Cucumbers. Wash small cucumbers from two to four inches long; put a gallon of very strong vinegar in a large jar, with mustard seed, scraped horse-radish, and celery seed, a small portion of each, and a tea-cupful of salt; put the cucumbers in the jar; tie them close. Martina's may be pickled in the same way, or in the old way of pickling cucumbers. To Pickle Cherries or Peaches. If peaches, wipe them well with a coarse towel; if cherries, cut the stems half off, but do not stone them; put them in jars, and to every half gallon of vinegar it takes to cover them, put a pound of sugar, and cloves and cinnamon to taste; boil and skim it well, and when nearly cool pour it over the fruit; for three successive days pour off the vinegar, and boil and pour it on again. Peaches. Pick out sound clingstone peaches; lay them in salt and water for a day, then wipe them on a coarse cloth: boil up some strong vinegar, with a little ginger, whole pepper and mustard seed; put the peaches in a jar and pour this over. White Walnuts. Take full grown white walnuts, or butter-nuts, before the shells get so hard that a pin will not run through easily; put them in a jar; boil a pickle of ground alum salt that will bear an egg, skim it, and when it gets cold; pour it on the walnuts; let them lay in this ten days; then make another pickle as strong as the first, and leave them in it ten days longer; then scrape each one carefully, until you get all the rough skin off, wipe them with a very coarse cloth, and let them soak in cold water two days; boil them in weak vinegar, and let them lay in this a week; boil enough good vinegar to cover them; mix together scraped horse-radish, mustard seed, cloves, red pepper, onions and garlic; put a layer of the walnuts in a jar, and sprinkle the spice over; pour the boiling vinegar over the top. English Walnuts. Gather them when nearly full grown, but not too hard; pour boiling salt and water on them; let them be covered with it nine days, changing it every third day; then take them out on dishes, and put them in the sun to blacken, turning them over; then put them in a jar and strew over them pepper, cloves, garlic, mustard seed and scraped horse-radish; cover them with cold strong vinegar and tie them up. Black Walnuts. Gather the walnuts while you can run a pin through them; boil them in an iron pot three hours, to soften the shell; put them in a tub of cold water, hull and wash them, and put them in your jars; pour salt and water over them, and change it every day for a week; at the end of that time scald them in weak vinegar; let them stand in this three days, then pour it off, and for half a bushel of hulled walnuts, have quarter of a pound of cloves, a tea-cup of mustard seed, two spoonsful of black pepper, a pint of scraped horse-radish, two pods of red pepper, some sliced onions and garlic; put these in the jars with the walnuts, and fill them up with strong cold vinegar. Pickled walnuts will keep for six or seven years, and are as good at the last as the first. Virginia Yellow Pickles. To two gallons of vinegar, put one pound of ginger, quarter of a pound of black pepper, two ounces of red pepper, two of cloves, a tea-cup of celery seed, a pint of horse-radish, a pint of mustard seed, a few onions or garlic, and three ounces of turmeric to turn them yellow. The above ingredients should be mixed together in a jar, and set in the sun by the first of July, tied up close, with a block over each jar to keep out the rain. Put whatever you intend to pickle in salt and water for two or three days; then pour boiling salt and water on them; wash them and drop them in the jars of vinegar. You can pickle any thing in this way but walnuts. The same pickle, by adding more vinegar to it, will do for two years; if the jars are set by a fire, a much less time will do to take the strength out of the spices; the turmeric should be tied up in a bag. Tomatoes. Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; lay them on dishes, and strew salt thickly over them; let them stand for twenty-four hours, occasionally pouring off the liquor that the salt extracts; then drain them on a sifter, and gently squeeze them, as it is this juice that weakens the vinegar and makes the pickles spoil; take a large jar, put in a layer of tomatoes, then a layer of sliced onions, mustard seed, cloves and white pepper, or whole black pepper; (you may if you like, break two pods of red pepper and put in each jar.) When the jar is full, pour very strong vinegar over, and in a few days they will be ready for use, and will keep all winter. They retain much of the tomato flavor, and should be kept in a cool place. Another Way. Take small round tomatoes when they are not too ripe; stick them with a needle in several places, to keep the skin from bursting, and let them lay a week in salt and water; then wash them and put them in a jar with some cloves, pepper and small onions; cover them with strong cold vinegar, and tie up the jar. Pepper Mangoes. Take fully grown green peppers, cut a slit in the side of each and take out the seeds; make a strong brine and lay them in it for three days; then soak them in clear water a day and night; pack them in a jar, and pour boiling vinegar over them with a piece of alum; let them stay in this three days, when boil the vinegar again, and pour over them; when they are green, stuff them with chopped cabbage, mustard seed, cloves, horse-radish, pepper, and a small onion in each; tie them up, put them in a jar; boil fresh vinegar and pour over. Observe always to have the kettle you boil vinegar in well cleaned; never put pickles in common earthen-ware, as the glazing is poisonous. Onions. Peel small white onions and pour boiling milk and water over them; when cold, put them in a jar, and make a pickle of strong vinegar, a little mace, ginger, white mustard seed, and horse-radish; boil it and pour over them. If you want them to be white, do not put in black pepper or cloves. Mushrooms. Take the small round mushrooms that are pale pink underneath, with white tops, and peel easily; put them in a jar with a little mace, white mustard seed and salt; cover them with cold vinegar, and tie them close. If you put in black pepper or cloves, it will turn them dark. Nasturtions. Have some strong vinegar in a jar with a little salt, and as you gather the nasturtions, put them in, and keep the jar tied close. Cherries. Take sound morel cherries with the stems on, and put them in a jar; boil spices in strong vinegar, and pour over them hot. Damsons may be done in the same way. A little sugar improves the pickle. Cabbage. Take firm heads of purple cabbage, quarter them, sprinkle them with salt, and let them lay three or four days, when shave them fine, drain off the salt and put them in a jar, boil enough vinegar to cover them, with horse radish, pepper and cloves, when nearly cold pour it on the cabbage, and put in a little cochineal tied up in a bag, it will he fit for use in a week. Another Way. Cut hard cabbage fine as for slaw, sprinkle salt through it, and let it lay under a moderate pressure for twelve hours, then drain well through a colander, slice a dozen raw onions, have a large jar in readiness, put in a layer of cabbage, strew in some of the onions, a few cloves, a tea-cupful of mustard seed, some whole black pepper, cut six half ripe red pepper pods, and sprinkle in; add a little more salt, boil vinegar and pour on sufficient to cover the mixture. Cut Cucumbers. Slice large cucumbers lengthwise--do not pare them--then cut them half an inch thick; if you have small ones, slice them across, put them in a large jar, and sprinkle them well with salt, after standing a day or two, pour off the liquid the salt has extracted, drain them, and wash the jar, and put the cucumbers in alternately, with sliced onions, mustard seed, white pepper, whole black pepper and a few cloves, pour over them strong vinegar, and tie close, keep them in a cool place, but do not allow them to freeze in severe weather, as freezing spoils the flavor of pickles. When pickles do not keep well, pour off the vinegar, and put more on, but if the vinegar is of the best quality, there is little fear of this. Putting alcohol on over paper, will prevent their moulding. Cucumber Catsup. Take full grown cucumbers, pare them, and cut out the lines of white pith, which are on three sides; cut them in slices about half an inch thick; to six cucumbers, put one onion, sliced fine; then sprinkle them with salt, placing the fruit in layers, with salt between;--next morning, press the liquor from them; put them in _small jars,_ and fill up with strong vinegar, seasoned with pepper, mustard seed, and salt, if necessary. The small jars are recommended--as the cucumbers do not keep well after they have been exposed to the air. Tomato Catsup. Take a peck of ripe tomatoes, wash and cut out the stems, but do not peel them; put them over the fire in your bell-metal kettle, cover them, and let them boil till soft enough to mash, when pour them in a colander placed over a pan; drain them and throw away the liquid; then mash and strain the tomatoes, a few at a time, through a ball sifter: this is rather a tedious process; but, as the waste liquor has been previously drained off, the catsup will require but about twenty minutes boiling; throw in the spices before you take it up, fine pepper and salt, mustard, and a few whole cloves, and sliced onions, if you like their flavor; allow a tea-cup of strong vinegar to each bottle of catsup; part of which may be put in with the spices, and the rest in each bottle on top of the catsup, before you cork and seal them. Walnut Catsup. Gather the walnuts, as for pickling and put them in salt and water for ten days, then pound them in a mortar, and to every dozen walnuts put a quart of strong vinegar, and stir it every day for a week, then strain it through a bag, and to every quart of liquor put a tea-spoonful of pounded mace, the same of cloves, and a few pieces of garlic or onion, boil it twenty minutes, and when cold, bottle it. White or black walnuts are as good for catsup as the English walnut, and will keep good for several years. Green Tomato Catsup. After the tomatoes have ceased to ripen, slice and put them in a jar, with salt scattered through them, let them stand two days, then drain them in a colander, put them in the jars they are to remain in, strewing sliced onions, cloves, whole pepper, mustard seed, and one or two red pepper pods through them, boil vinegar enough to cover them and pour over, tie them close and put a plate on each jar. Mushroom Catsup. Take the largest mushrooms, those that are beginning to turn dark, cut off the roots, put them in a stone jar, with some salt, mash them and cover the jar, let them stand two days, stirring them several times a day, then strain and boil the liquor, to every quart of which, put a tea-spoonful of whole pepper and the same of cloves, and mustard seed, and a little ginger, when cold, bottle it, leaving room in each bottle for a tea-cupful of strong vinegar, and a table-spoonful of brandy; cork them up and seal them over. Tomato Sauce. Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; cut them in slices and lay them on a large dish; cover well with salt each layer; the next morning put the tomatoes in a colander or on a sifter, and drain off all the liquid; then mash them with a wooden masher, and to each quart, put a pint of strong vinegar, two table-spoonsful of white mustard seed, a dozen cloves, a dozen grains of black pepper, an onion sliced and chopped, a table-spoonful of salt; if mashed fine you can pour it out of wide-mouthed bottles; put a table-spoonful of spirits in each bottle at the top; cork tight, and seal. If you prefer putting the sauce in small stone jars, put spirits on paper at the top of each. Spiced Peaches. Take nine pounds of good ripe peaches, rub them with a course towel, and halve them; put four pounds of sugar and a pint of good vinegar in your preserving kettle, with cloves, cinnamon and mace; when the syrup is formed, throw in the peaches, a few at a time, so as to keep them as whole as may be; when clear, take them out and put in more; boil the syrup till quite rich, and then pour it over the peaches. Cherries may be done in the same way. Mushroom Sauce. Gather large mushrooms, that have not turned dark, peel them and cut off the stems; put them in a pan and strew salt over each layer; when all are in, mash them well; then put them in a jar, put a plate on the top, and set it in a pot of cold water; let it heat gradually, and boil for fifteen or twenty minutes; to each quart of the pulp put three tea-cupsful of strong vinegar, two tea-spoonsful of powdered mace, or one of cloves, two of white mustard seed, one of black pepper; put it in jars or wide-mouthed bottles, with a spoonful of alcohol at the top of each, and secure it from the air. This is by some preferred to the catsup. TO CURE BACON, BEEF, PORK, SAUSAGE, &c. To Cure Bacon. To one thousand weight of pork, put one bushel of fine salt, one pound and a half of saltpetre rolled fine and mixed with the salt; rub this on the meat and pack it away in a tight hogshead; let it lay for six weeks, then hang it up and smoke it with hickory wood, every day for two weeks, and afterwards two or three times a week for a month; then take it down and rub it all over with hickory ashes, which is an effectual remedy against the fly or skipper. When the weather is unusually warm at the time of salting your pork, more care is requisite to preserve it from taint. When it is cut up, if it seems warm, lay it on boards, or on the bare ground, till it is sufficiently cool for salting; examine the meat tubs or casks frequently, and if there is an appearance of mould, strew salt over; if the weather has been very warm after packing, and on examining, you should find evidence of its spoiling, lose no time in unpacking the meat; for a hogshead of hams and shoulders that are in this state, have six pounds of brown sugar, three pounds of salaeratus, mixed with half a bushel of salt; rub each piece with this, and as you pack it in the hogshead, (which should be well washed and cleaned,) sprinkle a little coarse salt over each layer of pork, and also on the bottom of the hogshead. I have known this plan to save a large quantity of pork, that would have been unfit for use, if it had not been discovered and attended to in time. Some persons use crushed charcoal to purify their meat. Shoulders are more easily affected than hams, and if the weather is warm the ribs should be cut out of the shoulders. Jowls also require particular care; black pepper, about a pound to a hogshead, sprinkled on the meat before it is hung up to smoke, is valuable as a preventive where flies are troublesome; have a large pepper-box kept for the purpose, and dust every part that is exposed; pepper is also good to put on beef before it is hung up to dry; wash it off before cooking, and it does not injure the flavor. To Pickle Pork. Take out all the ribs, and cut it in pieces of about three pounds each; pack it in a tight barrel, and salt it well with coarse salt; boil a very strong pickle made of coarse salt, and when it is cold pour it over the meat, and put a weight on the top; if you wish pork to keep, do not put saltpetre in, as it injures the flavor. To Cure Hams and Shoulders. To cure five hundred weight of hams and shoulders, take fifteen quarts of common salt, one pound and a half of saltpetre rolled fine, half a pound of red pepper pods chopped fine, and four quarts of molasses; mix them all together and rub the meat well, pack it down, cover it close, and let it remain six weeks, then hang it up and smoke it with green hickory wood for three weeks. If there is a damp spell of weather, it is best to make a fire in your meat-house occasionally through the summer, to keep the meat from moulding. To Make a Pickle for Chines. Rub the chines with fine salt, and pack them in a tight barrel, make a pickle of coarse salt, strong enough to bear an egg, boil and skim it, and when nearly cold pour it on, let there be enough to cover them, and put a weight on the top. Chines are good smoked. It is best to make a separate pickle for the heads; wash and scrape them, cut off the ears and noses, and take out the eyes. The jowls may be packed and smoked with the bacon. Sausage Meat, &c. Separate the tender parts of the meat from the rough and bony pieces, and chop each sort separately, to twenty-two pounds of meat have half a pound of salt, three heaped table-spoonsful of sage, three of pepper, and two of thyme. If you have a box large enough to hold this quantity, sprinkle it over the meat before it is chopped, and it will be thoroughly mixed by the time it is done. It is best to have a small piece fried to taste, and if it is not seasoned right, it can be altered; you should have some pieces of fat, chopped in with the meat. The sage and thyme should be carefully dried, but not heated too much, neither should it be hung up too near the fire, as it would spoil the flavor, rub it through a wire sifter, and if that should not make it fine enough, pound it in a mortar or grind it in your pepper mill. The pepper should be ground and ready some days before it is needed, as the pork season in the country is (while it lasts) one of the busiest in the year, every thing should be prepared beforehand that you possibly can. It is a good plan to have plenty of bread and pies baked, and a quantity of apples stewed, vegetables washed and ready to cook, so that every member of the family, that is able, may devote herself to the work of putting away the meat which is of so much importance for the coming year, while some are cutting up the fat to render into lard, others may be employed in assorting the sausage meat, and cutting it into small pieces for the chopping machine, by trimming off every part that can be spared. You can have one hundred pounds of sausage from twelve hundred weight of pork, and since the introduction of sausage choppers, a great deal more sausage is made, than formerly, by the old method. Clean a few of the maws, and soak them in salt and water, and fill them with sausage meat, sew them close, let them lay in pickle for two weeks then hang them up, and when your meat is smoked, let them have a few days smoke. In this way sausage will keep all summer, and is very nice when boiled slowly for several hours, and eaten cold. The best fat to chop in with sausage is taken from the chines or back bones. To keep sausage for present use, put it in small stone pans, and pour melted lard over the top; for later in the season, make muslin bags that will hold about three pounds, with a loop sewed on to hang them up by; fill them with meat, tie them tight, and hang them in a cool airy place; they will keep in this way till August, when you want to fry them, rip part of the seam, cut out as many slices as you want, tie up the bag and hang it up again. If you have a large quantity, a sausage chopper is a great convenience. Liver Sausage Take four livers, with the lights and hearts, have two heads cleaned, and boil them with any scraps, or skinny pieces you have, skim the pot, take out the livers when they are done, and let the heads boil longer, when they are done, pick out the bones, and chop all together, season with sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, salt and pepper, put it in pans, and fry it as sausage. Bologna Sausage Chop ten pounds of beef, with two pounds and a half of the fat of fresh pork, pound one ounce of mace, and one of cloves, and mix in, let it stand a day, then stuff it in large skins, let them lay in brine ten days, then hang them up to smoke a few days, they can be put in the same brine with beef or tongues. Hogs' Head Cheese Take off the ears and noses of four heads, and pick out the eyes, and lay them in salt and water all night, then wash and put them on to boil, take out the bones carefully, chop and season them well, and pack it in bowls, they will turn out whole, and may be eaten cold with vinegar, or fried as sausage. Pigs' Feet. Pigs' feet should be well cleaned by dipping them in scalding water, and scraping off the hairs, leave them in weak salt and water two days, changing it each day; if you wish to boil them for souse, they are now ready, but if the weather is cold they will keep in this a month. They should be kept in a cold place, and if they are frozen there is no danger of their spoiling, but if there comes on a thaw, change the salt and water, soak them in fresh water all night before you boil them. In this way they are good to eat with pepper and vinegar while hot, or may be dipped in batter and fried after they are cold. To make Souse. Boil the feet till the bones come out easily, and pick out all the large bones, pack them in a stone pan with pepper and salt, and cover it with vinegar, they may be eaten cold, or dipped in flour and fried. Another way is to pick out all the bones, season them with salt, pepper and sage, and warm them up as you want to use them. Pigs' feet, after being boiled, are very nice stewed as terrapins, make the gravy with butter and water, they are nourishing food for delicate persons. Vessels for salting meat should be cleaned well after the meat is hung up, and set on boards in the cellar, if they do not smell sweet, they should be washed and soaked before meat is packed in them again. You should see that the hoops are sound, and have covers made to fit them. If taken care of in this way, they will last a number of years. Scrapple. Take eight pounds of scraps of pork, that will not do for sausage, boil it in four gallons of water, when tender, chop it fine, strain the liquor and pour it back into the pot, put in the meat, season it with sage, summer savory, salt and pepper to taste; stir in a quart of corn meal; after simmering a few minutes, thicken it with buckwheat flour very thick, it requires very little cooking after it is thickened, but must be stirred constantly. Dried Beef. An experienced housekeeper has furnished the following method for curing and drying beef, which will keep good for two years, without being injured by must or fly, and is much admired. Have the rounds divided, leaving a piece of the sinew to hang up by, lay the pieces in a tub of cold water for an hour, then rub each piece of beef that will weigh fifteen or twenty pounds, with a handful of brown sugar and a table-spoonful of saltpetre, pulverized, and a pint of fine salt, sprinkle fine salt in the bottom of a clean tight barrel, and lay the pieces in, strewing a little coarse salt between each piece; let it lay two days, then make the brine in a clean tub, with cold water and ground alum salt--stir it well, it must be strong enough to bear an egg half up, put in half a pound of best brown sugar and a table-spoonful of saltpetre to each gallon of the salt and water, pour it over the beef; put a clean large stone on the top of the meat to keep it under the pickle, (which is very important,) put a cover on the barrel; examine it occasionally to see that the pickle does not leak,--and if it should need more, add of the same strength; let it stand six weeks, then hang it up in the smoke house, and after it has drained, smoke it moderately for ten days, it should then hang in a dry place, before cooking, let it soak for twenty four hours; a piece that weighs fifteen or twenty pounds should boil two hours--one half the size, one hour, and a small piece should soak six or twelve hours, according to size. Beef cured in this way will make a nice relish, when thinly sliced and eaten cold, for breakfast or tea, or put between slices of bread and butter for lunch, it will keep for several weeks,--and persons of delicate stomachs can sometimes relish a thin slice, eaten cold, when they cannot retain hot or rich food. This receipt will answer for all parts of the beef, to be boiled for the dinner table through the summer. To Cure Beef. Make a pickle of six quarts of salt, six gallons of water, half a pound of saltpetre, and three of sugar, or half a gallon of molasses, pack the beef in a barrel, with fine and coarse salt mixed, when the pickle is cold, pour it over, and put a weight on the top, let it stay two weeks, when you can hang it up and smoke it, to boil through the summer, or boil the pickle over again, and leave it in till you want to use it; this is for two hundred pounds. A New Method of Curing Beef. Take six gallons of water, nine pounds of salt, (fine and coarse mixed,) three pounds of sugar, one quart of molasses, three ounces of saltpetre, and one ounce of pearl ash or salaeratus, boil and skim it well, and let it stand till entirely cold, when pour it on beef that has been sprinkled with salt for several days. You can boil of this beef from the brine all winter, or hang it up, and smoke it with your bacon. To Cure a Dozen Tongues. Soak the tongues an hour in a tub of cold water to extract the blood, and cut off most of the root, mix together a quarter of a pound of saltpetre, finely powdered, one pound of brown sugar, and a pint of salt, rub the tongues with this, and put them in a tight barrel; then make a pickle that will bear an egg, which pour over them, turn them every three days, and let them stay in the pickle two weeks, then smoke them two days, and hang them up in a dry place; boil and skim the pickle that the tongues have been in, and it will do for a round of beef. Pickle for Two Rounds of Beef. Cut the rounds in a suitable shape for drying, mix together two pints of salt, one of molasses, or a pound of sugar, and half a pound of saltpetre, rub them with this, and pack them in a tight vessel, make a pickle that will bear an egg, and pour it over, put a weight on the top, and let it lay for ten days, when take it out, and smoke it two days, hang it up in a dry place, it will be fit to slice and broil in a week, or cut it very thin, and stew or fry it with butter and cream. Legs of mutton may be salted as rounds of beef, and will resemble venison, when dried and chipped. In preparing pickle for any kind of meat, observe that one gallon of water will hold, in solution, a quart of salt and two ounces of saltpetre. To Corn Beef, Pork or Mutton. Rub the meat well with salt, and pack it in a tub. If the weather is warm, it will require a good deal of salt, but no saltpetre. To Restore Meat that has been kept too long. When meat has been kept too long in summer, it may be improved by putting it in sour milk for several hours, or washing it in vinegar is good, some hours before it is cooked, you must wash it well in cold water several times, if it lays all night in sour milk, or salt and vinegar, it should be put in soak early in the morning in cold water. In very hot weather, when you have fresh meat, fowls, or fish left at dinner, sprinkle them with strong vinegar, salt and pepper, warm this up the next day, either as a fry or stew, the vinegar will evaporate, and not injure the taste. Cold rock fish is good, seasoned with salt, pepper and vinegar, to use as a relish for breakfast or tea. To Keep Meat Fresh. Where persons live a distance from market, and have no fresh meat but what they kill, it is important to know how to keep it fresh. In winter, if it is hung up in an out-house, it will keep very well for six weeks, or more, when it has once frozen, it is safe till a thaw comes on, when rub it with salt. In the summer, if you have an ice-house, you can keep it without trouble. If rubbed with salt, and pinned in a cloth, it will keep in the cellar two days, or by lowering it down your well, attached to a rope, and changing the cloth every other day, it will keep good a week in hot weather. To Put up Herring and Shad. Those that put up their own fish should be careful to have the barrels tight and well cleaned, if the pickle leaks from them, they are liable to spoil. Scale the fish and wash them, as it will save much time, when you prepare them for cooking, take out the gills, but leave on the heads of herrings. The heads should be taken off the shad, and split them down the back, put a layer of fish, then a layer of ground alum salt,--and after they are packed, put on a weight to keep them down. If herring are well cured, they will be good at the end of two years. To Put up Herring, _According to the Harford Mode_. First put the herring into the brine left from curing bacon, or, if you have none of that description, make a brine that will bear an egg, and let them remain in it thirty or forty hours; then, if for pickled herring, change them into new brine, which must also bear an egg, and head them up to keep. If for red herring, hang them up, and smoke them thoroughly. A little saltpetre, added to the brine, is an improvement. It is better to take out the roe. BUTTER, CHEESE, COFFEE, TEA, &c. Butter. It is of the first importance that every thing connected with milk and butter should be kept clean; if the milk acquires an unpleasant taste, it communicates it to the butter. Tin pans are best to keep milk in, and they should be painted on the outside to keep them from rusting when they are put in water. In summer, milk should be kept as cool as possible; before it is strained, the pans and strainer should be rinsed with cold water, and the milk not covered until it is cold, as soon as the cream rises sufficiently, it should be skimmed, and put in a large tin bucket with a lid that fits down tight, and stirred every day. Butter will be spoiled by neglecting to stir the cream, a yellow scum will form on it, which gives it an unpleasant taste. And if you leave a pan of milk till the cream is covered with spots of mould, you had better throw it away than put it in, as it will spoil the taste of a whole churning. If you have no way of keeping your cream cool in hot weather, it ought to be churned twice a week, the earlier in the morning the better. Always put cold water in your churn the night before you use it, and change it in the morning just before you put in the cream. When the butter is gathering, take off the lid of the churn to let the heated air escape, and move it gently, have your butter ladle and pan scalded and cooled, take out the butter and work it till all the milk is out, scrape some lumps of salt, and work in, cover it up, and set away in a cool place till the next morning, when work it again. If you have neither an ice, or spring house, a box by the side of the pump, with a cover over it, is very convenient to put cream and butter down the well, put them in tin kettles with covers to fit tight, and fasten them to strong tarred ropes twenty feet long. The air of a well will keep butter sweet for several weeks in the hottest weather. It is best to have one kettle or basket to put the butter in that is used at the table, it should be deep enough to hold five or six plates, each covered with a saucer. It can be kept in this way as firm and sweet as in an ice house. You can have a separate kettle to put a large lump of butter in for seasoning vegetables. If you print butter for home use, it is not necessary to weigh it, make it out in little lumps that will weigh about half a pound, scald the print and ladle, and put them in cold water, as you print each lump, lay it on a dish. In winter it is more difficult to have good butter, as much depends on the food of the cows, the milk should be kept in a cellar, where it will not freeze, if you have a safe to keep it in, it need not be covered. Cream takes much longer to rise in winter, after it has stood two days, to put it on the top of a moderately heated stove will assist it, when it is hot, set it away to skim the next day, when the cream will be thick and rich, and churns easier. If the weather is very cold, and the cream has been chilled, have a large pot of water over the fire, set in the bucket when it is near boiling heat, and keep stirring till it is milk warm, have the churn scalded and put it in, by churning steadily, it will come as quick as in summer, one good working answers very well for butter in winter, always scald the churn before you put in the cream in cold weather. To put up Butter for Winter. Work it well, and salt it rather more than for table use, and pack it in stone pans or jars, with a thin cloth on the top, and salt on it an inch thick, keep it in a cool place, and if it is sweet when made, it will keep good till spring. It should be tied up with paper to exclude the air. To Cure Butter that will keep for a Length of Time. Reduce separately to a fine powder two pounds of the best fine salt, one pound of loaf sugar and half a pound of saltpetre. Sift these ingredients one above another, on a large sized sheet of paper, then mix them well together, keep this mixture covered up close in a nice jar, and placed in a dry closet. When your butter is worked and salted in the usual way, and ready to put in the jars, use one ounce of this composition to every pound of butter, work it well into the mass. Butter cured in this way, (it is said) will keep good for several years. I have never kept it longer than from the fall until late in the spring, it was then very sweet and good. It will not do to use for a month, because earlier, the salts will not be sufficiently blended with it. It should be kept in wooden vessels, or nice stone jars. Earthen-ware jars are not suitable for butter, as during the decomposition of the salts, they corrode the glazing; and the butter becomes rancid and unhealthy. A friend of mine, and a lady of much experience, remarked on reading the above--"This is an admirable receipt, and by attention to its directions, butter may be packed away with success even in the summer months. Thus in cities during warm weather butter is often cheap, a house-keeper may then purchase her winter supply. "Select that which is sweetest and most firm, begin by putting a layer of the prints in the bottom of a stone pot, press the butter down close, so that no cavities for the admission of air may remain, then strew more of the mixture over it, proceed in this manner until the vessel is filled, when put on the top a small muslin bag filled with salt, and tie the jar up close. It is very important to keep the butter in a cool place." A great deal depends on the butter being well worked. Persons that have large dairies should always have a machine to work it. A large churning may be more effectually cleared of the butter-milk in a few minutes, than in the old way in an hour. By doing it quickly, it does not get soft and oily in hot weather. A Pickle for Butter. To three gallons of water, add four and a half pounds of good brown sugar, one and a half ounces of saltpetre, one ounce of salaeratus; put them into an iron pot, and let them come to a boil; take off the scum; when cold it is ready for use; the butter should be salted in the usual way, and well worked; then made into rolls of two or three pounds each; have little bags of coarse muslin, tie each roll in a bag and put them in a large stone jar or clean firkin; when the pickle is entirely cold, pour it over, and put a plate on the top, with a weight on it to keep the butter under; tie it up close and keep it in a cold place; when a roll is wanted, take it out of the bag, and slice it off for table use. It should be put on little plates, and each covered with a saucer, to exclude the air. If the butter is good when put up in the fall, it will keep till you can get grass butter, in the spring. The jars for this purpose should not have been previously used for pickles. Cheese. Persons living in the country sometimes have more milk than they can use, of which cheese may be made. Put four gallons of new milk in a clean tub that is kept for the purpose; skim your night's milk, and put two gallons of it over the fire; when it is near boiling, put it in the tub with the new milk, and the rest of the night's milk; it should be rather more than milk warm, if it is too warm the cheese will have a strong taste. The day before you make cheese, put a piece of rennet three inches square in a tea-cup of water, and stir it in the milk; cover the tub and let it stand in a warm place; when the curd begins to form, cut it in squares with a long wooden knife, and spread a thin towel over it. When the whey comes through the cloth, you can dip it off with a saucer, then put a thin towel in the cheese vat, put in the curd, spread the cloth over the top, put on the lid, and press it moderately about half an hour; then put it back in the tub and salt it to your taste; mix it well, and if you want it very rich put in a quarter of a pound of butter; it is always better to skim the night's milk and put in butter, as the cream is apt to press out. Have a clean cloth in the vat, put in the curd, close it over and put on the cover; if you have no cheese press, a heavy stone will answer the purpose; press it very gently at first, to keep the richness from running out. The next morning draw it out by the cloth, wash and wipe the vat, put in a clean cloth, and turn in the cheese upside down; do this morning and evening for two days; when you take out the cheese, and put it on a clean board; set it where the mice and flies will not get at it; rub it every morning with a little butter, and turn it three times a day; dust it over with cayenne pepper if you cannot keep it from the flies, and if it should crack, plaster on a piece of white paper with butter; it is fit for use in two weeks. Cheese made in this way has a rich, mild taste, and most persons are fond of it. If you get eight gallons of milk a day, you may make cheese twice a week, and still have butter for the family. You should keep four thin cloths on purpose for cheese. Pennsylvania Cream Cheese. The cheese called by this name is not in reality made of cream. Take three gallons of milk, warm from the cow, and strain it into a tub, have a piece of rennet two inches square, soaked in half a pint of water for several hours, drain off the water, and stir it in; when it is sufficiently turned, cut the curd, spread a thin linen cloth over the top, and as the whey rises, dip it off with a saucer, put the curd as whole as possible into a cheese-hoop about the size of a dinner plate, first spreading a wet cloth inside, then fold the cloth smoothly over the top, put a weight on the top heavy enough to make the whey drain out gradually. In six or seven hours it will be ready to take out of the press, when rub it over with fine salt, set it in a dry dark place, change it from one plate to another twice a day, and it will be fit for use in less than a week. To Prepare Rennet for making Whey or Cheese. When the rennet is taken from the calf, wash it, lay it on a plate well covered with salt, put more on in two days, keep it in a cold place, in three or four days it will do to stretch on sticks, hang it up in a dry cool place, with as much salt as will stick to it, when quite dry, put it in a paper bag and hang it up, a piece two inches square soaked in two table-spoonsful of water will make a cold custard, the same piece salted and dried will do several times. Cottage Cheese or Smearcase. The best plan of making this dish, is to set the tin pan of clabber on a hot stove, or in a pot of water that is boiling over the fire. When the whey has risen sufficiently, pour it through a colander, and put the curd or cheese away in a cold place, and just before going to table, season it with salt and pepper to your taste, and pour some sweet cream over it. Roasting Coffee. Pick out the stones and black grains from the coffee, and if it is green, let it dry in an oven, or on a stove, then roast it till it is a light-brown, be careful that it does not burn, as a few burnt grains will spoil the flavor of the whole. White coffee need not be dried before roasting, and will do in less time. Two pounds is a good quantity to roast for a small family. The whites of one or two eggs, well beaten, and stirred in the coffee when half cold, and well mixed through it, are sufficient to clear two pounds, and is the most economical way of using eggs. It will answer either for summer or winter. Some persons save egg shells for clearing coffee. Many persons use coffee roasters,--but some old experienced housekeepers think that the fine flavor flies off more than when done in a dutch-oven, and constantly stirred. If you are careful, it can be done very well in the dripping-pan of a stove. Let the coffee get quite cold, and put it away either in a canister or tight box, and keep it in a dry place. Coffee may be roasted in a dripping-pan in a brick oven. After the bread is taken out, there will be heat sufficient, put about two pounds in a pan, stir it a few times--it will roast gradually, and if not sufficiently brown, finish in a stove or before the fire. If you have a large family, by using several pans, six pounds of coffee can thus be roasted, and but little time spent on it. Boiling Coffee. A large tea-cupful of unground coffee will be sufficient for six persons, unless they take it very strong, (which is injurious to health,) grind it, and put it in the tin pot, with half a tea-cup of cold water, and the white of half an egg; shake it till it is mixed, then pour boiling water on it, and let it stand close to the fire, and just come to a boil, stir it, and do not let it boil over, let it keep at boiling heat five or ten minutes; then take it from the fire, and put in half a tea-cup of water to settle it, let it stand five minutes, and pour it off,--if you wish it particularly nice, strain it through a thin linen cloth, kept for the purpose, keep it by the fire till it goes to table. If you boil coffee too long, the aromatic flavor flies off. Tea, &c. Always be sure that the kettle is boiling when you make tea, or the flavor will not be so good, scald the pot, and allow a tea-spoonful for each person. Let green tea draw by the fire from two to five minutes. Black tea should draw ten minutes, and is much more suitable for delicate persons than green. Persons with weak nerves should never drink strong tea and coffee. I have known instances of persons being afflicted with violent attacks of nervous head-ache, that were cured by giving up the use of tea and coffee altogether, and their general health was also improved by it. Before pouring out tea, it should be stirred with a spoon that the strength of each cup may be alike. Milk is the best drink for children, but if that cannot be had, sweetened water, with a little milk, will do. A New Mode of Preparing Chocolate. Have a pound of chocolate pulverized, and put in a jar, with the same quantity of rice flour, and an ounce of arrow-root, put on coals a quart of milk, when it boils, stir in a heaped table-spoonful of the above preparation, (dissolved in a tea-cup of water,) keep stirring it until it boils again, when pour it out, drink it with sugar and cream to your taste. This is called by some "Rac-a-haut" chocolate, and is very nice for delicate persons, as well as those in health. LARD, TALLOW, SOAP AND CANDLES. Rendering Lard. The leaf lard should be rendered by itself, as it does not take so long as that with the skin on. Cut it up fine and put it in a clean pot with half a pint of water, stir it frequently and let it boil fast at first, when the cracklings are light-brown and float on the top, it is nearly done, and should cook slowly, when done, strain it into your vessels with a thin cloth put over a colander. If you put lard in stone or earthen jars, it should be cooled first, as there is danger of their cracking, white oak firkins with iron hoops, and covers to fit tight, are good to keep lard, and if taken care of will last for twenty years. The fat that has the skin on should be cut very fine, taking the skin off first. It takes longer to boil than leaf lard, and there is more danger of burning, put a pint of water in the pot. The skins should be boiled alone, and will do for soap-fat after the lard is out of them. Soak the inside fat all night in salt and water; wash it in the morning, and put it to boil without any water in the pot. It is not so nice as other lard, and should be strained by itself. It does very well for frying. Lard keeps well in large tin vessels with tight covers and is not apt to mould. Rendering Tallow. Cut the tallow fine, and put it to boil in a large pot with a quart of water; stir it frequently and keep it boiling moderately for six hours; when the cracklings begin to turn brown, it should boil very slowly till done. Put a little water in the bottom of your dutch-ovens or tin pans, and strain it in with a cloth over the colander, or the settlings will run through and hurt the looks of your candles. Soap. It requires some care and experience to have good soap; but when you once get beforehand, it is easy to keep up the supply if the ashes are good. The leystand should be made of cedar or pine boards, in the shape of a mill-hopper, and have holes bored in the bottom for the ley to run through; have four posts planted in the ground to support it; let it be high enough for a small tub to set under. If you cannot have it under a shed, there should be a tight cover of boards to protect it from the rain. Put some sticks in the bottom of the leystand, and some straw, and pack in a bushel of ashes, then half a peck of lime, and when it is half full of ashes, put in two buckets of water, and another when you get near the top; pack it well, and put on some more water; then cover it over; pour on hot water three times a day for several days. When you are ready to make soap, have a large pot of water, which must be kept boiling, and put it on as fast as it will bear, save the strongest ley by itself, (if the ley will float an egg, it will answer,) have your soap-fat laying in strong ley through the winter, put a gallon of this in a large pot, and put to it a gallon of the strongest ley; let it boil an hour, stirring it often, then put in two gallons more of strong ley, when this has boiled, put in weak ley till the pot is full, let it boil an hour or two slowly, and be careful that it does not go over, cool some on a plate, and if thick, it is done, but if not, boil it longer. Put it away in a tight barrel, and prepare to make more soap, if you have two large pots both of them can be kept going at the same time. Several barrels of soap can be made from one ley stand. A large oil cask is good to keep soap in. If a barrel leaks, set it under a spout in a rain, or fill it with water. It is of the greatest importance to keep the soap-fat in strong ley. Have an oil barrel in the cellar, half full of strong ley, and put in cracklings, bacon skins, pot skimmings, beef bones, or any scraps, when eaten by ley it will take but little boiling. It is much the easiest and safest way, where there are children, to make the soap without boiling. Put four gallons of soap-fat that has been eaten with ley, in a barrel with eight gallons of strong ley, stir it two or three times a day, for a week or two, then fill it up with weaker ley, you may have several barrels making at a time, so as always to have some for use, it takes some time to make it in this way. But if you are careful, and once get ahead, you need not boil the soap unless you prefer it so, if your ley is not strong, dissolve potash in hot water and add to strengthen it. Hard Soap. Have fifteen pounds of clean fat to twenty gallons of clear strong ley; let it boil until thick, when put in half a peck of coarse salt; if it does not curdle in two hours, put in more salt till it does, then pour it out in a tub to cool till the next day, when put on your pot with some weak ley, cut the soap out of the tub and boil it in this an hour, then put it in the tub, let it get cold, cut it in squares and put it on a board to dry. Unless you have plenty of ashes and soap-fat, it is much cheaper to buy hard soap than to make it. If you have but a barrel full of ashes you can make a barrel of soap, bore a hole in the bottom of a barrel, put a few sticks across, when half full of ashes put in a quart of lime and some water; keep the hole plugged up till you are ready to make the soap. You can have a barrel of ashes put in the cellar in winter to use for washing and scrubbing, keep a tub under it to hold the ley as it drops. Potash Soap. Persons living in cities frequently have grease that would do to make soap, but are at a loss for ley, in consequence of burning coal instead of wood. Twelve pounds of pure grease of any kind, put with ten pounds of potash in an oil barrel, and filled with water, makes good thick soap, and is much cheaper than buying hard soap. It should be stirred frequently, and if the ingredients are put together in warm weather, and the barrel stands where it can be exposed to the heat of the sun, without danger of getting rain in it, it will be fit for use in a few weeks without the aid of fire, if you wish to make soap immediately put three pounds of potash, four of grease, and about ten gallons of water in a large iron pot, boil it over the fire, and it will make good thick soap in a few hours, it need only boil long enough to dissolve the potash, which is sometimes in very hard lumps. If you use the crumbled potash, you must put rather more of it, as it is not so strong, and a little lump of quick lime will make it turn quicker. Another Receipt. Two days before you wish to commence your soap, pour about two gallons of boiling water on ten or twelve pounds of potash, to dissolve it, then put it in an iron pot or kettle, with ten gallons of rain water, hang it over the fire, and when it has dissolved, pour twelve pounds of grease, which has been purified by boiling in water, (or weak ley,) into a well hooped barrel, (an oil barrel from which one head has been taken, and the bung well fastened, is best,) then pour the water in which the potash was dissolved over the grease in the barrel, and stir it for half an hour; afterwards fill up the barrel with cold soft water, and stir it every day for two weeks. If at the end of that time, the fat swims on the top, beat a pound or two more of potash fine, throw it in the barrel, stir it well, and the soap will be finished. Labor-saving Soap. Take two pounds salt soda, two pounds yellow bar soap, ten quarts of water. Cut the soap in thin slices, and boil all together two hours, and strain it through a cloth, let it cool and it is fit for use. Put the clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pail of water in which you boil them, add one pound of the soap. They will need no rubbing, merely rinse them out, and they will be perfectly clean and white. This soap can be made for two cents per pound. Ley and Soda Preparation for Washing Clothes. To sixteen gallons of water, put one gallon of lime water; twelve ounces of soft soap, or if hard soap it must be first melted, and four ounces of soda, put them together in your wash kettle, and when nearly boiling, put in the clothes, being careful to have them as much of a kind as possible, they should be wet first with common water, boil one hour, then wash, scald and blue as usual. The limestone should remain in the water at least four days before it is used, and be about of the strength of lime-water for drinking, and the same stone will do for several times if good. The ley will do for boiling a second set of clothes by adding a little more, and afterwards for towels and coarse things. Prints and flannels must not be boiled. Volatile Soap, _And Directions for Washing Clothes._ Cut up three pounds of country bard soap into three pints of strong ley; simmer it over the fire until the soap is dissolved, and add to it three ounces of pearl-ash, pour it into a stone jar, and stir in half a pint of spirits of turpentine, and a gill of spirits of hartshorn, cover the jar tight, and tie a cloth over it. To use the soap, have a tub half full of water as hot as you can bear your hands in, assort the clothes, and, beginning with the cleanest of them, rub a small quantity of the soap on the soiled parts of each article, and immerse them in the water one by one, until it will cover no more, let them soak for fifteen or twenty minutes, then stir them well for a few minutes, and boil them for half an hour in eight or ten gallons of water, to which a table-spoonful of the soap has been added, rinse them, using blue water where it is required as usual, and they are ready for drying. After the white clothes are finished, the same waters will answer for the colored ones, adding hot water and more soap. By the use of this soap, most of the rubbing can be dispensed with, and it is not injurious to the texture of the clothes. It has been proved that the clothes washed in this way are more durable than with the common soaps, and the rubbing required in connection with them. It is particularly recommended for washing flannels, and calicoes. The above quantity is sufficient for a family of four or five persons for a month, varying slightly as the clothes are more or less soiled. Its cheapness recommends it to all housekeepers. Candles. Weigh the tallow, then you can judge how many candles you can make, six and eight candles to the pound do very well for working and reading by, ten to the pound does to use in the kitchen or to carry about the house. Put the wicks on the rods the day before you expect to make candles, and dip them in a little melted tallow, you can then straighten them out. Have a large pot nearly half full of hot water, melt the tallow in another pot and fill it up, and keep more tallow at the fire to fill in as it is used out, put coals under the pot to keep it at a proper heat. Have poles set on stools about a foot apart, to support the rods, dip the rods in the pot, alternately, until they are as large as you wish them. Wax makes candles burn longer, but turns them yellow. The best way is, to put in two pounds of wax, when you first begin to dip, and it will be used up before they are dipped the last time, when they are done, cut off the ends and put them in boxes. Most good managers in the country make enough candles at a time to last a year. If you have not enough tallow to dip candles, you can mould some mutton tallow is very good for this purpose. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. Clear Starching. Wash your muslins nicely; rub hard soap on them, and pour boiling water on, let them lay in this half an hour, or if they are very yellow, boil them in water that has a little blue, in a bell metal kettle, let them dry in the sun, boil your starch half an hour, as it will be clearer, and the things will take less clapping, rub the starch over the muslin until it is well covered, then clap it a few times, afterwards stretch out the muslin and hold it to the fire until it smokes, then stretch, clap, and shake it until the piece is dry enough to iron. When you begin to starch, have a pile of plates near, and as fast as the things are ready to iron, fold them up, and put them between the plates to keep moist. It is a good plan to have a board about three feet long and a foot wide, with a piece of blanket tacked on round the edges, to iron your collars and handkerchiefs on. There is an art in doing up muslins, which will take but little time when once it is acquired. The same directions answer for clear starching crape, (which must first be bleached as flannels are done,) and add some drop lake to the blue coloring. In cold weather, to rub your hands over with a little clean tallow prevents them from chapping, and will not alter the appearance of the muslin. To make Corn Starch. Gather the corn when it is a proper age for table use; have a large tin grater, and grate the corn into a clean vessel, into which drop the cobs as you grate them until the vessel is about half full, rub the cobs and squeeze them dry as possible, and put them into another vessel of clean water, rub and squeeze them again the third rinsing will take all the starch out, let it settle, and then pour all the starch together and strain it through a coarse cloth, and then through a flannel, and let it settle until the next morning, when you will find a thick yellow substance under the water, covering the pure white article in the bottom of the vessel, remove the yellow substance and pour clean water on the starch and stir it up, as soon as it settles thoroughly again, pour off the water and put the starch on dishes, and set it in the sun to dry. When you want to use it, moisten it with cold water and pour boiling water on, till it is the right consistency for use. It requires no boiling. Potato Starch. Pare the potatoes and scrape or grate them in a pan of water, when this is done stir them well, and let them stand a few minutes to settle, pour off the water and the pulp from the top; pour water on the starch that has settled, and stir it up, let it settle again, when it will be nice and white, and may be put on plates to dry in the sun, after which it may be put away in a box or paper bags. It maybe used immediately. Stir it in boiling water as other starch, but boil it much less. It is said that potato starch will injure muslins when left to lay by for some time, it is used in some preparations of confectionary, and answers the same purpose as Poland starch. To make Common Starch. Mix a pint of wheat flour with cold water, till it is the consistence of batter, stir it into a gallon of boiling water, let it boil a few minutes, when strain it and mix in the blue--when it is ready to thin for white clothes. Some put a small piece of tallow in the starch as it boils--it makes it clearer. Washing Calicoes, &c. Calicoes may be kept from fading by washing them in the suds after white clothes, if it requires more soap, stir it in the water, as putting it on the garment will fade it, have the water moderately warm, and put in a handful of salt, when all the dirt is out, rinse them in clean water, starch, and hang them to dry on the wrong side, where they will get the air but not the sun. Alum is good to set colors. If you want to wash a calico dress, which you know will fade, make a corn mush, and as it boils, pour off half, which use as soap in washing the dress, and with the other half, (which should be boiled well,) starch it, and hang it out immediately. In washing bed quilts, to prevent fading, spread them on the clean grass wrong side up, this prevents the colors running into each other. For chintz or lawn dresses have very nice starch, and clap it into them, after they are hung on the line, they iron much better this way, and look almost like new, sometimes to wash the cuffs and lower part carefully, and press it all over, will do without washing the whole dress. For ironing the skirt have a narrow ironing board, covered with a piece of blanket, to slip inside the dress. Table Cloths, &c. When two or three spots get on a table cloth, dip a towel in clean water and rub them off, and dry the cloth before it is put away, this saves washing, and if done carefully it will look like a clean cloth. If table cloths are stained with fruit, pour boiling water on the spots before soap is put on, when it is so deep that this will not take it out, apply lemon juice and salt, dry it in the sun, and put it on several times. You should always have cup-plates, as the marks of a coffee-cup spoils the appearance of a cloth, and the stain is hard to get out. When table cloths and towels get yellow, soak them in sour milk several days. Unbleached table cloths are very good to save washing in winter, and can be laid by in summer, care should be taken to hang them to dry in the shade, as that will keep them from bleaching. New table cloths do not require any starch, but those that are partly worn look better for a little, every thing washes easier that has starch in. Nice table cloths, and all fine things, after being sprinkled and folded, should be tightly rolled up in towels, and ironed till perfectly dry, they will then retain their gloss. Large table cloths should be brushed clean from crumbs, and folded without shaking, as that tumbles them; those in daily use should be put under a press--a heavy book is suitable, or a board may be made for the purpose; they will keep in credit much longer than when laid in a drawer. It is well to put a common muslin cloth under a damask one on the table, as it improves the appearance. Flannels. Have the water in which you wash flannel as hot as you can bear your hands in, and rub the soap in the water, or it will shrink the flannel. The water it is rinsed in should also be hot. When flannels have become yellow and fulled up, I have often smoked them with brimstone, and they will be as white as new, and the fulled places will open. The best plan is to have a box or chest, with strings put across to hang the flannels on, and a drawer to pull out where you can set in a pan with coals and brimstone. Have the flannels nicely washed, and put them in wet, close it up till you think it wants more brimstone, when you can pull out the drawer and renew it. After they are bleached, they should hang up in the air to let the smell of the brimstone escape. If you have but a few things to do, you can put strings across the top of an old barrel, (with both the heads out,) cover it with a thick cloth, and lift it up to put in a pan of brimstone and coals. Always wash scarlet flannel with hard soap. Mending Clothes. All clothes should be looked over before they are put away, and if any require mending it must not be neglected; a broken stitch that can be mended in a few minutes, if left till it has been worn again, will require much more time. If young housekeepers suffer their mending to get behind hand, it will discourage them. After mending a shirt, it should be pressed before it is put away. If stocking heels are run while they are new, and the thin places darned in time, it saves much work. Washing Windows. A little soda dissolved in the water is valuable for washing windows; do not let it run on the sash, or it will stain the paint; rinse them in clear water, and wipe dry with a clean soft towel. When they are but little soiled, clear water will answer, but if smoked or coated with any thing, soda should be always used. Some persons rub their windows with soft buckskin or newspaper, when they are dry and clean, to give them a polish. To Make White or Colored Washes, Dyeing, &c. Take half a bushel of unslaked lime, slack with boiling water, covering it during the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add to it a peck of clean salt, previously dissolved in warm water, three pounds of ground rice boiled, to a thin paste; stir in, boiling hot, one pound of Spanish whiting, one of clean glue, dissolved by soaking it well, and simmering over a slow fire in a small kettle within a larger one containing water; add five gallons of boiling water to the whole mixture; stir it well, and if you are not ready to use it, cover it close. It should be put on quite hot; for this purpose, it can be kept in a kettle on a portable furnace. Coloring matter may be added to make any shade desired. Spanish brown stirred in will make a pink color, more or less deep according to the quantity, a delicate tinge of this is very pretty for inside walls. Indigo mixed with the Spanish brown makes a delicate purple, or alone with the mixture, a pale blue. Lamp-black, in moderate quantity, makes a slate color, suitable for the outside of buildings. Lamp-black and Spanish brown together, produce a reddish stone color, yellow ochre, a yellow wash, but chrome goes further and makes a brighter color. It is well to try on a shingle, or piece of paper, or board, and let it dry to ascertain the color. If you wash over old paper, make a sizing of wheat flour like thin starch, put it on, and when dry, put on the coloring, for a white-washed wall, make a sizing of whiting and glue water. This precaution should always be taken before using chrome yellow or green, as the previous use of lime injures the color of the chrome. When walls have been badly smoked, add to your white-wash sufficient indigo to make it a clear white. To Mix White-wash. Pour a kettle of boiling water on a peck of unslaked lime, put in two pounds of whiting, and half a pint of salt, when all are mixed together, put in half an ounce of _Prussian blue,_ finely powdered, add water to make it a proper thickness to put on a wall. White-wash for Buildings or Fences. Put in a barrel, one bushel of best unslaked lime, pour on it two buckets of boiling water, and when it is mixed put in six pounds of fine whiting, fill up the barrel with water, stir it well, and keep it covered from the rain, let it stand several days before you use it, when stir it up; thin it with milk as you use it, and put half a pint of salt to each bucket full. This makes a durable wash for a rough-cast or frame house, or for fences; the salt prevents it from peeling off. Chrome Yellow-wash. Mix four pounds of whiting with as much water as will go over the room; dissolve a tea-cupful of glue, and put in; then wash the walls with this to prevent the lime from affecting the chrome; if they come in contact, the walls will be striped, and will not look at all well. Mix a wash of whiting, water and glue, and color it with two pounds of chrome yellow. After walls have been yellow, and you want to have them white, they must be washed over with whiting and glue, and then white-washed in the usual way. Yellow Ochre wash. Dissolve a pound of glue in hot water, and stir into it three pounds of yellow ochre, and one of whiting; mix it well, and thin it with water or skim milk. It is a suitable wash for a common room or kitchen. Lamp-black mixed with molasses, and put in white-wash, makes a good color for a kitchen. To Dye Orange Color. For five pounds of woolen yarn, have one pound of annotta; dissolve it in boiling water, and put it in a pot of soft water with half a pound of pearl-ash; boil them ten minutes, stirring it well; wet the yarn in soap-suds; put it in, and let it boil twenty minutes; then hang it in the sun, and when dry, if it is not deep enough, dip it in again; and after it is thoroughly dry, wash it in soap and water. Green-wash. Take four pounds of blue vitriol, pound it fine, and mix with it three pounds of beat whiting, and half a pound of potash; pour on them six quarts of boiling water, and mix in half a pound of glue dissolved in water. Wash the walls with whiting before it is put on. Chrome Yellow for Dyeing Carpet Rags. Dissolve the chrome in warm water in an earthen vessel; dip the rags in vinegar and water, then in the chrome dye, and hang in the sun to dry. This color will stand for years in a rag carpet, and is very little trouble. Six cents worth of chrome will dye several pounds. To Dye a Dark Drab. For ten pounds of cotton or wool, have half a bushel of maple bark, the same of sumach berries, and a peck of walnut hulls or bark; put a layer of this in an iron pot, and a layer of the wool, till all is in; cover it with water, and boil it slowly for three hours, keeping the pot filled with water; then hang it out, and when dry, wash one skein, and if it is not dark enough, strain the dye, and put in a tea-cup of copperas; put in the yarn, and let it scald a few minutes; take it out, dry it, and wash it well with soft soap and water. To Dye Cotton or Woollen Black. To each pound of yarn, have one ounce of copperas, nine of logwood, a handful of salt, and a quart of good vinegar, which boil with copperas ten minutes in a brass kettle; shave the logwood, and boil it in an iron pot; when the color is extracted, strain it into the vinegar; put in the yarn, and let it simmer twenty minutes stirring it; then hang it in the air, and if it is not black enough, boil it over. You should have a clear day to do all coloring in. Cedar Dye. Boil the boughs of cedar in two or three gallons of water, for several hours, in an iron vessel; strain it off, add half a tea-spoonful of copperas, put it on the fire, and put in the articles you wish to dye; let them boil a few minutes, then hang them up to dry. This will dye sage color, and can be used for cotton, woollen or silk, and has the advantage of retaining its color. The cedar boughs should he used in the fall of the year, when the berries are on them. Pear bark is an improvement and makes the color darker. To Dye Olive. Make a strong sage tea, and add copperas and alum till it is dark; strain it; dip the cloth or silk in weak soap-suds, and then in the dye, and air it, till it is the color you wish. Maple bark and copperas make a good dark color for common purposes. To Dye Yellow. Boil peach leaves when they are turning yellow in the fall, with a little alum. Onion skins boiled with alum make a good yellow. To Dye Brown. Take young walnuts, with some of the leaves and bark; wash your wool in soap-suds; put a layer of it in a barrel, and a layer of the walnuts; fill it up with water, and put a weight on the top; at the end of a week wring it out, and let it lay in the hot sun two hours; put it back in the dye, and at the end of another week, sun it again; keep it in until sufficiently dark, when wash it in soap-suds. This makes a pretty brown that will not fade, and is stronger than when dyed with copperas. To Dye Red. To four pounds of yarn, take one pound of fine alum, and boil it in as much water as will cover the yarn; put in the yarn, and let it boil gently half an hour; then take it out and dry it; make a dye of two pounds of madder, and two ounces of crude tartar pulverized, and boil it; then put in the yarn, and let it boil half an hour; take it out and air it, and if it is not dark enough, put it in again, and boil it longer. Brazil Wood Dye. Tie two pounds of red or Brazil wood in a thin bag, and boil it for several hours in a brass or copper kettle in water; take out the Brazil wood and add a pound of alum, then put the rags in, and let them boil some time; hang them in the sun, and dry without washing them. This will dye woolen _red_, and cotton _pink_. Washing in soap suds will change it to purple. Lead Color. Take four ounces of red wood, two of logwood, half an ounce of pounded nut-galls, and quarter of a pound of green copperas; boil them in ten gallons of water, and strain it; wash the wool or cloth in soap-suds, put it in, and let it remain till it is as dark as you wish it; dry it in the sun, and wash it in soap-suds. Sugar paper, boiled in vinegar, makes a good lead color for stockings. To Dye Scarlet. Take one pound of blood root, and one pound of madder, boil them in six gallons of ley, then stir them three or four times in twenty-four hours, till there are signs of fermentation. This dyes ten pounds of cotton or linen. To Dye Yarn Green. Take one ounce of best Spanish indigo, finely powdered, and half a pound of oil of vitriol; put them in a bottle, and let them stand in the sun a week; shake it often, but do not cork it tight, lest it should burst the bottle; take four pounds of black-oak bark, and the same of hickory, shave them fine, and soak them till wet through; then boil them in ten gallons of water till all the color is extracted; when take out the chips, put in a pound of alum; shake the bottle of indigo and vitriol, and pour it in; let them boil together a few minutes, and put in the yarn; turn it over several times, and let it boil half an hour; then spread it out in the sun for about an hour, and wash it well in strong soap-suds through two waters, to keep it from becoming tender. This will color ten pounds of yarn. You may have a fine blue color by omitting the bark. It will not answer for any thing but wool or silk, as the vitriol will destroy linen or cotton. To Dye Cotton Blue. Boil a pound of chipped logwood in water enough to cover the cotton; take out half a gallon, and dissolve in it an ounce of verdigris, and one of alum; boil the yarn in the logwood water an hour, stirring it, and keeping it loose; then take it out, and mix in the verdigris; put back the yarn, and let it boil four hours, stir all the time, and take it out every hour to give it air, dry it in the sun, and the next day boil it in soap-suds. This will dye six pounds of cotton a deep blue. After it is done, you may put in as much more, and it will dye a pale blue. To Keep Apples in Winter. Pick them carefully, so as not to bruise them; put them in an out-house, exposed to the north, either in boxes, or barrels, or lying in heaps; after they have been several weeks in this situation, pick them over and put them in barrels which should be headed; if the weather is not severe, let them remain in this cold situation as long as it will be safe, without their being frozen, then remove them to the cellar. Do not shut the windows till the severe weather comes on. Some persons pack them, in dry chaff, or sand, and put them in barrels and boxes in a cool garret. Directions for Making Matresses. If you have an old curled hair matress, you can make two, that will be equally useful as those that are composed of curled hair, by using cotton and hackled corn husks, in alternate layers with the hair. Some persons use a quantity of green corn, and save all the husks, and strip them with a fork, or hackle, and spread them on a garret floor to dry; they are nicer in this state than prepared from the dry husk; but if you have not sufficient, take the dry husks from corn that has been stripped off the top and blade in the field, and have it hackled as flax; for one matress, have as much as will fill two flour barrels tightly packed; sixteen pounds of refuse cotton, (such as is sometimes sold very low at the factories,) and half the hair of an old matress, (which should be well picked;) measure the bedstead you wish it for, and allow to each breadth of the ticking, a quarter of a yard in length over; for a small matress less should be allowed, and the same in width, (as it takes up in making;) cut the side strips as deep as you wish the matress, fit the corners, cut out a place for the foot posts, or fit each end square alike; after the bottom and sides are sewed together, run a tuck all round to save binding, sew the tick in a quilting frame, and stay it to the end pieces as a quilt; put a table under to support the weight, (which can be shifted as it is sewed;) first put a layer of hair, then cotton, then husks alternately, till it is done; be careful to let the hair be next the ticking; put some all round the sides and edges. When all is in, put on the top, and baste it down with strong thread; then with a chalk line strike across, to form squares to sew it by. Have a long needle prepared and polished smoothly, threaded with twine, or several strands of strong shoe thread; this should be well waxed, and long enough to go through and back again; have tufts, or two pieces of strong cloth prepared, to secure the stitches on both sides; one person should be under the frame, to pull the needle through and put it back; it should be tied tightly as possible; when you have done stitching, the matress should be sewed all round, taken out of the frame and the raw edges bound. They can be made of cotton and husks, without hair, or cotton alone. Those that have sheep can use the coarse wool, (and such as is not profitable for manufacturing,) with the husks, it is more elastic than cotton. Many persons are deprived of one of the greatest comforts in summer, and sleep on feathers, when a little care in preparing the materials, and putting them together would furnish your chambers with the most healthy and pleasant beds; a large cotton sheet should be kept on a matress, or a case made of unbleached muslin, this covering should be occasionally washed and starched. If you cannot get husks, straw will answer, or hay. To Make a Rag Carpet. Ten pounds of purple warp, ten of green, four of yellow, seven of red, will make a pretty stripe, mingled and arranged according to your fancy; the above quantity of warp, with fifty-eight pounds of rags will make forty-two yards, yard wide. In most cities warp can be purchased ready colored. A very good proportion is a pound and a quarter of rags, and three-quarters of a pound of warp to the yard. Save all the scraps in cutting out work; have a bag for the purpose hanging in a convenient place, and when you have leisure cut them. Old muslin garments that are not worth giving away, may be torn in strips and colored. In cutting out clothes for boys, from men's garments, there will always be scraps and strips. By purchasing a little red flannel to mix in, the appearance is improved. A carpet wears cleaner to be about one-third cotton, and two-thirds woollen rags to mix the colors. Do not sew a strip that is longer than three yards, and the cotton should be much shorter, as the warp is usually of that material, there is more danger from fire. To Keep Furs and Woollens. Crack the grains of black pepper, and sprinkle in among your furs and woollen clothes; after they have been shaken and aired, fold them smooth and put them in linen bags or sheets; keep them in a large trunk or dark closet, and look at them once through the summer to see that they are safe. Tobacco and camphor are also good to pack them in, but the smell continues with them a long time, and is disagreeable to some persons. They should be well shaken and aired before they are worn. To Keep Curtains. Take the curtains down in the spring, shake them carefully and brush the dust from them; let them air a day, but not so that the sun will fade them; then fold them neatly, and pin them up in sheets. Moreen or worsted curtains require the same care as woollen cloths. To Keep Blankets in Summer. If you have any blankets that are soiled and require washing in the spring, have it nicely done; when they are perfectly dry, put them on a bedstead in a spare chamber, keeping out one to use on each bed through the summer; spread a large sheet over; tuck under all round, and secure the corners with pins; tins will keep them from dust and moths, and makes a good bed to use in hot weather. Carpets, &c. When you take up carpets in the spring to put down matting, have them well shaken, and if there are any spots on them, they should be washed off with a stiff brush and dried; if there is oil or grease spilt on them, mix up whiting or nice clay with water; spread it on both sides of the spot, and baste thick paper over it. When dry, fold it up the size of a bedstead, and pin a coarse sheet round it. In this way they will be secure from moths, and the addition of a few quilted comforts on the top, makes a very pleasant bed in summer. The small moth-fly appears early in the summer, and should always be destroyed when seen, as the moth is produced from the eggs which they deposit in woollens; by being careful to kill them when they first come, a house may be kept nearly clear of them. Select the softest brooms for sweeping carpets, as stiff ones wear them out. House Linen. Have a book in which to set down all the bed and table linen, towels and napkins; every article of which should be marked and numbered, and counted at least once a month. To Clean Paint. Rub some whiting very fine on a plate; have ready some clean warm water, and a piece of flannel, which dip in the water and squeeze very dry; then take as much whiting as will stick to the flannel, and rub the paint to remove dust or grease, then wash it well with clean water and wipe it dry with a soft cloth. Bran boiled in water, and left to settle, is very good to clean paint; use a soft cloth or flannel; it will take off fly specks and impart a gloss to the paint; wipe it quite dry. Unless soap is used with great care, it will injure paint. Varnished paint requires nothing but clean warm water and to be wiped dry. To Clean Bedsteads. In the summer, bedsteads should be brushed and searched every week; if they are infested with bugs, boil the sacking in ley and water, or put it in an oven, on some boards, after the bread is taken out, to kill the eggs; fill a large bottle with red pepper pods of the strongest kind, and fill it up with vinegar; put this in each crack of the bedsteads every morning, until they entirely disappear; never omit to search the bedsteads longer than a week. It is a good way to fill up all the cracks of the bedsteads with resin soap. After they are cleaned, move the bed from the wall and fill up every crack in the plastering with calcined plaster and water, or putty. Sometimes bed-bugs are brought in the cleanest houses before the family are aware of it. When persons return from travelling, the trunks should always be examined before they are taken into the chambers, or put away; a little care at the proper time will prevent much trouble. Some persons scald their bedsteads with boiling vinegar; the acid is said to dissolve the shell of the egg. If poison is used, great care is necessary. It is said that lard is good to use on bedsteads that are infested with bugs; the grease prevents their increase. All the cracks should be filled after the bedstead has been well searched. To Clean Floors. Scour all the spots with soap and sand, then go all over with the long scrubbing brush, a few boards at a time; rinse it well and wipe it dry. A floor that has been well cleaned, and dried without being walked on, will keep clean much longer than one that has been half done; too much soap or ley makes a floor look yellow. Bare floors are very pleasant in summer, and when they get a few spots, they can be taken out with dry white sand, and a shoe-sole, and will not need scrubbing more than two or three times in a summer. Cleaning Cellars--Rats, Roaches. In the spring, cellars should be swept, and all refuse vegetables taken out; if left till warm weather, they will become putrid, and endanger the health of your family. The sprouts should be rubbed from the potatoes; all the barrels should be moved and swept under. Have boards laid on the floor for meat and fish barrels, and after they are emptied, have them washed and drained ready for use. Empty flour barrels should be swept out and the heads and hoops saved. Have lime sprinkled over the cellar floor twice during the summer, or oftener if it should be necessary. If the windows are kept shut in warm weather, the air will be unwholesome. Do not trust to servants, examine and see that it is done thoroughly. The apartments where cold meat and milk are kept should be cobwebbed and swept once a week, and the safe washed out at least that often. If the cellar is paved with brick, keep a part of it washed clean, to set cold meat and milk on; cover them with tin pans and put a weight on the top if rats are troublesome. If there are rat holes have them stopped with pieces of brick, and broken glass bottles; never use ratsbane without the greatest caution, as it is a dangerous remedy. No food or milk should be in the cellar at the time, and keep it locked up all the while it is there. I have heard of lives being lost by it. Have water set about in pans for the rats to drink, and after three days, clear it all away and have the cellar cleaned and aired before putting any thing in it. Several persons have been in great danger from burning the arsenic; when it is used it should be put deep in the ground and covered up. Mice are kept under by a good cat, and traps. If roaches are troublesome, set bowls or deep dishes, with molasses and a plate on the top, with room for them to get in, and set it close to a wall. I have seen hundreds caught in this way in one night, and it is much safer than setting any thing poisonous about the kitchen or pantry. They should be burnt in the morning, and the dishes set again at night. If you find a closet infested with ants, remove every thing that will attract them, scald and clean it well, and they will soon leave it. It is said that strips of cotton or linen dipped in spirits of turpentine, and placed about the closets, will drive them away. Mats should be placed at all the outside doors, and at the top and bottom of the cellar stairs. Putting Straw under Carpets. It is thought that carpets wear better when straw is spread over the floor before they are put down, and it will prevent the dust from rising so much. Care should be taken to have them well tacked down, as it is dangerous on account of fire. Where straw is used, they may be kept down a much longer time without being shaken. Picking Geese, &c. When you pick geese and ducks, have a tub of boiling water; dip each one in, turning it over to let every part be well scalded, and as each one is scalded, wrap it up in a cloth, and when they are nearly cold, pick them. In this way the pen feathers are loosened, and they can be picked much cleaner. Wetting the feathers does not hurt them if they are well dried. They should be put in bags, and frequently sunned. Baking them in the oven after the bread comes out, cures them more thoroughly than any other way. Turkey and chicken feathers are not so good for beds as goose and duck; they may be picked in the same way. Marble, &c. Marble mantles should be washed but seldom; wipe off spots with a damp cloth, and rub them dry. Hearths should be washed with soap and water. When there is a spot of grease, mix clay or whiting with soft soap, and put on. Soap-stone hearths may be scoured with soap and fine sand, and washed off. To Restore Colors taken out by Acid, &c. Hartshorn rubbed on a silk or woollen garment will restore the color without injuring it. Spirits of turpentine is good to take grease or drops of paint out of cloth; apply it till the paint can be scraped off. Rub French chalk or magnesia on silk or ribbon that has been greased and hold near the fire; this will absorb the grease so that it may be brushed off. To make New Feather Beds. In making new feather beds, put half a pound of cayenne, and half a pound of black pepper in each bed; this will prevent the moths from getting into new feathers that have not been well cured. It is best to air your beds frequently, and shake them up, even if they are not slept in. It is the oil in the feathers that makes them smell bad, and when in constant use the heat of the body dries it up gradually; when beds or pillows have acquired this unpleasant smell, open them and put a few pounded cloves in each. When new beds are covered with cases, the moth will sometimes eat through without its being discovered. Covers also prevent the air from sweetening the feathers, and when new they should never be covered unless in use. When beds are slept on, it is best to have a thick cotton sheet, or if it is cold weather, a blanket between the under sheet and the bed, and have them washed and aired occasionally. To Clean Silver. Wash the silver in soda water, rub it with whiting, and polish it with a piece of dry buckskin. Embossed silver requires a stiff brush. Another way is to let the silver lay in chalk and water for an hour, then take it out, and wipe it dry on flannel; polish it with a piece of buckskin. Britannia Ware. First wash it clean in soap-suds, then rub it with a woollen cloth and whiting, and polish off with dry buckskin. Brass. First rub the brasses with turpentine, vinegar or whiskey, then with rotten-stone and a woollen cloth, and polish off with a piece of soft leather. For brasses that have been long out of use, chalk and vinegar may be used. To Clean Stoves or Grates. Have the stove slightly warm, and if there is rust on it rub it off with a dry brush; mix some black lead or British lustre with boiling water, rub it on a small part of the stove at a time, and polish it with a stiff brush. If the stove needs but little cleaning, wet the spots with water, dust a little lead on the brush and rub it quickly. The black lead should be washed off several times a year, and then renewed. Sheet iron stoves should be rubbed with a woollen cloth, as a brush is apt to streak. The lead may be mixed with the white of an egg in cold water. Alum water is good to mix lustre; it prevents the stove from rusting. To polish the hearth of a Franklin stove, rub it over with a piece of grindstone, or use coarse sand with the sole of a shoe; when it begins to look bright, polish it with pumice stone. Cement to Mend Cracks in Stoves. Take two parts of ashes, three of clay, and one of sand; mix them well together with water, and put it on when the stove is cold. It is also good to stop a leak in a roof. Fire-proof Cement. Slack a peck of lime in boiling water; put into it three pounds of salt, three of brown sugar, and one of alum; mix them well together, and color it with lamp-black or ochre. This has been recommended to put on the roof of a building that is exposed to fire. To Take Spots out of Mahogany. Put a piece of paper on the spot, and hold a warm iron over it, then rub it with a waxed cloth. If furniture is hurt with flies, it should be well washed with a cloth, and rubbed with a cork and a waxed cloth. Varnished furniture should be first rubbed with sweet oil, and then with a waxed cloth. To Take Grease out of Floors. Mix clay or fullers' earth with ley, and put a thick coat on the grease spot; scrape it off every few days, and put on more. To put soft soap on the place, and rub it over with a hot iron, will take out the grease. Wash for Hearths. Mix red ochre in milk, and put it on the hearths with a brush. Blacking for Boots and Shoes. Take one ounce of vitriolic acid, one wine-glass of olive oil, two ounces of ivory black, an ounce of gum arabic, a quart of vinegar, and a tea-cup of molasses; put the vitriol and oil together, then add the ivory black and other ingredients; when all are well mixed, bottle it. To Make Boots and Shoes Water-proof. Take one pint of linseed oil, one ounce of Burgundy pitch, two of beeswax, and two of spirits of turpentine; melt them carefully over a slow fire. With this you may rub new or old shoes in the sun, or at a short distance from the fire, and they will last longer, never shrink, and keep out water. To Make Blacking for Morocco Shoes. Pound some black sealing wax, and put in a bottle with half a pint of alcohol; shake it frequently, and when it is dissolved, you may rub it on morocco shoes when they are scaled or defaced, and they will look almost like new; dry it on in the sun. To Grease Eggs for Winter. In the spring when eggs are plenty and cheap, it is very well to put up several hundred, to use in the winter, when it is very difficult to get them, even in the country. Grease each egg with sweet lard, and as you do so, lay them in a keg or jar, or old tin vessels that are out of use; put them in a dry closet and keep them covered over; if they are put in the cellar, they are liable to mould, which spoils them entirely. Do not put in any cracked ones, or they will injure the rest. In this way they have been known to keep a year, and were nearly as good for puddings, or batter cakes, as fresh eggs. They do not do to boil, or make pound or sponge cake, as they lose part of their lightening property. To Keep Eggs in Lime Water. Pour two gallons of hot water on a pint of lime and half a pint of salt; put the eggs in a jar or keg, and when it is cold, pour it over them, and put them in a cellar to keep; be sure that there are no cracked ones. Eggs may be kept a month or longer, spread out separately on dishes, so as one will not lay on another. They will keep best in a dark closet. To Clean Soiled Eggs. When eggs are discolored from laying on the ground, wash them first in strong vinegar, and then in cold water, and wipe them dry on a soft towel. Chloride of Lime. A few spoonsful of chloride of lime dissolved in some water in a bowl or saucer, is very useful to purify the apartment of an invalid, or in any case where there is an unpleasant smell, of any kind. It is a cheap article, and should always he kept convenient where there is sickness in the house. To Take Lime out of Cloth. Lime spots on woollen clothes may be effectually removed, by putting a little strong vinegar on the part, which completely neutralizes the lime, and does not usually effect the color; but it will be safest to wash it over with a cloth dipped in water, and rub it till nearly dry. Hartshorn and alcohol mixed together are very useful in taking spots out of cloth or merino, applied with something that will not leave lint. To Take Wax or Spermaceti out of Cloth. Hold a red hot flat-iron within an inch or two of the cloth, and this will make the wax or spermaceti evaporate entirely; then rub the place with a towel (that is free from lint) or clean brown paper. To Remove a Stopper from a Decanter. Wet a cloth with hot water and wrap it round the neck of the bottle; this will cause the glass to expand, and the neck will be enlarged so as to allow of the stopper to be withdrawn, without any trouble. Precautions against Fire. Perhaps it may not be improper to remark that houses have been saved from being destroyed by fire at night, by there having been buckets of water left in the kitchen. Never go to bed without seeing that there is a supply in readiness. Housekeepers should also arrange their family affairs so as to have as little going about with lights by servants as possible. Chimneys should be swept at proper intervals, and if you burn them, let it be on a rainy morning and never at night. To Take Ink and Stains out of Linen. Dip the spotted part in pure melted tallow, then wash out the tallow and the ink will come out with it. If you get a stain of fruit of any kind on linen, boil a little new milk, and dip the parts in and out for a few minutes; this must be done before any water is used, or it will not be likely to succeed. Oxalic acid, or salt and lemon juice are good, and care should be taken to rinse the articles well after the application. Herbs, Gardens and Yards. If you have a garden, be careful to raise herbs, both for cooking and to use in sickness. Parsley, thyme, sage and sweet marjoram occupy very little room in a garden, and cannot very well be dispensed with for kitchen use; and every family should have a bunch of wormwood; it is a fine tonic, either made while fresh, cut fine, with cold water, or after it has been dried, made with boiling water. Tansey is also a useful herb. Hoarhound is excellent for coughs, and is particularly useful in consumptive complaints, either as a syrup or made into candy. Balm is a cooling drink in a fever. Catnip tea is useful when you have a cold, and wish to produce a perspiration, and is good for infants that have the colic. Garlic is good for colds, and for children that have the croup; you should have some taken up in the fall to use through the winter. The root of elecampane gathered in the fall, scraped, sliced, and strung with a needle and thread to dry, will keep its strength for several years, and is useful for a cough with hoarhound. Rue is a valuable herb, a tea made of it and sweetened is good for worms. It is not expected that persons living in a town should have room in their garden for herbs, but they are generally to be purchased at market, and should always be kept in the house, as sometimes in the winter they are much needed when it is difficult to find them. Herbs should be spread out on a cloth to dry; turn them every day; when dry, put them in thick paper bags, and close up the top, so as to exclude the air. They can be kept hanging up, or laid on the shelf of a closet, where they will not be affected by damp. Such herbs as sage, thyme and sweet marjoram, when thoroughly dry, should be pounded, sifted, and corked in bottles. Parsley should be cut fine with a pair of scissors, dried, and put in bottles; it is nearly as good this way as when fresh; keep it in a dark closet. Where you have a garden, do not throw away the soap-suds that are left from washing, as they are very good to water herbs and flowers. It is very important to have early vegetables. A garden that is spaded, or ploughed in the winter, is ready to plant much earlier. There are many things that will bear the spring frosts without injury, and if planted early will be ready to grow when the fine weather comes. Tomatoes should be sowed in boxes or a hot-bed to be ready to transplant. The scrapings of a cellar are good to put in the garden to enrich it. Ashes sprinkled on a yard, or grass plat, will keep down the coarse grass, and produce white clover. The grass should be cut out of a brick pavement with a knife, and boiling ley poured on to kill the roots. Seeds should be saved as they ripen, from the finest plants; they should be kept in a box with a tight lid to keep them from mice. Greasers for Bake-irons. Take pieces of fat from the back bone, or chine of pork; cut them in pieces of half a pound each; leave the skin on; salt them. They will do to grease the bake-iron where you have buckwheat cakes every morning in winter, and should be kept in a cool place; after remaining in salt several weeks, they may be hung up in an airy place. This is nicer than suet. Cement for the Tops of Bottles or Jars. Take equal parts of rosin and brick-dust pounded fine; a lump of beeswax; stew them together, and keep in an old tin, melting it when you want to seal your bottles or jars. Cement for Mending Cast-iron. To mend a crack or sand hole in an iron pot, beat up the white of an egg, and mix equal weight of salt and sifted ashes; work it very smooth and fill up the crack, let it harden before it is used. If it is a large sand hole you wish to mend, put in a rivet and secure it with the cement, if it gets loose it is easily fastened by the same process. Weather Proof Cement. Take of fine sand one part, two of clay, three of ashes; mix with linseed oil to the consistency required. Put it on with a towel or brush. It is said to become as hard as marble. To Cleanse Vials, &c. Put ashes and water in each one, and boil them in water, letting them heat gradually. Pie plates may be cleansed in the same way. Iron pots that have been used for boiling milk, may be cleaned by boiling ashes and water in them. Mending China with Milk. China can be mended if not too badly broken, by boiling it in skim milk, it should be entirely clear of cream, or the oily particles will prevent its adhesion. Tie the pieces with tape or fine cord, put them into a kettle of cold milk, and let them boil two hours, then take it off the fire, and when cold take the china out, and set it away; let it stand for several months. China pitchers, tea-pot lids, cup-plates and dishes, have been used for years after being mended in this way. Mending China with White Lead. Take the bottom of an old paint keg, and carefully with a small knife, put it on the edge of glass or china, close the parts together, and place away; if badly broken, mend the small parts first, and set away; then when dry, putty the edges you wish to join carefully, and set on the top shelf of a closet, where it will be undisturbed for a year. Linseed Oil for Furniture. For polishing mahogany or walnut furniture, (that has never been varnished) linseed oil has been recommended. It possesses a tendency to harden and become solid, on long exposure to the air. It is this peculiar quality that renders it useful in its application to furniture. Rub the furniture you wish to polish (having previously washed all the wax from it with soap and water) all over with the oil; a small piece of sponge is suitable for the purpose, let it remain a few minutes so as to sink in the wood; then rub it in with a soft cloth, and again with a clean cloth. Do this every other day and your table will soon be fit to use for breakfast or tea without fear of spoiling the polish; when you wash it off it should be done with plain warm water, as soap will injure it. It is best not to use a table till it has had several rubbings with the oil, and then apply it once a week. The pores being filled with the application it becomes hard. Always give a table that is in use a rub with a dry cloth every morning. For Filtering Water. Put a thick layer of pounded charcoal, (say six inches,) at the bottom of a large earthen flower-pot; over this, lay a bed of fine sand, which has been washed, (to prevent its giving a taste to the water;) pour the water in the filterer and put a large stone pitcher under to receive it. On A Larger Scale. Prepare a tight barrel by charring it on the inside, (by having some hickory or oak shavings burnt in it,) then put in half a peck of quick lime, and fill it with water. After the lime water has stood in the barrel for two weeks, it will be ready for use. This preparation of the barrel is necessary to remove the acid from the wood, which would communicate an unpleasant taste to the water. Fit a partition in the barrel, (perforated with many holes,) about three inches from the bottom of the barrel, and having put in a tube, to go down from the top through the partition nearly to the bottom, put on the perforated partition some broken charcoal, then finer charcoal a foot thick, then about a foot of clean washed sand. To use this filter pour the water through the tube, (which should be open at the top like a funnel;) the water runs to the bottom, and filters upward, leaving all the impurities at the bottom. The pure water is drawn off from the top of the barrel by means of a spile or faucet. To Keep Water Cool in Summer, when you have not Ice. Where you live at a distance from water, and wish to keep it cool, put a large stone vessel in the coldest place you can find; fill it with water, cover it with a towel and wrap a wet cloth around it; this will keep it cool for some hours, which is a comfort in warm weather. To Purify Water. To put a small lump of lime into your water-cask is useful. Agitating and exposing it to the air, will help to keep it fresh. Strain muddy water through a sieve, in which a cloth or sponge, (or a layer of fine sand or charcoal,) has been placed. Hard water may be softened and rendered suitable for washing, by adding to every twelve gallons of water, about a quarter of a pound of sal soda. Gum Arabic Paste. Pulverize in a mortar an ounce of gum arabic, pour on boiling water and stir it till dissolved; do not put too much water. If you wish to keep this paste any length of time, put it in a wide-mouthed phial, and pour alcohol over it; keep it corked, and as you use it, you may thin it with water if required; put it on with a feather or brush. Preserving Kettles. Bell-metal, copper and brass kettles require very nice cleaning immediately before they are used, or it will endanger your health. Vinegar with salt or ashes should be used; save the vinegar that is left in the pickle jars for this purpose. To Clean Knives and Forks. In some families the knives are a great care to the housekeeper, but by proper management it is rendered easy. After using them, they should be wiped with a cloth, dipped in warm water, then wiped dry, (the handles should never be put in hot water,) then polish them with Bristol or Bath brick, which, with the rubbing cloths, should be kept in a small box, with a strip of leather nailed on one edge, on which to polish them after they are rubbed with the brick. Knives that are not in daily use should be wrapped in raw cotton and then in paper, and if kept in a dry place will not be liable to rust. To Clean Teeth. _With Remarks on Fixing the Habit, &c._ Pulverized charcoal mixed with honey, is very good to cleanse teeth, and make them white. A little Peruvian bark put in a phial with lime water is excellent to use occasionally by those that have offensive teeth; and tincture of myrrh mixed with a little water, may be used with advantage, to harden the gums. A little Peruvian bark put in the teeth just before going to bed, and washed out in the morning, is an excellent preservative of teeth. It is very important for parents to insist on children cleaning their teeth, at least, it is well for them to begin before they lose their first set, as it makes them last longer, and fixes the habit, which is of great importance. To Clean Kid Gloves. Take a piece of flannel; moisten it with a little milk; rub it on a cake of mild soap, and apply it to the soiled spots on the gloves; as soon as the dirt is removed, rub the spot with a dry piece of flannel, and dry them on the hands. Care must be taken that the gloves are not made too wet, or they will have a wrinkled appearance. Dark gloves that are worn in winter, should be exposed to the sun for about a quarter of an hour in the spring, before putting them away, or they will be liable to spot. To Clean Papered Walls. Cut the crust off of stale bread very thick, and rub the walls carefully from top to bottom, in a straight line, using a fresh piece of bread as soon as it looks much soiled. To Take Old Putty from Window Glass. Warm an iron, and rub it on the glass opposite the putty; this melts the oil, and you may easily remove the putty. Cutting Glass for Mending Windows. If you want to cut glass for mending windows, and have no diamond, dip a piece of cotton twine into turpentine, and stretch it tightly across the glass where you wish to break it; then set the string on fire, and after it is burned, break the glass while it is warm. SIMPLE REMEDIES. The following remedies are for diseases which occur in almost every family, and have been proved to be useful in a number of instances. As most old housekeepers have their favorite recipes, it is for the young and inexperienced these are particularly intended, and may be used with safety, when a physician is not at hand. Remarks upon a Deeply Seated Cough. It is very important to begin in time with a cold. Consumption is sometimes prevented by very simple remedies. To put Burgundy pitch plasters on the breast and back of the neck, often has a good effect; they should be re-spread frequently, and when one part is irritated, change them to another place. Put one on your side if you have a pain there. Flannel should be put on next the skin by all means, which, with the above simple remedies, will cure a cold, if begun with in time. I have frequently known new flannel put on those that usually wore it, greatly to benefit a delicate person. The increased irritation of the new flannel acts on the pores of the skin and promotes circulation. Hair soles worn in the shoe, or socks made of flannel, or soft buckskin worn under the stockings, are very good to keep the feet warm and dry. Persons predisposed to consumption should have nourishing food, and not eat too much at a time; they should avoid strong tea or coffee, and drink milk. Eggs, oysters, fresh fish and fowls, are very good for them. Fruit of all kinds is useful. They should take exercise in the air, particularly riding on horse-back, or take a short walk, but not so as to be fatigued; to work moderately in a garden, when the ground is not too damp, is good exercise for a delicate person; the smell of fresh earth, and of flowers, is beneficial to both body and mind. After taking exercise, a glass of lemonade is very refreshing, and promotes appetite. If there should be perspiration at night, change the sheets and pillow-cases frequently, and the under garments; air the chamber and bed-clothes every day; if the weather is too damp to raise the windows, shake up the bed, and leave it unmade half of the day, and put it out in the sun occasionally. By all means avoid strong medicine, or any thing that has a tendency to weaken the body. Sometimes blisters are used with very good effect; also, rubbing the breast and back with camphor or spirits, or with a piece of dry flannel. Taking anodyne drops, particularly laudanum, should be avoided, if possible; they may still the cough during the night, but it will come on with increased violence in the morning; they weaken the stomach, increase the fever, and sometimes cause delirium. Everything that tends to excite or irritate the mind, should be kept from them. It is very important to talk cheerfully to sick persons, particularly if confined to their chamber, which can be done without lightness or trifling. If they see gloomy faces around them, it has a very disheartening effect; and, if the mind sinks, such is its intimate connection with the body, that it is hard to raise it. I have known persons by judicious management to live for many years, after it was thought they were in a deep decline, by avoiding weakening medicines, taking exercise on horse-back and on foot, and never indulging in a full meal. Sometimes such persons have very good appetites, and it is a satisfaction to their friends to see them eat heartily; but they should eat something frequently, rather than over-load the stomach too much. When they come in hungry from a ride, to beat up an egg with a tea-spoonful of wine, and a little sugar and nutmeg put in a tumbler with some milk, and taken with a cracker or biscuit, or a piece of thin toast broken up in it, has a very strengthening effect. Persons are seldom benefitted by a strict diet, but it is sometimes enforced till they lose their appetite and cannot eat. If the weather is so that exercise cannot be taken out of doors, some method should be devised for taking it in the house. Rubbing furniture and playing battle-door, are good exercise for a female, but should not be taken too much at a time. Men that are confined to the house are sometimes very much at a loss what to do; if such would purchase a few tools, and appropriate a spare room as a workshop, it would promote their health. I have known men that were but little acquainted with the use of tools, do many useful and ornamental pieces of work, that were greatly valued by their friends; and the exertion kept their spirits from sinking, when the weather was too inclement to take exercise in the open air. For a Cough. Take a wine glass of the juice of the green hoarhound, or if that cannot be obtained, a strong decoction from the dry herb will answer; mix it in half a pint of new milk, sweetened either with sugar or honey; take this half an hour before breakfast. It has been known to cure obstinate coughs, and persons that have taken it for four weeks or more, have gained strength and flesh, and the pain in the breast was relieved. Flannel should be worn. Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup. Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar; when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it. Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup. Brown Mixture for a Cough. Take of paregoric, liquorice and gum arabic, each an ounce, from fifty to one hundred drops of antimonial wine and two gills of hot water; mix them well together, and when cold, bottle, and cork it tight; take two tea-spoonsful at a time; if it should nauseate, give a smaller quantity. If this produce profuse perspiration avoid going in the air unless well wrapped up. This has been useful in the latter stages of the whooping cough. Ginger Tea. _With Remarks on its Use, &c._ Strong ginger tea, sweetened and taken hot on going to bed, is very good. Where persons have been exposed to the air, and think they have taken fresh cold, keep the feet warm by taking a hot brick to bed, and do not increase the cold the next day. If it is not deeply seated, taking this a few nights will give relief. A piece of ginger root, kept about the person to chew, is good for a tickling in the throat, which many persons are subject to, when sitting in close heated apartments, in lecture rooms, or places of worship. Lemon Mixture for a Cough. Put two fresh eggs in a jar; cover them with the juice of six large lemons; let it stand until the hard shell of the eggs is eaten off; then beat it together; strain it, and add half a pound of rock candy, one gill of brandy and two table-spoonsful of sweet oil. Mixture of Lemon Juice and Honey. Take half a pint of honey and squeeze the juice of four lemons on it; mix well together, and add a small portion of sugar; take a tea-spoonful every time the cough is troublesome. Hoarhound Candy. Put two pounds of sugar in a pint of hoarhound tea, as strong as can be made, which may be done by drawing two sets of hoarhound in the same water, till the strength is out of each; when it is cold, mix in the sugar and the white of an egg; when it begins to boil, take off the scum as it rises, boil it slowly till it becomes thick, so that when you drop it on a plate, it will be hard and crisp, and pour it out in plates that have been greased with a little sweet butter; when cold, you can break it up for use, and tie it up in a jar. This is quite as useful as the candy you buy, and is much cheaper; it is very convenient for persons that have a cough, to have a little box of this about them to take when there is a tickling in the throat. Mustard Bath for the Feet--Soap Stones, &c. It gives relief to a bad cold in the early stages, to soak the feet in warm water, in which you have put half a tea cup of salt and two table spoonsful of pulverized mustard, and to drink ginger tea. You may keep your feet in the bath for half an hour, and then retire with a warm soap stone wrapped in a cloth and placed near them. A soap stone, the size of a brick will, when thoroughly heated, keep warm till morning, and is invaluable for an elderly person or one that suffers with cold feet. Liverwort Syrup. Make a quart of strong liverwort tea by extracting two sets of herbs in the same water, tie a tea cup of flaxseed in a bag and put with it; keep it covered while drawing; when the strength is all out, strain it on a pound of sugar, and let it boil slowly till it is thick--keeping it covered to prevent the strength from going off, when cold, bottle it, and set the bottle in a cool place while using it. Take a table-spoonful at a time about six times a day. This has been used for a cough with great benefit. For Sore Throat. Make a gargle of cayenne pepper, honey and spirits, or sage tea, with alum and honey, or figs boiled, mashed and strained, and use it once in two hours. If it is very bad, steam the mouth with a funnel held over hot vinegar, and put on a hot poultice of hops, boiled in weak ley and thickened with corn-meal; there should be a little lard spread over; renew it every time it gets cold. Another very good poultice, is hot mush strewed with powdered camphor; put it on as hot as can be borne, and change it when cold. A purgative should be given, either of senna and salts, castor oil; or rhubarb and soap pills. An emetic is of great importance, and has caused the throat to break when persons have been very ill. Sore throats have been cured when quinsy was apprehended, by using powdered camphor and lard on flannel. It is a good way, when persons are subject to it, to keep an ounce of camphor mixed with lard, in a wide-mouthed bottle, or jar; and corked tight. The cayenne pepper and honey gargle should also be kept ready mixed, and used when the first symptoms appear; or in a violent attack, a plaster of snuff and lard may be applied with benefit, keeping it on only a few minutes at a time. Sometimes a bag of hot ashes sprinkled with vinegar, and applied hot as can be borne, has cured a sore throat in one night. Persons that have been afflicted for years with repeated attacks of sore throat and quinsy, have been cured by bathing the throat, neck and ears with cold water every morning. The constant use of the shower bath is very important. Keep the feet warm. Molasses Posset for a Cold. Take a pint of the best molasses, a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and let them simmer together for half an hour: then stir in the juice of two lemons, or if you have not these, two table-spoonsful of strong vinegar; cover over the sauce-pan, and let it stand by the fire five minutes longer. Some of this may be taken warm or cold. For Whooping Cough. Dissolve a scruple of salts of tartar in a gill of water, put in half a scruple of pulverized cochineal, sweeten it with loaf sugar, give an infant a tea-spoonful of this mixture four times a day, and a child four years old or upwards, a table-spoonful. In some cases the relief is instantaneous. Another Remedy. Half a pint of honey, half a pint of vinegar, two table-spoonsful of sweet oil stewed together a few minutes; when cold put it in a bottle, and put in a tea-spoonful of laudanum; shake it well, and give a table-spoonful when the cough is troublesome, and a dose just before going to bed. For an infant of six months, a small tea-spoonful is a dose, and for a child of four years, two tea-spoonsful. Where there is not much fever, a little port or claret wine, mixed with sugar and water, and taken with toast broken in it, is beneficial. Children should be taken out riding if possible, and should be well wrapped up. For the Croup. Put the child in warm water, and keep up the temperature by putting in more hot water; keep it in fifteen or twenty minutes, then wipe it dry and put it in a warm bed, or wrap a blanket round it and hold it on the lap; give it an emetic, and put powdered garlic and lard to the throat and soles of the feet; keep up the perspiration, by giving a few drops of antimonial wine every half hour. The next morning give it a dose of rhubarb tea or castor oil, and keep it from the air for several days. This treatment has been very beneficial when a physician was not at hand; and nothing had been done till his arrival, perhaps the child would have been too far gone to recover. In cases of croup, to wet a piece of flannel with, alcohol, and apply it to the throat as hot as it can be borne, has often a salutary effect, applied frequently. It is also good to use for a bad cold, &c. Molasses stewed with a lump of butter, and a table-spoonful of vinegar, taken just before you go to bed, and to grease the nose, forehead and breast with mutton tallow, will sometimes cure a child without any thing else. To pound garlic in a rag and squeeze out the juice, mix it with molasses, and give a tea-spoonful at a time, has given relief when a child was very ill. Sliced onions, or garlic stewed with sugar and water, or molasses, is very good to take for a cold. Where children are subject to the croup, you should always have a pot of water over the fire, and light-wood near, to heat it as quick as possible. Children that are subject to these attacks should have their feet kept warm and dry, and always wear flannel next to the skin. It is the duty of parents to make use of the most simple remedies, which may always be in readiness, and, if applied in time, may prevent the necessity of giving strong medicines, which injure the constitutions of young children. The least symptom of the disease should be attended to. Lobelia is a certain remedy for croup. If the case is light, a few drops of the tincture, increasing the dose according to the age of the child, given at short intervals, will cause it to vomit and prevent danger; but if the attack is a severe one, you should give the "third preparation of lobelia;" for a child of ten years, ten drops, and so on in proportion; mix it with sugar and water. Every mother should keep lobelia at hand, as it has been known to give certain relief in many cases. A child of twelve months, may take of the tincture ten drops every fifteen or twenty minutes, till it acts as an emetic, or relieves by perspiration; one of two or three years may take twenty or thirty drops. The third preparation is of much greater strength than the tincture. Infants' Colic, &c. Tea made of catnip, and sweetened, given to an infant when it appears to be in pain, is often useful. Sweet marjoram tea also relieves pain, and has a soothing effect on the nerves. To put the feet in warm water, and put a warm piece of flannel to the stomach, is important; but if neither of these relieve the child, put it in warm water for about ten minutes, and cover it from the air carefully; wipe it dry, and keep it warm afterwards. A little weak ginger tea is good for the colic; as also tea made of dried damask rose leaves; a tea-spoonful of leaves will make a tea-cupful of tea. Uneasiness is frequently caused by their stomachs being overloaded with food, and care should be taken in this respect. Having lately met with some remarks in the "Baltimore American," with which I am much pleased, I take the liberty of inserting them. "Narcotics and anodynes cannot be given with too much caution, the sensitive and nervous system of an infant should never be acted upon by these powerful drugs unless in extreme cases, and of these, few mothers should presume to judge. Two drops of laudanum, says the London Medical Gazette, have been known to kill an infant; and a single drop, it is said, stole the life of a new born babe. "The most experienced medical men never administer medicines of this class to the very young, without exercising the utmost caution, and making the most accurate calculations. "In the present day, the more general diffusion of correct facts in physiology and pathology has caused a large class of young mothers to reject the old system of giving narcotic drugs to infants. In carrying out this salutary reformation like all other reformers, they have a strong opposition to contend with; old fashioned nurses do much harm in opposing all nursery reformations, consequently young mothers will have a hard task to execute. "Too many have not the steady courage to hold on to the end in mild, but firm opposition to all erroneous, but well meant interference. But there are others whose pure and unswerving love for their tender off-spring keeps them firm to their duty; to these the next generation will owe much. They are the little band of true-hearted reformers, whose good example will be like leaven, spreading until its influence is felt throughout the wide circle of maternal responsibility." Summer Diseases. The food of children in summer, should be light and nourishing; if of milk, be careful that it is sweet. If you cannot get it fresh as often as you want it, boiling will keep it sweet. Sour milk and improper food sometimes bring on the summer disease, which is easier prevented than cured. A little rhubarb tea or tincture, with a small quantity of prepared chalk, will sometimes check it in its early stages, but the most effectual medicine that I have tried is called by some apothecaries, "red mixture," of which I will give a recipe. Chicken water, slightly salted, is very good; make but a little at a time, and have it fresh. Rice gruel, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and a little nutmeg, is nourishing. To make a drink of slippery-elm, shave the bark fine and put it in water; strain it, mix it with milk, and sweeten it. Elderberry and blackberry cordials are also good in cases where there is no fever. The stomach and back should be bathed with spirits, and a little bag of pounded spices, wet with spirits, applied to the stomach, may be used with safety, when not within reach of a physician. A bark jacket has been used with success in many instances, cut it out of fine muslin, to be double, spread it open, and cover one side with about two ounces of the best Lima bark, and twelve pounded cloves; put on the other side, sew it up, and quilt it across; put on shoulder straps and strings of soft ribbon; sprinkle it with spirits twice a day. The child should have the benefit of the morning and evening air. If it is not convenient to ride it out, walking will answer, in the arms of a careful nurse, carried on a pillow, with an umbrella to protect its eyes from the light. When a child is taken sick in a city, removing it to the country often has a beneficial effect. Milk thickened with arrow root is good diet for children. Flour dried in an oven for several hours, and used to thicken milk or water, is also good, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and is nutritious. They should eat but a small portion of any thing at a time. To cut slices of lean fresh beef or mutton, put it in a bowl, and pour a pint of boiling water on it, and let it set close to the fire for an hour, is very good to give children occasionally, with but little salt; the stomach will sometimes retain this when other things are rejected. As thirst is an attendant on this disease, much salt should be avoided in all their food. Every thing about a sick child should be kept clean, and its clothes well aired before changing them. If it is too ill to carry out of doors, have it changed from one room to another, and the apartment it left well aired. Children who are afflicted with this disease, sometimes crave fruit. Ripe peaches, fresh from the tree, or ripe apples, baked or roasted before the fire, may he occasionally administered in small quantities with perfect safety. To make toast-water, the bread should be toasted on both sides very dry, and boiling water poured on it. I hope these hints will be useful to persons that cannot procure a physician, which is often the case in the country. Mustard Whey. Boil a pint of milk, and the same of water, with an ounce and a half of bruised mustard seed, until the curd separates--when strain the whey. This is a most desirable way of administering mustard; it warms and invigorates the system, promotes the different secretions, and in the low state of nervous fevers, will often supply the place of wine. It is also of use in chronic rheumatism, palsy and dropsy. Red Mixture. Take sixteen grains of powdered rhubarb, thirty of soda, fifty of prepared chalk, and two drops of the oil of spearmint, mixed in a vial with two ounces of water; keep it corked up and shake it before giving a dose. A child of ten months old should take a tea-spoonful every three or four hours. If there is much pain, two drops of laudanum may be added to every other dose. A table-spoonful is a dose for a grown person. Erysipelas. The decoction of sarsaparilla has proved useful in cases of erysipelas. Take two ounces of sarsaparilla, one of sassafras, one of burdock root, and one of liquorice; boil them slowly in three pints of water, keeping it covered close, until reduced to one-half. Take two table-spoonsful four times a day. While taking medicine for the erysipelas, meat and all strong food should be avoided, and every thing that has a tendency to inflame the blood. Dusting the parts affected, with rye or buckwheat flour, sometimes has a cooling effect, and bathing with camphor or spirits will allay the irritation. Nettle rash is very much like erysipelas, and the same treatment is good for both. Slippery-elm bark, chipped, and let to stand in cold water till it becomes thick, is a very cooling drink. It may be filled up the second time. Barley water is also a suitable drink. Erysipelas is frequently brought on by violent exercise, and the perspiration being checked too suddenly. Persons that have once had it, should avoid extremes of heat and cold, and pay strict attention to diet--not eating any thing that disagrees with them. All acids, particularly pickles, are improper. The stomach should be cleansed by emetics. Small and frequent doses of senna and salts, if taken just at going to bed, will not occasion much sickness, and tend greatly to relieve the system of this unpleasant disease. Where the case is slight, the rhubarb pills sometimes give relief. The pores of those that are subject to it are generally open, and flannel should be worn all the year, to prevent too sudden a check of perspiration. Magnesia, Charcoal and Salts. Form a valuable compound for family use: one ounce of each mixed together, and put in a wide-mouthed bottle; it is useful for head-ache, or diseases of the skin. Cases of erysipelas have been cured by its continued use. Take a tea-spoonful of the mixture, in a little water two or three times a day, or on going to bed at night. Persons of sedentary occupations, that are in the habit of taking pills, will find it to their relief to use this simple remedy. It has been found beneficial in cases of tetter and ringworm in the head, using at the same time, as a wash on the part affected, borax dissolved in strong vinegar. In cases of erysipelas, the "charcoal mixture" has been used with great benefit; it is excellent for purifying the blood. Take it in small doses for two or three weeks, then discontinue it, and take it again at intervals. If this medicine should be found unpleasant, take a tea-spoonful of jelly, or something of that kind after it. It will answer quite as well to keep the magnesia, charcoal and salts in separate bottles, and mix them just as you take the dose, taking about an even tea-spoonful of each. For Dropsy. Put a quarter of a pound of cream of tartar, and a pound of new nails, in a stone jug, with half a gallon of water, let it stand three or four days, occasionally shaking it; take a table spoonful three times a day, on an empty stomach, and half an hour after each dose, take two spoonsful of mustard seed or scraped horse-radish. If the swelling abates, you may take the medicine less frequently, or omit every other day, but do not leave it off until you are entirely cured. After it has stood some time, it becomes stronger, when you may put in more water. This has been highly recommended for the dropsy. Another Remedy. Take a quart of gin, put into it one handful of the white buds of the common pine; shake it frequently, and take half a wine glassful at a time, twice a day, about an hour before a meal, and occasionally eat a little brown mustard seed; this should be persevered in, and has been known to afford great relief, in two obstinate cases. For Rheumatism Persons are liable to have the rheumatism from taking cold in the winter. Where the pain is most violent, put on plasters of Burgundy pitch, spread on leather. Persons that are subject to it, should always keep pitch in the house to use, as it will give relief; a silk handkerchief tied round the joint, keeps it warm and relieves stiffness. If the pain is in the back part of the head, put a blister on the neck, by all means. When persons have a bad spell of rheumatism, they should always take medicine, and avoid eating meat for a few days. Equal parts of rhubarb and castile soap, made into pills, with a little water, is a valuable medicine for rheumatism, and suits aged persons; the pills should be taken at night on going to bed. They are easily made, and should always be at hand: it is valuable as a cathartic in almost every case where mild medicine is necessary. The use of the shower bath is also beneficial. Flannel should always be worn next the skin, and the feet kept dry. Bathing with camphor sometimes relieves the pain, but there is a danger of driving it to a more vital part. Salt and water is useful to bathe for the rheumatism, when it is of long-standing. Deafness, Remarks, &c. A remarkable case of deafness was cured by the following remedy: (An aged person, whose hearing had been very good, gradually became so deaf as not to be able to hear common conversation; after suffering some months, the patient thought of trying the following remedy:) of honey, brandy and sweet oil, each a tea-spoonful, warm and mix well together; sew a soft linen rag to the eye of a strong darning needle; dip this mop in the mixture while warm, and put it in the ear; hold it in till cold, when renew and move it gently about; by so doing, wax that had accumulated, hardened, and stopped the cavity, was discharged, and the hearing of the patient restored. Wool should be worn in the ears, and an occasional use of the mixture; also flannel round the head at night. A young person was relieved by the persevering use of the following remedies: Put a small blister of Spanish flies behind the ears, very high up on the hard part, so as to be clear of the leaders (or it will occasion pain); when drawn, dress them in the usual way, and as soon as healed renew them; repeat this several times, keeping wool in the ears dipped in sweet oil, and at night put in small pieces of fat bacon that has been boiled, and tie a handkerchief around to keep them warm. When the blisters are healed, the hair should be cut short, to enable the patient to bathe the head in cold water, which should be poured from a pitcher; begin with it a little warm and gradually get it colder; this should be persevered in, even in cold weather; wipe the head and tie it up till dry. I have been induced to make these remedies public, by seeing several interesting young persons suffering from deafness, with a hope that they may be of use. Remedy for Sick Head-ache. A table-spoonful of table salt; dissolved in a pint of water, as warm as you can drink it; take at two doses, and drink freely of luke-warm water, until it causes vomiting; put a hot brick to the feet, and avoid the air, which will check the perspiration. The Oil of Butter. _A Remedy for Dysentery, &c._ Put half a pound of fresh butter in a quart of boiling water, to extract the salt; let it melt and boil up. If there should be any curds on the top, take them off, then skim off the clear butter, and keep it covered by the fire; give from one to two table-spoonsful at a time, three or four times a day. This is useful in cases of dysentery, and is also soothing to the stomach, after violent vomiting for a long time. Sometimes a plaster of mustard put on the stomach stops vomiting. For Dysentery and Diarrhoea. The following prescription from an eminent physician has proved valuable: Take of calcined magnesia two drachms, of aromatic spirits of ammonia two and a half drachms, of water half a pint, mix well together, and as a dose for a grown person, give a table-spoonful every half hour until relieved. Some country nurses recommend dittany tea, or spice-wood berries boiled in new milk. A large poultice on the stomach and bowels, made of new milk, thickened with light bread, has given relief--keeping it warm. Be careful to keep the patient's feet warm, and to bathe the back and stomach with spirits. Where the dittany and spice-wood cannot be obtained, other aromatics, as cinnamon and cloves, are good substitutes. Remedies for the Dysentery and Cholera Morbus. Take the roots of the low running blackberry or dewberry; make a strong tea; sweeten it, and drink it occasionally. Take a large apple; cut out the core, and wrap in wet paper; cover it up in hot ashes, and when cooked, take off the paper and eat it cold. Take one pint of good hard cider, that is entirely sound, put a table-spoonful of hot ashes into it, and stir it as soon as it settles; take a table-spoonful once every hour for a grown person, until relief is obtained. Remedy for the Ear-ache. Mix a few drops of French brandy with sweet oil and a drop of laudanum, and pour it in the ear a little warm. Another valuable remedy is to take a few wood lice, and stew them in a little lard, (which should be very pure,) for three or four minutes; then strain it and pour some in the ear before it gets cool. This gives almost immediate relief. The heart of a roasted onion put warm in the ear, and tie around the head a silk handkerchief, has given relief. A Wash for Sore Ears. Make a tea of the black or candle-alder, wet a soft rag with it, and lay it on; it should be applied three times a day, and occasionally wash it with castile soap and water. The patient should take a mild purgative. If the ears are very much inflamed, there should be a bread and milk poultice put on occasionally. Elder ointment is also beneficial. Weak Eyes. Make a strong decoction of chamomile flowers, by boiling them in new milk; with this bathe the eyes several times a day--continue it for several weeks; to bathe the eyes in cold water before going to rest, is also good. Pure rye whiskey is very good to bathe weak eyes. Persons that are afflicted with sore eyes, have often been benefitted by putting a small blister behind the ears, very high up on the hard part, so as to avoid the leaders. Infants should not be exposed to the light too soon; it sometimes weakens the sight and seriously injures the eyes. The pith of sassafras put in water, is good to bathe inflamed eyes; a decoction of young hyson tea is also used with benefit. Persons afflicted with weak eyes should avoid a strong light, and should not strain their eyes with reading or sewing at night. I have known small doses of "charcoal mixture," relieve the eyes when there was slight inflammation. Attention to diet is necessary. Fold a linen handkerchief, dip it in cold water, and bind it over the eyes at night on retiring, and you will experience relief. Pain in the eyeballs is also relieved, by gently rubbing the finger and thumb over the lids towards the nose. This was published some years since, and I have known it give relief and strengthen the eyes. For Worms. Equal parts of salt and sugar, taken while fasting, are good for worms; a tea-spoonful is sufficient for a child two years old; to take half a cup of chamomile, rue or wormwood tea, with a little sugar, two hours before breakfast, is also good. Give a dose of senna after they have been taking this three days. It is very important to bruise garlic and rue, to apply to the stomach; put it in a bag, and wet it with spirits every day. The garlic and rue is said to keep the worms out of the stomach. Wormseed oil, a few drops at a time, has given relief, but should be used cautiously. Old cheese grated and given to a child, has been known to afford relief: it is also beneficial when a child is seized with sudden illness from having eaten too many cherries. For Tooth-ache. Reduce two drachms of alum to a very fine powder, and mix with it seven drachms of nitrous spirits of ether; apply it to the tooth. Alum burnt on a hot shovel, and powdered, is sometimes good; also half a drop of the oil of cinnamon, on a piece of cotton or lint, where the tooth is hollow. Cayenne pepper on cotton, and moistened with spirits of camphor, has been known to afford relief. A poultice of hops applied to the cheek, or a piece of raw cotton with red pepper dusted on it, or a mustard plaster, will relieve a swelling which proceeds from tooth-ache. Cure for Cholera Morbus. Put a table-spoonful of hot ashes in half a pint of good hard cider, and give the patient three table-spoonsful of it at a time. This has given relief in half an hour. Another cure is to take a soft cork and hum it thoroughly; when it ceases to blaze, powder the coal very fine on a plate. Mix a table-spoonful of this powder with a little milk or water, or any thing agreeable to the palate; repeat the dose till the disorder ceases, which it generally does after two or three doses. This has given relief to a person in the greatest agony with the bilious colic. For Colic. Drink strong ginger tea, while hot, and put hot bricks to the stomach and feet; if this does not give relief, take a dose of rhubarb or castor oil. Persons subject to the colic should keep a piece of ginger about them to chew after eating; wear flannel next the skin, and be careful to keep the feet dry: they should avoid strong coffee and tea, and eat nothing that disagrees with them. Dry toast without butter, and crackers, are good for persons that have the colic. For violent cases, take two table-spoonsful of brandy, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. For Bilious Colic and Indigestion. Pour three quarts of boiling water on a quart of hickory ashes and a tea-cup of soot; let it stand a day, then filter it, and if the complaint is bad, take a wine-glassful before and after each meal. This has been very beneficial to persons with the above complaint. Warner's Cordial for Gout in the Stomach. Take one ounce of rhubarb, two drachms of senna, two of fennel seed, two of coriander seed, one of saffron, and one of liquorice; stone and cut half a pound of good raisins, and put all in a quart of good spirits; let it stand in a warm place for ten days, shaking it every day; then strain it off and add a pint more spirits to the same ingredients; when all the strength is extracted, strain it and mix the first and last together. Take from two to four spoonsful of this cordial in as much boiling water as will make it as hot as you can take it; if the pain is not removed in half an hour, repeat the dose, and if your stomach will not retain it, add ten drops of laudanum. Dr. Warner remarks, "after twenty years' experience of this medicine in myself and others, it is impossible for me to speak of it in terms higher than it deserves. When the vital parts are affected, persons subject to the gout should never sleep without it in their chamber." Cure for Tetter. Take one tea-spoonful of powdered Spanish flies, put them in half a pint of French brandy; wash the part affected occasionally. This has been highly recommended to me, as a remedy for tetter on the hands, but I have never seen it tried. For Cramp in the Stomach. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of table salt, in a tea-cup of warm water; if this does not stop the vomiting and cramp, repeat the dose; this is very useful in stopping the operation of an emetic, when it has continued too long. Flannel cloths dipped in hot spirits, and sprinkled with cayenne pepper, and applied to the stomach, sometimes relieves the pain; a mustard plaster is also of use. For Cramp. A foot-board to the bedstead is of great service, when you are taken with the cramp in the night, and by placing the foot against it, will sometimes give relief. Another remedy is to tie a string round the limb, between the body and the pain, about as tight as a physician does to draw blood; wear a bandage filled with pounded brimstone round the limb, to prevent a return of it. Sometimes to hold a roll of brimstone in each hand will relieve the cramp, and persons subject to it should keep some by the bed-side to use in the night. For Scalds and Burns. When persons are badly scalded or burned, to put raw cotton on immediately, and wet it with spirits, is very good; other remedies are, linseed oil and lime water; starch and cream; scraped potatoes, molasses, and eggs beaten up and put on immediately. Almost any thing will relieve the pain, that excludes the air. Be careful not to break the skin, as it will be longer in healing. If a foot is scalded, pour cold water over it and cut the stocking. You should be careful to use linen rags about a burn, as cotton rags cause irritation. After the place begins to heal up, a salve may be applied, made of equal parts of Burgundy pitch, beeswax, sheep's tallow, and sweet oil, melted together over the fire; renew it twice a day, washing the place each time with milk and water, and a little castile soap. A wash of weak sugar of lead water, is also good for burns. A poultice of powdered elm bark mixed with water, and put on frequently, wetting the sore with thick cream, is also soothing; be careful that the limb does not contract, as there is great danger if the sinews are affected. If there should be fever, a mild cathartic should be given. "Comstock's Pain Extractor" sometimes gives great relief; you may also apply immediately, with benefit, a tea-spoonful of air-slaked lime and a table-spoonful of lard; sift the lime and rub them well together. For a burn by vitriol or any caustic substance, apply whites of eggs mixed with powdered chalk, putting it on with a feather. Linen rags dipped in cold water and changed every few minutes, I have known applied day and night to give relief to a bad burn on the foot; but avoid putting the foot in water, although it gives present relief, it is dangerous. For Ague. Take half an ounce of coarsely powdered race ginger, infused in three gills of boiling water; when cool, strain and sweeten it; and for a dose give a heaped tea-spoonful of Peruvian bark, in a wine-glassful of the ginger tea, every two hours during the absence of the fever. To one ounce of best Peruvian bark, add two ounces of cloves powdered, and a half an ounce of cream of tartar; mix them well, and give two tea-spoonsful at a time every two hours: when clear of fever, begin at four in the morning, and give it until twelve at noon. Wormwood seed, a heaped tea-spoonful in a cup of water, as a dose, is also good. A third recipe is to take two ounces of best Lima bark, twelve heaped tea-spoonsful of magnesia, to be well mixed together, and divided into twelve doses. Take four doses on each well day, at intervals of four hours each, this has cured a number who had suffered with ague a long time. Chilblains. Put as much alum in hot water as will make it very strong, put the feet in when it is as hot as can be borne, and keep them in till it is cold, warm it over, and soak them every evening till they are entirely cured, by beginning in time, it need only be applied two or three times. When blisters are formed, take one ounce of camphor, one of sheep's tallow, and one of sweet oil, stew them together gently till it becomes an ointment, and rub the feet with it. Take an ounce of glue, and melt it in a pint of hot water over the fire, stir it until the glue is dissolved, pour it out and dip the part that is affected in this dilution until the uneasiness or burning is allayed, which is mostly in a few minutes. Lockjaw. If lock-jaw is apprehended from a scratch or wound, bathe the injured part frequently with weak ley, or warm pearl ash water, make a poultice by boiling bitter herbs in weak ley, and thicken it with corn-meal; put a little grease in just as you put it on. Bacon skin and the rind of fresh pork bound tightly on, are said to be good. Falls. If a child receives a fall, examine every part, and rub your hand on its back to tell if any part is injured. There are instances of persons being cripples for life, from receiving a hurt, that was not known of at the time. To rub with camphor and sweet oil, and bathe the child in warm water, is soothing. For the Bite of a Spider. Moisten a slice of wheat bread with sugar of lead, or pearl-ash water; bind it on, and keep wetting it as it becomes dry. If the place swells very much, take a table-spoonful of sweet oil every hour, till it is relieved. To drink water with salaeratus dissolved in it has been useful. For the Sting of a Bee. Rub the place with hartshorn or salaeratus water, immediately after it is stung, to prevent it from swelling; bruised peach leaves bound on, are also good, and laudanum, where it is very painful. If it swells very much, apply a poultice of onions and cream, or ley and bitter herbs. For Bruises. The oil of St. Johnswort applied on lint, is an excellent remedy for bruises, and if used immediately will prevent the blood from settling on the place; when children get their fingers or toes mashed, this is very good, and soon gives relief; salt butter is also very good. The leaves of the Jamestown weed, mashed with cream, are good for a stone-bruise. For Felons. Make a poultice of quick lime slaked in soft soap, and bind it on the finger; renew it every half hour. The leaves of Jamestown weed, bruised with cream or lard, are also good. Also, roast coarse salt in a piece of wet brown paper, or a cabbage leaf, about twenty minutes; when cool, pound it and mix it with resin soap; bind it on the felon; it is said to be a certain cure. The white of egg, with unslaked lime, has been known to give immediate relief. For a Sprained Limb. Strong vinegar and salt, put on brown paper, will soon cure a slight sprain, if applied frequently. If very painful, a bath should be made of bitter herbs, bran and vinegar, put on as hot as you can bear it. Great care should be taken not to use the limb too soon after it has been sprained. Some sprains of several months' standing have been greatly relieved by taking several electric shocks a day. St. Johnswort oil is good to rub on a sprained limb. For a Sprained Ancle. Of chalk, soft soap, salt, and brandy, take a spoonful each, and add the white of an egg; beat the mixture, and spread it on raw cotton, and apply it at once, when it will generally afford relief; and after repeatedly changing, it may be left off in twenty-four hours. The ancle is often weak when recovering, and benefit is derived from pouring cold water on it from a pitcher held high above you. Tallow and salt, mixed and spread on a piece of muslin, are good for a sprain. Cuts or Wounds, &c. When cuts bleed very much, tie a handkerchief tight above the wound, or place a finger on it until you can get a physician: in the country, persons should be supplied with a surgical needle and adhesive plaster, and have lint scraped and linen rags in a convenient place. Balsam apple put in a bottle when fresh, and whiskey poured on it, is an excellent application for fresh cute or bruises. For the stick of a needle or pin, try to make it bleed, and hold the finger in strong vinegar and salt, as hot as you can bear it, this will prevent a gathering. A mashed finger should be held in hot water a few minutes. No. 6 is a most valuable remedy for cuts or wounds; bind a linen rag over the cut, and pour on the No. 6. For Tetter, Warts, &c. Dig up the pocoon root that grows in the woods, wash and slice it, and put it in a bottle with strong vinegar; bathe the parts with it several times a day. Celandine root is also good, used in the same way, and either of them will remove warts and ringworms. Poisons, Accidents, &c. These are valuable remedies, and should hold a place in the memory of every one, if possible. Mix a spoonful of powdered mustard in a tumbler of warm water, and drink it immediately; it acts as an emetic, and has proved effectual where an ounce of poison had been taken into the stomach. Where the skin is poisoned, use a wash of smartweed steeped in water, or mix soot and cream, and apply it frequently; bruised Jamestown weed and cream is also good. If you have been exposed to poisonous plants, wash your face and hands immediately in salt and vinegar, or salt and water. When "corrosive sublimate," has been swallowed, the whites of two eggs taken immediately will neutralize the poison, and change the effect to that of a dose of calomel. Persons struck by lightning should be laid on the ground, and pour water over them till life is restored. When "oil of vitriol" or "aqua fortis" have been swallowed in large quantities, sweet oil should he taken, (as much as can be retained on the stomach.) For "oxalic acid," give magnesia or chalk and water. For "tartar emetic," give Peruvian bark and water, (or a strong decoction of green tea, if you have not the bark.) For "saltpetre," give an emetic of mustard seed with water, and afterwards elm bark mucilage, and small doses of laudanum. This is also good in cases where arsenic has been swallowed. When a child has swallowed a cent, pin or needle, give it the white of egg immediately; this forms a coating round the metal, and prevents injury in most cases; then give moderate doses of medicine, such as castor oil or salts. When a fish bone has been swallowed, take the white of an egg, which will help to carry it down the throat; also cut a hard crust of bread. Insects taken into the stomach, may generally be destroyed by taking a small quantity of vinegar and salt. When insects get into the ears, use a little salad oil, or melted lard. Tar Ointment for the "Milk Crust." Take a quarter of a pound of lard, and the same of sheep's tallow, three table-spoonsful of tar, an even spoonful of sulphur, an ounce of white turpentine, a lump of beeswax the size of a hickory-nut, the same quantity of powdered resin and scraped chalk, a tea-cupful of the inside bark of elder, a little celandine, southern wood, and English mallows; bruise the herbs, and put them on to boil, with the lard and tallow, and a little water to keep it from burning; when all the strength is out, strain them, and put the grease back in the pot, with the tar, and add the other ingredients a little at a time, and stir till all is melted; then strain it in a jar, and keep it covered for use. Tar ointment is good for ringworms in the head, which some children have, and has cured children where the head and face was covered with what is called the "milk crust." Before it is applied, the place should be washed with milk and water, and a gentle purgative should be administered occasionally. Rhubarb tea is good for this purpose. If it is wanted in the winter, when you cannot get all the herbs green, dried ones will do; and when made, it will keep good several years. If there is much hair on the head of a child, it should be cut off before this is put on. It is very dangerous to give infants that are affected with the milk crust, calomel, or any strong medicine. They should he carried out in the air occasionally, and not kept all the time in a warm nursery; sometimes a change of food is attended with a good result. There have been instances of infants dying very suddenly, where powerful medicines had been administered. Hop Ointment. Take a table-spoonful of the yellow dust of hops, and put it in three spoonsful of melted lard, and mix it well; put it away in a cup for use. This has proved beneficial in cases of swelling of the breast; when cold has been taken, it will sometimes backen gatherings; bathe the place with a warm hand several times a day, and keep flannel over it. Young mothers should keep this ready, as it is much better than preparations of camphor, which are injurious. Precipitate Ointment, &c. Take one ounce of Venice turpentine, half an ounce of powdered precipitate, half a pound of lard, and two table-spoonsful of cold water; mix the turpentine and precipitate together with a knife; then add the lard and water, a little at a time, till it is well mixed; then put it in little boxes. This is useful to dry up a breaking out on the face or hands; care should be taken while using it, not to take cold. Camphor dissolved in alcohol, or any white spirits, is very good to use on pimples on the face. Blister Ointment. Sometimes after a blister has been drawn with cabbage leaves, it becomes very sore and inflamed; a salve may be made of the leaves of evergreen, (a plant which grows in gardens with a thick leaf;) pound the leaves, and stew them in cream or sweet lard; spread it on a fine linen rag, and apply it to the blister after it has been washed with milk and water. Another salve for blisters is to bruise the leaves of the English mallows with a little southern wood; stew them in sweet lard until they are crisp, and strain it; apply it three times a day. This is good to heal a burn. Lily Ointment. Gather the flowers of the sweet white lily, while they are fresh, and stew them in sweet lard. This is good for a swelling, or sore. Elder Ointment for Burns, &c. After peeling off the outside bark of the elder, scraps off the green bark that is under, and stew it in lard till it is crisp; then strain it in a jar, and put it away to heal a blister or burn, or an old sore. St. Johnswort Ointment, and its Uses. Gather the yellow flowers of St. Johnswort while in full bloom; put them in a wide-mouthed bottle, and fill it with equal quantities of lard and sweet oil; tie a skin over it, and hang it in the sun for a month; then strain it, put it back in the bottle, and cork it up. This is one of the most effectual remedies for bruises, or for a mashed foot or hand. It should always be kept where there is a family of children. Ointment for Mortification. Take the berries, leaves and bark of the black alder, and bruise them well in a mortar; stew them in lard for an hour, stirring all the time; then strain it, and add a small piece of beeswax. A poultice can be made for mortification, of the berries, leaves and bark of black alder, boiled in sweet cream, and thickened with wheat bread. Another good poultice may be made of the inmost bark of sassafras root, pounded and boiled in weak ley, and thickened with corn meal. The patient should drink tea made of the roots of sassafras and burdock. Bread and Milk, and Flaxseed Poultices. Boil half a pint of sweet milk, and thicken it with crumbs of bread; let it boil till soft. This is the mildest poultice that can be made. A tea-cup of flaxseed boiled till soft, requires no addition to make a good poultice. Hop Poultice, and its Uses. Boil a handful of hops in a pint of water till very soft; when thicken it with corn meal. This is very good for a sore throat, tooth-ache, or swelled face. Onion Poultice. Slice the onions and boil them in water till very soft; then mash and boil them with milk and some crumbs of bread. This will draw a bile or gathering to a head very soon. Lily Root Poultice. Pound the roots of the sweet white lily, and put them on to boil in rich milk; when soft, thicken it with crumbs of bread. This is a most valuable poultice for a gathering, and has given relief in many instances where the suffering was great. Cream Poultice. Put to boil a tea-cup of cream; mix two spoonsful of flour in milk, and stir in when it boils. Ley Poultice. Tie a spoonful of ashes in a rag, and boil it in a pint of water for fifteen minutes, with some catnip or life-everlasting; when the herbs are soft, take out the ashes, and thicken it with corn meal; spread some grease over as you apply it. Adhesive Plaster. Take three pounds of resin, one-quarter of a pound of beeswax, one-quarter of a pound of mutton tallow, melt together in an iron pan; then pour out about one-third into a bucket of water, turn up the edges until you can take hold with the hands and pull it as you would shoemakers' wax: grease papers and put the plaster on them for use; you may then pour out the rest and treat it in the same way. A Valuable Salve for Burns and other Sores. Take of high mallows, heal-all, night shade, and elder bark, a large handful, and about half the quantity of Jamestown weed; boil them for several hours; strain off the liquid, and add to it one pound of beeswax, one pound of mutton tallow, one pound of resin, half a pound of lard; boil them slowly for about two hours, and let it cool on the liquid. This salve will do to apply immediately to a burn or scald, or after other remedies have been used; it is also good to heal old sores or gatherings. Deshler's Salve for Gatherings or Sores. Take half a pound of sheep's suet, the same of resin and beeswax, a quarter of a pound of thick turpentine, and half a pint of linseed oil; pound the resin, and cut the beeswax and suet; put them over the fire with the other ingredients, and keep stirring till they are mixed, but do not let them boil; put it in a jar, and tie it up. It is good for burns, biles, gathered breasts, &c. Salve for Corns, or Bunions. Take a pint of sweet oil, half a pound of red lead, two ounces of Venice turpentine, two of beeswax, and one of white turpentine; boil the oil and red lead in brass or bell-metal till they turn brown, stirring it constantly; have the wax and white turpentine sliced, and put them in by degrees; take it off the fire, and stir till all is melted; then add the Venice turpentine, and continue to stir till it is cold; when dip your hands in cold water, and make it out in rolls about two inches long; wrap each roll up in paper, and keep them in a box. After soaking and scraping the corn, bind it on, spread on a soft rag. To warm a small piece of common adhesive plaster and apply it, gives almost immediate relief. Sassafras Poultice. Take the bark of the root and mash, or pound it; boil it in a little water, and take out the bark, and thicken it with crumbs of bread, and milk. Balsam Apple in Spirits. Cut a ripe balsam apple in small pieces, and fill a bottle with it; pour Holland gin on it. This retains its strength for years, and is useful to take a few drops at a time for the colic; it is also valuable to apply with sugar to a cut or wound. Cure for Bites. Use equal quantities of resin soap, brown sugar, and powdered resin, worked well together, with a few drops of molasses. A poultice of onions, sassafras, or bread and milk may be used with advantage. For mosquito bites, apply spirits of hartshorn and camphor. For Scurvy of the Gums. Take a quarter of an ounce of bark, and a piece of new lime the size of a hazle-nut; put them in a bottle with half a pint of water; wash the mouth with this three times a day. For an Infant's Sore Mouth. Make a strong sage tea; put in a little bark and borax or alum, with honey to sweeten it; cork it up in a vial, and wash the child's gums with it three times a day, using a fresh rag every time. For Affection of the Kidneys. Boil some onions soft, mash, and apply them where the pain is seated. This has given great relief. For a Gathering on a Finger. Mix together equal parts of castile soap and chalk; wet it with camphor, and bind it on, or dip the finger in honey and camphorated spirits, as hot as you can bear. A little burnt alum put on lint is good; also a bread and milk poultice, with pounded sassafras root stewed in it, and renewed frequently. Honey and camphor mixed is useful for gatherings that have been of long standing. Take of the following ingredients a tea-spoonful each: black pepper powdered finely, ginger, spirits of camphor, laudanum, and honey; beat them well with the yelk of an egg, and thicken with rye flour, or if you cannot obtain rye, corn and wheat flour mixed will answer; this will form a soft poultice, and should be applied in sufficient quantity to keep moist, and changed once a day. I have known this to cure several gatherings that threatened to be severe. Huxham's Bark Tincture. Take two ounces of bark, three drachms of Virginia snake root, one ounce of orange peel, and one quart of good spirits; set it in a warm place, and shake it daily for two weeks; then pour it off, and add a pint more spirits to the ingredients. This is very useful to take, when recovering from the ague or bilious fever, or in the fall of the year; when these are apprehended, take two tea-spoonsful a day, before breakfast and dinner. Wine Bitters for Debility, &c. Take two ounces of chamomile flowers, two of centaury flowers, one of iron filings, and an ounce and a half of Jesuit's bark; put these in two quarts of good wine, and set it in the sun three days, shaking; it frequently. Half a wine-glass of this taken, twice a day, with water, is useful in cases of debility, where there is no fever. Chamomile, and wormwood teas, are both excellent tonics, as is also wild cherry tree bark, made in strong tea, and taken cold. Spice Wood Berries. Boil in a pint of new milk, a table-spoonful of bruised spice wood berries. This has a very healing effect in cases of dysentery, and summer disease in children. Spiced Rhubarb. Take two ounces of rhubarb, half an ounce of cloves, the same of cinnamon, and quarter of an ounce of mace; stew them in a pint and a half of water till one half is evaporated; then strain it and add half a pint of good spirits. Two tea-spoonsful is a dose for a child a year old, with the summer disease, and two table-spoonsful for a grown person. For Chapped Lips. Put a tea-cupful of rich cream over some coals to stew with three table-spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar. This has a healing effect. Another remedy, equally good, is to a tea-cupful of honey, add half the quantity of mutton tallow, and stew together till well mixed; pour it out in a cup, and keep stirring till cold. For chapped hands, mix together equal quantities of rich cream and strong vinegar, and rub it over every time you wash your hands. Bathing. Almost every family, even if their circumstances be moderate, can have a shower bath; they may save the expense, by improved health and strength; one bucket full of cold water is sufficient. You should wear on the head an oil-cloth cap. For a person in strong health, the bath may be taken on first rising in the morning; but for one disposed to be delicate, two or three hours after breakfast is the most proper time. To produce warmth, rub the person with a crash towel, or horse hair glove. You should be careful to take some exercise after the bath, or you will be more liable to take cold. Never take a bath soon after a meal, as that is injurious. Persons subject to colds, sore throat, rheumatism, sick head-ache, nervous disease, or general debility, have been greatly benefited by the daily use of the shower bath. Children that are oppressed with heat are much refreshed, and will rest well after a bath; the water should be moderated for them. Infants should be bathed every morning in a tub of water about milk warm, and may be very early accustomed to its use; they will become fond of it, and are less liable to take cold from exposure to the air. They generally take a refreshing nap after coming out of the bath. They should not be allowed to remain in more than five or ten minutes; should be well wiped with a soft towel, and then rubbed with flannel and dressed; their clothes being warmed to prevent a chill. Elderberry Jam for Colds, &c. A quart of nicely picked elderberries, to a pound of loaf-sugar and a tea-cup of water; let them boil slowly for an hour. If you prefer it without the seeds, strain the berries after boiling them for a few minutes, before you add the sugar. This is useful and agreeable for colds, taken through the day, or at night, when the cough is troublesome. It is said also to purify the blood, and is taken to prevent erysipelas. Black Currant Jelly, a Remedy for Sore Throat. Take ripe black currants, mash and strain them, and to every pint of the juice, add a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it until it becomes a jelly. It is valuable for sore throats. Quince seeds dried, and boiling water poured on them, make a useful gargle for sore throat. Lavender Compound. Pick the lavender blossoms, and put them in a bottle, with a few blades of mace, and some cloves; fill up the bottle with good spirits, and let it stand corked up, till all the strength is extracted; when strain it off, and color it with a little cochineal. FOOD FOR THE SICK. Remarks on Preparing Food for the Sick. Few young persons understand cooking for the sick. It is very important to know how to prepare their food in an inviting manner; every thing should be perfectly clean and nice. Avoid giving an invalid any thing out of a cup that has been used before; even if it is medicine, it will not be so hard to take out of a clean cup. It is well to have a stand or small table by the bed-side, that you can set any thing on. A small silver strainer that will just fit over a tumbler or tea-cup, is very useful to strain lemonade, panada or herb tea. If you want any thing to use through the night, you should prepare it, if possible, beforehand; as a person that is sick, can sometimes fall asleep without knowing it, if the room is _kept perfectly still._ Boiled Custard. Beat an egg with a heaped tea-spoonful of sugar; stir it into a tea-cupful of boiling milk, and stir till it is thick; pour it in a bowl on a slice of toast cut up, and grate a little nutmeg over. Panada. Put some crackers, crusts of dry bread or dried rusk, in a sauce-pan with cold water, and a few raisins; after it has boiled half an hour, put in sugar, nutmeg, and half a glass of wine, if the patient has no fever. If you have dried rusk, it is a quicker way to put the rusk in a bowl with some sugar, and pour boiling water on it out of the tea-kettle. If the patient can take nothing but liquids, this makes a good drink when strained. Egg Panada. Boil a handful of good raisins in a quart of water; toast a slice of bread and cut it up; beat two eggs with a spoonful of sugar, and mix it with the bread; when the raisins are done, pour them on the toast and eggs, stirring all the time; season to your taste with wine, nutmeg and butter. Oat-meal Gruel. Mix two spoonsful of oat-meal, with as much water as will mix it easily, and stir it in a pint of boiling water in a sauce-pan until perfectly smooth; let it boil a few minutes; season it with sugar and nutmeg, and pour it out on a slice of bread toasted and cut up, or some dried rusk. If the patient should like them, you can put in a few raisins, stoned and cut up. This will keep good a day, and if nicely warmed over, is as good as when fresh. Corn Gruel. Mix two spoonsful of sifted corn-meal in some water; have a clean skillet with a pint of boiling water in it; stir it in, and when done, season it with salt to your taste, or sugar, if you prefer it; Arrow-root. Moisten two tea-spoonsful of powdered arrow-root with water, and rub it smooth with a spoon; then pour on half a pint of boiling water; season it with lemon juice, or wine and nutmeg. In cooking arrow-root for children, it is a very good way to make it very thick, and thin it afterwards with milk. Sago. Wash, the sago, (allowing two table-spoonsful to a quart of water,) and soak it an hour; boil it slowly till it thickens; sweeten it with loaf-sugar, and season it with wine or lemon juice. Tapioca Jelly. Wash the tapioca well, and let it soak for several hours in cold water; put it in a sauce-pan with the same water, and let it boil slowly till it is clear and thick; then season it with wine and loaf-sugar. The pearl tapioca will require less time to soak, and no washing. Allow three table-spoonsful of tapioca to a quart of water. Milk Porridge. Put half a pint of milk, and the same of water, in a sauce-pan to boil; mix two spoonsful of wheat flour in milk till very smooth, and stir in when it boils; keep stirring it five minutes, when pour it in a bowl and season with salt. Barley Water. Boil two table-spoonsful of barley in a quart of water; it is a cooling drink in fevers. If the weather is cold, you can make a larger quantity. Some boil whole raisins with barley; take it with or without seasoning. To Poach Eggs. Put a pint of water in a clean skillet, with a little butter and salt; when it boils, break two eggs in a plate, and put them in; in about a minute, take them up on a plate, in which there is a slice of bread toasted and buttered. This is a very delicate way of cooking eggs. Barley Panada. Boil a small tea-cup of barley in water till it is soft, with a tea-cup of raisins; put in nutmeg and sugar, and break in it toast or dried rusk. Calf's Foot Blancmange. Put a set of nicely cleaned feet in four quarts of water, and let it boil more than half away; strain through a colander, and when it is cold, scrape off all the fat, and take out that which settles at the bottom; put it in a sauce-pan, with a quart of new milk, sugar to your taste, lemon peel and juice, and cinnamon or mace; let it boil ten minutes and strain it; wet your moulds, and when it is nearly cold put it in them; when it is cold and stiff it can be turned out on a plate, and eaten with or without cream. This is very nice for a sick person, and is easily made. Cream Toast. Cut a slice of stale bread, and wet it with cream; toast it slowly and butter it; this is very nice for an invalid, and an agreeable change. Milk Toast &c. Boil a tea-cup of milk, and put in a spoonful of butter; toast a slice of bread and moisten it with water, then pour on the boiling milk. This is very good for sick persons, and can be eaten without much exertion. In making water-toast, the butter should be melted in boiling water, and put on while hot. To Stew Dried Beef. Chip some beef very thin, pour hot water on it, and let it stand a minute or two, then drain it off, and stew it in a skillet with a little cream and butter. If it is preferred dry, it may be fried in butter alone. To Stew Ham, &c. Cut a slice of ham into small pieces, and pour boiling water on it; let it soak a few minutes to extract the salt, and stew it in a little water; just before it is done, put in some cream and parsley. If you broil ham that is uncooked, it should always be soaked in water a few minutes. To Stew Chickens or Birds. When sick persons are tired of broiled chickens, or birds, it is well to stew them for a change; the wing, with part of the breast of a chicken, will make a meal; stew it in a little water, and put in parsley, cream, pepper and salt, just as it is done. Chicken Water. If you have a small chicken, it will take half of it to make a pint of chicken water. Cut it up and put it to boil in a covered skillet with a quart of water; when it has boiled down to a pint, take it up, and put in a little salt and slice of toasted bread. This is valuable in cases of dysentery and cholera morbus, particularly when made of old fowls. Beef Feet. Soak the feet and have them nicely cleaned; boil them slowly, and take off the scum as it rises; when they are soft and tender, take them up, and separate the bones from the glutinous part, which is very nice for a sick person, and conveys nutriment in a form that will hardly disagree with the most delicate stomach, and has been, taken when nearly all other food was rejected; a few drops of vinegar, and a little salt, renders it more palatable. Beef Tea, &c. Take a piece of juicy beef, without any fat, cut it in small pieces, bruise it till tender, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it tight; put this in a pot of cold water, set it over the fire, and let it boil an hour or more. When a person can take but a small quantity of nourishment, this is very good. Mutton may be done in the same way. Mutton and Veal Broth. Boil a piece of mutton till it comes to pieces; then strain the broth, and let it get cold, so that the fat will rise, which must be taken off; then warm it, and put in a little salt. Veal broth may be made in the same way, and is more delicate for sick persons. Wine Whey. Boil a pint of milk, and put to it a glass of white wine; set it over the fire till it just boils again, then set it off till the curd has settled, when strain it, and sweeten to your taste. Rennet Whey. Warm a pint of milk, but do not let it get too hot, or it will spoil the taste of the whey. Wash the salt from a piece of rennet the size of a dollar, and put it in the milk; when it turns, take out the rennet; wash and put it in a cup of water, and it will do to use again to make whey. If you have rennet in a bottle of wine, two tea-spoonsful of it will make a quart of whey; but if the person has fever, it is best to make it without wine. Mulled Jelly. Take a table-spoonful of currant or grape jelly, and beat with it the white of an egg, and a little loaf-sugar; pour on it half a pint of boiling water, and break in a slice of dry toast, or two crackers. Mulled Wine. Beat together an egg, a glass of wine, and a spoonful of sugar; pour on it half a pint of hot water; stir all the time to keep it from curdling, and when you pour it in a tumbler, grate a little nutmeg over it. Toast Water. Cut slices of bread very thin, and toast dry, but do not let it burn; put it in a pitcher, and pour boiling water on it. Toast water will allay thirst better than almost any thing else. If it is wanted to drink through the night, it should always be made early in the evening. Apple Water, &c. Roast two apples, mash them and pour a pint of water on them; or slice raw apples, and pour boiling water on them. Tamarinds, currant or grape jelly, cranberries, or dried fruit of any kind, make a good drink. Coffee. Sick persons should have their coffee made separate from the family, as standing in the tin pot spoils the flavor. Put two tea-spoonsful of ground coffee in a small mug, and pour boiling water on it; let it set by the fire to settle, and pour it off in a cup, with sugar and cream. Care should be taken that there are no burnt grains. Chocolate. To make a cup of chocolate, grate a large tea-spoonful in a mug, and pour a tea-cup of boiling water on it; let it stand covered by the fire a few minutes, when you can put in sugar and cream. Black Tea. Black tea is much more suitable than green for sick persons, as it does not affect the nerves. Pat a tea-spoonful in a pot that will hold about two cups, and pour boiling water on it. Let it set by the fire to draw five or ten minutes. Rye Mush. This is a nourishing and light diet for the sick, and is by some preferred to mush made of Indian meal. Four large spoonsful of rye flour mixed smooth in a little water, and stirred in a pint of boiling water; let it boil twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Nervous persons who sleep badly, rest much better after a supper of corn, or rye mush, than if they take tea or coffee. DOMESTICS. Hints on the Management of Domestics, &c. Some families are always changing their domestics, and weary their friends with complaints of those they have, and inquiries for others. Deliberate before you make a change; if servants are honest, speak the truth, and have an obliging disposition, it is better to bear with a few defects, than to discharge them; these are qualifications for the foundation of a good servant; and some of the most valuable I have had, were such as could hardly be put up with at first. By being patient, and speaking to them in a kind manner, they become attached and fearful of doing any thing to offend. When they break any thing, or an accident occurs, accustom them to inform you of it immediately. Few mistresses, of well regulated minds, will be offended when openly told of accidents; but if they are left to be found out, you always feel more disposed to blame and reprove them. By speaking to them in a mild and forgiving manner, careless servants will become more careful. A considerate mistress may, without loss of dignity, make them feel that she regards it as her duty to be their friend, and that she feels herself under an obligation to advise them in difficulties and promote their comfort. We should reflect that theirs is a life of servitude, and if they over-exert themselves, or are too much exposed in early life, it will bring on disease that will shorten their days, or render old age a burden. Some young persons are too indolent to wait on themselves, and ring for the servants on the most trifling occasions; when if they were accustomed to perform these little offices, their health would be much better, and we should not hear of so many complaints, the result of want of exercise. All female servants should have time to attend to their clothing; many have to work so hard through the day that their only leisure is at night, and then they hurry over their things in a careless manner. Where your circumstances permit, a good man-servant is a valuable acquisition; and they are sometimes more easily governed than females. If mistresses were better informed, they would not complain so much of the ignorance and awkwardness of their domestics. Always give them their orders in time. If a new dish is to be cooked, superintend its preparation yourself. If you are capable of directing, a cook will soon learn to do without your constant attention. If they are slow in their movements, insist on their beginning early to prepare a meal, so that there will be time sufficient for every thing to be done properly. If you expect company, have every thing prepared, that can be done with safety, the day previous. In summer there are but few things that can be done without risk of spoiling: a ham or tongue may he washed ready to boil; castors and salt-stands put in order, and pastry or dessert prepared, that will not spoil by being kept a day. In winter, many things can be kept for days in a state of preparation for cooking; and it greatly assists the work of the family, to have every thing done beforehand. Do with as few domestics as possible; assist with the work yourself, rather than keep one too many. Those that take orphan children to bring up, are often rewarded for their trouble; as sometimes a girl of fifteen will be more useful than one much older: and where a family is small it does very well, but in large families, a little girl is so often called from her work, that it has a tendency to unsettle and make her careless. Never allow your children to call on or interrupt servants when at their work or meals, to do any thing which a child could do for itself; children that treat domestics with respect, will generally find them willing to render any assistance in their power. I have known a few housekeepers, who have kept the same servants for years, who have assisted in rearing the children, until they almost viewed them as their own, and these were not faultless. If they had been discharged for trifles, they might have wandered, from one family to another, without being attached to any, until they became so indifferent, as not to be worthy of employ, but by the kindness and patience of their employer, they became so grateful and attached, as to be a treasure to her family. When they become weary of such constant servitude, would it not be better, instead of discharging, to give them time for rest and recreation in visiting their friends? I have known them to return, renewed in health and spirits. Encourage them to lay by as much of their wages as they can possibly spare, in such institutions as are thought the most safe, that they may have something to look to in case of sickness, or any event which would require its use. Promote their reading in such books as are suited to their capacities; they sometimes have a little leisure, that could be well filled up in this way. I have found it to increase the happiness of those under my care, to encourage a fondness for reading, and improving their minds; it tends to keep them from unprofitable company, and too much visiting, to which so many are addicted. Young girls should make and mend their own clothes, and keep them in good order, and they should be taught to knit. The material of which stockings are composed costs but little, and they wear much better than those that are bought. Knitting fills up leisure moments, and promotes industrious habits; and when age comes on, they will have a resource, although it appears so simple, yet if it is not learned while young it is hard to acquire when old. When servants are guilty of faults that cannot be looked over, instead of publicly reproving them, take an opportunity when alone, and talk coolly; tell them of your sorrow at being obliged to notice their conduct, encourage them to pursue a different course, and that you will forgive them if they will strive to do better. I have known them much improved by this mode of treatment. By inspecting every department, not only will waste be prevented, but dishonesty. In cities many persons find it necessary to lock up nearly every thing; and it is a lamentable state of things that so few are to be trusted. Sometimes treating servants with confidence will have a good effect; but let them be aware that you have a knowledge of every thing that is going on. Some young persons are completely at the mercy of their domestics. I have known great uneasiness to be experienced, and much loss; but by showing a little moral courage, and discharging those that are irreclaimable, an ascendancy was gained. Never suffer them to treat you with disrespect or impertinence. If it is known that they will be discharged for these faults, they will be on their guard. If you have taken a boy or girl, to bring up as a domestic, endeavour to teach them, at least to spell and read; they are sometimes very fond of their books, and if you once get them to reading, it will become to them a favorite evening amusement; I have known them take up their books on every occasion of leisure, I have seen boys that worked hard through the day, spend all the evening with their books, slate, and occasionally a little writing. Sometimes, I have in the evening felt fatigued and listless, and would much rather read, and amuse myself, than go out to teach two or three in the kitchen; but in attending to this, (which I consider a duty,) have felt a sweet reward--indeed, their grateful thanks expressed by words, have encouraged me to keep on. I have thought a little instruction in this way, arouses their faculties, and tends to make them more industrious. When I have been prevented from teaching them for some time, by indisposition, or other causes, I have observed they were not so cheerful in the performance of their work. If they are reading any thing they do not fully understand, take a little time to explain it to them. It will be, my young friends, like sowing the good seed, and you, as well as they, will receive the reward. I wish to encourage you in the most affectionate manner to attend to _this_ duty; you will find it will strengthen you in the performance of others. "The more we exert our faculties, the more we can accomplish. He that does nothing, renders himself incapable of doing any thing. While we are executing one work, we are preparing ourselves to undertake another." REMARKS. Remarks on Carving, &c. I do not think it necessary to say much on the subject of carving, as those who are accustomed to sit at a well ordered table, and who observe the manner of the host and hostess, can soon acquire the art, both of carving and helping with ease. And when placed at the head of their own table, the knowledge thus gained will be found a great assistance. The proper time for children to acquire good habits at meals, is not when there is company; it should be an every day lesson. As when parents are engaged with their friends or guests, they have no time to devote to the manners of their children, and to reprove them at table is very unpleasant, as well as mortifying. Young children will soon acquire the manner of sitting quietly till they are helped, if they are made to understand that they will not be permitted to eat with their parents and friends, unless they behave with propriety. I have thought it a great assistance to the good order of a large family, for every member to be punctual in their attendance at meals, and all to sit down together, with a short pause before the carving and helping commences. In those moments of quiet, the heart is sometimes awakened to a feeling of gratitude to the Almighty dispenser of our blessings. At the table, different members of the family meet; and where affection and kindness, those aids to true politeness, preside, it is truly a delightful treat to be the guest of such a family. Every symptom of selfishness should be discouraged, for if suffered to take root in a child, it lays the foundation of much that is disagreeable to themselves and others. Inculcate this excellent rule, "of doing unto others, what you wish others to do unto you," and always preferring others to yourself. It is the custom in some well regulated families, to permit the younger members, (as they arrive at a suitable age,) to take turns in presiding, not only at breakfast and tea, but at the dinner table. I have known quite young girls that had been taught in this way, carve a fowl or joint of meat with ease and grace. In helping, they should be taught not to over-load the plate, as it takes away the appetite of some persons to be helped too largely. The gravy should be stirred so that all may be helped alike, and a small quantity put on the meat or fowl, to which it belongs, and not on vegetables unless it is particularly desired. If there should be a rare dish on the table, it is best to hand it round and let every one help himself, after it has been nicely cut up. Ham is much nicer to be cut in very thin slices. So is salt beef and tongue. Young housekeepers in selecting their dishes for dinner, (if they have not an experienced cook,) should avoid those that are difficult to prepare. Never try a new dish when you expect company. Your guests will be more gratified with a neat and moderate table, with a few plain and well cooked dishes, accompanied with the smiling countenance of the hostess, than with a great variety of ill cooked and badly arranged viands. Economy the Source of Charity. If your circumstances will not admit of giving away much, you can, by economy, give a little, and a blessing will attend it. There are few of the very poor, that know how to repair old clothing to advantage; a garment will be of much more service, that is well mended before it is given to them. It has been remarked, that the poor are ungrateful, and forget the favors conferred upon them. I have seldom found them deficient in this respect; and when they are, if we would reflect, that if some of us received no more than we deserve, we should be but poorly off. We know in our own families, how acceptable is a nice present of something that a sick member can eat; and it is sometimes the means of restoring the appetite, when any thing cooked in the house is rejected. The feeling of love with which it is presented, is as a cordial to a sick person. How much more acceptable will something nourishing be to one oppressed with poverty, as well as sickness. When the rich are diseased, the physician often finds it necessary to enjoin strict abstinence; but very different is it with the poor, who frequently suffer for want of nourishment. When the mother of a poor family is ill, how greatly are her sufferings augmented by the knowledge that her children are deprived of her services; and how acceptable to such a family would be a loaf of bread, or a large bowl of soup, which could be made of materials that would hardly be missed. Dried beans or peas, and onions, are a cheap and valuable addition to soup; also cold vegetables. The liquor that fresh meat is boiled in, should be carefully saved for that purpose, if there are those near you that need it. It may seem at first troublesome to a young housekeeper, to take the necessary care to save for the poor. It is certainly much easier to let the cook have her own way, and waste or not, as she pleases; but for your encouragement my young friends, permit me to say, you will be sweetly rewarded for your attention to them. One eminent for his charities, near the close of life, made this remark: "What I spent I lost, but what I gave away remains with me." To Encourage Children in Acts of Kindness to the Aged and Afflicted. Young children may early be taught to administer to the wants of the aged and infirm. Some mothers are in the practice of giving a small sum of money to their children, as a reward for some little service or piece of work that they have done. The money thus obtained, to be laid out for a sick or old poor person. This method has an excellent effect on the minds of children; it incites them to industry, teaches self-denial, and the feelings of love and charity which are thus early instilled into their tender minds, make a lasting impression. If they spent their little fund in trifles for their own use, they would acquire a habit of selfishness; which, when once formed, it is most difficult to eradicate. I have remarked the pleasure with which children will relate the incidents of a visit, which they have been permitted to make to a poor family; and it is a refreshment to persons advanced in life, to see a young family thus trained. As soon as little girls can sew, they should be encouraged to make garments for the poor, or repair their own old ones as a present to a child of their own size, or make patchwork out of old dresses for a bed covering for poor people. Their being permitted to do these things, should be as a reward for good behavior and attention to their lessons or other duties. When they are old enough to make a loaf of bread, a pie, or a little plain cake, allow them to do it, and take as a present to, or make broth or panada for a sick person. This teaches them to prepare these things while young, and may be useful to them in after life. How cheering it must be to the aged or afflicted, to see smiling young faces enter their dwellings, bearing their little offerings of food or clothing, the work of their own hands. Be encouraged my dear young mothers; if you thus train your children to works of charity, you will be doubly blessed. Early Rising Promotes Punctuality. It is an old and true saying, "that if you waste an hour in the morning, it is seldom recovered all that day." This dispirits you, and the next day there is still something left undone. A late riser is rarely punctual in her engagements, and more of the happiness of married life depends on forming a habit of strict punctuality, than young persons are generally aware of. If you are distressed at having acquired habits of late rising, and want of punctuality, remember by perseverance, they can be overcome. Fix an hour for rising, and let nothing but illness prevent your being up at that time. While forming this useful habit, you should retire to rest early. Many things can be better attended to at an early, than a late hour in the morning. Where families rise before the sun, the day seems much longer; all the active employments of the early riser are accomplished before her later neighbors have finished their breakfast. The duties of the bath and toilet being performed, her chamber well aired and arranged--and her parlor in order, she is ready for the more quiet employments of reading and sewing. In a well regulated household, servants perform their duties with life and energy. Determine on an hour for your meals, and if all the members of the family adhere to it, scrupulous exactness will soon be established. Hints to Young Wives. The authoress is well aware of the difficulties which surround a young wife on her first setting out, particularly if situated at a distance from the kind mother who has hitherto directed her, with servants who watch every movement, and who will soon discover whether the new mistress is qualified for the task she has undertaken. Accustom yourself to rise early; fix a certain hour, and let nothing but indisposition prevent your being up at the appointed time. By this means your affairs will all be arranged in good season, and you will have time for recreation, in walking, riding, or in reading such authors as will tend to strengthen and improve your mind. Young persons removed from large families often suffer greatly from loneliness, whereas, if they were occupied with household affairs, they would not feel so severely the absence of their husbands while attending to business. Be punctual to the hour that has been fixed on for your meals, and let good order prevail in every department of which you have the command. A mistress of a family is much happier, who knows how every thing is going on from the garret to the cellar. By inspecting every thing you soon become interested, and we all know when that is the case, the most difficult pursuits become easy and pleasant. And with what pleasure will a young wife welcome her husband to his meals, when her conscience assures her that she has done her best, and that nothing is neglected; and how will it lighten his labors to reflect, when absent, that the partner he has chosen, is performing her duty at home. I am fully persuaded that the formation of domestic happiness, is generally laid the first year of marriage: therefore, my young friends, act well your part; if you desire to be treated with confidence you must merit it. If you keep an exact account of all your expenses, there will be less danger of living beyond your income, of which there have been so many lamentable instances. Never buy any thing because it is recommended as being cheap; many cheap things amount in time to a large sum. In selecting furniture, let utility, not fashion, govern your choice; some young persons furnish their parlors so extravagantly, that necessary and useful articles are neglected, for want of means to purchase them. Be persuaded that happiness does not consist so much in having splendid furniture, as in attending to the every day comforts of those around you. If you marry without the useful knowledge necessary for governing your family, lose no time in acquiring it. There is a time when most young girls show a fondness for domestic affairs before they are old enough to go into company, when it would be an agreeable change to be absent from school and assisting their mothers; the knowledge thus acquired would never be lost. Many a young man who commenced with fair prospects, has been ruined through his wife's ignorance of domestic duties, and she has suffered from the consequent diminution of his esteem and love. I once knew a lovely and accomplished young lady, accustomed to every indulgence, who, on her marriage, removed several hundred miles from her parents, to reside in the country, where servants were difficult to procure. This delicate and sensitive young creature was much distressed by her ignorance of almost every thing connected with housekeeping; and after suffering repeated mortifications, concluded to learn to do the work herself; and when this dearly bought knowledge was acquired, she was able to teach her ignorant servants; and resolved, if ever she had daughters, to use every means in her power to teach them. When a prudent wife is made acquainted with the circumstances of her husband, she will endeavor strictly to keep within their bounds; always remembering that losses and events, over which he has no control, may occur and greatly reduce his income. And how will it assist her to bear a reverse of fortune, if she has acted with discretion; it will strengthen the wife to encourage and cheer her partner, and enable him to struggle through difficulties which were thought insurmountable. Happiness will not forsake such a family though they lose almost every thing, the peace which is the result of a good conscience will remain; this will strengthen them to begin anew, and the Divine blessing will attend such efforts. A few Remarks to Encourage Young Housekeepers in their First Attempts. As bread is the most important article of food, one of your first attempts should be to make a few loaves of good bread and rolls, of the most simple kind. Bread rolls are very easily made. If you succeed tolerably, it will encourage you to try again. When you make cakes, begin with the simple kinds; plain jumbles or cakes that you can roll out, or crisp ginger-bread. Sponge cake is easier than those that have butter in them; I have known young persons succeed very well with it. Bread rusk is also easily made, or a few plain pies. Do not trust the baking to an ignorant person, but superintend it yourself. Sometimes baking in a stove, is protracted by the dampness of the wood. Before you bake, have dry wood prepared. Watch the time; it is a good plan to have a clock near the kitchen. Do not have too many things on hand at once; but perfect yourself in the knowledge of a few important dishes. If you make good yeast you will be more certain of good bread, light cakes and rolls. To cook a steak nicely, is also important; and with a dish of potatoes well cooked, a dish of cold slaw and an apple pie, or a little stewed fruit, will make a good plain dinner. When your family is small, you can have something nice every day, without cooking much. Veal cutlets, and mutton chops, are easy to cook, and may be prepared in a short time. If you have a fowl, and boil it, you can save the soup, and warm it over for the next day. A cold roast fowl may be hashed. On days that you have cold meat, a batter pudding, or plain rice pudding, is easily prepared. If you wish to have an early breakfast, make every preparation that you can, over night; set the table, have the relish cut, ready to cook, or to warm over--and cold bread may be sliced, and wrapped in a cloth to keep it moist. Coffee should be ground, and dry fuel, and water at hand. With these preparations, breakfast may be ready in half an hour from the time the fire is made. If you have warm corn bread, or rolls, it will require more time; but if you have them made up over night, and put in a cool place, they will not sour, and can soon be baked. Maryland biscuit are very convenient, as they are always ready, and will keep good a week. I have found it a great advantage to set the table over night, particularly if you have a separate room to eat in; although it takes but a short time, every minute is important in the morning. Where the mistress washes the breakfast things, and puts them in their proper places, and counts the spoons, and other articles, she can see when any thing is missing. A mop is useful for glass and china; keep a pan, or a small tub, for the purpose of holding the water, which should not be too hot. If tea things are put in very hot water, it will be apt to crack them or they will look smeared. Put a little soap in the water, wash the glass first, then the silver, then the cups and saucers, and lastly, the plates and knives and forks. If spoons have been used with eggs, put them to soak immediately, to prevent their turning dark. Have a common waiter for the pan to stand in and on it drain your tea things. Spoons when used with care, require polishing but seldom, as it wears the silver away. Dinner dishes should be washed first in moderately warm water and soap, rinsed in hot water, and drained before wiping. Put every thing in its proper place, and inspect your pantry and cellar frequently. Sometimes things are forgotten, for want of attention, until they are spoiled. Air the cellar frequently; do not let refuse vegetables accumulate, or any thing that would be likely to cause sickness. You should provide coarse towels of different kinds, for china and glass, and for the dinner dishes, also knife cloths, have them marked and kept in their proper places. Some persons have their towels washed out every day, but it is better to save them for the weekly wash. If towels are thrown aside damp, they are liable to mildew. You should keep dusters of several kinds. Old silk handkerchiefs, are best for highly polished furniture, or an old barege veil answers a good purpose. For common purposes, a square of coarse muslin, or check is suitable. You should keep one floor cloth for chambers, and one for the kitchen. Keep brooms for different purposes; always use a soft one for carpets, as soon as they wear stiff, they will do for the kitchen, or pavements. Pouring a little hot water on a broom, softens it for carpets. You may save tea leaves, to sprinkle over your carpet, when you give a thorough sweeping, this will brighten it, and occasionally to wipe it over, with a cloth, that has been wrung out of hot water cleanses it, of course, this is only required for carpets in constant use. It is of great importance to health, that sleeping apartments should be well aired and swept. If you sleep in an apartment, where there has been fire during the day, it should be well aired before going to bed, or if the room is close, have a little air admitted, so as not to blow on persons that are asleep. A window that will lower from the top is an advantage. Beds should be well aired before they are made, take the clothes off, and leave them at least an hour. In pleasant weather, you may keep chamber windows hoisted, for several hours, and even in cold weather, the windows may be kept up a short time, and if on any occasion, you may be obliged to have the beds made without airing, turn the clothes half way down, and leave them for several hours. Some persons have cheap calico covers, to spread over beds, while the room is swept, this is a good plan, on account of the dust. Bolster and pillow tucks wear better, if you have a check case basted on, this should be changed, washed and starched occasionally. It is a good plan also to have check covers for matresses and feather beds, but the covers should not be kept on beds that are not in use, lest they should be liable to moth. In winter a blanket should be put next a bed that is not often slept in, or for a delicate person, and be particularly careful, that sheets are dry before they are put away. In summer it is most healthy to have your chamber floor bare, and have it washed occasionally. It is important to examine your clothes, after they come from the wash, and see that they are perfectly dry before they are put away. CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. A few flowers and plants, when properly taken care of, are ornamental to the windows of a parlor, or sitting room; and will repay the care that is bestowed on them. Begin with a few that are easy to cultivate, and you will probably succeed. Persons that are fond of flowers, and have collected a number, are generally willing to give their young friends a few plants; and where we succeed in raising a fine plant from a slip, or cutting, we value it more than one that has been purchased at a green-house. Geraniums, cactus', wax plants, cape and catalonian jessamines, and some others, are easily cultivated in a parlor. Roses, camelias, and azaleas bloom best in a moderate temperature, as the heat of a parlor (unless very large) dries the buds, and prevents their coming to perfection. I have known these to bloom beautifully in a room that was very slightly heated--either over one in which there was fire, or in an apartment next a stove room. If the weather is very cold, they should be removed to a warmer room, until it moderates. The windows that are open to the south are best. When the blossoms have matured, you can bring them to the parlor; but if there is much heat, they will not remain perfect so long as in a moderate room. Roses are sometimes troubled with insects, which should be brushed off with a feather, and the plants washed with a decoction of tobacco, (not too strong,) they will not bloom when thus infested. There is another insect that fastens itself to the bark of lemon trees, and other plants; frequent washing with soap suds and brushing the sterns, removes it, and some times wash the leaves with a sponge, when the weather is too cold to put them out of doors. Setting them out in a warm rain, or watering them well all over the foliage, is very reviving to plants. Be careful to have pieces of old broken earthen-ware at the bottom of each pot, to drain them, or the plants will not thrive. The earth should be sometimes removed, and an occasional re-potting, is an advantage; being careful not to disturb the roots. A mixture of charcoal and sand, and rich earth of more than one kind is thought best. Earth fresh from the woods is good for pot-plants, as well as borders, but should always be mixed with a stronger soil. Roses that are planted round a house, should have a deep and rich soil made for them, and they will then bloom beautifully all the season. Pot plants should in summer be placed in a situation where they wilt not be exposed to intense heat. Some persons place their pots in the earth on the north side of the house; others keep them in a porch where they can get some sun. They require much more water in summer. The wax plant blooms beautifully in summer, and should be kept in a sheltered situation, not exposed to the wind; it should have a strong frame of wood and wire to run on, well secured in a tub or box. Hyacinths and crocuses should be planted in pots, boxes, or small tubs, in rich earth, in October or November; a small painted tub is very suitable, and will hold a dozen hyacinths, and as many crocus roots. The most beautiful I ever saw in a window, were planted in this way, by keeping some in the sun, and others in the shade you can have a succession of blooms, they are also pretty in root glasses, but this plan will exhaust the roots. After blooming in the house, they should be planted in the garden. The same roots will not answer the next year for parlor culture, they increase very fast in the garden by proper care. There is something refining to the mind in the cultivation of flowers, either in a garden or in pots. Many hours that would be weary or lonely, are thus pleasantly occupied, and the mind refreshed. I now take leave of the reader, with a sincere desire, that these remarks may be of use, and that the receipts which I have been at some pains in compiling and arranging, may be acceptable. INDEX A. Accidents--poisons taken by mistake, remedies for, Acid, to restore Colors, &c., Acts of Kindness, to Encourage Children in, Adhesive Plaster, Ague, Cure for, Alamode, Beef, Almond Cake, Almond Cream, Almonds, to Blanch. Apple Butter, Apples, Baked, Apple and Bread Pudding, Apples, Crab, to Preserve, Apple Custard, Apple Dumplings, Apple Float, Apple Fritters, Apple Jelly, Apple Marmalade, Apples, Pine, Apples, to Preserve, Apples, Pine, Syrup, Apple Pudding, Apples, to Stew for Pies, Apple Water, Apricots, preserved, Arrow-root, Arrow root Pudding, Asparagus, B. Bacon--to Cure, Bacon, Dumplings, Bacon Fraise, Baking in a Brick-oven, Baking in a Dutch-oven, Baking in a Stove, Balloon Pudding, Balls, Force Meat, Balsam-apple, &c., Bannock, Corn, Bark Tincture, Bath, Mustard, Bathing, Batter Pudding, Barley Panada, Barley Water, Batter Bread with Yeast, Batter, a Loaf of Muffin, Beans, Green, for Winter use, Beans, Lima, Beans, String, Bean Soup, Beds, Feather, Bedsteads, Cleaning, Bee, Sting of a, Beef Alamode, Beef, Curing, Beef, Dried, Beef Kidney, to Fry, Beef Pudding, Baked, Beef Shin Soup, Beef Spiced in Irish style, Beef Steak Pie, Beef Steak Pudding, Beef Steak, Beef Tea, Beef, Fried, Beef, Roasted, Beef, Pickle for two Rounds, Beef, Pork, or Mutton Cured, Beef, Stewed, for the Sick, Beef, Stuffed, Round of, Beef's Feet, Beef's Heart, Baked, Beef's Tongue, to Boil, Beer, Harvest, Beer, Molasses, Beer, Porter, Beer, Spruce, Beer, to make two Gallons, Beets, Berries, Spice Wood, Biles, Cure for, Bilious Colic, Birds' West Pudding, Biscuit, Dyspepsy, Biscuit, Light, Biscuit, Maryland, Biscuit, Naples, Biscuit, Quick, Biscuit, Salaeratus, Biscuit, Tea, Bitters, Wine, Brittania Ware, Black Cake, Black Currant Jelly, Black Walnuts, to Pickle, Blackberries, to Preserve, Blackberry Cordial, Blackberry Flummery, Blackberry Wine, Blacking for Boots and Shoes, Blacking for Morocco Shoes, Blancmange of Jelly, Blancmange of Moss, Blancmange, Blancmange, Calf's Foot, for the Sick, Blankets, Blister Ointment, Blue, to Color Cotton, Boiling Fresh Meat, Boiling Puddings, Bologna Sausage, Boots and Shoes, to make Water-proof, Brain Cakes, Brains and Tongue, Brandy, Lemon, Brandy, Peaches in, Brandy, Rose, Brass, to Clean, Brazil Wood Dye, Bread and Apple Pudding, Bread Batter Cakes, Bread of Indian Meal, remarks on making, Bread Pudding, Bread Rolls, Bread Rusk, Bread, Bread, Batter, with Yeast, Bread, Corn Meal, Bread, Dyspepsy, Bread, Graham, Bread, Indian, Bread, Light, Bread, Mixed, Brick Oven Directions, Brick Oven, to Bake in, Broth, Mutton and Veal, Brown Mixture for a Cough, Brown, to Color, Bruises, Buckwheat Cakes, Bunions, Bunns, Burns and Scalds, Butler, Butter for Winter Use, Butter, a Pickle for, Butter to Keep a Length of Time, Butter-milk, Batter Cakes, Butter, Drawn, C. Cabbage, to Boil, Cabbage, to pickle, Cake, Almond, Cake, Remarks on Making and Baking, Cake, Black, Cakes, Brain, Cakes, Bread Batter, Cakes, Butter milk, Cakes, Butter milk Batter, Cakes, Buckwheat, Cake, Composition, Cakes, Corn Batter, Cakes, Cheese, Cake, Cider, Cake, Crisp Ginger, Cake, Cup, Cake, Dover, Cake, Flannel, Cake, Fruit, Cheap, Cake, Fruit, Rich, Cake, Ginger Cup, Cake, Icing for, Cake, Indian Pound, Cake, Jelly, Cake, Journey, Cake, Lemon Sponge, Cake, Loaf, Cakes, Little Indian, Cakes, Maryland Corn, Cake, Madison, Cakes, Mush Flannel, Cake, New Year, Cakes, Pan, Cake, Pound, Cake, Plum or Fruit, Cake, Plum, raised, Cake, Queen, Cake, Rice, Sponge, Cake, Rice Pound Cakes, Rice Cake, Sponge, Cake, Sponge, in Small Pans, Cake, Salaeratus, Cake, Short, Cake, Virginia Hoe, Cake, Washington, Cakes, Wafer, Cake, White, Calf's Foot, Blancmange, Calf's Foot Jelly, Calf's Head to Boil, Calf's Head, to Brown, Calf's Head Soup, Candles, Candied Preserves, Candy, Hoarhound, Cantelopes, to Preserve, Calicoes, Washing, Carolina Corn Rolls, Carrageen or Irish Moss Blancmange, Carpets, Rag, Carpets, to put Straw under, Carrots, Catsup, Cucumber, Catsup, Mushroom, Catsup, Tomato, Catsup, Green Tomato, Catsup, Walnut, Cauliflowers, Carving, Remarks on, Cedar Dye, Celery Sauce, Cellars, Cleaning, Cement, Fire-proof, Cement for Bottles, Cement for mending iron, Cement, Weather proof, Chapped Lips, Charity, Economy the Source of, Charcoal, Magnesia and Salts, Cheese, Cheese Cakes, Cheese, Cottage, Cheese Curds, Cheese, Pennsylvania Cream, Cheese, Hogshead, Cheese, Walnut, Cherries, Dried, Cherries, to Pickle, Cherries and Peaches, to Pickle, Cherries to Preserve, Cherry Cordial, Cherry Sauce, Cherry Toast, Chickens, to Broil, Chickens, to Fry, Chickens, to Fry, in Batter, Chickens, Fricasseed, Chickens in Paste, Chicken, Cold, with Vinegar, Chicken Pie, Chicken Pudding, Chickens, to Roast, Chicken Salad, Chickens Stewed with Rice, Chickens Stewed with Corn, Chickens, to Stew, for the Sick, Chicken Soup, Chicken Water Chilblains, Remedy for, China, Mending, Chines, Chocolate, for the Sick, Chocolate, Racahaut, Chops, Mutton, Chloride of Lime, Cholera Morbus, Chrome Yellow Wash, Cider, to make, Cider Marmalade, Citron Melon, Clams, to Fry and Stew, Clear Starching Cleaning Bedsteads, Cleaning Cellars, Cleaning Floors, Cleaning Kid Gloves, Cleaning Paint, Cleaning Silver, Cleaning Stoves, Cloth, to take Lime out of, Cloth, to take Wax out of Cocoanut Pudding, Cod Fish, Salt, Coffee, to Boil and Roast, Coffee for the Sick, Cold Custard, Cold Slaw, Colds, Remedy for, Colic, Colic, Bilious, Colic, Infants, Cologne, Colors taken out by Acids, to Restore Coloring, Conserve, Peaches to, Conserve, Pears to Conserve of Roses, Cooking for the Sick, Cordial, Blackberry, Cordial, Cherry, Cordial, Peach, Cordial, Quince, Cordial, Warner's, Cordials, Wines. &c., Corn Bannock, Cora Beef, to Boil. Cora Gruel, Corn Batter Cakes, Corn Bread, Corn Dumplings, Corn Flour, Dry Yeast of, Corn Fritters, Corn Meal Porridge, Corn Meal Pudding, Corn Muffins, Corn Pudding in paste, Corn Starch, Corn, Green, for Winter use, Corn, Green, to Boil, Corn, to Fricassee, Corns, Salve for, Cottage Cheese, or, Smearcase, Cough, Brown Mixture for a, Cough, for a, Cough, Remarks on a, Cough, Whooping, Cough, Lemon Mixture for a, Crab Apples, to Preserve, Crackers, Soaked, Cracks in Stoves, to Mend, Cramp in the Stomach, Cramp, Cranberries, Cream Cheese, Cream Sauce, Cream, Almond, Cream, Custard, Cream, Ice, Freezing, Cream, Poultice, Cream, Snow, Cream, Toast, Crisp Ginger Bread, Croup, for the, Crullers, Cucumber Catsup, Cucumbers, Cut, to Pickle, Cucumbers, to Fry or Slice, Cucumbers, to Pickle, Cucumbers, to Pickle, Small, Cucumbers, to Preserve, Cultivation of Flowers, Cup Cake, Curds, Cheese, Curds, Skim, Curds, Whey Slam, Currant Jelly, Currant Jelly, Black, Currant Pie, Currant Syrup, Currant Wine, Currants, to Preserve, Curtains, Custard Baked in Cups, Custard Bread Pudding, Custard for the Sick, Custard Hasty Pudding, Custard, Apple, Custard, Boiled, Custard, Cold, Custard, Cream, Custard, Ice, Custard, to Boil in Water, Custard, with Raisins, Cutlets, Veal, Cuts and Wounds, Remedy for, Cutting Glass, Cymblings, or Squashes, D. Damson Sauce, Damsons for Pies, Damsons, to Preserve, Deafness, Debility, Bitters for, Decanter, to Remove a Stopper from, Diseases, Summer, Domestics, on the Management of, Dough-nuts, Drab, to Color, Drawn Butter, Dressing, or Stuffing, Dried Beef, Dried Beef, to Stew, Dropsy, Ducks, to Roast, Dumplings, Apple, and Peach, Dumplings, Bacon, Dumplings, Corn, Dumplings, Drop, Dumplings, Large, Dumplings, Light Bread, Dumplings, Rice, Dumplings, Stew, Dumplings, Suet, Dutch-ovens, to Bake in, Dyeing Black, Dyeing Brown, Dyeing Carpet Rags, Dyeing Cotton, blue, Dyeing Drab, Dyeing Lead Color, Dyeing Olive, Dyeing Orange, Dyeing Red, Dyeing Scarlet, Dyeing with Brazil Wood, Dyeing with Cedar boughs, Dyeing Yarn Green, Dyeing Yellow, Dysentery, Dyspepsy Biscuit, Dyspepsy Bread, E. Ear-Ache, Remedy For, Early Rising Promotes Punctuality, Ears, Wash for Sore, Earthen Vessels, Economy, the Source of Charity, Egg Panada, Egg Plant, to Bake, Egg Plant, to Fry, Egg Rolls, Egg Sauce, Eggs in Lime-water, Eggs to Grease, for Winter use, Eggs, to Boil, Eggs, to Clean Soiled, Eggs, to Fry, Eggs, to Poach, Elder Ointment, Elderberry Jam for Colds, Elderberry Wine, Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup English Walnuts, Erysipelas, Eyes, Wash for Weak, F. Falls, Feather Beds, Felons, Figs, Tomato, Filtering Water, Fire, Precautions against, Fish, Fresh, to Boil, Fish, Fresh, to Fry, Fish, Oysters, &c., Fish, Rock, to Stew or Bake, Fish, Salt Cod, to Boil, Flannel Cakes, Flannels, to Wash, Flaxseed Poultice, Floating Island, Float, Apple, Floors, to Clean, Floors, to take Grease out of, Flour, to Brown for Gravy, Flowers, the Cultivation of, Flummery, Blackberry, Flummery, Rice, Food for the Sick, Force Meat Balls, Fowls to Bake, Fox Grape Jam, Fraise Bacon, Freezing Ice Cream French Honey, French Rolls, Fresh Meat, to Boil, Fresh Meat, to Keep, Fresh Meat, to Restore when kept too long, Fresh Shad, to Bake, Fricassee, Chickens to Fricassee, Cora, to Fricassee, Tomatoes to Fritters, Apple, Fritters, Corn, Fritters, Indian Meal, Fritters, Oysters, Fritters, Rice, Fritters, Snow, Fruit Cake, Fruit to Stew for Pies, Fruit, Frosted, Furniture, Linseed Oil for, Furs and Woollens, to Keep, G. Gardens and Yards, Gathering on a Finger, Geese, to Pick, General Remarks, &c. Giblet Pie and Soup, Ginger Cup-cake, Ginger Tea, Ginger Wine, Ginger, to Preserve Green, Ginger-bread Nuts, Ginger-bread, Crisp, Ginger-bread, Light, Glass, to Cut, Gloves, to Clean Kid, Goose, to Roast, Gooseberries, to Preserve, Gooseberry Wine, Gout, Graham Bread, Grapes for Pies, Grapes in Brandy, Grates and Stoves, to Clean, Gravy with Roast Turkey, Gravy, Hash, Gravy, to Brown Flour for, Grease, to take out of Floors, Greasers for Bake Irons, Green Beans for Winter use, Green Corn Pudding, Green Peppers, to Preserve, Green Tomato Catsup, Green Wash, Green, to Color, Greens, to Boil, Gruel, Corn, Gruel, Oat Meal, Gum Arabic Paste, Gumbo Soup, Gums, Scurvy of, H. Ham, to Bake, Ham, to Boil, Ham, to Fry, Ham, to Stew, for the Sick, Hams, to Cure, Hash made of Fowls, Hash, Veal, Hash Gravy, Hasty Custard Pudding, Hasty Pudding of Indian Meal, Head-ache, Remedy for, Hearths, a Wash for, Heating a Brick-oven, Herbs, Gardens and Yards, Herring and Shad, Herring, Harford, Herring, Trash, to Pot, Herring, to Boil, Hints to Young Wives, Hoarhound and Elecampane Syrup, Hoarhound Candy, Hoe Cake, Hogshead Cheese, Hominy to Boil or Fry, Honey and Lemon Juice for a Cough, Hop Ointment, Hop Poultice, Housekeepers, to Encourage in their First Attempts, House Linen, Care of, Huckleberry Pudding, Huckleberry Pudding, Elkridge, Huxham's Buck Tincture, I. Ice Cream Freezing, Ice Cream superior Receipt for Making, Ice Cream with Fruit, Ice Cream with Lemon, Ices, to Stain, Icing, for Cake, Ice Custard with Vanilla, Indian Bread with Butter milk, Indian Corn Remarks on the Use of, Indian Pound Cake, Infant's Colic, Infant's Sore Mouth, Irish Stew, Irish Moss Blancmange, Island, Floating, Isinglass Jelly, J. Jam, Elderberry, Jam, Green Fox Grape, Jam, Ripe Fox Grape, Jelly, Apple, Jelly, Blancmange of, Jelly, Black Currant, Jelly, Currant, Jelly, Calf's Foot, Jelly, Cake, Jelly, Green Grape, Jelly, Isinglass, Jelly, Mulled, Jellies Preserves &c., Jelly, Quince, Jelly, Tapioca, Jelly, Tomato, Journey Cake, Jumbles Common, Jumbles, Cup, Jumbles for Delicate Persons, Jumbles, Molasses, Jumbles, Jackson, Jumbles, Rich, K. Kettles, Preserving, to clean, Keeping Apples for Winter use, Kid Gloves, to clean, Kidney, to fry Beef with, Kidneys, Affections of the, Kisses, Knives and Forks, to clean, L. Labor Saving Soap, Lamb, to Roast, Lamb, to Stew or Fry, Lard, Rendering, Lavender, Compound, Lead Color, Lemon Brandy, Lemon Butter, Lemon Ice Cream, Lemon Juice, Syrup of, Lemon Marmalade, Lemon Mixture for a Cough, Lemon Pudding, Lemon Syrup, Lemon and Honey for a Cough, Lemon, Green, to Preserve, Lettuce, Ley Poultice, Ley and Soda, Preparation for Washing, Light Biscuit, Light Bread Dumplings, Lily Ointment, Lily Root Poultice, Lima Beans, Lime, Chloride of, Lime, to take, out of Cloth, Linen, House, Linen, to take Ink and Fruit Stains out of, Linseed Oil for Furniture, Liver Sausage, Liver, to Fry Veal's, Liver, to Fry, Liverwort Syrup, Loaf Cake, Locked Jaw, M. Macaroons, Mackerel, to Boil, Madison Cake, Magnesia, Charcoal and Salts, Mahogany Furniture, Mangoes with Oil and Vinegar, Pickling, Mangoes, Mangoes, Pepper, Mansfield Muffins, Marble, Marmalade of mixed Fruits.. Marmalade, Apple, Marmalade, Cider, Marmalade, Lemon, Marmalade, Peach, Marmalade, Quince, Maryland Biscuit, Maryland Com Cakes, Matresses, Directions for Making, Meat, Fresh, to Restore, Meat, Roasting, Meat, to Boil Fresh, Meat, to keep Fresh, Melon Citron, to Preserve, Mending China, Mending Clothes, Milk Porridge, Milk Rolls, Milk Toast, Milk Yeast, Mince Pies, Mince Pies, Farmers, Mince Pies, Pork, Mixture, Brown, for Cough, Molasses Beer, Molasses Candy, Molasses Jumbles, Molasses Posset, for a Cold, Molasses Sauce, Mortification, Ointment for, Muffin Batter, a Loaf of, Muffins, Muffins, Boiled Milk, Muffins, Cold Water, Muffins, Corn, Muffins, Cream, Muffins, Mansfield, Muffins, Rice, Mulled Jelly, Mulled Wine, Mush Cakes, Fried Mush, Mush Flannel cakes, Mush Muffins, Mush Rolls, Mush, Mush, Rye, Mushroom Catsup, Mushroom Sauce, Mushrooms, to Pickle, Mushrooms, to Stew and Fry, Mustard Bath, for the Feet, Mustard Whey, Mutton Chops, Mutton Soup, Mutton and Veal Broth, N. Naples Biscuit, Nasturtions, New Year Cake, O. Oat-meal Gruel, Ointment, Blister, Ointment, Elder, Ointment, Hop, Ointment, Lily, Ointment, Precipitate, Ointment, St. Johnswort, Ointment, Tar, Ointment, for Mortification, Olive, to Color, Omelet, Onion Poultice, Onions Pickled, Onions, to Boil, Orange, to Color, Oven, Baking in a Dutch, Oven, Brick, Directions for Heating, Oyster Fritters, Oyster Pie, Oyster Pie, Baltimore, Oyster Plant, or Salsify, Oyster Sauce, Oyster Soup, Oysters and Fish, Oysters, Pickled, Oysters, Scolloped, Oysters, to Brown, Oysters, to Fry, P. Paint, to Clean, Pan Cakes, Pan Cakes, Water, Panada, Panada, Barley, Panada, Egg, Papered Walls, Parsnips, Paste, Gum Arabic, Paste, for Puddings or Pies, Pea Soup, Peach Dumplings, Peach Marmalade, Peach Pie, Peaches in Brandy, Peaches in Cider, Peaches, Pickled, Peaches, Spiced, Peaches, to Conserve, Peaches, to Preserve, Pears, to Conserve, Pears, to Preserve, Peas, Pepper Mangoes, Peppers, Green, to Preserve, Picking Geese, Pickle for Butter, Pickle for Chines, Pickled Oysters, Pickled Pork, Pickles, Vinegar, &c., Pickles, Yellow, Pie Crust, to Make, Pie, Beef Steak, Pie, Chicken, Pie, Currant, Pie, Mince, Pie, Oyster, Pie, Peach, Pie, Pork Mince, Pie, Puddings, &c., Pie, Rhubarb, Pie, Sweet Potato, Pies, to Stew fruit for, Pies, to make Common, Pig, to Roast a, Pigeons, Pigs' Feet, Pigs' Head, Pine Apple Syrup, Pine Apples, Plaster, Adhesive, Plum Cake, Plum Cake, raised, Plums, Green Gage, Poached Eggs, Poison, Remedy for, Poke and Greens, Pokeberry Juice, to Stain Ices, Pone, Cold Water, Pone, Lightened, Pone, Virginia, Pork Stew Pie, Pork, or Mutton, to Corn, Pork, to Fry and Stew, Pork, to Pickle, Pork, to Roast, Porridge, Corn Meal, Porridge, Milk, Porter Beer, Pot Pie, Potash Soap, Potato Starch, Potato Yeast, Potato Yeast, with Sugar, Potatoes, Sweet, Potatoes, to Boil, Potatoes, to Fry, Potatoes, to Stew, Poultice, Bread and Milk, Poultice, Cream, Poultice, Flaxseed, Pound Cake, Poultice, Hop, Poultice, Onion, Poultice, Ley, Poultice, Lily, Poultice, Sassafras, Precautions against Fire, Precipitate Ointment, Preserves, Candied, Preserves, Jellies, &c., Pudding of Corn Meal. Pudding of whole Rice, Pudding, Apple, Pudding, Arrow Root, Pudding, Baked Beef, Pudding, Baked, Pudding, Balloon, Pudding, Beef Steak, Pudding, Bird's Nest, Pudding, Boiled Indian, Pudding, Boiling, Pudding, Bread, Pudding, Butter, Pudding, Chicken, Pudding, Coaco nut, Pudding, Custard Bread, Pudding, Custard Hasty, Pudding, Elkridge, Huckleberry, Pudding, Huckleberry, Pudding, Lemon, Pudding, New England Hasty, Pudding, Plain Rice, Pudding, Potato, Pudding, Preserve, Pudding, Pumpkin, Pudding, Quince, Pudding, Rice, Pudding, Richmond, Pudding, Suet, Pudding, Sweet Potato, Pudding, Switzerland, Pudding. Green Corn, Puddings, in little Pans, Puff Paste, Pumpkins, to Bake, Pumpkins, to Boil, Pumpkins, to Dry, Pumpkins, to Preserve, Putty, to Remove, Q. Queen Cake, Quick Biscuit, Quick Waffles, Quince Jelly, R. Rabbits and Squirrels, Racahaut Chocolate, Rag Carpet, to make a, Raisins in Syrup, Raspberries, to Preserve, Raspberry Vinegar, Raspberry Wine, Rats and Roaches, to destroy, Red Mixture, Red, to Color, Remarks on Carving, and the behavior of children at table, Remarks to Encourage Young Housekeepers in their first attempts, Remarks upon a Cough, Remedies, Simple, Rendering Lard and Tallow, Rennet Whey, Rennet Wine, Rennet, for Cheese, Rheumatism, Rhubarb Pies, Rhubarb, Spiced, Rica Pudding, Rice Cakes, Rice Dish with Fruit, Rice Dumplings. Rice Flour Pound Cake, Rice Flour Sponge Cake, Rice Flummery, Rice Fritters, Rice Milk, Rice Muffins, Rice Pudding, Plain, Rice Waffles, Rice, Stewed with Chicken, Rice, to Boil, Rich Fruit Cake, Richmond Pudding, Roasting Coffee, Roasting Meat, Rock Fish, to Stew or Bake, Rolls, Boiled Milk, Rolls, Bread. Rolls, Carolina Corn, Rolls, Egg. Rolls, French, Rolls, Mush, Rolls, Potato, Rolls, Soft, Rolls, Twist, Rolls, Water, Rose Brandy, Rose Conserve, Rose Water, Rusk for Drying, Rusk, Rusk, Bread, Rye, Mush, S. Sago, Salad, Chicken. Sally Lunn, Salsify or Oyster Plant, Salt Cod, Salt Salmon, to Boil, Salt Shad, to Boil, Salt Shad, to Broil, Salve for Burns, Salve for Corns, Salve, Dealer's, Salaeratus Biscuit, Salaeratus Cake, Sassafras Poultice, Sauce, Celery, Sauce, Cream, Sauce, Egg, Sauce, Molasses, Sauce, Mushroom, Sauce, Oyster, Sauce, Tomato, Sauce, White, Sauce, Wine, Sausage Meat, Sausage, Bologna, Sausage, Liver, Scalds and Burns, Scarlet, to Dye, Scolloped Oysters, Scrapple, Screw Dumplings, Scurvy of the Gums, Shad, to Broil, or Bake, Shad, to put up, and Herring, Short Cake, Silver, to Clean, Simple Remedies, Skim Curds of Whey, Skim Curds, Slaw, Cold, Smearcase, or Cottage Cheese, Snow Cream, Snow Fritters, Soap Stones, Soap, Soap, Hard, Soap, Later Saving, Soap, Potash, Soap, Volatile, Sore Mouth, Infants, Sore Throat, for a, Soup of Dried Beans, Soup, Beef Shin. Soup, Calf's Head, Soup, Chicken, Soup, Giblet, Soup, Gumbo, Soup, Mutton, Soup, Oyster, Soup, Pea, Soup, Shin, Soup, Vegetable, Soups, Souse, Spermaceti, to take out of cloth, Spice-wood Berries, Spiced Beef, Spiced Peaches, Spider, for the Bite of a, Sponge Cake, Sprained Ankle, Sprained Limb, Spruce Beer, Squashes, or Cymblings, Squirrels and Rabbits, St. Johnswort Ointment, Stains, to take out of Linen, Starch, Common, Starch, Corn, Starch, Potato, Starching Clear, Steak, Beef, Stew, Irish, Sting of a Bee, Stir-about, Stopper, to Remove from a Decanter, Stoves or Grates, to Clean, Stoves, to Mend, Straw under Carpets, Strawberries, String Beans, Stuffing, or Dressing, Suet Pudding, Suet, to keep Several Months, Sugar, to Clarify, Summer Diseases. Sweet Bread, Veal, Sweet Potato Pie, Sweet Potato Pudding, Sweet Potatoes, Switzerland Pudding, Syrup of Lemon Juice, Syrup, Currant, Syrup, Hoarhound, and Elecampane, Syrup, Lemon, Syrup, Liverwort, Syrup, Pine Apple, Syrup, Raisins in, Syrups and Ices, T. Table Cloths, Taffy, or Molasses Candy, Tallow, to Render, Tapioca, Tar Ointment, Tea, Tea, Beef, Tea, Black, Tea, Ginger, Teeth, Cleaning the, Terrapins, Tetter, Cure for the, Tetter, Warts, &c., Throat, Sore, Tin Kitchens, Roasting in, Tincture, Huxham's Bark, Toast Water, Toast for the Sick, Toast, Cream, Toast, Milk, Tomato Catsup, Tomato Figs, Tomato Jelly, Tomato Omelet, Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes for Winter Use, Tomatoes, Green, for Pies, Tomatoes, to Bake, Tomatoes, to Broil, Tomatoes, to Fry, Tomatoes, to Pickle, Tomatoes, to Preserve, Tomatoes, to Stew, Tongue and Brains, Tongue, to Boil, Tongues, to Cure a Dozen, Tooth-ache, Trifle, Turkey, to Boil, Turkey, to Roast, Turnips, Twist Rolls, V. Vanilla, Veal Cutlets, Veal Hash, Veal and Lamb, to Roast, Veal and Mutton Broth, Veal's Liver, to Fry, Veal, Stuffed Leg of, Veal, to Boil, Veal, to Fry and Stew, Vegetable Soup, Vegetables, Vegetables, to keep, in Winter, Vermicelli, Vials, to Clean, Vinegar, Raspberry, Vinegar, to Make, Virginia Hoe Cake, Virginia Pone, Virginia Yellow Pickles, Volatile Soap, W. Waffles, Wafer Cakes, Waffles, Quick, Waffles, Rice, Walls, Papered, to clean, Walnut Catsup, Walnut Cheese, Walnuts, Black, to Pickle, Walnuts, English, Walnuts, White, to Pickle, Warner's Cordial, Warts, Wash for Hearths, Wash for Sore Ears, Washes, White or Colored, Washing Calicoes, Washing Windows, Washington Cake, Water, Apple, Water, Filtering, Water, to Purify, Water, to keep Cool in Summer, Watermelon Rind, Wax and Spermaceti, to take out of cloth, Weather proof, Cement, Whey, Rennet, Whey, Skim Curds, Whey, Wine, Whips, White Beans, Dried, White Sauce, White wash, to Mix, Whooping Cough, for, Wine Sauce, Wine Whey, Wine, Blackberry, Wine, Currant, Wine, Elderberry, Wine, Ginger, Wine, Gooseberry, Wine, Mulled, Wine, Raspberry, Wine, Rennet, Wines, Cordials, &c., Woollens and Furs, to keep, Woollens, to Dye, Worms, Wounds and Cuts, Y. Yeast, Yeast Dry, Yeast, Corn, Yeast, Milk, Yeast, Potato, Yellow Ochre wash, Yellow Pickles, Yellow wash, Chrome, Yellow, to Dye, 29084 ---- The transcriber trusts that the reader will not take any of the advice offered in this text. [Illustration: _Mrs. Eaton._ BUNGAY. _Published by J. & R. Childs._] _THE_ _Cook and Housekeeper's_ Complete & Universal Dictionary Including _A system of Modern Cookery in all its various Branches,_ adapted to the use of Private Families. _Also a variety of Original & Valuable Information._ _RELATIVE TO_ _Baking Brewing Carving Cleaning Collaring Curing Economy of Bees ---- of a Dairy Economy of Poultry Family Medicine Gardening Home-made Wines Pickling Potting Preserving Rules of Health_ And every other Subject connected with Domestic Economy. BY MRS. MARY EATON. BUNGAY. _Printed & Published by J. & R. Childs_ 1822. THE COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER'S COMPLETE AND UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY; INCLUDING A SYSTEM OF MODERN COOKERY, IN ALL ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES, ADAPTED TO THE USE OF _PRIVATE FAMILIES_: ALSO A VARIETY OF ORIGINAL AND VALUABLE INFORMATION. RELATIVE TO BAKING, BREWING, CARVING, CLEANING, COLLARING, CURING, ECONOMY OF BEES, ---- OF A DAIRY, ECONOMY OF POULTRY, FAMILY MEDICINE, GARDENING, HOME-MADE WINES, PICKLING, POTTING, PRESERVING, RULES OF HEALTH, AND EVERY OTHER SUBJECT CONNECTED WITH DOMESTIC ECONOMY. BY MRS. MARY EATON. _EMBELLISHED WITH ENGRAVINGS._ BUNGAY: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. AND R. CHILDS. 1823. INTRODUCTION. NOTHING is more obvious, than that experience purchased by the sacrifice of independence is bought at too dear a rate. Yet this is the only consolation which remains to many females, while sitting on the ashes of a ruined fortune, and piercing themselves with the recollection of the numerous imprudencies into which they have been led, simply for the want of better information. Not because there is any want of valuable publications, for in the present age they abound; but rather because they contain such a variety of superfluous articles, and are too indiscriminate to become generally useful. A young female, just returned from the hymeneal altar, is ready to exclaim on the first perusal, as the philosopher did who visited the metropolis, 'How many things are here which I do not want!' The volume when purchased is often found to contain what is only or chiefly adapted to those who live in "king's houses," or "who fare sumptuously every day." Indeed, it has been the failing of most works of this nature, that they have either been too contracted, or too diffuse; detailed what was unnecessary, or treated superficially what was in fact of most consequence to the great bulk of mankind. If it be objected to the present work, that it exhibits nothing new; that the experiments are founded upon the simplest rules of nature; that most of the things have been rehearsed in various forms; it is not necessary to deny or to conceal the fact, every other consideration having been subordinated to one leading object, and that is GENERAL UTILITY. It is but justice however to add, that many of the articles are perfectly ORIGINAL, having been extracted from a variety of unpublished manuscripts, obligingly and expressly furnished in aid of the present undertaking. A great number of outlandish articles are intentionally omitted, as well as a farrago of French trifles and French nonsense, in order to render the work truly worthy of the patronage of the genuine English housekeeper. It may also fairly be presumed, that the superior advantages of the present work will immediately be recognized, not only as comprehending at once the whole theory of Domestic Management, but in a form never before attempted, and which of all others is best adapted to facilitate the acquisition of useful knowledge. The alphabetical arrangement presented in the following sheets, pointing out at once the article necessary to be consulted, prevents the drudgery of going through several pages in order to find it, and supplies by its convenience and universal adaptation, the desideratum so long needed in this species of composition. _Importance of Domestic Habits and Acquirements._ Though domestic occupations do not stand so high in the general esteem as they formerly did, there are none of greater importance in social life, and none when neglected that produce a larger portion of human misery. There was a time when ladies knew nothing beyond their own family concerns; but in the present day there are many who know nothing about them. If a young person has been sent to a fashionable boarding-school, it is ten to one, when she returns home, whether she can mend her own stockings, or boil a piece of meat, or do any thing more than preside over the flippant ceremonies of the tea-table. Each extreme ought to be avoided, and care taken to unite in the female character, the cultivation of talents and habits of usefulness. In every department those are entitled to the greatest praise, who best acquit themselves of the duties which their station requires, and this it is that gives true dignity to character. Happily indeed there are still great numbers in every situation, whose example combines in a high degree the ornamental with the useful. Instances may be found of ladies in the higher walks of life, who condescend to examine the accounts of their servants and housekeepers; and by overseeing and wisely directing the expenditure of that part of their husband's income which falls under their own inspection, avoid the inconveniences of embarrassed circumstances. How much more necessary then is domestic knowledge in those whose limited fortunes press on their attention considerations of the strictest economy. There ought to be a material difference in the degree of care which a person of a large and independent estate bestows on money concerns, and that of one in inferior circumstances: yet both may very commendably employ some portion of their time and thoughts on this subject. The custom of the times tends in some measure to abolish the distinctions in rank, the education given to young people being nearly the same in all. But though the leisure of the higher sort may very well be devoted to different accomplishments, the pursuits of those in a middle sphere, if less ornamental, would better secure their own happiness, and that of others connected with them. We sometimes bring up children in a manner calculated rather to fit them for the station we wish, than that which it is likely they will actually possess; and it is in all cases worth the while of parents to consider whether the expectation or hope of raising their offspring above their own situation be well founded. There is no opportunity of attaining a knowledge of family management at school, certainly; and during vacations, all subjects that might interfere with amusement are avoided. The consequence is, when a girl in the higher ranks returns home after completing her education, her introduction to the gay world, and a continued course of pleasures, persuade her at once that she was born to be the ornament of fashionable circles, rather than descend to the management of family concerns, though by that means she might in various ways increase the comfort and satisfaction of her parents. On the other hand, persons of an inferior sphere, and especially in the lower order of middling life, are almost always anxious to give their children such advantages of education as they themselves did not possess. Whether their indulgence be productive of the happiness so kindly aimed at, must be judged by the effects, which are not very favourable if what has been taught has not produced humility in herself, and increased gratitude and respect to her parents. Were a young woman brought to relish home society, and the calm delights of an easy and agreeable occupation, before she entered into the delusive scenes of pleasure, presented by the theatre and other dissipations, it is probable she would soon make a comparison much in favour of the former, especially if restraint did not give to the latter an additional relish. If our observations were extended to the marriage state, we should find a life of employment to be the source of unnumbered pleasures. To attend to the nursing, and at least the early instruction of children, and rear a healthy progeny in the ways of piety and usefulness; to preside over the family, and regulate the income allotted to its maintenance; to make home the agreeable retreat of a husband, fatigued by intercourse with a bustling world; to be his enlightened companion, and the chosen friend of his heart; these, these are woman's duties, and her highest honour. And when it is thus evident that high intellectual attainments may find room for their exercise in the multifarious occupations of the daughter, the wife, the mother, the mistress of the house; no one can reasonably urge that the female mind is contracted by domestic employ. It is however a great comfort that the duties of life are within the reach of humbler abilities, and that she whose chief aim it is to fulfil them, will very rarely fail to acquit herself well. _Domestic Expenditure._ The mistress of a family should always remember, that the welfare and good management of the house depend on the eye of the superior; and consequently that nothing is too trifling for her notice, whereby waste may be avoided. If a lady has never been accustomed while single to think of family management, let her not on that account fear that she cannot attain it. She may consult others who are experienced, and acquaint herself with the necessary quantities of the several articles of family expenditure, in proportion to the number it consists of, together with the value of the articles it may be necessary to procure. A minute account of the annual income, and the times of payment, should be taken in writing; likewise an estimate of the supposed amount of each item of expense. Those who are early accustomed to calculations of this kind, will acquire so accurate a knowledge of what their establishment demands, as will suggest the happy medium between prodigality and parsimony, without in the least subjecting themselves to the charge of meanness. Few branches of female education are so useful as great readiness at figures, though nothing is more commonly neglected. Accounts should be regularly kept, and not the smallest item be omitted to be entered. If balanced every week, or month at longest, the income and outgoings will easily be ascertained, and their proportions to each other be duly observed. Some people fix on stated sums to be appropriated to each different article, and keep the money separate for that purpose; as house, clothes, pocket, education of children, &c. Whichever way accounts be entered, a certain mode should be adopted, and strictly adhered to. Many women are unfortunately ignorant of the state of their husband's income; and others are only made acquainted with it when some speculative project, or profitable transaction, leads them to make a false estimate of what can be afforded. It too often happens also that both parties, far from consulting each other, squander money in ways that they would even wish to forget: whereas marriage should be a state of mutual and perfect confidence, with a similarity of pursuits, which would secure that happiness it was intended to bestow. There are so many valuable women who excel as wives, that it is fair to infer there would be few extravagant ones, if they were consulted by their husbands on subjects that concern the mutual interest of both parties. Many families have been reduced to poverty by the want of openness in the man, on the subject of his affairs; and though on these occasions the women are generally blamed, it has afterwards appeared that they never were allowed to make particular enquiries, nor suffered to reason upon what sometimes appeared to them imprudent. Many families have fully as much been indebted to the propriety of female management, for the degree of prosperity they have enjoyed, as to the knowledge and activity of the husband and the father. Ready money should be paid for all such things as come not into weekly bills, and even for them some sort of check is necessary. The best places for purchasing goods should also be attended to. On some articles a discount of five per cent is allowed in London and other large cities, and those who thus pay are usually best served. Under an idea of buying cheap, many go to new shops; but it is safest to deal with people of established credit, who do not dispose of goods by underselling. To make tradesmen wait for their money is very injurious, besides that a higher price must be paid: and in long bills, articles never bought are often charged. If goods are purchased at ready-money price, and regularly entered, the exact state of the expenditure will be known with ease; for it is delay of payment that occasions so much confusion. A common-place book should always be at hand, in which to enter such hints of useful knowledge, and other observations, as are given by sensible experienced people. Want of attention to what is advised, or supposing things to be too minute to be worth regarding, are the causes why so much ignorance prevails on necessary subjects, among those who are not backward in frivolous ones. It is very necessary for the mistress of a family to be informed of the price and quality of all articles in common use, and of the best times and places for purchasing them. She should also be acquainted with the comparative prices of provisions, in order that she may be able to substitute those that are most reasonable, when they will answer as well, for others of the same kind, but which are more costly. A false notion of economy leads many to purchase as bargains, what is not wanted, and sometimes never is used. Were this error avoided, more money would remain of course for other purposes. It is not unusual among lower dealers to put off a larger quantity of goods, by assurances that they are advancing in price; and many who supply fancy articles are so successful in persuasion, that purchasers not unfrequently go beyond their original intention, and suffer inconvenience by it. Some things are certainly better for keeping, and should be laid in accordingly; but this applies only to articles in constant consumption. Unvarying rules cannot be given, for people ought to form their conduct on their circumstances. Some ladies charge their account with giving out to a superintending servant such quantities of household articles, as by observation and calculation they know to be sufficient, reserving for their own key the large stock of things usually laid in for extensive families in the country. Should there be more visitors than usual, they can easily account for an increased consumption, and vice versa. Such a degree of judgment will be respectable even in the eye of domestics, if not interested in the ignorance of their employers; and if they are, their services will not compensate the want of honesty. A bill of parcels and receipt should be required, even if the money be paid at the time of purchase; and to avoid mistakes, let the goods be compared with these when brought home. Though it is very disagreeable to suspect any one's honesty, and perhaps mistakes are often unintentional; yet it is proper to weigh meat and grocery articles when brought in, and compare them with the charge. The butcher should be ordered to send the weight with the meat, and the checks regularly filed and examined. A ticket should be exchanged for every loaf of bread, which when returned will shew the number to be paid for, as tallies may be altered, unless one is kept by each party. Those who are served with brewer's beer, or any other articles not paid for weekly or on delivery, should keep a book for entering the dates: which will not only serve to prevent overcharges, but will show the whole year's consumption at one view. `Poole's complete Housekeeper's Account book,' is very well adapted to this purpose. An inventory of furniture, linen, and china, should be kept, and the things examined by it twice a year, or oftener if there be a change of servants; into each of whose care the articles are to be entrusted, with a list, the same as is done with plate. Tickets of parchment with the family name, numbered, and specifying what bed it belongs to, should be sewed on each feather bed, bolster, pillow, and blanket. Knives, forks, and house cloths are often deficient: these accidents might be obviated, if an article at the head of every list required the former to be produced whole or broken, and the marked part of the linen, though all the others should be worn out. Glass is another article that requires care, though a tolerable price is given for broken flint-glass. Trifle dishes, butter stands, &c. may be had at a lower price than cut glass, made in moulds, of which there is a great variety that look extremely well, if not placed near the more beautiful articles. _Choice and Treatment of Servants._ The regularity and good management of a family will very much depend on the character of the servants who are employed in it, and frequently one of base and dishonest principles will corrupt and ruin all the rest. No orders, however wise or prudent, will be duly carried into effect, unless those who are to execute them are to be depended on. It behoves every mistress therefore to be extremely careful whom she takes into her service; to be very minute in investigating character, and equally cautious and scrupulously just in giving recommendations of others. Were this attended to, many bad people would be incapacitated for doing mischief, by abusing the trust reposed in them. It may fairly be asserted that the robbery, or waste, which is only a milder term for the unfaithfulness of a servant, will be laid to the charge of that master or mistress, who knowing or having well-founded suspicions of such faults, is prevailed upon by false pity, or entreaty, to slide such servant into another place. There are however some who are unfortunately capricious, and often refuse to give a character because they are displeased with the servant leaving; but this is an unpardonable violation of the right of a servant, who having no inheritance, is dependant on her fair name for employment. To refuse countenance to the evil, and to encourage the good servant, are equally due to society at large; and such as are honest, frugal, and attentive to their duties, should be liberally rewarded, which would encourage merit, and stimulate servants to acquit themselves with propriety. The contrary conduct is often visited with a kind of retributive justice in the course of a few years. The extravagant and idle in servitude are ill prepared for the industry and sobriety on which their own future welfare so essentially depends. Their faults, and the attendant punishment come home, when they have children of their own; and sometimes much sooner. They will see their own folly and wickedness perpetuated in their offspring, whom they must not expect to be better than the example and instruction given by themselves. Those who have been faithful and industrious in service, will generally retain those habits in their own families, after they are married; while those who have borne an opposite character are seldom successful in the world, but more frequently reduced to beggary and want. It is in general a good maxim, to select servants not younger than thirty. Before that age, however comfortable you may endeavour to make them, their want of experience, and the hope of something still better, prevent their being satisfied with their present state. After they have had the benefit of experience, if they are tolerably comfortable, they will endeavour to deserve the smiles of even a moderately kind master or mistress, for fear they may change for the worse. Life may indeed be very fairly divided into the seasons of hope and fear. In youth, we hope every thing may be right: in age, we fear that every thing may be wrong. At any rate it is desirable to engage a good and capable servant, for one of this description eats no more than a bad one. Considering also how much waste is occasioned by provisions being dressed in a slovenly and unskilful manner, and how much a good cook, to whom the conduct of the kitchen is confided, can save by careful management, it is clearly expedient to give better wages for one of this description, than to obtain a cheaper article which in the end will inevitably become more expensive. It is likewise a point of prudence to invite the honesty and industry of domestics, by setting them an example of liberality in this way; nothing is more likely to convince them of the value that is attached to talent and good behaviour, or to bind them to the interest of those whom they are engaged to serve. The office of the cook especially is attended with so many difficulties, so many disgusting and disagreeable circumstances, and even dangers, in order to procure us one of the greatest enjoyments of human life, that it is but justice to reward her attention and services, by rendering her situation every way as comfortable as we can. Those who think, that to protect and encourage virtue is the best preventive to vice, should give their female servants liberal wages. How else can they provide themselves the necessary articles of clothing, and save a little to help themselves in a time of a sickness, when out of place, or amidst the infirmities of age. The want of liberality and of justice in this respect is a principal source of the distress and of the degradation to which multitudes of females are reduced, and who are driven at length to seek an asylum in Foundling Hospitals and Female Penitentiaries. Good wages however are not all that a faithful servant requires; kind treatment is of far greater consequence. Human nature is the same in all stations. If you can convince your servants that you have a generous and considerate regard for their health and comfort, there is no reason to imagine that they will be insensible to the good they receive. Be careful therefore to impose no commands but what are reasonable, nor reprove but with justice and temper; the best way to ensure which is, not to lecture them till at least one day after the offence has been committed. If they have any particular hardship to endure in service, let them see that you are concerned for the necessity of imposing it. Servants are more likely to be praised into good conduct, than scolded out of bad behaviour. Always commend them when they do right; and to cherish in them the desire of pleasing, it is proper to show them that you are pleased. By such conduct ordinary servants will often be converted into good ones, and there are few so hardened as not to feel gratified when they are kindly and liberally treated. At the same time avoid all approaches to familiarity, which to a proverb is accompanied with contempt, and soon destroys the principle of obedience. When servants are sick, you are to remember that you are their patron, as well as their master or mistress; not only remit their labour, but give them all the assistance of food and physic, and every comfort in your power. Tender assiduity about an invalid is half a cure; it is a balsam to the mind, which has the most powerful effect on the body; it soothes the sharpest pains, and strengthens beyond the richest cordial. The practice of some persons in sending home poor servants to a miserable cottage, or to a workhouse, in time of illness, hoping for their services if they should happen to recover, while they contribute nothing towards it, is contrary to every principle of justice and humanity. Particular attention ought to be paid to the health of the cook, not only for her own sake, but also because healthiness and cleanliness are essential to the duties of her office, and to the wholesomeness of the dishes prepared by her hand. Besides the deleterious vapours of the charcoal, which soon undermine the health of the heartiest person, the cook has to endure the glare of a scorching fire, and the smoke, so baneful to the complexion and the eyes; so that she is continually surrounded with inevitable dangers, while her most commendable achievements pass not only without reward, but frequently without even thanks. The most consummate cook is seldom noticed by the master, or heard of by the guests, who, while they eagerly devour his dainties, and drink his wine, care very little who dressed the one or sent the other. The same observations apply to the kitchen maid or second cook, who have in large families the hardest place, and are worse paid, verifying the old proverb, 'the more work the less wages.' If there be any thing right, the cook has the praise, when any praise is given: if any thing be wrong, the kitchen maid has the blame. For this humble domestic is expected by the cook to take the entire management of all roasts and boils, fish and vegetables, which together constitute the principal part of an Englishman's dinner. The master or mistress who wishes to enjoy the rare luxury of a table well served in the best stile, should treat the cook as a friend; should watch over her health with peculiar care, and be sure that her taste does not suffer, by her stomach being deranged by bilious attacks. A small proportion of that attention usually bestowed on a favourite horse, or even a dog, would suffice to regulate her animal system. Cleanliness, and a proper ventilation to carry off smoke and steam, should be particularly attended to in the construction of a kitchen. The grand scene of action, the fire-place, should be placed where it may receive plenty of light. Too often the contrary practice has prevailed, and the poor cook is continually basted with her own perspiration; but a good state of health can never be preserved under such circumstances. _Necessity of Order and Regularity._ No family can be properly managed, where the strictest order and regularity is not observed. 'A house divided against itself cannot stand;' and if the direction of its affairs be left to accident or chance, it will be equally fatal to its comfort and prosperity. It is the part of a prudent manager to see all that is doing, and to foresee and direct all that should be done. The weakest capacity can perceive what is wrong after it has occurred; but discernment and discretion are necessary to anticipate and prevent confusion and disorder, by a well-regulated system of prompt and vigorous management. If time be wisely economised, and the useful affairs transacted before amusements are allowed, and a regular plan of employment be daily laid down, a great deal may be done without hurry or fatigue. The retrospect would also be most pleasant at the end of the year, to be able to enumerate all the valuable acquirements made, and the just and benevolent actions performed, under the active and energetic management of the mistress of a family. As highly conducive to this end, early and regular hours should be kept in the evening, and an early hour especially for breakfast in the morning. There will then be more time to execute the orders that may be given, which in general should comprise the business of the day; and servants, by doing their work with ease, will be more equal to it, and fewer of them will be necessary. It is worthy of notice, that the general expense will be reduced, and much time saved, if every thing be kept in its proper place, applied to its proper use, and mended, when the nature of the accident will allow, as soon as broken or out of repair. A proper quantity of household articles should always be ready, and more bought in before the others are consumed, to prevent inconvenience, especially in the country. Much trouble and irregularity would be prevented when there is company to dinner, if the servants were required to prepare the table and sideboard in similar order daily. As some preparation is necessary for accidental visitors, care should be taken to have constantly in readiness a few articles suited to such occasions, which if properly managed will be attended with little expense, and much convenience. _Bad habit of keeping Spare Rooms._ Though persons of large fortune may support an expensive establishment without inconvenience, it ill becomes those in the middle rank to imitate such an example. Nothing can be more ludicrous than the contrast exhibited between two families of this description; the one living in the dignified splendour, and with the liberal hospitality, that wealth can command; the other in a stile of tinsel show, without the real appropriate distinctions belonging to rank and fortune. They are lavish, but not liberal, often sacrificing independence to support dissipation, and betraying the dearest interests of society for the sake of personal vanity, and gratifying what is significantly termed 'the pride of life.' The great point for comfort and respectability is, that all the household economy should be uniform, not displaying a parade of show in one thing, and a total want of comfort in another. Besides the contemptible appearance that this must have to every person of good sense, it is often productive of fatal consequences. How common it is, in large towns especially, that for the vanity of having a showy drawing-room to receive company, the family are confined to a close back room, where they have scarcely air or light, the want of which is essentially injurious to health. To keep rooms for show belongs to the higher classes, where the house is sufficiently commodious for the family, and to admit of this also: but in private dwellings, to shut up perhaps the only room that is fit to live in, is to be guilty of a kind of self-destruction; and yet how frequently this consideration escapes persons who are disposed to render their family every comfort, but they have a grate, a carpet, and chairs too fine for every day's use. What a reflection, when nursing a sick child, to think that it may be the victim of a bright grate, and a fine carpet! Or, what is equally afflicting, to see all the children perhaps rickety and diseased from the same cause! Keeping a spare bed for ornament, rather than for use, is often attended with similar consequences. A stranger or a friend is allowed to occupy it once in so many months, and he does it at the peril of his health, and even of his life. Another bad effect of keeping spare rooms is the seeing more company, and in a more expensive manner, than is compatible with the general convenience of the family, introducing with it an expense in dress, and a dissipation of time, from which it suffers in various ways. Not the least of these is the neglect of parental instruction, which it is attempted to supply by sending the children at an improper age to school; the girls where they had better never go, and the boys where they get but little good, and perhaps are all the worse for mending. Social intercourse is not improved by parade, but quite the contrary; real friends, and the pleasantest kind of acquaintance, those who like to be social, are repulsed by it. The failure therefore is general, involving the loss of nearly all that is valuable in society, by an abortive attempt to become fashionable. _Setting out a Table._ The direction of a Table is no inconsiderable part of a lady's concern, as it involves judgment in expenditure, respectability of appearance, the comfort of her husband, and those who partake of their hospitality. It is true that the mode of covering a table, and providing for the guests, is merely a matter of taste, materially different in a variety of instances; yet nothing can be more ruinous of real comfort than the too common custom of making a profusion and a parade, unsuited not only to the circumstances of the host, but to the number of the guests; or more fatal to true hospitality than the multiplicity of dishes which luxury has made fashionable at the tables of the great, the wealthy, and the ostentatious, who are often neither great, nor wealthy, nor wise. Such excessive preparation, instead of being a compliment to the party invited, is nothing better than an indirect offence, conveying a tacit insinuation that it is absolutely necessary to provide such delicacies to bribe the depravity of their palates, when we desire the pleasure of their company, and that society must be purchased on dishonourable terms before it can be enjoyed. When twice as much cooking is undertaken as there are servants, or conveniences in the kitchen to do it properly, dishes must be dressed long before the dinner hour, and stand by spoiling; and why prepare for eight or ten more than is sufficient for twenty or thirty visitors? 'Enough is as good as a feast;' and a prudent provider, avoiding what is extravagant and superfluous, may entertain her friends three times as often, and ten times as well. Perhaps there are few incidents in which the respectability of a man is more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may accidentally bring home a visitor. And here, it is not the multiplicity of articles, but the choice, the dressing, and the neat appearance of the whole that is principally regarded. Every one is to live as he can afford, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but if two or three dishes are well served, with the usual sauces, the table linen clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the expectation of the husband and the friend will be gratified, because no irregularity of domestic arrangement will disturb the social intercourse. The same observation holds good on a larger scale. In all situations of life the entertainment should be no less suited to the station than to the fortune of the entertainer, and to the number and rank of those invited. The manner of Carving is not only a very necessary branch of information, to enable a lady to do the honours of the table, but makes a considerable difference in the consumption of a family; and though in large parties she is so much assisted as to render this knowledge apparently of less consequence, yet she must at times feel the deficiency; and should not fail to acquaint herself with an attainment, the advantage of which is evident every day. Some people haggle meat so much, as not to be able to help half a dozen persons decently from a large tongue, or a sirloin of beef; and the dish goes away with the appearance of having been gnawed by dogs. Habit alone can make good carvers; but some useful directions on this subject will be found in the following pages, under the article Carving. Half the trouble of waiting at table may be saved, by giving each guest two plates, two knives and forks, two pieces of bread, a spoon, a wine glass, and a tumbler; and by placing the wines and sauces in the centre of the table, one visitor may help another. If the party is large, the founders of the feast should sit about the middle of the table, instead of at each end. They will then enjoy the pleasure of attending equally to all their friends; and being in some degree relieved from the occupation of carving, will have an opportunity of administering all those little attentions which contribute so much to the comfort of their guests. Dinner tables are seldom sufficiently lighted, or attended; an active waiter will have enough to do to attend upon half a dozen persons. There should be half as many candles as there are guests, and their flame should not be more than eighteen inches above the table. The modern candelabras answer no other purpose than that of giving an appearance of pomp and magnificence, and seem intended to illuminate the ceiling, rather than to shed light upon the plates. _Quality of Provisions to be regarded._ The leading consideration about food ought always to be its wholesomeness. Cookery may produce savoury and elegant looking dishes, without their possessing any of the real qualities of food. It is at the same time both a serious and a ludicrous reflection, that it should be thought to do honour to our friends and to ourselves to set out a table where indigestion with all its train of evils, such as fever, rheumatism, gout, and the whole catalogue of human diseases, lie lurking in almost every dish. Yet this is both done, and taken as a compliment. The practice of flavouring custards, for example, with laurel leaves, and adding fruit kernels to the poison of spirituous liquors, though far too common, is attended with imminent danger: for let it be remembered, that the flavour given by laurel essence is the most fatal kind of poison. Children, and delicate grown-up persons, have often died suddenly from this cause, even where the quantity of the deleterious mixture was but small. How infinitely preferable is a dinner of far less show, where nobody need to be afraid of what they are eating; and such a one will always be genteel and respectable. If a person can give his friend only a leg of mutton, there is nothing of which to be ashamed, provided it is good and well dressed. Nothing can be of greater importance to the mistress of a family, than the preservation of its health; but there is no way of securing this desirable object with any degree of certainty, except her eye watches over every part of the culinary process. The subject of cookery is too generally neglected by mistresses, as something beneath their notice; or if engaged in, it is to contrive a variety of mischievous compositions, both savoury and sweet, to recommend their own ingenuity. Yet it is quite evident that every good housewife ought to be well acquainted with this important branch of domestic management, and to take upon herself at least its entire direction and controul. This is a duty which her husband, children, and domestics, have a right to expect at her hands; and which a solicitude for their health and comfort will induce her to discharge with fidelity. If cookery has been worth studying as a sensual gratification, it is much more so as the means of securing the greatest of human blessings. A house fitted up with clean good furniture, the kitchen provided with clean wholesome-looking cooking utensils, good fires, in grates that give no anxiety lest a good fire should spoil them, clean good table-linen, the furniture of the table and sideboard good of the kind without ostentation, and a well-dressed plain dinner, bespeak a sound judgment and correct taste in a private family, that place it on a footing of respectability with the first characters in the country. It is only conforming to our sphere, not vainly attempting to be above it, that can command true respect. ================================================================== _Explanation of the Plate._ VENISON. 1. Haunch. |2. Neck. |3. Shoulder. |4. Breast. BEEF. | 7. Thick Flank. |13. Shoulder or Leg _Hind Quarter._ | 8. Thin Flank. | of Mutton Piece. 1. Sirloin. | 9. Leg. |14. Brisket 2. Rump. |10. Fore Rib; five Ribs. |15. Clod. 3. Edge Bone. | |16. Neck or Sticking 4. Buttock. | _Fore Quarter._ | Piece. 5. Mouse Buttock.|11. Middle Rib; four Ribs.|17. Shin. 6. Veiny Piece. |12. Chuck; three Ribs. |18. Cheek. VEAL. 1. Loin, best End. | 6. Neck, best End. 2. Loin, Chump End. | 7. Neck, Scrag End. 3. Fillet. | 8. Blade Bone. 4. Hind Knuckle. | 9. Breast, best End. 5. Fore Knuckle. |10. Breast, Brisket End. PORK. 1. Sparerib. |4. Fore Loin. 2. Hand. |5. Hind Loin. 3. Belly or Spring. |6. Leg. MUTTON. 1. Leg. |4. Neck, best End. |7. Breast. 2. Loin, best End. |5. Neck, Scrag End. |A Chine is two Loins. 3. Loin, Chump End. |6. Shoulder. |A Saddle is two Necks. [Illustration] THE COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER'S COMPLETE AND UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY. ACID, lemon: a good substitute for this expensive article, suitable for soups, fish sauces, and many other purposes, may be made of a dram of lump sugar pounded, and six drops of lemon essence, to three ounces of crystal vinegar. The flavour of the lemon may also be communicated to the vinegar, by an infusion of lemon peel. ACIDS, to remove stains caused by acids. See STAINS. ACCIDENTS BY FIRE. Much mischief frequently arises from the want of a little presence of mind on such occasions, when it is well known that a small quantity of water speedily and properly applied, would obviate great danger. The moment an alarm of fire is given in a house, some blankets should be wetted in a tub of water, and spread on the floor of the room where the fire is, and the flames beaten out with a wet blanket. Two or three pails of water thus applied, will be more effectual than a larger quantity poured on in the usual way, and at a later period. If a chimney be on fire, the readiest way is to cover the whole front of the fire-place with a wet blanket, or thrust it into the throat of the chimney, or make a complete inclosure with the chimney-board. By whatever means the current of air can be stopped below, the burning soot will be put out as rapidly as a candle is by an extinguisher, and upon the same principle. A quantity of salt thrown into water will increase its power in quenching the flames, and muddy water is better for this purpose than clear water. Children, and especially females, should be informed, that as flame tends upward, it is extremely improper for them to stand upright, in case their clothes take fire; and as the accident generally begins with the lower part of the dress, the flames meeting additional fuel as they rise, become more fatal, and the upper part of the body necessarily sustains the greatest injury. If there be no assistance at hand in a case of this kind, the sufferer should instantly throw herself down, and roll or lie upon her clothes. A carpet, hearth rug, or green baize table cloth, quickly wrapped round the head and body, will be an effectual preservative; but where these are not at hand, the other method may easily be adopted. The most obvious means of preventing the female dress from catching fire, is that of wire fenders of sufficient height to hinder the coals and sparks from flying into the room; and nurseries in particular should never be without them. Destructive fires often happen from the thoughtlessness of persons leaving a poker in the grate, which afterward falls out and rolls on the floor or carpet. This evil may in a great measure be prevented by having a small cross of iron welded on the poker, immediately above the square part, about an inch and a half each way. Then if the poker slip out of the fire, it will probably catch at the edge of the fender; or if not, it cannot endanger the floor, as the hot end of the poker will be kept from it by resting on the cross. In cases of extreme danger, where the fire is raging in the lower part of the house, a Fire Escape is of great importance. But where this article is too expensive, or happens not to be provided, a strong rope should be fastened to something in an upper apartment, having knots or resting places for the hands and feet, that in case of alarm it may be thrown out of the window; or if children and infirm persons were secured by a noose at the end of it, they might be lowered down in safety. No family occupying lofty houses in confined situations ought to be without some contrivance of this sort, and which may be provided at a very trifling expense. Horses are often so intimidated by fire, that they have perished before they could be removed from the spot; but if a bridle or a halter be put upon them, they might be led out of the stable as easily as on common occasions. Or if the harness be thrown over a draught horse, or the saddle placed on the back of a saddle horse, the same object may be accomplished. ADULTERATIONS in baker's bread may be detected, by mixing it with lemon juice or strong vinegar: if the bread contains chalk, whiting, or any other alkali, it will immediately produce a fermentation. If ashes, alum, bones, or jalap be suspected, slice the crumb of a loaf very thin, set it over the fire with water, and let it boil gently a long time. Take it off, pour the water into a vessel, and let it stand till nearly cold; then pour it gently out, and in the sediment will be seen the ingredients which have been mixed. The alum will be dissolved in the water, and may be extracted from it. If jalap has been used, it will form a thick film on the top, and the heavy ingredients will sink to the bottom. See BEER, FLOUR, SPIRITS, WINE. AGUE. Persons afflicted with the ague ought in the first instance to take an emetic, and a little opening medicine. During the shaking fits, drink plenty of warm gruel, and afterwards take some powder of bark steeped in red wine. Or mix thirty grains of snake root, forty of wormwood, and half an ounce of jesuit's bark powdered, in half a pint of port wine: put the whole into a bottle, and shake it well together. Take one fourth part first in the morning, and another at bed time, when the fit is over, and let the dose be often repeated, to prevent a return of the complaint. If this should not succeed, mix a quarter of an ounce each of finely powdered Peruvian bark, grains of paradise, and long pepper, in a quarter of a pound of treacle. Take a third part of it as soon as the cold fit begins, and wash it down with a glass of brandy. As the cold fit goes off, and the fever approaches, take a second third part, with the like quantity of brandy; and on the following morning fasting, swallow the remainder, with the same quantity of brandy as before. Three doses of this excellent electuary have cured hundreds of persons, and seldom been known to fail. To children under nine years of age, only half the above quantity must be given. Try also the following experiment. When the cold fit is on, take an egg beaten up in a glass of brandy, and go to bed directly. This very simple recipe has proved successful in a number of instances, where more celebrated preparations have failed. AIR. Few persons are sufficiently aware, that an unwholesome air is the common cause of disease. They generally pay some attention to what they eat and drink, but seldom regard what goes into the lungs, though the latter often proves more fatal than the former. Air vitiated by the different processes of respiration, combustion, and putrefaction, or which is suffered to stagnate, is highly injurious to health, and productive of contagious disorders. Whatever greatly alters its degree of heat or cold, also renders it unwholesome. If too hot, it produces bilious and inflammatory affections: if too cold, it obstructs perspiration, and occasions rheumatism, coughs, and colds, and other diseases of the throat and breast. A damp air disposes the body to agues, intermitting fevers, and dropsies, and should be studiously avoided. Some careful housewives, for the sake of bright and polished stoves, frequently expose the health of the family in an improper manner; but fires should always be made, if in the height of summer, when the weather is wet or cold, to render the air wholesome; and let the fire-irons take care of themselves. No house can be wholesome, unless the air has a free passage through it: dwellings ought therefore to be daily ventilated, by opening the windows and admitting a current of fresh air into every room. Instead of making up beds as soon as people rise out of them, a practice much too common, they ought to be turned down, and exposed to dry fresh air from the open windows. This would expel any noxious vapours, and promote the health of the family. Houses surrounded with high walls, trees, or plantations, are rendered unwholesome. Wood, not only obstructs the free current of air, but sends forth exhalations, which render it damp and unhealthy. Houses situated on low ground, or near lakes and ponds of stagnant water, are the same: the air is charged with putrid exhalations, which produce the most malignant effects. Persons obliged to occupy such situations should live well, and pay the strictest regard to cleanliness. The effluvia arising from church-yards and other burying grounds is very infectious; and parish churches, in which many corpses are interred, become tainted with an atmosphere so corrupt, especially in the spring, when the ground begins to grow warm, that it is one of the principal sources of putrid fevers, which so often prevail at that season of the year. Such places ought to be kept perfectly clean, and frequently ventilated, by opening opposite doors and windows; and no human dwelling should be allowed in the immediate vicinity of a burying ground.--The air of large towns and cities is greatly contaminated, by being repeatedly respired; by the vapours arising from dirty streets, the smoke of chimneys, and the innumerable putrid substances occasioned by the crowd of inhabitants. Persons of a delicate habit should avoid cities as they would the plague; or if this be impracticable, they should go abroad as much as possible, frequently admit fresh air into their rooms, and be careful to keep them very clean. If they can sleep in the country, so much the better, as breathing free air in the night will in some degree make up for the want of it in the day time. Air which stagnates in mines, wells, and cellars, is extremely noxious; it kills nearly as quick as lightning, and ought therefore to be carefully avoided. Accidents occasioned by foul air might often be prevented, by only letting down into such places a lighted candle, and forbearing to enter when it is perceived to go out. The foul air may be expelled by leaving the place open a sufficient time, or pouring into it a quantity of boiling water. Introducing fresh air into confined rooms and places, by means of ventilators, is one of the most important of modern improvements.--Dyers, gilders, plumbers, refiners of metals, and artisans employed over or near a charcoal fire, are exposed to great danger from the vitiated state of the air. To avert the injury to which their lungs are thus exposed, it would be proper to place near them a flat open vessel filled with lime water, and to renew it as often as a variegated film appears on the surface. This powerfully attracts and absorbs the noxious effluvia emitted by the burning charcoal.--But if fresh air be necessary for those in health, much more so for the sick, who often lose their lives for want of it. The notion that sick people require to be kept hot is very common, but no less dangerous, for no medicine is so beneficial to them as fresh air, in ordinary cases, especially if administered with prudence. Doors and windows are not to be opened at random; but the air should be admitted gradually, and chiefly by opening the windows of some other apartment which communicates with the sick room. The air may likewise be purified by wetting a cloth in water impregnated with quick lime, then hanging it in the room till it becomes dry, and removing it as often as it appears necessary. In chronic diseases, especially those of the lungs, where there is no inflammation, a change of air is much to be recommended. Independently of any other circumstance, it has often proved highly beneficial; and such patients have breathed more freely, even though removed to a damp and confined situation. In short, fresh air contains the vitals of health, and must be sought for in every situation, as the only medium of human existence. ALABASTER. The proper way of cleaning elegant chimney pieces, or other articles made of alabaster, is to reduce some pumice stone to a very fine powder, and mix it up with verjuice. Let it stand two hours, then dip into it a sponge, and rub the alabaster with it: wash it with fresh water and a linen cloth, and dry it with clean linen rags. ALAMODE BEEF. Choose a piece of thick flank of a fine heifer or ox. Cut some fat bacon into long slices nearly an inch thick, but quite free from yellow. Dip them into vinegar, and then into a seasoning ready prepared, of salt, black pepper, allspice, and a clove, all in fine powder, with parsley, chives, thyme, savoury, and knotted marjoram, shred as small as possible, and well mixed. With a sharp knife make holes deep enough to let in the larding; then rub the beef over with the seasoning, and bind it up tight with a tape. Set it in a well tinned pot over a fire, or rather a stove: three or four onions must be fried brown and put to the beef, with two or three carrots, one turnip, a head or two of celery, and a small quantity of water. Let it simmer gently ten or twelve hours, or till extremely tender, turning the meat twice. Put the gravy into a pan, remove the fat, keep the beef covered, then put them together, and add a glass of port wine. Take off the tape, and serve with vegetables; or strain them off, and cut them into dice for garnish. Onions roasted, and then stewed with the gravy, are a great improvement. A tea-cupful of vinegar should be stewed with the beef.--Another way is to take about eleven pounds of the mouse-buttock, or clod of beef, or a blade bone, or the sticking piece, and cut it into pieces of three or four ounces each. Put two or three ounces of beef drippings, and two large onions, into a large deep stewpan; as soon as it is quite hot, flour the meat, put it into the stewpan, and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon. When it has been on about ten minutes, dredge it with flour, and keep doing so till you have stirred in as much as will thicken it. Then cover it with about a gallon of boiling water, adding it by degrees, and stirring it together. Skim it when it boils, and then put in a dram of ground black pepper, and two drams of allspice. Set the pan by the side of the fire, or at a distance over it, and let it stew very slowly for about three hours. When the meat is sufficiently tender, put it into a tureen, and send it to table with a nice sallad. ALE, allowing eight bushels of malt to the hogshead, should be brewed in the beginning of March. Pour on at once the whole quantity of hot water, not boiling, and let it infuse three hours close covered. Mash it in the first half hour, and let it stand the remainder of the time. Run it on the hops, half a pound to the bushel, previously infused in water, and boil them with the wort two hours. Cool a pailful after it has boiled, add to it two quarts of yeast, which will prepare it for putting to the rest when ready, the same night or the next day. When tunned, and the beer has done working, cover the bung-hole with paper. If the working requires to be stopped, dry a pound and a half of hops before the fire, put them into the bung-hole, and fasten it up. Ale should stand twelve months in casks, and twelve in bottles, before it be drank; and if well brewed, it will keep and be very fine for eight or ten years. It will however be ready for use in three or four months; and if the vent-peg be never removed, it will have strength and spirit to the very last. But if bottled, great care must be taken to have the bottles perfectly sweet and clean, and the corks of the best quality. If the ale requires to be refined, put two ounces of isinglass shavings to soak in a quart of the liquor, and beat it with a whisk every day till dissolved. Draw off a third part of the cask, and mix the above with it: likewise a quarter of an ounce of pearl ashes, one ounce of salt of tartar calcined, and one ounce of burnt alum powdered. Stir it well, then return the liquor into the cask, and stir it with a clean stick. Stop it up, and in a few days it will be fine. See BEER, BREWING. ALE POSSET. Beat up the yolks of ten eggs, and the whites of four; then put them into a quart of cream, mixed with a pint of ale. Grate some nutmeg into it, sweeten it with sugar, set it on the fire, and keep it stirring. When it is thick, and before it boils, take it off, and pour it into a china bason. This is called King William's Posset. A very good one may however be made by warming a pint of milk, with a bit of white bread in it, and then warming a pint of ale with a little sugar and nutmeg. When the milk boils, pour it upon the ale; let it stand a few minutes to clear, and it will make a fine cordial. ALEGAR. Take some good sweet wort before it is hopped, put it into a jar, and a little yeast when it becomes lukewarm, and cover it over. In three or four days it will have done fermenting; set it in the sun, and it will be fit for use in three or four months, or much sooner, if fermented with sour yeast, and mixed with an equal quantity of sour ale. ALLSPICE, used as an essence, is made of a dram of the oil of pimento, apothecaries' measure, mixed by degrees with two ounces of strong spirits of wine. The tincture, which has a finer flavour than the essence, is made of three ounces of bruised allspice, steeped in a quart of brandy. Shake it occasionally for a fortnight, and then pour off the clear liquor. A few drops of either will be a grateful addition to a pint of gravy, or mulled wine, or in any case where allspice is used. ALMOND BISCUITS. Blanch a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, and pound them fine in a mortar, sprinkling them from time to time with a little fine sugar. Then beat them a quarter of an hour with an ounce of flour, the yolks of three eggs, and four ounces of fine sugar, adding afterward the whites of four eggs whipped to a froth. Prepare some paper moulds like boxes, about the length of two fingers square; butter them within, and put in the biscuits, throwing over them equal quantities of flour and powdered sugar. Bake them in a cool oven; and when of a good colour, take them out of the papers. Bitter almond biscuits are made in the same manner, except with this difference; that to every two ounces of bitter almonds must be added an ounce of sweet almonds. ALMOND CHEESECAKES. Blanch and pound four ounces of almonds, and a few bitter ones, with a spoonful of water. Add four ounces of pounded sugar, a spoonful of cream, and the whites of two eggs well beaten. Mix all as quick as possible, put it into very small pattipans, and bake in a tolerable warm oven, under twenty minutes. Or blanch and pound four ounces of almonds, with a little orange-flower or rose-water; then stir in the yolks of six and the whites of three eggs well beaten, five ounces of butter warmed, the peel of a lemon grated, and a little of the juice, sweetened with fine moist sugar. When well mixed, bake in a delicate paste, in small pans. Another way is, to press the whey from as much curd as will make two dozen small cheesecakes. Then put the curd on the back of a sieve, and with half an ounce of butter rub it through with the back of a spoon; put to it six yolks and three whites of eggs, and a few bitter almonds pounded, with as much sugar as will sweeten the curd. Mix with it the grated rind of a lemon, and a glass of brandy; put a puff-paste into the pans, and ten minutes will bake them. ALMOND CREAM. Beat in a mortar four ounces of sweet almonds, and a few bitter ones, with a tea-spoonful of water to prevent oiling, both having first been blanched. Put the paste to a quart of cream, and add the juice of three lemons sweetened; beat it with a whisk to a froth, which take off on the shallow part of a sieve, and fill the glasses with some of the liquor and the froth. ALMOND CUSTARD. Blanch and beat four ounces of almonds fine, with a spoonful of water. Beat a pint of cream with two spoonfuls of rose-water, put them to the yolks of four eggs, and as much sugar as will make it tolerably sweet. Then add the almonds, stir it all over a slow fire till of a proper thickness, without boiling, and pour it into cups. ALMOND JUMBLES. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, with half a pound of loaf sugar powdered, a quarter of a pound of almonds beat fine with rose-water, the yolks of two eggs, and two spoonfuls of cream. Make them all into a paste, roll it into any shape, and bake on tins. Ice them with a mixture of fine sugar, rose-water, and the white of an egg, beat up together, and lay the icing on with a feather, before the jumbles are put into the oven. ALMOND PUDDINGS. Beat half a pound of sweet and a few bitter almonds with a spoonful of water; then mix four ounces of butter, four eggs, two spoonfuls of cream, warm with the butter, one of brandy, a little nutmeg and sugar to taste. Butter some cups, half fill them, and bake the puddings. Serve with butter, wine, and sugar.--For baked almond puddings, beat a quarter of a pound of sweet and a few bitter almonds with a little wine, the yolks of six eggs, the peel of two lemons grated, six ounces of butter, nearly a quart of cream, and the juice of one lemon. When well mixed, bake it half an hour, with paste round the dish, and serve it with pudding sauce. Small almond puddings are made of eight ounces of almonds, and a few bitter ones, pounded with a spoonful of water. Then mix four ounces of butter warmed, four yolks and two whites of eggs, sugar to taste, two spoonfuls of cream, and one of brandy. Mix it together well, and bake in little cups buttered. ALMONDS BURNT. Add three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar to a pound of almonds, picked and cleaned, and a few spoonfuls of water. Set them on the fire, keep them stirring till the sugar is candied, and they are done. ALMONDS ICED. Make an iceing similar to that for twelfth-night cakes, with fine sifted loaf sugar, orange-flower water, and whisked white of eggs. Having blanched the almonds, roll them well in this iceing, and dry them in a cool oven. AMBER PUDDING. Put a pound of butter into a saucepan, with three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered. Melt the butter, and mix well with it; then add the yolks of fifteen eggs well beaten, and as much fresh candied orange as will add colour and flavour to it, being first beaten to a fine paste. Line the dish with paste for turning out; and when filled with the above, lay a crust over as you would a pie, and bake it in a slow oven. This makes a fine pudding as good cold as hot. AMERICAN CAKES, though but little known in this country, form an article of some importance in domestic economy: they are cheap, easily made, and very nutritious. Mix a quarter of a pound of butter with a pound of flour; then, having dissolved and well stirred a quarter of a pound of sugar in half a pint of milk, and made a solution of about half a tea-spoonful of crystal of soda, salt of tartar, or any other purified potash, in half a tea-cupful of cold water, pour them also among the flour; work up the paste to a good consistence, roll it out, and form it into cakes or biscuits. The lightness of these cakes depending much on the expedition with which they are baked, they should be set in a brisk oven. AMERICAN SPRUCE. In the spring of the year, this valuable extract is obtained from the young shoots and tops of the pine or fir trees; and in autumn, from their cones. These are merely boiled in water, to the consistence of honey or molasses. The bark and softer part of the tops and young shoots, being easily dissolved, make the finest essence; while the cones and bark of larger branches, undergoing only a partial solution, form an inferior article, after being strained from the dregs. Both sorts, when decanted clear off, are put up in casks or bottles, and preserved for making spruce beer. ANCHOVIES. These delicate fish are preserved in barrels with bay salt, and no other of the finny tribe has so fine a flavour. Choose those which look red and mellow, and the bones moist and oily. They should be high-flavoured, and have a fine smell; but beware of their being mixed with red paint, to improve their colour and appearance. When the liquor dries, pour on them some beef brine, and keep the jar close tied down with paper and leather. Sprats are sometimes sold for anchovies, but by washing them the imposition may be detected. See SPRATS. ANCHOVY ESSENCE. Chop two dozen of anchovies, without the bone, add some of their own liquor strained, and sixteen large spoonfuls of water. Boil them gently till dissolved, which will be in a few minutes; and when cold, strain and bottle the liquor. The essence can generally be bought cheaper than you can make it. ANCHOVY PASTE. Pound them in a mortar, rub the pulp through a fine sieve, pot it, cover it with clarified butter, and keep it in a cool place. The paste may also be made by rubbing the essence with as much flour as will make a paste; but this is only intended for immediate use, and will not keep. This is sometimes made stiffer and hotter, by the addition of a little flour of mustard, a pickled walnut, spice, or cayenne. ANCHOVY POWDER. Pound the fish in a mortar, rub them through a sieve, make them into a paste with dried flour, roll it into thin cakes, and dry them in a Dutch oven before a slow fire. To this may be added a small portion of cayenne, grated lemon peel, and citric acid. Pounded to a fine powder, and put into a well-stopped bottle, it will keep for years. It is a very savoury relish, sprinkled on bread and butter for a sandwich. ANCHOVY SAUCE. Chop one or two anchovies without washing, put them into a saucepan with flour and butter, and a spoonful of water. Stir it over the fire till it boils once or twice. When the anchovies are good, they will soon be dissolved, and distinguished both by their colour and fragrance. ANCHOVY TOAST. Bone and skin six or eight anchovies, pound them to a mass with an ounce of fine butter till the colour is equal, and then spread it on toast or rusks. Or, cut thin slices of bread, and fry them in clarified butter. Wash three anchovies split, pound them in a mortar with a little fresh butter, rub them through a hair sieve, and spread on the toast when cold. Garnish with parsley or pickles. ANGELICA TARTS. Take an equal quantity of apples and angelica, pare and peel them, and cut them separately into small pieces. Boil the apples gently in a little water, with fine sugar and lemon peel, till they become a thin syrup: then boil the angelica about ten minutes. Put some paste at the bottom of the pattipans, with alternate layers of apples and angelica: pour in some of the syrup, put on the lid, and bake them carefully. ANGLING APPARATUS. Fishing rods should be oiled and dried in the sun, to prevent their being worm eaten, and render them tough; and if the joints get swelled and set fast, turn the part over the flame of a candle, and it will soon be set at liberty. Silk or hemp lines dyed in a decoction of oak bark, will render them more durable and capable of resisting the wet; and after they have been used they should be well dried before they are wound up, or they will be liable to rot. To make a cork float, take a good new cork, and pass a small red-hot iron through the centre of it lengthways; then round one end of it with a sharp knife, and reduce the other to a point, resembling a small peg top. The quill which is to pass through it may be secured at the bottom by putting in a little cotton wool and sealing wax, and the upper end is to be fitted with a piece of hazel like a plug, cemented like the other, with a piece of wire on the top formed into an eye, and two small hoops cut from another quill to regulate the line which passes through the float. To render it the more visible, the cork may be coloured with red wax. For fly fishing, either natural or artificial flies may be used, especially such as are found under hollow stones by the river's side, on the trunk of an oak or ash, on hawthorns, and on ant hills. In clear water the angler may use small flies with slender wings, but in muddy water a large fly is better: in a clear day the fly should be light coloured, and in dark water the fly should be dark. The rod and line require to be long; the fly when fastened to the hook should be allowed to float gently on the surface of the water, keeping the line from touching it, and the angler should stand as far as may be from the water's edge with the sun at his back, having a watchful eye and a quick hand. Fish may be intoxicated and taken in the following manner. Take an equal quantity of cocculus indicus, coriander, fenugreek, and cummin seeds, and reduce them to a powder. Make it into a paste with rice flour and water, roll it up into pills as large as peas, and throw them into ponds or rivers which abound with fish. After eating the paste, the fish will rise to the surface of the water almost motionless, and may be taken out by the hand. ANTIDOTE to opium or laudanum. The deleterious effects of opium, which are so often experienced in the form of laudanum, may in great measure be counteracted by taking a proper quantity of lemon juice immediately afterwards. Four grains of opium, or a hundred drops of laudanum, are often sufficient for a fatal dose; but if an ounce of pure lemon juice, or twice that quantity of good vinegar be added to every grain of opium, or every twenty-five drops of laudanum, it will relieve both the head and the bowels; and the use of vegetable acids cannot be too strongly recommended to those who are under the necessity of taking considerable doses of opiates. ANTS. Though it does not become us to be prodigal of life in any form, nor wantonly to seek its extinction, yet where any species of animals are found to be really noxious or annoying, the good of man requires that they should be destroyed. Houses are sometimes so infested with ants, that they are not to be endured. In this case, sprinkle the places they frequent with a strong decoction of walnut-tree leaves; or take half a pound of sulphur, and a quarter of a pound of potash, and dissolve them together over the fire. Afterwards beat them to a powder, add some water to it; and when sprinkled, the ants will either die or leave the place. When they are found to traverse garden walls or hot-houses, and to injure the fruit, several holes should be drilled in the ground with an iron crow, close to the side of the wall, and as deep as the soil will admit. The earth being stirred, the insects will begin to move about: the sides of the holes are then to be made smooth, so that the ants may fall in as soon as they approach, and they will be unable to climb upwards. Water being then poured on them, great numbers may easily be destroyed. The same end may be answered by strewing a mixture of quick lime and soot along such places as are much frequented by the ants; or by adding water to it, and pouring it at the roots of trees infested by them. To prevent their descending from a tree which they visit, it is only necessary to mark with a piece of common chalk a circle round its trunk, an inch or two broad, and about two feet from the ground. This experiment should be performed in dry weather, and the ring must be renewed: as soon as the ants arrive at it, not one of them will attempt to cross over.--Ant hills are very injurious in dry pastures, not only by wasting the soil, but yielding a pernicious kind of grass, and impeding the operation of the scythe. The turf of the ant hill should be pared off, the core taken out and scattered at a distance; and when the turf is laid down again, the place should be left lower than the ground around it, that when the wet settles into it, the ants may be prevented from returning to their haunt. The nests may more effectually be destroyed by putting quick lime into them, and pouring on some water; or by putting in some night soil, and closing it up. APPLE TREES may be preserved from the innumerable insects with which they are annoyed, by painting the stems and branches with a thick wash of lime and water, as soon as the sap begins to rise. This will be found, in the course of the ensuing summer to have removed all the moss and insects, and given to the bark a fresh and green appearance. Other fruit trees may be treated in the same manner, and they will soon become more healthy and vigorous. Trees exposed to cattle, hares and rabbits, may be preserved from these depredators, without the expense of fence or rails, by any of the following experiments. Wash the stems of the trees or plants to a proper height with tanner's liquor, or such as they use for dressing hides. If this does not succeed, make a mixture of night soil, lime and water, and brush it on the stems and branches, two or three times in a year: this will effectually preserve the trees from being barked. A mixture of fresh cow dung and urine has been found to answer the same purpose, and also to destroy the canker, which is so fatal to the growth of trees. APPLES are best preserved from frost, by throwing over them a linen cloth before the approach of hard weather: woollen will not answer the purpose. In this manner they are kept in Germany and in America, during the severest winters; and it is probable that potatoes might be preserved in the same way. Apples may also be kept till the following summer by putting them into a dry jar, with a few pebbles at the bottom to imbibe the moisture which would otherwise destroy the fruit, and then closing up the jar carefully with a lid, and a little fresh water round the edge. APPLES DRIED. Put them in a cool oven six or seven times; and when soft enough to bear it, let them be gently flattened by degrees. If the oven be too warm they will waste; and at first it should be very cool. The biffin, the minshul crab, or any tart apples, are the best for drying. APPLE DUMPLINGS. Pare and slice some apples, line a bason with a thin paste, fill it with the fruit, and close the paste over. Tie a cloth tight over, and boil the dumpling till the fruit is done. Currant and damson puddings are prepared in the same way. APPLE FOOL. Stew some apples in a stone jar on a stove, or in a saucepan of water over the fire: if the former, a large spoonful of water should be added to the fruit. When reduced to a pulp, peel and press them through a cullendar; boil a sufficient quantity of new milk, and a tea-cupful of raw cream, or an egg instead of the latter, and leave the liquor to cool. Then mix it gradually with the pulp, and sweeten the whole with fine moist sugar. APPLE FRITTERS. Pare some apples, and cut them into thin slices; put a spoonful of light batter into a frying-pan, then a layer of apples, and another spoonful of batter. Fry them to a light brown, and serve with grated sugar over them. APPLE JELLY. Prepare twenty golden pippins, boil them quite tender in a pint and a half of spring water, and strain the pulp through a cullendar. To every pint add a pound of fine sugar, with grated orange or lemon peel, and then boil the whole to a jelly. Or, having prepared the apples by boiling and straining them through a coarse sieve, get ready an ounce of isinglass boiled to a jelly in half a pint of water, and mix it with the apple pulp. Add some sugar, a little lemon juice and peel; boil all together, take out the peel, and put the jelly into a dish, to serve at table.--When apple jelly is required for preserving apricots, or any sort of sweetmeats, a different process is observed. Apples are to be pared, quartered and cored, and put into a stewpan, with as much water as will cover them. Boil them to a mash as quick as possible, and add a quantity of water; then boil half an hour more, and run it through a jelly bag. If in summer, codlins are best: in autumn, golden rennets or winter pippins.--Red apples in jelly are a different preparation. These must be pared and cored, and thrown into water; then put them in a preserving pan, and let them coddle with as little water as will only half cover them. Observe that they do not lie too close when first put in; and when the under side is done, turn them. Mix some pounded cochineal with the water, and boil with the fruit. When sufficiently done, take them out on the dish they are to be served in, the stalk downwards. Make a rich jelly of the water with loaf sugar, boiling them with the thin rind and juice of a lemon. When cold, spread the jelly over the apples; cut the lemon peel into narrow strips, and put them across the eye of the apple. The colour should be kept fine from the first, or the fruit will not afterwards gain it; and use as little of the cochineal as will serve, lest the syrup taste bitter. APPLE MARMALADE. Scald some apples till they come to a pulp; then take an equal weight of sugar in large lumps, just dip them in water, and boil the sugar till it can be well skimmed, and is reduced to a thick syrup. Put it to the pulp, and simmer it on a quick fire a quarter of an hour. Grate a little lemon peel before boiling, but if too much it will be bitter. APPLE PASTY. Make a hot crust of lard or dripping, roll it out warm, cover it with apples pared and sliced, and a little lemon peel and moist sugar. Wet the edges of the crust, close it up well, make a few holes in the top, and bake it in a moderate oven. Gooseberries may be done in the same way. APPLE PIE. Pare and core the fruit, after being wiped clean; then boil the cores and parings in a little water, till it tastes well. Strain the liquor, add a little sugar, with a bit of bruised cinnamon, and simmer again. Meantime place the apples in a dish, a paste being put round the edge; when one layer is in, sprinkle half the sugar, and shred lemon peel; squeeze in some of the juice, or a glass of cider, if the apples have lost their spirit. Put in the rest of the apples, the sugar, and the liquor which has been boiled. If the pie be eaten hot, put some butter into it, quince marmalade, orange paste or cloves, to give it a flavour. APPLE POSTILLA. Bake codlins, or any other sour apples, but without burning them; pulp them through a sieve into a bowl, and beat them for four hours. Sweeten the fruit with honey, and beat it four hours more; the longer it is beaten the better. Pour a thin layer of the mixture on a cloth spread over a tray, and bake it in a slow oven, with bits of wood placed under the tray. If not baked enough on one side, set it again in the oven; and when quite done, turn it. Pour on it a fresh layer of the mixture, and proceed with it in like manner, till the whole is properly baked. Apple postilla is also made by peeling the apples and taking out the cores after they are baked, sweetening with sugar, and beating it up with a wooden spoon till it is all of a froth. Then put it on two trays, and bake it for two hours in an oven moderately hot. After this another layer of the beaten apples is added, and pounded loaf sugar spread over. Sometimes a still finer sort is made, by beating yolks of eggs to a froth, and then mixing it with the apple juice. APPLE PUDDING. Butter a baking dish, put in the batter, and the apples whole, without being cut or pared, and bake in a quick oven. If the apples be pared, they will mix with the batter while in the oven, and make the pudding soft. Serve it up with sugar and butter. For a superior pudding, grate a pound of pared apples, work it up with six ounces of butter, four eggs, grated lemon peel, a little sugar and brandy. Line the dish with good paste, strew over it bits of candied peel, put in the pudding, and bake it half an hour. A little lemon juice may be added, a spoonful of bread crumbs, or two or three Naples biscuits. Another way is, to pare and quarter four large apples, boil them tender, with the rind of a lemon, in so little water that it may be exhausted in the boiling. Beat the apples fine in a mortar, add the crumb of a small roll, four ounces of melted butter, the yolks of five and the whites of three eggs, the juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste. Beat all together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out, after baking. APPLE PUFFS. Pare the fruit, and either stew them in a stone jar on a hot hearth, or bake them. When cold, mix the pulp of the apple with sugar and lemon peel shred fine, taking as little as possible of the apple juice. Bake them in thin paste, in a quick oven: if small, a quarter of an hour will be sufficient. Orange or quince marmalade is a great improvement; cinnamon pounded, or orange flower-water, will make an agreeable change. APPLE SAUCE. Pare, core, and slice some apples; put them in a stone jar, into a saucepan of water, or on a hot hearth. If the latter, put in a spoonful or two of water, to prevent burning. When done, mash them up, put in a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and a little brown sugar. Serve it in a sauce tureen, for goose and roast pork. APPLE TRIFLE. Scald some apples, pass them through a sieve, and make a layer of the pulp at the bottom of a dish; mix the rind of half a lemon grated, and sweeten with sugar. Or mix half a pint of milk, half a pint of cream, and the yolk of an egg. Scald it over the fire, and stir it all the time without boiling; lay it over the apple pulp with a spoon, and put on it a whip prepared the day before. APPLE WATER. Cut two large apples in slices, and pour a quart of boiling water on them, or on roasted apples. Strain it well, and sweeten it lightly. When cold, it is an agreeable drink in a fever. APPLE WINE. To every gallon of apple juice, immediately as it comes from the press, add two pounds of lump sugar; boil it as long as any scum rises, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool. Add some yeast, and stir it well; let it work in the tub for two or three weeks, or till the head begins to flatten; then skim off the head, draw off the liquor clear, and tun it. When made a year, rack it off, and fine it with isinglass. To every eight gallons add half a pint of the best rectified spirits of wine, or a pint of brandy. APRICOTS DRIED. Pare thin and halve four pounds of apricots, put them in a dish, and strew among them three pounds of fine loaf-sugar powdered. When the sugar melts, set the fruit over a stove to do very gently; as each piece becomes tender, take it out, and put it into a china bowl. When all are done, and the boiling heat a little abated, pour the syrup over them. In a day or two remove the syrup, leaving only a little in each half. In a day or two more turn them, and so continue daily till quite dry, in the sun or in a warm place. Keep the apricots in boxes, with layers of fine paper. APRICOTS PRESERVED. There are various ways of doing this: one is by steeping them in brandy. Wipe, weigh, and pick the fruit, and have ready a quarter of the weight of loaf sugar in fine powder. Put the fruit into an ice-pot that shuts very close, throw the sugar over it, and then cover the fruit with brandy. Between the top and cover of the pot, fit in a piece of thick writing paper. Set the pot into a saucepan of water, and heat it without boiling, till the brandy be as hot as you can bear your finger in it. Put the fruit into a jar, and pour the brandy on it. When cold, put a bladder over, and tie it down tight.--Apricots may also be preserved in jelly. Pare the fruit very thin, and stone it; weigh an equal quantity of sugar in fine powder, and strew over it. Next day boil very gently till they are clear, remove them into a bowl, and pour in the liquor. The following day, mix it with a quart of codlin liquor, made by boiling and straining, and a pound of fine sugar. Let it boil quickly till it comes to a jelly; put the fruit into it, give it one boil, skim it well, and distribute into small pots.--A beautiful preserve may also be made in the following manner. Having selected the finest ripe apricots, pare them as thin as possible, and weigh them. Lay them in halves on dishes, with the hollow part upwards. Prepare an equal weight of loaf sugar finely pounded, and strew it over them; in the mean time break the stones, and blanch the kernels. When the fruit has lain twelve hours, put it into a preserving pan, with the sugar and juice, and also the kernels. Let it simmer very gently till it becomes clear; then take out the pieces of apricot singly as they are done, put them into small pots, and pour the syrup and kernels over them. The scum must be taken off as it rises, and the pots covered with brandy paper.--Green apricots are preserved in a different way. Lay vine or apricot leaves at the bottom of the pan, then fruit and leaves alternately till full, the upper layer being thick with leaves. Then fill the pan with spring water, and cover it down, that no steam may escape. Set the pan at a distance from the fire, that in four or five hours the fruit may be soft, but not cracked. Make a thin syrup of some of the water, and drain the fruit. When both are cold, put the fruit into the pan, and the syrup to it; keep the pan at a proper distance from the fire till the apricots green, but on no account boil or crack them. Remove the fruit very carefully into a pan with the syrup for two or three days, then pour off as much of it as will be necessary, boil with more sugar to make a rich syrup, and add a little sliced ginger to it. When cold, and the thin syrup has all been drained from the fruit, pour the thick over it. The former will serve to sweeten pies. APRICOT CHEESE. Weigh an equal quantity of pared fruit and sugar, wet the latter a very little, and let it boil quickly, or the colour will be spoiled. Blanch the kernels and add them to it: twenty or thirty minutes will boil it. Put it in small pots or cups half filled. APRICOT JAM. When the fruit is nearly ripe, pare and cut some in halves; break the stones, blanch the kernels, and put them to the fruit. Boil the parings in a little water, and strain it: to a pound of fruit add three quarters of a pound of fine sifted sugar, and a glass of the water in which the parings were boiled. Stir it over a brisk fire till it becomes rather stiff: when cold, put apple jelly over the jam, and tie it down with brandy paper. APRICOT PUDDING. Halve twelve large apricots, and scald them till they are soft. Meanwhile pour on the grated crumbs of a penny loaf a pint of boiling cream; when half cold, add four ounces of sugar, the yolks of four beaten eggs, and a glass of white wine. Pound the apricots in a mortar, with some or all of the kernels; then mix the fruit and other ingredients together, put a paste round a dish, and bake the pudding in half an hour. AROMATIC VINEGAR. Mix with common vinegar a quantity of powdered chalk or whiting, sufficient to destroy the acidity; and when the white sediment is formed, pour off the insipid liquor. The powder is then to be dried, and some oil of vitriol poured upon it, as long as white acid fumes continue to ascend. This substance forms the essential ingredient, the fumes of which are particularly useful in purifying rooms and places where any contagion is suspected. ARROW ROOT. This valuable article has often been counterfeited: the American is the best, and may generally be known by its colour and solidity. If genuine, the arrow root is very nourishing, especially for weak bowels. Put into a saucepan half a pint of water, a glass of sherry, or a spoonful of brandy, grated nutmeg, and fine sugar. Boil it up once, then mix it by degrees into a dessert-spoonful of arrow root, previously rubbed smooth with two spoonfuls of cold water. Return the whole into the saucepan, stir and boil it three minutes. ARSENIC. The fatal effects of mineral poisons are too often experienced, and for want of timely assistance but seldom counteracted. Arsenic and other baleful ingredients, if used for the destruction of vermin, should never be kept with common articles, or laid in the way of children. But if, unfortunately, this deadly poison should by some mistake be taken inwardly, the most effectual remedy will be a table-spoonful of powdered charcoal, mixed with honey, butter, or treacle, and swallowed immediately. Two hours afterwards, take an emetic or an opening draught, to cleanse away the whole from the stomach and bowels. The baneful effects of verdigris, from the use of copper boilers and saucepans, may be counteracted by the same means, if resorted to in time, and no remedy is so likely to become effectual. ARTICHOKES. Soak them in cold water, wash them well, and boil them gently in plenty of water. If young, they will be ready in half an hour; if otherwise, they will not be done in twice that time. The surest way to know when they are boiled enough is to draw out a leaf, and see whether they be tender; but they cannot be properly boiled without much water, which tends also to preserve their colour. Trim and drain them on a sieve, serve with melted butter, pepper and salt, and small cups. ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS, if dried, must be well soaked, and stewed in weak gravy. Or they may be boiled in milk, and served with cream sauce, or added to ragouts, French pies, &c. If intended to keep in the winter, the bottoms must be slowly dried, and put into paper bags. ASPARAGUS. Having carefully scraped the stalks till they appear white, and thrown them into cold water, tie them up in small bundles with tape, and cut the stalks of an equal length. Put them into a stewpan of boiling water a little salted, and take them up as soon as they begin to be tender, or they will lose both their taste and colour. Meanwhile make toasts well browned for the bottom of the dish, moisten them in the asparagus liquor, place them regularly, and pour on some melted butter. Then lay the asparagus on the toasts round the dish, with the heads united at the centre, but pour no butter over them. Serve with melted butter in a sauce tureen, and separate cups, that the company may season with salt and pepper to their taste.--As this vegetable is one of the greatest delicacies which the garden affords, no person should be unacquainted with the means of producing it in constant succession. Toward the end of July, the stalks of the asparagus are to be cut down, and the beds forked up and raked smooth. If the weather be dry, they should be watered with the drain of a dunghill, and left rather hollow in the middle to retain the moisture. In about a fortnight the stalks will begin to appear, and the watering should be continued once a week if the weather be dry. Asparagus may thus be cut till near the end of September, and then by making five or six hot-beds during the winter, a regular succession may be provided for almost every month in the year. To obviate the objection of cutting the same beds twice a year, two or three others may be left uncut in the spring, and additional beds made for the purpose. The seed is cheap, and in most places the dung may be easily procured. There is no need to continue the old beds when they begin to fail; it is better to make new ones, and to force the old roots by applying some rotten dung on the tops of the beds, and to sow seed every year for new plants. ASSES' MILK, so beneficial in consumptive cases, should be milked into a glass that is kept warm, by being placed in a bason of hot water. The fixed air that it contains sometimes occasions pain in the stomach; at first therefore a tea-spoonful of rum may be taken with it, but should only be put in the moment it is to be swallowed. The genuine milk far surpasses any imitation of it that can be made; but a substitute may be found in the following composition. Boil a quart of water with a quart of new milk, an ounce of white sugar-candy, half an ounce of eringo-root, and half an ounce of conserve of roses, till the quantity be half wasted. As this is an astringent, the doses must be proportioned accordingly, and the mixture is wholesome only while it remains sweet.--Another way. Mix two spoonfuls of boiling water, two of milk, and an egg well beaten. Sweeten with white sugar-candy pounded: this may be taken twice or thrice a day. Or, boil two ounces of hartshorn-shavings, two ounces of pearl barley, two ounces of candied eringo-root, and one dozen of snails that have been bruised, in two quarts of water till reduced to one. Mix with an equal quantity of new milk, when taken, twice a day. ASTHMA. As this complaint generally attacks aged people, the best mode of relief will be to attend carefully to diet and exercise, which should be light and easy, and to avoid as much as possible an exposure to cold and frosty air. The temperature of the apartment should be equalised to moderate summer's heat by flues and stoves, and frequently ventilated. A dish of the best coffee, newly ground and made very strong, and taken frequently without milk or sugar, has been found highly beneficial. An excellent diet drink may be made of toast and water, with the addition of a little vinegar, or a few grains of nitre. Tar water is strongly recommended, and also the smoking of the dried leaves of stramonium, commonly called the thorn-apple. ASTRINGENT BOLUS, proper to be taken in female complaints, arising from excessive evacuations. Fifteen grains of powdered alum, and five grains of gum kino, made into a bolus with a little syrup, and given every four or five hours till the discharge abates. ASTRINGENT MIXTURE, in case of dysentery, may be made of three ounces of cinnamon water, mixed with as much common water, an ounce and a half of spirituous cinnamon-water, and half an ounce of japonic confection. A spoonful or two of this mixture may be taken every four hours, after the necessary evacuations have been allowed, and where the dysentery has not been of long standing, interposing every second or third day a dose of rhubarb. B. BACON, though intended to be a cheap article of housekeeping, is often, through mismanagement, rendered one of the most expensive. Generally twice as much is dressed as need be, and of course there is a deal of waste. When sent to table as an accompaniment to boiled poultry or veal, a pound and a half is plenty for a dozen people. Bacon will boil better, and swell more freely, if the rind is taken off before it is dressed; and when excessively salt, it should be soaked an hour or two in warm water. If the bacon be dried, pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim it neatly on the under side, and scrape the rind as clean as possible. Or take it up when sufficiently boiled, scrape the under side, and cut off the rind: grate a crust of bread over it, and place it a few minutes before the fire to brown. Two pounds will require to be boiled gently about an hour and a half, according to its thickness: the hock or gammon being very thick, will take more. See DRIED BACON. BAKING. This mode of preparing a dinner is undoubtedly one of the cheapest and most convenient, especially for a small family; and the oven is almost the only kitchen which the poor man possesses. Much however depends on the care and ability of the baker: in the country especially, where the baking of dinners is not always considered as a regular article of business, it is rather a hazardous experiment to send a valuable joint to the oven; and more is often wasted and spoiled by the heedless conduct of the parish cook, than would have paid for the boiling or roasting at home. But supposing the oven to be managed with care and judgment, there are many joints which may be baked to great advantage, and will be found but little inferior to roasting. Particularly, legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal, and other joints, if the meat be fat and good, will be eaten with great satisfaction, when they come from the oven. A sucking pig is also well adapted to the purpose, and is equal to a roasted one, if properly managed. When sent to the baker, it should have its ears and tail covered with buttered paper fastened on, and a bit of butter tied up in a piece of linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to blister. A goose should be prepared the same as for roasting, placing it on a stand, and taking care to turn it when it is half done. A duck the same. If a buttock of beef is to be baked, it should be well washed, after it has been in salt about a week, and put into a brown earthen pan with a pint of water. Cover the pan tight over with two or three thicknesses of writing paper, and give it four or five hours in a moderate oven. Brown paper should never be used with baked dishes; the pitch and tar which it contains will give the meat a smoky bad taste. Previously to baking a ham, soak it in water an hour, take it out and wipe it, and make a crust sufficient to cover it all over; and if done in a moderate oven, it will cut fuller of gravy, and be of a finer flavour, than a boiled one. Small cod-fish, haddock, and mackarel will bake well, with a dust of flour and some bits of butter put on them. Large eels should be stuffed. Herrings and sprats are to be baked in a brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and tied over with paper. These and various other articles may be baked so as to give full satisfaction, if the oven be under judicious management. BAKED CARP. Clean a large carp, put in a Portuguese stuffing, and sow it up. Brush it all over with the yolk of an egg, throw on plenty of crumbs, and drop on oiled butter to baste with. Place the carp in a deep earthen dish, with a pint of stock, a few sliced onions, some bay leaves, a bunch of herbs, such as basil, thyme, parsley, and both sorts of marjoram; half a pint of port wine, and six anchovies. Cover over the pan, and bake it an hour. Let it be done before it is wanted. Pour the liquor from it, and keep the fish hot while you heat up the liquor with a good piece of butter rolled in flour, a tea-spoonful of mustard, a little cayenne, and a spoonful of soy. Serve it on the dish, garnished with lemon and parsley, and horse-radish, and put the gravy into the sauce tureen. BAKED CUSTARD. Boil a pint of cream and half a pint of milk with a little mace, cinnamon and lemon peel. When cold, mix the yolks of three eggs, and sweeten the custard. Make the cups or paste nearly full, and bake them ten minutes. BAKED HERRINGS. Wash and drain, without wiping them; and when drawn, they should not be opened. Season with allspice in fine powder, salt, and a few whole cloves. Lay them in a pan with plenty of black pepper, an onion, and a few bay leaves. Add half vinegar and half small beer, enough to cover them. Put paper over the pan, and bake in a slow oven. If it be wished to make them look red, throw a little saltpetre over them the night before. BAKED MILK. A very useful article may be made for weakly and consumptive persons in the following manner. Put a gallon of milk into a jar, tie white paper over it, and let it stand all night in the oven when baking is over. Next morning it will be as thick as cream, and may be drank two or three times a day. BAKED PEARS. Those least fit to eat raw, are often the best for baking. Do not pare them, but wipe and lay them on tin plates, and bake them in a slow oven. When done enough to bear it, flatten them with a silver spoon; and when done through, put them on a dish. They should be baked three or four times, and very gently. BAKED PIKE. Scale and open it as near the throat as possible, and then put in the following stuffing. Grated bread, herbs, anchovies, oysters, suet, salt, pepper, mace, half a pint of cream, four yolks of eggs; mix all over the fire till it thickens, and then sow it up in the fish. Little bits of butter should be scattered over it, before it is sent to the oven. Serve it with gravy sauce, butter and anchovy. In carving a pike, if the back and belly be slit up, and each slice drawn gently downwards, fewer bones will be given at table. BAKED SOUP. A cheap and plentiful dish for poor families, or to give away, may be made of a pound of any kind of meat cut in slices, with two onions, two carrots sliced, two ounces of rice, a pint of split peas, or whole ones if previously soaked, seasoned with pepper and salt. Put the whole into an earthen jug or pan, adding a gallon of water: cover it very close, and bake it. BALM WINE. Boil three pounds of lump sugar in a gallon of water; skim it clean, put in a handful of balm, and boil it ten minutes. Strain it off, cool it, put in some yeast, and let it stand two days. Add the rind and juice of a lemon, and let it stand in the cask six months. BALSAMIC VINEGAR. One of the best remedies for wounds or bruises is the balsamic or anti-putrid vinegar, which is made in the following manner. Take a handful of sage leaves and flowers, the same of lavender, hyssop, thyme, and savory; two heads of garlic, and a handful of salt. These are to be infused in some of the best white-wine vinegar; and after standing a fortnight or three weeks, it will be fit for use. BANBURY CAKES. Work a pound of butter into a pound of white-bread dough, the same as for puff paste; roll it out very thin, and cut it into bits of an even form, the size intended for the cakes. Moisten some powder sugar with a little brandy, mix in some clean currants, put a little of it on each bit of paste, close them up, and bake them on a tin. When they are taken out, sift some fine sugar over them. BARBERRIES, when preserved for tarts, must be picked clean from the stalks, choosing such as are free from stones. To every pound of fruit, weigh three quarters of a pound of lump sugar; put the fruit into a stone jar, and either set it on a hot hearth, or in a saucepan of water, and let them simmer very slowly till soft. Then put them and the sugar into a preserving-pan, and boil them gently fifteen minutes.--To preserve barberries in bunches, prepare some fleaks of white wool, three inches long, and a quarter of an inch wide. Tie the stalks of the fruit on the stick, from within an inch of one end to beyond the other, so as to make them look handsome. Simmer them in some syrup two successive days, covering them each time with it when cold. When they look clear, they are simmered enough. The third day, they should be treated like other candied fruit. See CANDIED. BARBERRY DROPS. Cut off the black tops, and roast the fruit before the fire, till it is soft enough to pulp with a silver spoon through a sieve into a china bason. Then set the bason in a saucepan of water, the top of which will just fit it, or on a hot hearth, and stir it till it grows thick. When cold, put to every pint a pound and a half of double refined sugar, pounded and sifted through a lawn sieve, which must be covered with a fine linen, to prevent waste while sifting. Beat the sugar and juice together three hours and a half if a large quantity, but two and a half for less. Then drop it on sheets of white thick paper, the size of drops sold in the shops. Some fruit is not so sour, and then less sugar is necessary. To know when there is enough, mix till well incorporated, and then drop. If it run, there is not enough sugar; and if there be too much, it will be rough. A dry room will suffice to dry them. No metal must touch the juice but the point of a knife, just to take the drop off the end of the wooden spoon, and then as little as possible. BARLEY BROTH. Wash three quarters of a pound of Scotch barley in a little cold water, put it in a soup pot with a shin or leg of beef, or a knuckle of veal of about ten pounds weight, sawn into four pieces. Cover it with cold water, and set it on the fire; when it boils skim it very clean, and put in two onions. Set it by the side of the fire to simmer very gently about two hours; then skim off all the fat, put in two heads of celery, and a large turnip cut into small squares. Season it with salt, let it boil an hour and a half longer, and it is done. Take out the meat carefully with a slice, cover it up and keep it warm by the fire, and skim the broth well before it is put into the tureen. This dish is much admired in Scotland, where it is regarded, not only as highly nutricious, but as a necessary article of domestic economy: for besides the excellent soup thus obtained, the meat also becomes an agreeable dish, served up with sauce in the following manner. Reserve a quart of the soup, put about an ounce of flour into a stewpan, pour the liquor to it by degrees, stirring it well together till it boils. Add a glass of port wine or mushroom ketchup, and let it gently boil up; strain the sauce through a sieve over the meat, and add to it some capers, minced gherkins, or walnuts. The flavour may be varied or improved, by the addition of a little curry powder, ragout, or any other store sauces. BARLEY GRUEL. Wash four ounces of pearl barley, boil it in two quarts of water and a stick of cinnamon, till reduced to a quart. Strain and return it into the saucepan with some sugar, and three quarters of a pint of port wine. It may be warmed up, and used as wanted. BARLEY SUGAR. This well known article of confectionary is made in the following manner. Put some common or clarified syrup into a saucepan with a spout, such as for melting butter, if little is wanted to be made, and boil it till it comes to what is called carimel, carefully taking off whatever scum may arise; and having prepared a marble stone, either with butter or sweet oil, just sufficiently to prevent sticking, pour the syrup gently along the marble, in long sticks of whatever thickness may be desired. While hot, twist it at each end; and let it remain till cold, when it will be fit for immediate use. The rasped rind of lemon, boiled up in the syrup, gives a very agreeable flavour to barley sugar; and indeed the best is commonly so prepared. BARLEY WATER. Wash a handful of common barley, then simmer it gently in three pints of water, with a bit of lemon peel. Or boil an ounce of pearl barley a few minutes to cleanse it, and then put on it a quart of water. Simmer it an hour: when half done, put into it a piece of fresh lemon peel, and one bit of sugar. If likely to be thick, add a quarter of a pint of water, and a little lemon juice, if approved. This makes a very pleasant drink for a sick person; but the former is less apt to nauseate. BASIL VINEGAR. Sweet basil is in full perfection about the middle of August, when the fresh green leaves should be gathered, and put into a wide-mouthed bottle. Cover the leaves with vinegar, and let them steep for ten days. If it be wished to have the infusion very strong, strain out the liquor, put in some fresh leaves, and let them steep for ten days more. This is a very agreeable addition to sauces and soups, and to the mixture usually made for salads. BASILICON. Yellow basilicon is made of equal quantities of bees-wax, white rosin, and frankincense. Melt them together over a slow fire, add the same weight of fresh lard, and strain it off while it is warm. This ointment is used for cleansing and healing wounds and ulcers. BASKET SALT. This fine and delicate article is chiefly made from the salt springs in Cheshire, and differs from the common brine salt, usually called sea salt, not only in its whiteness and purity, but in the fineness of its grain. Some families entertain prejudices against basket salt, notwithstanding its superior delicacy, from an idea, which does not appear warranted, that pernicious articles are used in its preparation; it may therefore be proper to mention, that by dissolving common salt, again evaporating into dryness, and then reducing it to powder in a mortar, a salt nearly equal to basket salt may be obtained, fine and of a good colour, and well adapted to the use of the table. BATH BUNS. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of fine flour, with five eggs, and three spoonfuls of thick yeast. Set it before the fire to rise; then add a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, and an ounce of carraway seeds. Mix them well in, roll it out in little cakes, strew on carraway comfits, and bake on tins. BATTER PUDDING. Rub by degrees three spoonfuls of fine flour extremely smooth, into a pint of milk. Simmer till it thickens, stir it in two ounces of butter, set it to cool, and then add the yolks of three eggs. Flour a wet cloth, or butter a bason, and put the batter into it. Tie it tight, and plunge it into boiling water, the bottom upwards. Boil it an hour and a half, and serve with plain butter. If a little ginger, nutmeg, and lemon peel be added, serve with sweet sauce. BEAN BREAD. Blanch half a pound of almonds, and put them into water to preserve their colour. Cut the almonds edgeways, wipe them dry, and sprinkle over them half a pound of fine loaf sugar pounded and sifted. Beat up the white of an egg with two spoonfuls of orange-flower water, moisten the almonds with the froth, lay them lightly on wafer paper, and bake them on tins. BEAN PUDDING. Boil and blanch some old green-beans, beat them in a mortar, with very little pepper and salt, some cream, and the yolk of an egg. A little spinach-juice will give a finer colour, but it is as good without. Boil it an hour, in a bason that will just hold it; pour parsley and butter over, and serve it up with bacon. BEE HIVES. Common bee hives made of straw are generally preferred, because they are not likely to be overheated by the rays of the sun; they will also keep out the cold better than wood, and are cheaper than any other material. As cleanliness however is of great consequence in the culture of these delicate and industrious insects, the bottom or floor of the hive should be covered with gypsum or plaster of Paris, of which they are very fond; and the outside of their habitation should be overspread with a cement made of two-thirds of cow-dung, and one-third of ashes. This coating will exclude noxious insects, which would otherwise perforate and lodge in the straw; it will also secure the bees from cold and wet, while it exhales an odour which to them is very grateful. The inner part of the hive should be furnished with two thin pieces of oak, or peeled branches of lime tree, placed across each other at right angles, which will greatly facilitate the construction of the combs, and support them when filled with honey. A good bee-hive ought to be so planned as to be capable of enlargement or contraction, according to the number of the swarm; to admit of being opened without disturbing the bees, either for the purpose of cleaning it, of freeing it from noxious insects, or for the admission of a stock of provision for the winter. It should also admit of the produce being removed without injury to the bees, and be internally clean, smooth, and free from flaws. A hive of this description may easily be made of three or four open square boxes, fastened to each other with buttons or wooden pegs, and the joints closed with cement. The whole may be covered with a moveable roof, projecting over the boxes to carry off the rain, and kept firm on the top by a stone being laid upon it. If the swarm be not very numerous, two or three boxes will be sufficient. They should be made of wood an inch thick, that the bees and wax may be less affected by the changes of the atmosphere. This hive is so easily constructed, that it is only necessary to join four boards together in the simplest manner; and a little cement will cover all defects. Within the upper part of the boxes, two bars should be fixed across from one corner to another, to support the combs. At the lower end of each box in front, there must be an aperture, or door, about an inch and an half wide, and as high as is necessary for the bees to pass without obstruction. The lowest is to be left open as a passage for the bees, and the others are to be closed by a piece of wood fitted to the aperture. A hive thus constructed may be enlarged or diminished, according to the number of boxes; and a communication with the internal part can readily be effected by removing the cover. BEE HOUSE. An apiary or bee house should front the south, in a situation between the extremes of heat and cold. It should stand in a valley, that the bees may with greater ease descend loaded on their return to the hive; and near a dwelling-house, but at a distance from noise and offensive smells; surrounded with a low wall, and in the vicinity of shallow water. If there be no running stream at hand, they ought to be supplied with water in troughs or pans, with small stones laid at the bottom, that the bees may alight upon them and drink. They cannot produce either combs, honey, or food for their maggots, without water; but the neighbourhood of rivers or ponds with high banks ought to be avoided, or the bees will be blown into the water with high winds, and be drowned. Care should also be taken to place the hives in a neighbourhood which abounds with such plants as will supply the bees with food; such as the oak, the pine, the willow, fruit trees, furze, broom, mustard, clover, heath, and thyme, particularly borage, which produces an abundance of farina. The garden in which the bee house stands, should be well furnished with scented plants and flowers, and branchy shrubs, that it may be easy to hive the swarms which may settle on them. See BEES, HIVING, &c. BEEF. In every sort of provisions, the best of the kind goes the farthest; it cuts out with most advantage, and affords most nourishment. The best way to obtain a good article is to deal with shops of established credit. You may perhaps pay a little more than by purchasing of those who pretend to sell cheap, but you will be more than in proportion better served. To prevent imposition more effectually, however, it is necessary to form our own judgment of the quality and value of the articles to be purchased. If the flesh of ox-beef is young, it will show a fine smooth open grain, be of a good red, and feel tender. The fat should look white rather than yellow, for when that is of a deep colour, the meat is seldom good. Beef fed with oil cakes is generally so, and the flesh is loose and flabby. The grain of cow-beef is closer, and the fat whiter, than that of ox-beef; but the lean is not so bright a red. The grain of bull-beef is closer still, the fat hard and skinny, the lean of a deep red, and a stronger scent. Ox-beef is the reverse; it is also the richest and the largest; but in small families, and to some tastes, heifer-beef as better still, if finely fed. In old meat there is a horny streak in the ribs of beef: the harder that is, the older: and the flesh is not finely flavoured. BEEF BOUILLI. A term given to boiled beef, which, according to the French fashion, is simmered over a slow fire, for the purpose of extracting a rich soup, while at the same time the meat makes its appearance at table, in possession of a full portion of nutricious succulence. This requires nothing more than to stew the meat very slowly, instead of keeping the pot quickly boiling, and taking up the beef as soon as it is done enough. Meat cooked in this manner, affords much more nourishment than when dressed in the common way, and is easy of digestion in proportion to its tenderness. The leg or shin, or the middle of a brisket of beef, weighing seven or eight pounds, is best adapted for this purpose. Put it into a soup pot or deep stewpan with cold water enough to cover it, and a quart over. Set it on a quick fire to get the scum up, which remove as it rises; then put in two carrots, two turnips, two leeks, or two large onions, two heads of celery, two or three cloves, and a faggot of parsley and sweet herbs. Set the pot by the side of the fire to simmer very gently, till the meat is just tender enough to eat: this will require four or five hours. When the beef is done, take it up carefully with a slice, cover it up, and keep it warm by the fire. Thicken a pint and a half of the beef liquor with three table spoonfuls of flour, season it with pepper, a glass of port wine or mushroom ketchup, or both, and pour it over the beef. Strain the soup through a hair sieve into a clean stewpan, take off the fat, cut the vegetables into small squares, and add them to the soup, the flavour of which may be heightened, by adding a table-spoonful of ketchup. BEEF BROTH. If intended for sick persons, it is better to add other kinds of meat, which render it more nourishing and better flavoured. Take then two pounds of lean beef, one pound of scrag of veal, one pound of scrag of mutton, some sweet herbs, and ten pepper corns, and put the whole into a nice tin saucepan, with five quarts of water. Simmer it to three quarts, clear it from the fat when cold, and add an onion if approved. If there be still any fat remaining, lay a piece of clean blotting or writing paper on the broth when in the bason, and it will take up every particle of the fat. BEEF CAKES, chiefly intended for a side-dish of dressed meat. Pound some beef that is under done, with a little fat bacon or ham. Season with pepper, salt, a little shalot or garlick; mix them well, and make the whole into small cakes three inches long, and half as wide and thick. Fry them to a light brown, and serve them in good thick gravy. BEEF CECILS. Mince some beef with crumbs of bread, a quantity of onions, some anchovies, lemon peel, salt, nutmeg, chopped parsley, pepper, and a bit of warmed butter. Mix these over the fire a few minutes: when cool enough, make them into balls of the size and shape of a turkey's egg, with an egg. Sprinkle them with fine crumbs, fry them of a yellow brown, and serve with gravy, as for Beef Olives. BEEF COLLOPS. Cut thin slices of beef from the rump, or any other tender part, and divide them into pieces three inches long: beat them with the blade of a knife, and flour them. Fry the collops quick in butter two minutes; then lay them into a small stewpan, and cover them with a pint of gravy. Add a bit of butter rubbed in flour, pepper and salt, a little bit of shalot shred very fine, with half a walnut, four small pickled cucumbers, and a tea-spoonful of capers cut small. Be careful that the stew does not boil, and serve in a hot covered dish. BEEF FRICASSEE. Cut some thin slices of cold roast beef, shred a handful of parsley very small, cut an onion into quarters, and put them all together into a stewpan, with a piece of butter, and some strong broth. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer very gently for a quarter of an hour. Mix into it the yolks of two eggs, a glass of port wine, and a spoonful of vinegar: stir it quick, rub the dish with shalot, and turn the fricassee into it. BEEF GRAVY. Cover the bottom of a stewpan, clean and well-tinned, with a slice of good ham or lean bacon, four or five pounds of gravy beef cut in pieces, an onion, a carrot, two cloves, and a head of celery. Add a pint of broth or water, cover it close, and simmer it till the liquor is nearly all exhausted. Turn it about, and let it brown slightly and equally all over, but do not suffer it to burn or stick to the pan, for that would spoil the gravy. Then put in three quarts of boiling water; and when it boils up, skim it carefully, and wipe off with a clean cloth what sticks round the edge and inside of the stewpan, that the gravy may be delicately clean and clear. Let it stew gently by the side of the fire for about four hours, till reduced to two quarts of good gravy. Take care to skim it well, strain it through silk or muslin, and set it in a cold place. BEEF HAMS. Cut the leg of beef like a ham; and for fourteen pounds weight, mix a pound of salt, a pound of brown sugar, an ounce of saltpetre, and an ounce of bay salt. Put it into the meat, turn and baste it every day, and let it lie a month in the pickle. Then take it out, roll it in bran, and smoke it. Afterwards hang it in a dry place, and cut off pieces to boil, or broil it with poached eggs. BEEF HASH. Cut some thin slices of beef that is underdone, with some of the fat; put it into a small stewpan, with a little onion or shalot, a little water, pepper and salt. Add some of the gravy, a spoonful of vinegar, and of walnut ketchup: if shalot vinegar be used, there will be no need of the onion nor the raw shalot. The hash is only to be simmered till it is hot through, but not boiled: it is owing to the boiling of hashes and stews that they get hard. When the hash is well warmed up, pour it upon sippets of bread previously prepared, and laid in a warm dish. BEEF HEART. Wash it carefully, stuff it as a hare, and serve with rich gravy and currant-jelly sauce. Hash it with the same, and add a little port wine. BEEF OLIVES. Take some cold beef that has not been done enough, and cut slices half an inch thick, and four inches square. Lay on them a forcemeat of crumbs of bread, shalot, a little suet or fat, pepper and salt. Roll and fasten them with a small skewer, put them into a stewpan with some gravy made of the beef bones, or the gravy of the meat, and a spoonful or two of water, and stew them till tender. Beef olives may also be made of fresh meat. BEEF PALATES. Simmer them in water several hours, till they will peel. Then cut the palates into slices, or leave them whole, and stew them in a rich gravy till they become as tender as possible. Season with cayenne, salt and ketchup: if the gravy was drawn clear, add also some butter and flour. If the palates are to be dressed white, boil them in milk, and stew them in a fricassee sauce; adding cream, butter, flour, mushroom powder, and a little pounded mace. BEEF PASTY. Bone a small rump or part of a sirloin of beef, after hanging several days. Beat it well with a rolling pin; then rub ten pounds of meat with four ounces of sugar, and pour over it a glass of port, and the same of vinegar. Let it lie five days and nights; wash and wipe the meat very dry, and season it high with pepper and salt, nutmeg and Jamaica pepper. Lay it in a dish, and to ten pounds add nearly one pound of butter, spreading it over the meat. Put a crust round the edges, and cover with a thick one, or it will be overdone before the meat is soaked: it must be baked in a slow oven. Set the bones in a pan in the oven, with no more water than will cover them, and one glass of port, a little pepper and salt, in order to provide a little rich gravy to add to the pasty when drawn. It will be found that sugar gives more shortness and a better flavour to meat than salt, too great a quantity of which hardens; and sugar is quite as good a preservative. BEEF PATTIES. Shred some dressed beef under done, with a little fat; season with salt and pepper, and a little shalot or onion. Make a plain paste, roll it thin, and cut it in shape like an apple puff. Fill it with mince, pinch the edges, and fry them of a nice brown. The paste should be made with a small quantity of butter, egg and milk. BEEF PIE. Season some cuttings of beef with pepper and salt, put some puff paste round the inside of the dish, and lay in the meat. Add some small potatoes, if approved, fill up the dish with water, and cover it with the paste. BEEF PUDDING. Roll some fine steaks with fat between, and a very little shred onion. Lay a paste of suet in a bason, put in the rolled steaks, cover the bason with a paste, and pinch the edges to keep in the gravy. Cover with a cloth tied close, and let the pudding boil slowly a considerable time.--If for baking, make a batter of milk, two eggs and flour, or, which is much better, potatoes boiled, and mashed through a cullender. Lay a little of it at the bottom of the dish, then put in the steaks prepared as above, and very well seasoned. Pour the remainder of the batter over them, and bake it. BEEF SANDERS. Mince some beef small, with onion, pepper and salt, and add a little gravy. Put it into scallop shells or saucers, making them three parts full, and fill them up with potatoes, mashed with a little cream. Put a bit of butter on the top, and brown them in an oven, or before the fire, or with a salamander. Mutton may be made into sanders in the same way. BEEF SCALLOPS. Mince some beef fine, with onion, pepper and salt, and add a little gravy. Put the mince into scallop shells or saucers three parts full, and fill them up with potatoes, mashed with a little cream. Lay a bit of butter on the tops, and brown them in an oven, or before the fire. BEEF STEAKS. To have them fine, they should be cut from a rump that has hung a few days. Broil them over a very clear or charcoal fire; put into the dish a little minced shalot, a table-spoonful of ketchup. The steak should be turned often, that the gravy may not be drawn out on either side. This dish requires to be eaten so hot and fresh done, that it is not in perfection if served with any thing else. Pepper and salt should be added when taking it off the fire, and a bit of butter rubbed on at the moment of serving. If accompanied with oyster sauce, strain off the liquor from the oysters, and throw them into cold water to take off the grit, while you simmer the liquor with a bit of mace and lemon peel. Then put in the oysters, stew them a few minutes, add a little cream, and some butter rubbed in a bit of flour. Let them boil up once, and throw the sauce over the steaks at the moment of sending the dish to table. BEEF STEW. Cut into small pieces four or five pounds of beef, with some hard fat. Put these into a stewpan, with three pints of water, a little salt and pepper, a sprig of sweet herbs, and three cloves. Cover the pan very close, and let it stew four hours over a slow fire. Throw in some carrots and turnips, cut into square pieces; the white part of a leek, with two heads of celery chopped fine; a crust of bread, and two spoonfuls of vinegar. When done, put it into a deep dish, set it over hot water, and cover it close. Skim the gravy, and put in a few pickled mushrooms; thicken it with flour and butter, make it hot, and pour it over the beef. BEEF TEA. Cut a pound of fleshy beef into thin slices; simmer it with a quart of water twenty minutes, after it has once boiled, and been skimmed. Season it, if approved; but a little salt only is sufficient. BEEF VINGRETTE. Cut a slice of under-done boiled beef three inches thick, and a little fat. Stew it in half a pint of water, a glass of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, and a bay leaf. Season it with three cloves pounded, and pepper, till the liquor is nearly wasted away, turning it once. Serve it up cold. Strain off the gravy, and mix it with a little vinegar for sauce. BEER. During the present ruinous system of taxation, it is extremely difficult, though highly desirable, to procure a cheap and wholesome beverage, especially for the labouring part of the community, to whom it is as needful as their daily food. Beer that is brewed and drunk at home, is more pure and nutricious than what is generally purchased at an alehouse; and those who cannot afford a better article, may perhaps find it convenient to adopt the following method for obtaining some cheap drink for small families.--To half a bushel of malt, add four pounds of treacle, and three quarters of a pound of hops. This will make twenty-five gallons of wholesome beer, which will be fit for use in a fortnight; but it is not calculated for keeping, especially in warm weather. Beer brewed in this way will not cost one halfpenny a pint. An agreeable table beer may be made ready for drinking in three or four days, consisting of treacle and water, fermented with a little yeast. Boil six or seven gallons of water, pour it on the same quantity of cold water in a cask, and a gallon of treacle. Stir them well together; and when the fermentation is abated, close the bung-hole in the usual way. A little of the outer rind of an orange peel infused into the beer, and taken out as soon as it has imparted a sufficient degree of bitterness, will give it an agreeable flavour, and assist in keeping the beer from turning sour. A little gentian root boiled in the water, either with or without the orange peel, will give a wholesome and pleasant bitter to this beer. A small quantity, by way of experiment, may be made thus. To eight quarts of boiling water, put one ounce of treacle, a quarter of an ounce of ginger, and two bay leaves. Let the whole boil a quarter of an hour; then cool and work it with yeast, the same as other beer. Another way to make a cheap malt liquor is to take a bushel of malt, with as much water and hops as if two bushels of malt were allowed in the common way, and put seven pounds of the coarsest brown sugar into the boiling wort. This makes a very pleasant liquor; is as strong, and will keep as long without turning sour or flat, as if two bushels had been employed. Twenty gallons of good beer may be made from a bushel of malt, and three quarters of a pound of hops, if care be taken to extract all their goodness. For this purpose boil twenty-four gallons of water, and steep the malt in it for three hours: then tie up the hops in a hair cloth, and boil malt, hops, and wort, all together for three quarters of an hour, which will reduce it to about twenty gallons. Strain it off, and set it to work when lukewarm. See BREWING.--As however it does not suit some persons to brew, in any way whatever, it may be necessary to add a few brief remarks on the distinguishing qualities of sound beer, that persons may know what it is they purchase, and how far their health may be affected by it. Wholesome beer then ought to be of a bright colour, and perfectly transparent, neither too high nor too pale. It should have a pleasant and mellow taste, sharp and agreeably bitter, without being hard or sour. It should leave no pungent sensation on the tongue; and if drank in any tolerable quantity, it must neither produce speedy intoxication, nor any of the usual effects of sleep, nausea, headache, or languor; nor should it be retained too long after drinking it, or be too quickly discharged. If beer purchased at the alehouse be suspected of having been adulterated with the infusion of vitriol, for the purpose of adding to its strength, it may be detected by putting in a few nut galls, which will immediately turn it black, if it have been so adulterated; and the beer ought by all means to be rejected, as highly injurious to the constitution, and may be fatal even to life itself. BEES. A hive of bees may be considered as a populous city, containing thirty thousand inhabitants. This community is in itself a monarchy, composed of a queen, of males which are the drones, and of working bees called neuters. The combs being composed of pure wax, serve as a magazine for their stores, and a nursery for their young. Between the combs there is a space sufficient for two bees to march abreast, and there are also transverse defiles by which they can more easily pass from one comb to another.--The queen bee is distinguishable from the rest by the form of her body. She is much longer, unwieldy, and of a brighter colour, and seldom leaves the parent hive; but when she goes to settle a new colony, all the bees attend her to the place of destination. A hive of bees cannot subsist without a queen, as she produces their numerous progeny; and hence their attachment to her is unalterable. When a queen dies, the bees immediately cease working, consume their honey, fly about at unusual times, and eventually pine away, if not supplied with another sovereign. The death of the queen is proclaimed by a clear and uninterrupted humming, which should be a warning to the owner to provide the bees if possible with another queen, whose presence will restore vigour and exertion; of such importance is a sovereign to the existence and prosperity of this community. It is computed that a pregnant queen bee contains about five thousand eggs, and that she produces from ten to twelve thousand bees in the space of two months.--Drones are smaller than the queen, but larger than the working bees, and when on the wing they make a greater noise. Their office is to impregnate the eggs of the queen after they are deposited in the cells; but when this is effected, as they become useless to the hive, they are destroyed by the working bees and thrown out; and having no sting, they are without the power of resistance. After the season of the encrease of the bees is past, and when they attend to the collection of winter stores, every vestige of the drones is destroyed to make room for the honey. When drones are observed in a hive late in autumn, it is usually a sign that the stock is poor.--Working bees compose the most numerous body of the state. They have the care of the hive, collect the wax and honey, fabricate the wax into combs, feed the young, keep the hive clean, expel all strangers, and employ themselves in promoting the general prosperity. The working bee has two stomachs, one to contain the honey, and another for the crude wax. Among the different kinds of working bees, those are to be preferred which are small, smooth, and shining, and of a gentle disposition.--Considering the rich productions of these little insects, and the valuable purposes to which they may be applied, it is truly astonishing that so important an object in rural economy has been so little attended to by the inhabitants of this country. In Egypt, the cultivation of bees forms a leading object, and their productions constitute a part of its riches. About the end of October, when sustenance cannot be provided for them at home, the inhabitants of Lower Egypt embark their bees on the Nile, and convey them to the distant regions of Upper Egypt, when the inundation is withdrawn, and the flowers are beginning to bud. These insects are thus conducted through the whole extent of that fertile country; and after having gathered all the rich produce of the banks of the Nile, are re-conducted home about the beginning of February. In France also, floating bee-hives are very common. One barge contains from sixty to a hundred hives, which are well defended from the inclemency of the weather. Thus the owners float them gently down the stream, while they gather the honey from the flowers along its banks, and a little bee-house yields the proprietors a considerable income. At other times they convey bees by land, to places where honey and wax may be collected. The hives are fastened to each other by laths placed on a thin packcloth, which is drawn up on each side and tied with packthread several times round their tops. Forty or fifty hives are then laid in a cart, and the owner takes them to distant places where the bees may feed and work. But without this labour the industrious bee might be cultivated to great advantage, and thousands of pounds weight of wax and honey collected, which now are suffered to be wasted on the desert air, or perish unheeded amidst the flowers of the field.--Those whose attention may be directed to the subject by these remarks, and who intend to erect an apiary, should purchase the stocks towards the close of the year, when bees are cheapest; and such only as are full of combs, and well furnished with bees. To ascertain the age of the hives it should be remarked, that the combs of the last year are white, while those of the former year acquire a darkish yellow. Where the combs are black, the hive should be rejected as too old, and liable to the inroads of vermin. In order to obtain the greatest possible advantage from the cultivation of bees, it is necessary to supply them with every convenience for the support of themselves and their young. And though it may be too much trouble to transport them to distant places, in order to provide them with the richest food, and to increase their abundant stores; yet in some instances this plan might in part be adopted with considerable success. It has been seen in Germany, as well as in other parts of the continent, that forty large bee hives have been filled with honey, to the amount of seventy pounds each, in one fortnight, by their being placed near a large field of buck wheat in flower; and as this and various other plants adapted to enrich the hive are to be found in many parts of England, there is no reason why a similar advantage might not be derived from such an experiment.--Besides providing for them the richest food in summer, in order to facilitate their labours, it is equally necessary to attend to their preservation in the winter. To guard against the effects of cold, the bees should be examined during the winter; and if instead of being clustered between the combs, they are found in numbers at the bottom of the hive, they should be carried to a warmer place, where they will soon recover. In very severe seasons, lay on the bottom of an old cask the depth of half a foot of fine earth pressed down hard; place the stool on this with the hive, and cut a hole in the cask opposite to the entrance of the hive, in which fix a piece of reed or hollow elder, and then cover the whole with dry earth. This will preserve a communication with the external air, and at the same time keep out the cold. The bees remaining in a torpid state during the winter, they require but little food; but as every sunny day revives and prompts them to exercise, a small supply is necessary on these occasions. Many hives of bees which are supposed to have died of cold, have in reality perished by famine, especially when a rainy summer prevented them from collecting a sufficient store of provision. Hence the hives should be carefully examined in autumn, and ought then to weigh at least eighteen pounds each. When bees require to be fed, the honey should be diluted with water, and put into an empty comb, split reeds, or upon clear wood, which the bees will suck perfectly dry. But it is a much better way to replenish the weak hives in September, with such a portion of combs filled with honey taken from other hives as may be deemed a sufficient supply. This is done by turning up the weak hive, cutting out the empty combs, and placing full ones in their stead, so secure as not to fall down when the hive is replaced. If this be too troublesome, a plate of honey may be set under the hive, and straws laid across the plate, covered with paper perforated with small holes, through which the bees will suck the honey without difficulty.--These valuable insects are liable to various disorders, both from the food they eat, from foreign enemies, and from one another. If they have fed greedily on the blossoms of the milk thistle or the elm, it will render them incapable of working, and the hive will be stained with filth. The best cure in this case is pounded pomegranate seed, moistened with sweet wine; or raisins mixed with wine or mead, and the infusion of rosemary. When they are infested with vermin, the hive must be cleansed, and perfumed with a branch of pomegranate or the wild fig-tree, which will effectually destroy them. Butterflies sometimes conceal themselves in the hives, and annoy the bees; but these intruders may easily be exterminated by placing lighted candles in deep tin pots between the hives, as they will be attracted by the flame, and so perish. In order to extirpate wasps and hornets preying upon the honey, it is only necessary to expose shallow vessels near the hive with a little water, to which those depredators eagerly repair to quench their thirst, and thus easily drown themselves. To prevent bees of one society from attacking or destroying those of another, which is frequently the case, the following method may be tried. Let a board about an inch thick be laid on the bee bench, and set the hive upon it with its mouth exactly on the edge. The mouth of the hive should also be contracted to about an inch in length, and a semicircular hole made in the board immediately under the mouth of the hive. By this simple method, the bees which come to make the attack will be foiled, and constrained to act with great disadvantage. If this do not succeed, remove the hive to a distant part of the garden, and to a more easterly or colder aspect, which will frequently end the contest.--When bees are to be taken up for the purpose of obtaining the wax and honey, great care should be taken not to destroy the insects; and for this end the following method is recommended. The upper box on the hive, which principally contains the honey, is first to be taken off. The joint should be loosened, the cement scraped off, and then a piece of iron wire to be drawn through the comb so as to divide it. When the upper box is thus separated, its cover is to be taken off and immediately placed on the second box, which is now the highest. Having taken out the contents of the box which has been separated, it is to be placed again on the stand, under the lower box, and its door only is to be left open. If any bees remain in the box when taken away, a little smoke will drive them out, and they will quickly return to their own hive. In this manner a second or a third box of honey may be removed in succession, when the lower part of the hive appears to be full; but care must be taken not to deprive the bees entirely of the stock which they have collected for the winter. In taking up a common straw hive of bees, the best way is to remove it into a darkened room, that it may appear to the bees as if it were late in the evening. Then gently turning the hive bottom upwards, and supporting it in that position, cover it with an empty hive a little raised towards the window, to give the bees sufficient light to guide their ascent. Keep the empty hive steadily supported on the edge of the full hive, and strike the hand round the full hive to frighten the bees, till they have nearly all ascended into the other. The new hive containing the bees must be placed on the stand of the apiary, to receive the absent bees as they return from the fields. BEET ROOT. This cooling and wholesome vegetable is good boiled, and sliced with a small quantity of onion, or stewed with whole onions in the following manner. Boil the beet tender with the skin on, slice it into a stewpan with a little broth and a spoonful of vinegar. Simmer it till the gravy is tinged with the colour; then put it into a small dish, and make a round of button onions, first boiled tender. Take off the skin just before serving, and let them be quite hot and clear. Or roast three large onions, and peel off the outer skins till they look clear; and serve round them the stewed beet root. The root must not be broken before it is dressed, or it will lose its colour, and look ill.--To preserve beet-root for winter use, they should not be cleared from the earth, but kept in layers of dry sand. BEETLES. When these insects become troublesome in the house, put some small lumps of quick lime into the chinks or holes of the wall from whence they issue, or scatter it on the ground. Or at night, lay a spoonful of treacle on a piece of wood, and float it in a pan of water: beetles are so fond of syrup, that they will be drowned in attempting to get at it. The common black beetle may also be extirpated by placing a hedgehog in the room, during the summer nights; or by laying a bundle of pea straw near their holes, and afterwards burning it when the beetles have crept into it. BENTON CAKES. Mix a paste of flour, a little bit of butter, and milk. Roll it as thin as possible, and bake on a backstone over the fire, or on a hot hearth. Another sort of Benton tea-cakes are made like biscuits, by rubbing into a pound of flour six ounces of butter, and three large spoonfuls of yeast. Work up the paste with a sufficient quantity of new milk, make it into biscuits, and prick them with a clean fork. Or melt six or seven ounces of butter, with a sufficient quantity of new milk warmed to make seven pounds of flour into a stiff paste. Roll it thin, and make it into biscuits. BENTON SAUCE. Grate some horse-radish, or scrape it very fine. Add to it a little made mustard, some pounded white sugar, and four large spoonfuls of vinegar. Serve it up in a saucer: this is good with hot or cold roast beef. BILLS OF FARE, or list of various articles in season in different months. JANUARY.----_Poultry._ Game, pheasants, partridges, hares, rabbits, woodcocks, snipes, turkeys, capons, pullets, fowls, chickens, tame pigeons.--_Fish._ Carp, tench, perch, eels, lampreys, crayfish, cod, soles, flounders, plaice, turbot, skate, thornback, sturgeon, smelts, whitings, crabs, lobsters, prawns, oysters.--_Vegetables._ Cabbage, savoys, coleworts, sprouts, brocoli, leeks, onions, beet, sorrel, chervil, endive, spinach, celery, garlic, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, shalots, lettuces, cresses, mustard, rape, salsify, herbs dry and green.--_Fruit._ Apples, pears, nuts, walnuts, medlars, grapes. FEBRUARY, MARCH.----Meat, fowls and game, as in January, with the addition of ducklings and chickens.--_Fish._ As the last two months, except that cod is not thought so good, from February to July.--_Vegetables._ The same as the former months, with the addition of kidney beans.--_Fruit._ Apples, pears, forced strawberries. APRIL, MAY, JUNE.----_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, lamb, venison in June.----_Poultry._ Pullets, fowls, chickens, ducklings, pigeons, rabbits, leverets.--_Fish._ Carp, tench, soles, smelts, eels, trout, turbot, lobsters, chub, salmon, herrings, crayfish, mackarel, crabs, prawns, shrimps.--_Vegetables._ As before, and in May, early potatoes, peas, radishes, kidney beans, carrots, turnips, early cabbages, cauliflowers, asparagus, artichokes, all sorts of forced sallads.--_Fruit._ In June, strawberries, cherries, melons, green apricots, gooseberries and currants for tarts. In July, cherries, strawberries, pears, melons, gooseberries, currants, apricots, grapes, nectarines, peaches; but most of these are forced. JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER.--Meat as before.--_Poultry._ Pullets, fowls, chickens, rabbits, pigeons, green geese, leverets, turkey poults, plovers, wheatears, and geese in September.--_Fish._ Cod, haddock, flounders, plaice, skate, thornback, mullets, pike, carp, eels, shellfish, except oysters; mackarel the first two months, but are not good in August.--_Vegetables._ Beans, peas, French beans, and various others.--_Fruit._ In July, strawberries, gooseberries, pineapples, plums, cherries, apricots, raspberries, melons, currants, damsons. In August and September, peaches, plums, filberts, figs, mulberries, cherries, apples, pears, nectarines, grapes, pines, melons, strawberries, medlars, quinces, morella cherries, damsons, and various plums. OCTOBER.--Meat as before, and doe-venison.----_Poultry._ Game, pheasants, fowls, partridges, larks, hares, dotterels, wild ducks, teal, snipes, widgeon, grouse.--_Fish._ Dories, smelts, pike, perch, holibets, brills, carp, salmon trout, barbel, gudgeons, tench, shellfish.--_Vegetables._ As in January, French beans, runners, windsor beans.----_Fruit._ Peaches, pears, figs, bullace, grapes, apples, medlars, damsons, filberts, nuts, walnuts, quinces, services. NOVEMBER.--_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, pork, house lamb, doe venison, poultry and game. Fish as the last month.--_Vegetables._ Carrots, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, skirrets, onions, leeks, shalots, cabbage, savoys, colewort, spinach, cardoons, cresses, endive, celery, lettuces, salad, herbs.--_Fruit._ Pears, apples, nuts, walnuts, bullace, chesnuts, medlars, grapes. DECEMBER.--_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, house lamb, pork and venison.--_Poultry._ Game, turkeys, geese, pullets, pigeons, capons, fowls, chickens, rabbits, hares, snipes, woodcocks, larks, pheasants, partridges, sea-fowls, guinea-fowls, wild ducks, teal, widgeon, dotterels, dunbirds, grouse.--_Fish._ Turbot, cod, holibets, soles, gurnets, sturgeon, carp, gudgeons, codlings, eels, dories, shellfish.--_Vegetables._ As in the last month; asparagus forced.--_Fruit._ As the last, except bullace. BIRCH WINE. The season for obtaining the liquor from birch trees, is in the latter end of February or the beginning of March, before the leaves shoot out, and as the sap begins to rise. If the time be delayed, the juice will grow too thick to be drawn out. It should be as thin and clear as possible. The method of procuring the juice is by boring holes in the trunk of the tree, and fixing in facets made of elder; but care should be taken not to tap it in too many places at once, for fear of injuring the tree. If the tree is large, it may be bored in five or six places at once, and bottles are to be placed under the apertures to receive the sap. When four or five gallons have been extracted from different trees, cork the bottles very close, and wax them till the wine is to be made, which should be as soon as possible after the sap has been obtained. Boil the sap, and put four pounds of loaf sugar to every gallon, also the rind of a lemon cut thin; then boil it again for nearly an hour, skimming it well all the time. Into a cask that will contain it, put a lighted brimstone match, stop it up till the match is burnt out, and then pour the liquor into it as quickly as possible. When nearly cold, work it with a toast spread with yeast, and let it stand five or six days, stirring it two or three times a-day. Put the bung lightly in till it has done working; then close it down, and let it stand two or three months. The wine may then be bottled, and will be fit for use in about a week. It makes a rich and salutary cordial, and its virtues are much relied on in consumptive and scorbutic cases. BISCUIT CAKE. One pound of flour, five eggs well beaten and strained, eight ounces of sugar, a little rose or orange flower water. Beat the whole thoroughly, and bake it one hour. BISCUITS. To make hard biscuits, warm two ounces of butter in as much skimmed milk as will make a pound of flour into a very stiff paste. Beat it with a rolling pin, and work it very smooth. Roll it thin, and cut it into round biscuits. Prick them full of holes with a fork, and about six minutes will bake them.--For plain and very crisp biscuits, make a pound of flour, the yolk of an egg, and some milk, into a very stiff paste. Beat it well, and knead it quite smooth; roll the paste very thin, and cut it into biscuits. Bake them in a slow oven till quite dry and crisp.--To preserve biscuits for a long time sweet and good, no other art is necessary than packing them up in casks well caulked, and carefully lined with tin, so as to exclude the air. The biscuits should be laid as close as possible; and when it is necessary to open the cask, it must be speedily closed again with care. Sea bread may also be preserved on a long voyage, by being put into a bag which has been previously soaked in a quantity of liquid nitre, and dried. This has been found to preserve the biscuits from the fatal effects of the wevil, and other injurious insects, which are destructive to this necessary article of human sustenance. BITTERS. Bruise an ounce of gentian root, and two drams of cardamom seeds together: add an ounce of lemon peel, and three drams of Seville orange peel. Pour on the ingredients a pint and half of boiling water, and let it stand an hour closely covered: then pour off the clear liquor, and a glass of it taken two or three times a day will be found an excellent bitter for the stomach.--Or slice an ounce of gentian root, and add half a dram of snakes' root bruised, half a dram of saffron, three quarters of a dram of cardamom seeds, and the same of cochineal bruised together, and the peel of three Seville oranges. Steep the ingredients in a pint of brandy fourteen days, shaking them together frequently; then strain the tincture through a piece of muslin, and a tea-spoonful in a glass of wine may be taken two or three times a day. BLACK BUTTER. Boil a pound of moist sugar with three pounds of gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and cherries, till reduced to half the quantity. Put it into pots covered with brandy paper, and it will be found a pleasant sweetmeat. BLACK CAPS. Divide and core some fine large apples, put them in a shallow pan, strew white sugar over, and bake them. Boil a glass of wine, the same of water, and sweeten it for sauce. Or, take off a slice from the stalk end of some apples, and core without paring them. Mix with grated lemon, and a few cloves in fine powder, as much sugar as will sweeten them. Stuff the holes as close as possible with this, and turn the flat end down on a stewpan; set them on a very slow fire, with some raisin wine and water. Cover them close, and now and then baste them with the liquor: when done enough, black the tops with a salamander. BLACK INK. Infuse in a gallon of rain or soft water, a pound of blue galls bruised, and keep it stirring for three weeks. Then add four ounces of green copperas, four ounces of logwood chips, six ounces of gum arabac, and a glass of brandy.--To make ink of a superior quality, and fit for immediate use, prepare the following ingredients. Four ounces of blue galls, two ounces of chipped logwood, two of sulphate of iron, one ounce and a half of gum arabac, half an ounce of sulphate of copper, and half an ounce of brown sugar. Boil the galls and logwood in six pints of spring or distilled water, until nearly three pints of water are evaporated, then strain it through a piece of flannel. Powder the salts in a mortar, dissolve the gum in a little warm water, then mix the whole together, and shake it frequently for two or three days; during which time expose it to the air, and it will become blacker. Decant the liquor into stone bottles well corked, and it will be fit for use directly. Those who wish to avoid the trouble of such a process, will find an excellent substitute in Walkden's Ink Powder ready prepared, with directions how to use it. If a cup of sweet wort be added to two papers of the powder, it will give it the brightness of japan ink. BLACK LEAD. The best preparation for cleaning cast-iron stoves is made of black lead, mixed with a little common gin, or the dregs of port wine, and laid on the stove with a piece of linen rag. Then with a clean brush, not too hard, and dipped in some dried black lead powder, rub the stove till it comes to a beautiful brightness. This will produce a much finer black varnish on the cast-iron, than either boiling the black lead with small beer and soap, or mixing it with white of egg, as is commonly practised. BLACK PAPER, for drawing patterns, may easily be made in the following manner. Mix and smooth some lamp-black and sweet oil, with a piece of flannel. Cover a sheet or two of large writing paper with this mixture, then dab the paper dry with a rag of fine linen, and prepare it for future use by putting the black side on another sheet of paper, and fastening the corners together with a small pin. When wanted to draw, lay the pattern on the back of the black paper, and go over it with the point of a steel pencil. The black paper will then leave the impression of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must now draw it with ink. If you draw patterns on cloth or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in a bit of stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water, mixed smooth in a tea cup, in which it will be always ready for use. BLACK PUDDINGS. The pig's blood must be stirred with a little salt till it is cold. Put a full quart of it to a quart of whole grits, and let it stand all night. Soak the crumb of a quartern loaf in rather more than two quarts of new milk made hot. In the meantime prepare the guts by washing, turning and scraping, with salt and water, and changing the water several times. Chop fine a little winter savoury and thyme, a good quantity of pennyroyal, pepper and salt, a few cloves, some allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Mix these all together, with three pounds of beef suet, and six eggs well beaten and strained. Have ready some hog's fat cut into large bits; and as the skins are filling with the pudding, put in the fat at intervals. Tie up in links only half filled, and boil in a large kettle, pricking them as they swell, or they will burst. When boiled, lay them between clean cloths till cold, and hang them up in the kitchen. When to be used, scald them a few minutes in water; wipe, and put them into a Dutch oven. If there be not skins enough, put the stuffing into basins, and boil it covered with floured cloths. Slice and fry it when used.--Another way is, to soak all night a quart of bruised grits in as much boiling-hot milk as will swell them, and leave half a pint of liquid. Chop a quantity of pennyroyal, savoury and thyme; add salt and pepper, and allspice finely powdered. Mix the above with a quart of the blood, prepared as before directed; clean the skins thoroughly, half fill them with the stuffing, put in as much of the leaf fat of the pig as will make it pretty rich, and boil as before directed. A small quantity of leeks finely shred and well mixed, is a great improvement.--A superior article may be made as follows: boil a quart of half-grits in as much milk as will swell them to the utmost, drain them and add a quart of blood, a pint of rich cream, a pound of suet, some mace, nutmeg, allspice, and four cloves, all in fine powder. And two pounds of hog's leaf cut into dice, two leeks, a handful of parsley, ten leaves of sage, a large handful of pennyroyal, and a sprig of thyme and knotted marjoram, all finely minced; eight eggs well beaten, half a pound of bread crumbs scalded in a pint of milk, with pepper and salt. Soak and clean the skins in several waters, last of all in rose-water, and half fill them with the stuffing. Tie the skins in links, boil and prick them with a clean fork, to prevent their breaking, and cover them with a clean cloth till cold. BLACKBERRY JAM. Put some red, but not ripe, blackberries into a jar, and cover it up closely. Set the jar in a kettle or deep stewpan of water over the fire, as a water bath; and when it has simmered five or six hours, force the juice through a sieve. To every pint of juice, add two pounds of powdered loaf-sugar, boiling and scumming it in the same manner as for any other jam or jelly. This simple article is said to afford effectual relief in cases of stone or gravel: a tea-spoonful to be taken every night, and repeated in the morning, if necessary. A good jam may also be made of ripe blackberries, in a similar manner; and both, like other jams, should be kept in jars, closely tied over with brandy paper. BLACKBERRY WINE. Pick and clean a quantity of ripe blackberries; to every quart of fruit, add a quart of cold water which has first been boiled. Bruise them well, and let the whole stand twenty-four hours, stirring it occasionally during that time. Express all the juice and run it through a sieve or jelly bag, on a pound and a half of sugar to each gallon of liquid. Stir it till thoroughly dissolved, put it in a well seasoned barrel, add a little dissolved isinglass, and let it remain open till the next day; then bung it up. This makes a pleasant wine, which may be bottled off in about two months. BLACKING for shoes is made of four ounces of ivory black, three ounces of the coarsest sugar, a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and a pint of small beer, gradually mixed together cold. BLACKING BALLS. Portable shoe-blacking, in the form of cakes or balls, is made in the following manner. Take four ounces of mutton suet, one ounce of bees-wax, one of sweet oil, and a dram each of powdered sugar-candy and gum-arabac. Melt them well together over a slow fire; add a spoonful of turpentine, and lamp-black sufficient to give it a good black colour. While hot enough to run, make the composition into a ball, by pouring it into a tin mould; or let it stand till nearly cold, and then it may be moulded into any form by the hand. BLADE-BONE OF PORK. Cut it from the bacon-hog, with a small quantity of meat upon it, and lay it on the gridiron. When nearly done pepper and salt it. Add a piece of butter, and a tea-spoonful of mustard; and serve it up quickly. This dish is much admired in Somersetshire. A blade-bone of mutton may be dressed in the same way. BLAMANGE. Boil two ounces of isinglass half an hour, in a pint and half of water, and strain off the cream. Sweeten it, and add some peach water, or a few bitter almonds; let it boil up once, and put it into what forms you please. Be sure to let the blamange settle before you turn it into the forms, or the blacks will remain at the bottom of them, and be on the top of the blamange when taken out of the moulds. If not to be very stiff, a little less isinglass will do.--For Yellow Blamange, pour a pint of boiling water upon an ounce of isinglass, and the peel of one lemon. When cold, sweeten with two ounces of fine sugar: add a quarter of a pint of white wine, the yolks of four eggs, and the juice of one lemon. Stir all together, and let it boil five minutes: strain through a bag, and put into cups. BLANKETS, if not in constant use, are liable to be moth-eaten. To prevent this, they should be folded and laid under feather beds that are in use, and occasionally shaken. When soiled, they should be washed, not scoured: and well dried before they are laid by, or they will breed moths. BLEACHING OF STRAW. This is generally done by the fumes of sulphur, in a place enclosed for that purpose: but to render the straw very white, and encrease its flexibility in platting, it should be dipped in a solution of oxygenated muriatic acid, saturated with potash. Oxygenated muriate of lime will also answer the purpose. To repair straw bonnets, they must be carefully ripped to pieces; the plat should be bleached with the above solution, and made up afresh. BLUE INK. Dissolve an ounce of finely powdered verdigris, and half an ounce of cream of tartar, in three ounces of water. This will make a fine blue writing ink, which has the singular property of giving to an iron nail, immersed in it for twenty-four hours, a beautiful green colour. BOARDED FLOORS will preserve a beautiful appearance, if treated in the following manner. After washing them very clean with soda and warm water, and a brush, wash them with a large sponge and clean water, observing that no spot be left untouched. Be careful to clean straight up and down, not crossing from board to board: then dry with clean cloths, rubbing hard up and down the same way. The floors should not be often wetted, but very thoroughly when done; and once a week dry-rubbed with hot sand, and a heavy brush, the right way of the boards. If oil or grease have stained the floor, make a strong lye of pearl-ashes and soft water, and add as much unslaked lime as it will take up. Stir it together, and then let it settle a few minutes; bottle it, and stop it close. When used, lower it with a little water, and scour the part with it. If the liquor lie long on the boards, it will extract their colour; it must therefore be done with care and expedition. Stone work may be freed from stains in the same way. BOCKINGS. Mix three ounces of buck-wheat flour with a tea-cupful of warm milk, and a spoonful of yeast. Let it rise before the fire about an hour; then mix four eggs well beaten, and as much milk as will make the batter the usual thickness for pancakes, and fry them in the same manner. BOILING. Cleanliness here is of great consequence; and for this purpose all culinary vessels should be made of iron, or of other metals well tinned. The pernicious effects of copper or brass may be perceived by rubbing the hand round the inside of a pot or kettle made of either of those metals, and which has been scoured clean and fit for use; for though it may not discolour the hand, yet it will cause an offensive smell, and must in some degree affect every article which is put into it. If copper or brass be used, they should be well cleaned, and nothing suffered to remain in the vessels longer than is necessary for the purposes of cooking. In small families however, block-tin saucepans and boilers are much to be preferred, as lightest and safest. If proper care be taken of them, and they are well dried after being cleaned, they are also by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little more than the expense of tinning a copper one. Care should be taken to have the covers of boiling pots fit close, not only to prevent an unnecessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not insinuate itself under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad taste. A trivet or fish drainer placed in the boiler to lay the meat on, and to raise it an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side of it which comes next the bottom from being done too much, and the lower part of the meat will be as delicately done as any other. Instead of a trivet, four skewers stuck into the meat transversely will answer the purpose, or a soup plate whelmed the wrong side upwards. With good management it will take less fire for boiling than for roasting, but it should be kept to a regular pitch, so as to keep the pot gently boiling all the time. If it boils too fast, it will harden the meat, by extracting too much of the gravy; but if it be allowed to simmer only, or to boil gently, it will become rich and tender. The scum must be carefully taken off as soon as the water boils, or it will sink and discolour the meat. The oftener it is scummed, and the cleaner the top of the water is kept, the cleaner will be the meat; and if a little cold water be occasionally thrown in, it will bring up the remainder of the scum to the surface. Neither mixing milk with the water nor wrapping up the meat in a cloth are necessary, if the scum be attentively removed; and the meat will have a more delicate colour, and a finer flavour, if boiled in clear water only. The general rule for boiling is to allow a quarter of an hour to a pound of meat; but if it be boiled gently or simmered only, which is by far the superior way, twenty minutes to the pound will scarcely be found too much. At the same time care must be taken to keep the pot constantly boiling, and not to suffer the meat to remain in after it is done enough, or it will become sodden, and lose its flavour. The quantity of water is regulated by the size of the meat; sufficient to cover it, but not to drown it; and the less water, the more savoury will the meat be, and the better the broth. It is usual to put all kinds of fresh meat into hot water, and salt meat into cold water; but if the meat has been salted only a short time it is better to put it in when the water boils, or it will draw out too much of the gravy. Lamb, veal, and pork require rather more boiling than other meat, to make them wholesome. The hind quarters of most animals require longer time to dress than the fore quarters, and all kinds of provision require more time in frosty weather than in summer. Large joints of beef and mutton are better a little underdone; they make the richer hash; but meat that is fresh slain will remain tough and hard, in whatever way it may be cooked. All meat should be washed clean before it is put into the boiler, but salt meat especially. A ham of twenty pounds will take four hours and a half in boiling, and others in proportion. A dried tongue, after being soaked, will take four hours boiling: a tongue out of pickle, from two hours and a half to three hours, or more if very large: it must be judged by its feeling quite tender. Boiling is in general the most economical mode of cooking, if care be taken to preserve the broth, and apply it to useful purposes. BOILED BACON. Soak it, and take off the rind before boiling. A pound of bacon boiled without the skin will weigh an ounce heavier than a pound boiled with it. Fat bacon should be put into hot water, and lean into cold water, when it is to be dressed. Young bacon will boil in about three quarters of an hour. Grate some toasted bread over it, and set it near the fire to brown it a little, before it is sent to table. BOILED BEEF. When the water boils put in the meat, whether beef or mutton, and take off the scum as it rises. If the scum be suffered to sink, it will stick to the meat, and spoil its colour. Turnips, greens, potatoes, or carrots with the beef, and caper sauce with the mutton. BOILED CUSTARD. Set a pint of cream over a slow fire, adding two ounces of sugar, and the rind of a lemon. Take it off the fire as soon as it begins to simmer; as the cream cools, add by degrees the yolks of eight eggs well beaten, with a spoonful of orange water. Stir it carefully over a slow fire till it almost boils, and strain it quickly through a piece of thin muslin. Put it into cups, and serve it up cold. BOILED DUCK. Choose a fine fat duck, salt it two days, and boil it slowly in a cloth. Serve it with onion sauce, but melt the butter with milk instead of water. BOILED EELS. The small ones are best, provided they are bright, and of a good colour. After they are skinned, boil them in a small quantity of water, with a quantity of parsley, which with the liquor should be sent to table with them. Serve chopped parsley and butter for sauce. BOILED FOWL. For boiling, choose those that are not black-legged. Pick them nicely, singe, wash, and truss them. Flour them, and put them into boiling water: half an hour will be sufficient for one of middling size. Serve with parsley and butter; oyster, lemon, liver, or celery sauce. If for dinner, ham, tongue or bacon is usually served with them, and also greens.--When cooked with rice, stew the fowl very slowly in some clear mutton broth well skimmed, and seasoned with onion, mace, pepper and salt. About half an hour before it is ready, put in a quarter of a pint of rice well washed and soaked. Simmer it till it is quite tender, strain it from the broth, and put the rice on a sieve before the fire. Keep the fowl hot, lay it in the middle of the dish, and the rice round it without the broth. The broth will be nice by itself, but the less liquor the fowl is done with the better. Gravy, or parsley and butter, for sauce. BOILED HAM. Soak the ham in cold water the night before it is to be dressed, scrape it clean, and put it into the boiler with cold water. Skim the liquor while boiling; let it not boil fast, but simmer only, and add a little cold water occasionally for this purpose. When the ham is done, take it up, pull off the skin carefully, and grate a crust of bread over it so as to cover it tolerably thick. Set it before the fire, or put it into the oven till the bread is crisp; garnish it with carrots, or any thing that is in season. A ham of twenty pounds will require five hours boiling, and others in proportion. BOILED LEG OF PORK. Salt it eight or ten days; and when it is to be dressed, weigh it. Let it lie half an hour in cold water to make it white: allow a quarter of an hour for every pound, and half an hour over, from the time it boils up. Skim it as soon as it boils, and frequently after. Allow plenty of water, and save some of it for peas-soup. The leg should be small, and of a fine grain; and if boiled in a floured cloth, it will improve the colour and appearance. Serve it with peas-pudding and turnips. BOILED SALMON. Clean it carefully, boil it gently, and take it out of the water as soon as done. Let the water be warm, if the fish be split: if underdone, it is very unwholesome. Serve with shrimp or anchovy sauce. BOILED TURBOT. The turbot kettle must be of a proper size, and in good order. Set the fish in cold water sufficient to cover it completely, throw a handful of salt and a glass of vinegar into it, and let it gradually boil. Be very careful that no blacks fall into it; but skim it well, and preserve the beautiful colour of the fish. Serve it garnished with a complete fringe of curled parsley, lemon and horse-radish. The sauce must be the finest lobster, anchovy and butter, and plain butter, served plentifully in separate tureens.--If necessary, turbot will keep two or three days, and be in as high perfection as at first, if lightly rubbed over with salt, and carefully hung in a cold place. BOILED TURKEY. A turkey will neither boil white nor eat tender, unless it has been killed three or four days. Pick it clean, draw it at the rump, cut off the legs, stick the end of the thighs into the body, and tie them fast. Flour the turkey, put it into the water while cold, let it boil gently half an hour or more, take off the scum, and cover the kettle close. Make the stuffing of grated bread and lemon peel, four ounces of shred suet, a few chopped oysters, two eggs, and a little cream. Fill the craw with stuffing, and make the rest into balls, which are to be boiled and laid round the dish. The stuffing may be made without oysters; or force-meat or sausage may be used, mixed with crumbs of bread and yolks of eggs. Celery sauce or white sauce is very proper. BOILED VEAL. Dredge it with flour, tie it up in a cloth, and put it in when the water boils. A knuckle requires more boiling in proportion to its weight, than any other joint, to render the gristle soft and tender. Parsley and butter, bacon and greens, are commonly eaten with it. BOILERS. Copper boilers and saucepans are apt to become leaky, when they have been joined or mended, or from bruises, which sometimes render them unfit for use. In this case a cement of pounded quicklime, mixed with ox's blood, applied fresh to the injured part, will be of great advantage, and very durable. A valuable cement for such purposes may also be made of equal parts of vinegar and milk mixed together so as to produce a curd: the whey is then put to the whites of four or five eggs after they have been well beaten, and the whole reduced to a thick paste by the addition of some quicklime finely sifted. This composition applied to cracks or fissures of any kind, and properly dried, will resist the effects of fire and water. BOLOGNA SAUSAGES. Cut into small pieces four pounds of lean beef, and add to it a pound of diced suet, with the same quantity of diced bacon. Season with allspice, pepper, bay salt, saltpetre, and a little powder of bay leaves. Mix the whole together, tie the meat up in skins about the thickness of the wrist, dry the sausages in the same manner as tongues, and eat them without boiling. BOLOGNA SOUP. Bind close with packthread, fifteen pounds of brisket of beef, and put it into a pot with water sufficient to cover it. Then add three large carrots, some good turnips, four onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, and half a white cabbage sliced and fried in butter. The pot must be well scummed before the herbs are put in. It must boil very slowly for five or six hours; and when half boiled, prepare three or four pounds of loin of mutton, with all the fat taken off, and put it into the pot. Flavour the soup with whole pepper, and a head of celery; and to make it of a good colour, draw the gravy from a pound of lean beef over a slow fire, and add a ladleful to the soup, first carefully taking off all the fat. Having cut and dried the crust of a French roll, lay it in a stewpan with a little soup; and after stewing it over a slow fire, place it with a slice in the soup tureen. The beef must be untied, and served up with chopped parsley strewed over it; accompanied also with gravy sauce, a few capers, and some chopped carrots, thickened with the yolk of an egg. Add a little seasoning to the soup. BOOTS. Persons who travel much, or are often exposed to the weather, must be sensible of the importance of being provided with boots that will resist the wet. The following is a composition for preserving leather, the good effects of which are sufficiently ascertained. One pint of drying oil, two ounces of yellow wax, two ounces of spirit of turpentine, and half an ounce of Burgundy pitch, should be carefully melted together over a slow fire. With this mixture, new shoes and boots are to be rubbed in the sun, or at some distance from the fire, with a sponge or brush. The operation is to be repeated as often as they become dry, and until they are fully saturated. In this manner the leather becomes impervious to the wet: the boots or shoes last much longer than those of common leather, acquire such softness and pliability that they never shrivel or grow hard, and in that state are the most effectual preservation against wet and cold. It is necessary to observe, however, that boots or shoes thus prepared ought not to be worn till they become perfectly dry and flexible: otherwise the leather will be too soft, and the boots unserviceable. BOOT TOPS. Many of the compositions sold for the purpose of cleaning and restoring the colour of boot tops, are not found to answer, and are often injurious to the leather. A safe and easy preparation is made of a quart of boiled milk, which, when cold, is to be mixed with an ounce of the oil of vitriol, and an ounce of the spirit of salts, shaken well together. An ounce of red lavender is then to be added, and the liquid applied to the leather with a sponge. Or, mix a dram of oxymuriate of potash with two ounces of distilled water; and when the salt is dissolved, add two ounces of muriatic acid. Shake together in another vial, three ounces of rectified spirits of wine, with half an ounce of the essential oil of lemon, and unite the contents of the two vials, keeping the liquid closely corked for use. It is to be applied with a clean sponge, and dried gently; after which the tops may be polished with a proper brush, so as to appear like new leather. This mixture will readily take out grease, or any kind of spots, from leather or parchment. BOTTLES. The common practice of cleaning glass bottles with shot is highly improper; for if through inattention any of it should remain, when the bottles are again filled with wine or cider, the lead will be dissolved, and the liquor impregnated with its pernicious qualities. A few ounces of potash dissolved in water will answer the purpose much better, and clean a great number of bottles. If any impurity adhere to the sides, a few pieces of blotting paper put into the bottle, and shaken with the water, will very soon remove it. Another way is to roll up some pieces of blotting paper, steep them in soap and water, then put them into bottles or decanters with a little warm water, and shake them well for a few minutes: after this they will only require to be rinsed and dried. BOTTLING LIQUORS. Here the first thing to be attended to is, to see that the bottles be perfectly clean and dry; if wet, they will spoil the liquor, and make it turn mouldy. Then, though the bottles should be clean and dry, yet if the corks be not new and sound, the liquor will be damaged; for if the air can by any means penetrate, the liquor will grow flat, and never rise. As soon as a cask of liquor begins to grow vapid, and to lose its briskness, while it is on the tap, it should be drawn off immediately into bottles; and in order to quicken it, put a piece of loaf sugar into every bottle, about the size of a walnut. To forward the ripening, wrap the bottles in hay, and set them in a warm place; straw will not answer the purpose. When ale is to be bottled, it will be an improvement to add a little rice, a few raisins, or a tea-spoonful of moist sugar to each bottle. In the summer time, if table beer is bottled as soon as it has done working, it will soon become brisk, and make a very pleasant and refreshing drink. BOTTLED CURRANTS. See that the bottles be perfectly clean and dry, and let the fruit be gathered quite ripe, and when the weather is dry. The currants should be cut from the large stalks, with the smallest bit of stalk to each, and care taken not to wound the fruit, that none of the moisture may escape. It would be best indeed to cut them under the trees, and let them drop gently into the bottles. Stop up the bottles with cork and rosin, and trench them in the garden with the neck downwards: sticks should be placed opposite to where each sort of fruit begins. Cherries and damsons may be kept in the same way. BOTTLED GOOSEBERRIES. Pick some smooth gooseberries before they are quite full grown, put them into gooseberry bottles lightly corked, and set them up to their necks in a copper of cold water. Put a little hay round the bottles to prevent their breaking, make a fire under them, and let the heat increase gradually; let them simmer ten minutes, but not boil. Take out the fire, and let them remain in the copper till cold. Then take them out, dry the bottles, rosin down the corks close, and set them in dry saw-dust with their necks downward. BRAISING. To braise any kind of meat, put it into a stewpan, and cover it with fat bacon. Then add six or eight onions, a bundle of herbs, carrots, celery, any bones or trimmings of meat or fowls, and some stock. The bacon must be covered with white paper, and the lid of the pan must be kept close. Set it on a slow stove; and according to what the meat is, it will require two or three hours. The meat is then to be taken out, the gravy nicely skimmed, and set on to boil very quick till it is thick. The meat is to be kept hot; and if larded, put into the oven for a few minutes. Then put the jelly over it, which is called glazing, and is used for ham, tongue, and various made-dishes. White wine is added to some glazing. The glaze should be of beautiful clear yellow brown, and it is best put on with a nice brush. BRAISED CHICKENS. Bone them, and fill them with forcemeat. Lay the bones and any other poultry trimmings into a stewpan, and the chickens on them. Put to them a few onions, a handful of herbs, three blades of mace, a pint of stock, and a glass or two of sherry. Cover the chickens with slices of bacon, and then white paper; cover the whole close, and put them on a slow stove for two hours. Then take them up, strain the braise, and skim off the fat carefully: set it on to boil very quick to a glaze, and lay it over the chicken with a brush. Before glazing, put the chicken into an oven for a few minutes, to give it a colour. Serve with a brown fricassee of mushrooms. BRAISED MUTTON. Take off the chump end of a loin of mutton, cover it with buttered paper, and then with paste, as for venison. Roast it two hours, but let it not be browned. Have ready some French beans boiled, and drained on a sieve; and while you are glazing the mutton, give the beans one heat-up in gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them. BRAISED VEAL. Lard the best end of a neck of veal with bacon rolled in chopped parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put it into a tosser, and cover it with water. Add the scrag end of the neck, a little lean bacon or ham, an onion, two carrots, two heads of celery, and a glass of Madeira. Stew it quickly for two hours, or till it is tender, but not too much. Strain off the liquor: mix a little flour and butter in a stewpan till brown, and lay the veal in this, the upperside to the bottom of the pan. Let it be over the fire till it gets coloured: then lay it into the dish, stir some of the liquor in and boil it up, skim it nicely, and squeeze orange and lemon juice into it. BRANDY CREAM. Boil two dozen of blanched almonds, and pounded bitter almonds, in a little milk. When cold, add to it the yolks of five eggs beating well in cream; sweeten, and put to it two glasses of good brandy. After it is well mixed, pour to it a quart of thin cream; set it over the fire, but not to boil. Stir it one way till it thickens, then pour into cups or low glasses, and when cold it will be ready. A ratafia drop may be added to each cup; and if intended to keep, the cream must be previously scalded. BRANDY PUDDING. Line a mould with jar-raisins stoned, or dried cherries, then with thin slices of French roll; next to which put ratafias, or macaroons; then the fruit, rolls and cakes in succession, till the mould is full, sprinkling in at times two glasses of brandy. Beat four eggs, add a pint of milk or cream lightly sweetened, half a nutmeg, and the rind of half a lemon finely grated. Let the liquid sink into the solid part; then flour a cloth, tie it tight over, and boil one hour; keep the mould the right side up. Serve with pudding sauce. BRASS. Culinary vessels made of this metal, are constantly in danger of contracting verdigris. To prevent this, instead of wiping them dry in the usual manner, let them be frequently immersed in water, and they will be preserved safe and clean. BRAWN. Young brawn is to be preferred, the horny part of which will feel moderately tender, and the flavour will be better; the rind of old brawn will be hard. For Mock Brawn, boil a pair of neat's feet very tender; take the meat off, and have ready a belly-piece of salt pork, which has been in pickle for a week. Boil this almost enough, take out the bones if there be any, and roll the feet and the pork together. Bind it tight together with a strong cloth and coarse tape, boil it quite tender, and hang it up in the cloth till cold. Keep it afterwards in souse till it is wanted. BREAD. Two very important reasons urge the propriety and necessity of using home-baked bread, in preference to baker's bread, wherever it can be done with tolerable convenience; these are, its superior quality, and its cheapness. A bushel of wheat, weighing sixty pounds, will make sixty-five pounds of household bread, after the bran has been taken out; and if the pollard be separated also, to make a finer article, a bushel of ground wheat will then make fifty-eight pounds of fine white bread, free from any foreign mixture, leaving from ten to fifteen pounds of bran and pollard, which may be applied to useful purposes. The calculation then will be easy, and the difference between purchasing and making bread will be seen at once. A bushel of ground wheat weighing sixty pounds will produce thirteen quartern loaves and a half of fine bread, after the bran and pollard have been taken out; add to the price of the wheat, nine-pence a bushel for grinding, three-pence for yeast, four-pence for salt and the expence of baking; and from this deduct six-pence at least for the value of the bran and pollard, and it gives the price of the quartern loaves made and baked at home. In general it will be found that there is a saving of one third of the expense, if the business be properly conducted. Then the wholesome and nutricious quality of the bread is incomparably superior; there is no addition of alum, ground potatoes, whiting, or any other ingredient to give weight or colour to the bread, as is too often the case with baker's bread; but all is nutricious, sound, and good. But supposing their bread to be equal in quality, there is still a considerable saving in the course of a year, especially in a large family; and if household bread be made instead of fine bread, every bushel of good heavy wheat will produce nearly fifteen quartern loaves. Besides this, rye, and even a little barley mixed with the wheat, will make very good bread, and render it cheaper still. Rye will add a sweetness to the bread, and make it cut firmer, so as to prevent the waste of crumbs, and is unquestionably an article of good economy. The addition of potatoes is by no means to be approved, though so often recommended; any of the grains already mentioned have in them ten times the nutrition of potatoes, and in the end will be found to be much cheaper. Making bread with skim milk, instead of water, where it can be done, is highly advantageous, and will produce a much better article than can be purchased at a baker's shop.--On the subject of making bread, little need be said, as every common maid-servant is or ought to be well acquainted with this necessary part of household work, or she is good for nothing. To make good bread however, the flour should be kept four or five weeks before it is baked. Then put half a bushel of it into a kneading trough, mix with it between four and five quarts of warm water or skim milk, and a pint and a half of good yeast, and stir it well together with the hand till it become tough. Let it rise before the fire, about an hour and a half, or less if it rise fast; then, before it falls, add four quarts more of warm water, and half a pound of salt. Work it well, and cover it with a cloth. Put the fire into the oven; and by the time it is heated, the dough will be ready. Make the loaves about five pounds each, sweep out the oven very clean and quick, and put in the bread; shut it up close, and two hours and a half will bake it. In summer the water should be milk warm, in winter a little more, and in frosty weather as hot as the hand will bear, but not scalding, or the whole will be spoiled. Bread is better baked without tins, which gives to the crust an unnatural degree of hardness.--Those who are under the necessity of purchasing baker's bread, for want of other convenience, may detect the adulteration of alum by macerating a small piece of the crumb of new-baked bread in cold water, sufficient to dissolve it; and the taste of the alum, if it has been used, will acquire a sweet astringency. Or a heated knife may be thrust into a loaf before it has grown cold; and if it be free from that ingredient, scarcely any alteration will be visible on the blade; but, in the contrary case, its surface, after being allowed to cool, will appear slightly covered with an aluminous incrustation. BREAD CAKE. To make a common bread cake, separate from the dough, when making white bread, as much as is sufficient for a quartern loaf, and knead well into it two ounces of butter, two of Lisbon sugar, and eight of currants. Warm the butter in a tea-cupful of good milk. By adding another ounce of butter or sugar, or an egg or two, the cake may be improved, especially by putting in a tea-cupful of raw cream. It is best to bake it in a pan, rather than as a loaf, the outside being less hard. BREAD CHEESECAKES. Slice a penny white loaf as thin as possible, pour over it a pint of boiling cream, and let it stand two hours. Beat up eight eggs, half a pound of butter, and a grated nutmeg. Put in half a pound of currants, well washed and dried, and a spoonful of brandy or white wine. Bake them in pattipans, or raised crusts. BREAD PUDDING. Grate some white bread, pour over some boiling milk, and cover it close. When soaked an hour or two, beat it fine, and mix with it two or three eggs well beaten. Put it into a bason that will just hold it, tie a floured cloth over it, and put it into boiling water. Send it up with melted butter poured over: it may be eaten with salt or sugar. Prunes, or French plums, make a fine pudding instead of raisins, either with suet or bread pudding.--Another and richer. Pour half a pint of scalding milk, on half a pint of bread crumbs, and cover it up for an hour. Beat up four eggs, and when strained, add to the bread, with a tea-spoonful of flour, an ounce of butter, two ounces of sugar, half a pound of currants, an ounce of almonds beaten with orange-flower water, half an ounce of orange, of lemon, and of citron. Butter a bason that will exactly hold it, flour the cloth, tie it tight over, and boil the pudding an hour. BREAD SAUCE. Boil a large onion quartered, with some black pepper and milk, till the onion is quite a pap. Pour the milk on white stale-bread grated, and cover it. In an hour put it into a saucepan, with a good piece of butter mixed with a little flour: boil the whole up together, and serve with it. BREAD SOUP. Boil some pieces of bread crust in a quart of water, with a small piece of butter. Beat it with a spoon, and keep it boiling till the bread and water be well mixed: then season it with a little salt. [Illustration: _PATENT BREWING MACHINE._ A _The Machine ready for use, with the Cover raised._ B _Moveable Fire place._ C _Cylindrical Boiler to be placed on_ B, _with its Cover_ D. E _Extracting perforated Cylinder to be placed within_ C. F _Centre for ditto._ G. G _Coolers, one to pack within the other._] BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING. Spread some butter on slices of bread, and lay them in a dish, with currants between each layer. To make it rich, add some sliced citron, orange, or lemon. Pour over an unboiled custard of milk, two or three eggs, a few corns of pimento, and a very little ratifia, two hours at least before it is to be baked, and lade it over to soak the bread. A paste round the edge makes all puddings look better, but it is not necessary. BREAD AND RICE PUDDING. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice in some milk till it is quite soft, put it into a bason, and let it stand till the next day. Soak some sliced bread in cold milk, drain it off, mash it fine, and mix it with the rice. Beat up two eggs with it, add a little salt, and boil it an hour. BREAKFAST CAKES. Take a pound and a half of flour, four ounces of butter, a spoonful of yeast, and half a pint of warm milk. Rub the butter into the flour, and mix the eggs, yeast, and milk together. Put the liquid into the middle of the flour, and let it stand to rise for two hours. Make it into cakes, let them stand to rise again, and wash them over with skimmed milk before they are put into the oven. BREAST OF LAMB. Cut off the chine-bone from the breast, and set it on to stew with a pint of gravy. When the bones would draw out, put it on the gridiron to grill; and then lay it in a dish on cucumbers nicely stewed. BREAST OF MUTTON. Pare off the superfluous fat, and roast and serve the meat with stewed cucumbers; or to eat cold, covered with chopped parsley. Or half-boil, and then grill it before the fire: cover it with bread crumbs and herbs, and serve with caper sauce. Or if boned, take away a good deal of the fat, and cover it with bread, herbs, and seasoning. Then roll and boil it; serve with chopped walnuts, or capers and butter. BREAST OF VEAL. Before roasting it, take off the two ends to fry and stew, if the joint be large, or roast the whole together, and pour butter over it. If any be left, cut it into regular pieces, put them into a stewpan, and pour some broth over it. If no broth, a little water will do: add a bunch of herbs, a blade or two of mace, some pepper, and an anchovy. Stew till the meat be tender, thicken with flour and butter, and add a little ketchup. Serve the sweetbread whole upon it, which may either be stewed or parboiled, and then covered with crumbs, herbs, pepper and salt, and browned in a Dutch oven. The whole breast may be stewed in the same way, after cutting off the two ends. A boiled breast of veal, smothered with onion sauce, is also an excellent dish, if not old nor too fat. BRENTFORD ROLLS. Mix with two pounds of flour, a little salt, two ounces of sifted sugar, four ounces of butter, and two eggs beaten with two spoonfuls of yeast, and about a pint of milk. Knead the dough well, and set it to rise before the fire. Make twelve rolls, butter tin plates, and set them before the fire to rise, till they become of a proper size, and bake them half an hour. BREWING. The practice of brewing malt liquor is but seldom adopted by private families in large towns and cities, owing probably to a want of conveniences for the purpose, and an aversion to the labour and trouble which it might occasion. But if the disagreeable filthiness attending the process in large public breweries were duly considered, together with the generally pernicious quality of the beer offered to sale, as well as the additional expense incurred by this mode of procuring it, no one who regards economy, or the health and comfort of his family, would be without home-brewed beer, so long as there were any means left of obtaining it. Beer as strong of malt and hops, when all the foreign ingredients are extracted, may be manufactured at home at less than one third of what it could cost at a public brewery, besides the satisfaction of drinking, what is known to be wholesome, and free from any deleterious mixture. Twelve shillings for malt and hops will provide a kilderkin of beer far superior to one that could be purchased under license for a pound, while the yeast and the grains are sufficient to repay all the labour and expense of brewing. On every account, therefore, it is desirable that the practice of domestic brewing were universally adopted. The health and comfort of the community would be increased; and by a larger consumption of malt, the growth of barley would be extended, and agriculture proportionably benefited. In order to this however, the enormous duty upon malt requires to be diminished or repealed. The farmer, unable to make three shillings a bushel of his barley, is suffering severely under this grinding taxation, as well as the consumer, who is compelled to pay a duty of four shillings and six-pence for every bushel that is converted into malt.--The best seasons of the year for brewing are March and October, the weather in those months being generally free from the extremes of heat and cold, which are alike injurious to the process of fermentation. If this is not in all cases practicable, means should be used to cool the place where the liquor is set for working in the summer, and of warming it in the winter: otherwise the beer will be likely to turn sour or muddy. The beer which is brewed in March should not be tapped till October, nor that brewed in October till the following March; taking this precaution, that families of an equal number all the year round, will drink at least a third more in summer than in winter.--The most suitable water for brewing is soft river water, which having had the rays of the sun and the influence of the air upon it, will more easily penetrate and extract the virtues of the malt. Hard water possesses an astringent quality, which prevents the goodness of the malt from being freely communicated to the liquor. If two parcels of beer be brewed in all respects the same, except in the quality of the water, it will be found that the beer brewed with soft river water will exceed the other in strength above five degrees, in the course of twelve months' keeping. Where water is naturally of a hard quality, it may in some measure be softened by exposing it to the action of the sun and air, and infusing in it some pieces of soft chalk. Throwing into it a quantity of bran while it is boiling, and before it is poured on the malt, will likewise have a good effect.--Previous to commencing the process of brewing, it will be necessary to ascertain the quantity of malt and hops, which of course will be regulated by the demands of the family, the convenience of cellerage, and other circumstances. Supposing two or three sorts of liquor be required, six bushels of malt, and about three quarters of a pound of hops to each bushel, will make half a hogshead of ale, half a hogshead of table beer, and the same of small beer; or about nine gallons of each to the bushel. But if in a smaller brewing, only two sorts are required, or the whole be blended into one, then eighteen gallons of wholesome beverage may be produced at something less than three farthings a pint.--Having thus adjusted the proportion of malt and hops to the quantity of beer to be brewed, the next thing will be to heat water sufficient for the purpose. Meanwhile see that the brewing utensils be properly cleaned and scalded, and the pen-staff in the mash tub well fixed. Then put a quantity of boiling water into the mash-tub, in which it must stand till the greater part of the steam is gone off, or you can see your own shadow in it. It will then be necessary that one person should pour the malt gently in, while another is carefully stirring it. A little malt should be reserved to strew over the mash in order to prevent evaporation, and then the tub may be covered over with sacks. If it be not sufficient to contain the whole at once, the mashing must be repeated, observing that the larger the quantity that is mashed at once, the longer it will require to stand before it is drawn off. The mash of ale must be allowed to steep three hours, table beer one hour, and small beer half an hour afterwards. By this mode of proceeding, the boilings will regularly succeed each other, which will greatly expedite the business. In the course of mashing, be careful to stir it thoroughly from the bottom, especially round the basket, that there may be no adhesion, in any part of the mash. Previous to running it off, be prepared with a pail to catch the first flush, as that is generally thick, and return it to the mash two or three times, till it run clear and fine. By this time the copper should be boiling, and a convenient tub placed close to the mash-tub. Put into it half the quantity of boiling water intended for drawing off the best wort; after which the copper must be filled up again, and proper attention paid to the fire. Meanwhile, keep slopping and wetting the mash with the hot water out of the tub, in moderate quantities, every eight or ten minutes, till all the water is added to the mash. Then let off the remaining quantity, which will be boiling hot, and this will finish the process for strong beer. Boil up the copper as quick as possible for the second mash, whether intended for strong or small beer. Empty the boiling water into the tub by the side of the mash, as in the former instance, and renew the process. Great care is required in boiling the wort after it is drawn off, and the hops must be put in with the first boiling. In filling the copper with the wort, leave sufficient room for boiling, that there may be no waste in boiling over, and make a good fire under it. Quick boiling is a part of the business that requires particular attention, and great caution must be observed when the liquor begins to swell in waves in the copper. The furnace door must be opened, and the fire damped or regulated to suit the boiling of the wort. In order to ascertain the proper time for boiling the liquor, lade out some of it; and if a working be discovered, and the hops are sinking, the wort is boiled enough. Long and slow boiling injures and wastes the liquor. As soon as it is sufficiently boiled, run the liquor through a cloth or fine sieve into some coolers, to free it from the hops, and to get a proper quantity cooled immediately to set it to work. If the brewhouse be not sufficiently airy to cool a quantity soon, the liquor must be emptied into shallow tubs, and placed in a passage where there is a thorough draught of air, but where it is not exposed to rain or wet. The remainder in the copper may then be let into the first cooler, taking care to attend to the hops, and to make a clear passage through the strainer. The hops must be returned into the copper, after having run off four or five pailfuls of the liquor for the first cooling, and then it must be set to work in the following manner. Take four quarts of yeast, and divide half of it into small wooden bowls or basons, adding to it an equal quantity of wort nearly cold. As soon as it ferments to the top of the basons, put it into two pails; and when that works to the top, distribute it into two wide open tubs. Fill them half full with cool wort, and cover them over, till it comes to a fine white head. This will be accomplished in about three hours, and then both quantities may be put together into the working tub, with the addition of as much wort as is sufficiently cooled. If the weather be mild and open, it cannot be worked too cold. If the brewing be performed in frosty weather, the brewhouse must be kept warm; but hot wort must never be added to keep the liquor to a blood heat. Attention also must be paid to the quality of the yeast, or it may spoil all the beer. If it has been taken from foxed beer, or such as has been heated by ill management in the working, it will be likely to communicate the same bad quality. If the yeast be flat, and that which is fresh and lively cannot be procured, put to it a pint of warm sweetwort of the first letting off, when it is about half the degree of milk-warm. Shake the vessel that contains it, and it will soon gather strength, and be fit for use.--Tunning is the last and most simple operation in the business of brewing. The casks being well prepared, perfectly sweet and dry, and placed on the stand ready to receive the liquor, first skim off the top yeast, then fill the casks quite full, bung them down, and leave an aperture for the yeast to work through. If the casks stand on one end, the better way is to make a hole with a tap-borer near the summit of the stave, at the same distance from the top as the lower tap-hole is from the bottom. This prevents the slovenliness of working the beer over the head of the barrel; and the opening being much smaller than the bung-hole, the beer by being confined will sooner set itself into a convulsive motion, and work itself fine, provided proper attention be paid to filling up the casks five or six times a day.----Another method of brewing, rather more simple but not more excellent than the above, may be adopted by those whose conveniences are more limited. For table beer, allow three bushels of malt to thirty-nine gallons of water, and a pound and a half of hops. Pour a third part of the hot water upon the malt, cover it up warm half an hour, then stir up the mash, and let it stand two hours and a half more. Set it to drain off gently; when dry, add half the remaining water, mash, and let it stand half an hour. Run that into another tub, and pour the rest of the water on the malt; stir it well, cover it up, and let it infuse a full hour. Run that off and mix all together. Put the hops into a little hot water to open the pores, then put the hops and water into the tub, run the wort upon them, and boil them together for an hour. Strain the liquor through a coarse sieve, and set it to cool. If the whole be not cool enough that day to add to it the yeast, a pail or two of wort may be prepared, and a quart of yeast added to it over night. Before tunning, all the wort should be put together, and thoroughly mixed. When it has done working, paste a piece of paper on the bung-hole, and after three days it may be fastened close. In less than a month the beer will be fit for use. See ALE, MALT, BEER. BREWING UTENSILS. The most desirable object in the process of brewing is the fixing of the copper, so as to make the fire come directly under the bottom of it. Many coppers are injured, and rendered unserviceable, for want of proper attention to this particular. The method adopted by the most experienced bricklayers is to divide the heat of the fire by a stop; and if the door and the draft be in a direct line, the stop must be erected from the middle of each outline of the grating, and parallel with the centre sides of the copper. The stop is nothing more than a thin wall in the centre of the right and left sides of the copper, ascending half way to the top of it; on the top of which must be left a small cavity, four or five inches square, for a draft of that half part of the fire which is next to the copper door, to pass through, and then the building must close all round to the finishing at the top. By this method of fixing the copper, the heat will communicate from the outward part of the fire round the outward half of the copper through the cavity; as also will the furthest part of the fire, which contracts a conjunction of the whole, and causes the flame to slide gently and equally all round the bottom of the copper. Considerable advantages result from this position of the copper. If the draught under it were suffered at once to ascend, without being thus divided, the hops would be scorched in the boiling, and liable to stick to the sides, which would considerably injure the flavour of the liquor, unless kept continually stirring. It will also save the consumption of fuel, and preserve the copper much longer than any other method, as there will be no difficulty in boiling half a copper full at a time without doing it any injury.--The next article of consideration in this case is the Mash-tub. This should be proportioned to the size of the copper, and the quantity of beer intended to be brewed. The grains should not be kept in the tub any longer than the day after brewing, as in hot weather especially the grains begin to turn sour as soon as they are cold; and if there be any sour scent in the brewhouse at the time the liquor is tunned, it will be apt to injure the flavour of the beer.--Tubs and Coolers require to be kept perfectly sweet and clean, and should not be used for any other purpose. In small houses, where many vessels are cumbersome and inconvenient, it is too common to use the same tubs for both washing and brewing; but this ought not to be done where it can be avoided; and where it is unavoidable, the utmost care is necessary to give them a double washing, scouring, and scalding. Coolers also require considerable care, or by the slightest taint they will soon contract a disagreeable flavour. This often proceeds from wet having infused itself into the wood, it being apt to lodge in the crevices of old vessels, and even infect them to such a degree, that it cannot be removed, even after several washings and scaldings. One cause incidental to this evil is, using the brewhouse for the purposes of washing, which ought never to be permitted, where any other convenience can be had; for nothing can be more injurious than the remains of dirty suds, left in vessels intended for brewing only. Nor should water be suffered to stand too long in the coolers, as it will soak into them, and soon turn putrid, when the stench will enter the wood, and render them almost incurable. More beer is spoiled for want of attention to these niceties than can well be imagined, and the real cause is seldom known or suspected; but in some families, after all the care that is taken in the manufacture of the article, the beer is never palatable or wholesome.--Barrels should be well cleaned with boiling water; and if the bung-hole will admit, they should be scrubbed inside with a hard brush. If they have acquired a musty scent, take out the heads, and let them be well scrubbed with sand and fuller's earth. Then put in the head again, and scald it well; throw in a piece of unslaked lime, and close up the bung. When the cask has stood some time, rinse it well with cold water, and it will then be fit for use. New casks likewise require attention, for they are apt to give the liquor a bad taste, if they be not well scalded and seasoned several days successively before they are used; and old casks are apt to grow musty, if they stand any time out of use. To prevent this, a cork should be put into every one of them as soon as the cock or fosset is taken out; the vent and the bung-hole must also be well closed. The best way to season new casks is to boil two pecks of bran or malt dust in a copper of water, and pour it in hot; then stop it up close, and let it stand two days. When the cask is washed and dried, it will be fit for use. BREWING MACHINE. Where a family usually consume ten gallons of beer, or upwards, in a week, there is a Brewing Machine lately invented, which will be found singularly convenient and advantageous, and comparatively of little expense. The use of it in brewing curtails the labour, shortens the time in which the operation may be performed, greatly diminishes the quantity of fuel, and may be placed within very narrow limits, in the house of any tradesman in the most crowded city. Eighteen gallons of good beer may be brewed with this machine in the course of six hours, or a larger quantity with a machine of proportionate dimensions, in the same space of time. The process is so simple, that it may be comprehended by any person of ordinary capacity, and once seeing the operation performed will be sufficient. In the common mode of brewing, the principal difficulty consists in ascertaining the degrees of heat necessary to the production of good beer, without the use of a thermometer; but in the use of this machine, this difficulty is completely obviated.--The machine complete is represented by figure A; and B, C, D, E, F, represent its several parts. B is the bottom, made of strong sheet-iron, standing upon three legs. The hollow part of it contains the fire, put in at a door, the latch of which appears in front. The tube which projects upwards, is a stove pipe to carry off the smoke; and the circular pan that is seen between the legs, is a receptacle for the ashes or cinders that fall down through the grate above. C is a sheet-iron vessel, tinned on the inside, the bottom of which fits into the top of B; and the cock in C is to let off the wort, as will be seen hereafter. D is the lid of this vessel. E is made of sheet-iron, tinned inside and out, and full of holes to act as a strainer. It is to hold the malt first, and the hops afterwards; it goes into C, as may be seen in figure A. In the middle of E is a round space, F, made of the same metal, and rising up from the bottom, having itself no bottom. It has holes in it all the way up, like the outer surface of E.--In preparing for brewing, the machine is put together as in A, except placing on the lid. The first thing is to put the malt, coarsely ground, into E, and no part into F, or into the circular space between C and E; otherwise E cannot act as a strainer, when the liquor is drawn off; and in this consists its principal use. Having put in the malt, then add the water which of course flows into any part of the vessel C. Stir the malt well with a stick, or with something that will separate it completely, so that no adhesion may be formed by the flour of the malt. This is very apt to be the case in the common mode of brewing, when water is poured hot upon the malt; but here the water is applied in a cold state, so that there is little trouble in separating the malt completely in the water. If the small machine be used, which is adapted to a bushel of malt, and the beer is to be fully equal in strength to London porter, then eighteen gallons to the bushel may be considered as the general estimate; and for this purpose the first mash is to receive twelve gallons of cold soft water, which will produce nine gallons of wort. Having stirred the malt very carefully, light the fire under it, and get the liquor quickly to 170 or 180 degrees of heat. This may be ascertained by lifting off the lid, and dipping the thermometer from time to time into the centre F, and keeping it there a minute to give the quicksilver time to rise. While the mash is coming to this heat, stir the malt well three or four times. When the liquor has acquired its proper heat, put out the fire, and cover the whole of the machine with sacks, or something that will exclude the external air. In this state the mash remains for two hours: the cock is then turned, and nine gallons of wort will be drained off. Put the wort into a tub of some sort, and keep it warm. Then put into the machine twelve gallons more of water, rekindle the fire, and bring the heat to 170 degrees as soon as possible; when this is done, extinguish the fire, and let the mash now stand an hour. Draw off the second wort; and if only one sort of beer is wanted, add it to the first quantity. Now take out the grains, lift out E, clean it well, and also the inside of C. Replace E, put the hops into it, and the whole of the wort into the machine. Cover it with the lid, light the fire a third time, and bring the liquor to a boil as soon as possible. Let it boil a full hour with the lid off, and boil briskly all the time. The use of the centre F will now appear; for the machine being nearly full to the brim, the bubbling takes place in the centre F only, where there are no hops. There is a great boiling over in this centre, but the liquor sent up falls into E, and so there is no boiling over of C. When the full hour of brisk boiling has expired, put out the fire, draw off the liquor, leaving the hops of course in E. The liquor is now to go into shallow coolers; and when the heat is reduced to 70 degrees, take out about a gallon of the liquor, and mix it with half a pint of good yeast. Distribute it equally among the different parcels of wort, afterwards mix the whole together, and leave the liquor till it comes down to about sixty degrees of heat. The next removal is into the tun-tub, in which capacity C, without the addition of E, will serve very well. While the liquor is cooling, remove the spent hops from E, the stove pipe from B, the ash-receiver from the bottom. The machine remaining now as a tun-tub, draw off the liquor as soon as it is down to 60 degrees; or take it out of the coolers, pour it into the tun-tub, and put on the lid. If the weather be very cold, or the tun-tub be in a cold place, cover it with something to keep it warm. Here the fermentation takes place, sometimes sooner and sometimes later; but it generally shows itself by a head beginning to rise in about eight or ten hours; and at the end of eight and forty hours the head assumes a brownish appearance, and is covered with yeast instead of froth. The beer is then to be tunned into well-seasoned casks, sweet and sound, or all the expense and labour will be lost. The cask being fixed on the stand in the cellar, and the beer ready, skim off the yeast, and keep it in a deep earthen vessel. Draw off the beer into a pail, and with the help of a wooden funnel fill the cask quite full. The beer will now begin to ferment again, and must be allowed to discharge itself from the bung-hole. When the working has ceased, the cask is again filled up with the surplus beer; and a handful of fresh hops being added, the bung is finally closed down. If the whole process has been properly attended to, such a cask of beer will be clear in a week; and as soon as clear it may be tapped. Small beer may be tapped in less time. On a larger scale, or with casks of a smaller size, two sorts may be made, ale and small beer, taking the first wort for the former, and the second for the latter.--The advantages attending the Patent Machine are very obvious; for though the process appears to be minute, it is easily conducted, and but little time is required for the purpose. In the common method of brewing, the water must be carried from the copper to the mash-tub, while the machine serves for both purposes at once. With the common utensils the process is necessarily much slower, and the fuel consumed is nearly ten times as much; but the great convenience of all is the little room required and the place of brewing. In the common way there is wanted a copper fixed in brick-work, and for a family of any considerable size a brewhouse is indispensable. On the contrary, the machine is set up opposite any fire place, and the pipe enters the chimney, or is put into the fire place. There is no boiling over, no slopping about; and the operation may be performed upon a boarded floor, as well as upon a brick or stone floor. If there be no fire place in the room, the pipe can be projected through an opening in the window, or through the outside of any sort of building, not liable to suffer from the heat of the pipe. Even a garden walk, a court, or open field will answer the purpose, provided there be no rain, and the mash-tub be kept sufficiently warm. When the brewing is finished, the machine should be well scalded, rubbed dry, and kept in a dry place. The two coolers, G G, placed on different casks, have no necessary connection with the machine. They are made of wood or cast-iron, of a size to fit one within another to save room. The Patent Machine is sold by Messrs. Needham and Co. 202, Piccadilly, London. The price of one for brewing a bushel of malt is £8, for two bushels £13, for three £18, for four £24, for five £30, and for six £33. If the article be thought expensive, a few neighbouring families might unite in the purchase, and the money would very soon be more than saved in the economy of brewing. BRIDE CAKE. Mix together a pound of dried flour, two drams of powdered mace, and a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Add a quarter of a pint of cream, and half a pound of melted butter; a quarter of a pint of yeast, five eggs, with half of the whites beaten up with the yolks, and a gill of rose water. Having warmed the butter and cream, mix them together, and set the whole to rise before the fire. Pick and clean half a pound of currants, put them in warm and well dried. BRIGHT BARS of polished stoves, may be restored to their proper lustre, by rubbing them well with some of the following mixture on a piece of broad-cloth. Boil slowly one pound of soft soap in two quarts of water, till reduced to one. Of this jelly take three or four spoonfuls, and mix it to a consistence with the addition of emery. When the black is removed, wipe them clean, and polish with glass, not sand-paper. BRISKET OF BEEF, if intended to be stewed, should have that part of it put into a stewpot which has the hard fat upon it, with a small quantity of water. Let it boil up, and skim it well; then add carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and a few pepper corns. Stew it till it is quite tender; then take out the fat bones, and remove all the fat from the soup. Either serve that and the meat in a tureen, or the soup alone, and the meat on a dish, garnished with vegetables. The following sauce with the beef, will be found to be very excellent.--Take half a pint of the soup, and mix it with a spoonful of ketchup, a glass of port wine, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, a little flour and salt, and a bit of butter. Boil all together a few minutes, and pour it round the meat. Chop capers, walnuts, red cabbage, pickled cucumbers, and chives or parsley, small, and place them in separate heaps over it. BROAD BEANS. Boil them tender, with a bunch of parsley, which must afterwards be chopped and put into melted butter, to serve with them. Bacon or pickled pork is usually boiled with the beans, but the meat will be of a better colour, if boiled separately. BROCOLI. To dress brocoli, cut the heads with short stalks, and pare off the tough skin. Tie the small shoots into bunches, and boil them a shorter time than the heads. A little salt should be put into the water. Serve them up with or without toast. BROILING. Cleanliness is extremely necessary in this mode of cookery; and for this purpose the gridiron, which is too frequently neglected, ought to be carefully attended to, keeping it perfectly clean between the bars, and bright on the top. When hot, wipe it well with a linen cloth; and before using it, rub the bars with mutton suet, to prevent the meat being marked by the gridiron. The bars should be made with a small gutter in them to carry off the gravy into a trough in front, to prevent the fat from dropping into the fire and making a smoke, which will spoil the flavour of the meat. Upright gridirons are therefore the best, as they can be set before the fire, without fear of smoke, and the gravy is preserved in the trough under them. A brisk and clear fire is also indispensable, that the bars of the gridiron may all be hot through before any thing be laid upon them, yet not so as to burn the meat, but to give it that colour and flavour which constitute the perfection of this mode of cooking. Never hasten any thing that is broiling, lest it be smoked and spoiled; but the moment it is done, send it up as hot as possible. BROILED COD. Cut the fish in thick slices, dry and flour it well; rub the gridiron with chalk, set it on a clear fire, and lay on the slices of cod. Keep them high from the fire, turn them often, till they are quite done, and of a fine brown. Take them up carefully without breaking, and serve with lobster or shrimp sauce. BROILED EELS. Skin and clean a large eel, cut it in pieces and broil it slowly over a good fire. Dust it well with dried parsley, and serve it up with melted butter. BROILED FOWL. Cut a large fowl into four quarters, put them on a bird-spit, and tie that on another spit, and half roast. Or half roast the whole fowl, and finish it on the gridiron, which will make it less dry than if wholly broiled. Another way is to split the fowl down the back, pepper, salt, and broil it, and serve with mushroom sauce. BROILED HERRINGS. Flour them first, broil them of a good colour, and serve with plain butter for sauce. BROILED PIGEONS. After cleaning, split the backs, pepper and salt them, and broil them very nicely. Pour over them either stewed or pickled mushrooms in melted butter, and serve them up as hot as possible. BROILED SALMON. Cut slices an inch thick, and season with pepper and salt. Lay each slice in half a sheet of white paper, well buttered; twist the ends of the paper, and broil the slices over a slow fire six or eight minutes. Serve them in the paper, with anchovy sauce. BROKEN CHINA. To repair any article of this description, beat some lime into the finest powder, and sift it through muslin. Tie some of it into a thin muslin, put on the edges of the broken china some white of an egg, and dust on a little lime as quickly as possible; but be careful to unite the broken parts very exactly. BROTH. A very nourishing kind of broth for weakly persons may be made as follows. Boil two pounds of loin of mutton, with a large handful of chervil, in two quarts of water, till reduced to one. Any other herb or roots may be added. Remove part of the fat, and take half a pint three or four times a day. If a broth is wanted to be made quickly, take a bone or two of a neck or loin of mutton, pare off the fat and the skin, set it on the fire in a small tin saucepan that has a cover, with three quarters of a pint of water, the meat being first beaten, and cut in thin bits. Put in a bit of thyme and parsley, and if approved, a slice of onion. Let it boil very quick, skim it nicely; take off the cover, if likely to be too weak; otherwise keep it covered. Half an hour is sufficient for the whole process. BROWN GRAVY. Cover the bottom of a stewpan with lean veal an inch thick, overlay it with slices of undressed gammon, two or three onions, two or three bay leaves, some sweet herbs, two blades of mace, and three cloves. Cover the stewpan, and set it over a slow fire; but when the juices come out, let the fire be a little quicker. When the meat is of a fine brown, fill the pan with good beef-broth, boil and skim it, then simmer it an hour. Add a little water, thickened with flour; boil it half an hour, and strain it. Gravy thus made will keep a week. BROWN BREAD ICE. Grate some brown bread as fine as possible, soak a small proportion in cream two or three hours, sweeten and ice it. BROWN BREAD PUDDING. Half a pound of stale brown bread grated, half a pound of currants, ditto of shred suet, sugar and nutmeg. Mix it up with four eggs, a spoonful of brandy, and twice as much cream. Boil it in a cloth or bason of proper size three or four hours. BROWNING. Powder four ounces of double-refined sugar, put it into a very nice iron fryingpan, with one ounce of fresh butter. Mix it well over a clear fire; and when it begins to froth, hold it up higher: when of a very fine dark brown, pour in a small quantity of a pint of port, and the whole by very slow degrees, stirring it all the time. Put to the above half an ounce of Jamaica, and the same of black pepper, six cloves of shalots peeled, three blades of mace bruised, three spoonfuls of mushroom and the same of walnut ketchup, some salt, and the finely-pared rind of a lemon. Boil gently fifteen minutes, pour it into a bason till cold, take off the scum, and bottle it for use. This article is intended to colour and flavour made-up dishes. BRUISES. When the contusion is slight, fomentations of warm vinegar and water, frequently applied, will generally relieve it. Cataplasms of fresh cow-dung applied to bruises, occasioned by violent blows or falls, will seldom fail to have a good effect. Nothing however is more certainly efficacious than a porter plaster immediately applied to the part affected. Boil some porter in an earthen vessel over a slow fire till it be well thickened; and when cold spread it on a piece of leather to form the intended plaster. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. Boil, chop and fry some cabbage, with a little butter, pepper and salt. Lay on it slices of underdone beef, lightly fried. BUGS. Dip a sponge or brush into a strong solution of vitriol, and rub it on the bedstead, or in the places where these vermin harbour, and it will destroy both them and their nits. If the bugs appear after once using it, the application must be repeated, and some of the liquid poured into the joints and holes of the bedstead and headboard. Beds that have much woodwork require to be taken down and well examined, before they can be thoroughly cleared of these vermin, and the mixture should be rubbed into all the joints and crevices with a painter's brush. It should also be applied to the walls of the room to insure success; and if mixed with a little lime, it will produce a lively yellow. The boiling of any kind of woodwork or household furniture in an iron cauldron, with a solution of vitriol, will prevent the breeding of bugs, and preserve it from rottenness and decay. Sulphur made into a paste, or arsenic dissolved in water, and applied in the same manner, will also be found an effectual remedy for the bugs. But if these do not completely succeed, take half a pint of the highest rectified spirits of wine, and half a pint of spirits of turpentine; dissolve in this mixture half an ounce of camphor, and shake them well together. Dust the bed or the furniture, dip a sponge or brush into the mixture, wet them all over, and pour some of the liquid into the holes and crevices. If any should afterwards appear, wet the lacings of the bed, the foldings of the curtains near the rings, and other parts where it is at all likely the bugs may nestle and breed, and it will not fail to destroy them. The smell of this mixture is not unwholesome, and may be applied to the finest damask bed without any fear of soiling it. It should be well shaked together, but never used by candle-light, for fear of its taking fire. BULLACE CHEESE. To every quart of full ripe bullace, add a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered. Put them into a pot, and bake them in a moderate oven till they are soft. Rub them through a hair sieve; to every pound of pulp add half a pound of loaf sugar powdered, and in the meantime keep it stirring. Pour the pulp into preserving pots, tie brandy paper over; and keep them in a dry place. When it has stood a few months, it will cut out very bright and fine. BUNS. To make a good plain bun, that may be eaten with or without toasting and butter, rub four ounces of butter into two pounds of flour, four ounces of sugar, a nutmeg, a few Jamaica peppers, and a dessert-spoonful of caraways. Put a spoonful or two of cream into a cup of yeast, and as much good milk as will make the above into a light paste. Set it to rise by the fire till the oven be ready, and bake the buns quickly on tins.--To make some of a richer sort, mix one pound and a half of dried flour with half a pound of sugar. Melt eighteen ounces of butter in a little warm water, add six spoonfuls of rose-water, and knead the above into a light dough, with half a pint of yeast. Then mix in five ounces of caraway comfits, and put some on them. BURNS. In slight cases, the juice of onions, a little ink or brandy rubbed immediately on the part affected, will prevent blisters. The juice of burdock, mixed with an equal quantity of olive oil, will make a good ointment for the purpose, and the fresh leaves of that plant may also be applied as a kind of plaster. Houseleek used by itself, or mixed with cream, will afford quick relief in external inflammations. A little spirit of turpentine, or linseed oil, mixed with lime water, if kept constantly to the part will remove the pain. But warm vinegar and water, frequently applied with a woollen cloth, is most to be depended on in these cases. BURNT CREAM. Boil a pint of cream with a stick of cinnamon, and some lemon peel. Take it off the fire, and pour it very slowly into the yolks of four eggs, stirring it till half cold. Sweeten it, take out the spice, and pour it into a dish. When cold, strew over it some white pounded sugar, and brown it with a salamander. Or, make a rich custard without sugar, and boil in it some lemon peel. When cold, sift over it plenty of white sugar, and brown the top with a salamander. BUTTER. No one article of family consumption is of greater consequence than butter of a superior quality, and no one requires more care and management. It possesses various degrees of goodness, according to the food on which the cows are pastured, and the manner in which the dairy is conducted; but its sweetness is not affected by the cream being turned, of which it is made. When cows are in turnips, or eat cabbages, the taste is strong and disagreeable; and to remedy this, the following methods have been tried with advantage. When the milk is strained into the pans, put to every six gallons one gallon of boiling water. Or dissolve one ounce of nitre in a pint of spring water, and put a quarter of a pint to every fifteen gallons of milk. Or, in churning, keep back a quarter of a pint of sour cream, and put it into a well-scalded pot, into which the next cream is to be gathered. Stir that well, and do so with every fresh addition.--TO MAKE BUTTER, skim the milk in the summer, when the sun has not heated the dairy. At that season it should stand for butter twenty-four hours without skimming, and forty-eight in winter. Deposit the cream-pot in a very cold cellar, unless the dairy itself is sufficiently cold. If you cannot churn daily, shift the cream into scalded fresh pots; but never omit churning twice a week. If possible, place the churn in a thorough air; and if not a barrel one, set it in a tub of water two feet deep, which will give firmness to the butter. When the butter is come, pour off the buttermilk, and put the butter into a fresh scalded pan, or tubs, which have afterwards been in cold water. Pour water on it, and let it lie to acquire some hardness before it is worked; then change the water, and beat it with flat boards so perfectly, that not the least taste of buttermilk remain, and that the water which must be often changed, shall be quite clear. Then work some salt into it, weigh, and make it into forms; throw them into cold water, in an earthen pan with a cover. Nice cool butter will then be had in the hottest weather. It requires more working in hot than in cold weather; but care should be taken at all times not to leave a particle of buttermilk, or a sour taste, as is too often done.--TO PRESERVE BUTTER, take two parts of the best common salt, one part of fine loaf-sugar, and one of saltpetre; beat them well together. To sixteen ounces of butter, thoroughly cleansed from the milk, add one ounce of this mixture: work it well, and pot down the butter when it becomes firm and cold. Butter thus preserved is the better for keeping, and should not be used under a month. This article should be kept from the air, and is best in pots of well-glazed ware, that will hold from ten to fourteen pounds each. Put some salt on the top; and when that is turned to brine, if not enough to cover the butter entirely, add some strong salt and water. It then requires only to be covered from the dust, and will be good for winter use.--IN PURCHASING BUTTER at market, recollect that if fresh, it ought to smell like a nosegay, and be of an equal colour throughout. If sour in smell, it has not been sufficiently washed: if veiny and open, it is probably mixed with stale butter, or some of an inferior quality. To ascertain the quality of salt butter, put a knife into it, and smell it when drawn out: if there is any thing rancid or unpleasant, the butter is bad. Salt butter being made at different times, the layers in casks will greatly vary; and it is not easy to ascertain its quality, except by unhooping the cask, and trying it between the staves. BUTTER DISH. Roll butter in different forms, like a cake or a pine, and mark it with a tea-spoon. Or roll it in crimping rollers, work it through a cullender, or scoop it with a tea-spoon; mix it with grated beef, tongue, or anchovies. Garnish with a wreath of curled parsley, and it will serve as a little dish. BUTTERMILK, if made of sweet cream, is a delicious and very wholesome article of food. Those who can relish sour buttermilk, will find it still more light, and it is reckoned very beneficial in consumptive cases. If not very sour, it is also as good as cream to eat with fruit; but it should be sweetened with white sugar, and mixed with a very little milk. It does equally well for cakes and rice puddings, and of course it is economical to churn before the cream is too stale for any thing but to feed pigs.--The celebrated Dr. Boerhaäve recommended the frequent use of sweet buttermilk in all consumptive cases, and that it should form the whole of the patient's drink, while biscuits and rusks, with ripe and dried fruits of various kinds, should chiefly be depended on as articles of food. For this purpose take the milk from the cow into a small churn; in about ten minutes begin churning, and continue till the flakes of butter swim about pretty thick, and the milk is discharged of all the oily particles, and appears thin and blue. Strain it through a sieve, and let the patient drink it as frequently as possible. BUTTERMILK PUDDING. Warm three quarts of new milk, turn it with a quart of buttermilk, and drain the curd through a sieve. When dry pound in a marble mortar, with nearly half a pound of sugar, a lemon boiled tender, the crumb of a roll grated, a nutmeg grated, six bitter almonds, four ounces of warm butter, a tea-cupful of good cream, the yolks of five and whites of three eggs, a glass of sweet wine and a glass of brandy. When well incorporated, bake in small cups or bowls well buttered. If the bottom be not brown, use a salamander; but serve as quick as possible, and with pudding sauce. BUTTERED CRABS. Pick out the inside when boiled, beat it up in a little gravy, with wine, pepper, salt, nutmeg, a few crumbs of bread, a piece of butter rolled in a little flour, and some vinegar or lemon juice. Serve it up hot. BUTTERED EGGS. Beat four or five eggs, yolk and white together; put a quarter of a pound of butter in a bason, and then put that into boiling water. Stir it till melted, then put that butter and the eggs into a saucepan; keep a bason in your hand, just hold the saucepan in the other over a slow part of the fire, shaking it one way, as it begins to warm. Pour it into the bason and back again, then hold it over the fire, stirring it constantly in the saucepan, and pouring it into the bason, more perfectly to mix the egg and butter, until they shall be hot without boiling. Serve on toasted bread, or in a bason, to eat with salt fish or red herrings. BUTTERED LOAF. Take three quarts of new milk, and add as much rennet as is sufficient to turn it; then break the curd, and drain off all the whey through a clean cloth. Pound it in a stone mortar, add the white of one and the yolks of six eggs, a good handful of grated bread, half as much of fine flour, and a little salt. Mix them well together with the hand, divide the whole into four round loaves, and place them upon white paper. After they are well buttered, varnish them all over with a feather, dipped in the yolk of an egg stirred up with a little beer. Set the loaves in a quick oven three quarters of an hour; while baking, take half a pound of new butter, add to it four spoonfuls of water, half a nutmeg grated, and sugar sufficient to sweeten it. Stir them together over the fire till they boil; when sufficiently thickened, draw the loaves from the oven, open their tops, pour in the butter and sugar, and send them up with sugar strewed over them. BUTTERED LOBSTERS. Pick out the meat, cut and warm it, with a little weak brown gravy, nutmeg, salt, pepper, butter, and a little flour. If done white, a little white gravy and cream. BUTTERED ORANGES. Grate off a little of the outside rind of four Seville oranges, and cut a round hole at the blunt end opposite the stalk, large enough to take out the pulp and seeds and juice. Then pick the seeds and skin from the pulp, rub the oranges with a little salt, and lay them in water for a short time. The bits cut out are to be saved. Boil the fruit in fresh water till they are tender, shifting the water to take out the bitterness. In the meantime make a thin syrup with fine sugar, put the oranges into it, and boil them up. As the quantity of syrup need not be enough to cover them, turn them round, that each part may partake of the syrup, and let them remain in it hot till they are wanted. About half an hour before serving, put some sugar to the pulp, and set it over the fire; mix it well, and let it boil. Then add a spoonful of white wine for every orange, give it a boil, put in a bit of fresh butter, and stir it over the fire to thicken. Fill the oranges with it, and serve them with some of the syrup in the dish, with the bits on the top. BUTTERED ORANGE-JUICE. Mix the juice of seven Seville oranges with four spoonfuls of rose-water, and add the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs well beaten. Strain the liquor on half a pound of sugar pounded, stir it over a gentle fire; and when it begins to thicken, add a piece of butter the size of a small walnut. Keep it over the fire a few minutes longer, then pour it into a flat dish, and serve it to eat cold. If no silver saucepan for the purpose, do it in a china bason in a saucepan of boiling water, the top of which will just receive the bason. BUTTERED PRAWNS. Take them out of the husk; warm them with a little good gravy, a bit of butter and flour, a taste of nutmeg, pepper and salt. Simmer them together a minute or two, and serve with sippets; or with cream sauce, instead of brown. Shrimps are done in the same manner. BUTTERED RICE. Wash and pick some rice, drain, and set it on the fire, with new milk sufficient to make it swell. When tender, pour off the milk, and add a bit of butter, a little sugar and pounded cinnamon. Shake and keep it from burning on the fire, and serve it up as a sweet dish. C. CABBAGE. Wash and pick it carefully, and if very large, quarter it. Put it into a saucepan with plenty of boiling-water, and a large spoonful of salt; if any scum rises, take it off, and boil it till the stalk is tender. Keep the vegetable well covered with water all the time of boiling, and see that no smoke or dirt arises from stirring the fire. With careful management the cabbage will look as beautiful when dressed, as it did when growing. The flavour of an old cabbage may be much improved, by taking it up when half done, and putting it directly into another saucepan of fresh boiling water. When taken up, drain it in a cullender. It may be chopped and warmed with a piece of butter, pepper and salt, or sent to table whole with melted butter. Savoys and greens in general are dressed in the same way. CAKES. In making and baking cakes the following particulars should be attended to. The currants should be nicely picked and washed, dried in a cloth, and set before the fire. If damp, they will make cakes or puddings heavy. Before they are added, a dust of dry flour should be scattered among them, and then shaken together, which will make the cake or pudding lighter. Eggs should be beaten a long time, whites and yolks apart, and always strained. Sugar should be rubbed to a powder on a clean board, and sifted through a fine hair or lawn sieve. Lemon peel requires to be pared very thin, and with a little sugar beaten to a paste in a marble mortar. It should then be mixed with a little wine or cream, so as to divide easily among the other ingredients. After all the articles are put into the pan, they should be long and thoroughly beaten, as the lightness of the cake depends much on their being well incorporated. Both black and white plumb cakes, being made with yeast, require less butter and eggs, and eat equally light and rich. If the leaven be only of flour, milk and water, and yeast, it becomes more tough, and is less easily divided, than if the butter be first put with those ingredients, and the dough afterwards set to rise by the fire. The heat of the oven is of great importance for cakes, especially large ones. If not pretty quick, the batter will not rise; and if too quick, put some white paper over the cake to prevent its being burnt. If not long enough lighted to have a body of heat, or it is become slack, the cake will be heavy. To know when it is soaked, take a broad-bladed knife that is very bright, and thrust it into the centre; draw it out instantly, and if the paste in any degree adheres, return the cake to the oven, and close it up. If the heat is sufficient to raise but not to soak the baking, a little fresh fuel should be introduced, after taking out the cakes and keeping them hot, and then returning them to the oven as quickly as possible. Particular care however should be taken to prevent this inconvenience, when large cakes are to be baked. CAKE TRIFLE. Bake a rice cake in a mould; and when cold, cut it round with a sharp knife, about two inches from the edge, taking care not to perforate the bottom. Put in a thick custard, and some spoonfuls of raspberry jam; and then put on a high whip. CALF'S FEET BROTH. Boil two feet in three quarts of water till reduced to half the quantity; strain it, and set it by. When to be used, take off the fat, put a large tea-cupful of the jelly into a saucepan, with half a glass of sweet wine, a little sugar and nutmeg, and heat it up till it be ready to boil. Then take a little of it, and beat it by degrees to the yolk of an egg, adding a bit of butter the size of a nutmeg; stir it all together, but do not let it boil. Grate a little fresh lemon peel into it.--Another way is to boil two calves' feet with two ounces of veal, and two of beef, the bottom of a penny loaf, two or three blades of mace, half a nutmeg, and a little salt, in three quarts of water, till reduced to half the quantity. Then strain it, and take off the fat. CALF'S FEET JELLY. Boil two feet, well cleaned, in five pints of water till they are broken, and the water half wasted. Strain it, take off the fat when cold, and remove the jelly from the sediment. Put it into a saucepan, with sugar, raisin wine, lemon juice and lemon peel. When the flavour is rich, add the whites of five eggs well beaten, and their shells broken. Set the saucepan on the fire, but do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm. Let it boil twenty minutes after it rises to a head, then pour it through a flannel bag, first dipping the jelly bag in hot water to prevent waste, and squeezing it quite dry. Run the jelly repeatedly through the bag, until it is quite clear, and then put it into glasses or forms. The following method will greatly facilitate the clearing of the jelly. When the mixture has boiled twenty minutes, throw in a tea-cupful of cold water; let it boil five minutes longer, then take the saucepan off the fire covered close, and keep it half an hour. It will afterwards be so clear as to need only once running through the bag, and much waste will be prevented.--Another way to make jelly is to take three calf's feet, or two cow-heels, that have been only scalded, and boil them in four quarts of water, till it be half wasted. Remove the jelly from the fat and sediment, mix with it the juice of a Seville orange and twelve lemons, the peels of three ditto, the whites and shells of twelve eggs, brown sugar to taste, nearly a pint of raisin wine, one ounce of coriander seed, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, a bit of cinnamon, and six cloves, all bruised and previously mixed together. The jelly should boil fifteen minutes without stirring, and then be cleared through a flannel bag. Take a little of the jelly while running, mix it with a tea-cupful of water in which a piece of beet root has been boiled, and run it through the bag when all the rest is run out. The other jelly being cooled on a plate, this will serve to garnish it. Jelly made in this way will have a fine high colour and flavour. But in all cases, to produce good jelly, the feet should only be scalded to take off the hair. Those who sell them ready prepared generally boil them too long, and they become in consequence less nutricious. If scalded only, the liquor will require greater care in removing the fat; but the jelly will be far stronger, and of course allow more water. Jelly is equally good if made of cow-heels nicely cleaned, and will be much stronger than what is made from calf's feet. CALF'S FEET PUDDING. Boil four feet quite tender, pick off the meat, and chop it fine. Add some grated bread, a pound of chopped suet, half a pint of milk, six eggs, a pound of currants, four ounces of citron, two ounces of candied peel, a grated nutmeg, and a glass of brandy. Butter the cloth and flour it, tie it close, and boil it three hours. CALF'S HEAD BOILED. Clean it carefully and soak it in water, that it may look very nice, and take out the brains for sauce. Wash them well, tie them up in a cloth, with a little sage and parsley; put them into the pot at the same time with the head, and scum the water while boiling. A large head will take two hours, and when the part which joined the neck becomes tender it is done. Take up the brains and chop them with the sage and parsley, and an egg boiled hard. Put them into a saucepan with a bit of butter, pepper and salt, and warm them up. Peel the tongue, lay it in the middle of the dish, with the brain sauce round it. Strew over the head some grated bread and chopped parsley, and brown it by the fire in a separate dish, adding bacon, pickled pork, and greens. CALF'S HEAD COLLARED. Scald the skin off a fine head, clean it nicely, and take out the brains. Boil it tender enough to remove the bones, and season it high with mace, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Put a layer of chopped parsley, then a quantity of thick slices of fine ham, or a beautiful coloured tongue skinned, and then the yolks of six nice yellow eggs stuck here and there about. Roll the head quite close, and tie it up tight, placing a cloth under the tape, as for other collars. Boil it, and then lay a weight upon it. CALF'S HEAD FRICASSEED. Clean and half-boil part of a head; cut the meat into small bits, and put it into a tosser, with a little gravy made of the bones, some of the water it was boiled in, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, and a blade of mace. The cockscombs of young cockrels may be boiled tender, and then blanched, or a sweetbread will do as well. Season the gravy with a little pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Rub down some flour and butter, and give all a boil together. Then take out herbs and onion, and add a small cup of cream, but do not boil it in. Serve with small bits of bacon rolled up and forcemeat balls. CALF'S HEAD HASHED. When half boiled, cut off the meat in slices, half an inch thick, and two or three inches long. Brown some butter, flour, and sliced onion; and throw in the slices with some good gravy, truffles and morels. Give it one boil, skim it well and set it in a moderate heat to simmer till very tender. Season at first with pepper, salt, and cayenne; and ten minutes before serving, throw in some shred parsley, and a very small bit of taragon and knotted marjoram cut as fine as possible. Send it up with forcemeat balls, and bits of bacon rolled round, adding the squeeze of a lemon.--Another way is to boil the head almost enough, and take the meat of the best side neatly off the bone with a sharp knife. Lay this into a small dish, wash it over with the yolks of two eggs, and cover it with crumbs, a few herbs nicely shred, a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg all mixed together first. Set the dish before the fire, and turn it now and then, that all parts of the head may be equally brown. In the mean time slice the remainder of the head, peel the tongue and slice it. Put a pint of good gravy into a pan with an onion, and a small bunch of herbs, consisting of parsley, basil, savoury, taragon, knotted marjoram, and a little thyme. Add a small quantity of salt and cayenne, a few truffles and morels, and two spoonfuls of ketchup. Then beat up half the brains, put it to the rest with a little butter and flour, and simmer the whole together. Beat the other part of the brains with shred lemon peel, a little nutmeg and mace, some shred parsley and an egg. Then fry it in small cakes of a beautiful yellow brown. Dip some oysters into the yolk of an egg, and do the same; and also some relishing forcemeat balls, made as for mock turtle. Garnish with these, and small bits of bacon just made hot before the fire. CALF'S HEAD PIE. Stew a knuckle of veal till fit for eating, with two onions, a few isinglass shavings, a bunch of herbs, a blade of mace, and a few peppercorns, in three pints of water. Keep the broth for the pie. Take off a bit of the meat for the balls, and let the other be eaten; but simmer the bones in the broth till it is very good. Half boil the head, and cut it into square bits; put a layer of ham at the bottom, then some head, first fat and then lean, with balls and hard eggs cut in half, and so on till the dish be full; but great care must be taken not to place the pieces close, or the pie will be too solid, and there will be no space for the jelly. The meat must be first seasoned pretty well with pepper and salt, and a scrape or two of nutmeg. Put a little water and gravy into the dish, cover it with a tolerably thick crust, and bake it in a slow oven. When done, fill it up with gravy, and do not cut it till quite cold. Use a very sharp knife for this purpose, first cutting out a large piece, and going down to the bottom of the dish: thinner slices may afterwards be cut. The different colours, and the clear jelly, will have a beautiful marbled appearance. A small pie may be made to eat hot, and will have a good appearance, if seasoned high with oysters, mushrooms, truffles and morels. The cold pie will keep several days, and slices of it will make a handsome side-dish. If the isinglass jelly be not found stiff enough, a calf's foot or a cow heel may be used instead. To vary the colour, pickled tongue may be cut in, instead of ham. CALF'S HEAD ROASTED. Wash the head perfectly clean, stew it with oysters, tie it together and spit it, baste it well with butter and flour rubbed smooth. Stew together some of the oyster liquor, gravy, butter and salt, with a few sprigs of marjoram and savoury, adding a little claret, and pour the sauce over the dish. CALF'S HEAD SOUP. After the head has been thoroughly cleaned, put it into a stewpan with a proper quantity of water, an onion, some sweet herbs, mace and cloves, and a little pearl barley. Boil it quite tender, put in some stewed celery, and season it with pepper. Pour the soup into a dish, place the head in the middle, and send it hot to table. CALF'S HEAD STEWED. Wash and soak it for an hour, bone it, take out the brains, the tongue and the eyes. Make a forcemeat with two pounds of beef suet, as much lean veal, two anchovies boned and washed, the peel of a lemon, some grated nutmeg, and a little thyme. Chop them up together with some grated bread, and mix in the yolks of four eggs. Make part of this forcemeat into fifteen or twenty balls; boil five eggs hard, some oysters washed clean, and half a pint of fresh mushrooms, and mix with the rest of the forcemeat. Stuff that part of the head where the bones were taken out, tie it up carefully with packthread, put it into two quarts of gravy or good broth, with a blade of mace, cover it close, and stew it very slowly for two hours. While the head is doing, beat up the brains with some lemon-thyme and parsley chopped very fine, some grated nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg mixed with it. Fry half the brains in dripping, in little cakes, and fry the balls. When the head is done, keep it warm with the brain-cakes and balls; strain off the liquor in which the head was stewed, add to it some stewed truffles and morels, and a few pickled mushrooms. Put in the other half of the brains chopped, boil them up together, and let them simmer a few minutes. Lay the head into a hot dish, pour the liquor over it, and place the balls and the brain-cakes round it. For a small family, half the head will be sufficient. A lamb's head may be done in the same way. CALF'S HEART. Chop fine some suet, parsley, sweet marjoram and a boiled egg. Add some grated bread, lemon peel, pepper, salt and mustard. Mix them together in a paste, and stuff the heart with it, after it has been well washed and cleaned. If done carefully, it is better baked than roasted. Serve it up quite hot, with gravy and melted butter. CALF'S KIDNEY. Chop veal kidney, and some of the fat; likewise a little leek or onion, pepper, and salt. Roll the kidney up with an egg into balls, and fry it.--A calf's heart should be stuffed and roasted as a beef's heart; or sliced and made into a pudding, the same as for a steak or kidney pudding. CALF'S LIVER. There are several ways of making this into a good dish. One is to broil it, after it has been seasoned with pepper and salt. Then rub a bit of cold butter over, and serve it up hot and hot.--If the liver is to be roasted, first wash and wipe it, then cut a long hole in it, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, chopped anchovy, herbs, fat bacon, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of butter, and an egg. Sew up the liver, lard or wrap it in a veal caul, and put it to the fire. Serve it with good brown gravy, and currant jelly.--If the liver and lights are to be dressed together, half boil an equal quantity of each; then cut them in a middling-sized mince, add a spoonful or two of the water that boiled it, a bit of butter, flour, salt and pepper. Simmer them together ten minutes, and serve the dish up hot. CALF'S SWEETBREADS. These should be half boiled, and then stewed in white gravy. Add cream, flour, butter, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Or do them in brown sauce seasoned. Or parboil, and then cover them with crumbs, herbs, and seasoning, and brown them in a Dutch oven. Serve with butter, and mushroom ketchup, or gravy. CALVES. The general method of rearing calves consumes so much of the milk of the dairy, that it is highly necessary to adopt other means, or the calves must be sold to the butcher while they are young. A composition called linseed milk, made of linseed oil-cake powdered, and gradually mixed with skim-milk sweetened with treacle, has been tried with considerable effect. It must be made nearly as warm as new milk when taken from the cow. Hay tea mixed with linseed and boiled to a jelly, has likewise been tried with success. A species of water gruel, made in the following manner, is strongly recommended. Put a handful or two of oatmeal into some boiling water, and after it has thickened a little, leave it to cool till it is lukewarm; mix with it two or three pints of skim-milk, and give it to the calf to drink. At first it may be necessary to make the calf drink by presenting the fingers to it; but it will soon learn to drink of itself, and will grow much faster than by any other method. According to the old custom, a calf intended to be reared is allowed to suck for six or eight weeks; and if the cow give only a moderate quantity of milk, the value of it will amount to the price of the calf in half that time. By the method now recommended, only a little oatmeal or ground barley is consumed, and a small quantity of skim-milk. The calf is also more healthy and strong, and less subject to disease. Small whisps of hay should be placed round them on cleft sticks, to induce the calves to eat; and when they are weaned, they should be turned into short sweet grass; for if hay and water only are used, they are liable to swellings and the rot. The fatting of calves being an object of great importance, a greater variety of food is now provided for this purpose than formerly, and great improvements have been made in this part of rural economy. Grains, potatoes, malt dust, pollard, and turnips now constitute their common aliment. But in order to make them fine and fat, they must be kept as clean as possible, with fresh litter every day. Bleeding them twice before they are slaughtered, improves the beauty and whiteness of the flesh, but it may be doubted whether the meat is equally good and nutricious. If calves be taken with the scouring, which often happens in a few days after being cast, make a medicine of powdered chalk and wheat meal, wrought into a ball with some gin; and it will afford relief. The shoote is another distemper to which they are liable, and is attended with a violent cholic and the loathing of food. The general remedy in this case is milk, well mulled with eggs; or eggs and flour mixed with oil, melted butter, linseed or anniseed. To prevent the sickness which commonly attends calves about Michaelmas time, take newly-churned butter, without salt, and form it into a cup the size of an egg; into this cup put three or four cloves of bruised garlic, and fill it up with tar. Having put the cup down the calf's throat, pour into its nostrils half a spoonful of the spirit of turpentine, rub a little tar upon its nose, and keep it within doors for an hour. Calves ought to be housed a night before this medicine is given. CALICO FURNITURE. When curtains or bed furniture of this description are to be taken down for the summer, shake off the loose dust, and lightly brush them with a small long-haired furniture brush. Wipe them afterwards very closely with clean flannels, and rub them with dry bread. If properly done, the curtains will look nearly as well as at first, and if the colour be not very light, they will not require washing for years. Fold them up in large parcels, and put them by carefully. While the furniture remains up, it should be preserved as much as possible from the sun and air, which injure delicate colours; and the dust may be blown off with bellows. Curtains may thus be kept clean, even to use with the linings after they have been washed or newly dipped. CAMP VINEGAR. Slice a large head of garlic, and put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, with half an ounce of cayenne, two tea-spoonfuls of soy, two of walnut ketchup, four anchovies chopped, a pint of vinegar, and enough cochineal to give it the colour of lavender drops. Let it stand six weeks; then strain it off quite clear, and keep it in small bottles sealed up. CAMPHOR JULEP. Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of camphor in half a pint of brandy. It may thus be kept fit for use; and a tea-spoonful taken in a wine glass of cold water will be found an agreeable dose.--Another way. To a quarter of an ounce of camphor, add a quart of boiling water, and a quart of cold. Let it stand six hours, and strain it off for use. CAMPHOR OINTMENT. Put half an ounce of camphor into an ounce of the oil of almonds, mixed with an ounce of spermaceti. Scrape fine into it half an ounce of white wax, and melt it over some hot water. CAMPHORATED OIL. Beat an ounce of camphor in a mortar, with two ounces of Florence oil, till the camphor is entirely dissolved. This liniment is highly useful in rheumatism, spasms, and other cases of extreme pain. CANARIES. Those who wish to breed this species of birds, should provide them a large cage, with two boxes to build in. Early in April put a cock and hen together; and whilst they are pairing, feed them with soft meat, or a little grated bread, scalded rapeseed and an egg mixed together. At the same time a small net of fine hay, wool, cotton, and hair should be suspended in one corner of the cage, so that the birds may pull it out as they want it to build with. Tame canaries will sometimes breed three or four times in a year, and produce their young about a fortnight after they begin to sit. When hatched, they should be left to the care of the old ones, to nurse them up till they can fly and feed themselves; during which time they should be supplied with fresh victuals every day, accompanied now and then with cabbage, lettuce, and chick-weed with seeds upon it. When the young canaries can feed themselves, they should be taken from the old ones, and put into another cage. Boil a little rapeseed, bruise and mix it with as much grated bread, mace seed, and the yolk of an egg boiled hard; and supply them with a small quantity every day, that it may not become stale or sour. Besides this, give them a little scalded rapeseed, and a little rape and canary seed by itself. This diet may be continued till they have done moulting, or renewed at any time when they appear unhealthy, and afterwards they may be fed in the usual manner. CANCER. It is asserted by a French practitioner, that this cruel disorder may be cured in three days, by the following simple application, without any surgical operation whatever. Knead a piece of dough about the size of a pullet's egg, with the same quantity of hog's lard, the older the better; and when they are thoroughly blended, so as to form a kind of salve, spread it on a piece of white leather, and apply it to the part affected. This, if it do no good, is perfectly harmless.--A plaster for an eating cancer may be made as follows. File up some old brass, and mix a spoonful of it with mutton suet. Lay the plaster on the cancer, and let it remain till the cure is effected. Several persons have derived great benefit from this application, and it has seldom been known to fail. CANDIED ANGELICA. Cut angelica into pieces three inches long, boil it tender, peel and boil it again till it is green; dry it in a cloth, and add its weight in sugar. Sift some fine sugar over, and let them remain in a pan two days; then boil the stalks clear and green, and let them drain in a cullender. Beat another pound of sugar and strew over them, lay them on plates, and dry them well in an oven. CANDIED FRUIT. Take the preserve out of the syrup, lay it into a new sieve, and dip it suddenly into hot water, to take off the syrup that hangs about it. Put it on a napkin before the fire to drain, and then do another layer in the sieve. Sift the fruit all over with double refined sugar previously prepared, till it is quite white. Set it on the shallow end of sieves in a lightly-warm oven, and turn it two or three times: it must not be cold till dry. Watch it carefully, and it will be beautiful. CANDIED PEEL. Take out the pulps of lemons or oranges, soak the rinds six days in salt and water, and afterwards boil them tender in spring water. Drain them on a sieve, make a thin syrup of loaf sugar and water, and boil the peels in it till the syrup begins to candy about them. Then take out the peels, grate fine sugar over them, drain them on a sieve, and dry them before the fire. CANDLES. Those made in cold weather are best; and if put in a cool place, they will improve by keeping; but when they begin to sweat and turn rancid, the tallow loses its strength, and the candles are spoiled. A stock for winter use should be provided in autumn, and for summer, early in the spring. The best candle-wicks are made of fine cotton; the coarser yarn consumes faster, and burns less steady. Mould candles burn the clearest, but dips afford the best light, their wicks being proportionally larger. CAPER SAUCE. Add a table-spoonful of capers to twice the quantity of vinegar, mince one third of the capers very fine, and divide the others in half. Put them into a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or good thickened gravy, and stir them the same way as the melted butter, to prevent their oiling. The juice of half a Seville orange or lemon may be added. An excellent substitute for capers may be made of pickled green peas, nastursions, or gherkins, chopped into a similar size, and boiled with melted butter. When capers are kept for use, they should be covered with fresh scalded vinegar, tied down close to exclude the air, and to make them soft. CAPILLAIRE. Take fourteen pounds of good moist sugar, three of coarse sugar, and six eggs beaten in well with the shells, boil them together in three quarts of water, and skim it carefully. Then add a quarter of a pint of orange-flower water, strain it off, and put it into bottles. When cold, mix a spoonful or two of this syrup in a little warm or cold water. CARACHEE. Mix with a pint of vinegar, two table-spoonfuls of Indian soy, two of walnut pickle, two cloves of garlic, one tea-spoonful of cayenne, one of lemon pickle, and two of sauce royal. CARMEL COVER. Dissolve eight ounces of double refined sugar in three or four spoonfuls of water, and as many drops of lemon juice. Put it into a copper skillet; when it begins to thicken, dip the handle of a spoon in it, and put that into a pint bason of water. Squeeze the sugar from the spoon into it, and so on till all the sugar is extracted. Take a bit out of the water, and if it snaps and is brittle when cold, it is done enough. But let it be only three parts cold, then pour the water from the sugar, and having a copper form oiled well, run the sugar on it, in the manner of a maze, and when cold it may be put on the dish it is intended to cover. If on trial the sugar is not brittle, pour off the water, return it into the skillet, and boil it again. It should look thick like treacle, but of a light gold colour. This makes an elegant cover for sweetmeats. CARP. This excellent fish will live some time out of water, and may therefore get wasted: it is best to kill them as soon as caught, to prevent this. Carp should either be boiled or stewed. Scale and draw it, and save the blood. Set on water in a stewpan, with a little Chili vinegar, salt, and horse-radish. When it boils, put in the carp, and boil it gently for twenty minutes, according to the thickness of the fish. Stew the blood with half a pint of port wine, some good gravy, a sliced onion, a little whole pepper, a blade of mace, and a nutmeg grated. Thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour, season it with pepper and salt, essence of anchovy, and mushroom ketchup. Serve up the fish with the sauce poured over it, adding a little lemon juice. Carp are also very nice plain boiled, with common fish sauce. CARPETS. In order to keep them clean, they should not frequently be swept with a whisk brush, as it wears them fast; not more than once a week, and at other times with sprinkled tea-leaves, and a hair brush. Fine carpets should be done gently on the knees, with a soft clothes' brush. When a carpet requires more cleaning, take it up and beat it well, then lay it down and brush it on both sides with a hand-brush. Turn it the right side upwards, and scour it clean with ox-gall and soap and water, and dry it with linen cloths. Lay it on the grass, or hang it up to dry thoroughly. CARRAWAY CAKE. Dry two pounds of good flour, add ten spoonfuls of yeast, and twelve of cream. Wash the salt out of a pound of butter, and rub it into the flour; beat up eight eggs with half the whites, and mix it with the composition already prepared. Work it into a light paste, set it before the fire to rise, incorporate a pound of carraway comfits, and an hour will bake it. CARRIER SAUCE. Chop six shalots fine, and boil them up with a gill of gravy, a spoonful of vinegar, some pepper and salt. This is used for mutton, and served in a boat. CARROLE OF RICE. Wash and pick some rice quite clean, boil it five minutes in water, strain and put it into a stewpan, with a bit of butter, a good slice of ham, and an onion. Stew it over a very gentle fire till tender; have ready a mould lined with very thin slices of bacon, mix the yolks of two or three eggs with the rice, and then line the bacon with it about half an inch thick. Put into it a ragout of chicken, rabbit, veal, or of any thing else. Fill up the mould, and cover it close with rice. Bake it in a quick oven an hour, turn it over, and send it to table in a good gravy, or curry sauce. CARROTS. This root requires a good deal of boiling. When young, wipe off the skin after they are boiled; when old, scrape them first, and boil them with salt meat. Carrots and parsnips should be kept in layers of dry sand for winter use, and not be wholly cleared from the earth. They should be placed separately, with their necks upward, and be drawn out regularly as they stand, without disturbing the middle or the sides. CARROT PUDDING. Boil a large carrot tender; then bruise it in a marble mortar, and mix with it a spoonful of biscuit powder, or three or four little sweet biscuits without seeds, four yolks and two whites of eggs, a pint of cream either raw or scalded, a little ratifia, a large spoonful of orange or rose-water, a quarter of a nutmeg, and two ounces of sugar. Bake it in a shallow dish lined with paste; turn it out, and dust a little fine sugar over it. CARROT SOUP. Put some beef bones into a saucepan, with four quarts of the liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, two large onions, a turnip, pepper and salt, and boil them together for three hours. Have ready six large carrots scraped and sliced; strain the soup on them, and stew them till soft enough to pulp through a hair sieve or coarse cloth, with a wooden spoon; but pulp only the red part of the carrot, and not the yellow. The soup should be made the day before, and afterwards boiled with the pulp, to the thickness of peas-soup, with the addition of a little cayenne. [Illustration: Carving] [Illustration: Carving.] CARVING. In nothing does ceremony more frequently triumph over comfort, than in the administration of 'the honours of the table.' Every one is sufficiently aware that a dinner, to be eaten in perfection, should be taken the very moment it is sent hot to table; yet few persons seem to understand, that he is the best carver who fills the plates of the greatest numbers of guests in the least portion of time, provided it be done with ease and elegance. In a mere family circle, where all cannot and ought not to be choosers, it is far better to fill the plates and send them round, rather than ask each individual what particular part they would prefer; and if in a larger company a similar plan were introduced, it would be attended with many advantages. A dexterous carver, would help half a dozen people in less time than is often wasted in making civil faces to a single guest. He will also cut fair, and observe an equitable distribution of the dainties he is serving out. It would save much time, if poultry, especially large turkeys and geese, were sent to table ready cut up. When a lady presides, the carving knife should be light, of a middling size, and of a fine edge. Strength is less required than address, in the manner of using, it; and to facilitate this, the butcher should be ordered to divide the joints of the bones, especially of the neck, breast, and loin of mutton, lamb, and veal; which may then be easily cut into thin slices attached to the adjoining bones. If the whole of the meat belonging to each bone should be too thick, a small slice may be taken off between every two bones. The more fleshy joints, as fillet of veal, leg or saddle of mutton and beef, are to be helped in thin slices, neatly cut and smooth; observing to let the knife pass down to the bone in the mutton and beef joints. The dish should not be too far off the carver, as it gives an awkward appearance, and makes the task more difficult. In helping fish, take care not to break the flakes; which in cod and very fresh salmon are large, and contribute much to the beauty of its appearance. A fish knife, not being sharp, divides it best on this account. Help a part of the roe, milt or liver, to each person. The heads of carp, part of those of cod and salmon, sounds of cod, and fins of turbot, are likewise esteemed niceties, and are to be attended to accordingly. In cutting up any wild fowl, duck, goose, or turkey, for a large party, if you cut the slices down from pinion to pinion, without making wings, there will be more prime pieces. But that the reader may derive the full advantage of these remarks, we shall descend to particulars, and illustrate the subject with a variety of interesting Plates, which will show at the same time the manner in which game and poultry should be trussed and dished.----COD'S HEAD. Fish in general requires very little carving, the fleshy parts being those principally esteemed. A cod's head and shoulders, when in season, and properly boiled, is a very genteel and handsome dish. When cut, it should be done with a fish trowel, and the parts about the backbone on the shoulders are the firmest and the best. Take off a piece quite down to the bone, in the direction _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, putting in the spoon at _a_, _c_, and with each slice of fish give a piece of the sound, which lies underneath the backbone and lines it, the meat of which is thin, and a little darker coloured than the body of the fish itself. This may be got by passing a knife or spoon underneath, in the direction of _d_, _f_. About the head are many delicate parts, and a great deal of the jelly kind. The jelly part lies about the jaw, bones, and the firm parts within the head. Some are fond of the palate, and others the tongue, which likewise may be got by putting a spoon into the mouth.----EDGE BONE OF BEEF. Cut off a slice an inch thick all the length from _a_ to _b_, in the figure opposite, and then help. The soft fat which resembles marrow, lies at the back of the bone, below _c_; the firm fat must be cut in horizontal slices at the edge of the meat _d_. It is proper to ask which is preferred, as tastes differ. The skewer that keeps the meat properly together when boiling is here shewn at _a_. This should be drawn out before it is served up; or, if it is necessary to leave the skewer in, put a silver one.----SIRLOIN OF BEEF may be begun either at the end, or by cutting into the middle. It is usual to enquire whether the outside or the inside is preferred. For the outside, the slice should be cut down to the bones; and the same with every following helping. Slice the inside likewise, and give with each piece some of the soft fat. The inside done as follows eats excellently. Have ready some shalot vinegar boiling hot: mince the meat large, and a good deal of the fat; sprinkle it with salt, and pour the shalot vinegar and the gravy on it. Help with a spoon, as quickly as possible, on hot plates.----ROUND OR BUTTOCK OF BEEF is cut in the same way as fillet of veal, in the next article. It should be kept even all over. When helping the fat, observe not to hack it, but cut it smooth. A deep slice should be cut off the beef before you begin to help, as directed above for the edge-bone.----FILLET OF VEAL. In an ox, this part is round of beef. Ask whether the brown outside be liked, otherwise help the next slice. The bone is taken out, and the meat tied close, before dressing, which makes the fillet very solid. It should be cut thin, and very smooth. A stuffing is put into the flap, which completely covers it; you must cut deep into this, and help a thin slice, as likewise of fat. From carelessness in not covering the latter with paper, it is sometimes dried up, to the great disappointment of the carver.----BREAST OF VEAL. One part, called the brisket, is thick and gristly; put the knife about four inches from the edge of this, and cut through it, which will separate the ribs from the brisket.----CALF'S HEAD has a great deal of meat upon it, if properly managed. Cut slices from _a_ to _b_, letting the knife go close to the bone. In the fleshy part, at the neck end _c_, there lies the throat sweetbread, which you should help a slice of from _c_ to _d_ with the other part. Many like the eye, which must be cut out with the point of a knife, and divided in two. If the jaw-bone be taken off, there will be found some fine lean. Under the head is the palate, which is reckoned a nicety; the lady of the house should be acquainted with all things that are thought so, that she may distribute them among her guests.----SHOULDER OF MUTTON. This is a very good joint, and by many preferred to the leg; it being very full of gravy, if properly roasted, and produces many nice bits. The figure represents it as laid in the dish with its back uppermost. When it is first cut, it should be in the hollow part of it, in the direction of _a_, _b_, and the knife should be passed deep to the bone. The prime part of the fat lies on the outer edge, and is to be cut out in thin slices in the direction _e_. If many are at table, and the hollow part cut in the line _a_, _b_, is eaten, some very good and delicate slices may be cut out on each side the ridge of the blade-bone, in the direction _c_, _d_. The line between these two dotted lines, is that in the direction of which the edge or ridge of the blade-bone lies, and cannot be cut across.----LEG OF MUTTON. A leg of wether mutton, which is the best flavoured, may be known by a round lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part, as at _a_. The best part is in the midway, at _b_, between the knuckle and further end. Begin to help there, by cutting thin deep slices to _c_. If the outside is not fat enough, help some from the side of the broad end in slices from _e_ to _f_. This part is most juicy; but many prefer the knuckle, which in fine mutton will be very tender though dry. There are very fine slices on the back of the leg: turn it up, and cut the broad end, not in the direction you did the other side, but longways. To cut out the cramp bone, take hold of the shank with your left hand, and cut down to the thigh bone at _d_; then pass the knife under the cramp bone in the direction, _d_, _g_.----FORE QUARTER OF LAMB. Separate the shoulder from the scoven, which is the breast and ribs, by passing the knife under in the direction of _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_; keeping it towards you horizontally, to prevent cutting the meat too much off the bones. If grass lamb, the shoulder being large, put it into another dish. Squeeze the juice of half a Seville orange or lemon on the other part, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Then separate the gristly part from the ribs in the line _e_, _c_; and help either from that or from the ribs, as may be chosen.----HAUNCH OF VENISON. Cut down to the bone in the line _a_, _b_, _c_, to let out the gravy. Then turn the broad end of the haunch toward you, put in the knife at _b_, and cut as deep as you can to the end of the haunch _d_; then help in thin slices, observing to give some fat to each person. There is more fat, which is a favourite part, on the left side of _c_ and _d_ than on the other: and those who help must take care to proportion it, as likewise the gravy, according to the number of the company.--HAUNCH OF MUTTON is the leg and part of the loin, cut so as to resemble a haunch of venison, and is to be helped at table in the same manner.----SADDLE OF MUTTON. Cut long thin slices from the tail to the end, beginning close to the back bone. If a large joint, the slice may be divided. Cut some fat from the sides.----HAM may be cut three ways. The common method is, to begin in the middle, by long slices from _a_ to _b_, from the centre through the thick fat. This brings to the prime at first, which is likewise accomplished by cutting a small round hole on the top of the ham, as at _c_, and with a sharp knife enlarging that by cutting successive thin circles: this preserves the gravy, and keeps the meat moist. The last and most saving way is, to begin at the hock end, which many are most fond of, and proceed onwards. Ham that is used for pies, &c. should be cut from the under side, first taking off a thick slice.----SUCKING PIG. The cook usually divides the body before it is sent to table, and garnishes the dish with the jaws and ears. The first thing is, to separate a shoulder from the carcase on one side, and then the leg, according to the direction given by the dotted line _a_, _b_, _c_. The ribs are then to be divided into about two helpings, and an ear or jaw presented with them, and plenty of sauce. The joints may either be divided into two each, or pieces may be cut from them. The ribs are reckoned the finest part, but some people prefer the neck end, between the shoulders.----GOOSE. Cut off the apron in the circular line _a_, _b_, _c_, and pour into the body a glass of port wine, and a large tea-spoonful of mustard, first mixed at the sideboard. Turn the neck end of the goose towards you, and cut the whole breast in long slices from one wing to another; but only remove them as you help each person, unless the company is so large as to require the legs likewise. This way gives more prime bits than by making wings. Take off the leg, by putting the fork into the small end of the bone, pressing it to the body; and having passed the knife at _d_, turn the leg back, and if a young bird, it will easily separate. To take off the wing, put your fork into the small end of the pinion, and press it close to the body; then put in the knife at _d_, and divide the joint, taking it down in the direction _d_, _e_. Nothing but practice will enable people to hit the joint dexterously. When the leg and wing of one side are done, go on to the other; but it is not often necessary to cut up the whole goose, unless the company be very large. There are two side bones by the wing, which may be cut off; as likewise the back and lower side bones: but the best pieces are the breast and the thighs, after being divided from the drum-sticks.----HARE. The best way of cutting it up is, to put the point of the knife under the shoulder at _a_, and so cut all the way down to the rump, on one side of the back-bone, in the line _a_, _b_. Do the same on the other side, so that the whole hare will be divided into three parts. Cut the back into four, which with the legs is the part most esteemed. The shoulder must be cut off in a circular line, as _c_, _d_, _a_. Lay the pieces neatly on the dish as you cut them; and then help the company, giving some pudding and gravy to every person. This way can only be practised when the hare is young. If old, do not divide it down, which will require a strong arm: but put the knife between the leg and back, and give it a little turn inwards at the joint; which you must endeavour to hit, and not to break by force. When both legs are taken off, there is a fine collop on each side the back; then divide the back into as many pieces as you please, and take of the shoulders, which are by many preferred, and are called the sportman's pieces. When every one is helped, cut off the head; put your knife between the upper and lower jaw, and divide them, which will enable you to lay the upper one flat on your plate; then put the point of the knife into the centre, and cut the head into two. The ears and brains may be helped then to those who like them.----Carve RABBITS as directed the latter way for hare; cutting the back into two pieces, which with the legs are the prime.----A FOWL. The legs of a boiled fowl are bent inwards, and tucked into the belly; but before it is served, the skewers are to be removed. Lay the fowl on your plate; and place the joints, as cut off, on the dish. Take the wing off in the direction of _a_ to _b_, in the annexed engraving, only dividing the joint with your knife; and then with your fork lift up the pinion, and draw the wing towards the legs, and the muscles will separate in a more complete form than if cut. Slip the knife between the leg and body, and cut to the bone; then with the fork turn the leg back, and the joint will give way if the bird is not old. When the four quarters are thus removed, take off the merrythought from _a_, and the neck bones; these last by putting in the knife at _c_, and pressing it under the long broad part of the bone in the line _c_, _b_. Then lift it up, and break it off from the part that sticks to the breast. The next thing is, to divide the breast from the carcase, by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast, quite down to the tail. Then lay the back upwards, put your knife into the bone half-way from the neck to the rump, and on raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from you, and very neatly take off the two sidebones, and the whole will be done. As each part is taken off, it should be turned neatly on the dish, and care should be taken that what is left goes properly from table. The breast and wings are looked upon as the best parts, but the legs are most juicy in young fowls. After all, more advantage will be gained by observing those who carve well, and a little practice, than by any written directions whatever.----A PHEASANT. The bird in the annexed engraving is as trussed for the spit, with its head under one of its wings. When the skewers are taken out, and the bird served, the following is the way to carve it. Fix a fork in the centre of the breast; slice it down in the line _a_, _b_; take off the leg on one side in the dotted line _b_, _d_; then cut off the wing on the same side in the line _c_, _d_. Separate the leg and wing on the other side, and then cut off the slices of breast you divided before. Be careful how you take off the wings; for if you should cut too near the neck, as at _g_, you will hit on the neck-bone, from which the wing must be separated. Cut off the merrythought in the line _f_, _g_, by passing the knife under it towards the neck. Cut the other parts as in a fowl. The breast, wings, and merrythought, are the most esteemed; but the leg has a higher flavour.----PARTRIDGE. The partridge is here represented as just taken from the spit; but before it is served up, the skewers must be withdrawn. It is cut up in the same manner as a fowl. The wings must be taken off in the line _a_, _b_, and the merrythought in the line _c_, _d_. The prime parts of a partridge are the wings, breast, and merrythought; but the bird being small, the two latter are not often divided. The wing is considered as the best, and the tip of it reckoned the most delicate morsel of the whole.----PIGEONS. Cut them in half, either from top to bottom or across. The lower part is generally thought the best; but the fairest way is to cut from the neck to _a_, rather than from _c_ to _b_, by _a_, which is the most fashionable. The figure represents the back of the pigeon; and the direction of the knife is in the line _c_, _b_, by _a_, if done the last way. CASKS. New casks are apt to give beer a bad taste, if not well scalded and seasoned before they are used. Boil therefore two pecks of bran or malt dust in a copper of water, pour it hot into the cask, stop it close, and let it stand two days. Then wash it clean, and dry it fit for use. Old casks are apt to grow musty, if allowed to stand by neglected; they should therefore be closely stopped as soon as emptied. When tainted, put in some lime, fill up with water, and let them stand a day or two. If this be not sufficient, the head must be taken out, the inside well scoured, and the head replaced. CATERPILLARS. These noxious insects, sustained by leaves and fruit, have been known in all ages and nations for their depredations on the vegetable world. In August and September they destroy cabbages and turnips in great abundance, and commit their ravages in fields and gardens whenever the easterly winds prevail. Various means have been devised for their destruction, and any of the following which may happen to be the most convenient, may be employed with very good effect. Mix and heat three quarts of water and one quart of vinegar, put in a full pound of soot, and stir it with a whisk till the whole is incorporated. Sprinkle the plants with this preparation, every morning and evening, by dipping in a brush and shedding it over them; and in a few days all the cankers will disappear. Or sow with hemp all the borders where cabbages are planted, so as to enclose them, and not one of these vermin will approach. When gooseberry or currant bushes are attacked, a very simple expedient will suffice. Put pieces of woollen rags in every bush, the caterpillars will take refuge in them during the night, and in the morning quantities of them may thus be taken and destroyed. If this do not succeed, dissolve an ounce of alum in a quart of tobacco liquor; and as soon as the leaves of the plants or bushes appear in the least corroded, sprinkle on the mixture with a brush. If any eggs be deposited, they never come forward after this application; and if changed into worms they will sicken and die, and fall off. Nothing is more effectual than to dust the leaves of plants with sulphur put into a piece of muslin, or thrown upon them with a dredging box: this not only destroys the insects, but materially promotes the health of the plants. When caterpillars attack fruit trees, they may be destroyed by a strong decoction of equal quantities of rue, wormwood, and tobacco, sprinkled on the leaves and branches while the fruit is ripening. Or take a chafing-dish of burning charcoal, place it under the branches of the bush or tree, and throw on it a little brimstone. The vapour of the sulphur, and the suffocating fume arising from the charcoal, will not only destroy all the insects, but prevent the plants from being infested with them any more that season. Black cankers, which commit great devastation among turnips, are best destroyed by turning a quantity of ducks into the field infested by them. Every fourth year these cankers become flies, when they deposit their eggs on the ground, and thus produce maggots. The flies on their first appearance settle on the trees, especially the oak, elm, and maple: in this state they should be shaken down on packsheets, and destroyed. If this were done before they begin to deposit their eggs on the ground, the ravages of the canker would in a great measure be prevented. CAUDLE. Make a fine smooth gruel of half grits, strain it after being well boiled, and stir it at times till quite cold. When to be used, add sugar, wine, lemon peel and nutmeg. A spoonful of brandy may be added, and a little lemon juice if approved. Another way is to boil up half a pint of fine gruel, with a bit of butter the size of a large nutmeg, a spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, one of capillaire, a bit of lemon peel and nutmeg.--Another. Beat up the yolk of an egg with sugar, mix it with a large spoonful of cold water, a glass of wine, and nutmeg. Mix it by degrees with a pint of fine gruel, not thick, but while it is boiling hot. This caudle is very agreeable and nourishing. Some add a glass of beer and sugar, or a tea-spoonful of brandy.--A caudle for the sick and lying-in is made as follows. Set three quarts of water on the fire, mix smooth as much oatmeal as will thicken the whole, with a pint of cold water; and when the water boils pour in the thickening, and add twenty peppercorns in fine powder. Boil it up to a tolerable thickness; then add sugar, half a pint of good table beer, and a glass of gin, all heated up together. CAULIFLOWERS. Choose those that are close and white, cut off the green leaves, and see that there be no caterpillars about the stalk. Soak them an hour in cold water, then boil them in milk and water, and take care to skim the saucepan, that not the least foulness may fall on the flower. The vegetable should be served very white, and not boiled too much.--Cauliflower dressed in white sauce should be half boiled, and cut into handsome pieces. Then lay them in a stewpan with a little broth, a bit of mace, a little salt, and a dust of white pepper. Simmer them together half an hour; then add a little cream, butter, and flour. Simmer a few minutes longer, and serve them up.--To dress a cauliflower with parmesan, boil the vegetable, drain it on a sieve, and cut the stalk so that the flower will stand upright about two inches above the dish. Put it into a stewpan with a little white sauce, and in a few minutes it will be done enough. Then dish it with the sauce round, put parmesan grated over it, and brown it with a salamander. CAULIFLOWERS RAGOUT. Pick and wash the cauliflowers very clean, stew them in brown gravy till they are tender, and season with pepper and salt. Put them in a dish, pour gravy on them, boil some sprigs of cauliflower white, and lay round. CAYENNE. Those who are fond of this spice had better make it themselves of English capsicums or chillies, for there is no other way of being sure that it is genuine. Pepper of a much finer flavour may be obtained in this way, without half the heat of the foreign article, which is frequently adulterated and coloured with red lead. Capsicums and chillies are ripe and in good condition, during the months of September and October. The flavour of the chillies is superior to that of the capsicums, and will be good in proportion as they are dried as soon as possible, taken care that they be not burnt. Take away the stalks, put the pods into a cullender, and set them twelve hours before the fire to dry. Then put them into a mortar, with one fourth their weight of salt; pound and rub them till they are as fine as possible, and put the powder into a well-stopped bottle. A hundred large chillies will produce about two ounces of cayenne. When foreign cayenne is pounded, it is mixed with a considerable portion of salt, to prevent its injuring the eyes: but English chillies may be pounded in a deep mortar without any danger, and afterwards passed through a fine sieve. CELERY SAUCE. Cut small half a dozen heads of clean white celery, with two sliced onions. Put them into a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, and sweat them over a slow fire till quite tender. Add two spoonfuls of flour, half a pint of broth, salt and pepper, and a little cream or milk. Boil it a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a fine hair sieve with the back of a spoon. When celery is not in season, a quarter of a dram of celery seed, or a little of the essence, will impregnate half a pint of sauce with all the flavour of the vegetable. This sauce is intended for boiled turkey, veal, or fowls. CELERY SOUP. Split half a dozen heads of celery into slips about two inches long, wash them well, drain them on a hair sieve, and put them into a soup pot, with three quarts of clear gravy. Stew it very gently by the side of the fire, about an hour, till the celery is tender. If any scum arise, take it off, and season with a little salt. When celery cannot be procured, half a dram of the seed, pounded fine, will give a flavour to the soup, if put in a quarter of an hour before it is done. A little of the essence of the celery will answer the same purpose. CELLARS. Beer and ale that have been well brewed, are often injured or spoiled in the keeping, for want of paying proper attention to the state of the cellar. It is necessary however to exclude as much as possible all external air from these depositaries, as the state of the surrounding atmosphere has a most material influence upon the liquor, even after it has been made a considerable time. If the cellar is liable to damps in the winter, it will tend to chill the liquor, and make it turn flat; or if exposed to the heat of summer, it will be sure to turn sour. The great object therefore is to have a cellar that is both cool and dry. Dorchester beer, generally in high esteem, owes much of its fineness to this circumstance. The soil in that county being very chalky, of a close texture and free from damps, the cellars are always cool and dry, and the liquors are found to keep in the best possible manner. The Nottingham ale derives much of its celebrity also from the peculiar construction of the cellars, which are generally excavated out of a rock of sand-stone to a considerable depth, of a circular or conical form, with benches formed all round in the same way, and on these the barrels are placed in regular succession. CERATE. Half a pound of white wax, half a pound of calumine stone finely powdered, and a pint and a half of olive oil, will make an excellent cerate. Let the calumine be rubbed smooth with some of the oil, and added to the rest of the oil and wax, which should be previously melted together. Stir them together till they are quite cold. CHARDOONS. To dress chardoons, cut them into pieces of six inches long, and tie them in a bunch. Boil them tender, then flour and fry them with a piece of butter, and when brown serve them up. Or tie them in bundles, and serve them on toast as boiled asparagus, with butter poured over. Another way is to boil them, and then heat them up in fricassee sauce. Or boil in salt and water, dry them, dip them into butter, fry, and serve them up with melted butter. Or having boiled, stew, and toss them up with white or brown gravy. Add a little cayenne, ketchup, and salt, and thicken with a bit of butter and flour. CHARLOTTE. Rub a baking-dish thick with butter, and line the bottom and sides with very thin slices of white bread. Put in layers of apples thinly sliced, strewing sugar between, and bits of butter, till the dish is full. In the mean time, soak in warm milk as many thin slices of bread as will cover the whole; over which lay a plate, and a weight to keep the bread close on the apples. To a middling sized dish use half a pound of butter in the whole, and bake slowly for three hours. CHEAP SOUP. Much nutricious food might be provided for the poor and necessitous, at a very trifling expence, by only adopting a plan of frugality, and gathering up the fragments, that nothing be lost. Save the liquor in which every piece of meat, ham, or tongue has been boiled, however salt; for it is easy to use only a part of it, and to add a little fresh water. Then, by the addition of more vegetables, the bones of meat used in the family, the pieces of meat that come from table on the plates, and rice, Scotch barley, or oatmeal, there will be some gallons of useful soup saved. The bits of meat should only be warmed in the soup, and remain whole; the bones and sinewy parts should be boiled till they yield their nourishment. If the fragments are ready to put into the boiler as soon as the meat is served, it will save lighting the fire, and a second cooking. Take turnips, carrots, leeks, potatoes, leaves of lettuce, or any sort of vegetable that is at hand; cut them small, and throw in with the thick part of peas, after they have been pulped for soup, and grits, or coarse oatmeal, which have been used for gruel. Should the soup be poor of meat, the long boiling of the bones, and different vegetables, will afford better nourishment than the laborious poor can generally obtain; especially as they are rarely tolerable cooks, and have not fuel to do justice to what they buy. In almost every family there is some superfluity; and if it be prepared with cleanliness and care, the benefit will be very great to the receiver, and the satisfaction no less to the giver. The cook or servant should never be allowed to wash away as useless, the peas or grits of which soup or gruel have been made, broken potatoes, the green heads of celery, the necks and feet of fowls, and particularly the shanks of mutton; all of which are capable of adding flavour and richness to the soup. The bones, heads, and fins of fish, containing a portion of isinglass, may also be very usefully applied, by stewing them in the water in which the fish is boiled, and adding it to the soup, with the gravy that is left in the dish. If strained, it considerably improves the meat soup, particularly for the sick; and when such are to be supplied, the milder parts of the spare bones and meat should be used, with very little of the liquor of the salt meats. If a soup be wanted for the weakly and infirm, put two cow heels and a breast of mutton into a large pan, with four ounces of rice, one onion, twenty corns of Jamaica pepper, and twenty black, a turnip, and carrot, and four gallons of water. Cover it with white paper, and bake it six hours. CHEESE. This well-known article of domestic consumption, is prepared from curdled milk, cleared from the whey. It differs very much in quality and flavour, according to the pasture in which the cows feed, and the manner in which the article itself is made. The same land rarely produces very fine butter, and remarkably fine cheese; yet with proper management, it may give one pretty good, where the other excels in quality. Cheese made on the same land, from new milk, skimmed or mixed milk, will differ greatly, not only in richness, but also in taste. Valuable cheese may be made from a tolerable pasture, by taking the whole of two meals of milk, and proportioning the thickness of the vat to the quantity, rather than having a wide and flat one, as the former will produce the mellowest cheese. The addition of a pound of fresh-made butter of a good quality, will cause the cheese made on poor land to be of a very different quality from that usually produced by it. A few cheeses thus made, when the weather is not extremely hot, and when the cows are in full feed, are well adapted to the use of the parlour. Cheese for common family use may very well be produced by two meals of skim, and one of new milk; or on good land, by the skim milk only. The principal ingredient in making cheese is the rennet, maw, or inner part of a calf's stomach, which is cleaned, salted, and hung up in paper bags to dry. The night before it is used, it is washed and soaked in a little water. When the milk is ready, being put into a large tub, warm a part of it to the degree of new milk; but if made too hot, the cheese will be tough. Pour in as much rennet as will curdle the milk, and then cover it over. Let it stand till completely turned; then strike the curd down several times with the skimming dish, and let it separate, still keeping it covered. There are two modes of breaking the curd, and there will be a difference in the taste of the cheese, according as either is observed. One is to gather it with the hands very gently towards the side of the tub, letting the whey pass through the fingers till it is cleared; and lading it off as it collects. The other is, to get the whey from it by early breaking the curd. The last method deprives it of many of its oily particles, and is therefore less proper. In pursuing the process, put the vat on a ladder over the tub, and fill it with curd by means of the skimmer. Press the curd close with the hand, add more as it sinks, and finally leave it two inches above the edge. Before the vat is filled, the cheesecloth must be laid at the bottom; and when full, drawn smooth over on all sides. In salting the cheese, two modes may be adopted; either by mixing it in the curd while in the tub, after the whey is out, or by putting it in the vat, and crumbling the curd all to pieces with it, after the first squeezing with the hand has dried it. These different methods prevail in the different parts of the country. Put a board under and over the vat, and place it in the press: in two hours turn it out, and put in a fresh cheesecloth. Press it again for eight or nine hours, salt it all over, and turn it again in the vat. Let it stand in the press fourteen or sixteen hours, observing to put the cheeses last made undermost. Before putting them the last time into the vat, pare the edges if they do not look smooth. The vat should have holes at the sides, and at the bottom, to let all the whey pass through. Put on clean boards, and change and scald them. When cheese is made, care must be taken to preserve it sound and good. For this purpose wash it occasionally in warm whey, wipe it once a month, and keep it on a rack. If wanted to ripen soon, a damp cellar will bring it forward. When a whole cheese is cut, the inside of the larger quantity should be spread with butter, and the outside wiped, to preserve it. To keep those in daily use moist, let a clean cloth be wrung out from cold water, and wrapt round them when carried from the table. Dry cheese may be used to advantage to grate for serving with macaroni or eating without; and any thing tending to prevent waste, is of some consequence in a system of domestic economy. To preserve cheeses from decay, lay them in an airy situation, and cover them with dried leaves of the yellow star of Bethlehem. The tender branches of the common birch, will prevent the ravages of mites. If cheese get hard, and lose its flavour, pour some sweet wine over four ounces of pearlash, till the liquor ceases to ferment. Filter the solution, dip into it some clean linen cloths, cover the cheese with them, and put in a cool dry place. Turn the cheese every day, repeat the application for some weeks, and the cheese will recover its former flavour and goodness. CHEESECAKES. Strain the whey from the curd of two quarts of milk; when rather dry, crumble it through a coarse sieve. With six ounces of fresh butter, mix one ounce of blanched almonds pounded, a little orange-flower water, half a glass of raisin wine, a grated biscuit, four ounces of currants, some nutmeg and cinnamon in fine powder. Beat them up together with three eggs, and half a pint of cream, till quite light: then fill the pattipans three parts full.--To make a plainer sort of cheesecakes, turn three quarts of milk to curd; break it and drain off the whey. When quite dry, break it in a pan, with two ounces of butter, till perfectly smooth. Add a pint and a half of thin cream or good milk, a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and three ounces of currants.--Another way is to mix the curd of three quarts of milk, a pound of currants, twelve ounces of Lisbon sugar, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, the same of nutmeg, the peel of one lemon chopped as fine as possible, the yolks of eight and the whites of six eggs, a pint of scalded cream and a glass of brandy. Put a light thin puff paste in the pattipans, and three parts fill them. CHEESE PUFFS. Strain some cheese curd from the whey, and beat half a pint of it fine in a mortar, with a spoonful and a half of flour, three eggs, but only one white. Add a spoonful of orange-flower water, a quarter of a nutmeg, and sugar to make it pretty sweet. Lay a little of this paste, in small round cakes, on a tin plate. If the oven be hot, a quarter of an hour will bake them. Serve the puffs with pudding sauce. CHERRY BRANDY. Stone ten pounds of black cherries, bruise the stones in a mortar, and put them to a gallon of the best brandy. Let it stand a month close covered, pour it clear from the sediment, and bottle it. Morella cherries managed in this way will make a fine rich cordial. CHERRY JAM. To twelve pounds of ripe fruit, Kentish or duke cherries, weigh one pound of sugar. Break the stones of part, and blanch them; then put them to the fruit and sugar, and boil all gently till the jam comes clear from the pan. Pour it into china plates to come up dry to the table, and keep it in boxes with white paper between. CHERRY PIE. This should have a mixture of other fruit; currants or raspberries, or both. Currant pie is also best with raspberries. CHERRY WINE. Mash some ripe cherries, and press them through a hair sieve. Allow three pounds of lump sugar to two quarts of juice, stir them together till the sugar is dissolved, and fill a small barrel with the liquor. Add a little brandy, close down the bung when it has done hissing, let it stand six months and bottle it off. CHERRIES IN BRANDY. Weigh some fine morellas, cut off half the stalk, prick them with a new needle, and drop them into a jar or wide-mouth bottle. Pound three quarters of the weight of sugar or white candy, and strew over; fill the bottle up with brandy, and tie a bladder over. CHERVIL SAUCE. The flavour of this fine herb, so long a favourite with the French cook, is a strong concentration of the combined taste of parsley and fennel, but more aromatic and agreeable than either, and makes an excellent sauce for boiled poultry or fish. Wash the chervil, and pick it very clean; put a tea-spoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water, boil the chervil about ten minutes, drain it on a sieve, and mince it very fine. Put it into a sauce boat, mix with it by degrees some good melted butter, and send it up in the boat. CHESHIRE CHEESE. In preparing this article, the evening's milk is not touched till the next morning, when the cream is taken off and warmed in a pan, heated with boiling water; one third part of the milk is heated in a similar manner. The cows being milked early in the morning, the new milk, and that of the preceding night thus prepared, are poured into a large tub along with the cream. A piece of rennet kept in lukewarm water since the preceding evening, is put into the tub in order to curdle the milk, and the curd is coloured by an infusion of marigolds or carrots being rubbed into it. It is then stirred together, covered up warm, and allowed to stand about half an hour till it is coagulated; when it is first turned over with a bowl to separate the whey from the curds, and broken soon after into small pieces. When it has stood some time, the whey is taken out, and a weight laid at the bottom of the tub to press out the remainder. As soon as it becomes more solid, it is cut into slices, and turned over several times to extract all the whey, and again pressed with weights. Being taken out of the tub, it is broken very small, salted, and put into a cheese vat. It is then strongly pressed and weighted, and wooden skewers are placed round the cheese, which are frequently drawn out. It is then shifted out of the vat with a cloth placed at the bottom; and being turned it is put into the vat again. The upper part is next broken by the hand down to the middle, salted, pressed, weighted, and skewered as before, till all the whey is extracted. The cheese is then reversed into another vat, likewise warmed with a cloth under it, and a tin hoop put round the upper part of the cheese. These operations take up the greater part of the forenoon; the pressing of the cheese requires about eight hours more, as it must be twice turned in the vat, round which thin wire skewers are passed, and shifted occasionally. The next morning it ought to be turned and pressed again; and on the following day the outside is salted, and a cloth binder tied round it. The outsides are sometimes rubbed with butter, in order to give them a coat; and being turned and cleaned every day, they are left to dry two or three weeks. CHICKENS. Fowls are chiefly considered as an article of luxury, and are generally sold at a high price; yet the rearing of them is seldom productive of much pecuniary advantage. They are liable to innumerable accidents in their early stages, which require incessant watchfulness and care; and if the grain on which they feed is to be purchased, the labour and expence are scarcely requited by the price they bear in the market. The Irish peasantry are in the habit of rearing a great number of fowls, by substituting the offal of potatoes instead of grain; but the flesh is neither so firm nor so good as that of chickens raised in England. It is much to be desired therefore, that encouragement could be given to the cottagers of this country for rearing a larger quantity of poultry, by means less expensive than the present, in order that the market might be supplied on better terms with an article of food so fine and delicate, and in such general respect. Various artificial means have been used for brooding chickens, in order to increase their number, and to bring them forward at an earlier season, but none of them have been found to answer, though in Egypt immense quantities are raised every year by the heat of ovens, bringing the eggs to a state of maturity. A well-fed hen is supposed to lay about two hundred eggs in a year; but as she does not sit more than once or twice in that time, it is but a small quantity of chickens that can be hatched in the usual way, and it would be highly desirable if some other expedient could be devised.--The most expeditious way of fattening chickens is to mix a quantity of rice flour sufficient for present use, with milk and a little coarse sugar, and stir it over the fire till it comes to a thick paste. Feed the chickens with it while it is warm by putting as much into their coops as they can eat; and if a little beer be given them to drink, it will fatten them very soon. A mixture of oatmeal and treacle made into crumbs is also good food for chickens; and they are so fond of it, that they will grow and fatten much faster than in the common way. Poultry in general should be fed in coops, and kept very clean. Their common food is barley meal mixed with water: this should not be put in troughs, but laid upon a board, which should be washed clean every time fresh food is put upon it. The common complaint of fowls, called the pip, is chiefly occasioned by foul and heated water being given them. No water should be allowed, more than is mixed up with their food; but they should often be provided with some clean gravel in their coop.--The method of fattening poultry for the London market, is liable to great objection. They are put into a dark place, and crammed with a paste made of barley meal, mutton suet, treacle or coarse sugar, mixed with milk, which makes them ripe in about a fortnight; but if kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continual state of repletion, renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them. Air and exercise are as indispensable to the health of poultry as to other animals; and without it, the fat will be all accumulated in the cellular membrane, instead of being dispersed throughout the system. A barn-door fowl is preferable to any other, only that it cannot be fatted in so short a time. CHICKEN BROTH. Having boiled a chicken for panada, take off the skin and the rump, and put it into the water it was boiled in. Add one blade of mace, a slice of onion, and ten corns of white pepper. Simmer it till the broth be of a pleasant flavour, adding a little water if necessary. Beat a quarter of an ounce of sweet almonds with a tea-spoonful of water till it is quite fine, boil it in the broth, and strain it. When cold, remove the fat. CHICKEN CURRIE. Cut up the chicken raw, slice onions, and fry both in butter with great care, of a fine light brown; or if chickens that have been dressed are used, fry only the onions. Having cut the joints into two or three pieces each, lay them in a stewpan, with veal or mutton gravy, and a clove or two of garlic. Simmer till the chicken is quite tender. Half an hour before serving it up, rub smooth a spoonful or two of currie powder, a spoonful of flour, and an ounce of butter; and add this to the stew, with four large spoonfuls of cream, and a little salt. Squeeze in a small lemon, when the dish is going to table.--A more easy way to make currie is to cut up a chicken or young rabbit; if chicken, take off the skin. Roll each piece in a mixture of a large spoonful of flour, and half an ounce of currie powder. Slice two or three onions, and fry them in butter, of a light brown; then add the meat, and fry all together till the meat begin to brown. Put all into a stewpan, cover it with boiling water, and simmer very gently two or three hours. If too thick, add more water half an hour before serving. If the meat has been dressed before, a little broth will be better than water, but the currie is richer when made of fresh meat. Slices of underdone veal, turkey, or rabbit, will make excellent currie. A dish of rice boiled dry should be served with it. CHICKEN PANADA. Boil a chicken in a quart of water, till about three parts ready. Take off the skin, cut off the white meat when cold, and pound it to a paste in a marble mortar, with a little of the liquor it was boiled in. Season it with a little salt, a grate of nutmeg, and the least bit of lemon peel. Boil it gently for a few minutes till it be tolerably thick, but so it may be drank. The flesh of a chicken thus reduced to a small compass, will be found very nourishing. CHICKEN PIE. Cut up two young fowls, season them with white pepper, salt, a little mace, nutmeg, and cayenne, all finely powdered. Put alternately in layers the chicken, slices of ham, or fresh gammon of bacon, forcemeat balls, and eggs boiled hard. If baked in a dish, add a little water, but none if in a raised crust. Prepare some veal gravy from the knuckle or scrag, with some shank-bones of mutton, seasoned with herbs, onions, mace, and white pepper, to be poured into the pie when it returns from the oven. If it is to be eaten hot, truffles, morels, and mushrooms may be added; but not if it is to be eaten cold. If baked in a raised crust, the gravy must be nicely strained, and then put in cold as jelly. To make the jelly clear, give it a boil with the whites of two eggs, after taking away the meat, and then run it through a fine lawn sieve.--Rabbits, if young and fleshy, will make as good a pie. Their legs should be cut short, and their breast-bones must not go in, but will help to make the gravy. CHICKEN SAUCE. An anchovy or two boned and chopped, some parsley and onion chopped, and mixed together, with pepper, oil, vinegar, mustard, walnut or mushroom ketchup, will make a good sauce for cold chicken, veal, or partridge. CHILI VINEGAR. Slice fifty English chilies, fresh and of a good colour, and infuse them in a pint of the best vinegar. In a fortnight, this will give a much finer flavour than can be obtained from foreign cayenne, and impart an agreeable relish to fish sauce. CHIMNEY PIECES. To blacken the fronts of stone chimney-pieces, mix oil varnish with lamp black that has been sifted, and a little spirit of turpentine to thin it to the consistence of paint. Wash the stone very clean with soap and water, and sponge it with clear water. When perfectly dry, brush it over twice with this colour, leaving it to dry between the times, and it will look extremely well. CHINA. Broken china may be repaired with cement, made of equal parts of glue, the white of an egg, and white-lead mixed together. The juice of garlic, bruised in a stone mortar, is also a fine cement for broken glass or china; and if carefully applied, will leave no mark behind it. Isinglass glue, mixed with a little finely sifted chalk, will answer the same purpose, if the articles be not required to endure heat or moisture. CHINA CHILO. Mince a pint-basonful of undressed neck or leg of mutton, with some of the fat. Put into a stewpan closely covered, two onions, a lettuce, a pint of green peas, a tea-spoonful of salt, the same quantity of pepper, four spoonfuls of water, and two or three ounces of clarified butter. Simmer them together two hours, add a little cayenne if approved, and serve in the middle of a dish of boiled dry rice. CHINE OF BACON. One that has been salted and dried requires to be soaked several hours in cold water, and scraped clean. Then take a handful of beech, half as much parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and a little sage, finely chopped together. Make some holes in the chine with the point of a knife, fill them with the herbs, skewer the meat up in a cloth, and boil it slowly about three hours. A dried pig's face is cooked in the same manner, adding a little salt, pepper, and bread crumbs to the stuffing. CHOCOLATE. Those who use much of this article, will find the following mode of preparing it both useful and economical. Cut a cake of chocolate into very small pieces, and put a pint of water into the pot; when it boils, put in the chocolate. Mill it off the fire till quite melted, then on a gentle fire till it boil; pour it into a bason, and it will keep in a cool place eight or ten days or more. When wanted, put a spoonful or two into some milk; boil it with sugar, and mill it well. If not made too thick, this will form a very good breakfast or supper. CHOCOLATE CREAM. Scrape into one quart of thick cream, an ounce of the best chocolate, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Boil and mill it: when quite smooth, take it off the fire, and leave it to be cold. Then add the whites of nine eggs; whisk it, and take up the froth on sieves, as other creams are done. Serve up the froth in glasses, to rise above some of the cream. CHOLIC. Young children are often afflicted with griping pains in the bowels; and if attended with costiveness, it will be necessary to give them very small doses of manna and rhubarb every half hour, till they produce the desired effect. When the stools are green, a few drams of magnesia, with one or two of rhubarb, according to the age of the patient, may be given with advantage; but the greatest benefit will be derived from clysters made of milk, oil and sugar, or a solution of white soap and water. A poultice of bread, milk and oil, may likewise be applied to the lower part of the belly, and frequently renewed with a little warm milk to give it a proper consistence. The cholic in adults arises from a variety of causes, not easily distinguished except by professional persons; and therefore it is absolutely necessary to abstain from all violent remedies, or it may be attended with fatal consequences. Nothing can be applied with safety but emollient clysters and fomentations, and to drink copiously of camomile tea, or any other diluting liquor, till the spasms be relieved, and the nature of the disease more clearly understood. Persons who are subject to the bilious cholic in particular, should abstain from acrid, watery and oily food, especially butter, fat meat, and hot liquors: and pursue a calm and temperate course of life. CHOPPED HANDS. Wash in common water, and then in rose water, a quarter of a pound of hog's lard not salted; mix with it the yolks of two new laid eggs, and a large spoonful of honey. Add as much fine oatmeal, or almond paste, as will work it into a paste; and by frequently rubbing it on the hands, it will keep them smooth, and prevent their being chopped. CHOPPED LIPS. Put into a new tin saucepan, a quarter of an ounce of benjamin, storax, and spermaceti, two pennyworth of alkanet root, a large juicy apple chopped, a bunch of black grapes bruised, a quarter of a pound of unsalted butter, and two ounces of bees wax. Simmer them together till all be dissolved, and strain it through a linen. When cold melt it again, and pour it into small pots or boxes, or make it into cakes on the bottoms of tea-cups. CHUMP OF VEAL. To dress it _à-la-daube_, cut off the chump end of the loin, take out the edge bone, stuff the hollow with good forcemeat, tie it up tight, and lay it in a stewpan with the bone that was taken out, a little faggot of herbs, an anchovy, two blades of mace, a few white peppercorns, and a pint of good veal broth. Cover the veal with slices of fat bacon, and lay a sheet of white paper over it. Cover the pan close, simmer it two hours, then take out the bacon, and glaze the veal. Serve it on mushrooms, with sorrel sauce, or any other that may be preferred. CHURNING. In order to prepare for this important operation, the milk when drawn from the cow, and carefully strained through a cloth or hair sieve, should be put into flat wooden trays about three inches deep, and perfectly clean and cool. The trays are then to be placed on shelves, till the cream be completely separated; when it is to be nicely taken off with a skimming dish, without lifting or stirring the milk. The cream is then deposited in a separate vessel, till a proper quantity is collected for churning. In hot weather, the milk should stand only twenty-four hours, and be skimmed early in the morning before the dairy becomes warm, or in the evening after sun-set. In winter the milk may remain unskimmed for six and thirty or even eight and forty hours. The cream should be preserved in a deep pan during the summer, and placed in the coolest part of the dairy, or in a cellar where free air is admitted. The cream which rises first to the surface is richer in quality, and larger in quantity, than what rises afterwards. Thick milk produces a smaller proportion of cream than that which is thinner, though the former is of a richer quality: if therefore the thick milk be diluted with water, it will afford more cream, but its quality will be inferior. Milk carried about in pails, and partly cooled before it be strained and poured into the trays, never throws up such good and plentiful cream, as if it had been put into proper vessels immediately after it came from the cow. Those who have not an opportunity of churning every other day, should shift the cream daily into clean pans, in order to keep it cool; but the churning should take place regularly twice a week in hot weather, and in the morning before sun-rise, taking care to fix the churn in a free circulation of air. In the winter time, the churn must not be set so near the fire as to heat the wood, as by this means the butter will acquire a strong rancid flavour. Cleanliness being of the utmost importance, the common plunge-churn is preferable to any other; but if a barrel-churn be requisite in a large dairy, it must be kept thoroughly clean with salt and water. If a plunge-churn be used, it may be set in a tub of cold water during the time of churning, which will harden the butter in a considerable degree. The motion of the churn should be regular, and performed by one person, or the butter will in winter go back; and if the agitation be violent and irregular, the butter will ferment in summer, and acquire a disagreeable flavour. The operation of churning may be much facilitated by adding a table-spoonful or two of distilled vinegar to a gallon of cream, but not till after the latter has undergone considerable agitation. In many parts of England, butter is artificially coloured in winter, though it adds nothing to its goodness. The juice of carrots is expressed through a sieve, and mixed with the cream when it enters the churn, to give it the appearance of May butter. Very little salt is used in the best Epping butter; but a certain proportion of acid, either natural or artificial, must be used in the cream, in order to secure a successful churning. Some keep a small quantity of the old cream for that purpose; some use a little rennet, and others a few tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice. It has been ascertained however, by a variety of experiments, that it is more profitable to churn the cream, than to churn the whole milk, as is practised in some parts of the country. Cream butter is also the richest of the two, though it will not keep sweet so long. CIDER. Particular caution is requisite in bottling this useful beverage, in order to its being well preserved. To secure the bottles from bursting, the liquor must be thoroughly fine before it be racked off. If one bottle break, it will be necessary to open the remainder, and cork them up again. Weak cider is more apt to burst the bottles, than that of a better quality. Good corks, soaked in hot water, will be more safe and pliant; and by laying the bottles so that the liquor may always keep the corks wet and swelled, will tend much to its preservation. For this purpose the ground is preferable to a frame, and a layer of sawdust better than the bare floor; but the most proper situation would be a stream of running water. In order to ripen bottled liquors, they are sometimes exposed to moderate warmth, or the rays of the sun, which in a few days will bring them to maturity. CIDER CUP. To make a cooling drink, mix together a quart of cider, a glass of white wine, one of brandy, one of capillaire, the juice of a lemon, a bit of the peel pared thin, a sprig of borage or balm, a piece of toasted bread, and nutmeg grated on the top. CINNAMON CAKES. Whisk together in a pan six eggs, and two table-spoonfuls of rose water. Add a pound of fine sugar sifted, a desert-spoonful of pounded cinnamon, and flour sufficient to make it into a paste. Roll it out, cut it into cakes, and bake them on writing paper. CITRON PUDDING. Boil some Windsor beans quite soft, take off the skins, and beat a quarter of a pound of them into a paste. Then add as much butter, four eggs well beaten, with some sugar and brandy. Put a puff-paste in the dish, lay some slices of citron on it, pour in the pudding, garnish with bits of citron round the edge of the dish, and bake it in a moderate oven. CLARIFIED BROTH. Put broth or gravy into a clean stewpan, break the white and shell of an egg, beat them together and add them to the broth. Stir it with a whisk; and when it has boiled a few minutes, strain it through a tammis or a napkin. CLARIFIED BUTTER. To make clarified butter for potted things, put some butter into a sauceboat, and set it over the fire in a stewpan that has a little water in it. When the butter is dissolved, the milky parts will sink to the bottom, and care must be taken not to pour them over things to be potted. CLARIFIED DRIPPING. Mutton fat taken from the meat before it is roasted, or any kind of dripping, may be sliced and boiled a few minutes; and when it is cold, it will come off in a cake. This will make good crust for any sort of meat pie, and may be made finer by boiling it three or four times. CLARIFIED SUGAR. Break in large lumps as much loaf sugar as is required, and dissolve it in a bowl, allowing a pound of sugar to half a pint of water. Set it over the fire, and add the white of an egg well whipt. Let it boil up; and when ready to run over, pour in a little cold water to give it a check. But when it rises the second time, take it off the fire, and set it by in a pan a quarter of an hour. The foulness will sink to the bottom, and leave a black scum on the top, which must be taken off gently with a skimmer. Then pour the syrup very quickly from the sediment, and set it by for sweetmeats. CLARIFIED SYRUP. Break two pounds of double-refined sugar, and put it into a stewpan that is well tinned, with a pint of cold spring water. When the sugar is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire. Beat up half the white of an egg, put it to the sugar before it gets warm, and stir it well together. As soon as it boils take off the scum, and keep it boiling till it is perfectly clear. Run it through a clean napkin, put it into a close stopped bottle, and it will keep for months, as an elegant article on the sideboard for sweetening. CLARY WINE. Boil fifteen gallons of water, with forty-five pounds of sugar, and skim it clean. When cool put a little to a quarter of a pint of yeast, and so by degrees add a little more. In the course of an hour put the smaller to the larger quantity, pour the liquor on clary flowers, picked in the dry: the quantity for the above is twelve quarts. If there be not a sufficient quantity ready to put in at once, more may be added by degrees, keeping an account of each quart. When the liquor ceases to hiss, and the flowers are all in, stop it up for four months. Rack it off, empty the barrel of the dregs, and add a gallon of the best brandy. Return the liquor to the cask, close it up for six or eight weeks, and then bottle it off. CLEANLINESS. Nothing is more conducive to health than cleanliness, and the want of it is a fault which admits of no excuse. It is so agreeable to our nature, that we cannot help approving it in others, even if we do not practise it ourselves. It is an ornament to the highest as well as to the lowest station, and cannot be dispensed with in either: it ought to be cultivated everywhere, especially in populous towns and cities. Frequent washing not only improves the appearance, but promotes perspiration, by removing every impediment on the skin, while at the same time it braces the body, and enlivens the spirits. Washing the feet and legs in lukewarm water, after being exposed to cold and wet, would prevent the ill effects which proceed from these causes, and greatly contribute to health. Diseases of the skin, a very numerous class, are chiefly owing to the want of cleanliness, as well as the various kinds of vermin which infest the human body; and all these might be prevented by a due regard to our own persons. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers is the want of cleanliness. They usually begin among the inhabitants of close and dirty houses, who breathe unwholesome air, take little exercise, and wear dirty clothes. There the infection is generally hatched, and spreads its desolation far and wide. If dirty people cannot be removed as a common nuisance, they ought at least to be avoided as infectious, and all who regard their own health should keep at a distance from their habitations. Infectious diseases are often communicated by tainted air: every thing therefore which gives a noxious exhalation, or tends to spread infection, should be carefully avoided. In great towns no filth of any kind should be suffered to remain in the streets, and great pains should be taken to keep every dwelling clean both within and without. No dunghills or filth of any kind should be allowed to remain near them. When an infection breaks out, cleanliness is the most likely means to prevent its spreading to other places, or its returning again afterwards. It will lodge a long time in dirty clothes, and be liable to break out again; and therefore the bedding and clothing of the sick ought to be carefully washed, and fumigated with brimstone. Infectious diseases are not only prevented, but even cured by cleanliness; while the slightest disorders, where it is neglected, are often changed into the most malignant. Yet it has so happened, that the same mistaken care which prevents the least admission of fresh air to the sick, has introduced the idea also of keeping them dirty; than which nothing can be more injurious to the afflicted, or more repugnant to common sense. In a room too, where cleanliness is neglected, a person in perfect health has a greater chance to become sick, than a sick person has to get well. It is also of great consequence, that cleanliness should be strictly regarded by those especially who are employed in preparing food; such as butchers, bakers, brewers, dairy maids, and cooks; as negligence in any of these may prove injurious to the public health. Good housekeepers will keep a careful eye on these things, and every person of reflection will see the necessity of cultivating general cleanliness as of great importance to the wellbeing of society. CLEAR BROTH. To make a broth that will keep long, put the mouse round of beef into a deep pan, with a knuckle bone of veal, and a few shanks of mutton. Cover it close with a dish or coarse crust, and bake with as much water as will cover it, till the beef is done enough for eating. When cold, cover it close, and keep it in a cool place. When to be used, give it any flavour most approved. CLEAR GRAVY. Slice some beef thin, broil a part of it over a very clear quick fire, just enough to give a colour to the gravy, but not to dress it. Put that and the raw beef into a very nicely tinned stewpan, with two onions, a clove or two, whole black pepper, berries of allspice, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Cover it with hot water, give it one boil, and skim it well two or three times. Then cover it, and simmer till it be quite strong. CLOTHING. Those who regard their health should be careful to adapt their clothing to the state of the climate, and the season of the year. Whatever be the influence of custom, there is no reason why our clothing should be such as would suit an inhabitant of the torrid or the frigid zones, but of the state of the air around us, and of the country in which we live. Apparel may be warm enough for one season of the year, which is by no means sufficient for another; we ought therefore neither to put off our winter garments too soon, nor wear our summer ones too long. Every change of this sort requires to be made cautiously, and by degrees. In general, all clothes should be light and easy, and in no instance ought health and comfort to be sacrificed to pride and vanity. In the early part of life it is not necessary to wear many clothes: but in the decline of life, when many diseases proceed from a defect of perspiration, plenty of warm clothing is required. Attention should also be paid to the constitution, in this as well as in other cases. Some persons can endure either cold or heat better than others, and may therefore be less mindful of their clothing: the great object is to wear just so many garments as is sufficient to keep the body warm, and no more. Shoes in particular should be easy to the foot, and all tight bandages on every part of the body carefully avoided. CLOUTED CREAM. String four blades of mace on a thread, put them to a gill of new milk, and six spoonfuls of rose water. Simmer a few minutes, then by degrees strain the liquor to the yolks of two eggs well beaten. Stir the whole into a quart of rich cream, and set it over the fire; keep it stirring till hot, but not boiling; pour it into a deep dish, and let it stand twenty-four hours. Serve it in a cream dish, to eat with fruits. Some prefer it without any flavour but that of cream; in which case use a quart of new milk and the cream, or do it as the Devonshire scalded cream. When done enough, a round mark will appear on the surface of the cream, the size of the bottom of the pan, which is called the ring; and when that is seen, remove the pan from the fire. CLYSTER. A common clyster is made of plain gruel strained, and a table-spoonful of oil or salt. A pint is sufficient for a grown person. COCK CHAFFERS. This species of the beetle, sometimes called the May bug, is a formidable enemy to the husbandman, and has been found to swarm in such numbers, as to devour every kind of vegetable production. The insect is first generated in the earth, from the eggs deposited by the fly in its perfect state. In about three months, the insects contained in these eggs break the shell, and crawl forth in the shape of a grub or maggot, which feeds upon the roots of vegetables, and continues in this state of secret annoyance for more than three years, gradually growing to the size of an acorn. It is the thick white maggot with a red head, so frequently found in turning up the soil. At the end of the fourth year, they emerge from the earth, and may be seen in great numbers in the mild evenings of May. The willow seems to be their favourite food; on this they hang in clusters, and seldom quit it till they have completely devoured its foliage. The most effectual way to destroy them, is to beat them off with poles, and then to collect and burn them. The smoke of burning heath, fern, or other weeds, will prevent their incursions in gardens, or expel them if they have entered. COCK ROACHES. These insects, consisting of various species, penetrate into chests and drawers, and do considerable injury to linen, books, and other articles. They seldom appear till night, when they infest beds, and bite very severely, leaving an unpleasant smell. The best remedy is to fill an earthen dish with small beer, sweetened with coarse sugar, and set in the place infested. Lay a board against the pan, to form a kind of ladder, and the insects will ascend and fall into the liquor. COCKLE KETCHUP. Open the cockles, scald them in their own liquor, and add a little water, if there be not enough; but it is better to have a sufficient quantity of cockles, than to dilute it with water. Strain the liquor through a cloth, and season it with savoury spices. If for brown sauce, add port, anchovies, and garlic: a bit of burnt sugar will heighten the colouring. If for white sauce, omit these, and put in a glass of sherry, some lemon juice and peel, mace, nutmeg, and white pepper. COD FISH. In season from the beginning of December till the end of April. To be quite good, the fish should be thick at the neck, the flesh white and firm, the gills very red, and the eyes bright and fresh. When flabby, they are not good. The cod is generally boiled whole; but a large head and shoulders contain all that is relishing, the thinner parts being overdone and tasteless before the thick are ready. But the whole fish may often be purchased more reasonably; and the lower half, if sprinkled and hung up, will be in high perfection one or two days. Or it may be made salter, and served with egg sauce, potatoes, and parsnips. Small cod is usually very cheap. If boiled fresh, it is watery; but eats well if salted and hung up for a day, to give it firmness. Then it should be stuffed and boiled, or it is equally good broiled. COD'S HEAD. The head and shoulders of the cod will eat much finer by having a little salt rubbed down the bone, and along the thick part, even if eaten the same day. Tie it up, put it on the fire in cold water sufficient to cover it, and throw a handful of salt into it. Great care must be taken to serve it up without the smallest speck of black, or scum. Garnish with plenty of double parsley, lemon, horse radish, and the milt, roe and liver, and fried smelts, if approved. If with smelts, no water must be suffered to hang about the fish, or the beauty and flavour of the smelts will be lost. Serve with plenty of oyster or shrimp sauce, anchovy and butter. COD PIE. Take a piece of the middle of a small cod, and salt it well one night. Wash it the next day, season with pepper and salt, mixed with a very little nutmeg. Lay the meat in a dish, with the addition of a little good broth of any kind, and some bits of butter on it. Cover the dish with a crust, and bake it. When done, make a sauce of a spoonful of broth, a quarter of a pint of cream, a little flour and butter, and a dust of grated lemon and nutmeg. Give it one boil, and pour it into the pie. Oysters may be added, but parsley will do instead. Mackarel may be done in the same way, but must not be salted till they are used. COD SOUNDS BOILED. Soak them in warm water half an hour, then scrape and clean them. If to be dressed white, boil them in milk and water. When tender, serve them up in a napkin, with egg sauce. The salt must not be much soaked out, unless for fricassee. COD SOUNDS BROILED. Scald them in hot water, rub well with salt, pull off the dirty skin, and simmer them till tender. Then take them out, flour, and broil them. While this is doing, season a little brown gravy with pepper, salt, a tea-spoonful of soy, and a little mustard. Give it a boil with a little flour and butter, and pour it over the sounds. COD SOUNDS RAGOUT. Having scalded, cleaned, and rubbed them well with salt, stew them in white gravy seasoned. Before they are served, add a little cream, butter and flour, gently boiling up. A bit of lemon peel, nutmeg, and the least pounded mace, will give it a good flavour. COD SOUNDS LIKE CHICKENS. Carefully wash three large sounds, boil them in milk and water, but not too tender. When cold, put a forcemeat of chopped oysters, crumbs of bread, a bit of butter, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and the yolks of two eggs. Spread it thin over the sounds, roll up each in the form of a chicken, and skewer it. Then lard them as chickens, dust a little flour over, and roast them slowly in a tin oven. When done enough, pour over them a fine oyster sauce, and place them on the table as a side or corner dish. CODLINS. This fruit may be kept for several months, if gathered of a middling size at midsummer, and treated in the following manner. Put them into an earthen pan, pour boiling water over them, and cover the pan with cabbage leaves. Keep them by the fire till ready to peel, but do not peel them; then pour off the water, and leave them cold. Place the codlins in a stone jar with a smallish mouth, and pour on the water that scalded them. Cover the pot with bladder wetted and tied very close, and then over it coarse paper tied again. The fruit is best kept in small jars, such as will be used at once when opened. CODLIN CREAM. Pare and core twenty good codlins; beat them in a mortar with a pint of cream, and strain it into a dish. Put to it sugar, bread crumbs, and a glass of wine; and stir it well. CODLIN TART. Scald the fruit, and take off the skin. Put a little of the liquor on the bottom of a dish, lay in the apples whole, and strew them over with Lisbon or fine sugar. When cold, put a paste round the edges, and over the fruit. Moisten the crust with the white of an egg, and strew some fine sugar over it; or cut the lid in quarters, without touching the paste on the edge of the dish. Remove the lid when cold, pour in a good custard, and sift it over with sugar. Another way is to line the bottom of a shallow dish with paste, lay in the scalded fruit, sweeten it, and lay little twists of paste over in bars. COFFEE. Put two ounces of fresh-ground coffee, of the best quality, into a coffee pot, and pour eight coffee cups of boiling water on it. Let it boil six minutes, and return it; then put in two or three chips of isinglass, and pour on it one large spoonful of boiling water. Boil it five minutes more, and set the pot by the fire for ten minutes to keep it hot: the coffee will then be of a beautiful clearness. Fine cream should always be served with coffee, and either pounded sugar-candy, or fine Lisbon sugar. If for foreigners, or those who like it very strong, make only eight dishes from three ounces. If not fresh roasted, lay it before the fire until perfectly hot and dry; or put the smallest bit of fresh butter into a preserving pan, and when hot, throw the coffee into it, and toss it about until it be freshened, but let it be quite cold before it is ground.--But as coffee possesses a raw and astringent quality, which often disagrees with weak stomachs, and by being drank too warm is as frequently rendered unwholesome, the following is recommended as an improved method of preparing it. To an ounce of coffee, add a tea-spoonful of the best flour of mustard, to correct its acidity, and improve its fragrance; and in order to render it truly fine and wholesome, it should be made the evening before it is wanted. Let an ounce of fresh-ground coffee be put into a clean coffee pot well tinned, pour upon it a full pint of boiling water, set it on the fire, and after it has well boiled, let it stand by to settle. Next morning pour off the clear liquor, add to it a pint of new milk, warm it over the fire, and sweeten it to taste. Coffee made in this way, will be found particularly suitable to persons of a weak and delicate habit.--A substitute for foreign coffee may be prepared from the acorns of the oak, by shelling and dividing the kernels, drying and roasting them gradually in a close vessel, and keeping them constantly stirring. Grind it like other coffee, and either use it alone, or mix with it a small quantity of foreign coffee. The seeds of the flower de luce, or common waterflag, being roasted in the same manner as coffee, very much resembles it in colour and flavour. Coffee made of these seeds is extremely wholesome, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of boiling water. COFFEE CAKES. Melt some fresh butter in a pint of thin cream, and work up with it four pounds of dried flour. Add a pound of sugar, a pint of yeast, and half an ounce of carraways. Stir them all together, set it before the fire to rise, roll the paste out thin, cut it into small cakes, and bake them on buttered paper. COFFEE CREAM. Boil a calf's foot in water till reduced to a pint of jelly, clear of sediment and fat. Make a tea-cupful of strong fresh coffee, clear it perfectly bright with isinglass, and pour it to the jelly. Add a pint of very good cream, sweeten it with fine Lisbon sugar, boil it up once, and pour it into the dish. This article is much admired, but the jelly must not be stiff, and the coffee must be fresh. COFFEE MILK. Boil a dessert-spoonful of ground coffee, in nearly a pint of milk, a quarter of an hour. Then put in a shaving or two of isinglass to clear it; let it boil a few minutes, and set it on the side of the fire to grow fine. This makes a very fine breakfast; it should be sweetened with real Lisbon sugar of a good quality. COLD CAUDLE. Boil a quart of spring water; when cold, add the yolk of an egg, the juice of a small lemon, six spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to taste, and syrup of lemons one ounce. COLD FISH. Soles, cod, whitings, or smelts may be cut into bits, and put into scallop shells, with cold oyster, lobster, or shrimp sauce. Having added some bread crumbs, they may be put into a Dutch oven, and browned like scalloped oysters. COLD MEAT. If it be a little underdone, the best way to warm it up is to sprinkle over a little salt, and put it into a Dutch oven at some distance before a gentle fire, that it may warm gradually. Watch it carefully, and keep turning it till it is quite hot and brown, and serve it up with gravy. This is preferable to hashing, as it will retain more of its original flavour. Roast beef or mutton, of course, are best for this purpose. COLD SALLAD. Boil an egg quite hard, put the yolk into a sallad dish, mash it with a spoonful of water, then add a little of the best sallad oil or melted butter, a tea-spoonful of ready-made mustard, and some vinegar. Cut the sallad small and mix it together, adding celery, radishes, or other sallad herbs with it. Onions may be served in a saucer, rather than mixed in the bowl. An anchovy may be washed, cut small, and mixed with it; also a bit of beet root, and the white of an egg. Celery may be prepared in the same way. COLDS. For a bad cold take a large tea-cupful of linseed, two pennyworth of stick liquorice, and a quarter of a pound of sun raisins. Put them into two quarts of water, and let it simmer over a slow fire till reduced one half. Then add a quarter of a pound of sugar-candy pounded, a table-spoonful of rum, and the same of lemon juice or vinegar. The rum and lemon juice are better added when the mixture is taken, or they are apt to grow flat. Take half a pint just warm at bed time. COLLARED BEEF. Choose the thin end of the flank of fine mellow beef, but not too fat: lay it into a dish with salt and saltpetre, turn and rub it every day for a week, and keep it cool. Then take out every bone and gristle, remove the skin of the inside part, and cover it thick with the following seasoning cut small; a large handful of parsley, the same of sage, some thyme, marjoram and pennyroyal, pepper, salt, and allspice. Roll the meat up as tight as possible, and bind it round with a cloth and tape; then boil it gently for seven or eight hours. Put the beef under a good weight while hot, without undoing it: the shape will then be oval. Part of a breast of veal rolled in with the beef, looks and eats very well. COLLARED EEL. Bone a large eel, but do not skin it. Mix up pepper, salt, mace, allspice, and a clove or two, in the finest powder, and rub over the whole inside: roll it tight, and bind it with a coarse tape. Boil it in salt and water till done enough, then add vinegar, and when cold keep the collar in pickle. Serve it either whole or in slices. Chopped parsley, sage, a little thyme, knotted marjoram, and savoury, mixed with the spices, greatly improve the taste. COLLARED MACKAREL. Do them the same as eels, omitting the herbs. COLLARED MUTTON. Take out the bones and gristle of a breast of mutton, lay the meat flat, and rub it over with egg. Mix some grated bread, pounded cloves and mace, pepper, salt, and lemon peel, and strew over it. Two or three anchovies, washed and boned, may be added. Roll the meat up hard, bind it with tape and boil it; or if skewered, it may either be roasted or baked. COLLARED PORK. Bone a breast of pork, and season it with thyme, parsley and sage. Roll it hard, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it. Press it well, take it out of the cloth when cold, and keep it in the liquor it was boiled in. COLLARED PORK'S HEAD. Clean it well, take out the brains, rub it with a handful of salt, and two ounces of saltpetre. Let it lie a fortnight in brine, then wash it, and boil it till the bones will easily come out. Lay it in a dish, take off the skin carefully, take out the bones, and peel the tongue. Mix a handful of sage, a little thyme, and four shalots chopped fine. Put the meat to it, and chop it into pieces about an inch square. Put a thin cloth into an earthen pot, lay in the meat, cover the cloth over, and press it down. Set the pot in the liquor again, boil it nearly an hour longer, then take it out, place a weight on the cover within side, and let it remain all night. Take it out, strip off the cloth, and eat the collar with mustard and vinegar. COLLARED SALMON. Split such part of the fish as may be sufficient to make a handsome roll, wash and wipe it; and having mixed salt, white pepper, pounded mace, and Jamaica pepper, in quantity to season it very high, rub it inside and out well. Then roll it tight and bandage it, put as much water and one third vinegar as will cover it, adding bay leaves, salt, and both sorts of pepper. Cover it close, and simmer till it is done enough. Drain and boil the liquor, put it on when cold, and serve with fennel. It is an elegant dish, and extremely good. COLLARED VEAL. Bone the breast and beat it, rub it with egg, and strew over it a seasoning of pounded mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt, minced parsley, sweet marjoram, lemon peel, crumbs of bread, and an anchovy. Roll it up tight in a cloth, and boil it two hours and a half in salt and water. Hang it up, or press it: make a pickle for it of the liquor it was boiled in, and half the quantity of vinegar. COLLEGE PUDDINGS. Grate the crumb of a two-penny loaf, shred eight ounces of suet, and mix with eight ounces of currants, one of citron mixed fine, one of orange, a handful of sugar, half a nutmeg, three eggs beaten, yolk and white separately. Mix and make into the size and shape of a goose-egg. Put half a pound of butter into a fryingpan; and when melted and quite hot, stew them gently in it over a stove; turn them two or three times, till they are of a fine light brown. Mix a glass of brandy with the batter, and serve with pudding sauce. COLOURING FOR JELLIES. For a beautiful Red, take fifteen grains of cochineal in the finest powder, and a dram and a half of cream of tartar. Boil them in half a pint of water very slowly for half an hour, adding a bit of alum the size of a pea; or use beet root sliced, and some liquor poured over. For White, use cream; or almonds finely powdered, with a spoonful of water. For Yellow, yolks of eggs, or a little saffron steeped in the liquor and squeezed. For Green, spinach or beet leaves bruised and pressed, and the juice boiled to take off the rawness. Any of these will do to stain jellies, ices, or cakes. COLOURING FOR SOUPS. Put four ounces of lump sugar, a gill of water, and half an ounce of fine butter into a small tosser, and set it over a gentle fire. Stir it with a wooden spoon, till of a light brown. Then add half a pint of water; let it boil and skim it well. When cold, bottle and cork it close. Add to either soup or gravy as much of this as will give it a proper colour. COMMON CAKE. Mix three quarters of a pound of flour with half a pound of butter, four ounces of sugar, four eggs, half an ounce of carraways, and a glass of raisin wine. Beat it well, and bake it in a quick oven.--A better sort of common cake may be made of half a pound of butter, rubbed into two pounds of dried flour; then add three spoonfuls of yeast that is not bitter, and work it to a paste. Let it rise an hour and a half; then mix in the yolks and whites of four eggs beaten separately, a pound of Lisbon sugar, about a pint of milk to make it of a proper thickness, a glass of sweet wine, the rind of a lemon, and a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger. A pound of currants, or some carraways may be added, and let the whole be well beaten together. COMMON PLANTS. The virtues of a great number of ordinary plants and weeds being but little understood, they are generally deemed useless; but they have properties nevertheless which might be rendered useful, if carefully and judiciously applied. The young shoots and leaves of chick-weed, for example, may be boiled and eaten like spinach, are equally wholesome, and can scarcely be distinguished from it. The juice expressed from the stem and leaves of goose-grass, taken to the amount of four ounces, night and morning for several weeks, is very efficacious in scorbutic complaints, and other cutaneous eruptions. The smell of garlic is an infallible remedy against the vapours, faintings, and other hysteric affections. The common poppy is an antidote to the stings of venomous insects, and a remedy for inflammation of the eyes: it also cures the pleurisy, and spitting of blood. Sage taken in any form tends to cleanse and enrich the blood: it makes a good cordial, and is highly useful in cases of nervous debility. It is often given in fevers with a view to promote perspiration, and with the addition of a little lemon juice it makes a grateful and cooling beverage. COOL TANKARD. Put into a quart of mild ale a glass of white wine, one of brandy, one of capillaire, the juice of a lemon, and a little piece of the rind. Add a sprig of borage or balm, a bit of toasted bread, and nutmeg grated on the top. COPPER. Many serious accidents have been occasioned by the use of copper in kitchen requisites. The eating of fruit especially that has been prepared in a copper stewpan, where some of the oxide was insensibly imbibed, has been known to produce death; or if coffee grounds are suffered to remain long in a copper coffee-pot, and afterwards mixed with fresh coffee, for the sake of economy, the effects will be highly injurious, if not fatal. The best antidote in such cases, when they unhappily occur, is to take immediately a large spoonful of powdered charcoal, mixed with honey, butter, or treacle; and within two hours afterwards, an emetic or a cathartic to expel the poison. COPPERS. In domestic economy, the necessity of keeping copper vessels always clean, is generally acknowledged; but it may not perhaps be so generally known, that fat and oily substances, and vegetable acids, do not attack copper while hot; and therefore, that if no liquor were suffered to remain and grow cold in copper vessels, they might be used for every culinary purpose with perfect safety. The object is to clean and dry the vessels well before they turn cold. COPYING LETTERS. Dissolve a little sugar in the ink, and write with it as usual. When a copy is required, moisten a piece of unsized paper lightly with a sponge, and apply it to the writing; then smooth the wet paper over with a warm iron, such as is used in a laundry, and the copy is immediately produced without the use of a machine. COPYING PRINTS. Moisten a piece of paper with a solution of soap and alum, lay it on the print or picture, and pass it under a rolling press. Another method is to have a small frame in the form of a basin stand, enclosing a square of glass on the pot, on which the print is laid with the paper upon it; and then placing a candle under the glass, the print may be traced with a pencil, or pen and ink. Impressions may also be transferred by mixing a little vermillion with linseed oil so as to make it fluid; then with a pen dipped in it, trace every line of the print accurately. Turn the print with its face downwards on a sheet of white paper, wet the back of the print, lay another sheet upon it, and press it till the red lines are completely transferred. CORKS. Economy in corks is very unwise: in order to save a mere trifle in the purchase, there is a danger of losing some valuable article which it is intended to preserve. None but velvet taper corks should be used for liquors that are to be kept for any length of time; and when a bottle of ketchup or of anchovy is opened, the cork should be thrown away, and a new one put in that will fit it very tight. If a cork is forced down even with the mouth of the bottle, it is too small, and should be drawn, that a larger one may be put in. CORK CEMENT. Liquors and preserves, intended to be kept a long time, are often spoiled by the clumsy and ineffectual manner in which they are fastened down. Bottles therefore should be secured with the following cement, spread upon the cork after it is cut level with the top of the bottle. Melt in an earthen or iron pot half a pound of black rosin, half a pound of sealing wax, and a quarter of a pound of bees wax. When it froths up, and before all is melted and likely to boil over, stir it with a tallow candle, which will settle the froth till all is melted and fit for use. CORNS. Apply to warts and corns, a piece of soft brown paper moistened with saliva, and a few dressings will remove them. A convenient plaster may also be made of an ounce of pitch, half an ounce of galbanum dissolved in vinegar, one scruple of ammoniac, and a dram and a half of diachylon mixed together. COSTIVENESS. From whatever cause it may arise, frequent exercise in the open air, and abstinence from heating liquors, will be found very beneficial. To those who are afflicted with this complaint, it is particularly recommended that they should visit the customary retreat every morning at a stated hour, that nature may in this respect, by perseverance, acquire a habit of regularity. In obstinate cases, three drams of carbon may be taken two or three times a day, mixed with three ounces of lenitive electuary, and two drams of carbonate of soda, as circumstances may require. Half an ounce of Epsom salts, dissolved in a tumbler or two of cold water, and drank at intervals, will have a very salutary effect. COTTENHAM CHEESE. Though this is so much noted for its superior flavour and delicacy, it does not appear to be owing to any particular management of the dairy, but rather to the fragrance of the herbage on which the cows feed in that part of the country. COUGHS. The extract of malt will be found an excellent remedy for coughs or colds. Pour as much hot water over half a bushel of pale ground malt as will just cover it; the water must not be boiling. In forty-eight hours drain off the liquor entirely, but without squeezing the grains. Put the former into a large sweetmeat pan, or saucepan, that there may be room to boil as quick as possible, without boiling over. When it begins to thicken, stir it constantly, till it becomes as thick as treacle. Take a dessert-spoonful of it three times a day.--Another remedy for a bad cough may be prepared as follows. Mix together a pint of simple mint water, two table-spoonfuls of sallad oil, two tea-spoonfuls of hartshorns, sweetened with sugar, and take two large spoonfuls of the mixture two or three times a day. COURT PLAISTER. Dissolve half an ounce of isinglass in an ounce of water, and boil it till the water is nearly all consumed; then add gradually a dram of Friar's balsam, and stir them well together. Dip a brush in the hot mixture, and spread it on a piece of clean silk. COWS. In the management of cows intended for the dairy, a warm stable or cowhouse is of great importance. Cows kept at pasture will require from one to two acres of land each to keep them during the summer months; but if housed, the produce of one fourth part will be sufficient. Their dung, which would otherwise be wasted on the ground by the action of the sun and weather, is hereby easily preserved, and given to the soil where it is most wanted, and in the best condition. The treading on the grass and pasture, which diminishes its value, is prevented; the expence of division-fences is avoided, and the time and trouble of driving them about is all saved. They are also kept more cool, are less tormented by flies than if pastured, acquire good coats and full flesh, though they consume a much smaller quantity of food. They are in all respects more profitably kept in the house, than out of doors; but they must be regularly and gradually trained to it, or they will not thrive. Cows should always be kept clean, laid dry, and have plenty of good water to drink. They should never be suffered to drink at stagnant pools, or where there are frogs, spawn, or filth of any kind; or from common sewers or ponds that receive the drainings of stables, or such kind of places; all which are exceedingly improper. One of the most effectual means of rendering their milk sweet and wholesome, as well as increasing its quantity, is to let them drink freely of water in which the most fragrant kind of clover or lucern has been steeped: and if they are curried in the same manner as horses, they will not only receive pleasure from it, but give their milk more freely. In Holland, where the greatest attention is paid to all kinds of domestic animals, the haunches of dairy cows are washed morning and evening with warm water previous to milking, and after calving are clothed with sacking. The floors of their cowhouses are paved with brick, with a descent in the middle, where a gutter carries off the drain, and the place is kept perfectly clean with a broom and pails of water. The filthy state in which cows are confined in the vicinity of London, and other large cities, and the manner in which they are literally crammed, not with wholesome food, but with such things as are calculated to produce an abundance of milk, cannot be too severely reprobated as injurious to the public health. It is also notorious, that vessels of hot and cold water are always kept in these cowhouses for the accommodation of mercenary retailers, who purchase a quantity of milk at a low price, and then mix it with such a proportion of water as they think necessary to reduce it to a proper standard; when it is hawked about at an exorbitant price. The milk is not pure in its original state, and being afterwards adulterated, it is scarcely fit for any purpose in a family. The first object in the article of food, is wholesomeness; and grass growing spontaneously on good meadow-land is in general deemed most proper for cows intended to supply the dairy. The quantity of milk produced by those which feed on sainfoin is however nearly double to that of any other provender: it is also richer in quality, and will yield a larger quantity of cream: of course the butter will be better coloured and flavoured than any other. Turnips and carrots form an excellent article, and cannot be too strongly recommended, especially as a winter food; but they should be cleaned and cut; and parsnips, with the tops taken off will produce abundance of milk, of a superior quality; and cows will eat them freely though they are improper for horses. Of all vegetable productions, perhaps the cabbage is the most exuberant for this purpose, and ought by all means to be encouraged. The drum-headed cabbage, and the hardy variety of a deep green colour with purple veins, and of the same size with the drum-head, are particularly useful in the feeding of cows, and afford an increase of milk far superior to that produced by turnips. They are also excellent for the fattening of cattle, which they will do six weeks sooner than any other vegetables, though the cabbage plant is generally supposed to impart a disagreeable flavour to butter and cheese made from the milk of cows fed upon it, yet this may easily be prevented by putting a gallon of boiling water to six gallons of milk, when it is standing in the trays; or by dissolving an ounce of saltpetre in a quart of spring water, and mixing about a quarter of a pint of it with ten or twelve gallons of milk as it comes from the cow. By breaking off the loose leaves, and giving only the sound part to the cows, this disagreeable quality may also be avoided, as other cattle will eat the leaves without injury. When a cow has been milked for several years, and begins to grow old, the most advantageous way is to make her dry. To effect this, bruise six ounces of white rosin, and dissolve it in a quart of water. The cow having been housed, should then be bled and milked; and after the mixture has been administered, she should be turned into good grass. She is no longer to be milked, but fattened on rich vegetables. Cows intended for breeding, should be carefully selected from those which give plenty of milk. During three months previously to calving, if in the spring, they should be turned into sweet grass; or if it happen in the winter, they ought to be well fed with the best hay. The day and night after they have calved, they should be kept in the house, and lukewarm water only allowed for their drink. They may be turned out the next day, if the weather be warm, but regularly taken in for three or four successive nights; or if the weather be damp and cold, it is better to girt them round with sacking, or keep them wholly within. Cows thus housed should be kept in every night, till the morning cold is dissipated, and a draught of warm water given them previously to their going to the field. If the udder of a milking cow becomes hard and painful, it should be fomented with warm water and rubbed with a gentle hand. Or if the teats are sore, they should be soaked in warm water twice a day; and either be dressed with soft ointment, or done with spirits and water. If the former, great cleanliness is necessary: the milk at these times is best given to the pigs. Or if a cow be injured by a blow or wound, the part affected should be suppled several times a day with fresh butter; or a salve prepared of one ounce of Castile soap dissolved in a pint and a half of fresh milk over a slow fire, stirring it constantly, to form a complete mixture. But if the wound should turn to an obstinate ulcer, take Castile soap, gum ammoniac, gum galbanum, and extract of hemlock, each one ounce; form them into eight boluses, and administer one of them every morning and evening. To prevent cows from sucking their own milk, as some of them are apt to do, rub the teats frequently with strong rancid cheese, which will prove an effectual remedy. COW HEELS. These are very nutricious, and may be variously dressed. The common way is to boil, and serve them in a napkin, with melted butter, mustard, and a large spoonful of vinegar. Or broil them very tender, and serve them as a brown fricassee. The liquor will do to make jelly sweet or relishing and likewise to give richness to soups or gravies. Another way is to cut them into four parts, to dip them into an egg, and then dredge and fry them. They may be garnished with fried onions, and served with sauce as above. Or they may be baked as for mock turtle. COWSLIP MEAD. Put thirty pounds of honey into fifteen gallons of water, and boil till one gallon is wasted; skim it, and take it off the fire. Have a dozen and a half of lemons ready quartered, pour a gallon of the liquor boiling hot upon them, and the remainder into a tub, with seven pecks of cowslip pips. Let them remain there all night; then put the liquor and the lemons to eight spoonfuls of new yeast, and a handful of sweet-briar. Stir all well together, and let it work for three or four days; then strain and tun it into a cask. Let it stand six months, and bottle it for keeping. COWSLIP WINE. To every gallon of water, weigh three pounds of lump sugar; boil them together half an hour, and take off the scum as it rises. When sufficiently cool, put to it a crust of toasted bread dipped in thick yeast, and let the liquor ferment in the tub thirty six hours. Then put into the cask intended for keeping it, the peel of two and the rind of one lemon, for every gallon of liquor; also the peel and the rind of one Seville orange, and one gallon of cowslip pips. Pour the liquor upon them, stir it carefully every day for a week, and for every five gallons put in a bottle of brandy. Let the cask be close stopped, and stand only six weeks before it be bottled off. CRABS. The heaviest are best, and those of a middling size the sweetest. If light they are watery: when in perfection the joints of the legs are stiff, and the body has a very agreeable smell. The eyes look dead and loose when stale. The female crab is generally preferred: the colour is much brighter, the claws are shorter, and the apron in front is much broader. To dress a hot crab, pick out the meat, and clear the shell from the head. Put the meat into the shell again, with a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, a bit of butter, crumbs of bread, and three spoonfuls of vinegar. Then set the crab before the fire, or brown the meat with a salamander. It should be served on a dry toast.--To dress a cold crab, empty the shell, mix the flesh with a small quantity of oil, vinegar, salt, white pepper and cayenne. Return the mixture, and serve it up in the shell. CRACKNELS. Mix with a quart of flour, half a nutmeg grated, the yolks of four eggs beaten, and four spoonfuls of rose water. Make the whole into a stiff paste, with cold water. Then roll in a pound of butter, and make the paste into the shape of cracknels. Boil them in a kettle of water till they swim, and then put them into cold water. When hardened, lay them out to dry, and bake them on tin plates. CRACKNUTS. Mix eight ounces of fine flour, with eight ounces of sugar, and melt four ounces of butter in two spoonfuls of raisin wine. With four eggs beaten and strained, make the whole into a paste, and add carraway seed. Roll the paste out as thin as paper, cut it into shapes with the top of a glass, wash them with the white of an egg, and dust them over with fine sugar. CRAMP. Persons subject to this complaint, being generally attacked in the night, should have a board fixed at the bottom of the bed, against which the foot should be strongly pressed when the pain commences. This will seldom fail to afford relief. When it is more obstinate, a brick should be heated, wrapped in a flannel bag at the bottom of the bed, and the foot placed against it. The brick will continue warm, and prevent a return of the complaint. No remedy however is more safe or more certain than that of rubbing the affected part, to restore a free circulation. If the cramp attack the stomach or bowels, it is attended with considerable danger: medicine may relieve but cannot cure. All hot and stimulating liquors must be carefully avoided, and a tea-cupful of lukewarm gruel or camomile tea should be frequently given, with ten or fifteen drops of deliquidated salt of tartar in each. CRANBERRIES. If for puddings and pies, they require a good deal of sugar. If stewed in a jar, it is the same: but in this way they eat well with bread, and are very wholesome. If pressed and strained, after being stewed, they yield a fine juice, which makes an excellent drink in a fever. CRANBERRY GRUEL. Mash a tea-cupful of cranberries in a cup of water, and boil a large spoonful of oatmeal in two quarts of water. Then put in the jam, with a little sugar and lemon peel; boil it half an hour, and strain it off. Add a glass of brandy or sweet wine. CRANBERRY JELLY. Make a very strong isinglass jelly. When cold, mix it with a double quantity of cranberry juice, pressed and strained. Sweeten it with fine loaf sugar, boil it up, and strain it into a shape.--To make cranberry and rice jelly, boil and press the fruit, strain the juice, and by degrees mix it into as much ground rice as will, when boiled, thicken to a jelly. Boil it gently, keep it stirring, and sweeten it. Put it in a bason or form, and serve it up with milk or cream. CRAY FISH. Make a savoury fish-jelly, and put some into the bottom of a deep small dish. When cold, lay the cray-fish with their back downwards, and pour more jelly over them. Turn them out when cold, and it will make a beautiful dish. Prawns may be done in the same way. CREAM. Rich cream for tea or coffee is prepared in the following manner. Put some new milk into an earthen pan, heat it over the fire, and set it by till the next day. In order to preserve it a day or two longer, it must be scalded, sweetened with lump sugar, and set in a cool place. If half a pint of fresh cream be boiled in an earthen pot with half a pound of sugar, and corked up close in phials when cold, it will keep for several weeks, and be fit for the tea-table. CREAM FOR PIES. Boil a pint of new milk ten minutes, with a bit of lemon peel, a laurel leaf, four cloves, and a little sugar. Mix the yolks of six eggs and half a tea-spoonful of flour, strain the milk to them, and set it over a slow fire. Stir it to a consistence, but do not let it curdle: when cold it may be spread over any kind of fruit pies. CREAM FOR WHEY BUTTER. Set the whey one day and night, and skim it till a sufficient quantity is obtained. Then boil it, and pour it into a pan or two of cold water. As the cream rises, skim it till no more comes, and then churn it. Where new-milk cheese is made daily, whey butter for common and present use may be made to advantage. CREAM CHEESE. To make this article, put into a pan five quarts of strippings, that is, the last of the milk, with two spoonfuls of rennet. When the curd is come, strike it down two or three times with the skimming dish just to break it. Let it stand two hours, then spread a cheese cloth on a sieve, lay the curd on it, and let the whey drain. Break the curd a little with the hand, and put it into a vat with a two-pound weight upon it. Let it stand twelve hours, take it out, and bind a fillet round. Turn it every day till dry, from one board to another; cover them with nettles or clean dock-leaves, and lay them between two pewter plates to ripen. If the weather be warm, the cheese will be ready in three weeks.--Another way. Prepare a kettle of boiling water, put five quarts of new milk into a pan, five pints of cold water, and five of hot. When of a proper heat, put in as much rennet as will bring it in twenty minutes, likewise a bit of sugar. When the curd is come, strike the skimmer three or four times down, and leave it on the curd. In an hour or two lade it into the vat without touching it; put a two-pound weight on it when the whey has run from it, and the vat is full.--To make another sort of cream cheese, put as much salt to three pints of raw cream as will season it. Stir it well, lay a cheese cloth several times folded at the bottom of a sieve, and pour the curd upon it. When it hardens, cover it with nettles on a pewter plate.--What is called Rush Cream Cheese is made as follows. To a quart of fresh cream put a pint of new milk, warm enough to give the cream a proper degree of warmth; then add a little sugar and rennet. Set it near the fire till the curd comes; fill a vat made in the form of a brick, of wheat straw or rushes sewed together. Have ready a square of straw or rushes sewed flat, to rest the vat on, and another to cover it; the vat being open at top and bottom. Next day take it out, change it often in order to ripen, and lay a half pound weight upon it.--Another way. Take a pint of very thick sour cream from the top of the pan for gathering butter, lay a napkin on two plates, and pour half into each. Let them stand twelve hours, then put them on a fresh wet napkin in one plate, and cover with the same. Repeat this every twelve hours, till the cheese begins to look dry. Then ripen it with nut leaves, and it will be ready in ten days. Fresh nettles, or two pewter plates, will ripen cream cheese very well. CREAM PUDDING. Slice the crumb of a penny loaf into a quart of cream, scald it over the fire, and break it with a spoon. Add to it six eggs, with three of the whites only, half a pound of fine raisins, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little rose water and nutmeg. Beat it all up together, stir in a little marrow if approved, and bake it in a dish with paste. CREAMS. To make an excellent cream, boil half a pint of cream and half a pint of milk with two bay leaves, a bit of lemon peel, a few almonds beaten to paste, with a drop of water, a little sugar, orange flower water, and a tea-spoonful of flour rubbed down with a little cold milk. When the cream is cold, add a little lemon juice, and serve it up in cups or lemonade glasses.--For a superior article, whip up three quarters of a pint of very rich cream to a strong froth, with some finely-scraped lemon peel, a squeeze of the juice, half a glass of sweet wine, and sugar to make it pleasant, but not too sweet. Lay it on a sieve or in a form, next day put it on a dish, and ornament it with very light puff paste biscuits, made in tin shapes the length of a finger, and about two thick. Fine sugar may be sifted over, or it may be glazed with a little isinglass. Macaroons may be used to line the edges of the dish. CRESS VINEGAR. Dry and pound half an ounce of the seed of garden cresses, pour upon it a quart of the best vinegar, and let it steep ten days, shaking it up every day. Being strongly flavoured with the cresses, it is suitable for salads and cold meat. Celery vinegar is made in the same manner. CRICKETS. The fume of charcoal will drive them away: or a little white arsenic mixed with a roasted apple, and put into the holes and cracks where the crickets are, will effectually destroy them. Scotch snuff dusted upon the holes where they come out, will also have the same effect. CRIMP COD. Boil a handful of salt in a gallon of pump water, and skim it clean. Cut a fresh cod into slices an inch thick, and boil it briskly in the brine a few minutes; take the slices out very carefully, and lay them on a fish plate to drain. Dry and flour them, and lay them at a distance upon a clear fire to broil. Serve with lobster or shrimp sauce. CRIMP SALMON. When the salmon is scaled and cleaned, take off the head and tail, and cut the body through into large slices. Throw them into a pan of pump water, sprinkle on a handful of bay salt, stir it about, and then take out the fish. Set on a deep stewpan, boil the head and tail whole, put in some salt, but no vinegar. When they have boiled ten minutes, skim the water clean, and put in the slices. When boiled enough, lay the head and tail in the dish, and the slices round; or either part may be dressed separately. CRISP PARSLEY. Pick and wash some young parsley, shake it in a dry cloth to drain the water from it, spread it on a sheet of white paper, in a Dutch oven before the fire, and turn it frequently until it is quite crisp. This is a much better way of preparing it than by frying, which is seldom well done; and it will serve as a neat garnish for fish or lamb chops. CROSS BUNS. Warm before the fire two pounds and a half of fine flour; add half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, some coriander seeds, cinnamon and mace finely pounded. Melt half a pound of butter in half a pint of milk; after it has cooled, stir in three table-spoonfuls of thick yeast, and a little salt. Work the whole into a paste, make it into buns, and cut a cross on the top. Put them on a tin to rise before the fire, brush them over with warm milk, and bake in a moderate oven. CROWS. These birds are extremely useful to the farmer, in devouring multitudes of locusts, caterpillars, and other insects, which are highly injurious to the crops; but at certain seasons they have become so numerous, and committed such depredations on the corn fields, that an act of parliament has been passed for their destruction. The most successful method is to prepare a kind of table between the branches of a large tree, with some carrion and other meat, till the crows are accustomed to resort to the place for food. Afterwards the meat may be poisoned; and the birds still feeding on it, will be destroyed. The drug called _nux vomica_ is best adapted to the purpose. CRUMPETS. Warm before the fire two pounds of fine flour, with a little salt, and mix it with warm milk and water till it becomes stiff. Work up three eggs with three spoonfuls of thick yeast, and a cupful of warm milk and water; put it to the batter, and beat them well together in a large bowl, with as much milk and water as will make the batter thick. Set it before the fire to rise, and cover it close. Set on the fryingpan, rub it over with a bit of butter tied up in muslin, and pour in as much batter at a time as is sufficient for one crumpet. Let it bake slowly till it comes to a pale yellow; and when cold, the crumpets may be toasted and buttered. CUCUMBERS. The best way of cultivating this delicious vegetable is as follows. When the plants have been raised on a moderate hot bed, without forcing them too much, they should be set in the open ground against a south wall in the latter end of May, and trained upon the wall like a fruit tree. When they have run up about five feet, they will send forth blossoms, and the fruit will soon appear. Cucumbers of the slender prickly sort are to be preferred, and they should not be watered too much while growing, as it will injure the fruit. The flesh of cucumbers raised in this way, will be thicker and firmer, and the flavour more delicious, than those planted in the usual manner, where the runners are suffered to trail upon the ground. Melons may also be treated in the same manner, and the quality of both will be greatly improved.--When cucumbers are to be prepared for the table, pare and score them in several rows, that they may appear as if slightly chopped. Add some young onions, pepper and salt, a glass of white wine, the juice of a lemon, and some vinegar. Or cut them in thin slices, with pepper, salt, vinegar, and sliced onions. Or send them to table whole, with a sliced onion in a saucer. CUCUMBER KETCHUP. Pare some large old cucumbers, cut them in slices, and mash them; add some salt, and let them stand till the next day. Drain off the liquor, boil it with lemon peel, mace, cloves, horse-radish, shalots, white pepper, and ginger. Strain it; and when cold put it into bottles, with the mace, cloves and peppercorns, but not the rest. A little of this ketchup will give an agreeable taste to almost any kind of gravy sauce. CUCUMBER VINEGAR. Pare and slice fifteen large cucumbers, and put them into a stone jar, with three pints of vinegar, four large onions sliced, two or three shalots, a little garlic, two large spoonfuls of salt, three tea-spoonfuls of pepper, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne. Keep the vinegar in small bottles, to add to sallad, or to eat with meat. CULLIS. To make cullis for ragouts, cut in pieces two pounds of lean veal, and two ounces of ham. Add two cloves, a little nutmeg and mace, some parsley roots, two carrots sliced, some shalots, and two bay leaves. Put them into an earthen jar on a hot hearth, or in a kettle of boiling water. Cover them close, let them simmer for half an hour, observing that they do not burn; then put in beef broth, stew it, and strain it off. CUMBERLAND PUDDING. To make what is called the Duke of Cumberland's pudding, mix six ounces of grated bread, the same quantity of currants well cleaned and picked, the same of beef suet finely shred, the same of chopped apples, and also of lump sugar. Add six eggs, half a grated nutmeg, a dust of salt, and the rind of a lemon minced as fine as possible; also a large spoonful each of citron, orange, and lemon cut thin. Mix them thoroughly together, put the whole into a basin, cover it close with a floured cloth, and boil it three hours. Serve it with pudding sauce, add the juice of half a lemon, boiled together. CURD PUDDING. Rub the curd of two gallons of milk well drained through a sieve. Mix it with six eggs, a little cream, two spoonfuls of orange-flower water, half a nutmeg, flour and crumbs of bread each three spoonfuls, currants and raisins half a pound of each. Boil the pudding an hour in a thick well-floured cloth. CURD PUFFS. Turn two quarts of milk to curd, press the whey from it, rub it through a sieve, and mix four ounces of butter, the crumb of a penny loaf, two spoonfuls of cream, half a nutmeg, a little sugar, and two spoonfuls of white wine. Butter some small cups or pattipans, and fill them three parts. Orange-flower water is an improvement. Bake the puffs with care, and serve with sweet sauce in a boat. CURD STAR. Set on the fire a quart of new milk, with two or three blades of mace; and when ready to boil, put to it the yolks and whites of nine eggs well beaten, and as much salt as will lie upon a six-pence. Let it boil till the whey is clear; then drain it in a thin cloth, or hair sieve. Season it with sugar, and a little cinnamon, rose water, orange-flower water, or white wine. Put it into a star form, and let it stand some hours before it be turned into a dish: then pour round it some thick cream or custard. CURDS AND CREAM. Put three or four pints of milk into a pan a little warm, and then add rennet or gallina. When the curd is come, lade it with a saucer into an earthen shape perforated, of any form you please. Fill it up as the whey drains off, without breaking or pressing the curd. If turned only two hours before wanted, it is very light; but those who like it harder may have it so, by making it earlier, and squeezing it. Cream, milk, or a whip of cream, sugar, wine, and lemon, may be put into the dish, or into a glass bowl, to serve with the curd.--Another way is to warm four quarts of new milk, and add a pint or more of buttermilk strained, according to its sourness. Keep the pan covered till the curd be sufficiently firm to cut, three or four times across with a saucer, as the whey leaves it. Put it into a shape, and fill up until it be solid enough to take the form. Serve with plain cream, or mixed with sugar, wine and lemon. CURDS AND WHEY. According to the Italian method, a more delicate and tender curd is made without the use of common rennet. Take a number of the rough coats that line the gizzards of turkeys and fowls, clean them from the pebbles they contain, rub them well with salt, and hang them up to dry. When to be used, break off some bits of the skin, and pour on some boiling water. In eight or nine hours the liquor may be used as other rennet. CURING BUTTER. It is well known, that butter as it is generally cured, does not keep for any length of time, without spoiling or becoming rancid. The butter with which London is supplied, may be seen at every cheesemonger's in the greatest variety of colour and quality; and it is too often the case, that even the worst butter is compounded with better sorts, in order to procure a sale. These practices ought to be discountenanced, and no butter permitted to be sold but such as is of the best quality when fresh, and well cured when salted, as there is hardly any article more capable of exciting disgust than bad butter. To remedy this evil, the following process is recommended, in preparing butter for the firkin. Reduce separately to fine powder in a dry mortar, two pounds of the whitest common salt, one pound of saltpetre, and one pound of lump sugar. Sift these ingredients one upon another, on two sheets of paper joined together, and then mix them well with the hands, or with a spatula. Preserve the whole in a covered jar, placed in a dry situation. When required to be used, one ounce of this composition is to be proportioned to every pound of butter, and the whole is to be well worked into the mass. The butter may then be put into pots or casks in the usual way. The above method is practised in many parts of Scotland, and is found to preserve the butter much better than by using common salt alone. Any housekeeper can make the experiment, by proportioning the ingredients to the quantity of butter; and the difference between the two will readily be perceived. Butter cured with this mixture appears of a rich marrowy consistency and fine colour, and never acquires a brittle hardness, nor tastes salt, as the other is apt to do. It should be allowed to stand three weeks or a month before it is used, and will keep for two or three years, without sustaining the slightest injury. Butter made in vessels or troughs lined with lead, or in glazed earthenware pans, which glaze is principally composed of lead, is too apt to be contaminated by particles of that deleterious metal. It is better therefore to use tinned vessels for mixing the preservative with the butter, and to pack it either in wooden casks, or in jars of the Vauxhall ware, which being vitrified throughout, require no inside glazing. CURING HAMS. When hams are to be cured, they should hang a day or two; then sprinkle them with a little salt, and drain them another day. Pound an ounce and a half of saltpetre, the same quantity of bay salt, half an ounce of sal-prunelle, and a pound of the coarsest sugar. Mix these well, and rub them into each ham every day for four days, and turn it. If a small one, turn it every day for three weeks: if a large one, a week longer, but it should not be rubbed after four days. Before it is dried, drain and cover it with bran, and smoke it ten days.--Or choose the leg of a hog that is fat and well fed, and hang it up a day or two. If large, put to it a pound of bay salt, four ounces of saltpetre, a pound of the coarsest sugar, and a handful of common salt, all in fine powder, and rub the mixture well into the ham. Lay the rind downwards, and cover the fleshy part with the salts. Baste it frequently with the pickle, and turn it every day for a month. Drain and throw bran over it, then hang it in a chimney where wood is burnt, and turn it now and then for ten days.--Another way is, to hang up the ham, and sprinkle it with salt, and then to rub it daily with the following mixture. Half a pound of common salt, the same of bay salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and two ounces of black pepper, incorporated with a pound and a half of treacle. Turn it twice a day in the pickle for three weeks; then lay it into a pail of water for one night, wipe it quite dry, and smoke it two or three weeks.--To give hams a high flavour, let them hang three days, when the weather will permit. Mix an ounce of saltpetre with a quarter of a pound of bay salt, the same quantity of common salt, and also of coarse sugar, and a quart of strong beer. Boil them together, pour the liquor immediately upon the ham, and turn it twice a day in the pickle for three weeks. An ounce of black pepper, and the same quantity of allspice, in fine powder, added to the above will give a still higher flavour. Wipe and cover it with bran, smoke it three or four weeks; and if there be a strong fire, it should be sewed up in a coarse wrapper.--To give a ham a still higher flavour, sprinkle it with salt, after it has hung two or three days, and let it drain. Make a pickle of a quart of strong beer, half a pound of treacle, an ounce of coriander seed, two ounces of juniper berries, an ounce of pepper, the same quantity of allspice, an ounce of saltpetre, half an ounce of sal-prunelle, a handful of common salt, and a head of shalot, all pounded or cut fine. Boil these together for a few minutes, and pour them over the ham. This quantity is sufficient for a ham of ten pounds. Rub and turn it every day for a fortnight; then sew it up in a thin linen bag, and smoke it three weeks. Drain it from the pickle, and rub it in bran, before drying. In all cases it is best to lay on a sufficient quantity of salt at first, than to add more afterwards, for this will make the ham salt and hard. When it has lain in pickle a few days, it would be advantageous to boil and skim the brine, and pour it on again when cold. Bacon, pig's face, and other articles may be treated in the same manner. CURRANT CREAM. Strip and bruise some ripe currants, strain them through a fine sieve, and sweeten the juice with refined sugar. Beat up equal quantities of juice and cream, and as the froth rises put it into glasses. CURRANT FRITTERS. Thicken half a pint of ale with flour, and add some currants. Beat it up quick, make the lard boil in the frying-pan, and put in a large spoonful of the batter at a time, which is sufficient for one fritter. CURRANT GRUEL. Make a pint of water gruel, strain and boil it with a table-spoonful of clean currants till they are quite plump. Add a little nutmeg and sugar, and a glass of sweet wine. This gruel is proper for children, or persons of a costive habit. CURRANT JAM. Whether it be made of black, red, or white currants, let the fruit be very ripe. Pick it clean from the stalks, and bruise it. To every pound put three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, stir it well, and boil it half an hour. CURRANT JELLY. Strip the fruit, whether red or black, and put them into a stone jar, to boil on a hot hearth, or over the fire in a saucepan of water. Strain off the liquor, and to every pint add a pound of loaf sugar in large lumps. Put the whole into a china or stone jar, till nearly dissolved; then put it into a preserving pan, and skim it while simmering on the fire. When it will turn to jelly on a plate, keep it in small jars or glasses. CURRANT PIE. Put a paste round the dish, fill it with fruit and good moist sugar, add a little water, and cover it with paste. Place a tea-cup in the dish, bottom upwards, to prevent the juice from boiling over. Baked currants are better mixed with raspberries or damsons. CURRANT SAUCE. To make the old sauce for venison, boil an ounce of dried currants in half a pint of water a few minutes. Then add a small tea-cupful of bread crumbs, six cloves, a glass of port wine, and a bit of butter. Stir it till the whole is smooth. CURRANT SHRUB. Strip some white currants, and prepare them in a jar as for jelly. Strain the juice, of which put two quarts to one gallon of rum, and two pounds of lump sugar. Strain the whole through a jelly bag. CURRANT WINE. To every three pints of fruit, carefully picked and bruised, add one quart of water. In twenty-four hours strain the liquor, and put to every quart a pound of good Lisbon sugar. If for white currants use lump sugar. It is best to put the whole into a large pan; and when in three or four days the scum rises, take that off before the liquor be put into the barrel. Those who make from their own gardens, may not have fruit sufficient to fill the barrel at once; but the wine will not be hurt by being made in the pan at different times, in the above proportions, and added as the fruit ripens; but it must be gathered in dry weather, and an account taken of what is put in each time.--Another way. Put five quarts of currants, and a pint of raspberries, to every two gallons of water. Let them soak all night, then squeeze and break them well. Next day rub them well on a fine wire sieve, till all the juice is obtained, and wash the skins again with some of the liquor. To every gallon put four pounds of good Lisbon sugar, tun it immediately, lay the bung lightly on, and leave it to ferment itself. In two or three days put a bottle of brandy to every four gallons, bung it close, but leave the vent peg out a few days. Keep it three years in the cask, and it will be a fine agreeable wine; four years would make it still better.--Black Currant Wine is made as follows. To every three quarts of juice add the same quantity of water, and to every three quarts of the liquor put three pounds of good moist sugar. Tun it into a cask, reserving a little for filling up. Set the cask in a warm dry room, and the liquor will ferment of itself. When the fermentation is over, take off the scum, and fill up with the reserved liquor, allowing three bottles of brandy to forty quarts of wine. Bung it close for nine months, then bottle it; drain the thick part through a jelly bag, till that also be clear and fit for bottling. The wine should then be kept ten or twelve months. CURRIES. Cut fowls or rabbits into joints; veal, lamb or sweetbreads into small pieces. Put four ounces of butter into a stewpan; when melted, put in the meat, and two sliced onions. Stew them to a nice brown, add half a pint of broth, and let it simmer twenty minutes. Mix smooth in a basin one table-spoonful of currie powder, one of flour, and a tea-spoonful of salt, with a little cold water. Put the paste into the stewpan, shake it well about till it boils, and let it simmer twenty minutes longer. Just before it is dished up, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and add a good table-spoonful of melted butter. CURRIE BALLS. Take some bread crumbs, the yolk of an egg boiled hard, and a bit of fresh butter about half the size; beat them together in a mortar, season with a little currie powder, roll the paste into small balls, and boil them two or three minutes. These will serve for mock turtle, veal, poultry, and made dishes. CURRIE OF COD. This should be made of sliced cod, that has either been crimped, or sprinkled with salt for a day, to make it firm. Fry it of a fine brown with onions, and stew it with a good white gravy, a little currie powder, a bit of butter and flour, three or four spoonfuls of rich cream, salt, and cayenne, if the powder be not hot enough. CURRIE OF LOBSTERS. Take them from the shells, lay them into a pan with a small piece of mace, three or four spoonfuls of veal gravy, and four of cream. Rub smooth one or two tea-spoonfuls of currie powder, a tea-spoonful of flour, and an ounce of butter. Simmer them together an hour, squeeze in half a lemon, and add a little salt. Currie of prawns is made in the same way. CURRIE POWDER. Dry and reduce the following articles to a fine powder. Three ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of turmeric, one ounce of black pepper, and one of ginger; half an ounce of lesser cardamoms, and a quarter of an ounce each of cinnamon, cummin seed, and cayenne. Thoroughly pound and mix them together, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle. CURRIE SAUCE. Stir a small quantity of currie powder in some gravy, melted butter, or onion sauce. This must be done by degrees, according to the taste, taking care not to put in too much of the currie powder. CURRIE SOUP. Cut four pounds of a breast of veal into small pieces, put the trimmings into a stewpan with two quarts of water, twelve peppercorns, and the same of allspice. When it boils, skim it clean; and after boiling an hour and a half, strain it off. While it is boiling, fry the bits of veal in butter, with four onions. When they are done, add the broth to them, and put it on the fire. Let it simmer half an hour, then mix two spoonfuls of currie powder, and the same of flour, with a little cold water and a tea-spoonful of salt, and add these to the soup. Simmer it gently till the veal is quite tender, and it is ready. Or bone a couple of fowls or rabbits, and stew them in the same manner. Instead of black pepper and allspice, a bruised shalot may be added, with some mace and ginger. CUSTARDS. To make a cheap and excellent custard, boil three pints of new milk with a bit of lemon peel, a bit of cinnamon, two or three bay leaves, and sweeten it. Meanwhile rub down smooth a large spoonful of rice flour in a cup of cold milk, and mix with it the yolks of two eggs well beaten. Take a basin of the boiling milk and mix with the cold, then pour it to the boiling, stirring it one way till it begin to thicken, and is just going to boil up; then pour it into a pan, stir it some time, add a large spoonful of peach water, two spoonfuls of brandy, or a little ratafia. Marbles boiled in custard, or any thing likely to burn, will prevent it from catching if shaked about in the saucepan.--To make a richer custard, boil a pint of milk with lemon peel and cinnamon. Mix a pint of cream, and the yolks of five eggs well beaten. When the milk tastes of the seasoning, sweeten it enough for the whole; pour into the cream, stirring it well; then give the custard a simmer, till it come to a proper thickness. Stir it wholly one way, season it as above, but do not let it boil. If the custard is to be very rich, add a quart of cream to the eggs instead of milk. CUSTARD PASTE. Six ounces of butter, three spoonfuls of cream, the yolks of two eggs, and half a pound of flour, are to be mixed well together. Let it stand a quarter of an hour, work it well, and roll it out thin. CUSTARD PUDDING. Mix by degrees a pint of good milk with a large spoonful of flour, the yolks of five eggs, some orange-flower water, and a little pounded cinnamon. Butter a bason that will just hold it, pour in the batter, and tie a floured cloth over. Put it in when the water boils, turn it about a few minutes to prevent the egg settling on one side, and half an hour will boil it. Put currant jelly over the pudding, and serve it with sweet sauce. CUTLETS MAINTENON. Cut slices of veal three quarters of an inch thick, beat them with a rolling-pin, and wet them on both sides with egg. Dip them into a seasoning of bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, knotted marjoram, pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Then put them into white papers folded over, and broil them. Have ready some melted butter in a boat, with a little mushroom ketchup.--Another way is to fry the cutlets, after they have been prepared as above. Dredge a little flour into the pan, and add a piece of butter; brown it, pour in a little boiling water, and boil it quick. Season with pepper, salt, and ketchup, and pour over them.--Or, prepare as before, and dress the cutlets in a Dutch oven. Pour over them melted butter and mushrooms. Neck steaks especially are good broiled, after being seasoned with pepper and salt; and in this way they do not require any herbs. CUTTING GLASS. If glass be held in one hand under water, and a pair of scissors in the other, it may be cut like brown paper; or if a red hot tobacco pipe be brought in contact with the edge of the glass, and afterwards traced on any part of it, the crack will follow the edge of the pipe. CUTTING OF TEETH. Great care is required in feeding young children during the time of teething. They often cry as if disgusted with food, when it is chiefly owing to the pain occasioned by the edge of a silver or metal spoon pressing on their tender gums. The spoon ought to be of ivory, bone, or wood, with the edges round and smooth, and care should be taken to keep it sweet and clean. At this period a moderate looseness, and a copious flow of saliva, are favourable symptoms. With a view to promote the latter, the child should be suffered to gnaw such substances as tend to mollify the gums, and by their pressure to facilitate the appearance of the teeth. A piece of liquorice or marshmallow root will be serviceable, or the gums may be softened and relaxed by rubbing them with honey or sweet oil. D. DAIRY. In a publication intended for general usefulness, the management of the dairy, the source of so many comforts, demands some attention, in addition to the information conveyed under various other articles, connected with this interesting part of female economy. A dairy house then ought to be so situated that the windows or lattices may front the north, and it should at all times be kept perfectly cool and clean. Lattices are preferable to glazed lights, as they admit a free circulation of air; and if too much wind draws in, oiled paper may be pasted over the lattice, or a frame constructed so as to slide backwards and forwards at pleasure. Dairies cannot be kept too cool in the summer: they ought therefore to be erected, if possible, near a spring of running water. If a pump can be fixed in the place, or a stream of water conveyed through it, it will tend to preserve a continual freshness and purity of the air. The floor should be neatly paved with red brick, or smooth stone, and laid with a proper descent, so that no water may stagnate: it should be well washed every day, and all the utensils kept with the strictest regard to cleanliness. Neither the cheese, rennet, or cheesepress, must be suffered to contract any taint; nor should the churns be scalded in the dairy, as the steam arising from the hot water tends greatly to injure the milk. The utensils of the dairy should all be made of wood: lead, copper, and brass are poisonous, and cast iron gives a disagreeable taste to the productions of the dairy. Milk leads in particular should be utterly abolished, and well-glazed earthen pans used in their stead. Sour milk has a corroding tendency, and the well known effects of the poison of lead are, bodily debility, palsy, and death. The best of all milk vessels are flat wooden trays about three inches deep, and wide enough to contain a full gallon of milk. These may be kept perfectly clean with good care, and washing and scalding them well with salt and water. As soon as the operation of churning is performed, the butter should be washed immediately in several waters, till thoroughly cleansed from the milk, which should be forced out with a flat wooden ladle, or skimming dish, provided with a short handle. This should be quickly performed, with as little working of the butter as possible; for if it be too much beaten and turned, it will become tough and gluey, which greatly debases its quality. To beat it up with the hand is an indelicate practice, as the butter cannot fail to imbibe the animal effluvia: a warm hand especially will soften it, and make it appear greasy. If the heat of the weather should render it too soft to receive the impression of the mould, it may be put into small vessels, and allowed to swim in a trough of cold water, provided the butter do not come in contact with the water, which would diminish some of its best qualities. A little common salt must be worked up in the butter at the time of making it, and care must be taken not to handle it too much. Meat hung in a dairy will taint the air, and spoil the milk.--See BUTTER, CHEESE, CHURNING, &c. DAMP BEDS. Of all other means of taking cold, damp beds are the most dangerous, and persons who keep them in their houses are guilty of a species of murder, though it unfortunately happens that no housewife is willing to acknowledge that _her_ beds were ever damp. There is however no other effectual way of preventing the dreadful effects so often experienced in this way, than by keeping the beds in constant use, or causing them frequently to be slept in till they are wanted by a stranger. In inns, where the beds are used almost every night, nothing more is necessary than to keep the rooms well aired, and the linen quite dry. If a bed be suspected of dampness, introduce a glass goblet between the sheets with its bottom upwards, immediately after the warming pan is taken out. After a few minutes, if any moisture adheres to the inside of the glass, it is a certain sign that the bed is damp: but if only a slight steam appears, all is safe. If a goblet be not at hand, a looking glass will answer the purpose. The safest way in all such cases is to take off the sheets, and sleep between the blankets. DAMP HOUSES. Nothing is more common than for persons to hazard their lives by inhabiting a dwelling almost as soon as the plasterer or the painter has performed his work, and yet this ought to be guarded against with the utmost care. The custom of sitting in a room lately washed, and before it is thoroughly dried, is also highly injurious to health. Colds occasioned by these means often bring on asthmas and incurable consumptions. DAMP WALLS. When a house has undergone repairs, the walls are apt to become damp, as well as when it has been new built. To prevent the ill effects, powder some glass fine, mix it with slacked lime, dry the mixture well in an iron pot, and pass it through a flour sieve. Then boil some tar with a little grease for a quarter of an hour, and make a cement of the whole together. Care must be taken to prevent any moisture from mixing with the cement, which must be used as soon as made. Lay it on the damp part of the wall like common plaster about a foot square at a time, or it will quickly become too hard for use: if the wall be very wet, a second coating will be required. Common hair mortar may then be laid on, with the addition of a little Paris plaster, which will prevent the walls in future from becoming damp. DAMSON CHEESE. Pick the damsons clean, bake them slowly, till they may be rubbed through a cullender, leaving nothing but the skins and stones. Boil the pulp and juice three hours over a slow fire, with some moist sugar, and keep it stirring to prevent burning. Blanch the kernels, and mix them with the jam a few minutes before it be taken off the fire. Put it into cups, tie it down with writing paper dipped in brandy, and the cheese will keep several years, if kept in a dry place. DAMSON PUDDING. Line a bason with tolerably thin paste, fill with the fruit, and cover the paste over it. Tie a cloth tight over, and boil till the fruit is done enough. DAMSON WINE. Take a considerable quantity of damsons and common plums inclining to ripeness; slit them in halves, so that the stones may be taken out, then mash them gently, and add a little water and honey. Add to every gallon of the pulp a gallon of spring water, with a few bay leaves and cloves: boil the mixture, and add as much sugar as will sweeten it, skim off the froth, and let it cool. Now press the fruit, squeezing out the liquid part; strain all through a fine cloth, and put the water and juice together in a cask. Having allowed the whole to stand and ferment for three or four days, fine it with white sugar, flour, and whites of eggs. Draw it off into bottles, then cork it well: in twelve days it will be ripe, and will taste like weak port, having a flavour of canary. DAMSONS PRESERVED. To keep damsons for winter pies, put them in small stone jars, or wide-mouthed bottles; set them up to their necks in a boiler of cold water, and scald them. Next day, when perfectly cold, fill up the bottles with spring water, and close them down.--Another way is to boil one third as much sugar as fruit over a slow fire, till the juice adheres to the fruit, and forms a jam. Keep it in small jars in a dry place. If too sweet, mix with it some of the fruit done without sugar.--Or choose some pots of equal size top and bottom, sufficient to hold eight or nine pounds each. Put in the fruit about a quarter up, strew in a quarter of the sugar, then another quantity of fruit, and so on till all of both are in. The proportion of sugar is to be three pounds to nine pounds of fruit. Set the jars in the oven, and bake the fruit quite through. When cold, put a piece of clean-scraped stick into the middle of the jar, and let the upper part stand above the top. Cover the fruit with writing paper, and pour melted mutton-suet over, full half an inch thick. Keep the jars in a cool dry place, and use the suet as a cover, which may be drawn up by the stick, if a forked branch be left to prevent its slipping out. DAVENPORT FOWLS. Hang up young fowls for a night. Take the liver, hearts, and tenderest parts of the gizzards, and shred them small, with half a handful of young clary, an anchovy to each fowl, an onion, and the yolks of four eggs boiled hard, seasoning the whole with pepper, salt, and mace. Stuff the fowls with this mixture, and sew up the vents and necks quite close, that the water may not get in. Boil them in salt and water till almost done; then drain them, and put them into a stewpan with butter enough to brown them. Serve them with fine melted butter, and a spoonful of ketchup of either sort, in the dish. DEBILITY. A general relaxation of the nervous system is the source of numerous disorders, and requires a treatment as various as the causes on which it depends. In general, gentle heat possesses both stimulating and strengthening properties, and this is best communicated by a warm bath, which instead of relaxing will invigorate the whole frame. Diet must also be attended to; and weakly persons should be careful to eat light and nourishing food, and plenty of nutricious vegetables. New laid eggs, soup, strong meat-broth, and shell-fish are also very nourishing. Clothing should be accommodated to the climate and changes of weather, so as to preserve as much as possible a middle temperature between cold and heat. Invalids of this description require longer and less disturbed rest than persons in perfect health and vigour; labour and exercise adapted to their habits and strength, a clean but not too soft bed, an airy and capacious apartment, and particularly a calm and composed mind, which last possesses a most powerful influence in preserving health and life, for without tranquility, all other means will be ineffectual. DERBYSHIRE BREAD. Rub four ounces of butter into four pounds of flour, add four eggs well beaten, a pint of milk, and a large spoonful of yeast. Mix them into a paste, make it into rolls, and let them stand half an hour to rise before the fire. Put them into the oven, dip them in milk the next day, and then let them stand by the fire in a Dutch oven about twenty minutes. The rolls will then be very good, and keep a fortnight. DEVONSHIRE JUNKET. Put warm milk into a bowl, and turn it with rennet. Then without breaking the curd, put on the top some scalded cream, sugar and cinnamon. DIET BREAD. Beat nine eggs, and add their weight in sifted sugar, and half as much flour. Mix them well together, grate in the rind of a lemon, and bake it in a hoop. DIET DRINK. Infuse in five gallons of small beer, twelve ounces of red dock-roots, the pith taken out; three ounces of chicary roots, two handfuls of sage, balm, brooklime, and dandelion; two ounces of senna, two of rhubarb, four ounces of red saunders, and a few parsley and carraway seeds. Or boil a pound of the fine raspings of guaiacum, with six gallons of sweetwort, till reduced to five; and when it is set to work, put in the above ingredients. If a little salt of wormwood be taken with it, this diet drink will act as a diuretic, as well as a purgative. DINNERS. The FIRST COURSE for large dinner parties, generally consists of various soups, fish dressed many ways, turtle, mock turtle, boiled meats and stewed: tongue, ham, bacon, chawls of bacon, boiled turkey and fowls: rump, sirloin, and ribs of beef roasted: leg, saddle, and other roast mutton: roast fillet, loin, neck, breast, and shoulder of veal: leg of lamb, loin, fore-quarter, chine, lamb's head and mince: mutton stuffed and roasted, steaks variously prepared, ragouts and fricassees: meat pies raised, and in dishes: patties of meat, fish, and fowl: stewed pigeons, venison, leg of pork, chine, loin, spare-rib, rabbits, hare, puddings, boiled and baked: vegetables, boiled and stewed: calf's head different ways, pig's feet and ears different ways.--Dishes for the SECOND COURSE, birds, and game of all sorts: shell-fish, cold and potted: collared and potted fish, pickled ditto, potted birds, ribs of lamb roasted, brawn, vegetables, stewed or in sauce: French beans, peas, asparagus, cauliflower, fricassee, pickled oysters, spinach, and artichoke bottoms: stewed celery, sea kale, fruit tarts, preserved-fruit tarts, pippins stewed, cheesecakes, various sorts: a collection of sweet dishes, creams, jellies, mince pies, and all the finer sorts of puddings: omlet, macaroni, oysters in scallops, stewed or pickled.--For removes of soup and fish, one or two joints of meat or fowl are served; and for one small course, the article suited to the second must make a part. Where vegetables, fowls, or any other meat are twice dressed, they add to the appearance of the table the first time; and three sweet articles may form the second appearance, without greater expence. In some houses, one dish at a time is sent up with the vegetables, or sauces proper to it, and this in succession hot and hot. In others, a course of soups and fish: then meats and boiled fowls, turkey, &c. Made dishes and game follow; and lastly, sweet dishes; but these are not the common modes. It ought also to be remarked, that cooks in general do not think of sending up such articles as are in the house, unless ordered; though by so doing, the addition of something collared or pickled, some fritters, fried patties, or quick-made dumplings, would be useful when there happen to be accidental visitors: and at all times it is proper to improve the appearance of the table rather than let things spoil below, by which an unnecessary expence is incurred.--Any of the following articles may be served as a relish, with the cheese, after dinner. Baked or pickled fish done high, Dutch pickled herrings: sardinias, which eat like anchovy, but are larger: anchovies, potted char, ditto lampreys: potted birds made high, caviare and sippets of toast: salad, radishes, French pie, cold butter, potted cheese, anchovy toast. DISTRESS FOR RENT. In these days of general complaint and general distress, when so many families and individuals are suffering from the extortions of tax-gatherers, and the severity of landlords, it is proper that householders and occupiers of land should be furnished with a little information on the subject of their legal rights and liabilities, in order to guard against injustice, or the fatal consequences of illegal proceedings. It must therefore be observed, that rent is recoverable by action of debt at common law; but the general remedy is distress, by taking the goods and chattels out of the possession of the tenant, to procure satisfaction for rent. A distress for rent therefore must be made for nonpayment, or rent in arrears, and cannot be made on the day in which the rent becomes due. Neither can distress be made after the rent has been tendered; or if it be tendered while the distress is making, the landlord must deliver up the distress. Any goods or effects that are damaged by the proceedings of the landlord, must be made good by him.--When distress is levied, it should be for the whole of the rent in arrears; not a part at one time and the remainder at another, if there was at first a sufficiency; but if the landlord should mistake the value of the things, he may make a second distress to supply the deficiency. He must be careful to demand neither more nor less than is due; he must also shew the certainty of the rent, and when it was due; otherwise the demand will not be good, nor can he obtain a remedy.--A landlord may distrain whatever he finds on the premises, whether it be the property of his tenant or not, except such things as are for the maintenance and benefit of trade; such as working tools and implements, sacks of corn, or meal in a mill. Neither fixtures in a house nor provisions can be distrained, nor any other article which cannot be restored in as good a state as when it was taken; but wearing apparel may be distrained when they are not in use. Money out of a bag cannot be distrained, because it cannot be known again; but money sealed up in a bag may. A horse in a cart cannot be distrained, without also taking the cart; and if a man be in the cart, these cannot be taken. A horse bringing goods to market, goods brought to market to be sold, goods for exportation on a wharf or in a warehouse, goods in the hands of a factor, goods delivered to a carrier to be conveyed for hire, wool in a neighbour's barn, are all considered as goods in the hands of a third person, and cannot therefore be distrained by a landlord for rent. But goods left at an inn or other place of conveyance, a chaise or horse standing in a stable, though the property of a third person, may be distrained for rent. A distress must not be made after dark, nor on the Sabbath day.--Where a landlord means to distrain for rent, it is not necessary to demand his rent first, unless the tenant is on the premises on the day of payment, and ready to pay it. But if goods are distrained, and no cause given for so doing, the owner may rescue them, if not impounded. Distraining part of the goods for rent in arrear, in the name of the whole goods, will be deemed a lawful seizure. But if distress and sale be made for rent when it can be proved that no rent is due or in arrear, the person so injured may recover double the value of such goods distrained, with full costs of suit. If goods be impounded, though they have been distrained without a cause, a tenant cannot touch them, because they are then in the hands of the law; but if not impounded or taken away, he is at liberty to rescue them.--If distress be made for rent, and the goods are not replevied within five days after the distress is made, and notice left on the premises stating the cause of such distress, the person distraining may have the goods appraised by two persons, sworn by the constable of the place for that purpose, and may after such appraisement sell them to the best advantage. The rent may then be taken, including all expences, and the overplus left in the hands of the constable for the owner's use. If a landlord commit an unlawful act or any other irregularity, in making distress for rent which is justly due, the distress itself will not on that account be deemed unlawful; but full damages may be demanded by the injured party, with full costs of suit; either in an action of trespass, or on the case. But if full recompense be tendered to the tenant for such trespass before the action is commenced, he is bound to accept it, or the action will be discharged.--If a tenant clandestinely remove his goods, to prevent the landlord from distraining them for rent, he may seize the goods within thirty days, wherever they shall be found; and if not actually sold previous to the seizure, he may dispose of them in order to recover his rent. Any tenant or assistant removing goods to prevent a distress, is liable to double the value of the goods, which the landlord may recover by action at law. If under the value of fifty pounds, complaint may be made in writing to two neighbouring magistrates, who will enforce the payment by distress, or commit the offenders to the house of correction for six months. If any person after the distress is made, shall presume to remove the goods distrained, or take them away from the person distraining, the party aggrieved may sue for the injury, and recover treble costs and damages against the offender.--A landlord may not break a lock, nor open a gate; but if the outer door of the house be open he may enter, and break open the inner doors. But where goods are fraudulently removed, and locked up to prevent their being seized, the landlord may break open every place where they are and seize them. If in a dwelling house, an oath must first be made before a magistrate, that is was suspected the goods were lodged there. The most eligible way is to remove the goods immediately, and to give the tenant notice where they are removed to; but it is usual to leave them under the protection of a person on the premises for five whole days, after which it is lawful to sell them. In making the distress, it is necessary to give the bailiff a written order for that purpose, which the landlord may do himself without any stamp, only specifying the person's name, place of abode, and rent in arrears for which the goods and chattels are to be seized. After this an inventory is to be made of the articles, a copy of which is to be given to the tenant, accompanied with a notice that unless the arrears of rent and charges of distress be paid, or the goods replevied at the expiration of five days from the day of distress, the said goods will be appraised and sold according to law. If the landlord chooses to indulge the tenant with a longer time to raise the money, a memorandum must be taken of the tenant, stating that possession is lengthened at his request, or the landlord will be liable to an action for exceeding the time of his original notice.--See TENANTS. DOUBLE RENT. If a tenant has received a written notice, and he refuse to quit, after such notice has been regularly served, and will not give possession at the time required, he is liable to pay at the rate of double the annual value of the land or tenement so detained, for so long time as the same are detained in his possession, and the payment may be recovered by action of debt. Or if the tenant shall give notice of his intention to quit the premises, and do not deliver up possession according to such notice, he is liable to the payment of double rent, as in the other case.--The following is the form of a notice to a tenant to quit, or to pay double rent. 'Mr. A. B. I hereby give you notice to deliver up possession and quit, on or before next Michaelmas day, the house and premises which you now hold of me, situate in the parish of ------inthe county of ------: and in default of your compliance therewith, I do and will insist on your paying me for the same, the yearly rent of ------ being double the annual rent, for such time as you shall detain the key, and keep possession, over the said notice. Witness my hand this day of ------ 182-. C. D. Landlord of the said premises. Witness E. F.'--If, after notice of double rent be expired, a single rent is accepted, such acceptance will prevent the penalty, until notice is again given, and the time expired. DOWN. This valuable part of goose coating, which contributes so much to the comfort and even the luxury of life, comes to maturity when it begins to fall off of itself; and if removed too soon, it is liable to be attacked by worms. Lean geese furnish more than those that are fat, and the down is more valuable. Neither the feathers nor the down of geese which have been dead some time are fit for use: they generally smell bad, and become matted. None but what is plucked from living geese, or which have just been killed, ought to be exhibited for sale; and in this case the down should be plucked soon, or before the geese are entirely cold. DRAUGHT FOR A COUGH. Beat a fresh-laid egg, and mix it with a quarter of a pint of new milk warmed, but do not heat it after the egg is put in. Add a large spoonful of capillaire, the same of rose water, and a little nutmeg scraped. Take it the first and last thing, and it will be found a fine soft draught for those who are weakly, or have a cold.--Another remedy. Take a handful of horehound, a handful of rue, a handful of hyssop, and the same quantity of ground ivy and of tormentil, with a small quantity of long plantain, pennyroyal, and five finger. Boil them in four quarts of water till reduced to two quarts. Strain it off, then add two pounds of loaf sugar; simmer it a little, add a quart of brandy and bottle it for use. A wine glassful of this to be taken occasionally. DRIED BACON. When two flitches are to be cured, divide the hog, cut off the hams, and take out the chine. It is common to remove the spare-ribs, but the bacon will be preserved better from being rusty, if they are left in. Salt the bacon six days, then drain it from that first pickle: mix a proper quantity of salt with half a pound of bay-salt, three ounces of saltpetre, and a pound of coarse sugar, to each hog. Rub the salts well in, and turn it every day for a month. Drain and smoke it for a few days, or dry it with bran or flour, and hang it in the kitchen, or on a rack suspended from the ceiling.--Good bacon may be known, if you are going to purchase it, by the rind being thin, the fat firm, and of a red tinge, the lean tender, of a good colour, and adhering to the bone. If there are yellow streaks in it, it is going, if not already rusty. DRIED CHERRIES. Stone six pounds of Kentish cherries, and put them into a preserving pan with two pounds of loaf sugar pounded and strewed among them. Simmer them till they begin to shrivel, then strain them from the juice, lay them on a hot hearth or in an oven, when either is cool enough to dry without baking them. The same syrup will do another six pounds of fruit.--To dry cherries without sugar, stone, and set them over the fire in a preserving pan. Simmer them in their own liquor, and shake them in the pan. Put them by in common china dishes: next day give them another scald, and when cold put them on sieves to dry, in an oven moderately warm. Twice heating, an hour each time, will be sufficient. Place them in a box, with a paper between each layer.--A superior way of preserving cherries is to allow one pound of double-refined sugar to every five pounds of fruit, after they are stoned; then to put both into a preserving pan with very little water, till they are scalding hot. Take the fruit out immediately and dry them; return them into the pan again, strewing the sugar between each layer of cherries. Let it stand to melt, then set the pan on the fire, and make it scalding hot as before; take it off, and repeat this thrice with the sugar. Drain them from the syrup, and lay them singly to dry on dishes, in the sun or on a stove. When dry, put them into a sieve, dip it into a pan of cold water, and draw it instantly out again, and pour them on a fine soft cloth; dry them, and set them once more in the sun, or on a stove. Keep them in a box, with layers of white paper, in a dry place. This is the best way to give plumpness to the fruit, as well as colour and flavour. DRIED HADDOCK. Choose them of two or three pounds weight; take out the gills, eyes, and entrails, and remove the blood from the backbone. Wipe them dry, and put some salt into the bodies and sockets. Lay them on a board for a night, then hang them up in a dry place, and after three or four days they will be fit to eat. Skin and rub them with egg, and strew crumbs over them. Lay them before the fire, baste with butter till they are quite brown, and serve with egg sauce.--Whitings, if large, are excellent in this way; and where there is no regular supply of fish, it will be found a great convenience. DRIED SALMON. Cut the fish down, take out the inside and roe. After scaling it, rub it with common salt, and let it hang twenty-four hours to drain. Pound three or four ounces of saltpetre, according to the size of the fish, two ounces of bay salt, and two ounces of coarse sugar. Mix them well, rub it into the salmon, and lay it on a large dish for two days; then rub it with common salt, wipe it well after draining, and in twenty-four hours more it will be fit to dry. Hang it either in a wood chimney, or in a dry place, keeping it open with two small sticks.--Dried salmon is broiled in paper, and only just warmed through. Egg sauce and mashed potatoes may be eaten with it; or it may be boiled, especially the part next the head. An excellent dish of dried salmon may also be made in the following manner. Prepare some eggs boiled hard and chopped large, pull off some flakes of the fish, and put them both into half a pint of thin cream, with two or three ounces of butter rubbed in a tea-spoonful of flour. Skim and stir it till boiling hot, make a wall of mashed potatoes round the inner edge of a dish, and pour the above into it. DRINK FOR THE SICK. Pour a table-spoonful of capillaire, and the same of good vinegar, into a tumbler of fresh cold water. Tamarinds, currants, fresh or in jelly, scalded currants or cranberries, make excellent drinks; with a little sugar or not, as most agreeable. Or put a tea-cupful of cranberries into a cup of water, and mash them. In the meantime boil two quarts of water with one large spoonful of oatmeal, and a bit of lemon peel; then add the cranberries, and as much fine Lisbon sugar as shall leave a smart flavour of the fruit. Add a quarter of a pint of sherry, or less, as may be proper: boil all together for half an hour, and strain off the drink. DRIPPING, if carefully preserved, will baste every thing as well as butter, except fowls and game; and for kitchen pies nothing else should be used. The fat of a neck or loin of mutton makes a far lighter pudding than suet. DRIPPING CRUST. Rub a pound of clarified dripping into three pounds of fine flour, and make it into a paste with cold water. Or make a hot crust with the same quantity, by melting the dripping in water, and mixing it hot with the flour. DROP CAKES. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of fine flour; mix it with half a pound of sugar, and the same of currants. Mix it into a paste, with two eggs, a large spoonful of rose water, brandy, and sweet wine; and put it on plates ready floured. DROPSY. Gentle exercise and rubbing the parts affected, are highly proper in this complaint, and the tepid bath has often procured considerable relief. The patient ought to live in a warm dry place, not expose himself to cold or damp air, and wear flannel next the skin. Vegetable acids, such as vinegar, the juice of lemons and oranges, diluted with water, should be drank in preference to wine or spirits, either of which are generally hurtful. The diet should be light and nourishing, easy of digestion, and taken in moderation. Horseradish, onions and garlic, may be used instead of foreign spices; but tea, coffee, and punch, are alike improper. DROWNING. If a person unfortunately fall into the water, and is supposed to be drowned, he should be carefully undressed as soon as he is taken out; then laid on a bed or mattrass in a warm apartment, with the head and upper part a little raised, and the nostrils cleaned with a feather dipped in oil. Let the body be gently rubbed with common salt, or with flannels dipped in spirits; the pit of the stomach fomented with hot brandy, the temples stimulated with spirits of hartshorn, and bladders of lukewarm water applied to different parts of the body, or a warming-pan wrapped in flannel gently moved along the back. A warm bath, gradually increased to seventy-five degrees, would be highly proper; or the body may be carried to a brewhouse, and covered up with warm grains for an hour or two. An attempt should be made to inflate the lungs, either by the help of a pair of bellows, or a person's blowing with his mouth through the nostril, which in the first instance is much better. If the patient be very young, or the animation do not appear altogether suspended, he may be placed in bed between two persons to promote natural warmth, or covered with blankets or warm flannels. Stimulating clysters of warm water and salt, or six ounces of brandy, should be speedily administered. The means should be persevered in for several hours, as there are instances of persons recovering after all hope was given up, and they had been abandoned by their attendants. As soon as the first symptoms of life are discernible, care must be taken to cherish the vital action by the most gentle and soothing means. Fomentations of aromatic plants may then be applied to the pit of the stomach, bladders of warm water placed to the left side, the soles of the feet rubbed with salt, and a little white wine dropped on the tongue. The patient should then be left in a quiet state till able to drink a little warm wine, or tea mixed with a few drops of vinegar. The absurd practice of rolling persons on casks, lifting the feet over the shoulders, and suffering the head to remain downwards, in order to discharge the water, has occasioned the loss of many lives, as it is now fully and clearly established, that the respiration being impeded is in this case the sole cause of the suspension of life; and which being restored, the vital functions soon recover their tone. No attempt must be made to introduce liquor of any kind into the mouth, till there are strong signs of recovery. DUCKS. In rearing this species of poultry, they should be accustomed to feed and rest in one place, to prevent their straggling too far to lay. Places near the water to lay in are advantageous, and these might consist of small wooden houses, with a partition in the middle, and a door at each end. They generally begin to lay in the month of February. Their eggs should be daily taken away except one, till they seem inclined to set, and then they should be left with a sufficient quantity of eggs under them. They require no attention while setting, except to give them food at the time they come out to seek it; and water should be placed at a convenient distance, that their eggs may not be spoiled by their long absence in seeking it. Twelve or thirteen eggs will be sufficient. In an early season it is best to place them under a hen, that the ducks may have less time for setting, for in cold weather they cannot so well be kept from the water, and would scarcely have strength to bear it. They should be placed under cover, especially in a wet season; for though water is the natural element of ducks, yet they are apt to be killed by the cramp before they are covered with feathers to defend them. Ducks will eat any thing; and when to be fatted, they should have plenty of food, however coarse it may be, and in three weeks they will be ready. DUCK PIE. Bone a full-grown young duck and a fowl. Wash and season them with pepper and salt, and a small proportion of mace and allspice in the finest powder. Put the fowl within the duck, and in the former a calf's tongue, boiled very tender and peeled. Press the whole close, and draw the legs inwards, that the body of the fowl may be quite smooth. The space between the sides of the crust may be filled with fine forcemeat, the same as for savoury pies. Bake it in a slow oven, either in a raised crust or pie dish, with a thick ornamented crust. Large Staffordshire pies are made as above, but with a goose outwards, then a turkey, a duck next, then a fowl; and either tongue, small birds, or forcemeat in the middle. DUCK SAUCE. Put a rich gravy into the dish, and slice the breast. Cut a lemon, put on it some pepper and salt, squeeze it on the breast, and pour a spoonful of gravy over the meat, before it is sent round.--See ROAST DUCK. DUN BIRDS. Roast and baste them with butter, and sprinkle a little salt before they are taken up. Pour a good gravy over them, and serve with shalot sauce in a boat. DUNELM OF VEAL. Stew a few small mushrooms in their own liquor and a bit of butter, a quarter of an hour. Mince them fine, and put them with their liquor to some cold minced veal. Add a little pepper and salt, some cream, and a bit of butter rubbed in less than half a tea-spoonful of flour. Simmer the mince three or four minutes, and serve it on thin sippets of bread. Cold fowl may be treated in the same manner. DUTCH BEEF. Take a lean piece of beef, rub it well with treacle or brown sugar, and let it be turned often. In three days wipe it, and salt it with common salt and saltpetre beaten fine: rub these well in, and turn it every day for a fortnight. Roll it tight in a coarse cloth, and press it under a large weight: hang it to dry in a wood smoke, but turn it upside down every day. Boil it in pump water, and press it: it will then grate or cut into shivers, like Dutch beef. DUTCH FLUMMERY. Boil two ounces of isinglass in a pint and half of water very gently half an hour; add a pint of white wine, the juice of three lemons, and the thin rind of one. Rub a few lumps of sugar on another lemon to obtain the essence, and add with them a sufficient quantity of sugar to sweeten. Beat up the yolks of seven eggs, mix it with the above, and give them together one scald. Keep the flummery stirring all the time, pour it into a bason, stir it till half cold, let it settle, and then put it into a melon shape. DUTCH PUDDING. Melt a pound of butter in half a pint of milk; mix it into two pounds of flour, eight eggs, and four spoonfuls of yeast. Add a pound of currants, and a quarter of a pound of sugar beaten and sifted, and bake it an hour in a quick oven. This is a very good pudding hot, and equally so as a cake when cold. If for the latter, carraways must be used instead of currants. DUTCH RICE PUDDING. Soak four ounces of rice in warm water half an hour; drain away the water, put the rice into a stewpan, with half a pint of milk, and half a stick of cinnamon, and simmer it till tender. When cold, add four eggs well beaten, two ounces of butter melted in a tea-cupful of cream; and add three ounces of sugar, a quarter of a nutmeg, and a good piece of lemon peel. Put a light puffpaste into a mould or dish, or grated tops and bottoms, and bake in a quick oven. DUTCH WAFFLES. These form a delicious article in the shape of puff cakes, which are instantly prepared and exhibited for sale in stalls or tents, in the fairs of Holland, where they are eaten hot as they come from the plate or baking pan, with fine sugar strewed over them. Mix together three pounds of fine flour, a dozen eggs, a pound of melted butter, half a pint of ale, some milk, and a little yeast. Beat it well, till it forms a thick paste, and let it stand three or four hours before the fire to rise. Lay it in small pieces on a hot iron or fryingpan, with a pair of buttered tongs, till it is lightly browned. Eat the waffles with fine sugar sifted over, or a little sack and melted butter. DYEING. Nankeen dye is made of equal parts of arnetto and common potash, dissolved in boiling water. To dye cotton, silk, woollen, or linen of a beautiful yellow, the plant called weld, or dyer's weed, is used for that purpose. Blue cloths dipped in a decoction of it will become green. The yellow colour of the Dutch pink is obtained from the juice of the stones and branches of the weld. Black dye is obtained from a strong decoction of logwood, copperas, and gum arabic. Oak saw-dust, or the excrescences on the roots of young oaks, may be used as a substitute for galls, both in making ink and black dye. E. EARTHENWARE. An ounce of dry lean cheese grated fine, and an equal quantity of quicklime mixed well together in three ounces of skim milk, will form a good cement for any articles of broken earthenware, when the rendering of the joint visible is reckoned of no consequence. A cement of the same nature may be made of quicklime tempered with the curd of milk, but the curd should either be made of whey or buttermilk. This cement, like the former, requires to be applied immediately after it is made, and it will effectually join any kind of earthenware or china. EARWIGS. These insects are often destructive in gardens, especially where carnations, nuts, or filberts, pears and apples are reared. Their depredations on the flowers may be prevented by putting the bowl of a tobacco-pipe on the sticks which support them, into which they will creep in the day time, and may be destroyed. Green leaves of elder laid near fruit trees, or flower roots, will prevent their approach. Large quantities may be taken by placing short cuts of reed, bean or wheat straw, among the branches of fruit trees, and laying some on the ground near the root. Having committed their depredations in the night, they take refuge in these in the day time; the reed or straw may be taken away and burnt, and more put in its stead.--If unfortunately one of these disagreeable insects have crept into the ear, from their running so frequently about our garments, let the afflicted person lay his head upon a table, while some friend carefully drop into the ear a little sweet oil, or oil of almonds. A drop or two will be sufficient to destroy the insect, and remove the pain. An earwig may be extracted by applying a piece of apple to the ear, which will entice the insect to come out. EDGEBONE OF BEEF. Skewer it up tight, and tie a broad fillet round it, to keep the skewers in their places. Put it in with plenty of cold water, and carefully catch the scum as it rises. When all the scum is removed, place the boiler on one side of the fire, to keep simmering slowly till it is done. A piece weighing ten pounds will take two hours, and larger in proportion. The slower it boils the better it will look, and the tenderer it will be: if allowed to boil quick at first, no art can make it tender afterwards. Dress plenty of carrots, as cold carrots are a general favourite with cold beef. EEL BROTH. Clean half a pound of small eels, and set them on the fire with three pints of water, some parsley, a slice of onion, and a few peppercorns. Let them simmer till the eels are broken, and the broth good. Add salt, and strain it off. The above should make three half pints of broth, nourishing and good for weakly persons. EEL PIE. Cut the eels in lengths of two or three inches, season with pepper and salt, and place them in a dish with some bits of butter, and a little water. Cover the dish with a paste, and bake it. EEL SOUP. Put three pounds of small eels to two quarts of water, a crust of bread, three blades of mace, some whole pepper, an onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Cover them close, stew till the fish is quite broken, and then strain it off. Toast some bread, cut it into dice, and pour the soup on it boiling hot. Part of a carrot may be put in at first. This soup will be as rich as if made of meat. A quarter of a pint of rich cream, with a tea-spoonful of flour rubbed smooth in it, is a great improvement. EGGS. In new-laid eggs there is a small division of the skin at the end of the shell, which is filled with air, and is perceptible to the eye. On looking through them against the sun or a candle, they will be tolerably clear; but if they shake in the shell, they are not fresh. Another way to distinguish fresh eggs, is to put the large end to the tongue; if it feels warm, it is new and good. Eggs may be bought cheapest in the spring, when the hens first begin to lay, before they set: in Lent and at Easter they become dear. They may be preserved fresh for some time by dipping them in boiling water, and instantly taking them out, or by oiling the shell, either of which will prevent the air from passing through. They may also be kept on shelves with small holes to receive one in each, and be turned every other day; or close packed in a keg, and covered with strong lime water. A still better way of preserving eggs in a fresh state is to dip them in a solution of gum-arabic in water, and then imbed them in powdered charcoal. The gum-arabic answers the purpose of a varnish for the eggs, much better than any resinous gum, as it can easily be removed by washing them in water, and is a much cheaper preparation than any other. If eggs are greased the oily matter becomes rancid, and infallibly hastens the putrefaction of the eggs. But being varnished with gum water, and imbedded in charcoal, they will keep for many years, and may be removed from one climate to another. EGGS AND BACON. Lay some slices of fine streaked bacon in a clean dish, and toast them before the fire in a cheese-toaster, turning them when the upper side is browned; or if it be wished to have them mellow and soft, rather than curled and crisp, parboil the slices before they are toasted and do them lightly. Clear dripping or lard is to be preferred to butter for frying the eggs, and be sure that the fryingpan is quite clean before it is put in. When the fat is hot, break two or three eggs into it. Do not turn them; but while they are frying, keep pouring some of the fat over them with a spoon. When the yolk just begins to look white, which it will in about two minutes, they are enough, and the white must not be suffered to lose its transparency. Take up the eggs with a tin slice, drain the fat from them, trim them neatly, and send them up with the bacon round them. EGGS AND ONIONS. Boil some eggs hard, take out the yolks whole, and cut the whites in slices. Fry some onions and mushrooms, put in the whites, and keep them turning. Pour off the fat, flour the onions, and add a little gravy. Boil them up, then put in the yolks, with a little pepper and salt. Simmer the whole about a minute, and serve it up. EGGS FOR SALLAD. Boil a couple of eggs for twelve minutes, and put them into a bason of cold water, to render the yolks firm and hard. Rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a spoonful of water, or fine double cream, and add two table-spoonfuls of oil or melted butter. When these are well mixed, add by degrees a tea-spoonful of salt, or powdered lump sugar, and the same of made mustard. Add very gradually three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, rub it with the other ingredients till thoroughly incorporated, and cut up the white of the egg to garnish the top of the sallad. Let the sauce remain at the bottom of the bowl, and do not stir up the sallad till it is to be eaten. This sauce is equally good with cold meat, cold fish, or for cucumbers, celery, and radishes. EGGS FOR THE SICK. Eggs very little boiled or poached, when taken in small quantities, convey much nourishment. The yolk only, when dressed, should be eaten by invalids. An egg divided, and the yolk and white beaten separately, then mixed with a glass of wine, will afford two very wholesome draughts, and prove lighter than when taken together. An egg broken into a cup of tea, or beaten and mixed with a bason of milk, makes a breakfast more supporting than tea only. EGGS FOR TURTLE. Beat in a mortar three yolks of eggs that have been boiled hard. Make it into a paste with the yolk of a raw one, roll it into small balls, and throw them into boiling water for two minutes to harden. EGG BALLS. Boil the eggs hard, and put them in cold water. Take out the yolks, and pound them fine in a mortar, wetting them with raw yolks, about one to three. Season them with salt and white pepper, dry them with flour, and roll them into small balls, as they swell very much in boiling. When dressed, boil them in gravy for a minute. EGG PIE. Boil twelve eggs hard, and chop them with one pound of marrow, or beef suet. Season with a little cinnamon and nutmeg finely beaten, adding one pound of currants clean washed and picked, two or three spoonfuls of cream, a little sweet wine, and rose water. Mix all together, and fill the pie: when it is baked, stir in half a pound of fresh butter, and the juice of a lemon. EGG MINCE PIES. Boil six eggs hard, shred them small, and double the quantity of shred suet. Then add a pound of currants washed and picked, or more if the eggs were large; the peel of one lemon shred very fine, and the juice; six spoonfuls of sweet wine, mace, nutmeg, sugar, a very little salt; orange, lemon, and citron, candied. Cover the pies with a light paste. EGG SAUCE. Boil the eggs hard, chop them fine, and put them into melted butter. If thrown into cold water after being boiled, the yolks will become firmer, will be easier to cut, and the surface be prevented from turning black. Egg sauce will be found an agreeable accompaniment to roast fowl, or salt fish. EGG WINE. Beat up an egg, and mix it with a spoonful of cold water. Set on the fire a glass of white wine, half a glass of water, with sugar and nutmeg. When it boils, pour a little of it to the egg by degrees, till the whole is mixed, and stir it well. Then return the whole into the saucepan, put it on a gentle fire, stir it one way for about a minute. If it boil, or the egg be stale, it will curdle. The wine may be made without warming the egg; it is then lighter on the stomach, though not so pleasant to the taste. Serve it with toast. ELDER. The foetid smell of the common elder is such, especially of the dwarf elder, that if the leaves and branches be strewed among cabbage and cauliflower plants, or turnips, it will secure them from the ravages of flies and caterpillars; and if hung on the branches of trees, it will protect them from the effects of blight. Or if put into the subterraneous paths of the moles, it will drive them from the garden. An infusion of the leaves in water, and sprinkled over rose-buds and other flowers, will preserve them from the depredations of the caterpillar. ELDER ROB. Clear some ripe elder-berries from the stalks, bake them in covered jars for two hours, and squeeze the juice through a strainer. To four quarts of juice put one pound of sugar, and stir it over the fire till reduced to one quart. When cold, tie it down with a bladder, and keep it in a dry place. It is very good for sore throats and fevers. ELDER SYRUP. Pick off the elder berries when fully ripe, bake them in a stone jar, strain them through a coarse sieve, and put the juice into a clean kettle. To every quart of juice add a pound of fine soft sugar, boil and skim it well: when it is clear, pour it into a jar, cool it, and cover it down. Half a pint of this syrup added to a gallon of new made wine, will give it a very rich flavour, or it may be used for other purposes. ELDER WINE. Pick the berries from the stalk, and to every quart allow two quarts of water. Boil them half an hour, run the liquor and break the fruit through a hair sieve, and to every quart of juice put three quarters of a pound of moist sugar. Boil the whole a quarter of an hour, with some peppercorns, ginger, and a few cloves. Pour it into a tub, and when of a proper warmth, into the barrel, with toast and yeast to work, which there is more difficulty to make it do than most other liquors. When it ceases to hiss, put a quart of brandy to eight gallons, and stop it up. Bottle it in the spring, or at Christmas.--To make white elder wine, very much like Frontiniac, boil eighteen pounds of white powder sugar with six gallons of water, and two whites of eggs well beaten. Skim it clean, and but in a quarter of a peck of elder flowers from the tree that bears white berries, but do not keep them on the fire. Stir it when nearly cold, and put in six spoonfuls of lemon juice, four or five spoonfuls of yeast, and beat it well into the liquor. Stir it every day, put into the cask six pounds of the best raisins stoned, and tun the wine. Stop it close, and bottle it in six months. When well kept, this wine will pass for Frontiniac. ELDER FLOWER WINE. To six gallons of spring water put six pounds of sun raisins cut small, and a dozen pounds of fine sugar: boil the whole together for about an hour and a half. When the liquor is cold, put in half a peck of ripe elder flowers, with about a gill of lemon juice, and half the quantity of ale yeast. Cover it up, and after standing three days, strain it off. Pour it into a cask that is quite clean, and that will hold it with ease. When this is done, add a quart of Rhenish wine to every gallon of liquor, and let the bung be lightly put in for twelve or fourteen days. Then stop it down fast, and put it in a cool dry place for four or five months, till it is quite settled and fine: then bottle it off. ENGLISH BAMBOO. About the middle of May, cut some large young shoots of elder; strip off the outward peel, and soak them all night in some strong salt and water. Dry them separately in a cloth, and have in readiness the following pickle. To a quart of vinegar put an ounce of white pepper, an ounce of sliced ginger, a little mace and pimento, all boiled together. Put the elder shoots into a stone jar, pour on the liquor boiling hot, stop it up close, and set it by the fire two hours, turning the jar often to keep it hot. If not green when cold, strain off the liquor, pour it on boiling again, and keep it hot as before.--Or if it be intended to make Indian pickle, the addition of these shoots will be found to be a great improvement. In this case it will only be necessary to pour boiling vinegar and mustard seed on them, and to keep them till the jar of pickles shall be ready to receive them. The cluster of elder flowers before it opens, makes a delicious pickle to eat with boiled mutton. It is prepared by only pouring vinegar over the flowers. ENGLISH BRANDY. English or British brandy may be made in smaller quantities, according to the following proportions. To sixty gallons of clear rectified spirits, put one pound of sweet spirit of nitre, one pound of cassia buds ground, one pound of bitter almond meal, (the cassia and almond meal to be mixed together before they are put to the spirits) two ounces of sliced orris root, and about thirty or forty prune stones pounded. Shake the whole well together, two or three times a day, for three days or more. Let them settle, then pour in one gallon of the best wine vinegar; and add to every four gallons, one gallon of foreign brandy. ENGLISH CHAMPAIGNE. Take gooseberries before they are ripe, crush them with a mallet in a wooden bowl; and to every gallon of fruit, put a gallon of water. Let it stand two days, stirring it well. Squeeze the mixture with the hands through a hop sieve, then measure the liquor, and to every gallon put three pounds and a half of loaf sugar. Mix it well in the tub, and let it stand one day. Put a bottle of the best brandy into the cask, which leave open five or six weeks, taking off the scum as it rises. Then stop it up, and let it stand one year in the barrel before it is bottled. ENGLISH SHERRY. Boil thirty pounds of lump sugar in ten gallons of water, and clear it of the scum. When cold, put a quart of new alewort to every gallon of liquor, and let it work in the tub a day or two. Then put it into a cask with a pound of sugar candy, six pounds of fine raisins, a pint of brandy, and two ounces of isinglass. When the fermentation is over, stop it close: let it stand eight months, rack it off, and add a little more brandy. Return it to the cask again, and let it stand four months before it is bottled. ENGLISH WINES. During the high price of foreign wine, home-made wines will be found particularly useful; and though sugar is dear, they may be prepared at a quarter of the expence. If carefully made, and kept three or four years, a proportionable strength being given, they would answer the purpose of foreign wines for health, and cause a very considerable reduction in the expenditure. Sugar and water are the principal basis of home-made wine; and when these require to be boiled, it is proper to beat up the whites of eggs to a froth, and mix them with the water when cold, in the proportion of one egg to a gallon. When the sugar and water are boiled, the liquor should be cooled quickly; and if not for wines that require fermenting, it may be put into the cask when cold. If the wine is to be fermented, the yeast should be put into it when it is milk-warm; but must not be left more than two nights to ferment, before it is put into the cask. Particular care should be taken to have the cask sweet and dry, and washed inside with a little brandy, before the wine is tunned, but it should not be bunged up close till it has done fermenting. After standing three or four months, it will be necessary to taste the wine, to know whether it be fit to draw off. If not sweet enough, some sugar should be added, or draw it off into another cask, and put in some sugar-candy: but if too sweet, let it stand a little longer. When the wine is racked, the dregs may be drained through a flannel bag; and the wine, if not clear enough for the table, may be used for sauce. ESSENCE OF ALLSPICE. Take a dram of the oil of pimento, and mix it by degrees with two ounces of strong spirit of wine. A few drops will give the flavour of allspice to a pint of gravy, or mulled wine. ESSENCE OF ANCHOVY. Put into a marble mortar ten or twelve fine mellow anchovies, that have been well pickled, and pound them to a pulp. Put this into a clean well-tinned saucepan, then put a table-spoonful of cold water into the mortar, shake it round, and pour it to the pounded anchovies. Set them by the side of a slow fire, frequently stirring them together till they are melted, which they will be in the course of five minutes. Now stir in a quarter of a dram of good cayenne, and let it remain by the fire a few minutes longer. Rub it through a hair sieve with the back of a wooden spoon, and keep it stopped very closely: if the air gets to it, it is spoiled directly. Essence of anchovy is made sometimes with sherry, or madeira, instead of water, or with the addition of mushroom ketchup. ESSENCE OF CAYENNE. Put half an ounce of cayenne pepper into half a pint of wine or brandy, let it steep a fortnight, and then pour off the clear liquor. This article is very convenient for the extempore seasoning and finishing of soups and sauces, its flavour being instantly and equally diffused. ESSENCE OF CELERY. Steep in a quarter of a pint of brandy, or proof spirit, half an ounce of celery seed bruised, and let it stand a fortnight. A few drops will immediately flavour a pint of broth, and are an excellent addition to pease, and other soups. ESSENCE OF CLOVES. Mix together two ounces of the strongest spirit of wine, and a dram of the oil of cloves. Nutmeg, cinnamon, and mace are prepared in the same manner. ESSENCE OF FLOWERS. Select a quantity of the petals of any flowers which have an agreeable fragrance, lay them in an earthen vessel, and sprinkle a little fine salt upon them. Then dip some cotton into the best Florence oil, and lay it thin upon the flowers; continue a layer of petals, and a layer of cotton, till the vessel is full. It is then to be closed down with a bladder, and exposed to the heat of the sun. In about a fortnight a fragrant oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass, which will yield a rich perfume. ESSENCE OF GINGER. Grate three ounces of ginger, and an ounce of thin lemon peel, into a quart of brandy, or proof spirit, and let it stand for ten days, shaking it up each day. If ginger is taken to produce an immediate effect, to warm the stomach, or dispel flatulence, this will be found the best preparation. ESSENCE OF LAVENDER. Take the blossoms from the stalks in warm weather, and spread them in the shade for twenty-four hours on a linen cloth; then bruise and put them into warm water, and leave them closely covered in a still for four or five hours near the fire. After this the blossoms may be distilled in the usual way. ESSENCE OF LEMON PEEL. Wash and brush clean the lemons, and let them get perfectly dry. Take a lump of fine sugar, and rub them till all the yellow rind is taken up by the sugar; scrape off the surface of the sugar into a preserving pot, and press it hard down. Cover it very close, and it will keep for some time. By this process is obtained the whole of the fine essential oil, which contains the flavour. ESSENCE OF MUSHROOMS. This delicate relish is made by sprinkling a little salt over some mushrooms, and mashing them three hours after. Next day strain off the liquor, put it into a stewpan, and boil it till reduced one half. It will not keep long, but is preferable to any of the ketchups. An artificial bed of mushrooms would supply this article all the year round. ESSENCE OF OYSTERS. Take fine fresh Milton oysters, wash them in their own liquor, skim it, and pound them in a marble mortar. To a pint of oysters add a pint of sherry, boil them up, and add an ounce of salt, two drams of pounded mace, and one of cayenne. Let it just boil up again, skim it, and rub it through a sieve. When cold, bottle and cork it well, and seal it down. This composition very agreeably heightens the flavour of white sauces, and white made-dishes. If a glass of brandy be added to the essence, it will keep a considerable time longer than oysters are out of season. ESSENCE OF SHALOT. Peel, mince, and pound in a mortar, three ounces of shalots, and infuse them in a pint of sherry for three days. Then pour off the clear liquor on three ounces more of shalots, and let the wine remain on them ten days longer. An ounce of scraped horseradish may be added to the above, and a little thin lemon peel. This will impart a fine flavour to soups, sauces, hashes, and various other dishes. ESSENCE OF SOAP. For washing or shaving, the essence of soap is very superior to what is commonly used for these purposes, and a very small quantity will make an excellent lather. Mix two ounces of salt of tartar with half a pound of soap finely sliced, put them into a quart of spirits of wine, in a bottle that will contain twice the quantity. Tie it down with a bladder, prick a pin through it for the air to escape, set it to digest in a gentle heat, and shake up the contents. When the soap is dissolved, filter the liquor through some paper to free it from impurities, and scent it with burgamot or essence of lemon. ESSENCE OF TURTLE. Mix together one wine-glassful of the essence of anchovy, one and a half of shalot wine, four wine-glassfuls of Basil wine, two ditto of mushroom ketchup, one dram of lemon acid, three quarters of an ounce of lemon peel very thinly pared, and a quarter of an ounce of curry powder, and let them steep together for a week. The essence thus obtained will be found convenient to flavour soup, sauce, potted meats, savoury patties, and various other articles. EVACUATIONS. Few things are more conducive to health than keeping the body regular, and paying attention to the common evacuations. A proper medium between costiveness and laxness is highly desirable, and can only be obtained by regularity in diet, sleep, and exercise. Irregularity in eating and drinking disturbs every part of the animal economy, and never fails to produce diseases. Too much or too little food will have this effect: the former generally occasions looseness, and the latter costiveness; and both have a tendency to injure health. Persons who have frequent recourse to medicine for preventing costiveness, seldom fail to ruin their constitution. They ought rather to remove the evil by diet than by drugs, by avoiding every thing of a hot or binding nature, by going thinly clothed, walking in the open air, and acquiring the habit of a regular discharge by a stated visit to the place of retreat. Habitual looseness is often owing to an obstructed perspiration: persons thus afflicted should keep their feet warm, and wear flannel next the skin. Their diet also should be of an astringent quality, and such as tends to strengthen the bowels. For this purpose, fine bread, cheese, eggs, rice milk, red wine, or brandy and water would be proper.--Insensible perspiration is one of the principal discharges from the human body, and is of such importance to health, that few diseases attack us while it goes on properly; but when obstructed, the whole frame is soon disordered, and danger meets us in every form. The common cause of obstructed perspiration, or taking cold, is the sudden changes of the weather; and the best means of fortifying the body is to be abroad every day, and breathe freely in the open air. Much danger arises from wet feet and wet clothes, and persons who are much abroad are exposed to these things. The best way is to change wet clothes as soon as possible, or to keep in motion till they be dry, but by no means to sit or lie down. Early habits may indeed inure people to wet clothes and wet feet without any danger, but persons of a delicate constitution cannot be too careful. Perspiration is often obstructed by other means, but it is in all cases attended with considerable danger. Sudden transitions from heat to cold, drinking freely of cold water after being heated with violent exercise, sitting near an open window when the room is hot, plunging into cold water in a state of perspiration, or going into the cold air immediately after sitting in a warm room, are among the various means by which the health of thousands is constantly ruined; and more die of colds than are killed by plagues, or slain in battle. EVE'S PUDDING. Grate three quarters of a pound of bread; mix it with the same quantity of shred suet, the same of apples, and also of currants. Mix with these the whole of four eggs, and the rind of half a lemon shred fine. Put it into a shape, and boil it three hours. Serve with pudding sauce, the juice of half a lemon, and a little nutmeg. EXERCISE. Whether man were originally intended for labour or not, it is evident from the human structure, that exercise is not less necessary than food, for the preservation of health. It is generally seen among the labouring part of the community, that industry places them above want, and activity serves them instead of physic. It seems to be the established law of the animal creation, that without exercise no creature should enjoy health, or be able to find subsistence. Every creature, except man, takes as much of it as is necessary: he alone deviates from this original law, and suffers accordingly. Weak nerves, and glandular obstructions, which are now so common, are the constant companions of inactivity. We seldom hear the active or laborious complain of nervous diseases: indeed many have been cured of them by being reduced to the necessity of labouring for their own support. This shews the source from which such disorders flow, and the means by which they may be prevented. It is evident that health cannot be enjoyed where the perspiration is not duly carried on; but that can never be the case where exercise is neglected. Hence it is that the inactive are continually complaining of pains of the stomach, flatulencies, and various other disorders which cannot be removed by medicine, but might be effectually cured by a course of vigorous exercise. But to render this in the highest degree beneficial, it should always be taken in the open air, especially in the morning, while the stomach is empty, and the body refreshed with sleep. The morning air braces and strengthens the nerves, and in some measure answers the purpose of a cold bath. Every thing that induces people to sit still, except it be some necessary employment, ought to be avoided; and if exercise cannot be had in the open air, it should be attended to as far as possible within doors. Violent exertions however are no more to be recommended than inactivity; for whatever fatigues the body, prevents the benefit of exercise, and tends to weaken rather than strengthen it. Fast walking, immediately before or after meals, is highly pernicious, and necessarily accelerates the circulation of the blood, which is attended with imminent danger to the head or brain. On the other hand, indolence not only occasions diseases, and renders men useless to society, but it is the parent of vice. The mind, if not engaged in some useful pursuit, is constantly in search of ideal pleasures, or impressed with the apprehension of some imaginary evil; and from these sources proceed most of the miseries of mankind. An active life is the best guardian of virtue, and the greatest preservative of health. F. FACSIMILES. To produce a facsimile of any writing, the pen should be made of glass enamel, the point being small and finely polished, so that the part above the point may be large enough to hold as much or more ink than a common writing pen. A mixture of equal parts of Frankfort black, and fresh butter, is now to be smeared over sheets of paper, and is to be rubbed off after a certain time. The paper thus smeared is to be pressed for some hours, taking care to have sheets of blotting paper between each of the sheets of black paper. When fit for use, writing paper is put between sheets of blackened paper, and the upper sheet is to be written on, with common ink, by the glass or enamel pen. By this method, not only the copy is obtained on which the pen writes, but also two or more, made by means of the blackened paper. FAMILY PIES. To make a plain trust for pies to be eaten hot, or for fruit puddings, cut some thin slices of beef suet, lay them in some flour, mix it with cold water, and roll it till it is quite soft. Or make a paste of half a pound of butter or lard, and a pound and a half of flour. Mix it with water, work it up, roll it out twice, and cover the dish with it. FAMILY WINE. An excellent compound wine, suited to family use, may be made of equal parts of red, white, and black currants, ripe cherries and raspberries, well bruised, and mixed with soft water, in the proportion of four pounds of fruit to one gallon of water. When strained and pressed, three pounds of moist sugar are to be added to each gallon of liquid. After standing open for three days, during which it is to be stirred frequently, it is to be put into a barrel, and left for a fortnight to work, when a ninth part of brandy is to be added, and the whole bunged down. In a few months it will be a most excellent wine. FATTING FOWLS. Chickens or fowls may be fatted in four or five days, by setting some rice over the fire with skimmed milk, as much as will serve for one day. Let it boil till the rice is quite swelled, and add a tea-spoonful of sugar. Feed them three times a day, in common pans, giving them only as much as will quite fill them at once. Before they are fed again, set the pans in water, that no sourness may be conveyed to the fowls, as that would prevent their fattening. Let them drink clean water, or the milk of the rice; but when rice is given them, after being perfectly soaked, let as much of the moisture as possible be drawn from it. By this method the flesh will have a clean whiteness, which no other food gives; and when it is considered how far a pound of rice will go, and how much time is saved by this mode, it will be found nearly as cheap as any other food, especially if it is to be purchased. The chicken pen should be cleaned every day, and no food given for sixteen hours before poultry is to be killed. FAWN. A fawn, like a sucking pig, should be dressed almost as soon as it is killed. When very young, it is trussed, stuffed, and spitted the same as a hare. But they are better eating when of the size of a house lamb, and then roasted in quarters: the hind quarter is most esteemed. The meat must be put down to a very quick fire, and either basted all the time it is roasting, or be covered with sheets of fat bacon. When done, baste it with butter, and dredge it with a little salt and flour, till a nice froth is set upon it. Serve it up with venison sauce. If a fawn be half roasted as soon as received, and afterwards made into a hash, it will be very fine. FEAR. Sudden fear, or an unexpected fright, often produces epileptic fits, and other dangerous disorders. Many young people have lost their lives or their senses by the foolish attempts of producing violent alarm, and the mind has been thrown into such disorders as never again to act with regularity. A settled dread and anxiety not only dispose the body to diseases, but often render those diseases fatal, which a cheerful mind would overcome; and the constant dread of some future evil, has been known to bring on the very evil itself. A mild and sympathizing behaviour towards the afflicted will do them more good than medicine, and he is the best physician and the best friend who administers the consolation of hope. FEATHERS. Where poultry is usually sold ready picked, the feathers which occasionally come in small quantities are neglected; but care should be taken to put them into a clean tub, and as they dry to change them into paper bags, in small quantities. They should hang in a dry kitchen to season; fresh ones must not be added to those in part dried, or they will occasion a musty smell, but they should go through the same process. In a few months they will be fit to add to beds, or to make pillows, without the usual mode of drying them in a cool oven, which may be pursued if they are wanted before five or six months. FEATHERS CLEANED. In order to clear feathers from animal oil, dissolve a pound of quick lime in a gallon of clear water; and pour off the clear lime-water for use, at the time it is wanted. Put the feathers to be cleaned in a tub, and add to them a sufficient quantity of the clear lime-water, so as to cover them about three inches. The feathers, when thoroughly moistened, will sink down, and should remain in the lime-water for three or four days; after which, the foul liquor should be separated from them by laying them on a sieve. They are afterwards to be washed in clean water, and dried on nets, the meshes being about the same fineness as those of cabbage nets. They must be shaken from time to time on the nets; as they dry, they will fall through the meshes, and are to be collected for use. The admission of air will be serviceable in the drying, and the whole process may be completed in about three weeks. The feathers, after being thus prepared, want nothing farther than beating, to be used either for beds, bolsters, pillows, or cushions. FEET. To prevent corns from growing on the feet, wear easy shoes, and bathe the feet often in lukewarm water, with a little salt and potash dissolved in it. The corn itself may be completely destroyed by rubbing it daily with a little caustic solution of potash, till a soft and flexible skin is formed. For chilblains, soak the feet in warm bran and water and rub them well with flour of mustard. This should be done before the chilblains begin to break. FENNEL SAUCE. Boil fennel and parsley, tied together in a bunch; chop it small, and stir it up with melted butter. This sauce is generally eaten with mackarel. FEVER DRINK. To make a refreshing drink in a fever, put into a stone jug a little tea sage, two sprigs of balm, and a small quantity of wood sorrel, having first washed and dried them. Peel thin a small lemon, and clear from the white; slice it, and put in a bit of the peel. Then pour in three pints of boiling water, sweeten, and cover it close.--Another drink. Wash extremely well an ounce of pearl barley; shift it twice, then put to it three pints of water, an ounce of sweet almonds beaten fine, and a bit of lemon peel. Boil the liquor smooth, put in a little syrup of lemons, and capillaire.--Another way is to boil three pints of water with an ounce and a half of tamarinds, three ounces of currants, and two ounces of stoned raisins, till nearly a third is consumed. Strain it on a bit of lemon peel, which should be removed in the course of an hour, or it will infuse a bitter taste. FILLET OF VEAL. Stuff it well under the udder, at the bone, and quite through to the shank. Put it into the oven, with a pint of water under it, till it comes to a fine brown. Then put it in a stewpan with three pints of gravy, and stew it quite tender. Add a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle, a large spoonful of browning, one of ketchup, and a little cayenne; thicken it with a bit of butter rolled in flour. Put the veal in a dish, strain the gravy over it, and lay round it forcemeat balls. Garnish with pickle and lemon. FINE CAKE. To make an excellent cake, rub two pounds of fine dry flour with one of butter, washed in plain and then in rose water. Mix with it three spoonfuls of yeast, in a little warm milk and water. Set it to rise an hour and a half before the fire, and then beat into it two pounds of currants, carefully washed and picked, and one pound of sifted sugar. Add four ounces of almonds, six ounces of stoned raisins chopped fine, half a nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and a few cloves, the peel of a lemon shred very fine, a glass of wine, one of brandy, twelve yolks and whites of eggs beat separately, with orange, citron, and lemon. Beat them up well together, butter the pan, and bake in a quick oven.--To make a still finer cake, wash two pounds and a half of fresh butter in water first, and then in rose water, and beat the butter to a cream. Beat up twenty eggs, yolks and whites, separately, half an hour each. Have ready two pounds and a half of the finest flour well dried and kept hot, likewise a pound and a half of loaf sugar pounded and sifted, an ounce of spice in very fine powder, three pounds of currants nicely cleaned and dry, half a pound of almonds blanched, and three quarters of a pound of sweetmeats cut small. Let all be kept by the fire, and mix the dry ingredients. Pour the eggs strained to the butter, mix half a glass of sweet wine with a full glass of brandy, and pour it to the butter and eggs, mixing them well together. Add the dry ingredients by degrees, and beat them together thoroughly for a great length of time. Having prepared and stoned half a pound of jar raisins, chopped as fine as possible, mix them carefully, so that there shall be no lumps, and add a tea-cupful of orange flower water. Beat the ingredients together a full hour at least. Have a hoop well buttered, or a tin or copper cake-pan; take a white paper, doubled and buttered, and put in the pan round the edge, if the cake batter fill it more than three parts, for space should be allowed for rising. Bake it in a quick oven: three hours will be requisite. FINE CRUST. For orange cheesecakes, or sweetmeats, when intended to be particularly nice, the following fine crust may be prepared. Dry a pound of the finest flour and mix with it three ounces of refined sugar. Work up half a pound of butter with the hand till it comes to a froth, put the flour into it by degrees, adding the yolks of three and the whites of two eggs, well beaten and strained. If too thin, add a little flour and sugar to make it fit to roll. Line some pattipans, and fill them: a little more than fifteen minutes will bake them. Beat up some refined sugar with the white of an egg, as thick as possible, and ice the articles all over as soon as they are baked. Then return them to the oven to harden, and serve them up cold, with fresh butter. Salt butter will make a very fine flaky crust, but if for mince pies, or any sweet things, it should first be washed. FIRE ARMS. The danger of improperly loading fire arms chiefly arises from not ramming the wadding close to the powder; and then when a fowling-piece is discharged, it is very likely to burst in pieces. This circumstance, though well known, is often neglected, and various accidents are occasioned by it. Hence when a screw barrel pistol is to be loaded, care should be taken that the cavity for the powder be entirely filled with it, so as to leave no space between the powder and the ball. For the same reason, if the bottom of a large tree is to be shivered with gunpowder, a space must be left between the charge and the wadding, and the powder will tear it asunder. But considering the numerous accidents that are constantly occurring, from the incautious use of fire arms, the utmost care should be taken not to place them within the reach of children or of servants, and in no instance to lay them up without previously drawing the charge. FIRE IRONS. To preserve them from rust, when not in use, they should be wrapped up in baize, and kept in a dry place. Or to preserve them more effectually, let them be smeared over with fresh mutton suet, and dusted with unslaked lime, pounded and tied up in muslin. Irons so prepared will keep many months. Use no oil for them at any time, except a little salad oil, there being water in all other, which would soon produce rust. FIRMITY. To make Somersetshire firmity, boil a quart of fine wheat, and add by degrees two quarts of new milk. Pick and wash four ounces of currants, stir them in the jelly, and boil them together till all is done. Beat the yolks of three eggs, and a little nutmeg, with two or three spoonfuls of milk, and add to the boiling. Sweeten the whole, and serve it in a deep dish, either warm or cold. FISH. In dressing fish of any kind for the table, great care is necessary in cleaning it. It is a common error to wash it too much, and by this means the flavour is diminished. If the fish is to be boiled, after it is cleaned, a little salt and vinegar should be put into the water, to give it firmness. Codfish, whiting, and haddock, are far better if a little salted, and kept a day; and if the weather be not very hot, they will be good two days. When fish is cheap and plentiful, and a larger quantity is purchased than is immediately wanted, it would be proper to pot or pickle such as will bear it, or salt and hang it up, or fry it a little, that it may serve for stewing the next day. Fresh water fish having frequently a muddy smell and taste, should be soaked in strong salt and water, after it has been well cleaned. If of a sufficient size, it may be scalded in salt and water, and afterwards dried and dressed. Fish should be put into cold water, and set on the fire to do very gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done. Crimp fish is to be put into boiling water; and when it boils up, pour in a little cold water to check extreme heat, and simmer it a few minutes. The fish plate on which it is done, may be drawn up, to see if it be ready, which may be known by its easily separating from the bone. It should then be immediately taken out of the water, or it will become woolly. The fish plate should be set crossways over the kettle, to keep hot for serving; and a clean cloth over the fish, to prevent its losing its colour. Small fish nicely fried, covered with egg and crumbs, make a dish far more elegant than if served plain. Great attention is required in garnishing fish, by using plenty of horseradish, parsley, and lemon. When well done, and with very good sauce, fish is more attended to than almost any other dish. The liver and roe should be placed on the dish in order that they may be distributed in the course of serving.--If fish is to be fried or broiled, it must be dried in a nice soft cloth, after it is well cleaned and washed. If for frying, smear it over with egg, and sprinkle on it some fine crumbs of bread. If done a second time with the egg and bread, the fish will look so much the better. Put on the fire a stout fryingpan, with a large quantity of lard or dripping boiling hot, plunge the fish into it, and let it fry tolerably quick, till the colour is of a fine brown yellow. If it be done enough before it has obtained a proper degree of colour, the pan must be drawn to the side of the fire. Take it up carefully, and either place it on a large sieve turned upwards, and to be kept for that purpose only, or on the under side of a dish to drain. If required to be very nice, a sheet of writing paper must be placed to receive the fish, that it may be free from all grease; it must also be of a beautiful colour, and all the crumbs appear distinct. The same dripping, adding a little that is fresh, will serve a second time. Butter gives a bad colour, oil is the best, if the expense be no objection. Garnish with a fringe of fresh curled parsley. If fried parsley be used, it must be washed and picked, and thrown into fresh water; when the lard or dripping boils, throw the parsley into it immediately from the water, and instantly it will be green and crisp, and must be taken up with a slice.--If fish is to be broiled, it must be seasoned, floured, and laid on a very clean gridiron, which when hot, should be rubbed with a bit of suet, to prevent the fish from sticking. It must be broiled over a very clear fire, that it may not taste smoky; and not too near, that it may not be scorched. FISH GRAVY. Skin two or three eels, or some flounders; gut and wash them very clean, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a saucepan. Cover them with water, and add a little crust of toasted bread, two blades of mace, some whole pepper, sweet herbs, a piece of lemon peel, an anchovy or two, and a tea-spoonful of horse-radish. Cover the saucepan close, and let it simmer; then add a little butter and flour, and boil with the above. FISH PIE. To make a fine fish pie, boil two pounds of small eels. Cut the fins quite close, pick off the flesh, and return the bones into the liquor, with a little mace, pepper, salt, and a slice of onion. Then boil it till it is quite rich, and strain it. Make forcemeat of the flesh, with an anchovy, a little parsley, lemon peel, salt, pepper, and crumbs, and four ounces of butter warmed. Lay it at the bottom of the dish: then take the flesh of soles, small cod, or dressed turbot, and rub it with salt and pepper. Lay this on the forcemeat, pour on the gravy, and bake it. If cod or soles are used, the skin and fins must be taken off. FISH SAUCE. Put into a very nice tin saucepan a pint of port wine, a gill of mountain, half a pint of fine walnut ketchup, twelve anchovies with the liquor that belongs to them, a gill of walnut pickle, the rind and juice of a large lemon, four or five shalots, a flavour of cayenne, three ounces of scraped horse-radish, three blades of mace, and two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard. Boil it all gently, till the rawness goes off, and put it into small bottles for use. Cork them very close and seal the top.--Or chop two dozen of anchovies not washed, and ten shalots, and scrape three spoonfuls of horseradish. Then add ten blades of mace, twelve cloves, two sliced lemons, half a pint of anchovy liquor, a quart of hock or Rhenish wine, and a pint of water. Boil it down to a quart, and strain it off. When cold, add three large spoonfuls of walnut ketchup, and put the sauce into small bottles well corked.--To make fish sauce without butter, simmer very gently a quarter of a pint of vinegar, and half a pint of soft water, with an onion. Add four cloves, and two blades of mace, slightly bruised, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. When the onion is quite tender, chop it small with two anchovies, and set the whole on the fire to boil for a few minutes, with a spoonful of ketchup. Prepare in the mean time the yolks of three fresh eggs, well beaten and strained, and mix the liquor with them by degrees. When all are well mixed, set the saucepan over a gentle fire, keeping a bason in one hand, to toss the sauce to and fro in, and shake the saucepan over the fire, that the eggs may not curdle. Do not let it boil, only make the sauce hot enough to give it the thickness of melted butter.--Fish sauce à la Craster, is made in the following manner. Thicken a quarter of a pound of butter with flour, and brown it. Add a pound of the best anchovies cut small, six blades of pounded mace, ten cloves, forty corns of black pepper and allspice, a few small onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, consisting of savoury, thyme, basil, and knotted marjoram, also a little parsley, and sliced horse-radish. On these pour half a pint of the best sherry, and a pint and a half of strong gravy. Simmer all gently for twenty minutes, then strain it through a sieve, and bottle it for use. The way of using it is, to boil some of it in the butter while melting. FLANNELS. In order to make flannels keep their colour and not shrink, put them into a pail, and pour on boiling water. Let them lie till cold, before they are washed. FLAT BEER. Much loss is frequently sustained from beer growing flat, during the time of drawing. To prevent this, suspend a pint or more of ground malt in it, tied up in a large bag, and keep the bung well closed. The beer will not then become vapid, but rather improve the whole time it is in use. FLAT CAKES. Mix two pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, and one ounce of carraways, with four or five eggs, and a few spoonfuls of water. Make all into a stiff paste, roll it out thin, cut it into any shape, and bake on tins lightly floured. While baking, boil to a thin syrup a pound of sugar in a pint of water. When both are hot, dip each cake into the syrup, and place them on tins to dry in the oven for a short time. When the oven is a little cooler, return them into it, and let them remain there four or five hours. Cakes made in this way will keep good for a long time. FLAT FISH. Flounders, plaice, soles, and other kinds of flat fish, are good boiled. Cut off the fins, draw and clean them well, dry them with a cloth, and boil them in salt and water. When the fins draw out easily, they are done enough. Serve them with shrimp, cockle, or mustard sauce, and garnish with red cabbage. FLATULENCY. Wind in the stomach, accompanied with pain, is frequently occasioned by eating flatulent vegetables, or fat meat, with large draughts of beverage immediately afterwards, which turn rancid on the stomach; and of course, these ought to be avoided. Hot tea, turbid beer, and feculent liquors will have the same effect. A phlegmatic constitution, or costiveness, will render the complaint more frequent and painful. Gentle laxatives and a careful diet are the best remedy; but hot aromatics and spirituous liquors should be avoided. FLEAS. Want of cleanliness remarkably contributes to the production of these offensive insects. The females of this tribe deposit their eggs in damp and filthy places, within the crevices of boards, and on rubbish, when they emerge in the form of fleas in about a month. Cleanliness, and frequent sprinkling of the room with a simple decoction of wormwood, will soon exterminate the whole breed of these disagreeable vermin; and the best remedy to expel them from bed clothes is a bag filled with dry moss, the odour of which is to them extremely offensive. Fumigation with brimstone, or the fresh leaves of pennyroyal sewed in a bag, and laid in the bed, will also have the desired effect. Dogs and cats may be effectually secured from the persecutions of these vermin, by occasionally anointing their skin with sweet oil, or oil of turpentine; or by rubbing into their coats some Scotch snuff. But if they be at all mangy, or their skin broken, the latter would be very painful and improper. FLIES. If a room be swarming with these noisome insects, the most ready way of expelling them is to fumigate the apartment with the dried leaves of the gourd. If the window be opened, the smoke will instantly drive them out: or if the room be close, it will suffocate them. But in the latter case, no person should remain within doors, as the fume is apt to occasion the headache. Another way is to dissolve two drams of the extract of quassia in half a pint of boiling water; and, adding a little sugar or syrup, pour the mixture upon plates. The flies are extremely partial to this enticing food, and it never fails to destroy them. Camphor placed near any kind of provision will protect it from the flies. FLIP. To make a quart of flip, put the ale on the fire to warm, and beat up three or four eggs, with four ounces of moist sugar. Add a tea-spoonful of grated nutmeg or ginger, and a quartern of good old rum or brandy. When the ale is nearly boiling, put it into one pitcher, and the rum and eggs into another: turn it from one pitcher to another, till it is as smooth as cream. FLOATING ISLAND. Mix three half pints of thin cream with a quarter of a pint of raisin wine, a little lemon juice, orange flower water, and sugar. Put it into a dish for the middle of the table, and lay on with a spoon the following froth ready prepared. Sweeten half a pound of raspberry or currant jelly, add to it the whites of four eggs beaten, and beat up the jelly to a froth, until it will take any form you please. It should be raised high, to represent a castle or a rock.--Another way. Scald a codlin before it be ripe, or any other sharp apple, and pulp it through a sieve. Beat the whites of two eggs with sugar, and a spoonful of orange flower water; mix in the pulp by degrees, and beat all together till it produces a large quantity of froth. Serve it on a raspberry cream, or colour the froth with beet root, raspberry, or currant jelly, and set it on a white cream, which has already been flavoured with lemon, sugar, and raisin wine. The froth may also be laid on a custard. FLOOR CLOTHS. The best are such as are painted on a fine cloth, well covered with colour, and where the flowers do not rise much above the ground, as they wear out first. The durability of the cloth will depend much on these two particulars, but more especially on the time it has been painted, and the goodness of the colours. If they have not been allowed sufficient space for becoming thoroughly hardened, a very little use will injure them: and as they are very expensive articles, care is necessary in preserving them. It answers to keep them some time before they are used, either hung up in a dry airy place, or laid down in a spare room. When taken up for the winter, they should be rolled round a carpet roller, and care taken not to crack the paint by turning in the edges too suddenly. Old carpets answer quite well, painted and seasoned some months before they are laid down. If intended for passages, the width must be directed when they are sent to the manufactory, as they are cut before painting. FLOOR CLOTHS CLEANED. Sweep them first, then wipe them with a flannel; and when the dust and spots are removed, rub with a wax flannel, and dry them with a plain one. Use but little wax, and rub only with the latter to give a little smoothness, or it will make the floor cloth slippery, and endanger falling. Washing now and then with milk, after the above sweeping and dry rubbing, will give as good an appearance, and render the floor cloths less slippery. FLOUNDERS. These are both sea and river fish: the Thames produces the best. They are in season from January to March, and from July to September. Their flesh should be thick and firm, and their eyes bright: they very soon become flabby and bad. Before they are dressed, they should be rubbed with salt inside and out, and lie two hours to acquire firmness. Then dip them in eggs, cover with grated bread, and fry them. FLOUR. Good wheat flour may be known by the quantity of glutinous matter it contains, and which will appear when kneaded into dough. For this purpose take four ounces of fine flour, mix it with water, and work it together till it forms a thick paste. The paste is then to be well washed and kneaded with the hands under the water, and the water to be renewed till it ceases to become white by the operation. If the flour be sound, the paste which remains will be glutinous and elastic, and brittle after it has been baked.--Adulterated meal and flour are generally whiter and heavier than the good, and may be detected in a way similar to that already mentioned, under the article ADULTERATIONS. Or pour boiling water on some slices of bread, and drop on it some spirits of vitriol. Put them in the flour; and if it contain any quantity of whiting, chalk, or lime, a fermentation will ensue. Vitriol alone, dropped on adulterated bread or flour, will produce a similar effect.--American flour requires nearly twice as much water to make it into bread as is used for English flour, and therefore it is more profitable. Fourteen pounds of American flour will make twenty-one pounds and a half of bread, while the best sort of English flour produces only eighteen pounds and a half. FLOUR CAUDLE. Into five large spoonfuls of pure water, rub smooth one dessert-spoonful of fine flour. Set over the fire five spoonfuls of new milk, and put into it two pieces of sugar. The moment it boils, pour into it the flour and water, and stir it over a slow fire twenty minutes. It is a nourishing and gently astringent food, and excellent for children who have weak bowels. FLOWER GARDEN. The pleasures of the garden are ever various, ever new; and in every month of the year some attention is demanded, either in rearing the tender plant, in preparing the soil for its reception, or protecting the parent root from the severity of the winter's blast. Ranunculuses, anemones, tulips, and other bulbous roots, if not taken up, will be in great danger from the frost, and their shoots in the spring will either be impaired, or totally destroyed.----JANUARY. Cover the flower beds with wheat straw, to protect them from the cold; but where the shoots begin to appear, place behind them a reed edge, sloping three feet forward. A mat is to be let down from the top in severe weather, and taken up when it is mild. This will preserve them, without making them weak or sickly. The beds and boxes of seedling flowers should also be covered, and the fence removed when the weather is mild. Clean the auricula plants, pick off dead leaves, and scrape away the surface of the mould. Replenish them with some that is fine and fresh, set the pots up to the brim in the mould of a dry bed, and place behind them a reed edging. Cover carnation plants from wet, and defend them from mice and sparrows.----FEBRUARY. Make hotbeds for annual flowers, of the dung reserved for that purpose, and sow them upon a good thickness of mould, laid regularly over the dung. Transplant perennial flowers, and hardy shrubs, Canterbury bells, lilacs, and the like. Break up and new lay the gravel walks. Weed, rake, and clean the borders; and where the box of the edging is decayed, make it up with a fresh plantation. Sow auricula and polyanthus seeds in boxes, made of rough boards six inches deep, with holes at the bottom to run off the water. Fill the boxes with light mould, scatter the seeds thinly over the surface, sift some more mould over them about a quarter of an inch thick, and place them where they may enjoy the morning sun. Plant out carnations into pots for flowering.----MARCH. Watch the beds of tender flowers, and throw mats over them, supported by hoops, in hard weather. Continue transplanting all the perennial fibrous rooted flowers, such as golden-rods, and sweet-williams. Dig up the earth with a shovel about those which were planted in autumn, and clean the ground between them. All the pots of flowering plants must now be dressed. Pick off dead leaves, remove the earth at the top, and put fresh instead; then give them a gentle watering, and set them in their places for flowering. Be careful that the roots are not wounded, and repeat the watering once in three days. The third week in March is the time to sow sweet peas, poppies, catchflies, and all the hardy annual plants. The last week is proper for transplanting evergreens, and a showery day should be chosen for the purpose. Hotbeds should now be made, to receive the seedlings of annual flowers raised in the former bed.----APRIL. Tie up to sticks the stalks of tall flowers, cut the sticks about two feet long, thrust them eight inches into the ground, and hide them among the leaves. Clean and rake the ground between them. Take off the slips of auriculas, and plant them out carefully for an increase. Transplant perennial flowers and evergreens, as in the former months; take up the roots of colchichams, and other autumnal bulbous plants. Sow French honeysuckles, wallflowers, and other hardy plants, upon the natural ground, and the more tender sorts on hotbeds. Transplant those sown last month, into the second hotbed. Sow carnations and pinks on the natural ground, and on open borders.----MAY. When the leaves of sowbreads are decayed, take up the roots, and lay them by carefully till the time of planting. Take up the hyacinth roots which have done flowering, and lay them sideways in a bed of dry rich mould, leaving the stems and leaves to die away: this will greatly strengthen the roots. Roll the gravel walks carefully and frequently, and keep the grass clean mowed. Clean all the borders from weeds, take off the straggling branches from the large flowering plants, and train them up in a handsome shape. Plant out French and African marigolds from the hotbeds, with other autumnals, the last week of this month, choosing a cloudy warm day. Tie up the stalks of carnations, pot the tender annuals, such as balsams and amaranths, and set them in a hotbed frame, till summer is more advanced for planting them in the open ground.----JUNE. Choose the evening of a mild showery day, and plant out into the open ground, the tender annuals hitherto kept in pots in the hotbed frame. They must be carefully loosened from the sides of the pot, and taken out with all the mould about them; a large hole must be opened for each, to set them upright in it; and when settled in the ground by gentle watering, they must be tied up to sticks. Let pinks, carnations, and sweet-williams, be laid this month for an increase. Let the layers be covered lightly, and gently watered every other day. Spring flowers being now over, and their leaves faded, the roots must be taken up, and laid by for planting again at a proper season. Snow-drops, winter-aconite, and such sorts, are to be thus managed. The hyacinth roots, laid flat in the ground, must now be taken up, and the dead leaves clipped off; and when cleared from the mould, they must be spread upon a mat in an airy room to dry, and laid by for future planting. Tulip roots also must now be taken up, as the leaves decay: anemones and ranunculuses are treated in the same manner. Cut in three or four places, the cups or poles of the carnations that are near blowing, that they may show regularly. At the same time inoculate some of the fine kind of roses.----JULY. Clip box edgings, cut and trim hedges, look over all the borders, clear them from weeds, and stir up the mould between the plants. Roll the gravel frequently, and mow the grass plats. Inoculate roses and jasmines that require this kind of propagation, and any of the other flowering shrubs. Gather the seeds of flowers intended to be propagated, and lay them upon a shelf in an airy room in the pods. When they are well hardened, tie them up in paper bags, but do not take them out of the pods till they are wanted. Lay pinks and sweet-williams in the earth as formerly, cut down the stalks of those plants which have done flowering, and which are not kept for seed. Tie up with sticks such as are coming into flower, as for the earlier kinds. Sow lupins, larkspurs, and similar sorts, on dry warm borders, to stand the winter, and flower early next year.----AUGUST. Dig up a mellow border, and draw lines at five inches distance, lengthways and across. In the centre of these squares, plant the seedling polyanthuses, one in each square. In the same manner plant out the seedling auriculas. Shade them till they have taken root, and water them once a day. See whether the layers of sweet-williams, carnations, and such like, have taken root; transplant such as are rooted, and give frequent gentle waterings to the others in order to promote it. Cut down the stalks of plants that have done flowering, saving the seed that may be wanted, as it ripens, and water the tender annuals every evening. Sow anemones and ranunculuses, tulip, and narcissus seed. Dig up a border for early tulip roots, and others for hyacinths, anemones, and ranunculuses. Sow annuals to stand through the winter, and shift auriculas into fresh pots.----SEPTEMBER. During this month, preparation should be made for the next season. Tear up the annuals that have done flowering, and cut down such perennials as are past their beauty. Bring in other perennials from the nursery beds, and plant them with care at regular distances. Take up the box edgings where they have outgrown their proper size, and part and plant them afresh. Plant tulip and other flower roots, slip polyanthuses, and place them in rich shady borders. Sow the seeds of flower de luce and crown imperial, as also of auriculas and polyanthuses, according to the method before recommended. Part off the roots of flower de luce, piony, and others of a similar kind. In the last week transplant hardy flowering shrubs, and they will be strong the next summer.----OCTOBER. Let all the bulbous roots for spring flowering be put into the ground; narcissus, maragon, tulips, and such ranunculuses and anemones as were not planted sooner. Transplant columbines, monkshood, and all kinds of fibrous rooted perennials. Place under shelter the auriculas and carnations that are in pots. Dig up a dry border, and if not dry enough, dig in some sand, and set in the pots up to the brim. Place the reed fence sloping behind them, and fasten a mat to its top, that may be let down in bad weather. Take off the dead leaves of the auriculas, before they are thus planted. Bring into the garden some fresh flowering shrubs, wherever they may be wanted, and at the end of the month prune some of the hardier kind.----NOVEMBER. Prepare a good heap of pasture ground, with the turf among it, to rot into mould for the borders. Transplant honeysuckles and spireas, with other hardy flowering shrubs. Rake over the beds of seedling flowers, and strew some peas straw over to keep out the frost. Cut down the stems of perennials which have done flowering, pull up annuals that are spent, and rake and clear the ground. Place hoops over the beds of ranunculuses and anemones, and lay mats or cloths in readiness to draw over them, in case of hard rains or frost. Clean up the borders in all parts of the garden, and take care to destroy not only the weeds, but all kinds of moss. Look over the seeds of those flowers which were gathered in summer, to see that they are dry and sweet; and prepare a border or two for the hardier kind, by digging and cleaning.----DECEMBER. During frost or cold rain, draw the mats and cloths over the ranunculuses; give the anemones a little air in the middle of every tolerable day; and as soon as possible, uncover them all day, but draw on the mats at night. Throw up the earth where flowering shrubs are to be planted in the spring, and turn it once a fortnight. Dig up the borders that are to receive flower roots in the spring, and give them the advantage of a fallow, by throwing up the ground in a ridge. Scatter over it a very little rotten dung from a melon bed, and afterwards turn it twice during the winter. Examine the flowering shrubs, and prune them. Cut away all the dead wood, shorten luxuriant branches, and if any cross each other, take away one. Leave them so that the air may have a free passage between them. Sift a quarter of an inch of good fresh mould over the roots of perennial flowers, whose stalks have been cut down, and then rake over the borders. This will give the whole an air of culture and good management, which is always pleasing. FLOWER POTS. As flowers and plants should enjoy a free circulation of air to make them grow well, sitting rooms are not very well adapted to the purpose, unless they could be frequently ventilated by opening the doors and windows. In every severe frost or damp weather, moderate fires should be made in the rooms where the plants are placed, and the shutters closed at night. Placing saucers under the pots, and pouring water continually into them, is highly improper: it should be poured on the mould, that it may filter through it, and thereby refresh the fibres of the plant. Many kinds of annuals, sown in March and the beginning of April, may be transplanted into pots about the end of May, and should be frequently watered till they have taken root. If transplanted in the summer season, the evening is the proper time, and care must be taken not to break the fibres of the root. When the plants are attacked by any kind of crawling insects, the evil may be prevented by keeping the saucers full of water, so as to form a river round the pot, and rubbing some oil round the side. Oil is fatal to most kinds of insects, and but few of them can endure it. FLOWER SEEDS. When the seeds begin to ripen they should be supported with sticks, to prevent their being scattered by the wind; and in wet weather they should be removed to a dry place, and rubbed out when convenient. August is in general the proper time for gathering flower seeds, but many kinds will ripen much sooner. To ascertain whether the seed be fully ripe, put a little of it into water: if it be come to maturity, it will sink to the bottom, and if not it will swim upon the surface. To preserve them for vegetation, it is only necessary to wrap the seed up in cartridge paper, pasted down and varnished over with gum, or the white of an egg. Some kinds of seeds are best enclosed in sealing wax. FLUMMERY. Steep in cold water, for a day and a night, three large handfuls of very fine white oatmeal. Pour it off clear, add as much more water, and let it stand the same time. Strain it through a fine hair sieve, and boil it till it is as thick as hasty pudding, stirring it well all the time. When first strained, put to it one large spoonful of white sugar, and two of orange flower water. Pour it into shallow dishes, and serve it up with wine, cider, and milk; or it will be very good with cream and sugar. FOMENTATIONS. Boil two ounces each of camomile flowers, and the tops of wormwood, in two quarts of water. Pour off the liquor, put it on the fire again, dip in a piece of flannel, and apply it to the part as hot as the patient can bear it. When it grows cold, heat it up again, dip in another piece of flannel, apply it as the first, and continue changing them as often as they get cool, taking care not to let the air get to the part affected when the flannel is changed.--To relieve the toothache, pain in the face, or any other acute pain, the following anodyne fomentation may be applied. Take two ounces of white poppy heads, and half an ounce of elder flowers, and boil them in three pints of water, till it is reduced one third. Strain off the liquor, and foment the part affected. FOOD. In the early ages of the world, mankind were chiefly supported by berries, roots, and such other vegetables as the earth produced of itself, according to the original grant of the great Proprietor of all things. In later ages, especially after the flood, this grant was enlarged; and man had recourse to animals, as well as to vegetables artificially raised for their support, while the art of preparing food has been brought to the highest degree of perfection. Vegetables are however, with a few exceptions, more difficult of digestion than animal food; but a due proportion of both, with the addition of acids, is the most conducive to health, as well as agreeable to the palate. Animal as well as vegetable food may be rendered unwholesome by being kept too long; and when offensive to the senses, they become alike injurious to health. Diseased animals, and such as die of themselves, ought never to be eaten. Such as are fed grossly, stalled cattle and pigs, without any exercise, do not afford food so nourishing or wholesome as others. Salt meat is not so easily digested as fresh provisions, and has a tendency to produce putrid diseases, especially the scurvy. If vegetables and milk were more used, there would be less scurvy, and fewer inflammatory fevers. Our food ought neither to be too moist, nor too dry. Liquid food relaxes and renders the body feeble: hence those who live much on tea, and other watery diet, generally become weak, and unable to digest solid food. They are also liable to hysterics, with a train of other nervous affections. But if the food be too dry, it disposes the body to inflammatory disorders, and is equally to be avoided. Families would do well to prepare their own diet and drink, as much as possible, in order to render it good and wholesome. Bread in particular is so necessary a part of daily food, that too much care cannot be taken to see that it be made of sound grain duly prepared, and kept from all unwholesome ingredients. Those who make bread for sale, seek rather to please the eye than to promote health. The best bread is that which is neither too coarse nor too fine, well fermented, and made of wheat flour, or wheat and rye mixed together. Good fermented liquors, neither too weak nor too strong, are to be preferred. If too weak, they require to be drunk soon, and then they produce wind and flatulencies in the stomach. If kept too long, they turn sour, and then become unwholesome. On the other hand, strong liquor, by hurting the digestion, tends to weaken and relax: it also keeps up a constant fever, which exhausts the spirits, inflames the blood, and disposes the body to numberless diseases. Beer, cider, and other family liquors, should be of such strength as to keep till they are ripe, and then they should be used. Persons of a weak and relaxed habit should avoid every thing hard of digestion: their diet requires to be light and nourishing, and they should take sufficient exercise in the open air. Those who abound with blood, should abstain from rich wines and highly nourishing food, and live chiefly on vegetables. Corpulent persons ought frequently to use radish, garlic, or such things as promote perspiration. Their drink should be tea, coffee, or the like; they ought also to take much exercise, and but little sleep. Those who are of a thin habit, should follow the opposite course. Such as are troubled with sour risings in the stomach, should live chiefly on animal food; and those who are afflicted with hot risings and heartburn, should have a diet of acid vegetables. Persons of low spirits, and subject to nervous disorders, should avoid all flatulent food, whatever is hard of digestion, or apt to turn sour on the stomach. Their diet should be light, cool, and of an opening nature; not only suited to the age and constitution, but also to the manner of life. A sedentary person should live more sparingly than one who labours hard without doors, and those who are afflicted with any particular disease ought to avoid such aliment as has a tendency to increase it. Those afflicted with the gravel ought to avoid every thing astringent; and the scorbutic of every description, salted or smoked provisions. In the first period of life, the food should be light, but nourishing, and frequently taken. For infants in particular, it ought to be adapted to their age, and the strength of their digestive powers. No food whatever that has been prepared for many hours should be given them, especially after being warmed up; for it creates flatulence, heartburn, and a variety of other disorders. Sudden changes from liquid to solid food should be avoided, as well as a multiplicity of different kinds; and all stimulating dishes and heating liquors, prepared for adults, should be carefully withheld from children. The common but indecent practice of introducing chewed victuals into their mouth, is equally disgusting and unwholesome. Solid food is most proper for the state of manhood, but it ought not to be too uniform. Nature has provided a great variety for the use of man, and given him an appetite suited to that variety: the constant use of one kind of food therefore is not good for the constitution, though any great or sudden change in diet ought as well to be avoided. The change should be gradual, as any sudden transition from a low to a rich and luxurious mode of living, may endanger health, and even life itself. The diet suited to the last period of life, when nature is on the decline, approaches nearly to that of the first: it should be light and nourishing, and more frequently taken than in vigorous age. Old people are generally afflicted with wind, giddiness, and headachs, which are frequently occasioned by fasting too long, and even many sudden deaths arise from the same cause. The stomach therefore should never be allowed in any case to be too long empty, but especially in the decline of life. Proper attention to diet is of the utmost importance, not only to the preservation of health, but in the cure of many diseases, which may be effected by diet only. Its effects indeed are not always so quick as those of medicine, but they are generally more lasting, and are obtained with greater ease and certainty. Temperance and exercise are the two best physicians in the world; and if they were duly regarded, there would be little occasion for any other. FOOD FOR BIRDS. An excellent food for linnets, canaries, and other singing birds, may be prepared in the following manner. Knead together one pound of split peas ground to flour, half a pound each of coarse sugar and fine grated bread, two ounces of unsalted butter, and the yolks of two eggs. Brown the paste gently in a fryingpan, and when cold mix with it two ounces of mace seed, and two pounds of bruised hemp seed, separated from the husk. This paste given to birds in small quantities will preserve them in health, and prompt them to sing every month in the year. FORCEMEAT. This article, whether in the form of stuffing balls, or for patties, makes a considerable part of good cooking, by the flavour it imparts to whatsoever dish it may be added. Yet at many tables, where every thing else is well done, it is common to find very bad stuffing. Exact rules for the quantity cannot easily be given; but the following observations may be useful, and habit will soon give knowledge in mixing it to the taste. The selection of ingredients should of course be made, according to what they are wanted for, observing that of the most pungent, the smallest quantity should be used. No one flavour should greatly preponderate; yet if several dishes be served the same day, there should be a marked variety in the taste of the forcemeat, as well as of the gravies. It should be consistent enough to cut with a knife, but neither dry nor heavy. The following are the articles of which forcemeat may be made, without giving it any striking flavour. Cold fowl or veal, scraped ham, fat bacon, beef suet, crumbs of bread, salt, white pepper, parsley, nutmeg, yolk and white of eggs well beaten to bind the mixture. To these, any of the following may be added, to vary the taste, and give it a higher relish. Oysters, anchovy, taragon, savoury, pennyroyal, knotted marjoram, thyme, basil, yolks of hard eggs, cayenne, garlic, shalot, chives, Jamaica pepper in fine powder, or two or three cloves. FORCEMEAT BALLS. To make fine forcemeat balls for fish soups, or stewed fish, beat together the flesh and soft parts of a lobster, half an anchovy, a large piece of boiled celery, the yolk of a hard egg, a little cayenne, mace, salt, and white pepper. Add two table-spoonfuls of bread crumbs, one of oyster liquor, two ounces of warmed butter, and two eggs well beaten. Make the whole into balls, and fry them in butter, of a fine brown. FORCEMEAT FOR FOWLS. Shred a little ham or gammon, some cold veal or fowl, beef suet, parsley, a small quantity of onion, and a very little lemon peel. Add salt, nutmeg, or pounded mace, bread crumbs, and either white pepper or cayenne. Pound it all together in a mortar, and bind it with one or two eggs beaten and strained. The same stuffing will do for meat, or for patties. For fowls, it is usually put between the skin and the flesh. FORCEMEAT FOR GOOSE. Chop very fine about two ounces of onion, and an ounce of green sage. Add four ounces of bread crumbs, the yolk and white of an egg, a little pepper and salt; and if approved, a minced apple. This will do for either goose or duck stuffing. FORCEMEAT FOR HARE. Chop up the liver, with an anchovy, some fat bacon, a little suet, some sweet herbs, and an onion. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, crumbs of bread, and an egg to bind all together. FORCEMEAT FOR SAVOURY PIES. The same as for fowls, only substituting fat or bacon, instead of suet. If the pie be of rabbit or fowls, the livers mixed with fat and lean pork, instead of bacon, will make an excellent stuffing. The seasoning is to be the same as for fowls or meat. FORCEMEAT FOR TURKEY. The same stuffing will do for boiled or roast turkey as for veal, or to make it more relishing, add a little grated ham or tongue, an anchovy, or the soft part of a dozen oysters. Pork sausage meat is sometimes used to stuff turkies or fowls, or fried, and sent up as garnish. FORCEMEAT FOR TURTLE. A pound of fine fresh suet, one ounce of cold veal or chicken, chopped fine; crumbs of bread, a little shalot or onion, white pepper, salt, nutmeg, mace, pennyroyal, parsley, and lemon thyme, finely shred. Beat as many fresh eggs, yolks and whites separately, as will make the above ingredients into a moist paste. Roll it into small balls, and boil them in fresh lard, putting them in just as it boils up. When of a light brown take them out, and drain them before the fire. If the suet be moist or stale, a great many more eggs will be necessary. Balls made in this way are remarkably light; but being greasy, some people prefer them with less suet and eggs. FORCEMEAT FOR VEAL. Scrape two ounces of undressed lean veal, free from skin and sinews; two ounces of beef or veal suet, and two of bread crumbs. Chop fine two drams of parsley, one of lemon peel, one of sweet herbs, one of onion, and add half a dram of mace or allspice reduced to a fine powder. Pound all together in a mortar, break into it the yolk and white of an egg, rub it all up well together, and season it with a little pepper and salt. This may be made more savoury, by the addition of cold boiled tongue, anchovy, shalot, cayenne, or curry powder. FOREHAND OF PORK. Cut out the bone, sprinkle the inside with salt, pepper, and dried sage. Roll the pork tight, and tie it up; warm a little butter to baste it, and then flour it. Roast it by a hanging jack, and about two hours will do it. FOREQUARTER OF LAMB. Roast it either whole, or in separate parts. If left to be cold, chopped parsley should be sprinkled over it. The neck and breast together are called a scoven. FOWLS. In purchasing fowls for dressing, it is necessary to see that they are fresh and good. If a cock bird is young, his spurs will be short; but be careful to observe that they have not been cut or pared, which is a trick too often practised. If fresh, the vent will be close and dark. Pullets are best just before they begin to lay, and yet are full of egg. If hens are old, their combs and legs will be rough: if young, they will be smooth. A good capon has a thick belly and a large rump: there is a particular fat at his breast, and the comb is very pale. Black-legged fowls being moist, are best for roasting. FRECKLES. The cosmetics generally recommended for improving the skin and bloom of the face are highly pernicious, and ought by no means to be employed. Temperance in diet and exercise, with frequent washing and bathing, are the best means of preserving a healthful countenance. But those who desire to soften and improve the skin, may use an infusion of horseradish in milk, or the expressed juice of houseleek mixed with cream, which will be useful and inoffensive. Freckles on the face, or small discolourations on other parts of the skin, are constitutional in some cases; and in others, they are occasioned by the action of the sun upon the part, and frequent exposures to the morning air. For dispersing them, take four ounces of lemon juice, one dram of powdered borax, and two drams of sugar: mix them together, and let them stand a few days in a glass bottle till the liquid is fit for use, and then rub it on the face. But for chaps and flaws in the skin, occasioned by cold, rub on a little plain unscented pomatum at bed-time, and let it remain till morning. Or, which is much better, anoint the face with honey water, made to the consistence of cream, which will form a kind of varnish on the skin, and protect it from the effects of cold. FRENCH BEANS. String, and cut them into four parts; if smaller, they look so much the better. Lay them in salt and water; and when the water boils, put them in with some salt. As soon as they are done, serve them immediately, to preserve their colour. Or when half done, drain off the water, and add two spoonfuls of broth strained. In finishing them, put in a little cream, with flour and butter. FRENCH BREAD. With a quarter of a peck of fine flour, mix the yolks of three and the whites of two eggs, beaten and strained; a little salt, half a pint of good yeast that is not bitter, and as much lukewarm milk as will work it into a thin light dough. Stir it about, but do not knead it. Divide the dough into three parts, put them into wooden dishes, set them to rise, then turn them out into the oven, which must be quick, and rasp the bread when done. FRENCH DUMPLINGS. Grate a penny loaf, add half a pound of currants, three quarters of a pound of beef suet finely shred, and half a grated nutmeg. Beat up the yolks of three eggs with three spoonfuls of cream, as much white wine, and a little sugar. Mix all together, work it up into a paste, make it into dumplings of a convenient size, and tie them up in cloths. Put them into boiling water, and let them boil three quarters of an hour. FRENCH PIE. Lay a puff paste round the edge of the dish, and put in either slices of veal, rabbits or chickens jointed; with forcemeat balls, sweetbreads cut in pieces, artichoke bottoms, and a few truffles. FRENCH PORRIDGE. Stir together some oatmeal and water, and pour off the latter. Put fresh in, stir it well, and let it stand till the next day. Strain it through a fine sieve, and boil the water, which must be small in quantity, adding some milk while it is doing. With the addition of toast, this is much in request abroad, for the breakfast of weakly persons. FRENCH PUDDING. Grate six ounces of brown bread, and shred half a pound of suet. Add four eggs well beaten, half a pound of currants picked and washed, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a little nutmeg. Mix all together, tie the pudding up close in a cloth, and boil it two hours. Serve it up with a sauce of melted butter, a little sugar and sweet wine. FRENCH ROLLS. Rub one ounce of butter into a pound of flour; mix one egg beaten, a little yeast that is not bitter, and as much milk as will make the dough tolerably stiff. Beat it well, but do not knead it: let it rise, and bake it on tins. FRENCH SALAD. Mince up three anchovies, a shalot, and some parsley. Put them into a bowl with two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of oil, and a little salt and mustard. When well mixed, add by degrees some cold roast or boiled meat in very thin slices: put in a few at a time, not exceeding two or three inches long. Shake them in the seasoning, and then put more: cover the bowl close, and let the salad be prepared three hours before it is to be eaten. Garnish with parsley, and a few slices of the fat. FRICANDEAU OF BEEF. Take a nice piece of lean beef; lard it with bacon seasoned with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, and allspice. Put it into a stewpan with a pint of broth, a glass of white wine, a bundle of parsley, all sorts of sweet herbs, a clove of garlic, a shalot or two, four cloves, pepper and salt. When the meat is become tender, cover it close. Skim the sauce well, strain it, set it on the fire, and let it boil till reduced to a glaze. Glaze the larded side with this, and serve the meat on sorrel sauce. FRICANDEAU OF VEAL. Cut a large piece from the fat side of the leg, about nine inches long and half as thick and broad. Beat it with the rolling pin, take off the skin, and trim the rough edges. Lard the top and sides, cover it with fat bacon, and then with white paper. Lay it into a stewpan with any pieces of undressed veal or mutton, four onions, a sliced carrot, a faggot of sweet herbs, four blades of mace, four bay leaves, a pint of good veal or mutton broth, and four or five ounces of lean ham or gammon. Cover the pan close, and let it stew slowly for three hours; then take up the meat, remove all the fat from the gravy, and boil it quick to a glaze. Keep the fricandeau quite hot, and then glaze it. Serve it with the remainder of the glaze in the dish, and sorrel sauce in a tureen.--The following is a cheaper way of making a good fricandeau of veal. With a sharp knife cut the lean part of a large neck from the best end, scooping it from the bones a hand's length, and prepare it in the manner above directed. Three or four bones only will be necessary, and they will make the gravy; but if the prime part of the leg is cut off, it spoils the whole.--Another way is to take two large round sweetbreads, and prepare them like veal. Make a rich gravy with truffles, morels, mushrooms, and artichoke bottoms, and serve it round. FRICASSEE OF CHICKENS. Boil rather more than half, in a small quantity of water, and let them cool. Cut them up, simmer in a little gravy made of the liquor they were boiled in, adding a bit of veal or mutton, onion, mace, lemon peel, white pepper, and a bunch of sweet herbs. When quite tender, keep them hot, while the following sauce is prepared. Strain off the liquor, return it into the saucepan with a little salt, a scrape of nutmeg, and a little flour and butter. Give it one boil, and when ready to serve, beat up the yolk of an egg, add half a pint of cream, and stir them over the fire, but do not let it boil. It will be quite as good however without the egg. Without the addition of any other meat, the gravy may be made of the trimmings of the fowls, such as the necks, feet, small wing bones, gizzards, and livers. FRICASSEE OF RABBITS. Skin them, cut them in pieces, soak in warm water, and clean them. Then stew them in a little fresh water, with a bit of lemon peel, a little white wine, an anchovy, an onion, two cloves, and a sprig of sweet herbs. When tender take them out, strain off the liquor, put a very little of it into a quarter of a pint of thick cream, with a piece of butter, and a little flour. Keep it constantly stirring till the butter is melted; then put in the rabbit, with a little grated lemon peel, mace, and lemon juice. Shake all together over the fire, and make it quite hot. If more agreeable, pickled mushrooms may be used instead of lemon.--To make a brown fricassee, prepare the rabbits as above, and fry them in butter to a nice brown. Put some gravy or beef broth into the pan, shake in some flour, and keep it stirring over the fire. Add some ketchup, a very little shalot chopped, salt, cayenne, and lemon juice, or pickled mushrooms. Boil it up, put in the rabbit, and shake it round till it is quite hot. FRYING. This is often a very convenient and expeditious mode of cooking; but though one of the most common, it is as commonly performed in a very imperfect manner, and meets with less attention than the comfort of a good meal requires. A fryingpan should be about four inches deep, with a perfectly flat and thick bottom, and perpendicular sides. When used it should be half filled with fat, for good frying is in fact, boiling in fat. To make sure that the pan is quite clean, rub a little fat over it, then make it warm, and wipe it out with a clean cloth. Great care must be taken in frying, never to use any oil, butter, lard, or drippings, but what is quite clean, fresh, and free from salt. Any thing dirty spoils the appearance, any thing bad tasted or stale spoils the flavour, and salt prevents its browning. Fine olive oil is the most delicate for frying, but it is very expensive, and bad oil spoils every thing that is dressed with it. For general purposes, and especially for fish, clean fresh lard is not near so expensive as oil or clarified butter, and does almost as well, except for collops and cutlets. Butter often burns before any one is aware, and what is fried with it will get a dark and dirty appearance. Dripping, if nicely clean and fresh, is almost as good as any thing: if not clean, it may easily be clarified. Whatever fat be used, let it remain in the pan a few minutes after frying, and then pour it through a sieve into a clean bason. If not burnt, it will be found much better than it was at first; but the fat in which fish has been fried, will not serve any other purpose. To fry fish, parsley, potatoes, or any thing that is watery, the fire must be very clear, and the fat quite hot, which will be the case when it has done hissing. Fish will neither be firm nor crisp, nor of a good colour, unless the fat be of a proper heat. To determine this, throw a little bit of bread into the pan: if it fries crisp, the fat is ready: if it burns the bread, it is too hot. Whatever is fried before the fat is hot enough, will be pale and sodden, and offend the palate and the stomach, as well as the eye. The fat also must be thoroughly drained from the fry, especially from such things as are dressed in bread crumbs, or the flavour will be impaired. The dryness of fish depends much upon its having been fried in fat of a due degree of heat, they are then crisp and dry in a few minutes after being taken out of the pan: when they are not, lay them on a soft cloth before the fire, and turn them till they are dry. FRIED CARP. Scale, draw, and wash them clean; dry them in flour, and fry them in hog's lard to a light brown. Fry some toast, cut three-corner ways, with the roes; lay the fish on a coarse cloth to drain, and serve them up with butter, anchovy sauce, and the juice of a lemon. Garnish with the bread, roe, and lemon. FRIED EELS. There is a greater difference in the goodness of eels than of any other fish. The true silver-eel, so called from the bright colour of the belly, is caught in the Thames. The Dutch eels sold at Billingsgate are very bad; those taken in great floods are generally good, but in ponds they have usually a strong rank flavour. Except the middle of summer, they are always in season. If small, they should be curled round and fried, being first dipped into eggs and crumbs of bread. FRIED EGGS. Boil six eggs for three minutes, put them in cold water, and take off the shells, without breaking the whites. Wrap the eggs up in a puff paste, smear them over with egg, and grate some bread over them. Put into a stewpan a sufficient quantity of lard or butter to swim the eggs; and when the lard is hot, put in the eggs, and fry them of a good colour. Lay them on a cloth to drain. FRIED HERBS. Clean and drain a good quantity of spinach leaves, two large handfuls of parsley, and a handful of green onions. Chop the parsley and onions, and sprinkle them among the spinach. Stew them together with a little salt, and a bit of butter the size of a walnut. Shake the pan when it begins to grow warm, and let it lie closely covered over a slow stove till done enough. It is served with slices of broiled calves' liver, small rashers of bacon, and fried eggs. The latter on the herbs, and the other in a separate dish. This is the mode of dressing herbs in Staffordshire. FRIED MACKAREL. Stuff the fish with grated bread, minced parsley and lemon peel, pepper and salt, nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg, all mixed together. Serve with anchovy and fennel sauce. Or split the fish open, cut off their heads, season and hang them up four or five hours, and then broil them. Make the sauce of fennel and parsley chopped fine, and mixed with melted butter. FRIED OYSTERS. To prepare a garnish for boiled fish, make a batter of flour, milk, and eggs. Season it a very little, dip the oysters into the batter, and fry them of a fine yellow brown. A little nutmeg should be put into the seasoning, and a few crumbs of bread into the flour. FRIED PARSLEY. Pick some young parsley very clean, and put it into a fryingpan with a bit of butter. Stir it with a knife till it becomes crisp, and use it for garnishing. Or rub the picked parsley in a cloth to clean it, and set it before the fire in a Dutch oven till it is crisp. This is better than fried parsley, and may be rubbed on steaks, calf's liver, or any other dish of the kind. FRIED PATTIES. Mince a bit of cold veal, and six oysters; mix them with a few crumbs of bread, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and a very small bit of lemon peel. Add the liquor of the oysters, warm all together in a tosser, but it must not boil, and then let it grow cold. Prepare a good puff-paste, roll it thin, and cut it into round or square pieces. Put some of the mixture between two of them, twist the edges to keep in the gravy, and fry them of a fine brown. If baked, it becomes a fashionable dish. All patties should be washed over with egg before they are baked. FRIED POTATOES. Slice them thin, and fry them in butter till they are brown; then lay them in a dish, and pour melted butter over them. Potatoes may likewise be fried in butter, and served up with powder sugar strewed over them. Any kind of fruit may be fried in the same manner, and all batter should be fried in hog's lard. FRIED RABBIT. Cut it into joints, and fry it in butter of a nice brown. Send it to table with fried or dried parsley, and gravy or liver sauce. FRIED SMELTS. Wipe them clean, take away the gills, rub them over with a feather dipped in egg, and strew on some grated bread. Fry them in hog's lard over a clear fire, and put them in when the fat is boiling hot. When they are of a fine brown, take them out and drain off the fat. Garnish with fried parsley and lemon. FRIED SOLES. Divide two or three soles from the backbone, and take off the head, fins, and tail. Sprinkle the inside with salt, roll them up tight from the tail and upwards, and fasten with small skewers. Small fish do not answer, but if large or of a tolerable size, put half a fish in each roll. Dip them into yolks of eggs, and cover them with crumbs. Egg them over again, and then put more crumbs. Fry them of a beautiful colour in lard, or in clarified butter. Or dip the soles in egg, and cover them with fine crumbs of bread. Set on a fryingpan of the proper size, and put into it a good quantity of fresh lard or dripping. Let it boil, and immediately put the fish into it, and do them of a fine brown. Soles that have been fried, eat good cold with oil, vinegar, salt and mustard. FRIED TENCH. Scale and clean the fish well, dry and lay them before the fire, dust them with flour, and fry them in dripping or hog's lard. Serve with crisped parsley, and plain butter. Perch, trout, and grayling may be done the same. FRIED TURBOT. Cut a small turbot across in ribs, dry and flour it, put it into a fryingpan, and cover it with boiling lard. Fry it brown, and drain it. Clean the pan, put in a little wine, an anchovy, salt, nutmeg, and a little ginger. Put in the fish, and stew it till the liquor is half wasted. Then take it out, put in some butter rolled in flour, with a minced lemon, and simmer them to a proper thickness. Rub a hot dish with a piece of shalot, lay the turbot in the dish, and pour the sauce over it. FRIED VENISON. Cut the meat into slices, fry it of a bright brown, and keep it hot before the fire. Make gravy of the bones, add a little butter rolled in flour, stir it in the pan till it is thick and brown, and put in some port and lemon juice. Warm the venison in it, put in the dish, and pour the sauce over it. Send up currant jelly in a glass. FRITTERS. Make them of pancake batter, dropped in small quantities into the pan: or put apple into batter, pared and sliced, and fry some of it with each slice. Currants, or very thinly-sliced lemon, make an agreeable change. Fritters for company should be served on a folded napkin in the dish. Any sort of sweetmeat, or ripe fruit, may be made into fritters. FRONTINIAC. Boil twelve pounds of loaf sugar, and six pounds of raisins cut small, in six gallons of water. When the liquor is almost cold, put in half a peck of elder flowers; and the next day six spoonfuls of the syrup of lemons, and four of yeast. Let it stand two days, put it into a barrel that will just hold it, and bottle it after it has stood about two months. FROST AND BLIGHTS. When a fruit tree is in full blossom, the best way to preserve it from frost and blights is to twine a rope upon its branches, and bring the end of it into a pail of water. If a light frost happen in the night, the tree will not be affected by it; but an ice will be formed on the surface of the water, in which the end of the rope is immersed. This experiment may easily be tried on wall fruit, and has been found to answer. If trees be infected with an easterly blight, the best way is to fumigate them with brimstone strewed on burning charcoal: this will effectually destroy the insects, and preserve the fruit. Afterwards it will be proper to dash them with water, or wash the branches with a woollen cloth, and clear them of all glutinous matter and excrescences of every kind, which would harbour the insects; but the washing should be performed in the early part of a warm day, that the moisture may be exhaled before the cold of the evening approaches. FROSTED POTATOES. If soaked three hours in cold water, before they are to be prepared as food, changing the water every hour, these valuable roots will recover their salubrious quality and flavour. While in cold water, they must stand where a sufficiency of artificial heat may prevent freezing. If much frozen, allow a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre to every peck of potatoes, and dissolve it in the water. But if so much penetrated by the frost as to render them unfit for culinary purposes, they may be made into starch, and will yield a large quantity of flour for that purpose. FROTH FOR CREAMS. Sweeten half a pound of the pulp of damsons, or any other scalded fruit. Put to it the whites of four eggs beaten, and beat up the pulp with them till it will stand up, and take any form. It should be rough, to imitate a rock, or the billows of the ocean. This froth looks and eats well, and may be laid on cream, custard, or trifle, with a spoon. FRUIT. The method of preserving any kind of fruit all the year, is to put them carefully into a wide-mouthed glass vessel, closed down with oiled paper. The glasses are to be placed in a box filled with a mixture of four pounds of dry sand, two pounds of bole-armeniac, and one pound of saltpetre, so that the fruit may be completely covered. The fruit should be gathered by the hand before it be thoroughly ripe, and the box kept in a dry place. FRUIT BISCUITS. To the pulp of any scalded fruit, put an equal weight of sugar sifted, and beat it two hours. Then make it into little white-paper forms, dry them in a cool oven, and turn them the next day. They may be put into boxes in the course of two or three days. FRUIT FOR CHILDREN. To prepare fruit for children, far more wholesome than in puddings or pies, put some sliced apples, plums or gooseberries, into a stone jar, and sprinkle among them a sufficient quantity of fine moist sugar. Set the jar on a hot hearth, or in a saucepan of boiling water, and let it remain till the fruit is well done. Slices of bread, or boiled rice, may either be stewed with the fruit, or added when eaten. FRUIT PASTE. Put any kind of fruit into a preserving pan, stir it till it will mash quite soft, and strain it. To one pint of juice, add a pound and a half of fine sugar; dissolve the sugar in water, and boil it till the water is dried up. Then mix it with the juice, boil it once, pour it into plates, and dry it in a stove. When wanted for use, cut it in strips, and make paste knots for garnishing. FRUIT PUDDINGS. Make up a thick batter of milk and eggs, with a little flour and salt; put in any kind of fruit, and either bake or boil it. Apples should be pared and quartered, gooseberries and currants should be picked and cleaned, before they are put into the batter. Or make a thick paste, roll it out, and line a bason with it, after it has been rubbed with a little butter. Then fill it with fruit, put on a lid, tie it up close in a cloth, and boil it for two hours. The pudding will be lighter, if only made in a bason, then turned out into a pudding cloth, and boiled in plenty of water. FRUIT STAINS. If stains of fruit or wine have been long in the linen, rub the part on each side with yellow soap. Then lay on a thick mixture of starch in cold water, rub it well in, and expose the linen to the sun and air till the stain comes out. If not removed in three or four days, rub off the mixture, and renew the process. When dry, it may be sprinkled with a little water.--Many other stains may be taken out by only dipping the linen into sour buttermilk, and drying it in a hot sun. Then wash it in cold water and dry it, two or three times a day. FRUIT FOR TARTS. To preserve fruit for family desserts, whether cherries, plums, or apples, gather them when ripe, and put them in small jars that will hold about a pound. Strew over each jar six ounces of fine pounded sugar, and cover each with two bladders, separately tied down. Set the jars in a large stewpan of water up to the neck, and let it boil three hours gently. Keep these and all other sorts of fruit free from damp. FRUIT TREES. When they have the appearance of being old or worn out, and are covered with moss and insects, they may be revived and made fruitful by dressing them well with a brush, dipped in a solution of strong fresh lime. The outer rind, with all its incumbrance, will then fall off; a new and clean one will be formed, and the trees put on a healthy appearance. FRUITS IN JELLY. Put half a pint of calf's foot jelly into a bowl; when stiff, lay in three peaches, and a bunch of grapes with the stalk upwards. Cover over with vine leaves, and fill up the bowl with jelly. Let it stand till the next day, and then set it to the brim in hot water. When it gives way from the bowl, turn the jelly out carefully, and send it to table. Any kind of fruit may be treated in the same way. FUEL. Coals constitute a principal article of domestic convenience, especially during the severity of winter. At that season they often become very scarce, and are sold at an extravagant price. To remedy this evil in some measure, take two-thirds of soft clay, free from stones, and work it into three or four bushels of small coals previously sifted: form this composition into balls or cakes, about three or four inches thick, and let them be thoroughly dried. When the fire burns clear, place four or five of these cakes in the front of the grate, where they will soon become red, and yield a clear and strong heat till they are totally consumed. The expense of a ton of this composition is but trifling, when compared with that of a chaldron of coals, as it may be prepared at one-fourth of the cost, and will be of greater service than a chaldron and a half of the latter. Coal dust worked up with horse dung, cow dung, saw dust, tanner's waste, or any other combustible matter that is not too expensive, will also be found a saving in the article of fuel. Nearly a third of the coals consumed in large towns and cities might be saved, if the coal ashes were preserved, instead of being thrown into the dust bins, and afterwards mixed with an equal quantity of small coal, moistened with water. This mixture thrown behind the fire, with a few round coals in front, would save the trouble of sifting the ashes, and make a cheerful and pleasant fire.----THE BEST MODE OF LIGHTING A FIRE.--Fill the grate with fresh coals quite up to the upper bar but one; then lay on the wood in the usual manner, rather collected in a mass than scattered. Over the wood place the cinders of the preceding day, piled up as high as the grate will admit, and placed loosely in rather large fragments, in order that the draft may be free: a bit or two of fresh coal may be added to the cinders when once they are lighted, but no small coal must be thrown on at first. When all is prepared, light the wood, when the cinders in a short time being thoroughly ignited, the gas rising from the coals below, which will now be affected by the heat, will take fire as it passes through them, leaving a very small portion of smoke to go up the chimney. One of the advantages of this mode of lighting a fire is, that small coal is better suited to the purpose than large, except a few pieces in front to keep the small from falling out of the grate. A fire lighted in this way will burn all day, without any thing being done to it. When apparently quite out, on being stirred, you have in a few minutes a glowing fire. When the upper part begins to cake, it must be stirred, but the lower must not be touched. FUMIGATION. To prevent infection from fever, take a handful each of rue, sage, mint, rosemary, and lavender, all fresh gathered. Cut them small, put them into a stone jar, pour on a pint of the best white-wine vinegar, cover the jar close, and let it stand eight days in the sun, or near the fire. Then strain it off, and dissolve in it an ounce of camphor. This liquid sprinkled about the chamber, or fumigated, will much revive the patient, and prevent the attendants from receiving the infection. Or mix a spoonful of salt in a cup, with a little powdered magnesia: pour on the mixture at different times a spoonful of strong vitriolic acid, and the vapour arising from it will destroy the putrid effluvia. FURNITURE LININGS. These articles require to be first washed, and afterwards dyed of a different colour, in order to change and improve their appearance.--For a Buff or salmon colour, according to the depth of the hue, rub down on a pewter plate two pennyworth of Spanish arnatto, and then boil it in a pail of water a quarter of an hour. Put into it two ounces of potash, stir it round, and instantly put in the lining. Stir it all the time it is boiling, which must be five or six minutes; then put it into cold spring water, and hang the articles up singly without wringing. When almost dry, fold the lining, and mangle it.--For Pink, the calico must be washed extremely clean, and thoroughly dried. Then boil it in two gallons of soft water, and four ounces of alum; take it out, and dry it in the air. Meanwhile boil in the alum water two handfuls of wheat bran till quite slippery, and then strain it. Take two scruples of cochineal, and two ounces of argall finely pounded and sifted, and mix it with the liquor a little at a time. Put the calico into the liquor, keep it stirring and boiling, till the liquor is nearly wasted. Then take out the calico, wash it first in chamber lye, and afterwards in cold water. Rinse it in water-starch strained, dry it quick without hanging it in folds, and let it be well mangled. It would be better still to have it callendered.--Blue. The calico must be washed clean and dried. Then mix some of Scott's liquid blue in as much water as will be sufficient to cover the things to be dyed, and add some starch to give it a light stiffness. Dry a small piece of the lining to see whether the colour is deep enough; and if approved, put it in and wash it in the dye. Dry the articles singly, and mangle or callender them. FURS. To preserve them from the moth, comb them occasionally while in use. When not wanted, mix among them bitter apples from the druggists, in small muslin bags, sewing them in several folds of linen, carefully turned in at the edges. Keep the furs in a cool place, free from damp. G. GAD FLY. Cows and oxen are often so distressed by the darts of the gad fly, that they rush into the water for refuge till night approaches. The only remedy is to wash the backs of the cattle in the spring with strong tobacco-water, which would greatly prevent the generating of these vermin. When sheep are struck with the fly, the way is to clip off the wool, to rub the parts affected with powdered lime or wood ashes, and afterwards to anoint them with currier's oil, which will heal the wounds, and secure the animals from future attack. Or dissolve half an ounce of corrosive sublimate in two quarts of soft water, and add a quarter of a pint of spirits of turpentine. Cut off the wool as far as it is infected, pour a few drops of the mixture in a circle round the maggots produced by the flies, and afterwards rub a little of it among them, and the maggots will immediately be destroyed. GAME. Game ought not to be thrown away even after it has been kept a long time, for when it seems to be spoiled it may often be made fit for eating, by carefully cleaning and washing it with vinegar and water. If there is danger of birds not keeping, the best way is to crop and draw them. Pick them clean, wash them in two or three waters, and rub them with salt. Plunge them into a kettle of boiling water one by one, and draw them up and down by the legs, that the water may pass through them. Let them remain in the water five or six minutes, and then hang them up in a cool place. When drained, season the insides well with pepper and salt, and wash them before they are roasted. The most delicate birds, even grouse, may thus be preserved. Those that live by suction cannot be done this way, as they are never drawn; and perhaps the heat might make them worse, as the water could not pass through them; but they will bear a high flavour. Lumps of charcoal put about birds and meat will preserve them from taint, and restore what is spoiling. GAME SAUCE. Wash and pare a head of celery, cut it into thin slices, boil it gently till it becomes tender; then add a little beaten mace, pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Thicken it with flour and butter, boil it up, pour some of it in the dish, and some in a boat. Lemon pickle or lemon juice may be added to it. GAMMON. Take off the rind of the ham and gammon, and soak it in water; cover the fat part with writing paper, roast, and baste it with canary. When done, sprinkle it over with crumbs of bread and parsley. Serve it with brown gravy, after it is well browned, and garnish it with raspings of bread. GARDEN HEDGES. A well trained hawthorn fence is the strongest, but as it is apt to get thin and full of gaps at the bottom, the barberry is to be preferred, especially on high banks with a light soil. It may be raised from the berries as easily as hawthorn, and will grow faster, if the suckers be planted early. The barberry puts up numerous suckers from the roots; it will therefore always grow close at the bottom, and make an impenetrable fence. In trimming any kind of close hedge, care should be taken to slope the sides, and make it pointed at the top: otherwise, the bottom being shaded by the upper part, will make it grow thin and full of gaps. The sides of a young hedge may be trimmed, to make it bush the better; but it should not be topped till it has arrived at a full yard in height, though a few of the points may be taken off. The bottom of hawthorn hedges may be conveniently thickened, by putting in some plants of common sweet briar, or barberry. GARDEN RHUBARB. To cultivate the common garden rhubarb, it should not only have a depth of good soil, but it should be watered in dry weather, and well covered with straw or dung in the winter season. It will then become solid when taken out of the ground; and if cut into large slices, and hung up in a warm kitchen, it will soon be fit for use. The plants may be taken up when the leaves are decayed, either in spring or in autumn, while the weather is dry; and when the roots are cleared from dirt, without washing, they should be dried in the sun for a few days before they are hung up. The better way would be to wrap them up separately in whited brown paper, and dry them on the hob of a common stove. Lemon and orange peel will dry remarkably well in the same manner. GARGLES. Common gargles may be made of figs boiled in milk and water, with a little sal-ammoniac; or sage-tea, with honey and vinegar mixed together. A sore throat may be gargled with it two or three times a day. GEESE. The rearing of this species of poultry incurs but little expense, as they chiefly support themselves on commons or in lanes, where they can get at water. The largest are esteemed the best, as also are the white and the grey: the pied and dark coloured are not so good. Thirty days are generally the time that the goose sets, but in warm weather she will sometimes hatch sooner. Give them plenty of food, such as scalded bran and light oats. As soon as the goslings are hatched, keep them housed for eight or ten days, and feed them with barley meal, bran, and curds. Green geese should begin to fatten at six or seven weeks old, and be fed as above. Stubble geese require no fattening, if they have the run of good fields and pasture.--If geese are bought at market, for the purpose of cooking, be careful to see that they are fresh and young. If fresh, the feet will be pliable: if stale, dry and stiff. The bill and feet of a young one will be yellow, and there will be but few hairs upon them: if old, they will be red. Green geese, not more than three or four months old, should be scalded: a stubble goose should be picked dry. GEORGE PUDDING. Boil very tender a handful of whole rice in a small quantity of milk, with a large piece of lemon peel. Let it drain; then mix with it a dozen apples, boiled to a pulp as dry as possible. Add a glass of white wine, the yolks of five eggs, two ounces of orange and citron cut thin, and sweeten it with sugar. Line a mould or bason with a very good paste, beat the five whites of the eggs to a very strong froth, and mix it with the other ingredients. Fill the mould, and bake it of a fine brown colour. Serve it bottom upwards with the following sauce: two glasses of wine, a spoonful of sugar, the yolks of two eggs, and a piece of sugar the size of a walnut. Simmer without boiling, and pour to and from the saucepan till the sauce is of a proper thickness, and then put it in the dish. GERMAN PUDDINGS. Melt three ounces of butter in a pint of cream, and let it stand till nearly cold. Then mix two ounces of fine flour, and two ounces of sugar, four yolks and two whites of eggs, and a little rose or orange flower water. Bake in little buttered cups half an hour. They should be served the moment they are done, and only when going to be eaten, or they will not be light. Turn the puffs out of the cups, and serve with white wine and sugar. GERMAN PUFFS. Mix together two ounces of blanched almonds well beaten, a spoonful of rose water, one white and two yolks of eggs, a spoonful of flour, half a pint of cream, two ounces of butter, and sugar to taste. Butter some cups, half fill them, and put them in the oven. Serve with white wine sauce, butter, and sugar. This is esteemed a good middle dish for dinner or supper. GIBLETS. Let the giblets be picked clean and washed, the feet skinned, the bill cut off, the head split in two, the pinion bones broken, the liver and gizzard cut in four, and the neck in two pieces. Put them into a pint of water, with pepper and salt, an onion, and sweet herbs. Cover the saucepan close, and stew them on a slow fire till they are quite tender. Take out the onion and herbs, and put them into a dish with the liquor. GIBLET PIE. Clean and skin the giblets very carefully, stew them with a small quantity of water, onion, black pepper, and a bunch of sweet herbs, till nearly done. Let them grow cold: and if not enough to fill the dish, lay at the bottom two or three slices of veal, beef, or mutton. Add the liquor of the stew; and when the pie is baked, pour into it a large teacupful of cream. Sliced apples added to the pie are a great improvement. Duck giblets will do; but goose giblets are much to be preferred. GIBLET SOUP. Scald and clean three or four sets of goose or duck giblets, and stew them slowly with a pound or two of gravy beef, scrag of mutton, or the bone of a knuckle of veal, an ox tail, or some shanks of mutton. Add a large bunch of sweet herbs, a tea-spoonful of white pepper, a large spoonful of salt, and three onions. Put in five pints of water, cut each of the gizzards into four pieces, and simmer till they become quite tender. Skin the stew carefully, add a quarter of a pint of cream, two tea-spoonfuls of mushroom powder, and an ounce of butter mixed with a dessert-spoonful of flour. Let it boil a few minutes, then put it into a tureen, add a little salt, and serve up the soup with the giblets. Instead of cream, it may be seasoned with a large spoonful of ketchup, some cayenne, and two glasses of sherry. GILDED FRAMES. These valuable articles cannot be preserved from fly stains, without covering them with strips of paper, and suffering them to remain till the flies are gone. Previous to this, the light dust should be blown from the gilding, and a feather or a clean brush lightly passed over it. Linen takes off the gilding, and deadens its brightness; it should therefore never be used for wiping it. Some means should be used to destroy the flies, as they injure furniture of every kind, and the paper likewise. Bottles hung about with sugar and vinegar, or beer, will attract them; or fly water, put into little shells placed about the room, but out of the reach of children. GILLIFLOWER WINE. To three gallons of water put six pounds of the best raw sugar; boil the sugar and water together for the space of half an hour, and keep skimming it as the scum rises. Let it stand to cool, beat up three ounces of syrup of betony with a large spoonful of ale yeast, and put it into the liquor. Prepare a peck of gilliflowers, cut from the stalks, and put them in to infuse and work together for three days, the whole being covered with a cloth. Strain it, and put it into a cask; let it settle for three or four weeks, and then bottle it. GINGER BEER. To every gallon of spring water add one ounce of sliced white ginger, one pound of lump sugar, and two ounces of lemon juice. Boil the mixture nearly an hour, and take off the scum; then run it through a hair sieve into a tub, and when cool, add yeast in the proportion of half a pint to nine gallons. Keep it in a temperate situation two days, during which it may be stirred six or eight times. Then put it into a cask, which must be kept full, and the yeast taken off at the bunghole with a spoon. In a fortnight, add half a pint of fining to nine gallons of the liquor, which will clear it by ascent, if it has been properly fermented. The cask must still be kept full, and the rising particles taken off at the bunghole. When fine, which may be expected in twenty-four hours, bottle and cork it well; and in summer it will be ripe and fit to drink in a fortnight. GINGER DROPS. Beat two ounces of fresh candied orange in a mortar, with a little sugar, till reduced to a paste. Then mix an ounce of the powder of white ginger, with a pound of loaf sugar. Wet the sugar with a little water, and boil all together to a candy, and drop it on white paper the size of mint drops. These make an excellent stomachic. GINGER WINE. To seven gallons of water put nineteen pounds of moist sugar, and boil it for half an hour, taking off the scum as it rises. Then take a small quantity of the liquor, and add to it nine ounces of the best ginger bruised. Put it all together, and when nearly cold, chop nine pounds of raisins very small, and put them into a nine gallon cask, with one ounce of isinglass. Slice four lemons into the cask, taking out all the seeds, and pour the liquor over them, with half a pint of fresh yeast. Leave it unstopped for three weeks, and in about three months it will be fit for bottling. There will be one gallon of the sugar and water more than the cask will hold at first: this must be kept to fill up as the liquor works off, as it is necessary that the cask should be kept full, til it has done working. The raisins should be two thirds Malaga, and one third Muscadel. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for making this wine.--Another. Boil nine quarts of water with six pounds of lump sugar, the rinds of two or three lemons very thinly pared, and two ounces of bruised white ginger. Let it boil half an hour, and skim it well. Put three quarters of a pound of raisins into the cask; and when the liquor is lukewarm, turn it, adding the juice of two lemons strained, with a spoonful and a half of yeast. Stir it daily, then put in half a pint of brandy, and half an ounce of isinglass shavings. Stop it up, and bottle it in six or seven weeks. The lemon peel is not to be put into the barrel. GINGERBREAD. Mix with two pounds of flour, half a pound of treacle, and half a pound of butter, adding an ounce of ginger finely powdered and sifted, and three quarters of an ounce of caraway seeds. Having worked it very much, set it to rise before the fire. Then roll out the paste, cut it into any shape, and bake it on tins. If to be made into sweetmeats, add some candied orange-peel, shred into small pieces.--Another sort. To three quarters of a pound of treacle, put one egg beaten and strained. Mix together four ounces of brown sugar, half an ounce of sifted ginger, and a quarter of an ounce each of cloves, mace, allspice, and nutmeg, beaten as fine as possible; also a quarter of an ounce of coriander and caraway seeds. Melt a pound of butter, and mix with the above, adding as much flour as will knead it into a pretty stiff paste. Roll it out, cut it into cakes, bake them on tin plates in a quick oven, and a little time will do them. Gingerbread buttons or drops may be made of a part of the paste.--A plain sort of gingerbread may be prepared as follows. Mix three pounds of flour with half a pound of butter, four ounces of brown sugar, and half an ounce of pounded ginger. Make it into a paste, with a pound and a quarter of warm treacle. Or make the gingerbread without butter, by mixing two pounds of treacle with the following ingredients. Four ounces each of orange, lemon, citron, and candied ginger, all thinly sliced; one ounce each of coriander seeds, caraways, and pounded ginger, adding as much flour as will make it into a soft paste. Lay it in cakes on tin plates, and bake it in a quick oven. Keep it dry in a covered earthen vessel, and the gingerbread will be good for some months. If cakes or biscuits be kept in paper, or a drawer, the taste will be disagreeable. A tureen, or a pan and cover, will preserve them long and moist; or if intended to be crisp, laying them before the fire, or keeping them in a dry canister, will make them so. GINGERBREAD NUTS. Carefully melt half a pound of butter, and stir it up in two pounds of treacle. Add an ounce of pounded ginger, two ounces of preserved lemon and orange peel, two ounces of preserved angelica cut small, one of coriander seed pounded, and the same of caraway whole. Mix them together, with two eggs, and as much flour as will bring it to a fine paste. Make it into nuts, put them on a tin plate, and bake them in a quick oven. GLASS. Broken glass may be mended with the same cement as china, or if it be only cracked, it will be sufficient to moisten the part with the white of an egg, strewing it over with a little powdered lime, and instantly applying a piece of fine linen. Another cement for glass is prepared from two parts of litharge, one of quick lime, and one of flint glass, each separately and finely powdered, and the whole worked up into a paste with drying oil. This compound is very durable, and acquires a greater degree of hardness when immersed in water. GLASSES. These frail and expensive articles may be rendered less brittle, and better able to bear sudden changes of temperature, by first plunging them into cold water, then gradually heating the water till it boils, and suffering it to cool in the open air. Glasses of every description, used for the table, will afterwards bear boiling water suddenly poured into them, without breaking. When they have been tarnished by age or accident, their lustre may be restored by strewing on them some fuller's earth, carefully powdered and cleared of sand and dirt, and then rubbing them gently with a linen cloth, or a little putty. GLOVES. Leather gloves may be repaired, cleaned, and dyed of a fine yellow, by steeping a little saffron in boiling water for about twelve hours; and having lightly sewed up the tops of the gloves, to prevent the dye from staining the insides, wet them over with a sponge or soft brush dipped in the liquid. A teacupful will be sufficient for a single pair. GLOUCESTER CHEESE. This article is made of milk immediately from the cow; and if it be too hot in the summer, a little skim milk or water is added to it, before the rennet is put in. As soon as the curd is come it is broken small, and cleared of the whey. The curd is set in the press for about a quarter of an hour, in order to extract the remainder of the liquid. It is then put into the cheese tub again, broken small, and scalded with water mixed with a little whey. When the curd is settled, the liquor is poured off; the curd is put into a vat, and worked up with a little salt when about half full. The vat is then filled up, and the whole is turned two or three times in it, the edges being pared, and the middle rounded up at each turning. At length, the curd being put into a cloth, it is placed in the press, then laid on the shelves, and turned every day till it becomes sufficiently firm to bear washing. GLOUCESTER JELLY. Take rice, sago, pearl barley, hartshorn shavings, and eringo root, each one ounce. Simmer with three pints of water till reduced to one, and then strain it. When cold it will be a jelly; of which give, dissolved in wine, milk, or broth, in change with other nourishment. GNATS. The stings of these troublesome insects are generally attended with a painful swelling. One of the most effectual remedies consists of an equal mixture of turpentine and sweet oil, which should immediately be applied to the wounded part, and it will afford relief in a little time. Olive oil alone, unsalted butter, or fresh lard, if rubbed on without delay, will also be found to answer the same purpose. They may be destroyed by fumigation, the same as for flies. GOLD. To clean gold, and restore its lustre, dissolve a little sal ammoniac in common wine. Boil the gold in it, and it will soon recover its brilliance. To clean gold or silver lace, sew it up in a linen cloth, and boil it with two ounces of soap in a pint of water: afterwards wash the lace in clear water. When the lace happens to be tarnished, the best liquor for restoring its lustre is spirits of wine, which should be warmed before it is applied. This application will also preserve the colour of silk or embroidery. GOLD RINGS. If a ring sticks tight on the finger, and cannot easily be removed, touch it with mercury, and it will become so brittle that a slight blow will break it. GOOSE FEATHERS. These being deemed particularly valuable, the birds in some counties are plucked four or five times in a year. The first operation is performed in the spring for feathers and quills, and is repeated for feathers only, between that period and Michaelmas. Though the plucking of geese appears to be a barbarous custom, yet experience has proved, that if carefully done, the birds thrive better, and are more healthy, when stripped of their feathers, than if they were left to drop them by moulting. Geese intended for breeding in farm yards, and which are called old geese, may be plucked three times a year, at an interval of seven weeks, but not oftener. Every one should be thirteen or fourteen weeks old before they are subject to this operation, or they are liable to perish in cold summers; and if intended for the table, they would become poor and lose their quality, were they stripped of their feathers at an earlier period. GOOSE PIE. Quarter a goose, season it well, put it in a baking dish, and lay pieces of butter over it. Put on a raised crust, and bake it in a moderate oven. To make a richer pie, forcemeat may be added, and slices of tongue. Duck pie is made in the same manner. GOOSE SAUCE. Put into melted butter a spoonful of sorrel juice, a little sugar, and some scalded gooseberries. Pour it into boats, and send it hot to table. GOOSEBERRY FOOL. Put the fruit into a stone jar, with some good Lisbon sugar. Set the jar on a stove, or in a saucepan of water over the fire: if the former, a large spoonful of water should be added to the fruit. When it is done enough to pulp, press it through a cullender. Have ready a sufficient quantity of new milk, and a tea-cupful of raw cream, boiled together, or an egg instead of the latter. When cold, sweeten it pretty well with fine Lisbon sugar, and mix the pulp with it by degrees. GOOSEBERRY HOPS. Gather the largest green gooseberries of the walnut kind, and slit the tops into four quarters, leaving the stalk end whole. Pick out the seeds, and with a strong needle and thread fasten five or six together, by running the thread through the bottoms, till they are of the size of a hop. Lay vine leaves at the bottom of a tin preserving-pan, cover them with the hops, then a layer of leaves, and so on: lay a good many on the top, and fill the pan with water. Stop it down so close that no steam can escape, set it by a slow fire till scalding hot, and then take it off to cool. Repeat the operation till the gooseberries, on being opened, are found to be of a good green. Then drain them on sieves, and make a thin syrup of a pound of sugar to a pint of water, well boiled and skimmed. When the syrup is half cold, put in the fruit; give it a boil up, and repeat it thrice. Gooseberry hops look well and eat best dried, and in this case they may be set to dry in a week. But if to be kept moist, make a syrup in the above proportions, adding a slice of ginger in the boiling. When skimmed and clear, give the gooseberries one boil, and pour the syrup cold over them. If found too sour, a little sugar may be added, before the hops that are for drying receive their last boil. The extra syrup will serve for pies, or go towards other sweetmeats. GOOSEBERRY JAM. Gather some ripe gooseberries, of the clear white or green sort, pick them clean and weigh them. Allow three quarters of a pound of lump sugar to a pound of fruit, and half a pint of water. Boil and skim the sugar and water, then put in the fruit, and boil it gently till it is quite clear. Break the gooseberries into jam, and put into small pots.--Another. Gather some ripe gooseberries in dry weather, of the red hairy sort, and pick off the heads and tails. Put twelve pounds of them into a preserving pan, with a pint of currant juice, drawn as for jelly. Boil them pretty quick, and beat them with a spoon; when they begin to break, add six pounds of white Lisbon sugar, and simmer them slowly to a jam. They require long boiling, or they will not keep; but they make an excellent jam for tarts and puffs. When the jam is put into jars, examine it after two or three days; and if the syrup and fruit separate, the whole must be boiled again. In making white gooseberry jam, clarified sugar should be used; and in all cases great care must be taken to prevent the fruit from burning to the bottom of the pan. GOOSEBERRY PUDDING. Stew some gooseberries in a jar over a hot hearth, or in a saucepan of water, till reduced to a pulp. Take a pint of the juice pressed through a coarse sieve, and mix it with three eggs beaten and strained. Add an ounce and a half of butter, sweeten it well, put a crust round the dish, and bake it. A few crumbs of roll should be mixed with the above to give it a little consistence, or four ounces of Naples biscuits. GOOSEBERRY TRIFLE. Scald as much fruit as when pulped through a sieve, will cover the bottom of a dish intended to be used. Mix with it the rind of half a lemon grated fine, sweetened with sugar. Put any quantity of common custard over it, and a whip on the top, as for other trifles. GOOSEBERRY VINEGAR. Boil some spring water; and when cold, put to every three quarts, a quart of bruised gooseberries in a large tub. Let them remain two or three days, stirring often; then strain through a hair bag, and to each gallon of liquor add a pound of the coarsest sugar. Put it into a barrel, with yeast spread upon a toast, and cover the bung hole with a piece of slate. The greater the quantity of sugar and fruit, the stronger the vinegar. GOOSEBERRY WINE. When the weather is dry, gather gooseberries about the time they are half ripe. Pick them clean as much as a peck into a convenient vessel, and bruise them with a piece of wood, taking as much care as possible to keep the seeds whole. Now having put the pulp into a canvas bag, press out all the juice; and to every gallon of the gooseberries, add about three pounds of fine loaf sugar. Mix the whole together by stirring it with a stick, and as soon as the sugar is quite dissolved, pour it into a cask which will exactly hold it. If the quantity be about eight or nine gallons, let it stand a fortnight: if twenty gallons, forty days, and so on in proportion. Set it in a cool place; and after standing the proper time, draw it off from the lees. Put it into another clean vessel of equal size, or into the same, after pouring out the lees and making it clean. Let a cask of ten or twelve gallons stand for about three months, and twenty gallons for five months, after which it will be fit for bottling off. GOOSEBERRIES PRESERVED. Gather some dry gooseberries of the hairy sort, before the seeds become large, and take care not to cut them in taking off the stalks and buds. If gathered in the damp, or the gooseberry skins are the least broken in the preparation, the fruit will mould. Fill some jars or wide-mouthed bottles, put the corks loosely in, and set the bottles up to the neck in a kettle of water. When the fruit looks scalded, take them out; and when perfectly cold, cork them down close, and rosin the top. Dig a trench sufficiently deep to receive all the bottles, and cover them with the earth a foot and a half. When a frost comes on, a little fresh litter from the stable will prevent the ground from hardening, so that the fruit may more easily be dug up.--Green gooseberries may also be preserved for winter use, without bedding them in the earth. Scald them as above, and when cold, fill the bottles up with cold water. Cork and rosin them down, and keep them in a dry place.--Another way. Having prepared the gooseberries as above, prepare a kettle of boiling water, and put into it as much roche alum as will harden the water, or give it a little roughness when dissolved: but if there be too much it will spoil the fruit. Cover the bottom of a large sieve with gooseberries, without laying one upon another; and hold the sieve in the water till the fruit begins to look scalded on the outside. Turn them gently out of the sieve on a cloth on the dresser, cover them with another cloth, putting some more to be scalded, till the whole are finished. Observe not to put one quantity upon another, or they will become too soft. The next day pick out any bad or broken ones, bottle the rest, and fill up the bottles with the alum water in which they were scalded. If the water be left in the kettle, or in a glazed pan, it will spoil; it must therefore be quickly put into the bottles. Gooseberries prepared in this way, and stopped down close, will make as fine tarts as when fresh from the trees.--Another way. In dry weather pick some full grown but unripe gooseberries, top and tail them, and put them into wide-mouthed bottles. Stop them lightly with new velvet corks, put them into the oven after the bread is drawn, and let them stand till they are shrunk one fourth. Take them out of the oven, fasten the corks in tight, cut off the tops, and rosin them down close. Set them in a dry place; and if well secured from the air, they will keep the year round. Currants and damsons may be preserved in the same way. GOOSEGRASS OINTMENT. Melt some hog's lard, add as much clivers or goosegrass as the lard will moisten, and boil them together over a slow fire. Keep the mixture stirring till it becomes a little brown, and then strain it through a cloth. When cold, take the ointment from the water, and put it up in gallipots. GOUT. Gouty patients are required to abstain from all fermented and spirituous liquors, and to use wine very moderately; carefully to avoid all fat, rancid, and salted provisions, and high seasoned dishes of every description. The constant use of barley bread is recommended, with large doses of powdered ginger boiled in milk for breakfast. Absorbent powders of two scruples of magnesia, and three or four grains each of rhubarb and purified kali, should be taken during the intervals of gouty fits, and repeated every other morning for several weeks. The feet should be kept warm, sinapisms frequently applied to them, and the part affected should be covered with flannel. GOUT CORDIAL. Take four pounds of sun raisins sliced and stoned, two ounces of senna, one ounce of fennel seed, one of coriander, half an ounce of cochineal, half an ounce of saffron, half an ounce of stick liquorice, and half a pound of rhubarb: infuse them all in two gallons of brandy, and let it stand for ten days. Stir it occasionally, then strain it off, and bottle it. Take a small wine-glass full, when the gout is in the head or stomach; and if the pain be not removed, take two large spoonfuls more.--Or take six drams of opium, half an ounce of soap of tartar, half an ounce of castile soap, one dram of grated nutmeg, three drams of camphor, two scruples of saffron, and nine ounces of sweet spirit of sal-ammoniac. Put them all into a wine flask in a sand-heat for ten days, shaking it occasionally till the last day or two: then pour it off clear, and keep it stopped up close for use. Take thirty or forty drops in a glass of peppermint two hours after eating; it may also be taken two or three times in the day or night if required. GRANARIES. These depositaries are very liable to be infested with weasels, and various kinds of insects. To prevent their depredations, the floors of granaries should be laid with poplars of Lombardy. GRAPES. To preserve this valuable fruit, prepare a cask or barrel, by carefully closing up its crevices to prevent access of the external air. Place a layer of bran, which has been well dried in an oven; upon this place a layer of bunches of grapes, well cleaned, and gathered in the afternoon of a dry day, before they are perfectly ripe. Proceed then with alternate layers of bran and grapes till the barrel is full, taking care that the bunches of grapes do not touch each other, and to let the last layer be of bran; then close the barrel so that the air may not be able to penetrate. Grapes thus packed will keep for a twelvemonth. To restore their freshness, cut the end of each bunch, and put that of white grapes into white wine, and that of black grapes into red wine, as flowers are put into water to keep them fresh. It is customary in France to pack grapes for the London market in saw dust, but it must be carefully dried with a gentle heat, or the turpentine and other odours of the wood will not fail to injure the fruit. Oak saw dust will answer the purpose best. GRAPE WINE. To every gallon of ripe grapes put a gallon of soft water, bruise the grapes, let them stand a week without stirring, and draw the liquor off fine. To every gallon of liquor allow three pounds of lump sugar, put the whole into a vessel, but do not stop it till it has done hissing; then stop it close, and in six months it will be fit for bottling.--A better wine, though smaller in quantity, will be made by leaving out the water, and diminishing the quantity of sugar. Water is necessary only where the juice is so scanty, or so thick, as in cowslip, balm, or black currant wine, that it could not be used without it. GRAVEL. The gout or rheumatism has a tendency to produce this disorder; it is also promoted by the use of sour liquor, indigestible food, especially cheese, and by a sedentary life. Perspiration should be assisted by gentle means, particularly by rubbing with a warm flannel; the diet regulated by the strictest temperance, and moderate exercise is not to be neglected. For medicine, take the juice of a horseradish, made into a thin syrup by mixing it with sugar; a spoonful or two to be taken every three or four hours. GRAVEL WALKS. To preserve garden walks from moss and weeds, water them frequently with brine, or salt and water, both in the spring and in autumn. Worms may be destroyed by an infusion of walnut-tree leaves, or by pouring into the holes a ley made of wood ashes and lime. If fruit trees are sprinkled with it, the ravages of insects will be greatly prevented. GRAVIES. A few general observations are necessary on the subject of soups and gravies. When there is any fear of gravy meat being spoiled before it be wanted, it should be well seasoned, and lightly fried, in order to its keeping a day or two longer; but the gravy is best when the juices are fresh. When soups or gravies are to be put by, let them be changed every day into fresh scalded pans. Whatever liquor has vegetables boiled in it, is apt to turn sour much sooner than the juices of meat, and gravy should never be kept in any kind of metal. When fat remains on any soup, a tea-cupful of flour and water mixed quite smooth, and boiled in, will take it off. If richness or greater consistence be required, a good lump of butter mixed with flour, and boiled in the soup or gravy, will impart either of these qualities. Long boiling is necessary to obtain the full flavour; and gravies and soups are best made the day before they are wanted. They are also much better when the meat is laid in the bottom of the pan, and stewed with herbs, roots, and butter, than when water is put to the meat at first; and the gravy that is drawn from the meat, should almost be dried up before the water is added. The sediment of gravies that have stood to be cold, should not be used in cooking. When onions are strong, boil a turnip with them, if for sauce; and this will make them mild and pleasant. If soups or gravies are too weak, do not cover them in boiling, that the watery particles may evaporate. A clear jelly of cow heels is very useful to keep in the house, being a great improvement to soups and gravies. Truffles and morels thicken soups and sauces, and give them a fine flavour. The way is to wash half an ounce of each carefully, then simmer them a few minutes in water, and add them with the liquor to boil in the sauce till quite tender. As to the materials of which gravy is to be made, beef skirts will make as good as any other meat. Beef kidney, or milt, cut into small pieces, will answer the purpose very well; and so will the shank end of mutton that has been dressed, if much be wanted. The shank bones of mutton, if well soaked and cleaned, are a great improvement to the richness of the gravy. Taragon gives the flavour of French cookery, and in high gravies it is a great improvement; but it should be added only a short time before serving. To draw gravy that will keep for a week, cut some lean beef thin, put it into a fryingpan without any butter, cover it up, and set it on the fire, taking care that it does not burn. Keep it on the fire till all the gravy that comes out of the meat is absorbed, then add as much water as will cover the meat, and keep it stewing. Put in some herbs, onions, spice, and a piece of lean ham. Let it simmer till it is quite rich, and keep it in a cool place; but do not remove the fat till the gravy is to be used. GRAVY FOR FOWL. When there is no meat to make gravy of, wash the feet of the fowl nicely, and cut them and the neck small. Simmer them with a little bread browned, a slice of onion, a sprig of parsley and thyme, some salt and pepper, and the liver and gizzard, in a quarter of a pint of water, till half wasted. Take out the liver, bruise it, and strain the liquor to it. Then thicken it with flour and butter, and a tea-spoonful of mushroom ketchup will make the gravy very good. GRAVY FOR WILD FOWL. Set on a saucepan with half a pint of veal gravy, adding half a dozen leaves of basil, a small onion, and a roll of orange or lemon peel. Let it boil up for a few minutes, and strain it off. Put to the clear gravy the juice of a Seville orange, half a teaspoonful of salt, the same of pepper, and a glass of red wine. Shalot and cayenne may be added. This is an excellent sauce for all kinds of wild water-fowl, and should be sent up hot in a boat, as some persons like wild fowl very little done, and without any sauce. The common way of gashing the breast, and squeezing in a lemon, cools and hardens the flesh, and compels every one to eat it that way, whether they approve of it or not. GRAVY FOR MUTTON. To make mutton taste like venison, provide for it the following gravy. Pick a very stale woodcock or snipe, and cut it to pieces, after having removed the bag from the entrails. Simmer it in some meat gravy, without seasoning; then strain it, and serve it with the mutton. GRAVY SOUP. Wash and soak a leg of beef; break the bone, and set it on the fire with a gallon of water, a large bunch of sweet herbs, two large onions sliced and fried to a fine brown, but not burnt; add two blades of mace, three cloves, twenty berries of allspice, and forty black peppers. Stew the soup till it is rich, and then take out the meat, which may be eaten at the kitchen table, with a little of the gravy. Next day take off the fat, which will serve for basting, or for common pie crust. Slice some carrots, turnips, and celery, and simmer them till tender. If not approved, they can be taken out before the soup is sent to table, but the flavour will be a considerable addition. Boil vermicelli a quarter of an hour, and add to it a large spoonful of soy, and one of mushroom ketchup. A French roll should be made hot, then soaked in the soup, and served in the tureen. GRAVY WITHOUT MEAT. Put into a bason a glass of small beer, a glass of water, some pepper and salt, grated lemon peel, a bruised clove or two, and a spoonful of walnut pickle, or mushroom ketchup. Slice an onion, flour and fry it in a piece of butter till it is brown. Then turn all the above into a small tosser, with the onion, and simmer it covered for twenty minutes. Strain it off for use, and when cold take off the fat. GRAYLINE. Having scaled and washed the fish, then dry them. Dust them over with flour, and lay them separately on a board before the fire. Fry them of a fine colour with fresh dripping; serve them with crimp parsley, and plain butter. Perch and tench may be done the same way. GREASE EXTRACTED. The ashes of burnt bones finely powdered, or calcined hartshorn, heated over the fire in a clean vessel, and laid on each side of the grease spot, if on books or paper, with a weight laid upon it to assist the effect, will completely remove it; or the powder may be wrapped in thin muslin, and applied in the same manner. When prints get foul and dirty, they may readily be cleaned in the same manner as linen is bleached, by being exposed to the sun and air, and frequently wetted with clean water. If this do not fully succeed, the print may be soaked in hot water; and if pasted on canvas, it should first be taken off by dipping it in boiling water, which will loosen it from the canvas. The dirt occasioned by flies, may be gently taken off with a wet sponge, after the print has been well soaked. Spots of white-wash may be removed by spirit of sea salt diluted with water.--If grease spots appear in leather, a different process must be pursued. A paste made of mealy potatoes, dry mustard, and spirits of turpentine, mixed together, and applied to the spot, will extract the grease from leather, if rubbed off after it has been allowed sufficient time to dry. A little vinegar may be added, to render the application more effectual. GREEN FRUIT. Green peaches, plums, or other fruit, should be put into a preserving pan of spring water, covered with vine leaves, and set over a clear fire. When they begin to simmer take them off, and take the fruit out carefully with a slice. Peel and preserve them as other fruit. GREEN GAGES. In order to preserve them for pies and tarts, choose the largest when they begin to soften. Split them without paring; and having weighed an equal quantity of sugar, strew a part of it over the fruit. Blanch the kernels with a small sharp knife. Next day pour the syrup from the fruit, and boil it gently six or eight minutes with the other sugar; skim it, and add the plums and kernels. Simmer it till clear, taking off any scum that rises; put the fruit singly into small pots, and pour the syrup and kernels to it. If the fruit is to be candied, the syrup must not be added: for the sake of variety, it may be proper to do some each way. GREEN GOOSE PIE. Bone two young green geese, of a good size; but first take away every plug, and singe them nicely. Wash them clean, and season them well with salt, pepper, mace, and allspice. Put one inside the other, and press them quite close, drawing the legs inward. Put a good deal of butter over them, and bake them either with or without a crust: if the latter, a cover to the dish must fit close to keep in the steam. GREEN PEAS. Peas should not be shelled till they are wanted, nor boiled in much water. Put them in when the water boils, with a little salt, and a lump of sugar. When they begin to dent in the middle, they are done enough. Strain them through a cullender, put a piece of butter in the dish, and stir them till it is melted. Garnish with boiled mint. GREEN PEAS PRESERVED. If it be wished to keep them for winter use, shell the peas, and put them into a kettle of water when it boils. Warm them well, without boiling, and pour them into a cullender. When the water drains off, turn them out on a dresser covered with a cloth, and put over another cloth to dry them perfectly. Deposit them in wide-mouth bottles, leaving only room to pour clarified mutton suet upon them an inch thick, and also for the cork. Rosin it down, and keep it in the cellar or in the earth, the same as other green fruit. When the peas are to be used, boil them tender, with a piece of butter, a spoonful of sugar, and a little mint.--Another way. Shell the peas, scald and dry them as above. Put them on tins or earthen dishes in a cool oven once or twice to harden, and keep them in paper bags hung up in the kitchen. When they are to be used, let them be an hour in water; then set them on with cold water, a piece of butter, and a sprig of dried mint, and boil them. GREEN PEAS SOUP. In shelling the peas, divide the old from the young. Stew the old ones to a pulp, with an ounce of butter, a pint of water, a leaf or two of lettuce, two onions, pepper and salt. Put to the liquor that stewed them some more water, the hearts and tender stalks of the lettuces, the young peas, a handful of spinach cut small, salt and pepper to relish, and boil them till quite soft. If the soup be too thin, or not rich enough, add an ounce or two of butter, mixed with a spoonful of rice or flour, and boil it half an hour longer. Before serving, boil in the soup some green mint shred fine. When the peas first come in, or are very young, the stock may be made of the shells washed and boiled, till they are capable of being pulped. More thickening will then be wanted. GREEN PEAS STEWED. Put into a stewpan a quart of peas, a lettuce and an onion both sliced, and no more water than hangs about the lettuce from washing. Add a piece of butter, a little pepper and salt, and stew them very gently for two hours. When to be served, beat up an egg, and stir it into them, or a bit of flour and butter. Chop a little mint, and stew in them. Gravy may be added, or a tea-spoonful of white powdered sugar; but the flavour of the peas themselves is much better. GREEN SAUCE. Mix a quarter of a pint of sorrel juice, a glass of white wine, and some scalded gooseberries. Add sugar, and a bit of butter, and boil them up, to serve with green geese or ducklings. GRIDIRON. The bars of a gridiron should be made concave, and terminate in a trough to catch the gravy, and keep the fat from dropping into the fire and making a smoke, which will spoil the broiling. Upright gridirons are the best, as they can be used at any fire, without fear of smoke, and the gravy is preserved in the trough under them. The business of the gridiron may be done by a Dutch oven, when occasion requires. GRIEF. In considering what is conducive to health or otherwise, it is impossible to overlook this destructive passion, which like envy is 'the rottenness of the bones.' Anger and fear are more violent, but this is more fixed: it sinks deep into the mind, and often proves fatal. It may generally be conquered at the beginning of any calamity; but when it has gained strength, all attempts to remove it are ineffectual. Life may be dragged out for a few years, but it is impossible that any one should enjoy health, whose mind is bowed down with grief and trouble. In this case some betake themselves to drinking, but here the remedy only aggravates the disease. The best relief, besides what the consolations of religion may afford, is to associate with the kind and cheerful, to shift the scene as much as possible, to keep up a succession of new ideas, apply to the study of some art or science, and to read and write on such subjects as deeply engage the attention. These will sooner expel grief than the most sprightly amusements, which only aggravate instead of relieving the anguish of a wounded heart. GRILL SAUCE. To half a pint of gravy add an ounce of fresh butter, and a table-spoonful of flour, previously well rubbed together; the same of mushroom or walnut ketchup, two tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one of made mustard, one of caper, half a one of black pepper, a little lemon peel grated fine, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies, a very small piece of minced shalot, and a little chili vinegar, or a few grains of cayenne. Simmer them all together for a few minutes, pour a little of it over the grill, and send up the rest in a sauce tureen. GRILLED MUTTON. Cut a breast of mutton into diamonds, rub it over with egg, and strew on some crumbs of bread and chopped parsley. Broil it in a Dutch oven, baste it with butter, and pour caper sauce or gravy into the dish. GROUND RICE MILK. Boil one spoonful of ground rice, rubbed down smooth, with three half pints of milk, a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and nutmeg. Sweeten it when nearly done. GROUND RICE PUDDING. Boil a large spoonful of ground rice in a pint of new milk, with lemon peel and cinnamon. When cold, add sugar, nutmeg, and two eggs well beaten. Bake it with a crust round the dish. A pudding of Russian seed is made in the same manner. GROUSE. Twist the head under the wing, and roast them like fowls, but they must not be overdone. Serve with a rich gravy in the dish, and bread sauce. The sauce recommended for wild fowl, may be used instead of gravy. GRUBS. Various kinds of grubs or maggots, hatched from beetles, are destructive of vegetation, and require to be exterminated. In a garden they may be taken and destroyed by cutting a turf, and laying it near the plant which is attacked, with the grass side downwards. But the most effectual way is to visit these depredators at midnight, when they may be easily found and destroyed. GUDGEONS. These delicate fish are taken in running streams, where the water is clear. They come in about midsummer, and are to be had for five or six months. They require to be dressed much the same as smelts, being considered as a species of fresh-water smelts. GUINEA FOWL. Pea and guinea fowl eat much like pheasants, and require to be dressed in the same way. GUINEA HENS. These birds lay a great number of eggs; and if their nest can be discovered, it is best to put them under common hens, which are better nurses. They require great warmth, quiet, and careful feeding with rice swelled in milk, or bread soaked in it. Put two peppercorns down their throat when first hatched. GUNPOWDER. Reduce to powder separately, five drams of nitrate of potass, one dram of sulphur, and one of new-burnt charcoal. Mix them together in a mortar with a little water, so as to make the compound into a dough, which roll out into round pieces of the thickness of a pin, upon a slab. This must be done by moving a board backwards and forwards until the dough is of a proper size. When three or four of these strings or pieces are ready, put them together, and with a knife cut the whole off in small grains. Place these grains on a sheet of paper in a warm place, and they will soon dry. During granulation, the dough must be prevented from sticking, by using a little of the dry compound powder. This mode of granulation, though tedious, is the only one to be used for so small a quantity, for the sake of experiment. In a large way, gunpowder is granulated by passing the composition through sieves. H. HADDOCKS. These fish may be had the greater part of the year, but are most in season during the first three months. In choosing, see that the flesh is firm, the eyes bright, and the gills fresh and red. Clean them well, dry them in a cloth, and rub them with vinegar to prevent the skin from breaking. Dredge them with flour, rub the gridiron with suet, and let it be hot when the fish is laid on. Turn them while broiling, and serve them up with melted butter, or shrimp sauce. HAIR. Frequent cutting of the hair is highly beneficial to the whole body; and if the head be daily washed with cold water, rubbed dry, and exposed to the air, it will be found an excellent preventive of periodical headachs. Pomatums and general perfumery are very injurious; but a mixture of olive oil and spirits of rosemary, with a few drops of oil of nutmeg, may be used with safety. If a lead comb be sometimes passed through the hair, it will assume a darker colour, but for health it cannot be recommended. HAIR POWDER. To know whether this article be adulterated with lime, as is too frequently the case, put a little of the powder of sal-ammoniac into it, and stir it up with warm water. If the hair powder has been adulterated with lime, a strong smell of alkali will arise from the mixture. HAIR WATER. To thicken the hair, and prevent its falling off, an excellent water may be prepared in the following manner. Put four pounds of pure honey into a still, with twelve handfuls of the tendrils of vines, and the same quantity of rosemary tops. Distil as cool and as slowly as possible, and the liquor may be allowed to drop till it begins to taste sour. HAMS. When a ham is to be dressed, put it into water all night, if it has hung long; and let it lie either in a hole dug in the earth, or on damp stones sprinkled with water, two or three days, to mellow it. Wash it well, and put it into a boiler with plenty of water; let it simmer four, five, or six hours, according to the size. When done enough, if before the time of serving, cover it with a clean cloth doubled, and keep the dish hot over some boiling water. Take off the skin, and rasp some bread over the ham. Preserve the skin as whole as possible, to cover the ham when cold, in order to prevent its drying. Garnish the dish with carrot when sent to table. If a dried ham is to be purchased, judge of its goodness by sticking a sharp knife under the bone. If it comes out with a pleasant smell, the ham is good: but if the knife be daubed, and has a bad scent, do not buy it. Hams short in the hock are best, and long-legged pigs are not fit to be pickled. HAM SAUCE. When a ham is almost done with, pick all the meat clean from the bone, leaving out any rusty part. Beat the meat and the bone to a mash, put it into a saucepan with three spoonfuls of gravy, set it over a slow fire, and stir it all the time, or it will stick to the bottom. When it has been on some time, put to it a small bundle of sweet herbs, some pepper, and half a pint of beef gravy. Cover it up, and let it stew over a gentle fire. When it has a good flavour of the herbs, strain off the gravy. A little of this sauce will be found an improvement to all gravies. HANDS. When the hands or feet are severely affected with the cold, they should not immediately be exposed to the fire, but restored to their usual tone and feeling, by immersing them in cold water, and afterwards applying warmth in the most careful and gradual manner. Persons subject to chopped hands in the winter time, should be careful to rub them quite dry after every washing; and to prevent their being injured by the weather, rub them with a mixture of fresh lard, honey, and the yolks of eggs; or a little goose fat will answer the purpose. HARD DUMPLINGS. Make a paste of flour and water, with a little salt, and roll it into balls. Dust them with flour, and boil them nearly an hour. They are best boiled with a good piece of meat, and for variety, a few currants may be added. HARES. If hung up in a dry cool place, they will keep a great time; and when imagined to be past eating, they are often in the highest perfection. They are never good if eaten when fresh killed. A hare will keep longer and eat better, if not opened for four or five days, or according to the state of the weather. If paunched when it comes from the field, it should be wiped quite dry, the heart and liver taken out, and the liver scalded to keep for stuffing. Repeat this wiping every day, rub a mixture of pepper and ginger on the inside, and put a large piece of charcoal into it. If the spice be applied early, it will prevent that musty taste which long keeping in the damp occasions, and which also affects the stuffing. If an old hare is to be roasted, it should be kept as long as possible, and well soaked. This may be judged of, in the following manner. If the claws are blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, and the haunch thick, it is old. But if the claws are smooth and sharp, the ears easily tear, and the cleft in the lip is not much spread, it is young. If fresh and newly killed, the body will be stiff, and the flesh pale. To know a real leveret, it is necessary to look for a knob or small bone near the foot on its fore leg: if there be none, it is a hare. HARE PIE. Cut up the hare, and season it; bake it with eggs and forcemeat, in a dish or raised crust. When cold take off the lid, and cover the meat with Savoury Jelly: see the article. HARE SAUCE. This usually consists of currant jelly warmed up; or it may be made of half a pint of port, and a quarter of a pound of sugar, simmered together over a clear fire for about five minutes. It may also be made of half a pint of vinegar, and a quarter of a pound of sugar, reduced to a syrup. HARE SOUP. Take an old hare unfit for other purposes, cut it into pieces, and put it into a jar; add a pound and a half of lean beef, two or three shank bones of mutton well cleaned, a slice of lean bacon or ham, an onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Pour on two quarts of boiling water, cover the jar close with bladder and paper, and set it in a kettle of water. Simmer till the hare is stewed to pieces, strain off the liquor, boil it up once, with a chopped anchovy, and add a spoonful of soy, a little cayenne, and salt. A few fine forcemeat balls, fried of a good brown, should be served in the tureen. HARRICO OF MUTTON. Remove some of the fat, and cut the middle or best end of the neck into rather thin steaks. Flour and fry them in their own fat, of a fine light brown, but not enough for eating. Then put them into a dish while you fry the carrots, turnips, and onions; the carrots and turnips in dice, the onions sliced. They must only be warmed, and not browned. Then lay the steaks at the bottom of a stewpan, the vegetables over them, and pour on as much boiling water as will just cover them. Give them one boil, skim them well, and then set the pan on the side of the fire to simmer gently till all is tender. In three or four hours skim them; add pepper and salt, and a spoonful of ketchup. HARRICO OF VEAL. Take the best end of a small neck, cut the bones short, but leave it whole. Then put it into a stewpan, just covered with brown gravy; and when it is nearly done, have ready a pint of boiled peas, six cucumbers pared and sliced, and two cabbage-lettuces cut into quarters, all stewed in a little good broth. Add them to the veal, and let them simmer ten minutes. When the veal is in the dish, pour the sauce and vegetables over it, and lay the lettuce with forcemeat balls round it. HARTSHORN JELLY. Simmer eight ounces of hartshorn shavings with two quarts of water, till reduced to one. Strain and boil it with the rinds of four China oranges, and two lemons pared thin. When cool, add the juice of both, half a pound of sugar, and the whites of six eggs beaten to a froth. Let the jelly have three or four boils without stirring, and strain it through a jelly bag. HASHED BEEF. Put into a stewpan, a pint and a half of broth or water, a large table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, with the gravy saved from the beef. Add a quarter of an ounce of onion sliced very fine, and boil it about ten minutes. Put a large table-spoonful of flour into a basin, just wet it with a little water, mix it well together, then stir it into the broth, and boil it five or ten minutes. Rub it through a sieve, return it to the stewpan, put in the hash, and let it stand by the side of the fire till the meat is warm. A tea-spoonful of parsley chopped very fine, and put in five minutes before it is served up, will be an agreeable addition; or to give a higher relish, a glass of port wine, and a spoonful of currant jelly. Hashes and meats dressed a second time, should only simmer gently, till just warmed through. HASHED DUCK. Cut a cold duck into joints, and warm it in gravy, without boiling, and add a glass of port wine. HASHED HARE. Season the legs and wings first, and then broil them, which will greatly improve the flavour. Rub them with cold butter and serve them quite hot. The other parts, warmed with gravy, and a little stuffing, may be served separately. HASHED MUTTON. Cut thin slices of dressed mutton, fat and lean, and flour them. Have ready a little onion boiled in two or three spoonfuls of water; add to it a little gravy, season the meat, and make it hot, but not to boil. Serve up the hash in a covered dish. Instead of onion, a clove, a spoonful of currant jelly, and half a glass of port wine, will give an agreeable venison flavour, if the meat be fine. For a change, the hash may be warmed up with pickled cucumber or walnut cut small. HASHED VENISON. Warm it with its own gravy, or some of it without seasoning; but it should only be warmed through, and not boiled. If no fat be left, cut some slices of mutton fat, set it on the fire with a little port wine and sugar, and simmer it dry. Then put it to the hash, and it will eat as well as the fat of venison. HASTY DISH OF EGGS. Beat up six eggs, pour them into a saucepan, hold it over the fire till they begin to thicken, and keep stirring from the bottom all the time. Then add a piece of butter the size of a walnut, stir it about till the eggs and water are thoroughly mixed, and the eggs quite dry. Put it on a plate, and serve it hot. HASTY FRITTERS. Melt some butter in a saucepan, put in half a pint of good ale, and stir a little flour into it by degrees. Add a few currants, or chopped apples; beat them up quick, and drop a large spoonful at a time into the pan, till the bottom is nearly covered. Keep them separate, turn them with a slice; and when of a fine brown, serve them up hot, with grated sugar over them. HASTY PUDDING. Boil some milk over a clear fire, and take it off. Keep putting in flour with one hand, and stirring it with the other, till it becomes quite thick. Boil it a few minutes, pour it into a dish, and garnish with pieces of butter. To make a better pudding, beat up an egg and flour into a stiff paste, and mince it fine. Put the mince into a quart of boiling milk, with a little butter and salt, cinnamon and sugar, and stir them carefully together. When sufficiently thickened, pour it into a dish, and stick bits of butter on the top. Or shred some suet, add grated bread, a few currants, the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two, with some grated lemon peel and ginger. Mix the whole together, and make it into balls the size and shape of an egg, with a little flour. Throw them into a skillet of boiling water, and boil them twenty minutes; but when sufficiently done, they will rise to the top. Serve with cold butter, or pudding sauce. HATS. Gentlemen's hats are often damaged by a shower of rain, which takes off the gloss, and leaves them spotted. To prevent this, shake out the wet as much as possible, wipe the hat carefully with a clean handkerchief, observing to lay the beaver smooth. Then fix the hat in its original shape, and hang it to dry at a distance from the fire. Next morning, brush it several times with a soft brush in the proper direction, and the hat will have sustained but little injury. A flat iron moderately heated, and passed two or three times gently over the hat, will raise the gloss, and give the hat its former good appearance. HAUNCH OF MUTTON. Keep it as long as it can be preserved sweet, and wash it with warm milk and water, or vinegar if necessary. When to be dressed especially, observe to wash it well, lest the outside should contract a bad flavour from keeping. Lay a paste of coarse flour on strong paper, and fold the haunch in it; set it a great distance from the fire, and allow proportionate time for the paste. Do not remove it till nearly forty minutes before serving, and then baste it continually. Bring the haunch nearer the fire before the paste is taken off, and froth it up the same as venison. A gravy must be made of a pound and a half of a loin of old mutton, simmered in a pint of water to half the quantity, and no seasoning but salt. Brown it with a little burnt sugar, and send it up in the dish. Care should be taken to retain a good deal of gravy in the meat, for though long at the fire, the distance and covering will prevent its roasting out. Serve with currant-jelly sauce. HAUNCH OF VENISON. If it be the haunch of a buck, it will take full three hours and a half roasting; if a doe, about half an hour less. Venison should be rather under than overdone. Sprinkle some salt on a sheet of white paper, spread it over with butter, and cover the fat with it. Then lay a coarse paste on strong white paper, and cover the haunch; tie it with fine packthread, and set it at a distance from a good fire. Baste it often: ten minutes before serving take off the paste, draw the meat nearer the fire, and baste it with butter and a good deal of flour, to make it froth up well. Gravy for it should be put into a boat, and not into the dish, unless there is none in the venison. To make the gravy, cut off the fat from two or three pounds of a loin of old mutton, and set it in steaks on a gridiron for a few minutes just to brown one side. Put them into a saucepan with a quart of water, keep it closely covered for an hour, and simmer it gently. Then uncover it, stew it till the gravy is reduced to a pint, and season it with salt only. Currant-jelly sauce must be served in a boat. Beat up the jelly with a spoonful or two of port wine, and melt it over the fire. Where jelly runs short, a little more wine must be added, and a few lumps of sugar. Serve with French beans. If the old bread sauce be still preferred, grate some white bread, and boil it with port wine and water, and a large stick of cinnamon. When quite smooth, take out the cinnamon, and add some sugar. HAY STACKS. In making stacks of new hay, care should be taken to prevent its heating and taking fire, by forming a tunnel completely through the centre. This may be done by stuffing a sack full of straw, and tying up the mouth with a cord; then make the rick round the sack, drawing it up as the rick advances, and taking it out when finished. HEAD ACHE. This disorder generally arises from some internal cause, and is the symptom of a disease which requires first to be attended to; but where it is a local affection only, it may be relieved by bathing the part affected with spirits of hartshorn, or applying a poultice of elder flowers. In some cases the most obstinate pain is removed by the use of vervain, both internally in the form of a decoction, and also by suspending the herb round the neck. Persons afflicted with headache should beware of costiveness: their drink should be diluting, and their feet and legs kept warm. It is very obvious, that as many disorders arise from taking cold in the head, children should be inured to a light and loose covering in their infancy, by which means violent headaches might be prevented in mature age: and the maxim of keeping the feet warm and the head cool, should be strictly attended to. HEAD AND PLUCK. Whether of lamb or mutton, wash the head clean, take the black part from the eyes, and the gall from the liver. Lay the head in warm water; boil the lights, heart, and part of the liver; chop them small, and add a little flour. Put it into a saucepan with some gravy, or a little of the liquor it was boiled in, a spoonful of ketchup, a small quantity of lemon juice, cream, pepper, and salt. Boil the head very white and tender, lay it in the middle of the dish, and the mince meat round it. Fry the other part of the liver with some small bits of bacon, lay them on the mince meat, boil the brains the same as for a calf's head, beat up an egg and mix with them, fry them in small cakes, and lay them on the rim of the dish. Garnish with lemon and parsley. HEART BURN. Persons subject to this disorder, ought to drink no stale liquors, and to abstain from flatulent food. Take an infusion of bark, or any other stomachic bitter; or a tea-spoonful of the powder of gum arabic dissolved in a little water, or chew a few sweet almonds blanched. An infusion of anise seeds, or ginger, have sometimes produced the desired effect. HEDGE HOG. Make a cake of any description, and bake it in a mould the shape of a hedge hog. Turn it out of the mould, and let it stand a day or two. Prick it with a fork, and let it remain all night in a dish full of sweet wine. Slit some blanched almonds, and stick about it, and pour boiled custard in the dish round it. HERB PIE. Pick two handfuls of parsley from the stems, half the quantity of spinach, two lettuces, some mustard and cresses, a few leaves of borage, and white beet leaves. Wash and boil them a little, drain and press out the water, cut them small; mix a batter of flour, two eggs well beaten, a pint of cream, and half a pint of milk, and pour it on the herbs. Cover with a good crust, and bake it. HERB TEA. If betony be gathered and dried before it begins to flower, it will be found to have the taste of tea, and all its good qualities, without any of its bad ones: it is also considered as a remedy for the headache. Hawthorn leaves dried, and one third of balm and sage, mixed together, will make a wholesome and strengthening drink. An infusion of ground ivy, mixed with a few flowers of lavender, and flavoured with a drop of lemon juice, will make an agreeable substitute for common tea. Various other vegetables might also be employed for this purpose; such as sage, balm, peppermint, and similar spicy plants; the flowers of the sweet woodroof, those of the burnet, or pimpernel rose; the leaves of peach and almond trees, the young and tender leaves of bilberry, and common raspberry; and the blossoms of the blackthorn, or sloe tree. Most of these when carefully gathered and dried in the shade, especially if they be managed like Indian tea-leaves, bear a great resemblance to the foreign teas, and are at the same time of superior flavour and salubrity. HERBS FOR WINTER. Take any sort of sweet herbs, with three times the quantity of parsley, and dry them in the air, without exposing them to the sun. When quite dry, rub them through a hair sieve, put them in canisters or bottles, and keep them in a dry place: they will be useful for seasoning in the winter. Mint, sage, thyme, and such kind of herbs, may be tied in small bunches, and dried in the air: then put each sort separately into a bag, and hang it up in the kitchen. Parsley should be picked from the stalks as soon as gathered, and dried in the shade to preserve the colour. Cowslips and marigolds should be gathered dry, picked clean, dried in a cloth, and kept in paper bags. HESSIAN SOUP. Clean the root of a neat's tongue very nicely, and half an ox's head, with salt and water, and soak them afterwards in water only. Then stew them in five or six quarts of water, till tolerably tender. Let the soup stand to be cold, take off the fat, which will do for basting, or to make good paste for hot meat pies. Put to the soup a pint of split peas, or a quart of whole ones, twelve carrots, six turnips, six potatoes, six large onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, and two heads of celery. Simmer them without the meat, till the vegetables are done enough to pulp with the peas through a sieve; and the soup will then be about the thickness of cream. Season it with pepper, salt, mace, allspice, a clove or two, and a little cayenne, all in fine powder. If the peas are bad, and the soup not thick enough, boil in it a slice of roll, and pass it through the cullender; or add a little rice flour, mixing it by degrees.--To make a ragout with the above, cut the nicest part of the head, the kernels, and part of the fat from the root of the tongue, into small thick pieces. Rub these with some of the above seasoning, putting them into a quart of the liquor reserved for that purpose before the vegetables were added; flour them well, and simmer till they are nicely tender. Then add a little mushroom and walnut ketchup, a little soy, a glass of port wine, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard, and boil all up together. Serve with small eggs and forcemeat balls. This furnishes an excellent soup and a ragout at a small expense. HICCOUGH. A few small draughts of water in quick succession, or a tea-spoonful of vinegar, will often afford immediate relief. Peppermint water mixed with a few drops of vitriolic acid may be taken; and sometimes sneezing, or the stench of an extinguished tallow candle, has been found sufficient. HIND QUARTER OF LAMB. Boil the leg in a floured cloth an hour and a quarter; cut the loin into chops, fry them, lay them round the leg, with a bit of parsley on each, and serve it up with spinach or brocoli. HIND QUARTER OF PIG. To dress this joint lamb fashion, take off the skin, roast it, and serve it up with mint sauce. A leg of lamb stuffed like a leg of pork, and roasted, with drawn gravy, is very good. A loin of mutton also, stuffed like a hare, and basted with milk. Put gravy in the dish, served with currant jelly, or any other sauce. HIVING OF BEES. When it is intended to introduce a swarm of bees into a new hive, it must be thoroughly cleaned, and the inside rubbed with virgin wax. A piece of nice honeycomb, made of very white wax, and about nine inches long, should be hung on the cross bars near the top of the hive, to form a kind of nest for the bees, and excite them to continue their work. The new hive being thus prepared, is then to be placed under an old one, before the bees begin to swarm, in such a manner as to be quite close, and to leave the bees no passage except into the new hive. As these insects generally work downwards, they will soon get into their new habitation; and when it is occupied by one half of the swarm, some holes must be made in the top of the old hive, and kept covered till the proper time of making use of them. Preparation being thus made, take the opportunity of a fine morning, about eight or nine o'clock, at which time most of the bees are out, gathering their harvest. The comb is to be cut through by means of a piece of iron wire, and the old hive separated from the new one. An assistant must immediately place the cover, which should be previously fitted, upon the top of the new one. The old hive is then to be taken to the distance of twenty or thirty yards, and placed firm upon a bench or table, but so as to leave a free space both above and below. The holes at the top being opened, one of the new boxes is to be placed on the top of the old hive, having the cover loosely fastened on it; and is to be done in such a manner, by closing the intervals between them with linen cloths, that the bees on going out by the holes on the top of the old hive can only go into the new one. But in order to drive the bees into the new hive, some live coals must be placed under the old one, upon which some linen may be thrown, to produce a volume of smoke; and the bees feeling the annoyance, will ascend to the top of the old hive, and at length will go through the holes into the new one. When they have nearly all entered, it is to be removed gently from the old hive, and placed under the box already mentioned, the top or cover having been taken off. If it should appear the next morning that the two boxes, of which the new hive is now composed, do not afford sufficient room for the bees, a third or fourth box may be added, under the others, as their work goes on, changing them from time to time so long as the season permits the bees to gather wax and honey. When a new swarm is to be hived, the boxes prepared as above and proportioned to the size of the swarm, are to be brought near the place where the bees have settled. The upper box with the cover upon it, must be taken from the others. The cross bars at the top should be smeared with honey and water, the doors must be closed, the box turned upside down, and held under the swarm, which is then to be shaken into it as into a common hive. When the whole swarm is in the box, it is to be carried to the other boxes, previously placed in their destined situation, and carefully put upon them. The interstices are to be closed with cement, and all the little doors closed, except the lowest, through which the bees are to pass. The hive should be shaded from the sun for a few days, that the bees may not be tempted to leave their new habitation. It is more advantageous however to form artificial swarms, than to collect those which abandon their native hives; and the hive here recommended is more particularly adapted to that purpose. By this mode of treatment, we not only avoid the inconveniences which attend the procuring of swarms in the common way, but obtain the advantage of having the hives always well stocked, which is of greater consequence than merely to increase their number; for it has been observed, that if a hive of four thousand bees give six pounds of honey, one of eight thousand will give twenty-four pounds. On this principle it is proper to unite two or more hives, when they happen to be thickly stocked. This may be done by scattering a few handfuls of balm in those hives which are to be united, which by giving them the same smell, they will be unable to distinguish one another. After this preparation, the hives are to be joined by placing them one upon the other, in the evening when they are at rest, and taking away those boxes which are nearly empty. All the little doors must be closed, except the lowest.----If bees are kept in single straw hives in the usual way, the manner of hiving them is somewhat different. They are first allowed to swarm, and having settled, they are then taken to the hive. If they fix on the lower branch of a tree, it may be cut off and laid on a cloth, and the hive placed over it, so as to leave room for the bees to ascend into it. If the queen can be found, and put into the hive, the rest will soon follow. But if it be difficult to reach them, let them remain where they have settled till the evening, when there will be less danger of escaping. After this the hive is to be placed in the apiary, cemented round the bottom, and covered from the wet at top. The usual method of uniting swarms, is by spreading a cloth at night upon the ground close to the hive, in which the hive with the new swarm is to be placed. By giving a smart stroke on the top of the hive, all the bees will drop into a cluster upon the cloth. Then take another hive from the beehouse, and place it over the bees, when they will ascend into it, and mix with those already there. Another way is to invert the hive in which the united swarms are to live, and strike the bees of the other hive into it as before. One of the queens is generally slain on this occasion, together with a considerable number of the working bees. To prevent this destruction, one of the queens should be sought for and taken, when the bees are beaten out of the hive upon the cloth, before the union is effected. Bees never swarm till the hive is too much crowded by the young brood, which happens in May or June, according to the warmth of the season. A good swarm should weigh five or six pounds; those that are under four pounds weight, should be strengthened by a small additional swarm. The size of the hive ought to be proportionate to the number of the bees, and should be rather too small than too large, as they require to be kept dry and warm in winter. In performing these several operations, it will be necessary to defend the hands and face from the sting of the bees. The best way of doing this is to cover the whole head and neck with a coarse cloth or canvas, which may be brought down and fastened round the waist. Through this cloth the motion of the bees may be observed, without fearing their stings; and the hands may be protected by a thick pair of gloves. HODGE PODGE. Boil some slices of coarse beef in three quarts of water, and one of small beer. Skim it well, put in onions, carrots, turnips, celery, pepper and salt. When the meat is tender, take it out, strain off the soup, put a little butter and flour into the saucepan, and stir it well, to prevent burning. Take off the fat, put the soup into a stewpan, and stew the beef in it till it is quite tender. Serve up the soup with turnips and carrots, spinage or celery. A leg of beef cut in pieces, and stewed five or six hours, will make good soup; and any kind of roots or spices may be added or omitted at pleasure. Or stew some peas, lettuce, and onions, in a very little water, with a bone of beef or ham. While these are doing, season some mutton or lamb steaks, and fry them of a nice brown. Three quarters of an hour before serving, put the steaks into a stewpan, and the vegetables over them. Stew them, and serve all together in a tureen. Another way of making a good hodge podge, is to stew a knuckle of veal and a scrag of mutton, with some vegetables, adding a bit of butter rolled in flour. HOG'S CHEEKS. If to be dried as usual, cut out the snout, remove the brains, and split the head, taking off the upper bone to make the chawl a good shape. Rub it well with salt, and next day take away the brine. On the following day cover the head with half an ounce of saltpetre, two ounces of bay salt, a little common salt, and four ounces of coarse sugar. Let the head be often turned, and after ten days smoke it for a week like bacon. HOG'S EARS FORCED. Parboil two pair of ears, or take some that have been soused. Make a forcemeat of an anchovy, some sage and parsley, a quarter of a pound of chopped suet, bread crumbs, and only a little salt. Mix all these with the yolks of two eggs, raise the skin of the upper side of the ears, and stuff them with the mixture. Fry the ears in fresh butter, of a fine colour; then pour away the fat, and drain them. Prepare half a pint of rich gravy, with a glass of fine sherry, three tea-spoonfuls of made mustard, a little butter and flour, a small onion whole, and a little pepper or cayenne. Put this with the ears into a stewpan, and cover it close; stew it gently for half an hour, shaking the pan often. When done enough, take out the onion, place the ears carefully in a dish, and pour the sauce over them. If a larger dish is wanted, the meat from two feet may be added to the above. HOG'S HEAD. To make some excellent meat of a hog's head, split it, take out the brains, cut off the ears, and sprinkle it with salt for a day. Then drain it, salt it again with common salt and saltpetre for three days, and afterwards lay the whole in a small quantity of water for two days. Wash it, and boil it till all the bones will come out. Skin the tongue, and take the skin carefully off the head, to put under and over. Chop the head as quick as possible, season it with pepper and salt, and a little mace or allspice berries. Put the skin into a small pan, with the chopped head between, and press it down. When cold it will turn out, and make a kind of brawn. If too fat, a few bits of lean pork may be prepared in the same way, and added to it. Add salt and vinegar, and boil these with some of the liquor for a pickle to keep it. HOG'S LARD. This should be carefully melted in a jar placed in a kettle of water, and boiled with a sprig of rosemary. After it has been prepared, run it into bladders that have been extremely well cleaned. The smaller they are, the better the lard will keep: if the air reaches it, it becomes rank. Lard being a most useful article for frying fish, it should be prepared with care. Mixed with butter, it makes fine crust. HOLLOW BISCUITS. Mix a pound and a quarter of butter with three pounds and a half of flour, adding a pint of warm water. Cut out the paste with a wine glass, or a small tin, and set them in a brisk oven, after the white bread is drawn. HONES. For joining them together, or cementing them to their frames, melt a little common glue without water, with half its weight of rosin, and a small quantity of red ochre. HONEY. The honey produced by young bees, and which flows spontaneously, is purer than that expressed from the comb; and hence it is called virgin honey. The best sort is of a thick consistence, and of a whitish colour, inclining to yellow: it possesses an agreeable smell, and a pleasant taste. When the combs are removed from the hive, they are taken by the hand into a sieve, and left to drain into a vessel sufficiently wide for the purpose. After it has stood a proper time to settle, the pure honey is poured into earthen jars, tied down close to exclude the air. HONEY VINEGAR. When honey is extracted from the combs, by means of pressure, take the whole mass, break and separate it, and into each tub or vessel put one part of combs, and two of water. Set them in the sun, or in a warm place, and cover them with cloths. Fermentation takes place in a few days, and continues from eight to twelve days, according to the temperature of the situation in which the operation is carried on. During the fermentation, stir the matter from time to time, and press it down with the hand, that it may be perfectly soaked. When the fermentation is over, put the matter to drain on sieves or strainers. At the bottom of the vessels will be found a yellow liquor, which must be thrown away, because it would soon contract a disagreeable smell, which it would communicate to the vinegar. Then wash the tubs, put into them the water separated from the other matter, and it will immediately begin to turn sour. The tubs must then be covered again with cloths, and kept moderately warm. A pellicle or skin is formed on the surface, beneath which the vinegar acquires strength. In a month's time it begins to be sharp, but must be suffered to stand a little longer, and then put into a cask, of which the bunghole is to be left open. It may then be used like any other vinegar. All kinds of vinegar may be strengthened by suffering it to be repeatedly frozen, and then separating the upper cake of ice or water from it. HOOPING COUGH. This disorder generally attacks children, to whom it often proves fatal for want of proper management. Those who breathe an impure air, live upon poor sustenance, drink much warm tea, and do not take sufficient exercise, are most subject to this convulsive cough. In the beginning of the disorder, the child should be removed to a change of air, and the juice of onions or horseradish applied to the soles of the feet. The diet light and nourishing, and taken in small quantities; the drink must be lukewarm, consisting chiefly of toast and water, mixed with a little white wine. If the cough be attended with feverish symptoms, a gentle emetic must be taken, of camomile flowers, and afterwards the following liniment applied to the pit of the stomach. Dissolve one scruple of tartar emetic in two ounces of spring water, and add half an ounce of the tincture of cantharides: rub a tea-spoonful of it every hour on the lower region of the stomach with a warm piece of flannel, and let the wetted part be kept warm with flannel. This will be found to be the best remedy for the hooping cough. HOPS. The quality of this article is generally determined by the price; yet hops may be strong, and not good. They should be bright, of a pleasant flavour, and have no foreign leaves or bits of branches among them. The hop is the husk or seed pod of the hop vine, as the cone is that of the fir tree; and the seeds themselves are deposited, like those of the fir, round a little soft stalk, enveloped by the several folds of this pod or cone. If in the gathering, leaves or tendrils of the vine are mixed with the hops, they may help to increase the weight, but will give a bad taste to the beer; and if they abound, they will spoil it. Great attention therefore must be paid to see that they are free from any foreign mixture. There are also numerous sorts of hops, varying in size, in form, and quality. Those that are best for brewing are generally known by the absence of a brown colour, which indicates perished hops; a colour between green and yellow, a great quantity of the yellow farina, seeds not too large or hard, a clamminess when rubbed between the fingers, and a lively pleasant smell, are the general indications of good hops. At almost any age they retain the power of preserving beer, but not of imparting a pleasant flavour; and therefore new hops are to be preferred. Supposing them to be of a good quality, a pound of hops may be allowed to a bushel of malt, when the beer is strong, or brewed in warm weather; but under other circumstances, half the quantity will be sufficient. HOP-TOP SOUP. Take a quantity of hop-tops when they are in the greatest perfection, tie them in small bunches, soak them in water, and put them to some thin peas-soup. Boil them up, add three spoonfuls of onion juice, with salt and pepper. When done enough, serve them up in a tureen, with sippets of toasted bread at the bottom. HORSERADISH POWDER. In November or December, slice some horseradish the thickness of a shilling, and lay it to dry very gradually in a Dutch oven, for a strong heat would very soon evaporate its flavour. When quite dry, pound it fine, and bottle it. HORSERADISH VINEGAR. Pour a quart of the best vinegar on three ounces of scraped horseradish, an ounce of minced shalot, and a dram of cayenne. Let it stand a week, and it will give an excellent relish to cold beef, or other articles. A little black pepper and mustard, celery or cress seed, may be added to the above. HOUSE DRAINS. The smell of house drains is oftentimes exceedingly offensive, but may be completely prevented by pouring down them a mixture of lime water, and the ley of wood ashes, or suds that have been used in washing. An article known by the name of a sink trap may be had at the ironmongers, which is a cheap and simple apparatus, for carrying off the waste water and other offensive matter from sinks and drains. But as the diffusion of any collection of filth tends to produce disease and mortality, it should not be suffered to settle and stagnate near our dwellings, and every possible care should be taken to render them sweet and wholesome. HOUSE TAX. As the present system of taxation involves so important a part of the annual expenditure, and is in many instances attended with so much vexation and trouble, it concerns every housekeeper to be acquainted with the extent of his own liability, and of course to regulate his conveniences accordingly. It appears then, that every inhabited dwellinghouse, containing not more than six windows or lights, is subject to the yearly sum of six shillings and six-pence, if under the value of five pounds a year. But every dwellinghouse worth five pounds and under twenty pounds rent by the year, pays the yearly sum of one shilling and six-pence in the pound; every house worth twenty pounds and under forty pounds a year, two shillings and three-pence in the pound; and for every house worth forty pounds and upwards, the yearly sum of two shillings and ten-pence in the pound. These rents however are to be taken from the rates in which they are charged, and not from the rents which are actually paid. HOUSEHOLD BREAD. Four ounces of salt are dissolved in three quarts of water, and mixed with a pint of yeast. This mixture is poured into a cavity made in a peck of second flour, placed in a large pan or trough. When properly kneaded and fermented, it is divided into pieces of a certain weight, and baked. Sometimes, in farm houses, a portion of rice flour, boiled potatoes, or rye meal, is mixed with the flour, previous to kneading the dough. The rye and rice serve to bind the bread, but the potatoes render it light and spongy.--Or, for a larger quantity, put a bushel of flour into a trough, two thirds wheat and one of rye. Mix a quart of yeast with nine quarts of warm water, and work it into the flour till it becomes tough. Leave it to rise about an hour; and as soon as it rises, add a pound of salt, and as much warm water as before. Work it well, and cover it with flannel. Make the loaves a quarter of an hour before the oven is ready; and if they weigh five pounds each, they will require to be baked two hours and a half. HUNG BEEF. Make a strong brine with bay salt, common salt, and saltpetre, and put in ribs of beef for nine days. Then dry it, or smoke it in a chimney. Or rub the meat with salt and saltpetre, and repeat it for a fortnight, and dry it in wood smoke. HUNGARY WATER. To one pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, put an ounce of the oil of rosemary, and two drams of the essence of ambergris. Shake the bottle well several times, and let the cork remain out twenty-four hours. Shake it daily for a whole month, and then put the water into small bottles for use. HUNTER'S BEEF. To a round of beef that weighs twenty-five pounds, allow three ounces of saltpetre, three ounces of the coarsest sugar, an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of allspice, a nutmeg, and three handfuls of common salt, all in the finest powder. The beef should hang two or three days; then rub the above mixture well into it, and turn and rub it every day for two or three weeks. The bone must be taken out first. When to be dressed, dip it into cold water, to take off the loose spice; bind it up tight with tape, and put it into a pan with a tea-cupful of water at the bottom. Cover the top of the meat with shred suet, and the pan with a brown crust and paper, and bake it five or six hours. When cold, take off the paste and tape. The gravy is very fine, and a little of it is a great improvement to any kind of hash or soup. Both the gravy and the meat will keep some time. The meat should be cut with a very sharp knife, and quite smooth, to prevent waste. HUNTER'S PUDDING. Mix together a pound of suet, a pound of flour, a pound of currants, and a pound of raisins stoned and cut. Add the rind of half a lemon finely shred, six peppercorns in fine powder, four eggs, a glass of brandy, a little salt, and as much milk as will make it of a proper consistence. Boil it in a floured cloth, or a melon mould, eight or nine hours. A spoonful of peach water may sometimes be added to change the flavour. This pudding will keep six months after it is boiled, if tied up in the same cloth when cold, and hung up, folded in writing paper to preserve it from the dust. When to be eaten, it must be boiled a full hour, and served with sweet sauce. HYSTERICS. The sudden effusion of water on the face and hands, while the fit is on, and especially immersing the feet in cold water, will afford relief. Fetid smells are also proper; such as the burning of feathers, leather, or the smoke of sulphur, and the application of strong volatile alkali, or other pungent matters to the nostrils. To effect a radical cure, the cold bath, mineral waters, and other tonics are necessary. In Germany however, they cure hysteric affections by eating carraway seeds finely powdered, with a little ginger and salt, spread on bread and butter every morning. I. ICE FOR ICEING. To prepare artificial ice for articles of confectionary, procure a few pounds of real ice, reduce it nearly to powder, and throw a large handful or more of salt amongst it. This should be done in as cool a place as possible. The ice and salt being put into a pail, pour some cream into an ice pot, and cover it down. Then immerse it in the ice, and draw that round the pot, so as to enclose every part of it. In a few minutes stir it well with a spoon or spatula, removing to the centre those parts which have iced round the edges. If the ice cream or water be in a a form, shut the bottom close, and move the whole in the ice, as a spoon cannot be used for that purpose without danger of waste. There should be holes in the pail, to let off the ice as it thaws. When any fluid tends towards cold, moving it quickly will encrease that tendency; and likewise, when any fluid is tending to heat, stirring it will facilitate its boiling. ICE CREAMS. Mix the juice of the fruits with as much sugar as will be wanted, before the cream is added, and let the cream be of a middling richness. ICE WATERS. Rub some fine sugar on lemon or orange, to give the colour and flavour; then squeeze the juice of either on its respective peel. Add water and sugar to make a fine sherbet, and strain it before it be put into the ice-pot. If orange, the greater proportion should be of the china juice, and only a little of seville, and a small bit of the peel grated by the sugar. The juice of currants or raspberries, or any other sort of fruit, being squeezed out, sweetened, and mixed with water, may be prepared for iceing in the same way. ICEING FOR CAKES. Beat and sift half a pound of fine sugar, put it into a mortar with four spoonfuls of rose water, and the whites of two eggs beaten and strained. Whisk it well, and when the cake is almost cold, dip a feather in the iceing, and cover the cake well. Set it in the oven to harden, but suffer it not to remain to be discoloured, and then keep it in a dry place.--For a very large cake, beat up the whites of twenty fresh eggs, and reduce to powder a pound of double refined sugar, sifted through a lawn sieve. Mix these well in a deep earthen pan, add orange flower water, barely sufficient to give it a flavour, and a piece of fresh lemon peel. Whisk it for three hours till the mixture is thick and white, then with a thin broad piece of board spread it all over the top and sides, and set it in a cool oven, and an hour will harden it. ICEING FOR TARTS. Beat well together the yolk of an egg and some melted butter, smear the tarts with a feather, and sift sugar over them as they are put into the oven. Or beat up the white of an egg, wash the paste with it, and sift over some white sugar. ILIAC PASSION. This dangerous malady, in which the motion of the bowels is totally impeded or inverted, arises from spasms, violent exertions of the body, eating of unripe fruit, drinking of sour liquors, worms, obstinate costiveness, and various other causes, which produce the most excruciating pain in the region of the abdomen. Large blisters applied to the most painful part, emollient clysters, fomentations, and the warm bath, are amongst the most likely means; but in many instances, this disorder is not to be controuled by medicine. No remedy however can be applied with greater safety or advantage, than frequent doses of castor oil: and if this fail, quicksilver in a natural state is the only medicine on which any reliance can be placed. IMPERIAL. Put into a stone jar two ounces of cream of tartar, and the juice and paring of two lemons. Pour on them seven quarts of boiling water, stir it well, and cover it close. When cold, sweeten it with loaf sugar; strain, bottle, and cork it tight. This makes a very pleasant and wholesome liquor; but if drunk too freely, it becomes injurious. In bottling it off, add half a pint of rum to the whole quantity. IMPERIAL CREAM. Boil a quart of cream with the thin rind of a lemon, and stir it till nearly cold. Have ready in a dish or bowl, in which it is to be served, the juice of three lemons strained, mixed with as much sugar as will sweeten the cream. Pour this into the dish from a large tea-pot, holding it high, and moving it about to mix with the juice. It should be made at least six hours before it is used; and if the day before, it would be still better. IMPERIAL WATER. Put into an earthen pan, four ounces of sugar, and the rind of three lemons. Boil an ounce of cream of tartar in three quarts of water, and pour it on the sugar and lemon. Let it stand all night, clear it through a bag, and bottle it. INCENSE. Compound in a marble mortar, a large quantity of lignum rhodium, and anise, with a little powder of dried orange peel, and gum benzoin. Add some gum dragon dissolved in rose water, and a little civet. Beat the whole together, form the mixture into small cakes, and place them on paper to dry. One of these cakes being burnt, will diffuse an agreeable odour throughout the largest apartment. INDELIBLE INK. Gum arabic dissolved in water, and well mixed with fine ivory black, will make writing indelible. If the writing be afterwards varnished over with the white of an egg clarified, it will preserve it to any length of time. INDIAN PICKLE. Lay a pound of white ginger in water one night; then scrape, slice, and lay it in salt in a pan, till the other ingredients are prepared. Peel and slice a pound of garlic, lay it in salt three days, and afterwards dry it in the sun. Salt and dry some long pepper in the same way: then prepare various sorts of vegetables in the following manner. Quarter some small white cabbages, salt them three days, then squeeze and lay them in the sun to dry. Cut some cauliflowers into branches, take off the green part of radishes, cut celery into lengths of about three inches, put in young French beans whole, and the shoots of elder, which will look like bamboo. Choose apples and cucumbers of a sort the least seedy, quarter them, or cut them in slices. All must be salted, drained, and dried in the sun, except the latter, over which some boiling vinegar must be poured. In twelve hours drain them, but use no salt. Put the spice into a large stone jar, adding the garlic, a quarter of a pound of mustard seed, an ounce of turmeric, and vinegar sufficient for the quantity of pickle. When the vegetables are dried and ready, the following directions must be observed. Put some of them into a half-gallon stone jar, and pour over them a quart of boiling vinegar. Next day take out those vegetables; and when drained, put them into a large stock jar. Boil the vinegar, pour it over some more of the vegetables, let them lie all night, and complete the operation as before. Thus proceed till each set is cleansed from the dust they may have contracted. Then to every gallon of vinegar, put two ounces of flour of mustard, gradually mixing in a little of it boiling hot, and stop the jar tight. The whole of the vinegar should be previously scalded, and set to cool before it is put to the spice. This pickle will not be ready for a year, but a small quantity may be got ready for eating in a fortnight, by only giving the cauliflower one scald in water, after salting and drying as above, but without the preparative vinegar: then pour the vinegar, which has the spice and garlic, boiling hot over it. If at any time it be found that the vegetables have not swelled properly, boiling the pickle, and pouring it hot over them, will make them plump.--Another way. Cut the heads of some good cauliflowers into pieces, and add some slices of the inside of the stalk. Put to them a white cabbage cut in pieces, with inside slices of carrot, turnips, and onions. Boil a strong brine of salt and water, simmer the vegetables in it one minute, drain them, and dry them on tins over an oven till they are shriveled up; then put them into a jar, and prepare the following pickle. To two quarts of good vinegar, put an ounce of the flour of mustard, one of ginger, one of long pepper, four of cloves, a few shalots, and a little horseradish. Boil the vinegar, put the vegetables into a jar, and pour it hot over them. When cold, tie them down, and add more vinegar afterwards, if necessary. In the course of a week or two, the pickle will be fit for use. INDIGESTION. Persons of weak delicate habits, particularly the sedentary and studious, are frequently subject to indigestion. The liberal use of cold water alone, in drinking, washing, and bathing, is often sufficient to effect a cure. Drinking of sea water, gentle purgatives, with bark and bitters, light and nourishing food, early rising, and gentle exercise in the open air, are also of great importance. INFECTION. During the prevalence of any infectious disease, every thing requires to be kept perfectly clean, and the sick room to be freely ventilated. The door or window should generally be open, the bed curtains only drawn to shade the light, clothes frequently changed and washed in cold water, all discharges from the patient instantly removed, and the floor near the bed rubbed every day with a wet cloth. Take also a hot brick, lay it in an earthen pan, and pour pickle vinegar upon it. This will refresh the patient, as well as purify the surrounding atmosphere. Those who are obliged to attend the patients, should not approach them fasting, nor inhale their breath; and while in their apartment, should avoid eating and drinking, and swallowing their own saliva. It will also be of considerable service to smell vinegar and camphor, to fumigate the room with tobacco, and to chew myrrh and cinnamon, which promote a plentiful discharge from the mouth. As soon as a person has returned from visiting an infected patient, he ought immediately to wash his mouth and hands with vinegar, to change his clothes, and expose them to the fresh air; and to drink an infusion of sage, or other aromatic herbs. After the disorder has subsided, the walls of the room should be washed with hot lime, which will render it perfectly sweet. INFLAMMATIONS. In external inflammations, attended with heat and swelling of the part affected, cooling applications and a little opening medicine are the best adapted; and in some cases, cataplasms of warm emollient herbs may be used with advantage. INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES. In this case leeches should be applied to the temples; and after the bleeding has ceased, a small blister may be tried, with a little opening medicine. Much benefit has been derived from shaving the head, cutting the hair, and bathing the feet in warm water. If the inflammation has arisen from particles of iron or steel falling into the eyes, the offending matter is best extracted by the application of the loadstone. If eyes are blood-shotten, the necessary rules are, an exclusion from light, cold fomentations, and abstinence from animal food and stimulating liquors. For a bruise in the eye, occasioned by any accident, the best remedy is a rotten apple, and some conserve of roses. Fold them in a piece of thin cambric, apply it to the part affected, and it will take out the bruise. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. This is a complaint that requires great care. If the belly be swelled, and painful to the touch, apply flannels to it, dipped in hot water and wrung out, or use a warm bath. A blister should be employed as soon as possible, and mild emollient injections of gruel or barley water, till stools be obtained. The patient should be placed between blankets, and supplied with light gruel; and when the violence of the disorder is somewhat abated, the pain may be removed by opiate clysters. A common bread and milk poultice, applied as warm as possible to the part affected, has also been attended with great success: but as this disorder is very dangerous, it would be proper to call in medical assistance without delay. INK. To make an excellent writing ink, take a pound of the best Aleppo galls, half a pound of copperas, a quarter of a pound of gum arabic, and a quarter of a pound of white sugar candy. Bruise the galls and beat the other ingredients fine, and infuse them together in three quarts of rain water. Let the mixture stand by the fire three or four days, and then boil it gently over a slow fire; or if infused in cold water, and afterwards well strained, it will nearly answer the same purpose. Care must be taken to obtain good materials, and to mix them in due proportion. To preserve the ink from mouldiness, it should be put into a large glass bottle with a ground stopper, and frequently shaked; but if a crust be formed, it should be carefully taken out, and not mixed with the ink. A little more gum and sugar candy may be added, to render the ink more black and glossy; but too much will make it sticky, and unfit for use.--Another method is to bruise a pound of good galls, black and heavy, and put them into a stone jar. Then pour on a gallon of rain water, nearly of a boiling heat, and let it stand by the fire about a fortnight. Afterwards add four ounces of green copperas or sulphate of iron, four ounces of logwood shavings, one ounce of alum, one of sugar candy, and four of gum arabic. Let the whole remain about two days longer in a moderate heat, stir the ingredients together once or twice a day, and keep the jar slightly covered. The ink is then to be strained through a flannel, put into a bottle with a little brandy at the top, well corked, and set by for use in a temperate place. A few cloves bruised with gum arabic, and put into the bottle, will prevent the ink from getting mouldy; and if some of superior quality be required, white wine or vinegar must be used instead of water. INK POWDER. For the convenience of travellers by sea or by land, ink powders have been invented, which consist of nothing else than the substances employed in the composition of common ink, pounded and pulverized, so that it be instantaneously converted into ink by mixing it up with a little water. Walkden's ink powder is by far the best. INK STAINS. The stains of ink, on cloth, paper, or wood, may be removed by almost all acids; but those acids are to be preferred, which are least likely to injure the texture of the stained substance. The muriatic acid, diluted with five or six times its weight of water, may be applied to the spot; and after a minute or two, may be washed off, repeating the application as often as it is found necessary. But the vegetable acids are attended with less risk, and are equally effectual. A solution of lemon or tartareous acid, in water, may be applied to the most delicate fabrics, without any danger of injuring them: and the same solution will discharge writing, but not printing ink. Hence they may be employed in cleaning books which have been defaced by writing on the margin, without impairing the text. Lemon juice and the juice of sorrel will also remove ink stains, but not so easily as the concrete acid of lemons, or citric acid. On some occasions it will be found sufficient, only to dip the spotted part in the fine melted tallow of a mould candle, and afterwards wash it in the usual way. INSECTS. The most effectual remedy against the whole tribe of insects, which prey upon plants and vegetables, is the frequent use of sulphur, which should be dusted upon the leaves through a muslin rag or dredging box, or fumed on a chaffing dish of burning charcoal. This application will also improve the healthiness of plants, as well as destroy their numerous enemies. Another way is to boil together an equal quantity of rue, wormwood, and tobacco, in common water, so as to make the liquor strong, and then to sprinkle it on the leaves every morning and evening. By pouring boiling water on some tobacco and the tender shoots of elder, a strong decoction may also be made for this purpose, and shed upon fruit trees with a brush: the quantity, about an ounce of tobacco and two handfuls of elder to a gallon of water. Elder water sprinkled on honeysuckles and roses, will prevent insects from lodging on them. If a quantity of wool happen to be infected with insects, it may be cleansed in the following manner. Dissolve a pound of alum, and as much cream of tartar, in a quart of boiling water, and add two full gallons of cold water to it. The wool is then to be soaked in it for several days, and afterwards to be washed and dried. INSIDE OF A SIRLOIN. Cut out all the meat and a little fat, of the inside of a cold sirloin of beef, and divide it into pieces of a finger's size and length. Dredge the meat with flour, and fry it in butter, of a nice brown. Drain the butter from the meat, and toss it up in a rich gravy, seasoned with pepper, salt, anchovy, and shalot. It must not be suffered to boil; and before serving, add two spoonfuls of vinegar. Garnish with crimped parsley. INVISIBLE INK. Boil half an ounce of gold litharge well pounded, with a little vinegar in a brass vessel for half an hour. Filter the liquid through paper, and preserve it in a bottle closely corked. This ink is to be used with a clean pen, and the writing when dry will become invisible. But if at any time it be washed over with the following mixture, it will instantly become black and legible. Put some quicklime and red orpiment in water, place some warm ashes under it for a whole day, filter the liquor, and cork it down. Whenever applied in the slightest degree, it will render the writing visible. IRISH BEEF. To twenty pounds of beef, put one ounce of allspice, a quarter of an ounce of mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and half an ounce each of pepper and saltpetre. Mix all together, and add some common salt. Put the meat into a salting pan, turn it every day, and rub it with the seasoning. After a month take out the bone, and boil the meat in the liquor it was pickled in, with a proper quantity of water. It may be stuffed with herbs, and eaten cold. IRISH PANCAKES. Beat eight yolks and four whites of eggs, strain them into a pint of cream, sweeten with sugar, and add a grated nutmeg. Stir three ounces of butter over the fire, and as it melts pour it to the cream, which should be warm when the eggs are put to it. Mix it smooth with nearly half a pint of flour, and fry the pancakes very thin; the first with a bit of butter, but not the others. Serve up several at a time, one upon another. IRISH STEW. Take five thick mutton chops, or two pounds off the neck or loin; four pounds of potatoes, peeled and divided; and half a pound of onions, peeled and sliced. Put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, then a couple of chops, and some of the onions, and so on till the pan is quite full. Add a small spoonful of white pepper, about one and a half of salt, and three quarters of a pint of broth or gravy. Cover all close down, so as to prevent the escape of steam, and let them stew two hours on a very slow fire. It must not be suffered to burn, nor be done too fast: a small slice of ham will be an agreeable addition. IRON MOULDS. Wet the injured part, rub on a little of the essential salt of lemons, and lay it on a hot waterplate. If the linen becomes dry, wet it and renew the process, observing that the plate is kept boiling hot. Much of the powder sold under the name of salt of lemons is a spurious preparation, and therefore it is necessary to dip the linen in a good deal of water, and to wash it as soon as the stain is removed, in order to prevent the part from being worn into holes by the acid. IRON POTS. To cure cracks or fissures in iron pots or pans, mix some finely sifted lime with whites of eggs well beaten, till reduced to a paste. Add some iron file dust, and apply the composition to the injured part, and it will soon become hard and fit for use. IRON AND STEEL. Various kinds of polished articles, in iron and steel, are in danger of being rusted and spoiled, by an exposure to air and moisture. A mixture of nearly equal quantities of fat, oil varnish, and the rectified spirits of turpentine, applied with a sponge, will give a varnish to those articles, which prevents their contracting any spots of rust, and preserves their brilliancy, even though exposed to air and water. Common articles of steel or iron may be preserved from injury by a composition of one pound of fresh lard, an ounce of camphor, two drams of black lead powder, and two drams of dragon's blood in fine powder, melted over a slow fire, and rubbed on with a brush or sponge, after it has been left to cool. ISINGLASS JELLY. Boil an ounce of isinglass in a quart of water, with a few cloves, lemon peel, or wine, till it is reduced to half the quantity. Then strain it, and add a little sugar and lemon juice. ISSUE OINTMENT. For dressing blisters, in order to keep them open, make an ointment of half an ounce of Spanish flies finely powdered, mixed with six ounces of yellow basilicon ointment. ITALIAN BEEF STEAKS. Cut a fine large steak from a rump that has been well kept, or from any tender part. Beat it, and season with pepper, salt, and onion. Lay it in an iron stewpan that has a cover to fit it quite close, and set it by the side of the fire without water. It must have a strong heat, but care must be taken that it does not burn: in two or three hours it will be quite tender, and then serve with its own gravy. ITCH. Rub the parts affected with the ointment of sulphur, and keep the body gently open by taking every day a small dose of sulphur and treacle. When the cure is effected, let the clothes be carefully fumigated with sulphur, or the contagion will again be communicated. The dry itch requires a vegetable diet, and the liberal use of anti-scorbutics: the parts affected may be rubbed with a strong decoction of tobacco. IVORY. Bones and ivory may be turned to almost any use, by being softened in the following manner. Boil some sage in strong vinegar, strain the liquor through a piece of cloth, and put in the articles. In proportion to the time they are steeped in the liquor, ivory or bones will be capable of receiving any new impression. J. JAPAN BLACKING. Take three ounces of ivory black, two ounces of coarse sugar, one ounce of sulphuric acid, one ounce of muriatic acid, a lemon, a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and a pint of vinegar. First mix the ivory black and sweet oil together, then the lemon and sugar, with a little vinegar to qualify the blacking; then add both the acids, and mix them all well together. The sugar, oil, and vinegar prevent the acids from injuring the leather, and add to the lustre of the blacking.--A cheap method is to take two ounces of ivory black, an ounce and a half of brown sugar, and half a table-spoonful of sweet oil. Mix them well, and then gradually add half a pint of small beer.--Or take a quarter of a pound of ivory black, a quarter of a pound of moist sugar, a table-spoonful of flour, a piece of tallow about the size of a walnut, and a small piece of gum arabic. Make a paste of the flour, and whilst hot, put in the tallow, then the sugar, and afterwards mix the whole well together in a quart of water. JARGANEL PEARS. These may be preserved in a fine state, in the following manner. Pare them very thin, simmer in a thin syrup, and let them lie a day or two. Make the syrup richer, and simmer them again. Repeat this till they are clear; then drain, and dry them in the sun or a cool oven a very little time. They may also be kept in syrup, and dried as wanted, which makes them more moist and rich. JAUNDICE. The diet of persons affected with the jaundice ought to be light and cooling, consisting chiefly of ripe fruits, and mild vegetables. Many have been effectually cured, by living for several days on raw eggs. Buttermilk whey sweetened with honey, or an infusion of marshmallow roots, ought to constitute the whole of the patient's drink. Honey, anti-scorbutics, bitters, and blisters applied to the region of the liver, have all been found serviceable in the cure of the jaundice. JELLY FOR COLD FISH. Clean a maid, and put it into three quarts of water, with a calf's foot, or cow heel. Add a stick of horseradish, an onion, three blades of mace, some white pepper, a piece of lemon peel, and a good slice of lean gammon. Stew it to a jelly, and strain it off. When cold, remove every particle of fat, take it up from the sediment, and boil it with a glass of sherry, the whites of four or five eggs, and a piece of lemon. Boil without stirring; after a few minutes set it by to stand half an hour, and strain it through a bag or sieve, with a cloth in it. Cover the fish with it when cold. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. These must be taken up the moment they are boiled enough, or they will be too soft. They may be served plain, or with fricassee sauce. JUGGED HARE. After cleaning and skinning an old hare, cut it up, and season it with pepper, salt, allspice, pounded mace, and a little nutmeg. Put it into a jar with an onion, a clove or two, a bunch of sweet herbs, a piece of coarse beef, and the carcase bones over all. Tie the jar down with a bladder and strong paper, and put it into a saucepan of water up to the neck, but no higher. Keep the water boiling five hours. When it is to be served, boil up the gravy with flour and butter; and if the meat get cold, warm it up in the gravy, but do not boil it. JUGGED VEAL. Cut some slices of veal, and put them into an earthen jug, with a blade of mace, a little pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Add a sprig of sweet herbs, and a bit of lemon peel. Cover the jug close, that the steam may not escape; set it in a pot of boiling water, and about three hours will do it. Half an hour before it is done, put in a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a little lemon juice, or lemon pickle. Turn it out of the jug into a dish, take out the herbs and lemon peel, and send it to table garnished with lemon. JUMBLES. Powder and sift half a pound of fine lump sugar, and mix it with half a pound of dried flour. Beat up two eggs in a table-spoonful of orange or rose water, shred the peel of half a lemon very fine, mix the whole together, and make it into a paste. Cut the paste into fancy shapes, bake them slightly on tins, and take them out of the oven as soon as the edges begin to brown. K. KETCHUP. The liquor obtained from mushrooms, approaches the nearest to meat gravy, in flavour and quality, of any other vegetable juice, and is the best substitute for it, in any of those savoury dishes intended to please the palate. But in order to have it wholesome and good, it must be made at home, the mushrooms employed in preparing ketchup for sale being generally in a state of putrefaction; and in a few days after the mushrooms are gathered, they become the habitation of myriads of insects. In order to procure and preserve the flavour of the vegetable for any considerable time, the mushrooms should be sought from the beginning of September, and care taken to select only the right sort, and such as are fresh gathered. Full grown flaps are the best for ketchup. Place a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt; then another layer of mushrooms, and some more salt on them, and so on alternately. Let them remain two or three hours, by which time the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and rendered them easy to break. Then pound them in a mortar, or mash them with the hand, and let them remain two days longer, stirring them up, and mashing them well each day. Then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce of whole black pepper. Stop the jar very close, set it in a stewpan of boiling water, and keep it boiling at least for two hours. Take out the jar, pour the juice clear from the settlings through a hair sieve into a clean stewpan, and let it boil very gently for half an hour. If intended to be exquisitely fine, it may be boiled till reduced to half the quantity. It will keep much better in this concentrated state, and only half the quantity be required. Skim it well in boiling, and pour it into a clean dry jar; cover it close, let it stand in a cool place till the next day, and then pour it off as gently as possible, so as not to disturb the settlings. If a table-spoonful of brandy be added to each pint of ketchup, after standing a while, a fresh sediment will be deposited, from which the liquor is quietly to be poured off, and bottled into half pints, as it is best preserved in small quantities, which are soon used. It must be closely corked and sealed down, or dipped in bottle cement, that the air may be entirely excluded. If kept in a cool dry place, it may be preserved for a long time; but if it be badly corked, and kept in a damp place, it will soon spoil. Examine it from time to time, by placing a strong light behind the neck of the bottle; and if any pellicle appears about it, it must be boiled up again with a few peppercorns. No more spice is required than what is necessary to feed the ketchup, and keep it from fermenting. Brandy is the best preservative to all preparations of this kind. KEEPING PROVISIONS. When articles of food are procured, the next thing to be considered is, how they may be best preserved, in order to their being dressed. More waste is oftentimes occasioned by the want of judgment or of necessary care in this particular, than by any other means; and what was procured with expense and difficulty is rendered unwholesome, or given to the dogs. Very few houses have a proper place to keep provisions in; the best substitute is a hanging-safe, suspended in an airy situation. A well-ventilated larder, dry and shady, would be better for meat and poultry, which require to be kept a proper time to be ripe and tender. The most consummate skill in culinary matters, will not compensate the want of attention to this particular. Though animal food should be hung up in the open air, till its fibres have lost some degree of their toughness; yet if kept till it loses its natural sweetness, it is as detrimental to health as it is disagreeable to the taste and smell. As soon therefore as you can detect the slightest trace of putrescence, it has reached its highest degree of tenderness, and should be dressed immediately. Much of course will depend on the state of the atmosphere: if it be warm and humid, care must be taken to dry the meat with a cloth, night and morning, to keep it from damp and mustiness. During the sultry months of summer, it is difficult to procure meat that is not either tough or tainted. It should therefore be well examined when it comes in; and if flies have touched it, the part must be cut off, and then well washed. Meat that is to be salted should lie an hour in cold water, rubbing well any part likely to have been fly-blown. When taken out of the water, wipe it quite dry, then rub it thoroughly with salt, and throw a handful over it besides. Turn it every day, and rub in the pickle, which will make it ready for the table in three or four days. If to be very much corned, wrap it in a well-floured cloth, after rubbing it with salt. This last method will corn fresh beef fit for the table the day it comes in, but it must be put into the pot when the water boils. If the weather permit, meat eats much better for hanging two or three days before it is salted. In very cold weather, meat and vegetables touched by the frost should be brought into the kitchen early in the morning, and soaked in cold water. Putting them into hot water, or near the fire, till thawed, makes it impossible for any heat to dress them properly afterwards. In loins of meat, the long pipe that runs by the bone should be taken out, as it is apt to taint; as also the kernels of beef. Rumps and edgebones of beef when bruised, should not be purchased. To preserve venison, wash it well with milk and water, then dry it with clean cloths till not the least damp remains, and dust it all over with pounded ginger, which will protect it against the fly. By thus managing and watching, it will hang a fortnight. When to be used, wash it with a little lukewarm water, and dry it. Pepper is likewise good to keep it. KIDNEY PUDDING. Split and soak the kidney, and season it. Make a paste of suet, flour, and milk; roll it, and line a bason with some of it. Put in the kidney, cover the paste over, and pinch it round the edge. Tie up the bason in a cloth, and boil it a considerable time. A steak pudding is made in the same way. KITCHEN ECONOMY. Many articles thrown away, or suffered to be wasted in the kitchen, might by proper management be turned to a good account. The shank bones of mutton, so little esteemed in general, would be found to give richness to soups or gravies, if well soaked and brushed, before they are added to the boiling. They are also particularly nourishing for sick persons. Roast beef-bones, or shank bones of ham, make fine peas-soup; and should be boiled with the peas the day before the soup is to be eaten, that the fat may be taken off. The liquor in which meat has been boiled makes an excellent soup for the poor, by adding to it vegetables, oatmeal, or peas. When whites of eggs are used for jelly, or other purposes, a pudding or a custard should be made to employ the yolks. If not immediately wanted, they should be beat up with a little water, and put in a cool place, or they will soon harden, and become useless. It is a great mistake to imagine that the whites of eggs make cakes and puddings heavy: on the contrary, if beaten long and separately, they contribute greatly to give lightness. They are also an advantage to paste, and make a pretty dish beaten with fruit, to set in cream. All things likely to be wanted should be in readiness; sugars of different sorts, currants washed, picked, and perfectly dry; spices pounded, and kept in very small bottles closely corked, but not more than are likely to be used in the course of a month. Much waste may be prevented by keeping every article in the place best suited to it. Vegetables will keep best on a stone floor, if the air be excluded. Meat in a cold dry place. Salt, sugar, and sweetmeats require to be kept dry; candles cold, but not damp. Dried meats and hams the same. Rice, and all sorts of seeds for puddings and saloops, should be close covered to preserve from insects; but that will not prevent it, if long kept. KITCHEN GARDEN. Here a little attention will be requisite every month in the year, as no garden can be long neglected, without producing weeds which exhaust the soil, as well as give a very slovenly appearance.--JANUARY. Throw up a heap of new dung to heat, that it may be ready to make hotbeds for early cucumbers, and raising of annuals for the flower garden. Dig up the ground that is to be sown with the spring crops, that it may lie and mellow. Nurse the cauliflower plants kept under glasses, carefully shut out the frost, but in the middle of milder days let in a little air. Pick up the dead leaves, and gather up the mould about the stalks. Make a slight hotbed in the open ground for young sallads, and place hoops over it, that it may be covered in very cold weather. Sow a few beans and peas, and seek and destroy snails and other vermin.--FEBRUARY. Dig and level beds for sowing radishes, onions, carrots, parsnips, and Dutch lettuce. Leeks and spinage should also be sown in this month, likewise beets, celery, sorrel, and marigolds, with any other of the hardy kinds. The best way with beans and peas, is to sow a new crop every fortnight, that if one succeeds and another fails, as will often be the case, there still may be a constant supply of these useful articles for the table. Plant kidney beans upon a hotbed for an early crop; the dwarf, the white and Battersea beans, are the best sorts. They must have air in the middle of mild days when they are up, and once in two days they should be gently watered. Transplant cabbages, plant out Silesia and Cos lettuce from the beds where they grew in winter, and plant potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes.--MARCH. Sow more carrots, and also some large peas, rouncevals and gray. In better ground sow cabbages, savoys, and parsnips for a second crop; and towards the end of the month, put in a larger quantity of peas and beans. Sow parsley, and plant mint. Sow Cos and imperial lettuce, and transplant the finer kinds. In the beginning of the month, sow Dutch parsley for the roots. The last week take advantage of the time, or the dry days, to make beds for asparagus. Clear up the artichoke roots, slip off the weakest, and plant them out for a new crop, leaving four on each good root to bear, and on such as are weaker two. Dig up a warm border, and sow some French beans; let them have a dry soil, and give them no water till they appear above ground.--APRIL. On a dry warm border, plant a large crop of French beans. Plant cuttings of sage, and other aromatics. Sow marrowfat peas, and plant some beans for a late crop. Sow thyme, sweet marjoram, and savoury. Sow young sallads once in ten days, and some Cos and Silesia lettuces. The seeds of all kinds being now in the ground, look to the growing crops, clear away the weeds every where among them, dig up the earth between the rows of beans, peas, and all other kinds that are distantly planted. This gives them a strong growth, and brings them much sooner to perfection than can be done in any other way. Draw up the mould to the stalks of the cabbage and cauliflower plants, and in cold nights cover the glasses over the early cucumbers and melons.--MAY. Once in two days water the peas, beans, and other large growing plants. Destroy the weeds in all parts of the ground, dig up the earth between the rows, and about the stems of all large kinds. Sow small sallads once in two days, as in the former month: at the same time choose a warm border, and sow some purslain. Sow also some endive, plant peas and beans for a large crop, and French beans to succeed the others. The principal object with these kinds of vegetables, is to have them fresh and young throughout the season. Choose a moist day, and an hour before sunset plant out some savoys, cabbages, and red cabbages. Draw the earth carefully up to their stems, and give them a few gentle waterings.--JUNE. Transplant the cauliflowers sown in May, give them a rich bed, and frequent waterings. Plant out thyme, and other savoury herbs sown before, and in the same manner shade and water them. Take advantage of cloudy weather to sow turnips; and if there be no showers, water the ground once in two days. Sow brocoli upon a rich warm border, and plant out celery, for blanching. This must be planted in trenches a foot and a half deep, and the plants must be set half a foot asunder in the rows. Endive should also be planted out for blanching, but the plants should be set fifteen inches asunder, and at the same time some endive seed should be sown for a second crop. Pick up snails, and in the damp evenings kill the naked slugs.--JULY. Sow a crop of French beans to come in late, when they will be very acceptable. Clear all the ground from weeds, dig between the rows of beans and peas, hoe the ground about the artichokes, and every thing of the cabbage kind. Water the crops in dry weather, and the cucumbers more freely. Watch the melons as they ripen, but give them very little water. Clear away the stalks of beans and peas that have done bearing. Spinach seed will now be ready for gathering, as also that of the Welch onion, and some others: take them carefully off, and dry them in the shade. Take up large onions, and spread them upon mats to dry for the winter.--AUGUST. Spinach and onions should be sowed on rich borders, prepared for that purpose. These two crops will live through the winter, unless very severe, and be valuable in the spring. The second week in this month sow cabbage seed of the early kind, and in the third week sow cauliflower seed. This will provide plants to be nursed up under bell glasses in the winter. Some of these may also be planted in the open ground in a well defended situation. The last week of this month sow another crop, to supply the place of these in case of accidents; for if the season be very severe, they may be lost; and if very mild, they will run to seed in the spring. These last crops must be defended by a hotbed frame, and they will stand out and supply deficiencies. Sow cabbage lettuces, and the brown Dutch kinds, in a warm and well sheltered border. Take up garlic, and spread it on a mat to harden. In the same manner take up onions and rocambole, and shalots at the latter end of the month.--SEPTEMBER. Sow various kinds of lettuces, Silesia, Cos, and Dutch, and when they come up, shelter them carefully. The common practice is to keep them under hand-glasses, but they will thrive better under a reed fence, placed sloping over them. Make up fresh warm beds with the dung that has lain a month in the heap. Plant the spawn in these beds, upon pasture mould, and raise the top of the bed to a ridge, to throw off the wet. Look to the turnip beds and thin them, leaving the plants six inches apart from each other. Weed the spinach, onions, and other new-sown plants. Earth up the celery, and sow young sallads upon warm and well-sheltered borders. Clean asparagus beds, cut down the stalks, pare off the earth from the surface of the alleys, throw it upon the beds half an inch thick, and sprinkle over it a little dung from an old melon bed. Dig up the ground where summer crops have ripened, and lay it in ridges for the winter. The ridges should be disposed east and west, and turned once in two months, to give them the advantage of a fallow. Sow some beans and peas on warm and well-sheltered borders, to stand out the winter.--OCTOBER. Set out cauliflower plants, where they can be sheltered; and if glasses are used, put two under each, for fear of one failing. Sow another crop of peas, and plant more beans; choose a dry spot for them, where they can be sheltered from the winter's cold. Transplant the lettuces sown last month, where they can be defended by a reed fence, or under a wall. Transplant cabbage plants and coleworts, where they are to remain. Take great care of the cauliflower plants sown early in summer; and as they now begin to show their heads, break in the leaves upon them to keep off the sun and rain; it will both harden and whiten them.--NOVEMBER. Weed the crops of spinach, and others that were sown late, or the wild growth will smother and starve the crop. Dig up a border under a warm wall, and sow some carrots for spring; sow radishes in a similar situation, and let the ground be dug deep for both. Turn the mould that was trenched and laid up for fallowing; this will destroy the weeds, and enrich the soil by exposing it to the air. Prepare some hotbeds for salading, cover them five inches with mould, and sow them with lettuces, mustard, rape, cresses, and radish. Plant another crop of beans, and sow more peas for a succession. Trench the ground between the artichokes, and throw a thick ridge of earth over the roots: this will preserve them from the frost, and prevent their shooting at an improper time. Make a hotbed for asparagus. Take up carrots and parsnips, and put them in sand to be ready for use. Give air occasionally to the plants under hand-glasses and on hotbeds, or they will suffer as much for want of it, as they would have done by an exposure to the cold.--DECEMBER. Plant cabbages and savoys for seed: this requires to be done carefully. Dig up a dry border, and break the mould well; then take up some of the stoutest cabbage and savoy plants, hang them up by the stalks four or five days, and afterwards plant them half way up the stalks into the ground. Draw up a good quantity of mould about the stalk that is above ground, make it into a kind of hill round each, and leave them to nature. Sow another crop of peas, and plant some more beans, to take their chance for succeeding the other. Make another hotbed for asparagus, to yield a supply when the former is exhausted. Continue to earth up celery, and cover some endive with a good quantity of peas straw, as it is growing, that it may be taken up when wanted, and be preserved from the winter's frost. KITCHEN PEPPER. Mix in the finest powder, one ounce of ginger, half an ounce each of cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, and Jamaica pepper; ten cloves, and six ounces of salt. Keep it in a bottle, and it will be found an agreeable addition to any brown sauces or soups. Spice in powder, kept in small bottles close stopped, goes much farther than when used whole. It must be dried before it is pounded, and should be done in quantities that may be used in three or four months. Nutmeg need not be done, but the others should be kept in separate bottles, with a label on each. KITCHEN UTENSILS. Continual attention must be paid to the condition of the boilers, saucepans, stewpans, and other kitchen requisites, which ought to be examined every time they are used. Their covers also must be kept perfectly clean, and well tinned. Stewpans in particular should be cleaned, not only on the inside, but about a couple of inches on the outside, or the broths and soups will look green and dirty, and taste bitter and poisonous. Not only health but even life depends on the perfectly clean and wholesome state of culinary utensils. If the tinning of a pan happens to be scorched or blistered, it is best to send it directly to be repaired, to prevent any possible danger arising from the solution of the metal. Stewpans and soup pots should be made with thick round bottoms, similar to those of copper saucepans; they will then wear twice as long, and may be cleaned with half the trouble. The covers should be made to fit as close as possible, that the broth or soup may not waste by evaporation. They are good for nothing, unless they fit tight enough to keep the steam in, and the smoke out. Stewpans and saucepans should always be bright on the upper rim, where the fire does not burn them; but it is not necessary to scour them all over, which would wear out the vessels. Soup pots and kettles should be washed immediately after being used, and carefully dried by the fire, before they are put by. They must also be kept in a dry place, or damp and rust will soon destroy them. Copper utensils should never be used in the kitchen; or if they be, the utmost care should be taken not to let the tin be rubbed off, and to have them fresh done when the least defect appears. Neither soup nor gravy should at any time be suffered to remain in them longer than is absolutely necessary for the purposes of cookery, as the fat and acid employed in the operation, are capable of dissolving the metal, and so of poisoning what is intended to be eaten. Stone and earthen vessels should be provided for soups and gravies intended to be set by, as likewise plenty of common dishes, that the table-set may not be used for such purposes. Vegetables soon turn sour, and corrode metals and glazed red ware, by which a strong poison is produced. Vinegar, by its acidity, does the same, the glazing being of lead or arsenic. Care should be taken of sieves, jelly bags, and tapes for collared articles, to have them well scalded and kept dry, or they will impart an unpleasant flavour when next used. Stewpans especially, should never be used without first washing them out with boiling water, and rubbing them well with a dry cloth and a little bran, to clean them from grease and sand, or any bad smell they may have contracted since they were last used. In short, cleanliness is the cardinal virtue of the kitchen; and next to this, economy. KNIFE BOARD. Common knife boards with brick dust, soon wear out the knives that are sharpened upon them. To avoid this, cover the board with thick buff leather, and spread over it a thin paste of crocus martis, with a little emery finely powdered, and mixed up with lard or sweet oil. This will give a superior edge and polish to the knives, and make them wear much longer than in the usual way of cleaning them. KNUCKLE OF VEAL. As few persons are fond of boiled veal, it may be well to cut the knuckle small, and take off some cutlets or collops before it is dressed; but as the knuckle will keep longer than the fillet, it is best not to cut off the slices till wanted. Break the bones to make it take less room, wash the joint well, and put it into a saucepan with three onions, a blade or two of mace, and a few peppercorns. Cover it with water, and simmer it till quite done. In the mean time some macaroni should be boiled with it if approved, or rice, or a little rice flour, to give it a small degree of thickness; but avoid putting in too much. Before it is served, add half a pint of milk and cream, and let it go to table either with or without the meat.--A knuckle of veal may also be fried with sliced onion and butter, to a good brown. Prepare some peas, lettuce, onion, and a cucumber or two, stewed in a small quantity of water for an hour. Add these to the veal, and stew it till the meat is tender enough to eat, but not overdone. Put in pepper, salt, and a little shred mint, and serve all together. L. LAMB. In purchasing this meat, observe particularly the neck of a fore-quarter. If the vein is bluish, it is fresh: if it has a green or yellow cast, it is stale. In the hind-quarter, if there is a faint smell under the kidney, and the knuckle is limp, the meat is stale. If the eyes are sunk, the head is not fresh. Grass lamb comes into season in April or May, and continues till August. House lamb may be had in large towns almost all the year, but it is in highest perfection in December and January. LAMB CHOPS. Cut up a neck or loin, rub the chops with egg, and sprinkle them over with grated bread, mixed with a little parsley, thyme, marjoram, and lemon peel, chopped fine. Fry them in butter till they are of a light brown, put them in a warm dish, garnished with crisped parsley. Or make a gravy in the pan with a little water, and butter rolled in flour, and pour it over them. LAMB CUTLETS. Cut some steaks from the loin, and fry them. Stew some spinach, put it into a dish, and lay the cutlets round it. LAMB'S FRY. Serve it fried of a beautiful colour, and with a good deal of dried or fried parsley over it. LAMB'S HEAD. A house-lamb's head is the best; but any other may be made white by soaking it in cold water. Boil the head separately till it is very tender. Have ready the liver and lights three parts boiled and cut small: stew them in a little of the water in which they were boiled, season and thicken with flour and butter, and serve the mince round the head. LAMB PIE. Make it of the loin, neck, or breast; the breast of house-lamb especially, is very delicate and fine. It should be lightly seasoned with pepper and salt, the bone taken out, but not the gristle. A small quantity of jelly gravy is to be put in hot, but the pie should not be cut till cold. Put in two spoonfuls of water before baking. Grass lamb makes an excellent pie, and should only be seasoned with pepper and salt. Put in two spoonfuls of water before baking, and as much gravy when it comes from the oven. It may generally be remarked, that meat pies being fat, it is best to let out the gravy on one side, and put it in again by a funnel, at the centre, when a little may be added. LAMB STEAKS. Quarter some cucumbers, and lay them into a deep dish; sprinkle them with salt, and pour vinegar over them. Fry the steaks of a fine brown, and put them into a stewpan; drain the cucumbers, and put them over the steaks. Add some sliced onions, pepper and salt; pour hot water or weak broth on them, and stew and skim them well. LAMB STEAKS BROWN. Season some house-lamb steaks with pepper, salt, nutmeg, grated lemon peel, and chopped parsley: but dip them first into egg, and fry them quick. Thicken some good gravy with a little flour and butter, and add to it a spoonful of port wine, and some oysters. Boil up the liquor, put in the steaks warm, and serve them up hot. Palates, balls, or eggs, may be added, if approved. LAMB STEAKS WHITE. Steaks of house-lamb should be stewed in milk and water till very tender, with a bit of lemon peel, a little salt, mace, and pepper. Have ready some veal gravy, and put the steaks into it; mix some mushroom powder, a cup of cream, and a dust of flour; shake the steaks in this liquor, stir it, and make it quite hot. Just before taking up the steaks, put in a few white mushrooms. When poultry is very dear, this dish will be found a good substitute. LAMB'S SWEETBREADS. Blanch them, and put them a little while into cold water. Stew them with a ladleful of broth, some pepper and salt, a few small onions, and a blade of mace. Stir in a bit of butter and flour, and stew them half an hour. Prepare two or three eggs well beaten in cream, with a little minced parsley, and a dust of grated nutmeg. Add a few tops of boiled asparagus, stir it well over the fire, but let it not boil after the cream is in, and take great care that it does not curdle. Young French beans or peas may be added, but should first be boiled of a beautiful colour. LAMBSTONES FRICASSEED. Skin and wash, dry and flour them; then fry them of a beautiful brown in hog's lard. Lay them on a sieve before the fire, till the following sauce is prepared. Thicken nearly half a pint of veal gravy with flour and butter, and then add to it a slice of lemon, a large spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle, a taste of nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg well beaten in two large spoonfuls of thick cream. Put this over the fire, stir it well till it is hot, and looks white; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Then put in the fry, shake it about near the fire for a minute or two, and serve it in a very hot dish and cover.--A fricassee of lambstones and sweetbreads may be prepared another way. Have ready some lambstones blanched, parboiled, and sliced. Flour two or three sweetbreads: if very thick, cut them in two. Fry all together, with a few large oysters, of a fine yellow brown. Pour off the butter, add a pint of good gravy, some asparagus tops about an inch long, a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, two shalots shred fine, and a glass of white wine. Simmer them ten minutes, put a little of the gravy to the yolks of three eggs well beaten, and mix the whole together by degrees. Turn the gravy back into the pan, stir it till of a fine thickness without boiling, and garnish with lemon. LAMENESS. Much lameness, as well as deformity, might certainly be prevented, if stricter attention were paid to the early treatment of children. Weakness of the hips, accompanied with a lameness of both sides of the body, is frequently occasioned by inducing them to walk without any assistance, before they have strength sufficient to support themselves. Such debility may in some measure be counteracted, by tying a girdle round the waist, and bracing up the hips; but it requires to be attended to at an early period, or the infirmity will continue for life. It will also be advisable to bathe such weak limbs in cold water, or astringent decoctions, for several months. If the lameness arise from contraction, rather than from weakness, the best means will be frequent rubbing of the part affected. If this be not sufficient, beat up the yolk of a new laid egg, mix it well with three ounces of water, and rub it gently on the part. Perseverance in the use of this simple remedy, has been successful in a great number of instances. LAMPREY. To stew lamprey as at Worcester, clean the fish carefully, and remove the cartilage which runs down the back. Season with a small quantity of cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and allspice. Put it into a small stewpot, with beef gravy, port, and sherry. Cover it close, stew it till tender, take out the lamprey, and keep it hot. Boil up the liquor with two or three anchovies chopped, and some butter rolled in flour. Strain the gravy through a sieve, add some lemon juice, and ready-made mustard. Serve with sippets of bread and horseradish. When there is spawn, it must be fried and laid round. Eels done the same way, are a good deal like the lamprey. LARKS. To dress larks and other small birds, draw and spit them on a bird spit. Tie this on another spit, and roast them. Baste gently with butter, and strew bread crumbs upon them till half done. Brown them in dressing, and serve with bread crumbs round. LAVENDER WATER. To a pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, add an ounce of the essential oil of lavender, and two drams of the essence of ambergris. Put the whole into a quart bottle, shake it frequently, and decant it into small bottles for use. LAVER. This is a plant that grows on the rocks near the sea in the west of England, and is sent in pots prepared for eating. Place some of it on a dish over the lamp, with a bit of butter, and the squeeze of a Seville orange. Stir it till it is hot. It is eaten with roast meat, and tends to sweeten the blood. It is seldom liked at first, but habit renders it highly agreeable. LEAF IMPRESSIONS. To take impressions of leaves and plants, oil a sheet of fine paper, dry it in the sun, and rub off the superfluous moisture with another piece of paper. After the oil is pretty well dried in, black the sheet by passing it over a lighted lamp or candle. Lay the leaf or plant on the black surface, with a small piece of paper over it, and rub it carefully till the leaf is thoroughly coloured. Then take it up undisturbed, lay it on the book or paper which is to receive the impression, cover it with a piece of blotting paper, and rub it on the back a short time with the finger as before. Impressions of the minutest veins and fibres of a plant may be taken in this way, superior to any engraving, and which may afterwards be coloured according to nature. A printer's ball laid upon a leaf, which is afterwards pressed on wet paper, will also produce a fine impression; or if the leaf be touched with printing ink, and pressed with a rolling pin, nearly the same effect will be produced. LEATHER. To discharge grease from articles made of leather, apply the white of an egg; let it dry in the sun, and then rub it off. A paste made of dry mustard, potatoe meal, and two spoonfuls of the spirits of turpentine, applied to the spot and rubbed off dry, will also be found to answer the purpose. If not, cleanse it with a little vinegar. Tanned leather is best cleaned with nitrous acid and salts of lemon diluted with water, and afterwards mixed with skimmed milk. The surface of the leather should first be cleaned with a brush and soft water, adding a little free sand, and then repeatedly scoured with a brush dipped in the nitrous mixture. It is afterwards to be cleaned with a sponge and water, and left to dry. LEAVENED BREAD. Take two pounds of dough from the last baking, and keep it in flour. Put the dough or leaven into a peck of flour the night before it is baked, and work them well together in warm water. Cover it up warm in a wooden vessel, and the next morning it will be sufficiently fermented to mix with two or three bushels of flour: then work it up with warm water, and a pound of salt to each bushel. Cover it with flannel till it rises, knead it well, work it into broad flat loaves or bricks, and bake them as other bread. LEEK MILK. Wash a large handful of leeks, cut them small, and boil them in a gallon of milk till it become as thick as cream. Then strain it, and drink a small bason full twice a day. This is good for the jaundice. LEEK SOUP. Chop a quantity of leeks into some mutton broth or liquor, with a seasoning of salt and pepper. Simmer them an hour in a saucepan; mix some oatmeal with a little cold water quite smooth, and pour it into the soup. Simmer it gently over a slow fire, and take care that it does not burn to the bottom. This is a Scotch dish. LEG OF LAMB. To make it look as white as possible, it should be boiled in a cloth. At the same time the loin should be fried in steaks, and served with it, garnished with dried or fried parsley. Spinach to eat with it. The leg may be roasted, or dressed separately. LEG OF MUTTON. If roasted, serve it up with onion or currant-jelly sauce. If boiled, with caper sauce and vegetables. LEG OF PORK. Salt it, and let it lie six or seven days in the pickle, turn and rub it with the brine every day. Put it into boiling water, if not too salt; use a good quantity of water, and let it boil all the time it is on the fire. Send it to table with peas pudding, melted butter, turnips, carrots, or greens. If it is wanted to be dressed sooner, it may be hastened by putting a little fresh salt on it every day. It will then be ready in half the time, but it will not be quite so tender.--To dress a leg of pork like goose, first parboil it, then take off the skin, and roast it. Baste it with butter, and make a savoury powder of finely minced or dried and powdered sage, ground black pepper, and bread crumbs rubbed together through a cullender; to which may be added an onion, very finely minced. Sprinkle the joint with this mixture when it is almost roasted, put half a pint of made gravy into the dish, and goose stuffing under the knuckle skin, or garnish with balls of it, either fried or boiled. LEG OF VEAL. Let the fillet be cut large or small, as best suits the size of the company. Take out the bone, fill the space with a fine stuffing, skewer it quite round, and send it to table with the large side uppermost. When half roasted, or before, put a paper over the fat, and take care to allow sufficient time: as the meat is very solid, place it at a good distance from the fire, that it may be gradually heated through. Serve it up with melted butter poured over it. Some of it would be good for potting. LEMON BRANDY. Pare two dozen of lemons, and steep the peels in a gallon of brandy. Squeeze the lemons on two pounds of fine sugar, and add six quarts of water. The next day put the ingredients together, pour on three pints of boiling milk, let it stand two days, and strain it off. LEMON CAKE. Beat up the whites of ten eggs, with three spoonfuls of orange flower water; put in a pound of sifted sugar, and the rind of a lemon grated. When it is well mixed, add the juice of half a lemon, and the yolks of ten eggs beaten smooth. Stir in three quarters of a pound of flour, put the cake into a buttered pan, and bake it an hour carefully. LEMON CHEESECAKES. Mix four ounces of fine sifted sugar and four ounces of butter, and melt it gently. Then add the yolks of two and the white of one egg, the rind of three lemons shred fine, and the juice of one and a half; also one savoy biscuit, some blanched almonds pounded, and three spoonfuls of brandy. Mix them well together, and put in the following paste. Eight ounces of flour, six ounces of butter, two thirds of which must first be mixed with the flour; then wet it with six spoonfuls of water, and roll in the remainder.--Another way. Boil two large lemons, or three small ones, and after squeezing, pound them well together in a mortar, with four ounces of loaf sugar, the yolks of six eggs, and eight ounces of fresh butter. Fill the pattipans half full. Orange cheesecakes are done in the same way, only the peel must be boiled in two or three waters to take out the bitterness: or make them of orange marmalade well beaten in a mortar. LEMON CREAM. Put to a pint of thick cream, the yolks of two eggs well beaten, four ounces of fine sugar, and the thin rind of a lemon. Boil it up, and stir it till nearly cold. Put the juice of a lemon into a bowl, and pour the cream upon it, stirring it till quite cold. White lemon cream is made in the same way, only put the whites of the eggs instead of the yolks, whisking it extremely well to a froth. LEMON CUSTARDS. Beat the yolks of eight eggs till they are as white as milk; then put to them a pint of boiling water, the rinds of two lemons grated, and the juice sweetened to taste. Stir it on the fire till it thickens; then add a large glass of rich wine, and half a glass of brandy. Give the whole one scald, and put it in cups to be eaten cold. LEMON DROPS. Grate three large lemons, with a large piece of double-refined sugar. Then scrape the sugar into a plate, add half a tea-spoonful of flour, mix well, and beat it into a light paste with the white of an egg. Drop it upon white paper, and put the drops into a moderate oven on a tin plate. LEMON HONEYCOMB. Sweeten the juice of a lemon to your taste, and put it in the dish that you intend to serve it in. Mix the white of an egg well beaten, with a pint of rich cream, and a little sugar. Whisk it; and as the froth rises, put it on the lemon juice. Prepare it the day before it is to be used. LEMON JUICE. In order to keep this article ready for use, the best way is to buy the fruit when it is cheap, and lay it two or three days in a cool place. If too unripe to squeeze immediately, cut the peel off some of them, and roll them under the hand, to make them part with the juice more freely. Others may be left unpared for grating, when the pulp is taken out, and they are dried. Squeeze the juice into a china bason, and strain it through some muslin which will not permit any of the pulp to pass. Having prepared some small phials, perfectly dry, fill them with the juice so near the top as only to admit half a tea-spoonful of sweet oil into each. Cork the bottles tight, and set them upright in a cool place. When the lemon juice is wanted, open only such a sized bottle as will be used in two or three days. Wind some clean cotton round a skewer, and dipping it in, the oil will be attracted; and when all of it is removed, the juice will be as fine as when first bottled. Hang the peels up to dry, and keep them from the dust. LEMON MINCE PIES. Squeeze a large lemon, boil the outside till tender enough to beat to a mash. Add to it three large apples chopped, four ounces of suet, half a pound of washed currants, and four ounces of sugar. Put in the juice of a lemon, and candied fruit, as for other pies. Make a short crust, and fill the pattipans as usual. LEMON PICKLE. Wipe six lemons, and cut each into eight pieces. Put on them a pound of salt, six large cloves of garlic, two ounces of horseradish sliced thin; likewise of cloves, mace, nutmeg, and cayenne, a quarter of an ounce of each, and two ounces of flour of mustard. To these add two quarts of vinegar, and boil it a quarter of an hour in a well-tinned saucepan; or, which is better, do it in a jar, placed in a kettle of boiling water, or set the jar on a hot hearth till done. Then set the jar by closely covered, stirring it daily for six weeks, and afterwards put the pickle into small bottles. LEMON PUDDING. Beat the yolks of four eggs; add four ounces of white sugar, the rind of a lemon being rubbed with some lumps of it to take the essence. Then peel and beat it into a paste, with the juice of a large lemon, and mix all together with four or five ounces of warmed butter. Put a crust into a shallow dish, nick the edges, and put the above into it. When sent to table, turn the pudding out of the dish. LEMON PUFFS. Beat and sift a pound and a quarter of double-refined sugar; grate the rind of two large lemons, and mix it well with the sugar. Then beat the whites of three new-laid eggs a great while; add them to the sugar and peel, and beat it together for an hour. Make it up into any shape, put it on paper laid on tin plates, and bake in a moderate oven. Oiling the paper will make it come off with ease, but it should not be removed till quite cold. LEMON SAUCE. Cut thin slices of lemon into very small dice, and put them into melted butter. Give it one boil, and pour it over boiled fowls. LEMON AND LIVER SAUCE. Pare off as thin as possible the rind of a lemon, or of a Seville orange, so as not to cut off any of the white with it. Then peel off all the white, and cut the lemon into slices, about as thick as two half crowns. Pick out the peps, and divide the slices into small squares. Prepare the liver as for Liver and Parsley Sauce, and add to it the slices of lemon, and a little of the peel finely minced. Warm up the sauce in melted butter, but do not let it boil. LEMON SYRUP. Put a pint of fresh lemon juice to a pound and three quarters of lump sugar. Dissolve it by a gentle heat, skim it till the surface is quite clear, and add an ounce of lemon peel cut very thin. Let them simmer very gently for a few minutes, and run the syrup through a flannel. When cold, bottle and cork it closely, and keep it in a cool place. LEMON WATER. A delightful drink may be made of two slices of lemon, thinly pared into a teapot, with a little sugar, or a large spoonful of capillaire. Pour in a pint of boiling water, and stop it close two hours. LEMON WHEY. Pour into boiling milk as much lemon juice as will make a small quantity quite clear; dilute it with hot water to an agreeable smart acid, and add a bit or two of sugar. This is less heating than if made of wine; and if intended only to excite perspiration, will answer the purpose as well. Vinegar whey is made in the same manner, by using vinegar only, instead of lemon juice. LEMON WHITE SAUCE. Cut the peel of a small lemon very thin, and put it into a pint of sweet rich cream, with a sprig of lemon thyme, and ten white peppercorns. Simmer gently till it tastes well of the lemon, then strain and thicken it with a quarter of a pound of butter, and a dessert-spoonful of flour rubbed in it. Boil it up, stir it well, and pour the juice of the lemon strained into it. Dish up the chickens, and mix with the cream a little white gravy quite hot, but do not boil them together: add a little salt to flavour. LEMONS FOR PUDDINGS. To keep oranges or lemons for puddings, squeeze out the pulp, and put the outsides into water for a fortnight. Then boil them in the same water till they are quite tender, strain the liquor from them, and when they are tolerably dry, put them into any jar of candy that happens to be left from old sweetmeats. Or boil a small quantity of syrup of lump sugar and water, and put over them. In a week or ten days boil them gently in it till they look clear, and cover them with it in the jar. If the fruit be cut in halves, they will occupy less space. LEMONADE. To prepare lemonade a day before it is wanted for use, pare two dozen lemons as thin as possible. Put eight of the rinds into three quarts of hot water, not boiling, and cover it over for three or four hours. Rub some fine loaf sugar on the lemons to attract the essence, and put it into a china bowl, into which the juice of the lemons is to be squeezed. Add a pound and a half of fine sugar, then put the water to the above, and three quarts of boiling milk. Pour the mixture through a jelly bag, till it is perfectly clear.--Another way. Pare a quantity of lemons, and pour some hot water on the peels. While infusing, boil some sugar and water to a good syrup, with the white of an egg whipt up. When it boils, pour a little cold water into it. Set it on again, and when it boils take off the pan, and let it stand by to settle. If there be any scum, take it off, and pour it clear from the sediment, to the water in which the peels were infused, and the lemon juice. Stir and taste it, and add as much more water as shall be necessary to make a very rich lemonade. Wet a jelly bag, and squeeze it dry; then strain the liquor, and it will be very fine.--To make a lemonade which has the appearance of jelly, pare two Seville oranges and six lemons very thin, and steep them four hours in a quart of hot water. Boil a pound and a quarter of loaf sugar in three pints of water, and skim it clean. Add the two liquors to the juice of six China oranges, and twelve lemons; stir the whole well, and run it through a jelly bag till it is quite clear. Then add a little orange water, if approved, and more sugar if necessary. Let it be well corked, and it will keep.--Lemonade may be prepared in a minute, by pounding a quarter of an ounce of citric or crystalised lemon acid, with a few drops of quintessence of lemon peel, and mixing it by degrees with a pint of clarified syrup or capillaire. LENT POTATOES. Beat three or four ounces of almonds, and three or four bitter ones when blanched, putting a little orange flower water to prevent oiling. Add eight ounces of butter, four eggs well beaten and strained, half a glass of raisin wine, and sugar to taste. Beat all together till quite smooth, and grate in three Savoy biscuits. Make balls of the above with a little flour, the size of a chesnut; throw them into a stewpan of boiling lard, and boil them of a beautiful yellow brown. Drain them on a sieve, and serve with sweet sauce in a boat. LETHARGY. This species of apoplexy discovers itself by an invincible drowsiness, or inclination to sleep; and is frequently attended with a degree of fever, and coldness of the extremities. Blisters and emetics have often procured relief. The affusion of cold water upon the head, and the burning of feathers or other fetid substances, held near the nostrils, are also attended with advantage. LICE. Want of cleanliness, immoderate warmth, violent perspiration, and a corrupted state of the fluids, tend to promote the generation of this kind of vermin. The most simple remedy is the seed of parsley, reduced to a fine powder and rubbed to the roots of the hair, or to rub the parts affected with garlic and mustard. To clean the heads of children, take half an ounce of honey, half an ounce of sulphur, an ounce of vinegar, and two ounces of sweet oil. Mix the whole into a liniment, and rub a little of it on the head repeatedly. Lice which infest clothes, may be destroyed by fumigating the articles of dress with the vapour of sulphur. Garden lice may be treated in the same way as for destroying insects. LIGHT CAKE. Mix a pound of flour, half a pound of currants, and a little nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Melt a quarter of a pound of butter in a quarter of a pint of milk, and strain into it two spoonfuls of yeast and two eggs. Stir it well together, set it before the fire to rise, and bake it in a quick oven. LIGHT PASTE. For tarts and cheesecakes, beat up the white of an egg to a strong froth, and mix it with as much water as will make three quarters of a pound of fine flour into a very stiff paste. Roll it out thin, lay two or three ounces of butter upon it in little bits, dredge it with a little flour, and roll it up tight. Roll it out again, and add the same proportion of butter, and so proceed till the whole is worked up. LIGHT PUFFS. Mix two spoonfuls of flour, a little grated lemon peel, some nutmeg, half a spoonful of brandy, a little loaf-sugar, and one egg. Fry it enough, but not brown; beat it in a mortar with five eggs, whites and yolks. Put a quantity of lard in a fryingpan; and when quite hot, drop a dessert-spoonful of batter at a time, and turn them as they brown. Send the puffs to table quickly, with sweet sauce. LIME WATER. Pour two gallons of water upon a pound of fresh-burnt lime; and when the ebullition ceases, stir it up well, and let it stand till the lime is settled. Filter the liquor through paper, and keep it for use closely stopped. It is chiefly used for the gravel, in which case a pint or more may be drunk daily. For the itch, or other diseases of the skin, it is to be applied externally. LINEN. Linen in every form is liable to all the accidents of mildew, iron moulds, ink spots, and various other stains, which prove highly injurious, if not speedily removed. In case of mildew, rub the part well with soap, then scrape and rub on some fine chalk, and lay the linen out to bleach. Wet it a little now and then, and repeat the operation if necessary. Ink spots and iron moulds may be removed, by rubbing them with the salt of sorrel, or weak muriatic acid, and laying the part over a teapot or kettle of boiling water, so that it may be affected by the steam. Or some crystals of tartar powdered, and half the quantity of alum, applied in the same manner, will be found to extract the spots. The spirits of salts diluted with water, will remove iron moulds from linen; and sal ammoniac with lime, will take out the stains of wine. Fruit stains may generally be removed by wetting the part with water, and exposing it to the fumes of brimstone. When ink has been suddenly spilled on linen, wet the place immediately with the juice of sorrel or lemon, or with vinegar, and rub it with hard white soap. Or add to the juice a little salts, steam the linen over boiling water, and wash it afterwards in ley. If ink be spilled on a green tablecloth or carpet, the readiest way is to take it up immediately with a spoon, and by pouring on fresh water, while the spoon is constantly applied, the stains will soon be removed. Scorched linen may be restored by means of the following application. Boil two ounces of fuller's earth, an ounce of hen's dung, half an ounce of soap, and the juice of two onions, in half a pint of vinegar, till reduced to a good consistency. Spread the composition over the damaged part, let it dry on, and then wash it well once or twice. If the threads be not actually consumed by the scorch, the linen will soon be restored to its former whiteness. LIP SALVE. Put into a small jar two ounces of white wax, half an ounce of spermaceti, and a quarter of a pint of oil of sweet almonds. Tie it down close, and put the jar into a small saucepan, with as much water as will nearly reach the top of the jar, but not so as to boil over it, and let it simmer till the wax is melted. Then put in a pennyworth of alkanet root tied up in a rag, with the jar closed, and boil it till it becomes red. Take out the alkanet root, and put in two pennyworth of essence of lemon, and a few drops of bergamot. Pour some into small boxes for present use, and the remainder into a gallipot tied down with a bladder.--Another. An ounce of white wax and ox marrow, with three ounces of white pomatum, melted together over a slow fire, will make an agreeable lip salve, which may be coloured with a dram of alkanet, and stirred till it becomes a fine red. LITTLE BREAD PUDDINGS. Steep the crumb of a penny loaf grated, in about a pint of warm milk. When sufficiently soaked, beat up six eggs, whites and yolks, and mix with the bread. Add two ounces of warmed butter, some sugar, orange flower water, a spoonful of brandy, a little nutmeg, and a tea-cupful of cream. Beat all well together, bake in buttered teacups, and serve with pudding sauce. A quarter of a pound of currants may be added, but the puddings are good without. Orange or lemon will be an agreeable addition. LIVER AND HERBS. Clean and drain a good quantity of spinach, two large handfuls of parsley, and a handful of green onions. Chop the parsley and onions, and sprinkle them among the spinach. Stew them together with a little salt and butter, shake the pan when it begins to grow warm, and cover it close till done enough over a slow fire. Lay on slices of liver, fried of a nice brown and slices of bacon just warmed at the fire. On the outside part of the herbs lay some eggs nicely fried, and trimmed round. Or the eggs may be served on the herbs, and the liver garnished with the bacon separately. LIVER SAUCE. Chop some liver of rabbits or fowls, and do it the same as for lemon sauce, with a very little pepper and salt, and some parsley. LIVER AND PARSLEY SAUCE. Wash the fresh liver of a fowl or rabbit, and boil it five minutes in a quarter of a pint of water. Chop it fine, or pound or bruise it in a little of the liquor it was boiled in, and rub it through a sieve. Wash about one third the bulk of parsley leaves, put them into boiling water, with a tea-spoonful of salt, and let them boil. Then lay the parsley on a hair sieve, mince it very fine, and mix it with the liver. Warm up the sauce in a quarter of a pint of melted butter, but do not let it boil. LOBSTERS. If they have not been long taken, the claws will have a strong motion, when the finger is pressed upon the eyes. The heaviest are the best, and it is preferable to boil them at home. If purchased ready boiled, try whether their tails are stiff, and pull up with a spring; otherwise that part will be flabby. The male lobster is known by the narrow back part of his tail, and the two uppermost fins within it are stiff and hard: those of the hen are soft, and the tail broader. The male, though generally smaller, has the highest flavour, the flesh is firmer, and the colour when boiled is a deeper red. LOBSTER PATTIES. To be made as oyster patties, gently stewed and seasoned, and put into paste baked in pattipans, with the addition of a little cream, and a very small piece of butter. LOBSTER PIE. Boil two or three small lobsters, take out the tails, and cut them in two. Take out the gut, cut each into four pieces, and lay them in a small dish. Put in the meat of the claws, and that picked out of the body; pick off the furry parts of the latter, and take out the lady; beat the spawn in a mortar, and likewise all the shells. Stew them with some water, two or three spoonfuls of vinegar, pepper, salt, and some pounded mace. A large piece of butter rolled in flour must be added, when the goodness of the shells is obtained. Give it a boil or two, and pour it into a dish strained; strew some crumbs, and put a paste over all. Bake it slowly, and only till the paste is done. LOBSTER SALAD. Make a salad, cut some of the red part of the lobster, and add to it. This will form a pleasing contrast to the white and green of the vegetables. Be careful not to put in too much oil, as shell-fish absorbs the sharpness of the vinegar. Serve it up in a dish, not in a bowl. LOBSTER SAUCE. Pound the spawn with two anchovies, pour on two spoonfuls of gravy, and strain all into some melted butter. Then put in the meat of the lobster, give it all one boil, and add the squeeze of a lemon. Or leave out the anchovies and gravy, and do it as above, either with or without salt and ketchup, as may be most approved. Many persons prefer the flavour of the lobster and salt only. LOBSTER SOUP. Take the meat from the claws, bodies, and tails, of six small lobsters. Remove the brown fur, and the bag in the head; beat the fins in a mortar, the chine, and the small claws. Boil it very gently in two quarts of water, with the crumb of a French roll, some white pepper, salt, two anchovies, a large onion, sweet herbs, and a bit of lemon peel, till all the goodness is extracted, and then strain it off. Beat the spawn in a mortar with a bit of butter, a quarter of a nutmeg, and a tea-spoonful of flour, and then mix it with a quart of cream. Cut the tails into pieces, and give them a boil up with the cream and soup. Serve with forcemeat balls made of the remainder of the lobster, mace, pepper, salt, a few crumbs, and an egg or two. Let the balls be made up with a little flour, and heated in the soup. LODGINGS. The tenure on which the generality of houses are held, does not warrant a tenant to let, or a lodger to take apartments by the year. To do this, the tenant ought himself to be the proprietor of the premises, or to hold possession by lease for an unexpired term of several years, which would invest him with the right of a landlord to give or receive half a year's notice, or proceed as in other cases of landlord and tenant. Unfurnished lodgings are generally let by the week, month, or quarter; and if ever they be let by the year, it is a deviation from a general custom, and attended with inconvenience. If a lodger should contend that he agreed for a whole year, he must produce some evidence of the fact; such as a written agreement, or the annual payment of rent; otherwise he must submit to the general usage of being denominated a quarterly lodger. In the case of weekly tenants, the rent must be paid weekly; for if once allowed to go to a quarter, and the landlord accept it as a quarter's rent, he breaks the agreement; the inmate then becomes a quarterly lodger, and must receive a quarter's notice to quit. More care however is still required in letting lodgings that are ready furnished, as the law does not regard them in the same light as other tenements. Such apartments are generally let by the week, on payment of a certain sum, part of which is for the room, and part for the use of the furniture which is attended with some difficulty. Properly considered, the payment is not rent, nor are the same remedies lawful as in unfurnished lodgings. The best way to let furnished lodgings is to have a written agreement, with a catalogue of all the goods, and to let the apartments and the furniture for separate sums: in which case, if the rent be not paid, distress may be made for it, though not for the furniture. Persons renting furnished apartments frequently absent themselves, without apprising the housekeeper, and as often leave the rent in arrear. In such a case, the housekeeper should send for a constable, after the expiration of the first week, and in his presence enter the apartment, take out the lodger's property and secure it, until a request be made for it. If after fourteen days' public notice in the gazette, the lodger do not come and pay the arrears, the housekeeper may sell the property for the sum due. When a housekeeper is troubled with a disagreeable character, the best way to recover possession of the apartment is to deliver a written notice by a person that can be witness, stating that if the lodger did not quit that day week, the landlord would insist on his paying an advance of so much per week; and if he did not quit after such notice, he would make the same advance after every following week. In the city of London, payment may be procured by summoning to the Court of Requests at Guildhall, for any sum not exceeding five pounds. In other parts of the kingdom there are similar Courts of Conscience, where payment may be enforced to the amount of forty shillings. LOIN OF MUTTON. If roasted, it is better to cut it lengthways as a saddle; or if for steaks, pies, or broth. If there be more fat on the loin than is agreeable, take off a part of it before it is dressed; it will make an excellent suet pudding, or crust for a meat pie, if cut very fine. LONDON BREAD. According to the method practised by the London bakers, a sack of flour is sifted into the kneading trough, to make it lie loose. Six pounds of salt, and two pounds of alum, are separately dissolved in hot water; and the whole being cooled to about ninety degrees, is mixed with two quarts of yeast. When this mixture has been well stirred, it is strained through a cloth or sieve, and is then poured into a cavity made in the flour. The whole is now mixed up into a dough, and a small quantity of flour being sprinkled over it, it is covered up with cloths, and the lid of the trough is shut down, the better to retain the heat. The fermentation now goes on, and the mass becomes enlarged in bulk. In the course of two or three hours, another pailful of warm water is well mixed with the sponge, and it is again covered up for about four hours. At the end of this time, it is to be kneaded for more than an hour, with three pailfuls of warm water. It is now returned to the trough in pieces, sprinkled with dry flour, and at the end of four hours more, it is again kneaded for half an hour, and divided into quartern and half-quartern loaves. The weight of a quartern loaf, before baking, should be four pounds fifteen ounces; after baking, four pounds six ounces, avoirdupois. When the dough has received its proper shape for loaves, it is put into the oven, at a heat that will scorch flour without burning, where it is baked two hours and a half, or three hours. LONDON PORTER. A late writer has given considerable information respecting the brewing of porter. His intention being to exhibit the advantages derived from domestic brewing, he has annexed the price of each article of the composition, though it will be seen that the expense on some of the principal articles has been considerably reduced since that estimate was given. £ _s._ _d._ One quarter of malt 2 2 0 8lb. of hops 0 12 0 6lb. of treacle 0 2 0 8lb. of liquorice root bruised 0 8 0 8lb. of essentia bina 0 4 8 8lb. of colouring 0 4 8 Capsicum half an ounce 0 0 2 Spanish liquorice two ounces 0 0 2 India berries one ounce 0 0 2 Salt of tartar two drams 0 0 1 Heading a quarter of an ounce 0 0 1 Ginger three ounces 0 0 3 Lime four ounces 0 0 1 Linseed one ounce 0 0 1 Cinnamon bark two drams 0 0 2 --------- 3 14 7 Coals 0 3 0 --------- Total expense £ 3 17 7 This will produce ninety gallons of good porter, and fifty gallons of table beer; the cost of the porter at the large breweries being £7 10_s._ and that of the beer £1 7_s._ leaves a profit of £5 to the brewer.--The 'essentia bina' is composed of eight pounds of moist sugar, boiled in an iron vessel, for no copper one could withstand the heat sufficiently, till it becomes of a thick syrupy consistence, perfectly black, and extremely bitter. The 'colouring' is composed of eight pounds of moist sugar, boiled till it attains a middle state, between bitter and sweet. It gives that fine mellow colour usually so much admired in good porter. These ingredients are added to the first wort, and boiled with it. The 'heading' is a mixture of half alum, and half copperas, ground to a fine powder. It is so called, from its giving to porter that beautiful head or froth, which constitutes one of the peculiar properties of porter, and which publicans are so anxious to raise to gratify their customers. The linseed, ginger, limewater, cinnamon, and several other small articles, are added or withheld according to the taste or practice of the brewer, which accounts for the different flavours so observable in London porter. Of the articles here enumerated, it is sufficient to observe, that however much they may surprise, however pernicious or disagreeable they may appear, they have always been deemed necessary in the brewing of porter. They must invariably be used by those who wish to continue the taste, the flavour and appearance, to which they have been accustomed.--Omitting however those ingredients which are deemed pernicious, it will be seen by the following estimate how much more advantageous it is to provide even a small quantity of home-brewed porter, where this kind of liquor is preferred. Ingredients necessary for brewing five gallons of porter. _s._ _d._ One peck of malt 2 6 Quarter of a pound of liquorice bruised 0 3 Spanish liquorice 0 6 Essentia 0 2 Colour 0 2 Treacle 0 2 Hops 0 6 Capsicum and ginger 0 1 Coals 0 10 ------- Total expense 4 8 ------- This will produce five gallons of good porter, which if bought of the brewer would cost 8 4 But being brewed at home, for 4 8 ------- Leaves a clear gain of 3 8 This saving is quite enough to pay for time and trouble, besides the advantage of having a wholesome liquor, free from all poisonous ingredients. Porter thus brewed will be fit for use in a week, and may be drunk with pleasure. To do ample justice to the subject however, it may be proper briefly to notice the specific properties of the various ingredients which enter into the composition of London porter. It is evident that some porter is more heady than others, and this arises from the greater or less quantity of stupefying ingredients intermixed with it. Malt itself, to produce intoxication, must be used in such large quantities as would very much diminish the brewer's profit. Of the wholesomeness of malt there can be no doubt; pale malt especially is highly nutritive, containing more balsamic qualities than the brown malt, which being subject to a greater degree of fire in the kiln, is sometimes so crusted and burnt, that the mealy part loses some of its best qualities. Amber malt is that which is dried in a middling degree, between pale and brown, and is now much in use, being the most pleasant, and free from either extreme. Hops are an aromatic grateful bitter, very wholesome, and undoubtedly efficacious in giving both flavour and strength to the beer. Yeast is necessary to give the liquor that portion of elastic air, of which the boiling deprives it. Without fermentation, or working, no worts, however rich, can inebriate. Liquorice root is pleasant, wholesome, and aperient; and opposes the astringent qualities of some of the other ingredients; it ought therefore to be used, as should Spanish liquorice, which possesses the same properties. Capsicum disperses wind, and when properly used, cannot be unwholesome: it leaves a glow of warmth on the stomach, which is perceptible in drinking some beers. Ginger has the same effect as capsicum, and it also cleanses and flavours the beer. But capsicum being cheaper is more used, and by its tasteless though extremely hot quality, cannot be so readily discovered in beer as ginger. Treacle partakes of many of the properties of liquorice; and by promoting the natural secretions, it renders porter and beer in general very wholesome. Treacle also is a cheaper article than sugar, and answers the purpose of colour, where the beer is intended for immediate consumption; but in summer, when a body is required to withstand the temperature of the air, and the draught is not quick, sugar alone can give body to porter. Treacle therefore is a discretionary article. Coriander seed, used principally in ale, is warm and stomachic; but when used in great quantity, it is pernicious. Coculus Indicus, the India berry, is poisonous and stupefying, when taken in any considerable quantity. When ground into fine powder it is undiscoverable in the liquor, and is but too much used to the prejudice of the public health. What is called heading, should be made of the salt of steel; but a mixture of alum and copperas being much cheaper, is more frequently used. Alum is a great drier, and causes that thirst which some beer occasions; so that the more you drink of it, the more you want. Alum likewise gives a taste of age to the beer, and is penetrating to the palate. Copperas is well known to be poisonous, and may be seen in the blackness which some beer discovers. Salt is highly useful in all beers; it gives a pleasing relish, and also fines the liquor.--These remarks are sufficient to show the propriety of manufacturing at home a good wholesome article for family use, instead of resorting to a public house for every pint of beer which nature demands, and which when procured is both expensive and pernicious. And lest any objection should be made, as to the difficulty and inconvenience of brewing, a few additional observations will here be given, in order to facilitate this very important part of domestic economy. Be careful then to procure malt and hops of the very best quality, and let the brewing vessels be closely inspected; the least taint may spoil a whole brewing of beer. The mash tub should be particularly attended to, and a whisp of clean hay or straw is to be spread over the bottom of the vessel in the inside, to prevent the flour of the malt running off with the liquor. The malt being emptied into the mash tub, and the water brought to boil, dash the boiling water in the copper with cold water sufficient to stop the boiling, and leave it just hot enough to scald the finger, always remembering to draw off the second mash somewhat hotter than the first. The water being thus brought to a proper temperature by the addition of cold water, lade it out of the copper over the malt till it becomes thoroughly wet, stirring it well to prevent the malt from clotting. When the water is poured on too hot, it sets the malt, and closes the body of the grain, instead of opening it so as to dissolve in the liquor. Cover up the mash tub close to compress the steam, and prevent the liquid from evaporating. Let the wort stand an hour and a half or two hours after mashing, and then let the liquor run off into a vessel prepared to receive it. If at first it runs thick and discoloured, draw off a pailful or two, and pour it back again into the mash tub till it runs clear. In summer it will be necessary to put a few hops into the vessel which receives the liquor out of the mash tub, to prevent its turning sour, which the heat of the weather will sometimes endanger. Let the second mash run out as before, and let the liquor stand an hour and a half, but never let the malt be dry: keep lading fresh liquor over it till the quantity of wort to be obtained is extracted, always allowing for waste in the boiling. The next consideration is boiling the wort when obtained. The first copperful must be boiled an hour; and whilst boiling, add the ingredients specified above, in the second estimate. The hops are now to be boiled in the wort, but are to be carefully strained from the first wort, in order to be boiled again in the second. Eight pounds is the common proportion to a quarter of malt; but in summer the quantity must be varied from eight to twelve pounds, according to the heat of the atmosphere. After the wort has boiled an hour, lade it out of the copper and cool it. In summer it should be quite cold before it is set to work; in winter it should be kept till a slight degree of warmth is perceptible by the finger. When properly cooled set it to work, by adding yeast in proportion to the quantity. If considerable, and if wanted to work quick, add from one to two gallons. Porter requires to be brought forward quicker than other malt liquor: let it work till it comes to a good deep head, then cleanse it by adding the ginger. The liquor is now fit for tunning: fill the barrels full, and let the yeast work out, adding fresh liquor to fill them up till they have done working. Now bung the barrels, but keep a watchful eye upon them for some time, lest the beer should suddenly ferment again and burst them, which is no uncommon accident where due care is not taken. The heat of summer, or a sudden change of weather, will occasion the same misfortune, if the barrels are not watched, and eased when they require it, by drawing the peg. The only part which remains to complete the brewing, is fining the beer. To understand this, it is necessary to remark, that London porter is composed of three different sorts of malt; pale, brown, and amber. The reason for using these three sorts, is to attain a peculiar flavour and colour. Amber is the most wholesome, and for home brewing it is recommended to use none else. In consequence of the subtleness of the essentia, which keeps continually swimming in the beer, porter requires a considerable body of finings; but should any one choose to brew without the essentia, with amber malt, and with colour only, the porter will soon refine of itself. The finings however are composed of isinglass dissolved in stale beer, till the whole becomes of a thin gluey consistence like size. One pint is the usual proportion to a barrel, but sometimes two, and even three are found necessary. Particular care must be taken that the beer in which the isinglass is dissolved, be perfectly clear, and thoroughly stale.--By attending to these directions, any person may brew as good, if not better porter, than they can be supplied with from the public houses. Many notions have been artfully raised, that porter requires to be brewed in large quantities, and to be long stored, to render it sound and strong; but experience will prove the falsehood of these prejudices, which have their origin with the ignorant, and are cherished by the interested. One brewing under another will afford ample time for porter to refine for use, and every person can best judge of the extent of his own consumption. Porter is not the better for being brewed in large quantities, except that the same trouble which brews a peck, will brew a bushel. This mode of practice will be found simple and easy in its operation, and extremely moderate in point of trouble and expense. LONDON SYLLABUB. Put a pint and a half of port or white wine into a bowl, nutmeg grated, and a good deal of sugar. Then milk into it near two quarts of milk, frothed up. If the wine be rather sharp, it will require more for this quantity of milk. In Devonshire, clouted cream is put on the top, with pounded cinnamon and sugar. LOOKING GLASSES. In order to clean them from the spots of flies and other stains, rub them over with a fine damp cloth. Then polish with a soft woollen cloth, and powder blue. LOVE. As health is materially affected by the passions, it is of some consequence to observe their separate influence, in order to obviate some of their ill effects. Love is unquestionably the most powerful, and is less under the controul of the understanding than any of the rest. It has a kind of omnipotence ascribed to it, which belongs not to any other. 'Love is strong as death; many waters cannot quench it, neither can the floods drown it.' Other passions are necessary for the preservation of the individual, but this is necessary for the continuation of the species: it was proper therefore that it should be deeply rooted in the human breast. There is no trifling with this passion: when love has risen to a certain height, it admits of no other cure but the possession of its object, which in this case ought always if possible to be obtained. The ruinous consequences arising from disappointment, which happen almost every day, are dreadful to relate; and no punishment can be too great for those whose wilful conduct becomes the occasion of such catastrophes. Parents are deeply laden with guilt, who by this means plunge their children into irretrievable ruin; and lovers are deserving of no forgiveness, whose treacherous conduct annihilates the hopes and even the existence of their friends. M. MACARONI. The usual way of preparing macaroni is to boil it in milk, or weak veal broth, flavoured with salt. When tender, put it into a dish without the liquor. Add to it some bits of butter and grated cheese; over the top grate more, and add a little more butter. Set the dish into a Dutch oven a quarter of an hour, but do not let the top become hard.--Another way. Wash it well, and simmer in half milk and half broth, of veal or mutton, till it is tender. To a spoonful of this liquor, put the yolk of an egg beaten in a spoonful of cream; just make it hot to thicken, but not to boil. Spread it on the macaroni, and then grate fine old cheese all over, with bits of butter. Brown the whole with a salamander.--Another. Wash the macaroni, then simmer it in a little broth, with a little salt and pounded mace. When quite tender, take it out of the liquor, lay it in a dish, grate a good deal of cheese over, and cover it with fine grated bread. Warm some butter without oiling, and pour it from a boat through a small earthen cullender all over the crumbs; then put the dish into a Dutch oven to roast the cheese, and brown the bread of a fine colour. The bread should be in separate crumbs, and look light. MACARONI PUDDING. Simmer in a pint of milk, an ounce or two of the pipe sort of macaroni, and a bit of lemon and cinnamon. When quite tender, put it into a dish with milk, two or three eggs, but only one white. Add some sugar, nutmeg, a spoonful of peach water, and the same of raisin wine. Bake with a paste round the edges. A layer of orange marmalade, or raspberry jam, in a macaroni pudding, is a great improvement. In this case omit the almond water, or ratifia, which would otherwise be wanted to give it a flavour. MACARONI SOUP. Boil a pound of the best macaroni in a quart of good stock, till it is quite tender. Then take out half, and put it into another stewpot. Add some more stock to the remainder, and boil it till all the macaroni will pulp through a fine sieve. Then add together the two liquors, a pint or more of boiling cream, the macaroni that was first taken out, and half a pound of grated parmesan cheese. Make it hot, but do not let it boil. Serve it with the crust of a French roll, cut into the size of a shilling. MACAROONS. Blanch four ounces of almonds, and pound them with four spoonfuls of orange water. Whisk the whites of four eggs to a froth, mix it with the almonds, and a pound of sifted sugar, till reduced to a paste. Lay a sheet of wafer paper on a tin, and put on the paste in little cakes, the shape of macaroons. MACKAREL. Their season is generally May, June, and July; but may sometimes be had at an earlier period. When green gooseberries are ready, their appearance may at all times be expected. They are so tender a fish that they carry and keep worse than any other: choose those that are firm and bright, and sweet scented. After gutting and cleaning, boil them gently, and serve with butter and fennel, or gooseberry sauce. To broil them, split and sprinkle with herbs, pepper and salt; or stuff with the same, adding crumbs and chopped fennel. MAGNUM BONUM PLUMS. Though very indifferent when eaten raw, this fruit makes an excellent sweetmeat, or is fine in the form of tarts. Prick them with a needle to prevent bursting, simmer them very gently in a thin syrup, put them in a china bowl, and when cold pour the syrup over. Let them lie three days, then make a syrup of three pounds of sugar to five pounds of fruit, with no more water than hangs to large lumps of the sugar dipped quickly, and instantly brought out. Boil the plums in this fresh syrup, after draining the first from them. Do them very gently till they are clear, and the syrup adheres to them. Put them one by one into small pots, and pour the liquor over. Reserve a little syrup in the pan for those intended to be dried, warm up the fruit in it, drain them out, and put them on plates to dry in a cool oven. These plums are apt to ferment, if not boiled in two syrups; the former will sweeten pies, but will have too much acid to keep. A part may be reserved, with the addition of a little sugar, to do those that are dry, for they will not require to be so sweet as if kept wet, and will eat very nicely if boiled like the rest. One parcel may be done after another, and save much sugar, but care must be taken not to break the fruit. MAHOGANY. To give a fine colour to mahogany, let the furniture be washed perfectly clean with vinegar, having first taken out any ink stains there may be, with spirits of salt, taking the greatest care to touch the stained part very slightly, and then the spirits must be instantly washed off. Use the following liquid. Put into a pint of cold-drawn linseed oil, four pennyworth of alkanet root, and two pennyworth of rose pink. Let it remain all night in an earthen vessel, then stirring it well, rub some of it all over the mahogany with a linen rag; and when it has lain some time, rub it bright with linen cloths. Dining tables should be covered with mat, oil cloth, or baize, to prevent staining; and should be instantly rubbed when the dishes are removed, while the board is still warm. MAIDS. This kind of fish, as well as skate, requires to be hung up a day before it is dressed, to prevent its eating tough. Maids may either be broiled or fried; or if a tolerable size, the middle part may be boiled, and the fins fried. They should be dipped in egg, and covered with crumbs. MALT. This article varies very much in value, according to the quality of the barley, and the mode of manufacture. When good it is full of flour, and in biting a grain asunder it will easily separate; the shell will appear thin, and well filled up with flour. If it bite hard and steely, the malt is bad. The difference of pale and brown malt arises merely from the different degrees of heat employed in the drying: the main object is the quantity of flour. If the barley was light and thin, whether from unripeness, blight, or any other cause, it will not malt so well; but instead of sending out its roots in due time, a part of it will still be barley. This will appear by putting a handful of unground malt in cold water, and stirring it about till every grain is wetted; the good will swim, and the unmalted barley sink to the bottom. But if the barley be well malted, there is still a variety in the quality: for a bushel of malt from fine, plump, heavy barley, will be better than the same quantity from thin and light barley. Weight therefore here is the criterion of quality; and a bushel of malt weighing forty-five pounds is cheaper than any other at almost any price, supposing it to be free from unmalted barley, for the barley itself is heavier than the malt. The practice of mixing barley with the malt on a principle of economy, is not to be approved; for though it may add a little to the strength of the wort, it makes the beer flat and insipid, and of course unwholesome. MARBLE. Chimney pieces, or marble slabs, may be cleaned with muriatic acid, either diluted or in a pure state. If too strong, it will deprive the marble of its polish, but may be restored by using a piece of felt and a little putty powdered, rubbing it on with clean water. Another method is, making a paste of a bullock's gall, a gill of soap lees, half a gill of turpentine, and a little pipe clay. The paste is then applied to the marble, and suffered to remain a day or two. It is afterwards rubbed off, and applied a second or third time, to render the marble perfectly clean, and give it the finest polish. MARBLE CEMENT. If by any accident, marble or alabaster happen to be broken, it may be strongly cemented together in the following manner. Melt two pounds of bees' wax, and one pound of rosin. Take about the same quantity of marble or other stones that require to be joined, and reduce it to a powder; stir it well together with the melted mixture, and knead the mass in water, till the powder is thoroughly incorporated with the wax and rosin. The parts to be joined must be heated and made quite dry, and the cement applied quite hot. Melted sulphur, laid on fragments of stone previously heated, will make a firm and durable cement. Little deficiencies in stones or corners that have been stripped or broken off, may be supplied with some of the stone powdered and mixed with melted sulphur: but care must be taken to have both parts properly heated. MARBLE PAPER. For marbling books or paper, dissolve four ounces of gum arabac in two quarts of water, and pour it into a broad vessel. Mix several colours with water in separate shells: with small brushes peculiar to each colour, sprinkle and intermix them on the surface of the gum water, and curl them with a stick so as to form a variety of streaks. The edges of a book pressed close may then be slightly dipped in the colours on the surface of the water, and they will take the impression of the mixture. The edges may then be glazed with the white of an egg, and the colours will remain. A sheet of paper may be marbled in the same way. MARBLE STAINS. To take stains out of marble, make a tolerably thick mixture of unslaked lime finely powdered, with some strong soap-ley. Spread it instantly over the marble with a painter's brush, and in two month's time wash it off perfectly clean. Prepare a fine thick lather of soft soap, boiled in soft water; dip a brush in it, and scour the marble well with powder. Clear off the soap, and finish with a smooth hard brush till the stains are all removed. After a very good rubbing, the marble will acquire a beautiful polish. If the marble has been injured by iron stains, take an equal quantity of fresh spirits of vitriol and lemon juice. Mix them in a bottle, shake it well, and wet the spots. Rub with a soft linen cloth, and in a few minutes they will disappear. MARBLE VEAL. The meat is prepared in the same way as potted beef or veal. Then beat up a boiled tongue, or slices of ham, with butter, white pepper, and pounded mace. Put a layer of veal in the pot, then stick in pieces of tongue or ham, fill up the spaces with veal, and pour clarified butter over it. MARKING INK. Mix two drams of the tincture of galls with one dram of lunar caustic, and for marking of linen, use it with a pen as common ink. The cloth must first be wetted in a strong solution of salt of tartar, and afterwards dried, before any attempt be made to write upon it. A beautiful red ink may also be prepared for this purpose by mixing half an ounce of vermillion, and a dram of the salt of steel, with as much linseed oil as will make it of a proper consistency, either to use with a pen or a hair pencil. Other colours may be made in the same way, by substituting the proper ingredients instead of vermillion. MANGOES. Cut off the tops of some large green cucumbers, take out the seeds, and wipe them dry. Fill them with mustard-seed, horseradish, sliced onion, ginger, and whole pepper. Sow on the tops, put the mangoes into a jar, cover them with boiling vinegar, and do them the same as any other pickle. Melons are done in the same way. MARIGOLD WINE. Boil three pounds and a half of lump sugar in a gallon of water, put in a gallon of marigold flowers, gathered dry and picked from the stalks, and then make it as for cowslip wine. If the flowers be gathered only a few at a time, measure them when they are picked, and turn and dry them in the shade. When a sufficient quantity is prepared, put them into a barrel, and pour the sugar and water upon them. Put a little brandy into the bottles, when the wine is drawn off. MARMALADE. For a cough or cold, take six ounces of Malaga raisins, and beat them to a fine paste, with the same quantity of sugarcandy. Add an ounce of the conserve of roses, twenty-five drops of oil of vitriol, and twenty drops of oil of sulphur. Mix them well together, and take a small tea-spoonful night and morning. MARROW BONES. Cover the top of them with a floured cloth, boil and serve them with dry toast. MARSHMALLOW OINTMENT. Take half a pound of marshmallow roots, three ounces of linseed, and three ounces of fenugreek seed; bruise and boil them gently half an hour in a quart of water, and then add two quarts of sweet oil. Boil them together till the water is all evaporated, and strain off the oil. Add a pound of bees' wax, half a pound of yellow rosin, and two ounces of common turpentine. Melt them together over a slow fire, and keep stirring till the ointment is cold. MASHED PARSNIPS. Boil the roots tender, after they have been wiped clean. Scrape them, and mash them in a stewpan with a little cream, a good piece of butter, pepper and salt. MASHED POTATOES. Boil the potatoes, peel them, and reduce them to paste. Add a quarter of a pint of milk to two pounds weight, a little salt, and two ounces of butter, and stir it all well together over the fire. They may either be served up in this state, or in scallops, or put on the dish in a form, and the top browned with a salamander. MATTRASSES. Cushions, mattrasses, and bed clothes stuffed with wool, are particularly liable to be impregnated with what is offensive and injurious, from persons who have experienced putrid and inflammatory fevers, and cannot therefore be too carefully cleaned, carded, and washed. It would also be proper frequently to fumigate them with vinegar or muriatic gas. If these articles be infested with insects, dissolve a pound and a half of alum, and as much cream of tartar, in three pints of boiling water. Mix this solution in three gallons of cold water, immerse the wool in it for several days, and then let it be washed and dried. This operation will prevent the insects from attacking it in future. MEAD. Dissolve thirty pounds of honey in thirteen gallons of water; boil and skim it well. Then add of rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and sweetbriar, about a handful altogether. Boil the whole for an hour, and put it into a tub, with two or three handfuls of ground malt. Stir it till it is about blood warm, then strain it through a cloth, and return it into the tub. Cut a toast, spread it over with good ale yeast, and put it into the tub. When the liquor has sufficiently fermented, put it into a cask. Take an ounce and a half each of cloves, mace, and nutmegs, and an ounce of sliced ginger. Bruise the spices; tie them up in a cloth, and hang it in the vessel, which must be stopped up close for use.--Another way. Put four or five pounds of honey into a gallon of boiling water, and let it continue to boil an hour and a half. Skim it quite clean, put in the rinds of three or four lemons, and two ounces of hops sewed up in a bag. When cold, put the liquor into a cask, stop it up close, and let it stand eight or nine months. MEASLES. In general, all that is needful in the treatment of this complaint is to keep the body open by means of tamarinds, manna, or other gentle laxatives; and to supply the patient frequently with barley water, or linseed tea sweetened with honey. Bathe the feet in warm water; and if there be a disposition to vomit, it ought to be promoted by drinking a little camomile tea. If the disorder appear to strike inward, the danger may be averted by applying blisters to the arms and legs, and briskly rubbing the whole body with warm flannels. MEAT. In all sorts of provisions, the best of the kind goes the farthest; it cuts out with most advantage, and affords most nourishment. Round of beef, fillet of veal, and leg of mutton, are joints that bear a higher price; but as they have more solid meat, they deserve the preference. Those joints however which are inferior, may be dressed as palatably; and being cheaper, they should be bought in turn; for when weighed with the prime pieces, it makes the price of these come lower. In loins of meat, the long pipe that runs by the bone should be taken out, as it is apt to taint; as also the kernels of beef. Rumps and edgebones of beef are often bruised by the blows which the drovers give the beasts, and the part that has been struck always taints; these joints therefore when bruised should not be purchased. And as great loss is often sustained by the spoiling of meat, after it is purchased, the best way to prevent this is to examine it well, wipe it every day, and put some pieces of charcoal over it. If meat is brought from a distance in warm weather, the butcher should be desired to cover it close, and bring it early in the morning, to prevent its being fly-blown.--All meat should be washed before it is dressed. If for boiling, the colour will be better for the soaking; but if for roasting, it should afterwards be dried. Particular care must be taken that the pot be well skimmed the moment it boils, otherwise the foulness will be dispersed over the meat. The more soups or broth are skimmed, the better and cleaner they will be. Boiled meat should first be well floured, and then put in while the water is cold. Meat boiled quick is sure to be hard; but care must be taken, that in boiling slow it does not stop, or the meat will be underdone. If the steam be kept in, the water will not be much reduced; but if this be desirable, the cover must be removed. As to the length of time required for roasting and boiling, the size of the joint must direct, as also the strength of the fire, and the nearness of the meat to it. In boiling, attention must be paid to the progress it makes, which should be regular and slow. For every pound of meat, a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes is generally allowed, according as persons choose to have it well or underdone. In preparing a joint for roasting, care must be taken not to run the spit through the best parts of the meat, and that no black stains appear upon it at the time of serving. MEAT SAUCE. Put to a clean anchovy, a glass of port wine, a little strong broth, a sliced shalot, some nutmeg, and the juice of a Seville orange. Stew them together, and mix it with the gravy that runs from the meat. MEAT SCREEN. This is a great saver of coals, and should be sufficiently large to guard what is roasting from currents of air. It should be placed on wheels, have a flat top, and not be less than about three feet and a half wide, with shelves in it, about one foot deep. It will then answer all the purposes of a large Dutch oven, a plate warmer, and a hot hearth. Some are made with a door behind, which is convenient; but the great heat to which they are exposed soon shrinks the materials, and the currents of air through the cracks cannot be prevented. Those without a door are therefore best. MEDLEY PIE. Cut into small pieces some fat pork, or other meat underdone, and season it with salt and pepper. Cover the sides of the dish with common crust, put in a layer of sliced apples with a little sugar, then a layer of meat, and a layer of sliced onions, till the dish is full. Put a thick crust over it, and bake it in a slow oven. Currants or scalded gooseberries may be used instead of apples, and the onions omitted. MELON FLUMMERY. Put plenty of bitter almonds into some stiff flummery, and make it of a pale green with spinach juice. When it becomes as thick as cream, wet the melon mould, and put the flummery into it. Put a pint of calf's foot jelly into a bason, and let it stand till the next day: then turn out the melon, and lay it in the midst of the bason of jelly. Fill up the bason with jelly beginning to set, and let it stand all night. Turn it out the next day, the same as for fruit in jelly: make a garland of flowers, and place it on the jelly. MELON MANGOES. There is a particular sort for preserving, which must be carefully distinguished. Cut a square small piece out of one side, and through that take out the seeds, and mix with them mustard-seed and shred garlic. Stuff the melon as full as the space will allow, replace the square piece, and bind it up with fine packthread, boil a good quantity of vinegar, to allow for wasting, with peppercorns, salt, and ginger. Pour the liquor boiling hot over the mangoes four successive days; and on the last day put flour of mustard, and scraped horseradish into the vinegar just as it boils up. Observe that there is plenty of vinegar before it is stopped down, for pickles are soon spoiled if not well covered. Also the greater number of times that boiling vinegar is poured over them, the sooner they will be ready for eating. Mangoes should be pickled soon after they are gathered. Large cucumbers, called green turley, prepared as mangoes, are very excellent, and come sooner to table. MELTED BUTTER. Though a very essential article for the table, it is seldom well prepared. Mix on a trencher, in the proportion of a tea-spoonful of flour to four ounces of the best butter. Put it into a saucepan, and two or three table-spoonfuls of hot water; boil it quick for a minute, and shake it all the time. Milk used instead of water, requires rather less butter, and looks whiter. MICE. The poisonous substances generally prepared for the destruction of mice are attended with danger, and the use of them should by all means be avoided. Besides the common traps, baited with cheese, the following remedy will be found both safe and efficacious. Take a few handfuls of wheat flour, or malt meal, and knead it into a dough. Let it grow sour in a warm place, mix with it some fine iron filings, form the mass into small balls, and put them into the holes frequented by the mice. On eating this preparation, they are inevitably killed. Cats, owls, or hedgehogs, would be highly serviceable in places infested with mice. An effectual mousetrap may be made in the following manner. Take a plain four square trencher, and put into the two contrary corners of it a large pin, or piece of knitting needle. Then take two sticks about a yard long, and lay them on the dresser, with a notch cut at each end of the sticks, placing the two pins on the notches, so that one corner of the trencher may lie about an inch on the dresser or shelf that the mice come to. The opposite corner must be baited with some butter and oatmeal plastered on the trencher; and when the mice run towards the butter, it will tip them into a glazed earthen vessel full of water, which should be placed underneath for that purpose. To prevent the trencher from tipping over so as to lose its balance, it may be fastened to the shelf or dresser with a thread and a little sealing wax, to restore it to its proper position. To prevent their devastations in barns, care should be taken to lay beneath the floor a stratum of sharp flints, fragments of glass mixed with sand, or broken cinders. If the floors were raised on piers of brick, about fifteen inches above the ground, so that dogs or cats might have a free passage beneath the building, it would prevent the vermin from harbouring there, and tend greatly to preserve the grain. Field mice are also very destructive in the fields and gardens, burrowing under the ground, and digging up the earth when newly sown. Their habitations may be discovered by the small mounds of earth that are raised near the entrance, or by the passages leading to their nests; and by following these, the vermin may easily be destroyed. To prevent early peas being eaten by the mice, soak the seed a day or two in train oil before it is sown, which will promote its vegetation, and render the peas so obnoxious to the mice, that they will not eat them. The tops of furze, chopped and thrown into the drills, when the peas are sown, will be an effectual preventive. Sea sand strewed thick on the surface of the ground, round the plants liable to be attacked by the mice, will have the same effect. MILDEW. To remove stains in linen occasioned by mildew, mix some soft soap and powdered starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon. Lay it on the part on both sides with a painter's brush, and let it lie on the grass day and night till the stain disappears. MILK BUTTER. This article is principally made in Cheshire, where the whole of the milk is churned without being skimmed. In the summer time, immediately after milking, the meal is put to cool in earthen jars till it become sufficiently coagulated, and has acquired a slight degree of acidity, enough to undergo the operation of churning. During the summer, this is usually performed in the course of one or two days. In order to forward the coagulation in the winter, the milk is placed near the fire; but in summer, if it has not been sufficiently cooled before it is added to the former meal, or if it has been kept too close, and be not churned shortly after it has acquired the necessary degree of consistence, a fermentation will ensue; in which case the butter becomes rancid, and the milk does not yield that quantity which it would, if churned in proper time. This also is the case in winter, when the jars have been placed too near the fire, and the milk runs entirely to whey. Milk butter is in other respects made like the common butter. MILK AND CREAM. In hot weather, when it is difficult to preserve milk from becoming sour, and spoiling the cream, it may be kept perfectly sweet by scalding the new milk very gently, without boiling, and setting it by in the earthen dish or pan that it is done in. This method is pursued in Devonshire, for making of butter, and for eating; and it would answer equally well in small quantities for the use of the tea table. Cream already skimmed may be kept twenty-four hours if scalded, without sugar; and by adding as much pounded lump sugar as shall make it pretty sweet, it will be good two days, by keeping it in a cool place. MILK PORRIDGE. Make a fine gruel of half grits well boiled, strain it off, add warm or cold milk, and serve with toasted bread. MILK PUNCH. Pare six oranges and six lemons as thin as possible, and grate them afterwards with sugar to extract the flavour. Steep the peels in a bottle of rum or brandy, stopped close twenty-four hours. Squeeze the fruit on two pounds of sugar, add to it four quarts of water, and one of new milk boiling hot. Stir the rum into the above, and run it through a jelly bag till perfectly clear. Bottle and cork it close immediately. MILK OF ROSES. Mix an ounce of oil of almonds with a pint of rose water, and then add ten drops of the oil of tartar. MILK SOUP. Boil a pint of milk with a little salt, cinnamon, and sugar. Lay thin slices of bread in a dish, pour over them a little of the milk, and keep them hot over a stove without burning. When the soup is ready, beat up the yolks of five or six eggs, and add them to the milk. Stir it over the fire till it thickens, take it off before it curdles, and pour it upon the bread in the dish. MILKING. Cows should be milked three times a day in the summer, if duly fed, and twice in the winter. Great care should be taken to drain the milk completely from the udder; for if any be suffered to remain, the cow will give less every meal, till at length she becomes dry before her proper time, and the next season she will scarcely give a sufficient quantity of milk to pay the expences of her keeping. The first milk drawn from a cow is also thinner, and of an inferior quality to that which is afterwards obtained: and this richness increases progressively, to the very last drop that can be drawn from the udder. If a cow's teats be scratched or wounded, her milk will be foul, and should not be mixed with that of other cows, but given to the pigs. In warm weather, the milk should remain in the pail till nearly cold, before it is strained; but in frosty weather this should be done immediately, and a small quantity of boiling water mixed with it. This will produce plenty of cream, especially in trays of a large surface. As cows are sometimes troublesome to milk, and in danger of contracting bad habits, they always require to be treated with great gentleness, especially when young, or while their teats are tender. In this case the udder ought to be fomented with warm water before milking, and the cow soothed with mild treatment; otherwise she will be apt to become stubborn and unruly, and retain her milk ever after. A cow will never let down her milk freely to the person she dreads or dislikes. MILLET PUDDING. Wash three spoonfuls of the seed, put it into a dish with a crust round the edge, pour over it as much new milk as will nearly fill the dish, two ounces of butter warmed with it, sugar, shred lemon peel, and a dust of ginger and nutmeg. As you put it in the oven, stir in two beaten eggs, and a spoonful of shred suet. MINCE PIES. Of scraped beef, free from skin and strings, weigh two pounds, of suet picked and chopped four pounds, and of currants nicely cleaned and perfectly dry, six pounds. Then add three pounds of chopped apples, the peel and juice of two lemons, a pint of sweet wine, a nutmeg, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, the same of mace, and pimento, in the finest powder. Mix the whole well together, press it into a deep pan, and keep it covered in a dry cool place. A little citron, orange, and lemon peel, should be put into each pie when made. The above quantity of mince meat may of course be reduced, in equal proportions, for small families.--Mince pies without meat, are made in the following manner. Pare, core, and mince six pounds of apples; shred three pounds of fresh suet, and stone three pounds of raisins minced. Add to these, a quarter of an ounce each of mace and cinnamon, and eight cloves, all finely powdered. Then three pounds of the finest powder sugar, three quarters of an ounce of salt, the rinds of four and the juice of two lemons, half a pint of port, and half a pint of brandy. Mix well together, and put the ingredients into a deep pan. Prepare four pounds of currants, well washed and dried, and add them when the pies are made, with some candied fruit. MINCED BEEF. Shred fine the underdone part, with some of the fat. Put it into a small stewpan with some onion, or a very small quantity of shalot, a little water, pepper and salt. Boil it till the onion is quite soft; then put some of the gravy of the meat to it, and the mince, but do not let it boil. Prepare a small hot dish with sippets of bread, mix a large spoonful of vinegar with the mince, and pour it into the dish. If shalot vinegar is used, the raw onion and shalot may be dispensed with. MINCED COLLOPS. Chop and mince some beef very small, and season it with pepper and salt. Put it, in its raw state, into small jars, and pour on the top some clarified butter. When to be used, put the clarified butter into a fryingpan, and fry some sliced onions. Add a little water to it, put in the minced meat, and it will be done in a few minutes. This is a favourite Scotch dish, and few families are without it. It keeps well, and is always ready for an extra dish. MINCED VEAL. Cut some cold veal as fine as possible, but do not chop it. Put to it a very little lemon-peel shred, two grates of nutmeg, some salt, and four or five spoonfuls either of weak broth, milk, or water. Simmer these gently with the meat, adding a bit of butter rubbed in flour, but take care not to let it boil. Put sippets of thin toasted bread, cut into a three-cornered shape, round the dish. MINT SAUCE. Pick and wash the mint clean, and chop it fine. Put it into a small bason, and mix it with sugar and vinegar. MINT VINEGAR. As fresh mint is not at all times to be had, a welcome substitute will be found in the preparation of mint vinegar. Dry and pound half an ounce of mint seed, pour upon it a quart of the best vinegar, let it steep ten days, and shake it up every day. This will be useful in the early season of house lamb. MITES. Though they principally affect cheese, there are several species of this insect which breed in flour and other eatables, and do considerable injury. The most effectual method of expelling them is to place a few nutmegs in the sack or bin containing the flour, the odour of which is insupportable to mites; and they will quickly be removed, without the meal acquiring any unpleasant flavour. Thick branches of the lilac, or the elder tree, peeled and put into the flour, will have the same effect. Quantities of the largest sized ants, scattered about cheese-rooms and granaries, would presently devour all the mites, without doing any injury. MIXED WINE. Take an equal quantity of white, red, and black currants, cherries, and raspberries; mash them, and press the juice through a strainer. Boil three pounds of moist sugar in three quarts of water, and skim it clean. When cold, mix a quart of juice with it, and put it into a barrel that will just hold it. Put in the bung, and after it has stood a week, close it up, and let it stand three or four months. When the wine is put into the barrel, add a little brandy to it. MOCK BRAWN. Boil two pair of neat's feet quite tender, and pick all the flesh off the bone. Boil the belly piece of a porker nearly enough, and bone it. Roll the meat of the feet up in the pork, tie it up in a cloth with tape round it, and boil it till it becomes very tender. Hang it up in the cloth till it is quite cold, put it into some souse, and keep it for use. MOCK TURTLE. Divide a calf's head with the skin on, and clean it well. Half boil it, take all the meat off in square pieces, break the bones of the head, and boil them in some veal and beef broth, to add to the richness. Fry some shalot in butter, and dredge in flower enough to thicken the gravy; stir this into the browning, and give it one or two boils. Skim it carefully, and then put in the head; add a pint of Madeira, and simmer till the meat is quite tender. About ten minutes before serving, put in some basil, tarragon, chives, parsley, cayenne pepper, and salt; also two spoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, and one of soy. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the tureen, and pour the soup upon it. Serve with forcemeat balls, and small eggs.--A cheaper way. Prepare half a calf's head as above, but without the skin. When the meat is cut off, break the bones, and put them into a saucepan with some gravy made of beef and veal bones, and seasoned with fried onions, herbs, mace, and pepper. Have ready prepared two or three ox-palates boiled so tender as to blanch, and cut into small pieces; to which a cow heel, likewise cut into pieces, is a great improvement. Brown some butter, flour, and onion, and pour the gravy to it; then add the meats as above, and stew them together. Add half a pint of sherry, an anchovy, two spoonfuls of walnut ketchup, the same of mushroom ketchup, and some chopped herbs as before. The same sauce as before.--Another way. Put into a pan a knuckle of veal, two fine cow heels, two onions, a few cloves, peppercorns, berries of allspice, mace, and sweet herbs. Cover them with water, tie a thick paper over the pan, and set it in an oven for three hours. When cold, take off the fat very nicely, cut the meat and feet into bits an inch and a half square, remove the bones and coarse parts, and then put the rest on to warm, with a large spoonful of walnut and one of mushroom ketchup, half a pint of sherry or Madeira, a little mushroom powder, and the jelly of the meat. If it want any more seasoning, add some when hot, and serve with hard eggs, forcemeat balls, a squeeze of lemon, and a spoonful of soy. This is a very easy way of making an excellent dish of mock turtle.--Another. Stew a pound and a half of scrag of mutton, with three pints of water till reduced to a quart. Set on the broth, with a calf's foot and a cow heel; cover the stewpan tight, and let it simmer till the meat can be separated from the bones in proper pieces. Set it on again with the broth, adding a quarter of a pint of sherry or Madeira, a large onion, half a tea-spoonful of cayenne, a bit of lemon peel, two anchovies, some sweet herbs, eighteen oysters chopped fine, a tea-spoonful of salt, a little nutmeg, and the liquor of the oysters. Cover it close, and simmer it three quarters, of an hour. Serve with forcemeat balls, and hard eggs in the tureen.--An excellent and very cheap mock turtle may be made of two or three cow heels, baked with two pounds and a half of gravy beef, herbs, and other ingredients as above. MOLES. As these little animals live entirely on worms and insects, of which they consume incalculable numbers, they may be considered as harmless, and even useful, rather than otherwise; and it has been observed in fields and gardens where the moles had been caught, that they afterwards abounded with vermin and insects. But when the moles become too numerous, they are hurtful to vegetation, and require to be destroyed. Besides the common method of setting traps in their subterraneous passages, many might be dug out of the earth by carefully watching their situation and motions before the rising of the sun, and striking in a spade behind them to cut off their retreat. The smell of garlic is so offensive to them, that if a few heads of that plant were thrust into their runs, it would expel them from the place. MOONSHINE PUDDING. Put into a baking dish a layer of very thin bread and butter, strewed over with currants and sweetmeats, and so on till the dish is full. Mix together a pint and a half of cream, the yolks of six eggs, half a grated nutmeg, and some sugar. Pour the mixture on the top of the pudding, and bake it three quarters of an hour. MOOR FOWL. To dress moor fowl with red cabbage, truss the game as for boiling. Set them on the fire with a little soup, and let them stew for half an hour. Cut a red cabbage into quarters, add it to the moor fowl, season with salt and white pepper, and a little piece of butter rolled in flour. A glass of port may be added, if approved. Lift out the cabbage, and place it neatly in the dish, with the moor fowl on it. Pour the sauce over them, and garnish with small slices of fried bacon. MORELLA CHERRIES. When the fruit is quite ripe, take off the stalks, prick them with a pin, and allow a pound and a half of lump sugar to every pound of cherries. Reduce part of the sugar to powder, and strew it over them. Next day dissolve the remainder in half a pint of currant juice, set it over a slow fire, put in the cherries with the sugar, and give them a gentle boil. Take out the cherries carefully, boil the syrup till it is thick, pour it upon the cherries, and tie them down.--Any other kind of fruit may be treated in the same way, only using such kind of juice to boil in the syrup as is most suitable to the fruit to be preserved. It is proper to put apple jelly over jam or preserved fruit, or to sift sugar over the tops of the jars; and when cold, cover them with brandy paper. If the air be admitted, they will not keep. MORELLA WINE. Cleanse from the stalks sixty pounds of morella cherries, and bruise them as to break the stones. Press out the juice, mix it with six gallons of sherry wine, and four gallons of warm water. Powder separately an ounce of nutmeg, cinnamon, and mace, and hang them separately in small bags, in the cask containing the liquor. Bung it down; and in a few weeks it will become a deliciously flavoured wine. MORELS. In their green state they have a very rich, high flavour, and are delicious additions to some dishes, or sent up as a stew by themselves, when they are fresh and fine. When dried they are of very little use, and serve only to soak up good gravy, from which they take more flavour than they give. MOSS. To destroy moss on trees, remove it with a hard brush early in the spring of the year, and wash the trees afterwards with urine or soap suds, and plaster them with cow dung. When a sort of white down appears on apple trees, clear off the red stain underneath it, and anoint the infected parts with a mixture of train oil and Scotch snuff, which will effectually cure the disease. MOTHS. One of the most speedy remedies for their complete extirpation, is the smell of turpentine, whether it be by sprinkling it on woollen stuffs, or placing sheets of paper moistened with it between pieces of cloth. It is remarkable that moths are never known to infest wool unwashed, or in its natural state, but always abandon the place where such raw material is kept. Those persons therefore to whom the smell of turpentine is offensive, may avail themselves of this circumstance, and place layers of undressed wool between pieces of cloth, or put small quantities in the corners of shelves and drawers containing drapery of that description. This, or shavings of the cedar, small slips of Russia leather, or bits of camphor, laid in boxes or drawers where furs or woollen clothes are kept, will effectually preserve them from the ravages of the moth and other insects. MUFFINS. Stir together a pint of yeast with a pint and half of warm milk and water, and a little salt. Strain it into a quarter of a peck of fine flour, knead it well, and set it an hour to rise. Pull it into small pieces, roll it into balls with the hand, and keep them covered up warm. Then spread them into muffins, lay them on tins, and bake them; and as the bottoms begin to change colour, turn them on the other side. A better sort may be made by adding two eggs, and two ounces of butter melted in half a pint of milk. Muffins should not be cut, but pulled open. MULBERRY SYRUP. Put the mulberries into a kettle of water, and simmer them over the fire till the juice runs from them. Squeeze out the juice, and add twice the weight of sugar. Set it over a slow fire, skim it clean, and simmer it till the sugar is quite dissolved. MULBERRY WINE. Gather mulberries on a dry day, when they are just changed from redness to a shining black. Spread them thinly on a fine cloth, or on a floor or table, for twenty-four hours, and then press them. Boil a gallon of water with each gallon of juice, putting to every gallon of water an ounce of cinnamon bark, and six ounces of sugarcandy finely powdered. Skim and strain the water when it is taken off and settled, and put it to the mulberry juice. Now add to every gallon of the mixture, a pint of white or Rhenish wine. Let the whole stand in a cask to ferment, for five or six days. When settled draw it off into bottles, and keep it cool. MULLED ALE. Boil a pint of good sound ale with a little grated nutmeg and sugar, beat up three eggs, and mix them with a little cold ale. Then pour the hot ale to it, and return it several times to prevent its curdling. Warm and stir it till it is thickened, add a piece of butter or a glass of brandy, and serve it up with dry toast. MULLED WINE. Boil some spice in a little water till the flavour is gained, then add an equal quantity of port, with sugar and nutmeg. Boil all together, and serve with toast.--Another way. Boil a blade of cinnamon and some grated nutmeg a few minutes, in a large tea-cupful of water. Pour to it a pint of port wine, add a little sugar, beat it up, and it will be ready. Good home-made wine may be substituted instead of port. MUMBLED HARE. Boil the hare, but not too much; take off the flesh, and shred it very fine. Add a little salt, nutmeg, lemon peel, and the juice of a lemon. Put it into a stewpan with a dozen eggs, and a pound of butter, and keep it stirring. MUSCLE PLUM CHEESE. Weigh six pounds of the fruit, bake it in a stone jar, remove the stones, and put in the kernels after they are broken and picked. Pour half the juice on two pounds and a half of Lisbon sugar; when melted and simmered a few minutes, skim it, and add the fruit. Keep it doing very gently till the juice is much reduced, but take care to stir it constantly, to prevent its burning. Pour it into small moulds, pattipans, or saucers. The remaining juice may serve to colour creams, or be added to a pie. MUSHROOMS. Before these are prepared for eating, great care must be taken to ascertain that they are genuine, as death in many instances has been occasioned by using a poisonous kind of fungus, resembling mushrooms. The eatable mushrooms first appear very small, of a round form, and on a little stalk. They grow very fast, and both the stalk and the upper part are white. As the size increases, the under part gradually opens, and shows a kind of fringed fur, of a very fine salmon colour; which continues more or less till the mushroom has gained some size, and then it turns to a dark brown. These marks should be attended to, and likewise whether the skin can be easily parted from the edges and middle. Those that have a white or yellow fur should be carefully avoided, though many of them have a similar smell, but not so strong and fragrant, as the genuine mushroom. Great numbers of these may be produced, by strewing on an old hotbed the broken pieces of mushrooms; or if the water in which they have been washed be poured on the bed, it will nearly answer the same purpose. MUSHROOMS DRIED. Wipe them clean, take out the brown part of the large ones, and peel off the skin. Lay them on paper to dry in a cool oven, and keep them in paper bags in a dry place. When used, simmer them in the gravy, and they will swell to nearly their former size. Or before they are made into powder, it is a good way to simmer them in their own liquor till it dry up into them, shaking the pan all the time, and afterwards drying them on tin plates. Spice may be added or not. Tie the mushrooms down close in a bottle, and keep it in a dry place. MUSHROOM KETCHUP. Take the largest broad mushrooms, break them into an earthen pan, strew salt over, and stir them occasionally for three days. Then let them stand twelve days, till there is a thick scum over. Strain and boil the liquor with Jamaica and black peppers, mace, ginger, a clove or two, and some mustard seed. When cold, bottle it, and tie a bladder over the cork. In three months boil it again with fresh spice, and it will then keep a twelvemonth.--Another way. Fill a stewpan with large flap mushrooms, that are not worm-eaten, and the skins and fringe of such as have been pickled. Throw a handful of salt among them, and set them by a slow fire. They will produce a great deal of liquor, which must be strained; then add four ounces of shalots, two cloves of garlic, a good deal of whole pepper, ginger, mace, cloves, and a few bay leaves. Boil and skim it well, and when cold, cork it up close. In two months boil it up again with a little fresh spice, and a stick of horseradish. It will then keep a year, which mushroom ketchup rarely does, if not boiled a second time. MUSHROOM POWDER. Wash half a peck of large mushrooms while quite fresh, and free them from grit and dirt with flannel. Scrape out the black part clean, and do not use any that are worm-eaten. Put them into a stewpan over the fire without any water, with two large onions, some cloves, a quarter of an ounce of mace, and two spoonfuls of white pepper, all in powder. Simmer and shake them till all the liquor be dried up, but be careful they do not burn. Lay them on tins or sieves in a slow oven till they are dry enough to beat to powder; then put the powder into small bottles, corked, and tied closely, and kept in a dry place. A tea-spoonful of this powder will give a very fine flavour to any soup or gravy, or any sauce; and it is to be added just before serving, and one boil given to it after it is put in. MUSHROOM SAUCE. Melt some butter with flour, in a little milk or cream. Put in some mushrooms, a little salt and nutmeg, and boil it up together in a saucepan. Or put the mushrooms into melted butter, with veal gravy, salt, and nutmeg. MUSLIN PATTERNS. In order to copy muslin patterns, the drawing is to be placed on a sheet of white paper, and the outline pricked through with a pin. The white sheet may then be laid on a second clear one, and a muslin bag of powdered charcoal sifted or rubbed over it. The pierced paper being removed, a perfect copy may be traced on the other; and in this way, patterns may be multiplied very expeditiously. MUSTARD. Mix by degrees, the best Durham flour of mustard with boiling water, rubbing it perfectly smooth, till it comes to a proper thickness. Add a little salt, keep it in a small jar close covered, and put only as much into the glass as will be used soon. The glass should be wiped daily round the edges. If for immediate use, mix the mustard with new milk by degrees, till it is quite smooth, and a little raw cream. It is much softer this way, does not taste bitter, and will keep well. A tea-spoonful of sugar, to half a pint of mustard, is a great improvement, and tends much to soften it. Patent mustard is nearly as cheap as any other, and is generally preferred. MUSTY FLOUR. When flour has acquired a musty smell and taste, from dampness and other causes, it may be recovered by the simple use of magnesia, allowing thirty grains of the carbonate to one pound of flour. It is to be leavened and baked in the usual way of making bread. The loaves will be found to rise well in the oven, to be more light and spongy, and also whiter than bread in the common way. It will likewise have an excellent taste, and will keep well. The use of magnesia in bread making is well worthy of attention, for if it improves musty flour, and renders it palatable, it would much more improve bread in general, and be the interest of families to adopt it. The use of magnesia in bread, independent of its improving qualities, is as much superior to that of alum as one substance can be to another. MUTTON. In cutting up mutton, in order to its being dressed, attention should be paid to the different joints. The pipe that runs along the bone of the inside of a chine must be removed, and if the meat is to be kept some time, the part close round the tail should be rubbed with salt, after first cutting out the kernel. A leg is apt to be first tainted in the fat on the thick part, where the kernel is lodged, and this therefore should be removed, or the meat cannot be expected to keep well. The chine and rib bones should be wiped every day, and the bloody part of the neck be cut off to preserve it. The brisket changes first in the breast; and if it is to be kept, it is best to rub it with a little salt, should the weather be hot. Every kernel should be taken out of all sorts of meat as soon as it is brought in, and then wiped dry. For roasting, it should hang as long as it will keep, the hind quarter especially, but not so long as to taint; for whatever may be authorised by the prevailing fashion, putrid juices certainly ought not to be taken into the stomach. Great care should be taken to preserve by paper the fat of what is roasted. Mutton for boiling will not look of a good colour, if it has hung long.--In purchasing this meat, choose it by the fineness of the grain, the goodness of its colour, and see that the fat be firm and white. It is not the better for being young: if it be wether mutton, of a good breed and well fed, it is best for age. The flesh of ewe mutton is paler, and the texture finer. Ram mutton is very strong flavoured, the flesh is of a deep red, and the fat is spongy: wether mutton is the best. MUTTON BROTH. Soak a neck of mutton in water for an hour, cut off the scrag, and put it into a stewpot, with two quarts of water. As soon as it boils, skim it well, and simmer it an hour and a half. Cut the best end of the mutton into pieces, two bones in each, and take off some of the fat. Prepare four or five carrots, as many turnips, and three onions, all sliced, but not cut small. Put them soon enough to get quite tender, and add four large spoonfuls of Scotch barley, first wetted with cold water. Twenty minutes before serving, put in some chopped parsley, add a little salt, and send up all together. This is a Scotch dish, and esteemed very excellent in the winter. MUTTON CHOPS. Cut them from the loin or neck, broil them on a clear fire, and turn them often, or the fat dropping into the fire will smoke them. When done, put them into a warm dish, rub them with butter, slice a shalot in a spoonful of boiling water, with a little salt and ketchup, and pour it over the chops. The ketchup may be omitted, and plain butter used instead. MUTTON CHOPS IN DISGUISE. Prepare a seasoning of chopped parsley and thyme, grated bread, pepper and salt. Smear the chops over with egg, strew the seasoning on them, and roll each in buttered paper. Close the ends, put them in a Dutch oven or fryingpan, and let them broil slowly. When done, send them to table in the paper, with gravy in a boat. MUTTON COLLOPS. From a loin of mutton that has been well kept, cut some thin collops nearest to the leg. Take out the sinews, season the collops with salt, pepper, and mace; and strew over them shred parsley, thyme, and two or three shalots. Fry them in butter till half done; add half a pint of gravy, a little lemon juice, and a piece of butter rubbed in flour. Simmer them together very gently for five minutes, and let the collops be served up immediately, or they will become hard. MUTTON CUTLETS. To do them in the Portuguese way, half fry the chops with sliced shalot or onion, chopped parsley, and two bay leaves. Season with pepper and salt; then lay a forcemeat on a piece of white paper, put the chop on it, and twist the paper up, leaving a hole for the end of the bones to go through. Broil the cutlets on a gentle fire, serve them with a little gravy, or with sauce Robart. MUTTON HAM. Choose a fine-grained leg of wether mutton, of twelve or fourteen pounds weight; cut it ham shape, and let it hang two days. Then put into a stewpan half a pound of bay salt, the same of common salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and half a pound of coarse sugar, all in powder. Mix, and make it quite hot; then rub it well into the ham. Let it be turned in the liquor every day; at the end of four days add two ounces more of common salt; in twelve days take it out, dry it, and hang it up a week in wood smoke. It is to be used in slices, with stewed cabbage, mashed potatoes, or eggs. MUTTON HASHED. Cut thin slices of dressed mutton, fat and lean, and flour them. Boil the bones with a little onion, season the meat, and warm it up with the gravy, but it should not boil. Instead of onion, a clove, a spoonful of currant jelly, and a glass of port wine, will make it taste like venison. MUTTON KEBOBBED. Take all the fat out of a loin of mutton, and that on the outside also if too fat, and remove the skin. Joint it at every bone, mix a small nutmeg grated with a little salt and pepper, crumbs of bread, and herbs. Dip the steaks into the yolks of three eggs, and sprinkle the above mixture all over them. Then place the steaks together as they were before they were cut asunder, tie and fasten them on a small spit. Roast them before a quick fire; set a dish under, and baste them with a good piece of butter, and the liquor that comes from the meat, but throw some more of the above seasoning over. When done enough, lay the meat in a dish. Prepare an additional half pint of good gravy, put into it two spoonfuls of ketchup, and rub down a tea-spoonful of flour with it. Give it a boil, skim off all the fat, and pour it over the mutton. Be careful to keep the meat hot, till the gravy is quite ready. MUTTON PIE. Cut steaks from a loin or neck of mutton that has hung some time; beat them, and remove some of the fat. Season with salt, pepper, and a little onion. Put a little water at the bottom of the dish, and a little paste on the edge; then cover it with a tolerably thick paste. Or raise small pies, breaking each bone in two to shorten it; cover it over, and pinch the edges together. When the pies come from the oven, pour into each a spoonful of good mutton gravy. MUTTON PUDDING. Season some chops with salt and pepper, and a taste of onion. Place a layer of meat at the bottom of the dish, pour over them a batter of potatoes boiled and pressed through a cullender, and mixed with an egg and milk. Put in the rest of the chops, and the batter, and bake it. Batter made of flour eats very well, but requires more egg, and is not so good as potatoe. Another way is to cut slices off a leg that has been underdone, and put them into a bason lined with a fine suet crust. Season with pepper and salt, and finely shred onion or shalot. MUTTON RUMPS AND KIDNEYS. Stew six rumps in some good mutton gravy half an hour; then take them up, and let them stand to cool. Clear the gravy from the fat, and put into it four ounces of boiled rice, an onion stuck with cloves, and a blade of mace. Boil them till the rice is thick. Wash the rumps with yolks of eggs well beaten, and strew over them crumbs of bread, a little pepper and salt, chopped parsley and thyme, and grated lemon peel, fried in butter, of a fine brown. While the rumps are stewing, lard the kidneys, and set them to roast in a Dutch oven. When the rumps are ready, the grease must be drained from them before they are put in the dish; the pan being cleared likewise from the fat, warm up the rice in it. Lay the latter on the dish, place the rumps round upon the rice, the narrow ends towards the middle, and the kidneys between. Garnish with hard eggs cut in halves, the white being left on, or with different coloured pickles. MUTTON SAUCE. Two spoonfuls of the liquor in which the mutton is boiled, the same quantity of vinegar, two or three shalots finely shred, with a little salt, put into a saucepan with a bit of butter rolled in flour, stirred together and boiled once, will make good sauce for boiled mutton. MUTTON SAUSAGES. Take a pound of the rawest part of a leg of mutton that has been either roasted or boiled; chop it quite small, and season it with pepper, salt, mace, and nutmeg. Add to it six ounces of beef suet, some sweet herbs, two anchovies, and a pint of oysters, all chopped very small; a quarter of a pound of grated bread, some of the anchovy liquor, and two eggs well beaten. When well mixed together, put it into a small pot; and use it by rolling it into balls or sausages, and fry them. If approved, a little shalot may be added, or garlick, which is a great improvement. MUTTON STEAKS. These should be cut from a loin or neck that has been well kept; if a neck, the bones should not be long. Broil them on a clear fire, season them when half done, and let them be often turned. Take them up into a very hot dish, rub a bit of butter on each, and serve them up hot and hot the moment they are done.--To do them Maintenon, half fry them first, then stew them while hot, with herbs, crumbs, and seasoning. Rub a bit of butter on some writing paper, to prevent its catching the fire, wrap the steaks in it, and finish them on the gridiron. N. NANKEEN DYE. The article generally sold under this title, and which produces a fine buff colour so much in use, is made of equal parts of arnetto and common potash, dissolved and boiled in water. The yellow colour called Dutch Pink, is made from a decoction of weld or dyer's weed; and if blue cloths be dipped in this liquid, they will take the colour of a fine green. NASTURTIONS, if intended for capers, should be kept a few days after they are gathered. Then pour boiling vinegar over them, and cover them close when cold. They will not be fit to eat for some months; but are then finely flavoured, and by many are preferred to capers. NEAT'S TONGUE. If intended to be stewed, it should be simmered for two hours, and peeled. Then return it to the same liquor, with pepper, salt, mace, and cloves, tied up in a piece of cloth. Add a few chopped capers, carrots and turnips sliced, half a pint of beef gravy, a little white wine, and sweet herbs. Stew it gently till it is tender, take out the herbs and spices, and thicken the gravy with butter rolled in flour. NECK OF MUTTON. This joint is particularly useful, because so many dishes may be made of it; but it is not esteemed advantageous for a family. The bones should be cut short, which the butchers will not do unless particularly desired. The best end of the neck may be boiled, and served with turnips; or roasted, or dressed in steaks, in pies, or harrico. The scrags may be stewed in broth; or with a small quantity of water, some small onions, a few peppercorns, and a little rice, and served together. When a boiled neck is to look particularly nice, saw down the chine bone, strip the ribs halfway down, and chop off the ends of the bones about four inches. The skin should not be taken off till boiled, and then the fat will look the whiter. When there is more fat than is agreeable, it makes a very good suet pudding, or crust for a meat pie if cut very fine. NECK OF PORK. A loin or neck of pork should be roasted. Cut the skin across with a sharp penknife, at distances of half an inch. Serve with vegetables and apple sauce. NECK OF VEAL. Cut off the scrag to boil, and cover it with onion sauce. It should be boiled in milk and water. Parsley and butter may be served with it, instead of onion sauce. Or it may be stewed with whole rice, small onions, and peppercorns, with a very little water. It may also be boiled and eaten with bacon and greens. The best end of the neck may either be roasted, broiled as steaks, or made into a pie. NECK OF VENISON. Rub it with salt, and let it lie four or five days. Flour it, and boil it in a cloth, allowing to every pound a quarter of an hour. Cauliflower, turnips, and cabbages, are eaten with it, and melted butter. Garnish the dish with some of the vegetables. NELSON PUDDINGS. Put into a Dutch oven six small cakes, called Nelson balls or rice cakes, made in small teacups. When quite hot, pour over them boiling melted butter, white wine, and sugar. NEW CASKS. If not properly prepared before they are used, new casks are apt to give beer and other liquor a bad taste. They must therefore be well scalded and seasoned several days successively before they are used, and frequently filled with fresh water. The best way however is to boil two pecks of bran or malt dust in a copper of water, and pour it hot into the cask; then stop it up close, let it stand two days, wash it out clean, and let the cask be well dried. NEWCASTLE PUDDING. Butter a half melon mould or quart basin, stick it all round with dried cherries or fine raisins, and fill it up with custard and layers of thin bread and butter. Boil or steam it an hour and a half. NEWMARKET PUDDING. Put on to boil a pint of good milk, with half a lemon peel, a little cinnamon, and a bay leaf. Boil it gently for five or ten minutes, sweeten with loaf sugar, break the yolks of five and the whites of three eggs into a basin, beat them well, and add the milk. Beat it all up well together, and strain it through a tammis, or fine hair sieve. Prepare some bread and butter cut thin, place a layer of it in a pie dish, and then a layer of currants, and so on till the dish is nearly full. Pour the custard over it, and bake it half an hour. NORFOLK DUMPLINS. Make a thick batter with half a pint of milk and flour, two eggs, and a little salt. Take a spoonful of the batter, and drop it gently into boiling water; and if the water boil fast, they will be ready in a few minutes. Take them out with a wooden spoon, and put them into a dish with a piece of butter. These are often called drop dumplins, or spoon dumplins. NORFOLK PUNCH. To make a relishing liquor that will keep many years, and improve by age, put the peels of thirty lemons and thirty oranges into twenty quarts of French brandy. The fruit must be pared so thin and carefully, that not the least of the white is left. Let it infuse twelve hours. Prepare thirty quarts of cold water that has been boiled, put to it fifteen pounds of double-refined sugar, and when well incorporated, pour it upon the brandy and peels, adding the juice of the oranges and of twenty-four lemons. Mix them well, strain the liquor through a fine hair sieve, into a very clean cask, that has held spirits, and add two quarts of new milk. Stir the liquor, then bung it down close, and let it stand six weeks in a warm cellar. Bottle off the liquor, but take care that the bottles be perfectly clean and dry, the corks of the best quality, and well put in. Of course a smaller quantity of this punch may be made, by observing only the above proportions.--Another way. Pare six lemons and three Seville oranges very thin, squeeze the juice into a large teapot, put to it three quarts of brandy, one of white wine, one of milk, and a pound and a quarter of lump sugar. Let it be well mixed, and then covered for twenty-four hours. Strain it through a jelly bag till quite clear, and then bottle it off. NORTHUMBERLAND PUDDING. Make a hasty pudding with a pint of milk and flour, put it into a bason, and let it stand till the next day. Then mash it with a spoon, add a quarter of a pound of clarified butter, as many currants picked and washed, two ounces of candied peel cut small, and a little sugar and brandy. Bake it in teacups, turn them out on a dish, and pour wine sauce over them. NOSE BLEEDING. Violent bleeding at the nose may sometimes be prevented by applying lint dipped in vinegar, or a strong solution of white vitriol, with fomentations of the temples and forehead made of nitre dissolved in water. But as bleeding at the nose is often beneficial, it should not be suddenly stopped. NOTICE TO QUIT. The usual mode of letting houses is by the year, at a certain annual rent to be paid quarterly: therefore unless a written agreement can be produced, to show that the premises were engaged for a shorter period, the law considers the tenant as entered for one whole year, provided the rent exceeds forty shillings per annum, and this consideration must govern the notice to quit. Every tenant who holds from year to year, which is presumed to be the case in every instance where proof is not given to the contrary, is entitled to half a year's notice, which must be given in such a manner that the tenant must quit the premises at the same quarter day on which he took possession: so that if his rent commenced at Michaelmas, the notice must be served at or before Lady-day, that he may quit at Michaelmas. If a tenant come in after any of the regular quarter days, and pay a certain sum for the remainder of the quarter, he does not commence annual tenant until the remainder of the quarter is expired; but if he pay rent for the whole quarter, he is to be considered as yearly tenant from the commencement of his rent, and his notice to quit must be regulated accordingly. Should it happen that the landlord cannot ascertain the precise time when the tenancy commenced, he may enquire of the tenant, who must be served with notice to quit at the time he mentions, and must obey the warning agreeably to his own words, whether it be the true time or not. If he refuse to give the desired information, the landlord, instead of 'on or before midsummer next,' must give in his notice, 'at the end and expiration of the current year of your tenancy, which shall expire next after the end of one half year from the date hereof.' If notice be given up to a wrong time, or a quarter instead of half a year, such warning will be sufficient, if the party make no objection at the time he receives it. When premises are held by lease, the expiration of the term is sufficient notice to quit, without giving any other warning for that purpose. The following is the form of a landlord's notice to his tenant:--'I do hereby give you notice to quit the house and premises you hold of me, situate in the parish of ------ in the county of ------ on or before midsummer next. Dated the ------ day of ------ in the year ------ R. C.'--The following is a tenant's notice to his landlord:--'Sir, I hereby give you warning of my intention to quit your house in the parish of ------ on or before Michaelmas next. Dated the ------ day of ------ in the year ------ C. R.'--These forms will also serve for housekeepers and lodgers, if 'apartment' be added instead of house or premises. Care however must be taken to give the address correctly: 'R. C. landlord of the said premises, to C. R. the tenant thereof.' Or, 'To Mr. R. C. the landlord of the said premises.' NOTTINGHAM PUDDING. Peel six large apples, take out the core with the point of a small knife or an apple scoop, but the fruit must be left whole. Fill up the centre with sugar, place the fruit in a pie dish, and pour over a nice light batter, prepared as for batter pudding, and bake it an hour in a moderate oven. NUTMEG GRATERS. Those made with a trough, and sold by the ironmongers, are by far the best, especially for grating fine and fast. NUTS. Hazel nuts may be preserved in great perfection for several months, by burying them in earthen pots well closed, a foot or two in the ground, especially in a dry or sandy place. O. OAT CAKES. These may be made the same as muffins, only using fine Yorkshire oatmeal instead of flour. Another sort is made of fine oatmeal, warm water, yeast and salt, beat to a thick batter, and set to rise in a warm place. Pour some of the batter on a baking stone, to any size you please, about as thick as a pancake. Pull them open to butter them, and set them before the fire. If muffins or oat cakes get stale, dip them in cold water, and crisp them in a Dutch oven. OATMEAL. This article has undergone a very considerable improvement, since the introduction of what are termed Embden Groats, manufactured in England it is true, out of Dutch oats, but of a quality superior to any thing before known in this country under the name of oatmeal, and which may now be had of almost all retailers at a moderate price. OATMEAL FLUMMERY. Put three large handfuls of fine oatmeal into two quarts of spring water, and let it steep a day and a night. Pour off the clear water, put in the same quantity of fresh water, and strain the oatmeal through a fine sieve. Boil it till it is as thick as hasty pudding, keep it stirring all the time, that it may be smooth and fine. When first strained, a spoonful of sugar should be added, two spoonfuls of orange flower-water, two or three spoonfuls of cream, a blade of mace, and a bit of lemon peel. When boiled enough, pour the flummery into a shallow dish, and serve it up. OATMEAL PUDDING. Pour a quart of boiling milk over a pint of the best oatmeal, and let it soak all night. Next day beat two eggs, and mix a little salt. Butter a bason that will just hold it, cover it tight with a floured cloth, and boil it an hour and a half. Eat it with cold butter and salt. When cold, slice and toast it, and eat it as oat-cake, buttered. OLD WRITINGS. When old deeds or writings are so much defaced that they can scarcely be deciphered, bruise and boil a few nut galls in white wine; or if it be a cold infusion, expose it to the sun for two or three days. Then dip a sponge into the infusion, pass it over the writing that is sunk, and it will instantly be revived, if the infusion be strong enough of the galls. Vitriolic or nitrous acid a little diluted with water, will also render the writing legible; but care must be taken that the solution be not too strong, or it will destroy the paper or the parchment which contains the writing. OINTMENTS. An excellent ointment for burns, scalds, chilblains, and dressing blisters, may be made in the following manner. Take eight ounces of hog's lard quite fresh, one ounce of bees' wax, and one of honey. Put them into a kettle over the fire, and stir it together till it is all melted. Pour it into a jar for keeping, add a large spoonful of rose water, and keep stirring it till it is cold.--Bad scalds and burns should first have a poultice of grated potatoes applied to them for several hours, and then a plaster of the ointment, which must be renewed morning and evening.--For blisters, a plaster of this should be spread rather longer than the blister, and put on over the blister plaster when it has been on twenty-four hours, or sooner if it feel uneasy. By this means the blister plaster will slip off when it has done drawing, without any pain or trouble.--For chilblains, it has never been known to fail of a cure, if the feet have been kept clean, dry, and warm.--An emollient ointment, for anointing any external inflammations, may be made as follows. Take two pounds of palm oil, a pint and a half of olive oil, half a pound of yellow wax, and a quarter of a pound of Venice turpentine. Melt the wax in the oil over the fire, mix in the turpentine, and strain off the ointment. OINTMENT FOR BURNS. Scrape two ounces of bees' wax into half a pint of sallad oil, and let it simmer gently over the fire till the whole is incorporated. Take it off the fire, beat up the yolks of three eggs with a spoonful of oil, and stir up all together till it is quite cold. OINTMENT FOR THE EYES. This is made of four ounces of fresh lard, two drams of white wax, and one ounce of prepared tutty. Melt the wax with the lard over a gentle fire, and sprinkle in the tutty, continually stirring them till the ointment is cold. OINTMENT OF LEAD. This should consist of half a pint of olive oil, two ounces of white wax, and three drams of the sugar of lead finely powdered. Rub the sugar of lead with some of the oil, add to it the other ingredients, which should be previously melted together, and stir them till the ointment is quite cold. This cooling ointment may be used in all cases where the intention is to dry and skin over the wound, as in burns and scalds. OINTMENT OF MARSHMALLOWS. Take half a pound of marshmallow roots, three ounces of linseed, and three ounces of fennugreek seed. Bruise and boil them gently half an hour in a quart of water, and then add two quarts of sweet oil. Boil them together till the water is all evaporated: then strain off the oil, and add to it a pound of bees' wax, half a pound of yellow rosin, and two ounces of common turpentine. Melt them together over a slow fire, and keep stirring till the ointment is cold. OINTMENT OF SULPHUR. This is the safest and best application for the itch, and will have no disagreeable smell, if made in the following manner. Take four ounces of fresh lard, an ounce and a half of flour of sulphur, two drams of crude sal-ammoniac, and ten or a dozen drops of lemon essence. When made into an ointment, rub it on the parts affected. OLIVES. This foreign article, sent over in a state of preservation, requires only to be kept from the air. Olives are of three kinds, Italian, Spanish, and French, of different sizes and flavour. Each should be firm, though some are most fleshy. OMLET. Make a batter of eggs and milk, and a very little flour. Add chopped parsley, green onions, or chives, or a very small quantity of shalot, a little pepper and salt, and a scrape or two of nutmeg. Boil some butter in a small frying-pan, and pour the above batter into it. When one side is of a fine yellow brown, turn it and do the other: double it when served. Some lean ham scraped, or grated tongue, put in at first, is a very pleasant addition. Four eggs will make a pretty omlet, but some will use eight or ten, and only a small proportion of flour, but a good deal of parsley. If the taste be approved, a little tarragon will give a fine flavour. Ramakins and omlet, though usually served in the course, would be much better if they were sent up after, that they might be eaten as hot as possible. ONION GRAVY. Peel and slice some onions into a small stewpan, with an ounce of butter, adding cucumber or celery if approved. Set it on a slow fire, and turn the onion about till it is lightly browned; then stir in half an ounce of flour, a little broth, a little pepper and salt, and boil it up for a few minutes. Add a table-spoonful of port wine, the same of mushroom ketchup, and rub it through a fine sieve. It may be sharpened with a little lemon juice or vinegar. The flavour of this sauce may be varied by adding tarragon, or burnt vinegar. ONION SAUCE. Peel the onions and boil them tender. Squeeze the water from them, chop and add them to butter that has been melted rich and smooth, with a little good milk instead of water. Boil it up once, and serve it for boiled rabbits, partridges, scrag or knuckle of veal or roast mutton. A turnip boiled with the onions makes them milder. ONION SOUP. Put some carrots, turnips, and a shank bone, into the liquor in which a leg or neck of mutton has been boiled, and simmer them together two hours. Strain it on six onions, sliced and fried of a light brown; simmer the soup three hours, and skim it carefully. Put a small roll into it, or fried bread, and serve it up hot. ONIONS. In order to obtain a good crop of onions, it is proper to sow at different seasons. On light soils sow in August, January, or early in February: on heavy wet soils in March, or early in April. Onions however should not be sown so soon as January, unless the ground be in a dry state, which is not often the case at that time of the year: otherwise, advantage should be taken of it. As this valuable root is known frequently to fail by the common method of culture, the best way is to sow the seed successively, that advantage may be taken of the seasons as they happen. ORANGE BISCUITS. Boil whole Seville oranges in two or three waters, till most of the bitterness is gone. Cut them, and take out the pulp and juice; then beat the outside very fine in a mortar, and put to it an equal weight of double-refined sugar beaten and sifted. When extremely well mixed to a paste, spread it thin on china dishes, and set them in the sun, or before the fire. When half dry, cut it into what form you please, and turn the other side up to dry. Keep the biscuits in a box, with layers of paper. They are intended for desserts, and are also useful as a stomachic, to carry in the pocket on journeys, and for gouty stomachs. ORANGE BRANDY. Steep the peels of twenty Seville oranges in three quarts of brandy, and let it stand a fortnight in a stone bottle. Boil two quarts of water with a pound and a half of loaf sugar nearly an hour, clarify,it with the white of an egg, strain it, and boil it till reduced nearly one half. When cold, strain the brandy into the syrup. ORANGE BUTTER. Boil six hard eggs, beat them in a mortar with two ounces of fine sugar, three ounces of butter, and two ounces of blanched almonds beaten to a paste. Moisten with orange-flower water; and when all is mixed, rub it through a cullender on a dish, and serve with sweet biscuits between. ORANGE CHEESECAKES. Blanch half a pound of almonds, beat them very fine, with orange-flower water, half a pound of fine sugar beaten and sifted, a pound of butter that has been melted carefully without oiling, and which must be nearly cold before it is used. Then beat the yolks of ten and the whites of four eggs. Pound in a mortar two candied oranges, and a fresh one with the bitterness boiled out, till they are as tender as marmalade, without any lumps. Beat the whole together, and put it into pattipans. ORANGE CHIPS. Cut oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve, and soak the peels in water. Next day boil them in the same till tender; then drain and slice the peels, add them to the juice, weigh as much sugar, and put all together into a broad earthen dish. Place the dish at a moderate distance from the fire, often stirring till the chips candy, and then set them in a cool room to dry, which commonly requires about three weeks. ORANGE CREAM. Boil the rind of a Seville orange very tender, and beat it fine in a mortar. Add to it a spoonful of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, four ounces of loaf sugar, and the yolks of four eggs. Beat them all together for ten minutes; then by gentle degrees, pour in a pint of boiling cream, and beat it up till cold. Set some custard cups into a deep dish of boiling water, pour the cream into the cups, and let it stand again till cold. Put at the top some small strips of orange paring cut thin, or some preserved chips. ORANGE-FLOWER CAKES. Soak four ounces of the leaves of the flowers in cold water for an hour; drain, and put them between napkins, and roll with a rolling-pin till they are bruised. Have ready boiled a pound of sugar to add to it in a thick syrup, give them a simmer until the syrup adheres to the sides of the pan, drop it in little cakes on a plate, and dry them in a cool room. ORANGE FOOL. Mix the juice of three Seville oranges, three eggs well beaten, a pint of cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and sweeten it to taste. Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it till it becomes as thick as good melted butter, but it must not be boiled. Then pour it into a dish for eating cold. ORANGE JAM. Lay half a dozen oranges in water four or five days, changing the water once or twice every day. Take out the oranges, and wipe them dry. Tie them up in separate cloths, and boil them four hours in a large kettle, changing the water once or twice. Peel off the rinds and pound them well in a marble mortar, with two pounds of fine sugar to one pound of orange. Then beat all together, and cover the jam down in a pot. ORANGE JELLY. Grate the rind of two Seville and two China oranges, and two lemons. Squeeze the juice of three of each, and strain it; add a quarter of a pound of lump sugar dissolved in a quarter of a pint of water, and boil it till it nearly candies. Prepare a quart of jelly, made of two ounces of isinglass; add to it the syrup, and boil it once up. Strain off the jelly, and let it stand to settle before it is put into the mould. ORANGE JUICE. When the fresh juice cannot be procured, a very useful article for fevers may be made in the following manner. Squeeze from the finest fruit, a pint of juice strained through fine muslin. Simmer it gently with three quarters of a pound of double-refined sugar twenty minutes, and when cold put it into small bottles. ORANGE MARMALADE. Rasp the oranges, cut out the pulp, then boil the rinds very tender, and beat them fine in a marble mortar. Boil three pounds of loaf sugar in a pint of water, skim it, and add a pound of the rind; boil it fast till the syrup is very thick, but stir it carefully. Then add a pint of the pulp and juice, the seeds having been removed, and a pint of apple liquor; boil it all gently about half an hour, until it is well jellied, and put it into small pots. Lemon marmalade may be made in the same way, and both of them are very good and elegant sweetmeats. ORANGE PEEL. Scrape out all the pulp, soak the peels in water, and stir them every day. In a week's time put them in fresh water, and repeat it till all the bitterness is extracted. Boil the peels in fresh water over a slow fire till they are quite tender, and reduce the liquor to a quantity sufficient to boil it to a thick syrup. Put the peels into the syrup, simmer them gently, take them out of the syrup, and let them cool. Lay them to dry in the sun, and the peel will be nicely candied. ORANGE PUDDING. Grate the rind of a Seville orange, put to it six ounces of fresh butter, and six or eight ounces of lump sugar pounded. Beat them all in a marble mortar, and add at the same time the whole of eight eggs well beaten and strained. Scrape a raw apple, and mix it with the rest. Put a paste round the bottom and sides of the dish, and over the orange mixture lay cross bars of paste. Half an hour will bake it.--Another. Mix two full spoonfuls of orange paste with six eggs, four ounces of fine sugar, and four ounces of warm butter. Put the whole into a shallow dish, with a paste lining, and bake it twenty minutes.--Another. Rather more than two table-spoonfuls of the orange paste, mixed with six eggs, four ounces of sugar, and four ounces of butter melted, will make a good pudding, with a paste at the bottom of the dish. Twenty minutes will bake it.--Or, boil the rind of a Seville orange very soft, and beat it up with the juice. Then add half a pound of butter, a quarter of a pound of sugar, two grated biscuits, and the yolks of six eggs. Mix all together, lay a puff paste round the edge of the dish, and bake it half an hour. ORANGE TART. Squeeze, pulp, and boil two Seville oranges quite tender. Weigh them, add double the quantity of sugar, and beat them together to a paste. Add the juice and pulp of the fruit, and a little bit of fresh butter the size of a walnut, and beat all together. Choose a very shallow dish, line it with a light puff-crust, lay the orange paste in it, and ice it over. Or line a tart pan with a thin puff-paste, and put into it orange marmalade made with apple jelly. Lay bars of paste, or a croquant cover over, and bake it in a moderate oven.--Another. Squeeze some Seville oranges into a dish, grate off the outside rind, throw the peel into water, and change it often for two days. Boil a saucepan of water, put in the oranges, and change the water three or four times to take out the bitterness: when they are quite tender, dry and beat them fine in a mortar. Take their weight in double refined sugar, boil it to a syrup, and skim it clean: then put in the pulp, and boil it till it is quite clear. Put it cold into the tarts, and the juice which was squeezed out, and bake them in a quick oven. Lemon tarts are made in the same way. ORANGE WINE. To six gallons of water put fifteen pounds of soft sugar: before it boils, add the whites of six eggs well beaten, and take off the scum as it rises. When cold, add the juice of fifty oranges, and two thirds of the peels cut very thin; and immerse a toast covered with yeast. In a month after it has been in the cask, add a pint of brandy, and two quarts of Rhenish wine. It will be fit to bottle in three or four months, but it should remain in bottles for twelve months before it is drunk. ORANGES. If intended to be kept for future use, the best way is to dry and bake some clean sand; and when it is cold, put it into a vessel. Place on it a layer of oranges or lemons with the stalk end downwards, so that they do not touch each other, and cover them with the sand two inches deep. This will keep them in a good state of preservation for several months. Another way is to freeze the fruit, and keep them in an ice-house. When used they are to be thawed in cold water, and will be good at any time of the year. If oranges or lemons are designed to be used for juice, they should first be pared to preserve the peel dry. Some should be halved, and when squeezed, the pulp cut out, and the outsides dried for grating. If for boiling in any liquid, the first way is the best. ORANGES CARVED. With a penknife cut on the rinds any shape you please, then cut off a piece near and round the stalk, and take all the pulp out carefully with an apple scoop. Put the rinds into salt and water two days, and change the water daily. Boil them an hour or more in fresh salt and water, and drain them quite dry. Let them stand a night in plain water, and then another night in a thin syrup, in which boil them the next day a few minutes. This must be repeated four days successively. Then let them stand six or seven weeks, observing often whether they keep well; otherwise the syrup must be boiled again. Then make a rich syrup for the oranges. ORANGES IN JELLY. Cut a hole in the stalk part, the size of a shilling, and with a blunt knife scrape out the pulp quite clear without cutting the rind. Tie each part separately in muslin, and lay them in spring water two days, changing the water twice a day. In the last water boil them over a slow fire till they are quite tender. Observe that there is enough at first to allow for wasting, as they must be kept covered till the last. To every pound of fruit, allow two pounds of double-refined sugar, and one pint of water. Boil the two latter, with the juice of the orange, till reduced to a syrup. Clarify it, skim it well, and let it stand to be cold. Then boil the fruit in the syrup half an hour; and if not clear, repeat it daily till they are done.--Lemons are preserved in a similar way. Pare and core some green pippins, and boil them in water till it is strongly flavoured with them. The fruit should not be broken, only gently pressed with the back of a spoon, and the water strained through a jelly bag till it is quite clear. To every pint of liquor put a pound of double-refined sugar, the peel and juice of a lemon, and boil the whole to a strong syrup. Drain off the syrup from the fruit, and turning each lemon with the hole upwards in the jar, pour the apple jelly over it. The bits cut out must undergo the same process with the fruit, and the whole covered down with brandy paper. ORANGES PRESERVED. To fill preserved oranges for a corner dish, take a pound of Naples biscuits, some blanched almonds, the yolks of four eggs beaten, four ounces of butter warmed, and sugar to taste. Grate the biscuits, mix them with the above, and some orange-flower water. Fill the preserved oranges, and bake them in a very slow oven. If to be frosted, sift some fine sugar over them, as soon as they are filled; otherwise they should be wiped. Or they may be filled with custard, and then the fruit need not be baked, but the custard should be put in cold. ORANGEADE. Squeeze out the juice of an orange, pour boiling water on a little of the peel, and cover it close. Boil water and sugar to a thin syrup, and skim it. When all are cold, mix the juice, the infusion, and the syrup, with as much more water as will make a rich sherbet. Strain the whole through a jelly bag; or squeeze the juice and strain it, and water and capillaire. ORCHARD. Fruit trees, whether in orchards, or espaliers, or against walls, require attention, in planting, pruning, or other management, almost every month in the year, to render them productive, and to preserve the fruit in a good state.--JANUARY. Cut out dead wood and irregular branches, clean the stumps and boughs from the moss with a hollow iron. Repair espaliers by fastening the stakes and poles with nails and wire, and tying the shoots down with twigs of osier. Put down some stakes by all the new-planted trees. Cut grafts to be ready, and lay them in the earth under a warm wall.--FEBRUARY. Most kinds of trees may be pruned this month, though it is generally better to do it in autumn; but whatever was omitted at that season, should be done now. The hardiest kinds are to be pruned first; and such as are more tender, at the latter end of the month, when there will be less danger of their suffering in the wounded part from the frost. Transplant fruit trees to places where they are wanted. Open a large hole, set the earth carefully about the roots, and nail them at once to the wall, or fasten them to strong stakes. Sow the kernels of apples and pears, and the stones of plums for stocks. Endeavour to keep off the birds that eat the buds of fruit trees at this season of the year.--MARCH. The grafts which were cut off early and laid in the ground, are now to be brought into use; the earliest kinds first, and the apples last of all. When this is done, take off the heads of the stocks that were inoculated the preceding year. A hand's breadth of the head should be left, for tying the bud securely to it, and that the sap may rise more freely for its nourishment. The fruit trees that were planted in October should also be headed, and cut down to about four eyes, that the sap may flow more freely.--APRIL. Examine the fruit trees against the walls and espaliers, take off all the shoots that project in front, and train such as rise kindly. Thin apricots upon the trees, for there are usually more than can ripen; and the sooner this is done, the better will the rest succeed. Water new-planted trees, plant the vine cuttings, and inspect the grown ones. Nip off improper shoots; and when two rise from the same eye, take off the weakest of them. Weed strawberry beds, cut off the strings, stir the earth between them, and water them once in two or three days. Dig up the borders near the fruit trees, and never plant any large kind of flowers or vegetables upon them. Any thing planted or sown near the trees, has a tendency to impoverish the fruit.--MAY. If any fresh shoots have sprouted upon the fruit trees, in espaliers, or against walls, take them off. Train the proper ones to the walls or poles, at due distances, and in a regular manner. Look over vines, and stop every shoot that has fruit upon it, to three eyes beyond the fruit. Then train the branches regularly to the wall, and let such as are designed for the next year's fruiting grow some time longer, as their leaves will afford a suitable shade to the fruit. Water the trees newly planted, keep the borders about the old ones clear, and pick off the snails and other vermin.--JUNE. Renew the operation of removing from wall trees and espaliers, all the shoots that project in front. Train proper branches to their situations, where they are wanted. Once more thin the wall fruit: leave the nectarines four inches apart, and the peaches five, but none nearer: the fruit will be finer, and the next year the tree will be stronger, if this precaution be adopted. Inoculate the apricots, and choose for this purpose a cloudy evening. Water trees lately planted, and pick up snails and vermin.--JULY. Inoculate peaches and nectarines, and take off all projecting shoots in espaliers and wall fruit-trees. Hang phials of honey and water upon fruit-trees, to protect them from the depredations of insects, and look carefully for snails, which also will destroy the fruit. Keep the borders clear from weeds, and stir the earth about the roots of the trees; this will hasten the ripening of the fruit. Examine the fruit trees that were grafted and budded the last season, to see that there are no shoots from the stocks. Whenever they rise, take them off, or they will deprive the intended growth of its nourishment. Attend to the trees lately planted, and water them often; and whatever good shoots they make, fasten them to the wall or espalier. Repeat the care of the vines, take off improper or irregular shoots, and nail up the loose branches. Let no weeds rise in the ground about them, for they will exhaust the nourishment, and impoverish the fruit.--AUGUST. Watch the fruit on the wall trees, and keep off the devourers, of which there will be numberless kinds swarming about them during this month. Send away the birds, pick up snails, and hang bottles of sweet water for flies and wasps. Fasten loose branches, and gather the fruit carefully as it ripens. Examine the vines all round, and remove those trailing branches which are produced so luxuriantly at this season of the year. Suffer not the fruit to be shaded by loose and unprofitable branches, and keep the ground clear of weeds, which otherwise will impoverish the fruit.--SEPTEMBER. The fruit must now be gathered carefully every day, and the best time for this purpose is an hour after sun-rise: such as is gathered in the middle of the day is always flabby and inferior. The fruit should afterwards be laid in a cool place till wanted. Grapes as they begin to ripen will be in continual danger from the birds, if not properly watched and guarded. Transplant gooseberries and currants, and plant strawberries and raspberries: they will then be rooted before winter, and flourish the succeeding season.--OCTOBER. It is a useful practice to prime the peach and nectarine trees, and also the vines, as it invigorates the buds in the spring of the year. Cut grapes for preserving, with a joint of the vine to each bunch. For winter keeping, gather fruits as they ripen. Transplant all garden trees for flowering, prune currant bushes, and preserve the stones of the fruit for sowing.--NOVEMBER. Stake up all trees planted for standards, or the winds will rock them at the bottom, and the frost will be let in and destroy them. Throw a good quantity of peas straw about them, and lay on it some brick bats or pebbles to keep it fast: this will mellow the ground, and keep the frost from the roots. Continue to prune wall fruit-trees, and prune also at this time the apple and pear kinds. Pull off the late fruit of figs, or it will decay the branches.--DECEMBER. Prepare for planting trees where they will be wanted in the spring, by digging the ground deep and turning it well, in the place intended for planting. Scatter over the borders some fresh mould and rotted dung, and in a mild day dig it in with a three-pronged fork. Look over the orchard trees, and cut away superfluous wood and dead branches. Let the boughs and shoots stand clear of each other, that the air may pass between, and the fruit will be better flavoured. This management is required for old trees: those that are newly planted are to be preserved by covering the ground about their roots. ORGEAT. Boil a quart of new milk with a stick of cinnamon, sweeten it to taste, and let it cool. Then pour it gradually over three ounces of almonds, and twenty bitter almonds that have been blanched and beaten to a paste, with a little water to prevent oiling. Boil all together, and stir it till cold, then add half a glass of brandy.--Another way. Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of almonds, and thirty bitter ones, with a spoonful of water. Stir in by degrees two pints of water, and three pints of milk, and strain the whole through a cloth. Dissolve half a pound of fine sugar in a pint of water, boil and skim it well; mix it with the other, adding two spoonfuls of orange-flower water, and a teacupful of the best brandy. ORGEAT FOR THE SICK. Beat two ounces of almonds with a tea-spoonful of orange-flower water, and a bitter almond or two; then pour a quart of milk and water to the paste. Sweeten with sugar, or capillaire. This is a fine drink for those who feel a weakness in the chest. In the gout also it is highly useful, and with the addition of half an ounce of gum arabic, it has been found to allay the painfulness of the attendant heat. Half a glass of brandy may be added, if thought too cooling in the latter complaint, and the glass of orgeat may be put into a basin of warm water. ORTOLANS. Pick and singe, but do not draw them. Tie them on a bird spit, and roast them. Some persons like slices of bacon tied between them, but the taste of it spoils the flavour of the ortolan. Cover them with crumbs of bread. OX CHEEK. Soak half a head three hours, and clean it in plenty of water. Take off all the meat, and put it into a stewpan with an onion, a sprig of sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and allspice. Lay the bones on the top, pour on two or three quarts of water, and close it down. Let it stand eight or ten hours in a slow oven, or simmer it on a hot hearth. When tender skim off the fat, and put in celery, or any other vegetable. Slices of fried onion may be put into it a little before it is taken from the fire. OX CHEEK SOUP. Break the bones of the cheek, wash it clean, put it into a stewpan, with a piece of butter at the bottom. Add half a pound of lean ham sliced, one parsnip, two carrots, three onions, four heads of celery, cut small, and three blades of mace. Set it over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour, then add a gallon of water, and simmer it gently till reduced to half the quantity. If intended as soup only, strain it off, and put in a head of sliced celery, with a little browning, to give it a fine colour. Warm two ounces of vermicelli and put into it; boil it ten minutes, and pour it into a tureen, with the crust of a French roll. If to be used as stew, take up the cheek as whole as possible; put in a boiled carrot cut in small pieces, a slice of toasted bread, and some cayenne pepper. Strain the soup through a hair sieve upon the meat, and serve it up. OX FEET. These are very nutricious, in whatever way they are dressed. If to be eaten warm, boil them, and serve them up in a napkin. Melted butter for sauce, with mustard, and a large spoonful of vinegar. Or broil them very tender, and serve them as a brown fricassee. The liquor will do to make jelly sweet or relishing, and likewise to give richness to soups or gravies. They may also be fried, after being cut into four parts, dipped in egg, and properly floured. Fried onions may be served round the dish, with sauce as above. Or they may be baked for mock turtle. If to be eaten cold, they only require mustard, pepper, and vinegar.--Another way. Extract the bones from the feet, and boil the meat quite tender; then put it into a fryingpan with a little butter. After a few minutes, add some chopped mint and parsley, the yolks of two eggs beat up fine, half a pint of gravy, the juice of a lemon, and a little salt and nutmeg. Put the meat into a dish, and pour the sauce over it. OX FEET JELLY. Take a heel that has been only scalded, not boiled, slit it in two, and remove the fat from between the claws. Simmer it gently for eight hours in a quart of water, till reduced to a pint and half, and skim it clean while it is doing. This strong jelly is useful in making calves' feet jelly, or may be added to mock turtle, and other soups. OX PALATES. Boil them tender, blanch and scrape them. Rub them with pepper, salt, and bread, and fry them brown on both sides. Pour off the fat, put beef or mutton gravy into the stewpan for sauce, with an anchovy, a little lemon juice, grated nutmeg and salt. Thicken it with butter rolled in flour: when these have simmered a quarter of an hour, dish them up, and garnish with slices of lemon. OXFORD DUMPLINS. Mix together two ounces of grated bread, four ounces of currants, the same of shred suet, a bit of lump sugar, a little powdered pimento, and plenty of grated lemon peel. Add two eggs and a little milk; then divide the whole into five dumplins, and fry them of a fine yellow brown. Made with half the quantity of flour, instead of bread, they are very excellent. Serve them up with sweet sauce. OXFORD SAUSAGES. Chop a pound and a half of pork, and the same of veal, cleared of skin and sinews. Add three quarters of a pound of beef suet, mince and mix them together. Steep the crumb of a penny loaf in water, and mix it with the meat; add also a little dried sage, pepper and salt. OYSTER LOAVES. Open a quart of fresh oysters, wash and stew them in their own liquor, with two anchovies, a bunch of sweet herbs, a blade of mace, and a bit of lemon peel. Drain off the liquor, boil up a quarter of a pound of butter till it turns brown; add half a spoonful of flour, and boil it up again. Put in some of the oyster liquor, with a little gravy, white wine, mace, nutmeg, a few cloves, and a small piece of shalot. Stew all together till it becomes as thick as cream; then put in the oysters, and stew them a few minutes. Fry some bread crumbs in butter or sweet dripping till they are crisp and brown, drain them well, put in the oysters, and dish them up.--Another. Open the oysters, and save the liquor; wash them in it, and strain it through a sieve. Put a little of the liquor into a tosser, with a bit of butter and flour, white pepper, a scrape of nutmeg, and a little cream. Stew the oysters in the liquor, cut them into dice, and then put them into rolls sold for the purpose. OYSTER PATTIES. Put a fine puff-crust into small pattipans, and cover with paste, with a bit of bread in each. While they are baking, take off the beard of the oysters, cut the oysters small, put them in a small tosser, with a dust of grated nutmeg, white pepper and salt, a taste of lemon peel, shred as fine as possible, a spoonful of cream, and a little of the oyster liquor. Simmer them together a few minutes, and fill the pattipans as soon as they are baked, first taking out the bread. A bread crust should be put into all patties, to keep them hollow while baking. OYSTER PIE. Open the oysters, take off the beards, parboil the oysters, and strain off the liquor. Parboil some sweetbreads, cut them in slices, place them in layers with the oysters, and season very lightly with salt, pepper and mace. Then add half a teacup of liquor, and the same of gravy. Bake in a slow oven; and before the pie is sent to table, put in a teacup of cream, a little more oyster liquor, and a cup of white gravy, all warmed together, but not boiled. OYSTER SAUCE. Save the liquor in opening the oysters, boil it with the beards, a bit of mace and lemon peel. In the mean time, throw the oysters into cold water, and drain it off. Strain the liquor, put it into a saucepan with the oysters, and as much butter, mixed with a little milk, as will make sauce enough; but first rub a little flour with it. Set them over the fire, and keep stirring all the time. When the butter has boiled once or twice, take them off, and keep the saucepan near the fire, but not on it; for if done too much, the oysters will be hard. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, and serve it up. If for company, a little cream is a great improvement. Observe, the oysters will thin the sauce, and therefore allow butter accordingly. OYSTER SOUP. Beat the yolks of ten hard eggs, and the hard part of two quarts of oysters, in a mortar, and put them to two quarts of fish stock. Simmer all together for half an hour, and strain it off. Having cleared the oysters of the beards, and washed them well, put them into the soup, and let it simmer five minutes. Beat up the yolks of six raw eggs, and add them to the soup. Stir it all well together one way, by the side of the fire, till it is thick and smooth, but do not let it boil. Serve up all together. OYSTER MOUTH SOUP. Make a rich mutton broth, with two large onions, three blades of mace, and a little black pepper. When strained, pour it on a hundred and fifty oysters, without the beards, and a bit of butter rolled in flour. Simmer it gently a quarter of an hour, and serve up the soup. OYSTERS. Of the several kinds of oysters, the Pyfleet, Colchester, and Milford, are much the best. The native Milton are fine, being white and fleshy; but others may be made to possess both these qualities in some degree, by proper feeding. Colchester oysters come to market early in August, the Milton in October, and are in the highest perfection about Christmas, but continue in season till the middle of May. When alive and good, the shell closes on the knife; but if an oyster opens its mouth, it will soon be good for nothing. Oysters should be eaten the minute they are opened, with their own liquor in the under shell, or the delicious flavour will be lost. The rock oyster is the largest, but if eaten raw it tastes coarse and brackish, but may be improved by feeding. In order to do this, cover the oysters with clean water, and allow a pint of salt to about two gallons; this will cleanse them from the mud and sand contracted in the bed. After they have lain twelve hours, change it for fresh salt and water; and in twelve hours more they will be fit to eat, and will continue in a good state for two or three days. At the time of high water in the place from whence they were taken, they will open their shells, in expectation of receiving their usual food. The real Colchester or Pyfleet barrelled oysters, that are packed at the beds, are better without being put into water; they are carefully and tightly packed, and must not be disturbed till wanted for the table. In temperate weather these will keep good for a week or ten days. To preserve barrelled oysters however, the best way is to remove the upper hoop, so that the head may fall down upon the oysters, and then to place a weight upon it. This will compress the oysters, keep in the liquor, and preserve them for several days. P. PAIN IN THE EAR. This complaint is sometimes so prevalent as to resemble an epidemic, particularly amongst children. The most effectual remedy yet discovered has been a clove of garlic, steeped for a few minutes in warm sallad oil, and put into the ear, rolled up in muslin or fine linen. When the garlic has accomplished its object, and is removed from the ear, it should be replaced with cotton, to prevent the patient taking cold. PAINT. Painted doors and windows may be made to look well for a considerable time, if properly cleaned. A cloth should never be used, for it leaves some lint behind; but take off the dust with a painter's brush, or a pair of bellows. When the painting is soiled or stained, dip a sponge or a bit of flannel in soda water, wash it off quickly, and dry it immediately, or the strength of the soda will eat off the colour. When wainscot requires scouring, it should be done from the top downwards, and the soda be prevented from running on the uncleaned part as much as possible, or marks will appear after the whole is finished. One person should dry the board with old linen, as fast as the other has scoured off the dirt, and washed away the soda. PAINT FOR IRON. For preserving palisadoes and other kinds of iron work exposed to the weather, heat some common litharge in a shovel over the fire. Then scatter over it a small quantity of sulphur, and grind it in oil. This lead will reduce it to a good lead colour, which will dry very quickly, get remarkably hard, and resist the weather better than any other common paint. PAINTINGS. Oil paintings frequently become smoked or dirty, and in order to their being properly cleaned, require to be treated with the greatest care. Dissolve a little common salt in some stale urine, dip a woollen cloth in the liquid, and rub the paintings over with it till they are quite clean. Then wash them with a sponge and clean water, dry them gradually, and rub them over with a clean cloth. PALING PRESERVED. The following cheap and valuable composition will preserve all sorts of wood work exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather. Take some well-burnt lime, and expose it to the air till it falls to powder, without putting any water to it, and mix with it two thirds of wood ashes, and one third of fine sand. Sift the whole through a fine sieve, and work it up with linseed oil to the consistence of common paint, taking care to grind it fine, and mix it well together. The composition may be improved by the addition of an equal quantity of coal tar with the linseed oil; and two coats of it laid on any kind of weather boards, will be found superior to any kind of paint used for that purpose. PALPITATION OF THE HEART. Persons of a full habit may find relief in bleeding; but where it is accompanied with nervous affections, as is generally the case, bleeding must by all means be avoided. Frequent bathing the feet in warm water, a stimulating plaster applied to the left side, and gentle exercise, are the most proper. PALSY. The luxurious, the sedentary, and those who have suffered great anxiety and distress of mind, are the most subject to this disorder, which generally attacks the left side, and is attended with numbness and drowsiness. The parts affected ought to be frequently rubbed with a flesh brush, or with the hand. Blisters, warm plasters, volatile liniments, and electricity should likewise be employed. The following electuary is also recommended. Mix an ounce of flour of mustard, and an ounce of the conserve of roses, in some syrup of ginger; and take a tea-spoonful of it three or four times a day. PANADA. To make panada in five minutes, set a little water on the fire with a glass of white wine, some sugar, and a scrape of nutmeg and lemon peel, grating meanwhile some crumbs of bread. The moment the mixture boils up, keeping it still on the fire, put in the crumbs, and let it boil as fast as it can. When of a proper thickness just to drink, take it off.--Another way. Make the panada as above, but instead of a glass of wine, put in a tea-spoonful of rum, a little butter and sugar. This makes a very pleasant article for the sick.--Another. Put into the water a bit of lemon peel, and mix in the crumbs: when nearly boiled enough, add some lemon or orange syrup. Observe to boil all the ingredients; for if any be added after, the panada will break, and not turn to jelly. PANCAKES. Make a light batter of eggs, flour, and milk. Fry it in a small pan, in hot dripping or lard. Salt, nutmeg, or ginger, may be added. Sugar and lemon should be served, to eat with them. When eggs are very scarce, the batter may be made of flour and small beer, with the addition of a little ginger; or clean snow, with flour, and a very little milk, will serve instead of egg. Fine pancakes, fried without butter or lard, are made as follows. Beat six fresh eggs extremely well, strain and mix them with a pint of cream, four ounces of sugar, a glass of wine, half a nutmeg grated, and as much flour as will make it almost as thick as ordinary pancake batter, but not quite. Heat the fryingpan tolerably hot, wipe it with a clean cloth, and pour in the batter so as to make the pancakes thin.--New England pancakes are made of a pint of cream, mixed with five spoonfuls of fine flour, seven yolks and four whites of eggs, and a very little salt. They are then fried very thin in fresh butter, and sent to table six or eight at once, with sugar and cinnamon strewed between them.--Another way to make cream pancakes. Stir a pint of cream gradually into three spoonfuls of flour, and beat them very smooth. Add to this six eggs, half a pound of melted butter, and a little sugar. These pancakes will fry from their own richness, without either butter or lard. Run the batter over the pan as thin as possible, and when the pancakes are just coloured they are done enough. PAP BREAD. To prepare a light nourishing food for young children, pour scalding water on some thin slices of good white bread, and let it stand uncovered till it cools. Then drain off the water, bruise the bread fine, and mix it with as much new milk as will make a pap of a moderate thickness. It will be warm enough for use, without setting it on the fire. It is common to add sugar, but the pap is better without it, as is almost all food intended for children; and the taste will not require it, till habit makes it familiar. PAPER. All sorts of paper improve by keeping, if laid in a dry place, and preserved from mould and damp. It is bought much cheaper by the ream, than by the quire. The expense of this article is chiefly occasioned by the enormous duty laid upon it, and the necessity of importing foreign rags to supply the consumption. If more care were taken in families generally, to preserve the rags and cuttings of linen from being wasted, there would be less need of foreign imports, and paper might be manufactured a little cheaper. PAPER HANGINGS. To clean these properly, first blow off the dust with the bellows, and then wipe the paper downwards in the slightest manner with the crumb of a stale white loaf. Do not cross the paper, nor go upwards, but begin at the top, and the dirt of the paper and the crumbs will fall together. Observe not to wipe more than half a yard at a stroke, and after doing all the upper part, go round again, beginning a little above where you left off. If it be not done very lightly, the dirt will adhere to the paper; but if properly attended to, the paper will look fresh and new. PAPER PASTE. To make a strong paste for paper, take two large spoonfuls of fine flour, and as much pounded rosin as will lie upon a shilling. Mix them up with as much strong beer as will make the paste of a due consistence, and boil it half an hour. It is best used cold. PARSLEY. To preserve parsley through the winter, gather some fine fresh sprigs in May, June, or July. Pick and wash them clean, set on a stewpan half full of water, put a little salt in it, boil and scum it clean. Then add the parsley, let it boil for two minutes, and take it out and lay it on a sieve before the fire, that it may be dried as quick as possible. Put it by in a tin box, and keep it in a dry place. When wanted, lay it in a basin, and cover it with warm water for a few minutes before you use it. PARSLEY AND BUTTER. Wash some parsley very clean, and pick it carefully leaf by leaf. Put a tea-spoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water, boil the parsley in it about ten minutes, drain it on a sieve, mince it quite fine, and then, bruise it to a pulp. Put it into a sauce boat, and mix with it by degrees about half a pint of good melted butter, only do not put so much flour to it, as the parsley will be sure to add to its thickness. Parsley and butter should not be poured over boiled dishes, but be sent up in a boat. The delicacy of this elegant and innocent relish, depends upon the parsley being minced very fine. With the addition of a slice of lemon cut into dice, a little allspice and vinegar, it is made into Dutch sauce. PARSLEY PIE. Lay a fowl, or a few bones of the scrag of veal, seasoned, into a dish. Scald a cullenderful of picked parsley in milk; season it, and add it to the fowl or meat, with a tea-cupful of any sort of good broth or gravy. When baked, pour into it a quarter of a pint of cream scalded, with a little bit of butter and flour. Shake it round, and mix it with the gravy in the dish. Lettuces, white mustard leaves, or spinach, well scalded, may be added to the parsley. PARSLEY SAUCE. When no parsley leaves are to be had, tie up a little parsley seed in a piece of clean muslin, and boil it in water ten minutes. Use this water to melt the butter, and throw into it a little boiled spinach minced, to look like parsley. PARSNIPS. Carrots and parsnips, when laid up for the winter, should have the tops cut off close, be cleared of the rough earth, and kept in a dry place. Lay a bed of dry sand on the floor, two or three inches thick, put the roots upon it close together, with the top of one to the bottom of the next, and so on. Cover the first layer with sand two inches thick, and then place another layer of roots, and go on thus till the whole store are laid up. Cover the heap with dry straw, laid on tolerably thick. Beet roots, salsify, Hamburgh parsley roots, horseradish, and turnips, should all be laid up in the same manner, as a supply against frosty weather, when they cannot be got out of the ground. PARSNIPS BOILED. These require to be done very tender, and may be served whole with melted butter, or beaten smooth in a bowl, warmed up with a little cream, butter, flour, and salt. Parsnips are highly nutricious, and make an agreeable sauce to salt fish. PARSNIPS FRICASSEED. Boil them in milk till they are soft. Then cut them lengthways into bits, two or three inches long, and simmer them in a white sauce, made of two spoonfuls of broth. Add a bit of mace, half a cupful of cream, a little flour and butter, pepper and salt. PARSNIP WINE. To twelve pounds of sliced parsnips, add four gallons of water, and boil them till they become soft. Squeeze the liquor well out of them, run it through a sieve, and add to every gallon three pounds of lump sugar. Boil the whole three quarters of an hour, and when it is nearly cold, add a little yeast. Let it stand in a tub for ten days, stirring it from the bottom every day, and then put it into a cask for twelve months. As it works over, fill it up every day. PARTRIDGE BOILED. This species of game is in season in the autumn. If the birds be young, the bill is of a dark colour, and the legs inclined to yellow. When fresh and good, the vent will be firm; but when stale, this part will look greenish. Boiled partridges require to be trussed the same as chickens: from twenty to twenty-five minutes will do them sufficiently. Serve them up with either white or brown mushroom sauce, or with rice stewed in gravy, made pretty thick, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Pour the sauce over them, or serve them up with celery sauce. A boiled pheasant is dressed in the same manner, allowing three quarters of an hour for the cooking. PARTRIDGE PIE. Pick and singe four partridges, cut off the legs at the knee, season with pepper, salt, chopped parsley, thyme, and mushrooms. Lay a veal steak and a slice of ham at the bottom of the dish, put in the partridge, and half a pint of good broth. Lay puff paste on the edge of the dish, and cover with the same; brush it over with egg, and bake it an hour. PARTRIDGE SOUP. Skin two old partridges, and cut them into pieces, with three or four slices of ham, a stick of celery, and three large onions sliced. Fry them all in butter till brown, but take care not to burn them. Then put them into a stewpan, with five pints of boiling water, a few peppercorns, a shank or two of mutton, and a little salt. Stew it gently two hours, strain it through a sieve, and put it again into a stewpan, with some stewed celery and fried bread. When it is near boiling, skim it, pour it into a tureen, and send it up hot. PASTE PUDDINGS. Make a paste of butter and flour, roll it out thin, and spread any kind of jam, or currants over it, with some suet chopped fine. Roll it up together, close the paste at both ends, and boil it in a cloth. PASTRY. An adept in pastry never leaves any part of it adhering to the board or dish, used in making it. It is best when rolled on marble, or a very large slate. In very hot weather, the butter should be put into cold water to make it as firm as possible; and if made early in the morning, and preserved from the air until it is to be baked, the pastry will be found much better. An expert hand will use much less butter and produce lighter crust than others. Good salt butter well washed, will make a fine flaky crust. When preserved fruits are used in pastry, they should not be baked long; and those that have been done with their full proportion of sugar, require no baking at all. The crust should be baked in a tin shape, and the fruit be added afterwards; or it may be put into a small dish or tart pans, and the covers be baked on a tin cut out into any form. PATTIES. Slice some chicken, turkey, or veal, with dressed ham, or sirloin of beef. Add some parsley, thyme, and lemon peel, chopped very fine. Pound all together in a mortar, and season with salt and white pepper. Line the pattipans with puff paste, fill them with meat, lay on the paste, close the edges, cut the paste round, brush it over with egg, and bake the patties twenty minutes. PAVEMENTS. For cleaning stone stairs, and hall pavements, boil together half a pint each of size and stone-blue water, with two table-spoonfuls of whiting, and two cakes of pipe-clay, in about two quarts of water.--Wash the stones over with a flannel slightly wetted in this mixture; and when dry, rub them with a flannel and brush. PAYMENT OF RENT. Rent due for tenements let from year to year, is commonly paid on the four quarter days; and when the payments are regularly made at the quarter, the tenant cannot be deprived of possession at any other time than at the end of a complete year from the commencement of his tenancy. If therefore he took possession at Midsummer, he must quit at Midsummer, and notice thereof must be sent at or before the preceding Christmas. A similar notice is also required from the tenant to the landlord, when it is intended to leave the premises.--Every quarter's rent is deemed a separate debt, for which the landlord can bring a separate action, or distress for nonpayment. The landlord himself is the proper person to demand rent: if he employs another person, he must be duly authorised by power of attorney, clearly specifying the person from whom, and the premises for which the rent is due: or the demand will be insufficient, if the tenant should be inclined to evade payment. The following is the form of a receipt for rent:--'Received of R. C. February 13, 1823, the sum of ten pounds twelve shillings for a quarter's rent, due at Christmas last.' '£10 12 0 J. W. M.' PEA FOWL. These require to be fed the same as turkeys. They are generally so shy, that they are seldom to be found for some days after hatching; and it is very wrong to pursue them, as many ignorant people do, under the idea of bringing them home. It only causes the hen to carry the young ones through dangerous places, and by hurrying she is apt to tread upon them. The cock bird kills all the young chickens he can get at, by one blow on the centre of the head with his bill, and he does the same by his own brood, before the feathers of the crown come out. Nature therefore directs the hen to hide and keep them out of his way, till the feathers rise. PEA POWDER. Pound together in a marble mortar half an ounce each of dried mint and sage, a dram of celery seed, and a quarter of a dram of cayenne, and rub them through a fine sieve. This gives a very savoury relish to pea soup, and to water gruel. A dram of allspice, or black pepper, may be pounded with the above, as an addition, or instead of the cayenne. PEACH WINE. Take peaches, apricots, and nectarines, when they are full of juice, pare them, and take out the stones. Then slice them thin, pour over them from one to two gallons of water, and a quart of white wine. Simmer the whole gently for a considerable time, till the sliced fruit becomes soft. Pour off the liquid part into another vessel, containing more peaches that have been sliced but not heated; let them stand for twelve hours, then pour out the liquid part, and press what remains through a fine hair bag. Let the whole be now put into a cask to ferment, and add a pound and a half of loaf sugar to each gallon. Boil an ounce of beaten cloves in a quart of white wine, and put it into the cask; the morella wine will have a delicious flavour. Wine may be made of apricots by only bruising, and pouring the hot water upon them: this wine does not require so much sweetening. To give it a curious flavour, boil an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of nutmegs, in a quart of white wine; and when the wine is fermenting, pour the liquid in hot. In about twenty days or a month, these wines will be fit for bottling. PEARL BARLEY PUDDING. Cleanse a pound of pearl barley, and put to it three quarts of milk, half a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Bake it in a deep pan, take it out of the oven, and beat up six eggs with it. Then butter a dish, pour in the pudding, and bake it again an hour. PEARLS. To make artificial pearls, take the blay or bleak fish, which is very common in the rivers near London, and scrape off the fine silvery scales from the belly. Wash and rub them in water; let the water settle, and a sediment will be found of an oily consistence. A little of this is to be dropped into a hollow glass bead of a bluish tint, and shaken about, so as to cover all the internal surface. After this the bead is filled up with melted white wax, to give it weight and solidity. PEARS. Large ones, when intended to be kept, should be tied and hung up by the stalk. PEAS. Young green peas, well dressed, are one of the greatest delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. They must be quite young; it is equally indispensable that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon as they are shelled, for they soon lose both their colour and sweetness. Of course they should never be purchased ready shelled. To have them in perfection, they must be gathered the same day that they are dressed, and be put on to boil within half an hour after they are shelled. As large and small peas cannot be boiled together, the small ones should be separated from the rest, by being passed through a riddle or coarse sieve. For a peck of young peas, which will not be more than sufficient for two or three persons, after they are shelled, set on a saucepan with a gallon of water. When it boils, put in the peas with a table-spoonful of salt. Skim it well, keep them quickly boiling from twenty to thirty minutes, according to their age and size. To judge whether they are done enough, take some out with a spoon and taste them, but be careful not to boil them beyond the point of perfection. When slightly indented, and done enough, drain them on a hair sieve. Put them into a pie dish, and lay some small bits of butter on the peas; put another dish over them, and turn them over and over, in order to diffuse the butter equally among them. Or send them to table plain from the saucepan, with melted butter in a sauce tureen. Garnish the dish with a few sprigs of mint, boiled by themselves. PEAS AND BACON. Cut a piece of nice streaked bacon, lay it in water to take out some of the salt, and boil it with some dried peas, in a little water. Add two carrots or parsnips, two onions, and a bunch of sweet herbs. When the peas are done enough, pulp them through a cullender or sieve, and serve them over the bacon. PEAS CULTIVATED. Instead of sowing peas in straight rows, they should be formed into circles of three or four feet diameter, with a space of two feet between each circle. By this means they will blossom nearer the ground, than when enclosed in long rows, and will ripen much sooner. Or if set in straight rows, a bed of ten or twelve feet wide should be left between, for onions and carrots, or any crops which do not grow tall. The peas will not be drawn up so much, but will grow stronger, and be more productive. Scarlet beans should be treated in the same manner. PEAS AND PORK. Two pounds of the belly part of pickled pork will make very good broth for peas soup, if the pork be not too salt. If it has been in salt several days, it must be laid in water the night before it is used. Put on three quarts of soft water, or liquor in which meat has been boiled, with a quart of peas, and let it boil gently for two hours. Then put in the pork, and let it simmer for an hour or more, till it is quite tender. When done, wash the pork clean in hot water, send it up in a dish, or cut into small pieces and put with the soup into the tureen. PEAS PORRIDGE. Boil the peas, and pulp them through a cullender. Heat them up in a saucepan with some butter, chopped parsley and chives, and season with pepper and salt. PEAS PUDDING. Soak the peas an hour or two before they are boiled; and when nearly done, beat them up with salt and pepper, an egg, and a bit of butter. Tie it up in a cloth, and boil it half an hour. PEAS SOUP. Save the liquor of boiled pork or beef: if too salt, dilute it with water, or use fresh water only, adding the bones of roast beef, a ham or gammon bone, or an anchovy or two. Simmer these with some good whole or split peas; the smaller the quantity of water at first the better. Continue to simmer till the peas will pulp through a cullender; then set on the pulp to stew, with more of the liquor that boiled the peas, two carrots, a turnip, a leek, and a stick of chopped celery, till all is quite tender. The last requires less time, an hour will do it. When ready, put into a tureen some fried bread cut into dice, dried mint rubbed fine, pepper and salt if needed, and pour in the soup. When there is plenty of vegetables, no meat is necessary; but if meat be preferred, a pig's foot or ham bone may be boiled with the peas, which is called the stock. More butter than is above mentioned will be necessary, if the soup is required to be very rich. PENCIL DRAWINGS. To prevent chalk or pencil drawings from rubbing out, it is only necessary to lay them on the surface of some skim milk, free from cream and grease; and then taking off the drawing expeditiously, and hanging it up by one corner to dry. A thin wash of isinglass will also answer the same purpose. PEPPER POT. To three quarts of water, put any approved vegetables; in summer, peas, lettuce, spinach, and two or three onions; in winter, carrot, turnip, onions, and celery. Cut them very small, and stew them with two pounds of neck of mutton, and a pound of pickled pork. Half an hour before serving, clear a lobster or crab from the shell, and put it into the stew, adding a little salt and cayenne. Some people choose very small suet dumplings, boiled in the above, or fowl may be used instead of mutton. A pepper pot may indeed be made of various things, and is understood to consist of a proper mixture of fish, flesh, fowl, vegetables, and pulse. A small quantity of rice should be boiled with the whole. PEPPERMINT DROPS. Pound and sift four ounces of double-refined sugar, and beat it with the whites of two eggs till perfectly smooth. Then add sixty drops of oil of peppermint; beat it well, drop it on white paper, and dry it at a distance from the fire. PERCH. When of a good size, as in Holland, they are a remarkably fine fresh-water fish, though not so delicate as carp or tench. Clean them carefully, and if to be boiled, put them into a fish-kettle, with as much cold spring water as will cover them, and add a handful of salt. Set them on a quick fire till they boil, and then place them on one side to boil gently for about ten minutes, according to their size. If to be fried, wipe them on a dry cloth, after they have been well cleaned and washed, and flour them lightly all over. Fry them about ten minutes in hot lard or dripping, lay them on a hair sieve to drain, and send them up on a hot dish. Garnish with sprigs of green parsley, and serve them with anchovy sauce. PERFUMERY. Oil of lavender and other essences are frequently adulterated with a mixture of the oil of turpentine, which may be discovered by dipping a piece of paper or rag into the oil to be tried, and holding it to the fire. The fine scented oil will quickly evaporate, and leave the smell of the turpentine distinguishable, if the essence has been adulterated with this ingredient. PERMANENT INK. This useful article for marking linen is composed of nitrate of silver, or lunar caustic, and the tincture or infusion of galls; in the proportion of one dram of the former in a dry state, to two drams of the latter. The linen, cotton, or other fabric, must be first wetted with the following liquid; namely, an ounce of the salt of tartar, dissolved in an ounce and a half of water; and must be perfectly dry before any attempt is made to write upon it. PETTITOES. Boil them very gently in a small quantity of water, along with the liver and the heart. Then cut the meat fine, split the feet, and simmer them till they are quite tender. Thicken with a bit of butter, a little flour, a spoonful of cream, and a little pepper and salt. Give it a boil up, pour the liquor over a sippets of bread, and place the feet on the mince. PEWTER AND TIN. Dish covers and pewter requisites should be wiped dry immediately after being used, and kept free from steam or damp, which would prevent much of the trouble in cleaning them. Where the polish is gone off, let the articles be first rubbed on the outside with a little sweet oil laid on a piece of soft linen cloth. Then clear it off with pure whitening on linen cloths, which will restore the polish. PHEASANTS. The cock bird is reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. If young, its spurs are short and blunt; but if old, they are long and sharp. A large pheasant will require three quarters of an hour to boil; if small, half an hour. If for roasting, it should be done the same as a turkey. Serve it up with a fine gravy, including a very small piece of garlic, and bread sauce or fried bread crumbs instead. When cold the meat may be made into excellent patties, but its flavour should not be overpowered with lemon. For the manner of trussing a pheasant or partridge, see Plate. PHOSPHORIC MATCH BOTTLE. Two thirds of calcined oyster shells, and one third of sulphur, put into a hot crucible for an hour, and afterwards exposed to the air for half an hour, become phosphorus. This is put into a bottle, and when used to procure a light, a very small quantity is taken out on the point of a common match, and rubbed upon a cork, which produces an immediate flame. If a small piece of phosphorus be put into a vial, and a little boiling oil poured upon it, a luminous bottle will be formed; for on taking out the cork, to admit the atmospheric air, the empty space in the vial will become luminous; and if the bottle be well closed, it will preserve its illuminative power for several months. PICKLE. For hams, tongues, or beef, a pickle may be made that will keep for years, if boiled and skimmed as often as it is used. Provide a deep earthen glazed pan that will hold four gallons, having a cover that will fit close. Put into it two gallons of spring water, two pounds of coarse sugar, two pounds of bay salt, two pounds and a half of common salt, and half a pound of salt petre. Keep the beef or hams as long as they will bear, before they are put into the pickle; sprinkle them with coarse sugar in a pan, and let them drain. Then rub them well with the pickle, and pack them in close, putting as much as the pan will hold, so that the pickle may cover them. The pickle is not to be boiled at first. A small ham may be fourteen days, a large one three weeks, a tongue twelve days, and beef in proportion to its size. They will eat well out of the pickle without drying. When they are to be dried, let each be drained over the pan; and when it will drop no longer, take a clean sponge and dry it thoroughly. Six or eight hours will smoke them, and there should be only a little saw-dust and wet straw used for this purpose; but if put into a baker's chimney, they should be sown up in a coarse cloth, and hang a week. PICKLES. The free or frequent use of pickles is by no means to be recommended, where any regard is paid to health. In general they are the mere vehicles for taking a certain portion of vinegar and spice, and in the crisp state in which they are most admired are often indigestible, and of course pernicious. The pickle made to preserve cucumbers and mangoes, is generally so strongly impregnated with garlic, mustard, and spice, that the original flavour of the vegetable, is quite overpowered, and the vegetable itself becomes the mere absorbent of these foreign ingredients. But if pickles must still be regarded for the sake of the palate, whatever becomes of the stomach, it will be necessary to watch carefully the proper season for gathering and preparing the various articles intended to be preserved. Frequently it happens, after the first week that walnuts come in season, that they become hard and shelled, especially if the weather be hot and dry; it is therefore necessary to purchase them as soon as they first appear at market; or in the course of a few months after being pickled, the nuts may be found incased in an impenetrable shell. The middle of July is generally the proper time to look for green walnuts. Nasturtiums are to be had about the same. Garlic and shalots, from Midsummer to Michaelmas. Onions of various kinds for pickling, are in season by the middle of July, and for a month after. Gherkins, cucumbers, melons, and mangoes, are to be had by the middle of July, and for a month after. Green, red, and yellow capsicums, the end of July, and following month. Chilies, tomatas, cauliflowers, and artichokes, towards the end of July, and throughout August. Jerusalem artichokes for pickling, July and August, and for three months after. French beans and radish pods, in July. Mushrooms, for pickling and for ketchup, in September. Red cabbage, and samphire, in August. White cabbage, in September and October. Horseradish, November and December.--Pickles, when put down, require to be kept with great care, closely covered. When wanted for use they should be taken out of the jar with a wooden spoon, pierced with holes, the use of metal in this case being highly improper. Pickles should be well kept from the air, and seldom opened. Small jars should be kept for those more frequently in use, that what is not eaten may be returned into the jar, and the top kept closely covered. In preparing vinegar for pickles, it should not be boiled in metal saucepans, but in a stone jar, on a hot hearth, as the acid will dissolve or corrode the metal, and infuse into the pickle an unwholesome ingredient. For the same reason pickles should never be put into glazed jars, as salt and vinegar will penetrate the glaze, and render it poisonous. PICKLED ASPARAGUS. Cut some asparagus, and lay it in an earthen pot. Make a brine of salt and water, strong enough to bear an egg; pour it hot on the asparagus, and let it be closely covered. When it is to be used, lay it for two hours in cold water; boil and serve it up on a toast, with melted butter over it. If to be used as a pickle, boil it as it comes out of the brine, and lay it in vinegar. PICKLED BACON. For two tolerable flitches, dry a stone of salt over the fire, till it is scalding hot. Beat fine two ounces of saltpetre, and two pounds of bay salt well dried, and mix them with some of the heated salt. Rub the bacon first with that, and then with the rest; put it into a tub, and keep it close from the air. PICKLED BEET ROOT. Boil the roots till three parts done, or set them into a cool oven till they are softened. Cut them into slices of an inch thick, cover them with vinegar, adding some allspice, a few cloves, a little mace, black pepper, horseradish sliced, some onions, shalots, a little pounded ginger, and some salt. Boil these ingredients together twenty minutes, and when cold, add to them a little bruised cochineal. Put the slices of beet into jars, pour the pickle upon them, and tie the jars down close. PICKLED CABBAGE. Slice a hard red cabbage into a cullender, and sprinkle each layer with salt. Let it drain two days, then put it into a jar, cover it with boiling vinegar, and add a few slices of red beet-root. The purple red cabbage makes the finest colour. Those who like the flavour of spice, will boil some with the vinegar. Cauliflower cut in branches, and thrown in after being salted, will look of a beautiful red. PICKLED CARROTS. Half boil some middle sized yellowish carrots, cut them into any shape, and let them cool. Take as much vinegar as will cover them, boil it with a little salt, and a pennyworth of saffron tied in a piece of muslin. Put the carrots into a jar; when the pickle is cold, pour it upon them, and cover the jar close. Let it stand all night, then pour off the pickle, and boil it with Jamaica pepper, mace, cloves, and a little salt. When cold, pour it upon the carrots, and tie them up for use. PICKLED CUCUMBERS. Cut them into thick slices, and sprinkle salt over them. Next day drain them for five or six hours, then put them into a stone jar, pour boiling vinegar over them, and keep them in a warm place. Repeat the boiling vinegar, and stop them up again instantly, and so on till quite green. Then add peppercorns and ginger, and keep them in small stone jars. Cucumbers are best pickled with sliced onions. PICKLED GHERKINS. Select some sound young cucumbers, spread them on dishes, salt and let them lie a week. Drain and put them in a jar, pouring boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the fire, covered with plenty of vine leaves. If they do not come to a tolerably good green, pour the vinegar into another jar, set it on a hot hearth, and when the vinegar boils, pour it over them again, and cover them with fresh leaves. Repeat this operation as often as is necessary, to bring the pickle to a good colour. Too many persons have made pickles of a very fine green, by using brass or bellmetal kettles; but as this is highly poisonous, the practice ought never to be attempted. PICKLED HAM. After it has been a week in the pickle, boil a pint of vinegar, with two ounces of bay salt. Pour it hot on the ham, and baste it every day; it may then remain in the brine two or three weeks. PICKLED HERRING. Procure them as fresh as possible, split them open, take off the heads, and trim off all the thin parts. Put them into salt and water for one hour, drain and wipe the fish, and put them into jars, with the following preparation, which is enough for six dozen herrings. Take salt and bay salt one pound each, saltpetre and lump sugar two ounces each, and powder and mix the whole together. Put a layer of the mixture at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of fish with the skin side downwards; so continue alternately till the jar is full. Press it down, and cover it close: in two or three months they will be fit for use. PICKLED LEMONS. They should be small, and with thick rinds. Rub them with a piece of flannel, and slit them half down in four quarters, but not through to the pulp. Fill the openings with salt hard pressed in, set them upright in a pan for four or five days, until the salt melts, and turn them thrice a day in their own liquor till quite tender. Make enough pickle to cover them, of rape vinegar, the brine of the lemons, peppercorns, and ginger. Boil and skim it; when cold put it to the lemons, with two ounces of mustard seed, and two cloves of garlic to six lemons. When the lemons are to be used, the pickle will be useful in fish or other sauces. PICKLED MACKAREL. Clean and divide the fish, and cut each side into three; or leave them undivided, and cut each side into five or six pieces. To six large mackarel, take nearly an ounce of pepper, two nutmegs, a little mace, four cloves, and a handful of salt, all finely powdered. Mix them together, make holes in each bit of fish, put the seasoning into them, and rub some of it over each piece. Fry them brown in oil, and when cold put them into a stone jar, and cover them with vinegar. Thus prepared, they will keep for months; and if to be kept longer, pour oil on the top. Mackarel preserved this way are called Caveach. A more common way is to boil the mackarel after they are cleaned, and then to boil up some of the liquor with a few peppercorns, bay leaves, and a little vinegar; and when the fish is cold, the liquor is poured over them. Collared mackarel are prepared the same way as collared eel. PICKLED MELONS. Take six melons, cut a slice out of them, and scrape out the seeds and pulp quite clean. Put them into a tin stewpan with as much water as will cover them; add a small handful of salt, and boil them over a quick fire. When they boil take them off the fire, put them into an earthen pan with the water, and let them stand till the next day. The melons must then be taken out and wiped dry, both within and without. Put two small cloves of garlic into each, a little bit of ginger, and bruised mustard seed, enough to fill them. Replace the slice that was cut out, and tie it on with a thread. Boil some cloves, mace, ginger, pepper, and mustard seed, all bruised, and some garlic, in as much vinegar as will cover them. After a little boiling, pour the whole, boiling-hot, upon the melons. They must be quite covered with the pickle, and tied down close, when cold, with a bladder and leather. They will not be fit for use in less than three or four months, and will keep two or three years. PICKLED MUSHROOMS. Rub the buttons with a piece of flannel, and salt. Take out the red inside of the larger ones, and when old and black they will do for pickling. Throw some salt over, and put them into a stewpan with mace and pepper. As the liquor comes out, shake them well, and keep them over a gentle fire till all of it be dried into them again. Then put as much vinegar into the pan as will cover them, give it one warm, and turn all into a glass or stone jar. Mushrooms pickled in this way will preserve their flavour, and keep for two years. PICKLED NASTURTIUM. Take the buds fresh off the plants when they are pretty large, but before they grow hard, and put them into some of the best white wine vinegar, boiled up with such spices as are most agreeable. Keep them in a bottle closely stopped, and they will be fit for use in a week or ten days. PICKLED ONIONS. In the month of September, choose the small white round onions, take off the brown skin, have ready a very nice tin stewpan of boiling water, and throw in as many onions as will cover the top. As soon as they look clear on the outside, take them up with a slice as quick as possible, and lay them on a clean cloth. Cover them close with another cloth, and scald some more, and so on. Let them lie to be cold, then put them in a jar or wide-mouthed glass bottles, and pour over them the best white-wine vinegar, just hot, but not boiling, and cover them when cold. They must look quite clear; and if the outer skin be shriveled, peel it off. PICKLED OYSTERS. Open four dozen large oysters, wash them in their own liquor, wipe them dry, and strain off the liquor. Add a dessert-spoonful of pepper, two blades of mace, a table-spoonful of salt, if the liquor require it; then add three spoonfuls of white wine, and four of vinegar. Simmer the oysters a few minutes in the liquor, then put them into small jars, boil up the pickle, and skim it. When cold, pour the liquor over the oysters, and cover them close.--Another way. Open the oysters, put them into a saucepan with their own liquor for ten minutes, and simmer them very gently. Put them into a jar one by one, that none of the grit may stick to them; and when cold, cover them with the pickle thus made. Boil the liquor with a bit of mace, lemon peel, and black peppers; and to every hundred of these corns, put two spoonfuls of the best undistilled vinegar. The pickle should be kept in small jars, and tied close with bladder, for the air will spoil them. PICKLED PIGEONS. Bone them, turn the inside out, and lard it. Season with a little salt and allspice in fine powder; then turn them again, and tie the neck and rump with thread. Put them into boiling water; when they have boiled a minute or two to make them plump, take them out and dry them well. Then put them boiling hot into the pickle, which must be made of equal quantities of white wine and white-wine vinegar, with white pepper and allspice, sliced ginger and nutmeg, and two or three bay leaves. When it boils up, put in the pigeons. If they are small, a quarter of an hour will do them; if large, twenty minutes. Then take them out, wipe them, and let them cool. When the pickle is cold, take the fat from it, and put them in again. Keep them in a stone jar, tied down with a bladder to keep out the air. Instead of larding, put into some a stuffing made of yolks of eggs boiled hard, and marrow in equal quantities, with sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and mace. PICKLED PORK. The hams and shoulders being cut off, take for pickling the quantities proportioned to the middlings of a pretty large hog. Mix and pound fine, four ounces of salt petre, a pound of coarse sugar, an ounce of salprunel, and a little common salt. Sprinkle the pork with salt, drain it twenty four hours, and then rub it with the above mixture. Pack the pieces tight in a small deep tub, filling up the spaces with common salt. Place large pebbles on the pork, to prevent it from swimming in the pickle which the salt will produce. If kept from the air it will continue very fine for two years. PICKLED ROSES. Take two pecks of damask rose buds, pick off the green part, and strew in the bottom of a jar a handful of large bay salt. Put in half the roses, and strew a little more bay salt upon them. Strip from the stalk a handful of knotted marjoram, a handful of lemon thyme, and as much common thyme. Take six pennyworth of benjamin, as much of storax, six orris roots, and a little suet; beat and bruise them all together, and mix them with the stripped herbs. Add twenty cloves, a grated nutmeg, the peel of two Seville oranges pared thin, and of one lemon shred fine. Mix them with the herbs and spices, strew all on the roses, and stir them once in two days till the jar is full. More sweets need not be added, but only roses, orange flowers, or single pinks. PICKLED SALMON. After scaling and cleaning, split the salmon, and divide it into convenient pieces. Lay it in the kettle to fill the bottom, and as much water as will cover it. To three quarts add a pint of vinegar, a handful of salt, twelve bay-leaves, six blades of mace, and a quarter of an ounce of black pepper. When the salmon is boiled enough, drain and lay it on a clean cloth; then put more salmon into the kettle, and pour the liquor upon it, and so on till all is done. After this, if the pickle be not smartly flavoured with the vinegar and salt, add more, and boil it quick three quarters of an hour. When all is cold, pack the dish in a deep pot, well covered with the pickle, and kept from the air. The liquor must be drained from the fish, and occasionally boiled and skimmed. PICKLED SAMPHIRE. Clear the branches of the samphire from the dead leaves, and lay them into a large jar, or small cask. Make a strong brine of white or bay salt, skim it clean while it is boiling, and when done let it cool. Take the samphire out of the water, and put it into a bottle with a broad mouth. Add some strong white-wine vinegar, and keep it well covered down. PICKLED STURGEON. The following is an excellent imitation of pickled sturgeon. Take a fine large turkey, but not old; pick it very nicely, singe, and make it extremely clean. Bone and wash it, and tie it across and across with a piece of mat string washed clean. Put into a very nice tin saucepan a quart of water, a quart of vinegar, a quart of white wine, not sweet, and a large handful of salt. Boil and skim it well, and then boil the turkey. When done enough, tighten the strings, and lay upon it a dish with a weight of two pounds over it. Boil the liquor half an hour; and when both are cold, put the turkey into it. This will keep some months, and eats more delicately than sturgeon. Vinegar, oil, and sugar, are usually eaten with it. If more vinegar or salt should be wanted, add them when cold. Garnish with fennel. PICKLED TONGUES. To prepare neats' tongues for boiling, cut off the roots, but leave a little of the kernel and fat. Sprinkle some salt, and let it drain from the slime till next day. Then for each tongue mix a large spoonful of common salt, the same of coarse sugar and about half as much of salt petre; rub it in well, and do so every day. In a week add another spoonful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be ready in a fortnight; but if only turned in the pickle daily, it will keep four or five weeks without being too salt. When tongues are to be dried, write the date on a parchment, and tie it on. Tongues may either be smoked, or dried plain. When a tongue is to be dressed, boil it five hours till it is quite tender. If done sooner, it is easily kept hot for the table. The longer it is kept after drying, the higher it will be; and if hard, it may require soaking three or four hours.--Another way. Clean and prepare as above; and for two tongues allow an ounce of salt petre, and an ounce of salprunella, and rub them in well. In two days after well rubbing, cover them with common salt, turn them every day for three weeks, then dry them, rub bran over, and smoke them. Keep them in a cool dry place, and in ten days they will be fit to eat. PICKLED WALNUTS. When they will bear a pin to go into them, boil a brine of salt and water, strong enough to swim an egg, and skim it well. When the brine is quite cold, pour it on the walnuts, and let them soak for six days. Change the brine, and let them stand six more; then drain and put them into a jar, pouring over them a sufficient quantity of the best vinegar. Add plenty of black pepper, pimento, ginger, mace, cloves, mustard seed, and horseradish, all boiled together, but put on cold. To every hundred of walnuts put six spoonfuls of mustard seed, and two or three heads of garlic or shalot, but the latter is the mildest. The walnuts will be fit for use in about six months; but if closely covered, they will be good for several years: the air will soften them. The pickle will be equal to ketchup, when the walnuts are used.--Another way. Put the walnuts into a jar, cover them with the best vinegar cold, and let them stand four months. Then, pour off the pickle, and boil as much fresh vinegar as will cover the walnuts, adding to every three quarts of vinegar a quarter of a pound of the best mustard, a stick of horseradish sliced, half an ounce of black pepper, half an ounce of allspice, and a good handful of salt. Pour the whole boiling hot upon the walnuts, and cover them close: they will be fit for use in three or four months. Two ounces of garlic or shalot may be added, but must not be boiled in the vinegar. The pickle in which the walnuts stood the first four months, may be used as ketchup. PICTURES. The following simple method of preventing flies from sitting on pictures, or any other furniture, is well experienced, and if generally adopted, would prevent much trouble and damage. Soak a large bunch of leeks five or six days in a pail of water, and wash the pictures with it, or any other piece of furniture. The flies will never come near any thing that is so washed. PIE SAUCE. Mix some gravy with an anchovy, a sprig of sweet herbs, an onion, and a little mushroom liquor. Boil and thicken it with butter rolled in flour, add a little red wine, and pour the sauce into the pie. This serves for mutton, lamb, veal, or beef pies, when such an addition is required. PIES AND TARTS. Attention should be paid to the heat of the oven for all kinds of pies and tarts. Light paste should be put into a moderate oven: if too hot the crust will not rise, but burn: if too slack, the paste will be heavy, and not of a good colour. Raised paste should have a quick oven, and well closed. Iced tarts should be done in a slack oven, or the iceing will become brown before the tarts are baked. PIGEONS. In order to breed pigeons, it is best to take two young ones at a time; and if well looked after, and plentifully fed, they will breed every month. They should be kept very clean, and the bottom of the dove-cote be strewed with sand once a month or oftener. Tares and white peas are their proper food, and they should be provided with plenty of fresh water. Starlings and other birds are apt to come among them, and suck the eggs. Vermin likewise are their enemies, and frequently destroy them. If the brood should be too small, put among them a few tame pigeons of their own colour. Observe not to have too large a proportion of cock birds, for they are quarrelsome, and will soon thin the dove-cote. Pigeons are fond of salt, and it keeps them in health. Lay a large piece of clay near their dwelling, and pour upon it any of the salt brine that may be useless in the family. Bay salt and cummin seeds mixed together, is a universal remedy for the diseases of pigeons. The backs and breasts are sometimes scabby, but may be cured in the following manner. Take a quarter of a pound of bay salt, and as much common salt; a pound of fennel seed, a pound of dill seed, as much cummin seed, and an ounce of assafoetida; mix all with a little wheat flour, and some fine wrought clay. When all are well beaten together, put it into two earthen pots, and bake them in the oven. When the pots are cold, put them on the table in the dove-cote; the pigeons will eat the mixture and get well. PIGEONS DRESSED. These birds are particularly useful, as they may be dressed in so many ways. The good flavour of them depends very much on their being cropped and drawn as soon as killed. No other bird requires so much washing. Pigeons left from dinner the day before may be stewed, or made into a pie. In either case, care must be taken not to overdo them, which will make them stringy. They need only be heated up in gravy ready prepared; and forcemeat balls may be fried and added, instead of putting a stuffing into them. If for a pie, let beef steaks be stewed in a little water, and put cold under them. Cover each pigeon with a piece of fat bacon to keep them moist, season as usual, and put in some eggs.--In purchasing pigeons, be careful to see that they are quite fresh: if they look flabby about the vent, and that part is discoloured, they are stale. The feet should be supple: if old the feet are harsh. The tame ones are larger than the wild, and by some they are thought to be the best. They should be fat and tender; but many are deceived in their size, because a full crop is as large as the whole body of a small pigeon. The wood-pigeon is large, and the flesh dark coloured: if properly kept, and not over roasted, the flavour is equal to teal. PIGEONS IN DISGUISE. Draw the pigeons, take out the craw very carefully, wash them clean, cut off the pinions, and turn their legs under their wings. Season them with pepper and salt, roll each pigeon in a puff paste, close them well, tie them in separate cloths, and boil them an hour and a half. When they are untied be careful they do not break; put them in a dish, and pour a little good gravy over them. PIGEONS IN A HOLE. Truss four young pigeons, as for boiling, and season them with pepper, salt, and mace. Put into the belly of each a small piece of butter, lay them in a pie dish, and pour batter over them, made of three eggs, two spoonfuls of flour, and half a pint of milk. Bake them in a moderate oven, and send them to table in the same dish. PIGEONS IN JELLY. Save some of the liquor in which a knuckle of veal has been boiled, or boil a calf's or a neat's foot; put the broth into a pan with a blade of mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, some white pepper, lemon peel, a slice of lean bacon, and the pigeons. Bake them, and let them stand to be cold; but season them before baking. When done, take them out of the liquor, cover them close to preserve the colour, and clear the jelly by boiling it with the whites of two eggs. Strain it through a thick cloth dipped in boiling water, and put into a sieve. The fat must be all removed, before it be cleared. Put the jelly roughly over and round the pigeons.--A beautiful dish may be made in the following manner. Pick two very nice pigeons, and make them look as well as possible by singeing, washing, and cleaning the heads well. Leave the heads and the feet on, but the nails must be clipped close to the claws. Roast them of a very nice brown; and when done, put a small sprig of myrtle into the bill of each. Prepare a savoury jelly, and with it half fill a bowl of such a size as shall be proper to turn down on the dish intended for serving in. When the jelly and the birds are cold, see that no gravy hangs to the birds, and then lay them upside down in the jelly. Before the rest of it begins to set, pour it over the birds, so as to be three inches above the feet. This should be done full twenty four hours before serving. The dish thus prepared will have a very handsome appearance in the mid range of a second coarse; or when served with the jelly roughed large, it makes a side or corner dish, being then of a smaller size. The head of the pigeons should be kept up, as if alive, by tying the neck with some thread, and the legs bent as if the birds sat upon them. PIGEON PIE. Rub the pigeons with pepper and salt, inside and out. Put in a bit of butter, and if approved, some parsley chopped with the livers, and a little of the same seasoning. Lay a beef steak at the bottom of the dish, and the birds on it; between every two, a hard egg. Put a cup of water in the dish; and if a thin slice or two of ham be added, it will greatly improve the flavour. When ham is cut for gravy or pies, the under part should be taken, rather than the prime. Season the gizzards, and two joints of the wings, and place them in the centre of the pie. Over them, in a hole made in the crust, put three of the feet nicely cleaned, to show what pie it is. PIG'S CHEEK. To prepare a pig's cheek for boiling, cut off the snout, and clean the head. Divide it, take out the eyes and the brains, sprinkle the head with salt, and let it drain twenty-four hours. Salt it with common salt and saltpetre; and if to be dressed without being stewed with peas, let it lie eight or ten days, but less if to be dressed with peas. It must first be washed, and then simmered till all is tender. PIG'S FEET AND EARS. Clean them carefully, soak them some hours, and boil them quite tender. Then take them out, and boil a little salt and vinegar with some of the liquor, and pour it over them when cold. When to be dressed, dry them, cut the feet in two, and slice the ears. Fry them, and serve with butter, mustard, and vinegar. They may be either done in batter, or only floured. PIG'S FEET AND EARS FRICASSEED. If to be dressed with cream, put no vinegar into the pickle. Cut the feet and ears into neat bits, and boil them in a little milk. Pour the liquor from them, and simmer in a little veal broth, with a bit of onion, mace, and lemon peel. Before the dish is served up, add a little cream, flour, butter, and salt. PIG'S FEET JELLY. Clean the feet and ears very carefully, and soak them some hours. Then boil them in a very small quantity of water, till every bone can be taken out. Throw in half a handful of chopped sage, the same of parsley, and a seasoning of pepper, salt, and mace in fine powder. Simmer till the herbs are scalded, and then pour the whole into a melon form. PIG'S HARSLET. Wash and dry some liver, sweetbreads, and fat and lean bits of pork, beating the latter with a rolling-pin to make it tender. Season with pepper, salt, sage, and a little onion shred fine. When mixed, put all into a cawl, and fasten it up tight with a needle and thread. Roast it on a hanging jack, or by a string. Serve with a sauce of port wine and water, and mustard, just boiled up, and put into the dish. Or serve it in slices with parsley for a fry. PIG'S HEAD COLLARED. Scour the head and ears nicely, take off the hair and snout, and remove the eyes and the brain. Lay the head into water one night, then drain it, salt it extremely well with common salt and saltpetre, and let it lie five days. Boil it enough to take out the bones, then lay it on a dresser, turning the thick end of one side of the head towards the thin end of the other, to make the roll of equal size. Sprinkle it well with salt and white pepper, and roll it with the ears. The pig's feet may also be placed round the outside when boned, or the thin parts of two cow heels, if approved. Put it in a cloth, bind it with a broad tape, and boil it till quite tender. Place a good weight upon it, and do not remove the covering till the meat is cold. If the collar is to be more like brawn, salt it longer, add a larger proportion of saltpetre, and put in also some pieces of lean pork. Then cover it with cow heel to make it look like the horn. This may be kept in a pickle of boiled salt and water, or out of pickle with vinegar: it will be found a very convenient article to have in the house. If likely to spoil, slice and fry it, either with or without batter. PIG SAUCE. Take a tea-spoonful of white gravy, a small piece of anchovy, with the gravy from the roasting of the pig, and mix the brains with it when chopped. Add a quarter of a pound of butter, a little flour to thicken it, a slice of lemon, and a little salt. Shake it over the fire, and put it hot into the dish. Good sauce may also be made by putting some of the bread and sage, which has been roasted in the pig, into good beef gravy, and adding the brains to it. PILAU. Stew a pound of rice in white gravy till it is tender. Half boil a well grown fowl, then lay it into a baking dish with some pepper and salt strewed over it. Lay truffles, morels, mushrooms, hard eggs, or forcemeat balls, any or all of them round it at pleasure; put a little gravy into the dish, and spread the rice over the whole like a paste. Bake it gently, till the fowl is done enough. If it seem dry, cut a hole carefully at the top, and pour in some white gravy, made pretty warm, before it is sent to table. Partridges or pheasants are very nice, dressed the same way. PILCHARD PIE. Soak two or three salted pilchards for some hours, the day before they are to be dressed. Clean and skin the white part of some large leeks, scald them in milk and water, and put them in layers into a dish, with the pilchards. Cover the whole with a good plain crust. When the pie is taken out of the oven, lift up the side crust with a knife, and empty out all the liquor: then pour in half a pint of scalded cream. PILE OINTMENT. Cut some green shoots of elder early in the spring, clear away the bark, and put two good handfuls into a quart of thick cream. Boil it till it comes to an ointment, and as it rises take it off with a spoon, and be careful to prevent its burning. Strain the ointment through a fine cloth, and keep it for use. PILES. If this complaint be occasioned by costiveness, proper attention must be paid to that circumstance; but if it originate from weakness, strong purgatives must be avoided. The part affected should be bathed twice a day with a sponge dipped in cold water, and the bowels regulated by the mildest laxatives. An electuary, consisting of one ounce of sulphur, and half an ounce of cream of tartar, mixed with a sufficient quantity of treacle, may be taken three or four times a day. The patient would also find relief by sitting over the steam of warm water. A useful liniment for this disorder may be made of two ounces of emollient ointment, and half an ounce of laudanum. Mix them with the yolk of an egg, and work them well together. PILLS. Opening pills may be made of two drams of Castile soap, and two drams of succotrine aloes, mixed with a sufficient quantity of common syrup. Or when aloes will not agree with the patient, take two drams of the extract of jalap, two drams of vitriolated tartar, and as much syrup of ginger as will form them of a proper consistence for pills. Four or five of these pills will generally prove a sufficient purge; and for keeping the body gently open, one may be taken night and morning.--Composing pills may consist of ten grains of purified opium, and half a dram of Castile soap, beaten together, and formed into twenty parts. When a quieting draught will not sit upon the stomach, one or two of these pills may be taken to great advantage.--Pills for the jaundice may be made of one dram each of Castile soap, succotrine aloes, and rhubarb, mixed up with a sufficient quantity of syrup. Five or six of these pills taken twice a day, more or less, to keep the body open, with the assistance of a proper diet, will often effect a cure. PIPERS. Boil or bake them with a pudding well seasoned. If baked, put a large cup of rich broth into the dish; and when done, boil up together for sauce, the broth, some essence of anchovy, and a squeeze of lemon. PIPPIN PUDDING. Coddle six pippins in vine leaves covered with water, very gently, that the inside may be done without breaking the skins. When soft, take off the skin, and with a tea-spoon take the pulp from the core. Press it through a cullender, add two spoonfuls of orange-flower water, three eggs beaten, a glass of raisin wine, a pint of scalding cream, sugar and nutmeg to taste. Lay a thin puff paste at the bottom and sides of the dish; shred some very thin lemon peel as fine as possible, and put it into the dish; likewise lemon, orange, and citron, in small slices, but not so thin as to dissolve in the baking. PIPPIN TARTS. Pare two seville or china oranges quite thin, boil the peel tender and shred it fine. Pare and core twenty pippins, put them in a stewpan, with as little water as possible. When half done, add half a pound of sugar, the orange peel and juice, and boil all together till it is pretty thick. When cold, put it in a shallow dish, or pattipans lined with paste, to turn out, and be eaten cold. PISTACHIO CREAM. Blanch four ounces of pistachio nuts, beat them fine with a little rose-water, and add the paste to a pint of cream. Sweeten it, let it just boil, and then put it into glasses. PISTACHIO TART. Shell and peel half a pound of pistachio nuts, beat them very fine in a marble mortar, and work into them a piece of fresh butter. Add to this a quarter of a pint of cream, or of the juice of beet leaves, extracted by pounding them in a marble mortar, and then draining off the juice through a piece of muslin. Grate in two macarones, add the yolks of two eggs, a little salt, and sugar to the taste. Bake it lightly with a puff crust under it, and some little ornaments on the top. Sift some fine sugar over, before it is sent to table. PLAICE. The following is an excellent way of dressing a large plaice, especially if there be a roe. Sprinkle it with salt, and keep it twenty four hours. Then wash, and wipe it dry, smear it over with egg, and cover it with crumbs of bread. Boil up some lard or fine dripping, with two large spoonfuls of vinegar; lay in the fish, and fry it of a fine colour. Drain off the fat, serve it with fried parsley laid round, and anchovy sauce. The fish may be dipped in vinegar, instead of putting vinegar in the pan. PLAIN BREAD PUDDING. Prepare five ounces of bread crumbs, put them in a basin, pour three quarters of a pint of boiling milk over them, put a plate over the top to keep in the steam, and let it stand twenty minutes. Then beat it up quite smooth, with two ounces of sugar, and a little nutmeg. Break four eggs on a plate, leaving out one white, beat them well, and add them to the pudding. Stir it all well together, put it into a mould that has been well buttered and floured, tie a cloth tight over it, and boil it an hour. PLAIN CHEESECAKES. Three quarters of a pound of cheese curd, and a quarter of a pound of butter, beat together in a mortar. Add a quarter of a pound of fine bread soaked in milk, three eggs, six ounces of currants well washed and picked, sugar to the taste, a little candied orange peel, and a little sack. Bake them in a puff crust in a quick oven. PLAIN FRITTERS. Grate a fine penny loaf into a pint of milk, beat it smooth, add the yolks of five eggs, three ounces of fine sugar, and a little nutmeg. Fry them in hog's lard, and serve them up with melted butter and sugar. PLAIN PEAS SOUP. The receipts too generally given for peas are so much crowded with ingredients, that they entirely overpower the flavour of the peas. Nothing more is necessary to plain good soup, than a quart of split peas, two heads of celery, and an onion. Boil all together in three quarts of broth or soft water; let them simmer gently on a trivet over a slow fire for three hours, and keep them stirring, to prevent burning at the bottom of the kettle. If the water boils away, and the soup gets too thick, add some boiling water to it. When the peas are well softened, work them through a coarse sieve, and then through a tammis. Wash out the stewpan, return the soup into it, and give it a boil up; take off any scum that rises, and the soup is ready. Prepare some fried bread and dried mint, and send them up with it on two side dishes. This is an excellent family soup, produced with very little trouble or expense, the two quarts not exceeding the charge of one shilling. Half a dram of bruised celery seed, and a little sugar, added just before finishing the soup, will give it as much flavour as two heads of the fresh vegetable. PLAIN RICE PUDDING. Wash and pick some rice, scatter among it some pimento finely powdered, but not too much. Tie up the rice in a cloth, and leave plenty of room for it to swell. Boil it in a good quantity of water for an hour or two, and serve it with butter and sugar, or milk. Lemon peel may be added to the pudding, but it is very good without spice, and may be eaten with butter and salt. PLANTING. In rendering swampy ground useful, nothing is so well adapted as planting it with birch or alder, which grows spontaneously on bogs and swamps, a kind of soil which otherwise would produce nothing but weeds and rushes. The wood of the alder is particularly useful for all kinds of machinery, for pipes, drains, and pump trees, as it possesses the peculiar quality of resisting injury from wet and weather. The bark is also highly valuable to black dyers, who purchase it at a good price; and it is much to be lamented that the properties of this useful tree are not duly appreciated. PLANTATIONS. Young plantations are liable to great injury, by being barked in the winter season. To prevent this, take a quantity of grease, scent it with a little tar, and mix them well together. Brush it round the stems of young trees, as high at least as hares and rabbits can reach, and it will effectually prevent their being barked by these animals. Tar must not be used alone, for when exposed to the sun and air, it becomes hard and binding, and hinders the growth of the plantation. Grease will not have this effect, and the scent of the tar is highly obnoxious to hares and rabbits. PLASTERS. Common plaster is made of six pints of olive oil, and two pounds and a half of litharge finely powdered. A smaller quantity may of course be made of equal proportions. Boil them together over a gentle fire, in about a gallon of water, and keep the ingredients constantly stirring. After they have boiled about three hours, a little of the salve may be taken out, and put into cold water. When of a proper consistence, the whole may be suffered to cool, and the water pressed out of it with the hands. This will serve as a basis for other plasters, and is generally applied in slight wounds and excoriations of the skin. It keeps the part warm and supple, and defends it from the air, which is all that is necessary in such cases.--Adhesive plaster, which is principally used for keeping on other dressings, consists of half a pound of common plaster, and a quarter of a pound of Burgundy pitch melted together.--Anodyne plaster is as follows. Melt an ounce of the adhesive, and when cooling, mix with it a dram of powdered opium, and the same of camphor, previously rubbing with a little oil. This plaster generally gives ease in acute pains, especially of the nervous kind.--Blistering plaster is made in a variety of ways, but seldom of a proper consistence. When compounded of oils, and other greasy substances, its effects are lessened, and it is apt to run, while pitch and rosin render it hard and inconvenient. The following will be found the best method. Take six ounces of venice turpentine, two ounces of yellow wax, three ounces of spanish flies finely powdered, and one ounce of the flour of mustard. Melt the wax, and while it is warm, add the turpentine to it, taking care not to evaporate it by too much heat. After the turpentine and wax are sufficiently incorporated, sprinkle in the powders, and stir the mass till it is cold. When the blistering plaster is not at hand, mix with any soft ointment a sufficient quantity of powdered flies, or form them into a plaster with flour and vinegar. PLATE. The best way to clean plate, is to boil an ounce of prepared hartshorn powder in a quart of water; and while on the fire, put in as much plate as the vessel will hold. Let it boil a little, then take it out, drain it over the saucepan, and dry it before the fire. Put in more, and serve it the same, till all is done. Then soak some clean rags in the water, and when dry they will serve to clean the plate. Cloths thus saturated with hartshorn powder, are also the best things for cleaning brass locks, and the finger plates of doors. When the plate is quite dry, it must be rubbed bright with soft leather. In many plate powders there is a mixture of quicksilver, which is very injurious; and among other disadvantages, it makes silver so brittle that it will break with a fall. In common cases, whitening, properly purified from sand, applied wet, and rubbed till dry, is one of the cheapest and best of all plate powders. PLATING OF GLASS. Pour some mercury on a tin foil, smoothly laid on a flat table, and rub it gently with a hare's foot. It soon unites itself to the tin, which then becomes very splendid, or is what they call quickened. A plate of glass is then cautiously, passed upon the tin leaf, in such a manner as to sweep off the redundant mercury, which is not incorporated with the tin. Leaden weights are then to be placed on the glass; and in a little time the quicksilvered tin foil adheres, so firmly to the glass, that the weights may be removed without any danger of its falling off. The glass thus coated is a common looking-glass. About two ounces of mercury are sufficient for covering three square feet of glass. PLOVERS. In purchasing plovers, choose those that feel hard at the vent, which shows they are fat. In other respects, choose them by the same marks as other fowl. When stale, the feet are harsh and dry. They will keep a long time. There are three sorts of these birds, the grey, the green, and the bastard plover, or lapwing. Green plovers are roasted in the same way as snipes and woodcocks, without drawing, and are served on toast. The grey ones may be roasted, or stewed with gravy, herbs, and spice. PLOVERS' EGGS. Boil them ten minutes, and serve them either hot or cold on a napkin. These make a nice and fashionable dish. PLUM CAKE. This is such a favourite article in most families, and is made in so many different ways, that it will be necessary to give a variety of receipts, in order that a selection may be made agreeably to the taste of the reader, or the quality of the article to be preferred.--For a good common plum cake, mix five ounces of butter in three pounds of fine dry flour, and five ounces of the best moist sugar. Add six ounces of currants, washed and dried, and some pimento finely powdered. Put three spoonfuls of yeast into a pint of new milk warmed, and mix it with the above into a light dough.--A cake of a better sort. Mix thoroughly a quarter of a peck of fine flour well dried, with a pound of dry and sifted loaf sugar, three pounds of currants washed and very dry, half a pound of raisins stoned and chopped, a quarter of an ounce of mace and cloves, twenty peppercorns, a grated nutmeg, the peel of a lemon cut as fine as possible, and half a pound of almonds blanched and beaten with orange-flower water. Melt two pounds of butter in a pint and a quarter of cream, but not too hot; add a pint of sweet wine, a glass of brandy, the whites and yolks of twelve eggs beaten apart, and half a pint of good yeast. Strain this liquid by degrees into the dry ingredients, beating them together a full hour; then butter the hoop or pan, and bake it. When the batter is put into the pan, throw in plenty of citron, lemon, and orange candy. If the cake is to be iced, take half a pound of double refined sugar sifted, and put a little with the white of an egg; beat it well, and by degrees pour in the remainder. It must be whisked nearly an hour, with the addition of a little orange-flower water, but not too much. When the cake is done, pour the iceing over it, and return it to the oven for fifteen minutes. But if the oven be quite warm, keep it near the mouth, and the door open, lest the colour be spoiled.--Another. Dried flour, currants washed and picked, four pounds; sugar pounded and sifted, a pound and a half; six orange, lemon, and citron peels, cut in slices. These are to be mixed together. Beat ten eggs, yolks and whites separately. Melt a pound and a half of butter in a pint of cream; when cold, put to it half a pint of yeast, near half a pint of sweet wine, and the eggs. Then strain the liquid to the dry ingredients, beat them well, and add of cloves, mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, half an ounce each. Butter the pan, and put it into a quick oven. Three hours will bake it.--Another. Mix with a pound of well-dried flour, a pound of loaf sugar, and the eighth of an ounce of mace, well beaten. Beat up five eggs with half the whites, a gill of rose water, and a quarter of a pint of yeast, and strain them. Melt half a pound of butter in a quarter of a pint of cream, and when cool, mix all together. Beat up the batter with a light hand, and set it to rise half an hour. Before it is put into the oven, mix in a pound and a half of currants, well washed and dried, and bake it an hour and a quarter.--For a rich cake, take three pounds of well-dried flour, three pounds of fresh butter, a pound and a half of fine sugar dried and sifted, five pounds of currants carefully cleaned and dried, twenty-four eggs, three grated nutmegs, a little pounded mace and cloves, half a pound of almonds, a glass of sack, and a pound of citron or orange peel. Pound the almonds in rose water, work up the butter to a thin cream, put in the sugar, and work it well; then the yolks of the eggs, the spices, the almonds, and orange peel. Beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, and put them into the batter as it rises. Keep working it with the hand till the oven is ready, and the scorching subsided; put it into a hoop, but not full, and two hours will bake it. The almonds should be blanched in cold water. This will make a large rich plum cake.--A small common cake may be made of a pound of dough, a quarter of a pound of butter, two eggs, a quarter of a pound of lump sugar, a quarter of a pound of currants, and a little nutmeg.--Another. Take a pound and a half of fine white dough, roll into it a pound of butter, as for pie crust, and set it by the fire. Beat up the yolks of four eggs, with half a pound of fine powdered sugar; pour it upon the mass, and work it well by the fire. Add half a pound of currants, well picked and washed, and send it to the oven. Half the quantity of sugar, eggs, and butter, will make a very pleasant cake.--Another. A pound and a half of well-dried flour, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, and a pound of currants, picked and washed. Beat up eight eggs, warm the butter, mix all together, and beat it up for an hour.--For little plum cakes, intended to keep for some time, dry a pound of fine flour, and mix it with six ounces of finely pounded sugar. Beat six ounces of butter to a cream, and add to three eggs well beaten, half a pound of currants nicely washed and dried, together with the sugar and flour. Beat all for some time, then dredge some flour on tin plates, and drop the batter on them the size of a walnut. If properly mixed, it will be a stiff paste. Bake in a brisk oven. To make a rich plum cake, take four pounds of flour well dried, mix with it a pound and a half of fine sugar powdered, a grated nutmeg, and an ounce of mace pounded fine. When they are well mixed, make a hole in the middle, and pour in fifteen eggs, but seven whites, well beaten, with a pint of good yeast, half a quarter of a pint of orange-flower water, and the same quantity of sack, or any other rich sweet wine. Then melt two pounds and a half of butter in a pint and a half of cream; and when it is about the warmth of new milk, pour it into the middle of the batter. Throw a little of the flour over the liquids, but do not mix the whole together till it is ready to go into the oven. Let it stand before the fire an hour to rise, laying a cloth over it; then have ready six pounds of currants well washed, picked, and dried; a pound of citron and a pound of orange peel sliced, with a pound of blanched almonds, half cut in slices lengthways, and half finely pounded. Mix all well together, butter the tin well, and bake it two hours and a half. This will make a large cake.--Another, not quite so rich. Three pounds of flour well dried, half a pound of sugar, and half an ounce of spice, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon, well pounded. Add ten eggs, but only half the whites, beaten with a pint of good yeast. Melt a pound of butter in a pint of cream, add it to the yeast, and let it stand an hour to rise before the fire. Then add three pounds of currants well washed, picked and dried. Butter the tin, and bake it an hour.--A common plum cake is made of three pounds and a half of flour, half a pound of sugar, a grated nutmeg, eight eggs, a glass of brandy, half a pint of yeast, a pound of butter melted in a pint and half of milk, put lukewarm to the other ingredients. Let it rise an hour before the fire, then mix it well together, add two pounds of currants carefully cleaned, butter the tin, and bake it. PLUM JAM. Cut some ripe plums to pieces, put them into a preserving pan, bruise them with a spoon, warm them over the fire till they are soft, and press them through a cullender. Boil the jam an hour, stir it well, add six ounces of fine powdered sugar to every pound of jam, and take it off the fire to mix it. Then heat it ten minutes, put it into jars, and sift some fine sugar over it. PLUM PUDDING. Take six ounces of suet chopped fine, six ounces of malaga raisins stoned, eight ounces of currants nicely washed and picked, three ounces of bread crumbs, three ounces of flour, and three eggs. Add the sixth part of a grated nutmeg, a small blade of mace, the same quantity of cinnamon, pounded as fine as possible; half a tea-spoonful of salt, nearly half a pint of milk, four ounces of sugar, an ounce of candied lemon, and half an ounce of citron. Beat the eggs and spice well together, mix the milk with them by degrees, and then the rest of the ingredients. Dip a fine close linen cloth into boiling water, and put it in a hair sieve, flour it a little, and tie the pudding up close. Put it into a saucepan containing six quarts of boiling water; keep a kettle of boiling water near it, to fill up the pot as it wastes, and keep it boiling six hours. If the water ceases to boil, the pudding will become heavy, and be spoiled. Plum puddings are best when mixed an hour or two before they are boiled, as the various ingredients by that means incorporate, and the whole becomes richer and fuller of flavour, especially if the various ingredients be thoroughly well stirred together. A table-spoonful of treacle will give the pudding a rich brown colour.--Another. Beat up the yolks and whites of three eggs, strain them through a sieve, gradually add to them a quarter of a pint of milk, and stir it well together. Rub in a mortar two ounces of moist sugar, with as much grated nutmeg as will lie on a six-pence, and stir these into the eggs and milk. Then put in four ounces of flour, and beat it into a smooth batter; by degrees stir into it seven ounces of suet, minced as fine as possible, and three ounces of bread crumbs. Mix all thoroughly together, at least half an hour before the pudding is put into the pot. Put it into an earthenware pudding mould, well buttered, tie a pudding cloth tight over it, put it into boiling water, and boil it three hours. Half a pound of raisins cut in halves, and added to the above, will make a most admirable plum pudding. This pudding may also be baked, or put under roast meat, like a Yorkshire pudding. In the latter case, half a pint more milk must be added, and the batter should be an inch and a quarter in thickness. It will take full two hours, and require careful watching; for if the top get burned, an unpleasant flavour will pervade the whole pudding. Or butter some saucers, and fill them with batter; in a dutch oven they will bake in about an hour.--Another. To three quarters of a pound of flour, add the same weight of stoned raisins, half a pound of suet or marrow, cut small, a pint of milk, two eggs, three spoonfuls of moist sugar, and a little salt. Boil the pudding five hours.--To make a small rich plum pudding, take three quarters of a pound of suet finely shred, half a pound of stoned raisins a little chopped, three spoonfuls of flour, three spoonfuls of moist sugar, a little salt and nutmeg, three yolks of eggs, and two whites. Boil the pudding four hours in a basin of tin mould, well buttered. Serve it up with melted butter, white wine and sugar, poured over it.--For a large rich pudding, take three pounds of suet chopped small, a pound and a half of raisins stoned and chopped, a pound and a half of currants, three pounds of flour, sixteen eggs, and a quart of milk. Boil it in a cloth seven hours. If for baking, put in only a pint of milk, with two additional eggs, and an hour and a half will bake it.--A plum pudding without eggs may be made of three quarters of a pound of flour, three quarters of a pound of suet chopped fine, three quarters of a pound of stoned raisins, three quarters of a pound of currants well washed and dried, a tea-spoonful of ground ginger, and rather more of salt. Stir all well together, and add as little milk as will just mix it up quite stiff. Boil the pudding four hours in a buttered basin.--Another. The same proportions of flour and suet, and half the quantity of fruit, with spice, lemon, a glass of white wine, an egg and milk, will make an excellent pudding, but it must be well boiled. POACHED EGGS. Set a stewpan of water on the fire; when boiling, slip an egg, previously broken into a cup, into the water. When the white looks done enough, slide an egg-slice under the egg, and lay it on toast and butter, or boiled spinach. As soon as done enough, serve them up hot. If the eggs be not fresh laid, they will not poach well, nor without breaking. Trim the ragged parts of the whites, and make them look round. POISON. Whenever a quantity of arsenic has been swallowed, by design or mistake, its effects may be counteracted by immediately drinking plenty of milk. The patient should afterwards take a dram of the liver of sulphur, in a pint of warm water, a little at a time as he can bear it; or he may substitute some soap water, a quantity of common ink, or any other acid, if other things cannot be readily procured.--To obviate the ill effects of opium, taken either in a liquid or solid form, emetics should be given as speedily as possible. These should consist of an ounce each of oxymel squills and spearmint water, and half a scruple of ipecacuanha, accompanied with frequent draughts of water gruel to assist the operation.--Those poisons which may be called culinary, are generally the most destructive, because the least suspected; no vessels therefore made of copper or brass should be used in cooking. In cases where the poison of virdigris has been recently swallowed, emetics should first be given, and then the patient should drink abundance of cold water.--If any one has eaten of the deadly nightshade, he should take an emetic as soon as possible, and drink a pint of vinegar or lemon juice in an equal quantity of water, a little at a time; and as sleep would prove fatal, he should keep walking about to prevent it.--For the bite of the mad dog, or other venomous animals, nothing is to be depended on for a cure but immediately cutting out the bitten part with a lancet, or burning it out with a red-hot iron.--To prevent the baneful effects of burning charcoal, set an open vessel of boiling water upon the pan containing the charcoal, and keep it boiling. The steam arising from the water will counteract the effects of the charcoal. Painters, glaziers, and other artificers, should be careful to avoid the poisonous effects of lead, by washing their hands and face clean before meals, and by never eating in the place where they work, nor suffering any food or drink to remain exposed to the fumes or dust of the metal. Every business of this sort should be performed as far as possible with gloves on the hands, to prevent the metal from working into the pores of the skin, which is highly injurious, and lead should never be touched when it is hot. POIVRADE SAUCE. Pick the skins of twelve shalots, chop them small, mix with them a table-spoonful of veal gravy, a gill and a half of vinegar, half an anchovy pressed through a fine sieve, and a little salt and cayenne. If it is to be eaten with hot game, serve it up boiling: if with cold, the sauce is to be cold likewise.--Another way. Put a piece of butter the size of half an egg into a saucepan, with two or three sliced onions, some of the red outward part, of carrots, and of the part answering to it of parsnip, a clove of garlic, two shalots, two cloves, a bay leaf, with basil and thyme. Shake the whole over the fire till it begins to colour, then add a good pinch of flour, a glass of red wine, a glass of water, and a spoonful of vinegar. Boil it half an hour, take off the fat, pass the sauce through a tammis, add some salt and pepper, and use it with any thing that requires a relishing sauce. POLISHED STOVES. Steel or polished stoves may be well cleaned in a few minutes, by using a piece of fine-corned emery stone, and afterwards polishing with flour of emery or rottenstone. If stoves or fire irons have acquired any rust, pound some glass to fine powder; and having nailed some strong woollen cloth upon a board, lay upon it a thick coat of gum water, and sift the powdered glass upon it, and let it dry. This may be repeated as often as is necessary to form a sharp surface, and with this the rust may easily be rubbed off; but care must be taken to have the glass finely powdered, and the gum well dried, or the polish on the irons will be injured. Fire arms, or similar articles, may be kept clean for several months, if rubbed with a mixture consisting of one ounce of camphor dissolved in two pounds of hog's lard, boiled and skimmed, and coloured with a little black lead. The mixture should be left on twenty four hours to dry, and then rubbed off with a linen cloth. POMADE DIVINE. Clear a pound and a half of beef marrow from the strings and bone, put it into an earthen pan of fresh water from the spring, and change the water night and morning for ten days. Then steep it in rose water twenty four hours, and drain it in a cloth till quite dry. Take an ounce of each of the following articles, namely, storax, gum benjamin, odoriferous cypress powder, or of florence; half an ounce of cinnamon, two drams of cloves, and two drams of nutmeg, all finely powdered. Mix them with the marrow above prepared, and put all the ingredients into a pewter pot that holds three quarts. Make a paste of flour and the white of an egg, and lay it upon a piece of rag. Over that must be another piece of linen, to cover the top of the pot very close, that none of the steam may evaporate. Set the pot into a large copper pot of water, observing to keep it steady, that it may not reach to the covering of the pot that holds the marrow. As the water shrinks add more, boiling hot, for it must boil incessantly for four hours. Strain the ointment through a linen cloth into small pots, and cover them when cold. Do not touch it with any thing but silver, and it will keep many years. A fine pomatum may also be made by putting half a pound of fresh marrow prepared as above, and two ounces of fresh hog's lard, on the ingredients; and then observing the same process as above. POMATUM. To make soft pomatum, beat half a pound of unsalted fresh lard in common water, then soak and beat in two different rose-waters. Drain it, and beat it, with two spoonfuls of brandy. Let it drain from this, then add some essence of lemon, and keep it in small pots. Or soak half a pound of clear beef marrow, and a pound of unsalted fresh lard, in water two of three days, changing and beating it every day. Put it into a sieve; and when dry, into a jar, and the jar, into a saucepan of water. When melted, pour it into a bason, and beat it with two spoonfuls of brandy. Drain off the brandy, and add essence of lemon, bergamot, or any other scent that is preferred.--For hard pomatum, prepare as before equal quantities of beef marrow and mutton suet, using the brandy to preserve it, and adding the scent. Then pour it into moulds, or phials, of the size intended for the rolls. When cold break the bottles, clear away the glass carefully, and put paper round the balls. PONDS. Stagnant or running water is often infected with weeds, which become troublesome and injurious to the occupier, but which might easily be prevented by suffering geese, or particularly swans, to feed upon the surface. These water fowls, by nibbling the young shoots as fast as they arise, will prevent their growth and appearance on the surface of the water, and all the expense which might otherwise be incurred in clearing them away. POOR MAN'S SAUCE. Pick a handful of parsley leaves from the stalks, mince them very fine, and strew over a little salt. Shred fine half a dozen young green onions, add these to the parsley, and put them into a sauce boat, with three table-spoonfuls of oil, and five of vinegar. Add some ground black pepper and salt, stir them together, and it is ready. Pickled French beans or gherkins cut fine, may be added, or a little grated horseradish. This sauce is much esteemed in France, where people of taste, weary of rich dishes, occasionally order the fare of the peasant. PORK. This is a strong fat meat, and unless very nicely fed, it is fit only for hard working people. Young pigs, like lamb and veal, are fat and luscious, but afford very little nutriment. Pork fed by butchers, or at distilleries, is very inferior, and scarcely wholesome; it is fat and spongy, and utterly unfit for curing. Dairy fed pork is the best. To judge of pork, pinch the lean; and if young and good, it will easily part. If the rind is tough, thick, and cannot easily be impressed with the finger, it is old. A thin rind denotes a good quality in general. When fresh, the meat will be smooth and cool: if clammy, it is tainted. What is called in some places measly pork, is very unwholesome; and may be known by the fat being full of kernels, which in good pork is never the case. Bacon hogs and porkers are differently cut up. Hogs are kept to a larger size; the chine or backbone is cut down on each side, the whole length, and is a prime part either boiled or roasted. The sides of the hog are made into bacon, and the inside is cut out with very little meat to the bone. On each side there is a large sparerib, which is usually divided into two, a sweet bone and a blade bone. The bacon is the whole outside, and contains a fore leg and a ham; the last of these is the hind leg, but if left with the bacon it is called a gammon. Hog's lard is the inner fat of the bacon hog, melted down. Pickled pork is made of the flesh of the hog, but more frequently of smaller and younger meat. Porkers are not so large as hogs, and are generally divided into four quarters. The fore quarter has the spring or fore leg, the fore loin or neck, the sparerib, and the griskin. The hind quarter has the leg and the loin. Pig's feet and ears make various good dishes, and should be cut off before the legs and cheeks are cured. The bacon hog is sometimes scalded, to take off the hair, and sometimes singed. The porker is always scalded. PORK CHOPS. Cut the chops nearly half an inch thick, trim them neatly, and beat them flat. Put a piece of butter into the fryingpan; as soon as it is hot, put in the chops, turn them often, and they will be nicely browned in fifteen minutes. Take one upon a plate and try it; if done, season it with a little finely minced onion, powdered sage, pepper and salt. Or prepare some sweet herbs, sage and onion chopped fine, and put them into a stewpan with a bit of butter. Give them one fry, beat two eggs on a plate with a little salt, and the minced herbs, and mix it all well together. Dip the chops in one at a time, then cover them with bread crumbs, and fry them in hot lard or drippings, till they are of a light brown. Veal, lamb, or mutton chops, are very good dressed in the same manner. PORK GRISKIN. As this joint is usually very hard, the best way is to cover it with cold water, and let it boil up. Then take it out, rub it over with butter, and set it before the fire in a Dutch oven; a few minutes will do it. PORK JELLY. Take a leg of well-fed pork, just as cut up, beat it, and break the bone. Set it over a gentle fire, with three gallons of water, and simmer it down to one. Stew with it half an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of nutmegs, and strain it through a fine sieve. When cold, take off the fat, and flavour it with salt. This jelly is reckoned a fine restorative in consumptive cases, and nervous debility, a chocolate-cupful to be taken three times a day. PORK AS LAMB. To dress pork like lamb, kill a young pig four or five months old, cut up the fore-quarter for roasting as you do lamb, and truss the shank close. The other parts will make delicate pickled pork, steaks, or pies. PORK PIES. Raise some boiled crust into a round or oval form, and have ready the trimming and small bits of pork when a hog is killed. If these be not sufficient, take the meat of a sweet bone. Beat it well with a rolling-pin, season with pepper and salt, and keep the fat and lean separate. Put it in layers, quite up to the top; lay on the lid, cut the edge smooth round, and pinch it together. As the meat is very solid, it must be baked in a slow soaking oven. The pork may be put into a common dish, with a very plain crust, and be quite as good. Observe to put no bone or water into pork pie: the outside pieces will be hard, unless they are cut small, and pressed close. Pork pies in a raised crust, are intended to be eaten cold. PORK SAUCE. Take two ounces of the leaves of green sage, an ounce of lemon peel thinly pared, an ounce of minced shalot, an ounce of salt, half a dram of cayenne, and half a dram of citric acid. Steep them for a fortnight in a pint of claret, shake it often, and let it stand a day to settle. Decant the clear liquor, and cork it up close. When wanted, mix a table-spoonful in a quarter of a pint of gravy, or melted butter. This will give a fine relish to roast pork, or roast goose. PORK SAUSAGES. Chop fat and lean pork together, season it with pepper, salt, and sage. Fill hogs' guts that have been thoroughly soaked and cleaned, and tie up the ends carefully. Or the minced meat may be kept in a very small pan, closely covered, and so rolled and dusted with flour before it is fried. Serve them up with stewed red cabbage, mashed potatoes, or poached eggs. The sausages should be pricked with a pin, before they are boiled or fried, or they will be liable to burst. PORK STEAKS. Cut them from a loin or neck, and of middling thickness. Pepper and broil them, and keep them turning. When nearly done, put on salt, rub a bit of butter over, and serve the moment they are taken off the fire, a few at a time. PORKER'S HEAD. Choose a fine young head of pork, clean it well, and put bread and sage as for pig. Sow it up tight, roast it as a young pig, on the hanging jack, and serve it with the same kind of sauce. PORTABLE SOUP. Boil one or two knuckles of veal, one or two shins of beef, and three pounds of beef, in as much water only as will cover them. Take the marrow out of the bones, put in any kind of spice, and three large onions. When the meat is done to rags, strain it off, and set it in a very cold place. Take off the cake of fat, which will do for common pie crusts, and put the soup into a double-bottomed tin saucepan. Set it on a pretty quick fire, but do not let it burn. It must boil fast and uncovered, and be stirred constantly for eight hours. Put it into a pan, and let it stand in a cold place a day; then pour it into a round soup-dish, and set the dish into a stewpan of boiling water on a stove, and let it boil. Stir it now and then, till the soup is thick and ropy; then it is enough. Pour it into the little round part at the bottom of cups and basons turned upside down, to form it into cakes; and when cold, turn them out on flannel to dry. Keep them in tin canisters; and when to be used, dissolve them in boiling water. The flavour of herbs may be added, by first boiling and straining off the liquor, and melting the soup in it. This preparation is convenient in travelling, or at sea, where fresh meat is not readily obtained, as by this means a bason of soup may be made in five minutes. PORTER. This pleasant beverage may be made with eight bushels of malt to the hogshead, and eight pounds of hops. While it is boiling in the copper, add to it three pounds of liquorice root bruised, a pound of Spanish liquorice, and twelve pounds of coarse sugar or treacle. PORTUGAL CAKES. Take a pound of well-dried flour, a pound of loaf sugar, a pound of butter well washed in orange-flower water, and a large blade of mace. Take half the flour, and fifteen eggs, leaving out two of the whites, and work them well together with the butter for half an hour, shaking in the rest of the flour with a dredger. Put the cakes into a cool oven, strewing over them a little sugar and flour, and let them bake gently half an hour. PORTUGUESE SOLES. If the fish be large, cut it in two: if small, they need only be split open. The bones being taken out, put the fish into a pan with a bit of butter, and some lemon juice. Fry it lightly, lay it on a dish, spread a forcemeat over each piece, and roll it round, fastening the roll with a few small skewers. Lay the rolls into a small earthen pan, beat up an egg and smear them, and strew some crumbs over. Put the remainder of the egg into the bottom of the pan, with a little meat gravy, a spoonful of caper liquor, an anchovy chopped fine, and some minced parsley. Cover the pan close, and bake in a slow oven till the fish is done enough. Place the rolls in a dish for serving, and cover it to keep them hot till the baked gravy is skimmed. If not enough, a little fresh gravy must be prepared, flavoured as above, and added to the fish. This is the Portuguese way of dressing soles. PORTUGUESE STUFFING. Pound lightly some cold beef, veal, or mutton. Add some fat bacon lightly fried and cut small, some onions, a little garlic or shalot, some parsley, anchovy, pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Pound all fine with a few crumbs, and bind it with two or three yolks of eggs. This stuffing is for baked soles, the heads of which are to be left on one side of the split part, and kept on the outer side of the roll; and when served, the heads are to be turned towards each other in the dish. Garnish with fried or dried parsley. POT HERBS. As some of these are very pungent, they require to be used with discretion, particularly basil, savoury, thyme, or knotted marjoram. The other sorts are milder, and may be used more freely. POT POURRI. Put into a large china jar the following ingredients in layers, with bay salt strewed between. Two pecks of damask roses, part in buds and part blown; violets, orange flowers and jasmine, a handful of each; orris root sliced, benjamin and storax, two ounces of each; a quarter of an ounce of musk, a quarter of a pound of angelica root sliced, a quart of the red parts of clove gilliflowers, two handfuls of lavender flowers, half a handful of rosemary flowers, bay and laurel leaves, half a handful of each; three Seville oranges, stuck as full of cloves as possible, dried in a cool oven and pounded, and two handfuls of balm of gilead dried. Cover all quite close, and when the pot is uncovered the perfume is very fine. POTATOE BALLS. Mix some mashed potatoes with the yolk of an egg, roll the mass into balls, flour them, or put on egg and bread crumbs, and fry them in clean drippings, or brown them in a Dutch oven.--Potatoe balls ragout are made by adding to a pound of potatoes, a quarter of a pound of grated ham, or some chopped parsley, or sweet herbs; adding an onion or shalot, salt and pepper, a little grated nutmeg or other spice, and the yolks of two eggs. They are then to be dressed as potatoe balls. POTATOE BREAD. Weigh half a pound of mealy potatoes after they are boiled or steamed, and rub them while warm into a pound and a half of fine flour, dried a little before the fire. When thoroughly mixed, put in a spoonful of good yeast, a little salt, and warm milk and water sufficient to work into dough. Let it stand by the fire to rise for an hour and a half, then make it into a loaf, and bake it in a tolerably brisk oven. If baked in a tin the crust will be more delicate, but the bread dries sooner.--Another. To two pounds of well-boiled mealy potatoes, rubbed between the hands till they are as fine as flour, mix in thoroughly two large double handfuls of wheat flour, three good spoonfuls of yeast, a little salt, and warm milk enough to make it the usual stiffness of dough. Let it stand three or four hours to rise, then mould it, make it up, and bake it like common bread. POTATOE CHEESECAKES. Boil six ounces of potatoes, and four ounces of lemon peel; beat the latter in a marble mortar, with four ounces of sugar. Then add the potatoes, beaten, and four ounces of butter melted in a little cream. When well mixed, let it stand to grow cold. Put crust in pattipans, and rather more than half fill them. This quantity will make a dozen cheesecakes, which are to be baked half an hour in a quick oven, with some fine powdered sugar sifted over them. POTATOE FRITTERS. Boil two large potatoes, scrape them fine; beat up four yolks and three whites of eggs, and add a large spoonful of cream, another of sweet wine, a squeeze of lemon, and a little nutmeg. Beat this batter at least half an hour, till it be extremely light. Put a good quantity of fine lard into a stewpan, and drop a spoonful of the batter at a time into it, and fry the fritters. Serve for sauce a glass of white wine, the juice of a lemon, one dessert spoonful of peach leaf or almond water, and some white sugar. Warm them together, but do not put the sauce into the dish.--Another way. Slice some potatoes thin, dip them in a fine batter, and fry them. Lemon peel, and a spoonful of orange-flower water, should be added to the batter. Serve up the fritters with white sugar sifted over them. POTATOE PASTE. Pound some boiled potatoes very fine, and while warm, add butter sufficient to make the mash hold together. Or mix it with an egg; and before it gets cold, flour the board pretty well to prevent it from sticking, and roll the paste to the thickness wanted. If suffered to get quite cold before it be put on the dish, it will be apt to crack. POTATOE PASTY. Boil, peel, and mash some potatoes as fine as possible. Mix in some salt, pepper, and a good piece of butter. Make a paste, roll it out thin like a large puff, and put in the potatoe. Fold over one half, pinching the edges, and bake it in a moderate oven. POTATOE PIE. Skin some potatoes, cut them into slices, and season them. Add some mutton, beef, pork, or veal, and put in alternate layers of meat and potatoes. POTATOE PUDDING. To make a plain potatoe pudding, take eight ounces of boiled potatoes, two ounces of butter, the yolks and whites of two eggs, a quarter of a pint of cream, a spoonful of white wine, the juice and rind of a lemon, and a little salt. Beat all to a froth, sweeten it to taste, make a crust to it, or not, and bake it. If the pudding is required to be richer, add three ounces more of butter, another egg, with sweetmeats and almonds. If the pudding is to be baked with meat, boil the potatoes and mash them. Rub the mass through a cullender, and make it into a thick batter with milk and two eggs. Lay some seasoned steaks in a dish, then some batter; and over the last layer of meat pour the remainder of the batter, and bake it of a fine brown.--Another. Mash some boiled potatoes with a little milk, season it with pepper and salt, and cut some fat meat into small pieces. Put a layer of meat at the bottom of the dish, and then a layer of potatoe till the dish is full. Smooth the potatoes on the top, shake a little suet over it, and bake it to a fine brown. Mashed potatoes may also be baked as a pudding under meat, or placed under meat while roasting, or they may be mixed with batter instead of flour. POTATOE ROLLS. Boil three pounds of potatoes, bruise and work them with two ounces of butter, and as much milk as will make them pass through a cullender. Take nearly three quarters of a pint of yeast, and half a pint of warm water; mix them with the potatoes, pour the whole upon five pounds of flour, and add some salt. Knead it well: if not of a proper consistence, add a little more warm milk and water. Let it stand before the fire an hour to rise; work it well, and make it into rolls. Bake them about half an hour, in an oven not quite so hot as for bread. The rolls will eat well, toasted and buttered. POTATOE SNOW. The whitest sort of potatoes must be selected, and free from spots. Set them over the fire in cold water; when they begin to crack, strain off the water, and put them into a clean stewpan by the side of the fire till they are quite dry, and fall to pieces. Rub them through a wire sieve on the dish they are to be sent up in, and do not disturb them afterwards. POTATOE SOUP. Cut a pound and a half of gravy beef into thin slices, chop a pound of potatoes, and an onion or two, and put them into a kettle with three quarts of water, half a pint of blue peas, and two ounces of rice. Stew these till the gravy is quite drawn from the meat, strain it off, take out the beef, and pulp the other ingredients through a coarse sieve. Add the pulp to the soup, cut in two or three roots of celery, simmer in a clean saucepan till this is tender, season with pepper and salt, and serve it up with fried bread cut into it. POTATOE STARCH. Raw potatoes, in whatever condition, constantly afford starch, differing only in quality. The round grey or red produce the most, affording about two ounces of starch to a pound of pulp. The process is perfectly easy. Peel and wash a pound of full grown potatoes, grate them on a bread grater into a deep dish, containing a quart of clear water. Stir it well up, then pour it through a hair sieve, and leave it ten minutes to settle, till the water is quite clear. Then pour off the water, and put a quart of fresh water to it; stir it up, let it settle, and repeat this till the water is quite clear. A fine white powder will at last be found at the bottom of the vessel. The criterion of this process being completed, is the purity of the water that comes from it after stirring it up. Lay the powder on a sheet of paper in a hair sieve to dry, either in the sun or before the fire, and it is ready for use. Put into a well stopped bottle, it will keep good for many months. If this be well made, a table-spoonful of it mixed with twice the quantity of cold water, and stirred into a soup or sauce, just before it is taken up, will thicken a pint of it to the consistence of cream. This preparation much resembles the Indian Arrow Root, and is a good substitute for it. It gives a fulness on the palate to gravies and sauces at hardly any expense, and is often used to thicken melted butter instead of flour. Being perfectly tasteless, it will not alter the flavour of the most delicate broth or gruel. POTATOES. The following is allowed to be a superior method of raising potatoes, and of obtaining a larger and finer growth. Dig the earth twelve inches deep, if the soil will admit, and afterwards open a hole about six inches deep, and twelve wide. Fill it with horse dung, or long litter, about three inches thick, and plant a whole potatoe upon it; shake a little more dung over it, and mould up the earth. In this way the whole plot of ground should be planted, placing the potatoes at least sixteen inches apart. When the young shoots make their appearance, they should have fresh mould drawn round them with a hoe; and if the tender shoots are covered, it will prevent the frost from injuring them. They should again be earthed, when the roots make a second appearance, but not covered, as in all probability the season will be less severe. A plentiful supply of mould should be given them, and the person who performs this business should never tread upon the plant, or the hillock that is raised round it, as the lighter the earth is the more room the potatoe will have to expand. In Holland, the potatoes are strangely cultivated, though there are persons who give the preference to Dutch potatoes, supposing them to be of a finer grain than others. They are generally planted in the fields, in rows, nearly as thick as beans or peas, and are suffered to grow up wild and uncultivated, the object being to raise potatoes as small as possible, while the large ones, if such there happen to be, are thrown out and given to the pigs. The mode of cultivation in Ireland, where potatoes are found in the greatest perfection, is far different, and probably the best of all. The round rough red are generally preferred, and are esteemed the most genuine. These are planted in rows, and only just put in beneath the soil. These rows are divided into beds about six feet wide, a path or trench is left between the beds, and as the plants vegetate the earth is dug out of the trench, and thrown lightly over the potatoes. This practice is continued all the summer, the plants are thus nourished by the repeated accession of fresh soil, and the trench as it deepens serves the purpose of keeping the beds dry, and of carrying off the superfluous water. The potatoes are always rich and mealy, containing an unusual quantity of wholesome flour. POTATOES BOILED. The vegetable kingdom scarcely affords any food more wholesome, more easily procured, easily prepared, or less expensive than the potatoe; yet although this most useful vegetable is dressed almost every day, in almost every family,--for one plate of potatoes that comes to table as it should, ten are spoiled. There is however a great diversity in the colour, size, shape, and quality of the potatoe, and some are of a very inferior description. The yellow are better than the white, but the rough red are the most mealy and nutritive. Choose those of a moderate size, free from blemishes, and fresh. It is best to buy them in the mould, as they come from the bed, and they should not be wetted till they are cleaned for cooking. Protect them from the air and frost, by laying in heaps in a dry place, covering them with mats, or burying them in dry sand. If the frost affects them, the life of the vegetable is destroyed, and the potatoe speedily rots. When they are to be dressed, wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless they are very large. Fill a saucepan half full of potatoes of an equal size, and add as much cold water as will cover them about an inch. Most boiled things are spoiled by having too little water, but potatoes are often spoiled by too much: they should merely be covered, and a little allowed for waste in boiling. Set them on a moderate fire till they boil, then take them off, and place them on the side of the fire to simmer slowly, till they are soft enough to admit a fork. The usual test of their skin cracking is not to be depended on, for if they are boiled fast this will happen when the potatoes are not half done, and the inside is quite hard. Pour off the water the minute the potatoes are done, or they will become watery and sad; uncover the saucepan, and set it at such a distance from the fire as will prevent its burning; the superfluous moisture will then evaporate, and the potatoes become perfectly dry and mealy. This method is in every respect equal to steaming, and the potatoes are dressed in half the time. POTATOES BROILED. Parboil, then slice and broil them. Or parboil, and set them whole on the gridiron over a very slow fire. When thoroughly done, send them up with their skins on. This method is practised in many Irish families. POTATOES IN CREAM. Half boil some potatoes, drain and peel them nicely, and cut into neat pieces. Put them into a stewpan with some cream, fresh butter, and salt, of each a proportion to the quantity of potatoes; or instead of cream, put some good gravy, with pepper and salt. Stew them very gently, and be careful to prevent their breaking. POTATOES FRIED. If they are whole potatoes, first boil them nearly enough, and then put them into a stewpan with a bit of butter, or some nice clean beef drippings. To prevent their burning, shake them about till they are brown and crisp, and then drain them from the fat. It would be an elegant improvement, to flour and dip them in the yolk of an egg previous to frying, and then roll them in fine sifted bread crumbs: they would then deserve to be called potatoes full dressed.--If to be fried in slices or shavings, peel some large potatoes, slice them about a quarter of an inch thick, or cut them in shavings round and round, as in peeling a lemon. Dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping. Take care that the fat and the fryingpan are both perfectly clean. Put the pan on a quick fire; as soon as the lard boils, and is still, put in the potatoe slices, and keep moving them till they are crisp. Take them up and lay them to drain on a sieve, and then send them to table with a very little salt sprinkled over.--To fry cold potatoes, put a bit of clean dripping into a fryingpan. When melted, slice in the potatoes with a little pepper and salt; set them on the fire, and keep them stirring. When quite hot, they are ready. This is a good way of re-dressing potatoes, and making them palatable. POTATOES MASHED. When the potatoes are thoroughly boiled, drain and dry them well, and pick out every speck. Rub them through a cullender into a clean stewpan: to a pound of potatoes allow half an ounce of butter, and a spoonful of milk. Mix it up well, but do not make it too moist. After Lady day, when potatoes are getting old and specked, and also in frosty weather, this is the best way of dressing them. If potatoes are to be mashed with onions, boil the onions, and pass them through a sieve. Mix them with the potatoes, in such a proportion as is most approved. POTATOES PRESERVED. To keep potatoes from the frost, lay them up in a dry store room, and cover them with straw, or a linen cloth. If this be not convenient, dig a trench three or four feet deep, and put them in as they are taken up. Cover them with the earth taken out of the trench, raise it up in the middle like the roof of a house, and cover it with straw so as to carry off the rain. Better still if laid above ground, and covered with a sufficient quantity of mould to protect them from the frost, as in this case they are less likely to be injured by the wet. Potatoes may also be preserved by suffering them to remain in the ground, and digging them up in the spring of the year, as they are wanted. POTATOES ROASTED. Choose them nearly of a size, wash and dry the potatoes, and put them in a Dutch oven, or cheese toaster. Take care not to place them too near the fire, or they will burn on the outside before they are warmed through. Large potatoes will require two hours to roast them properly, unless they are previously half boiled. When potatoes are to be roasted under meat, they should first be half boiled, drained from the water, and placed in the pan under the meat. Baste them with some of the dripping, and when they are browned on one side, turn and brown them on the other. Send them up round the meat, or in a small dish. POTATOES SCALLOPED. Having boiled and mashed the potatoes, butter some clean scallop shells, or pattipans, and put in the potatoes. Smooth them on the top, cross a knife over them, strew on a few fine bread crumbs, sprinkle them a little with melted butter from a paste brush, and then set them in a Dutch oven. When they are browned on the top, take them carefully out of the shells, and brown the other side. POTATOES STEAMED. The potatoes must be well washed, but not pared, and put into the steamer when the water boils. Moderate sized potatoes will require three quarters of an hour to do them properly. They should be taken up as soon as they are done enough, or they will become watery: peel them afterwards. POTTED BEEF. Take two pounds of lean beef, rub it with saltpetre, and let it lie one night. Then lay on common salt, and cover it with water four days in a small pan. Dry it with a cloth, season it with black pepper, lay it into as small a pan as will hold it, cover it with coarse paste, but put in no liquor, and bake it five hours in a very cool oven. When cold, pick out the strings and fat. Beat the meat very fine, with a quarter of a pound of fine butter just warm, but not oiled, and as much of the gravy as will make it into a paste. Put it into very small pots, and cover them with clarified butter.--Another way. Take beef that has been dressed, either boiled or roasted; beat it in a mortar with some pepper and salt, a few cloves, grated nutmeg, and a little fine butter just warm. This eats as well as the former, but the colour is not so fine. It is however a good way for using the remains of a large joint. POTTED BIRDS. Having cleaned them nicely, rub every part well with a seasoning of white pepper and salt, mace and allspice in fine powder. Put them in a pan, lay on some butter, cover it with a paste of coarse flour, and a paper tied closely over. When baked and grown cold, cut them into pieces proper for helping, pack them close into a large potting-pan, and leave as little space as possible to receive the butter. Cover them with butter, and one third less will be wanted than when the birds are done whole. POTTED CHEESE. Cut and pound four ounces of Cheshire cheese, one ounce and a half of fine butter, a tea-spoonful of white powdered sugar, a little bit of mace, and a glass of white wine. Press it down in a deep pot. POTTED DAMSONS. Weigh the damsons, and wipe them dry one by one, allowing one pound of fine sugar to three pounds of fruit. Spread a little of the sugar at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of fruit, and so on till the jar is full. Then add three or four spoonfuls of water, tie it down close, and put it several times into a cool oven. POTTED DRIPPING. Boil six pounds of good beef dripping in soft water, strain it into a pan, and let it stand to cool. Take off the hard fat, scrape off the gravy, and repeat it several times. When the fat is cold and hard, put it into a saucepan with six bay leaves, six cloves, half a pound of salt, and a quarter of a pound of whole pepper. Let the fat be entirely melted; and when it has cooled a little, strain it through a sieve into the pot, and tie it down. Turn the pot upside down, that no rats or mice may get at it, and it will keep a long time, and make good puff paste, or crust for puddings. POTTED HARE. An old hare will do well for this purpose, likewise for soup and pie. After seasoning it, bake it with butter. When cold, take the meat from the bones, and beat it in a mortar. If not high enough, add salt, mace, pepper, and a piece of fresh butter melted in a spoonful or two of gravy that came from the hare. When well mixed, put it into small pots, and cover it with butter. The legs and back should be baked at the bottom of the jar, to keep them moist, and the bones be put over them. POTTED HERRINGS. Scale, clean, and season them well. Bake them in a pan with spice, bay leaves, and some butter. When cold, lay them in a potting pot, and cover them over with butter. They are very fine for a supper dish. POTTED LOBSTERS. Half boil them, pick out the meat, cut it into small pieces, season with mace, white pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Press it close into a pot, and cover it with butter; bake it half an hour, and then put in the spawn. When cold take out the lobster, and put it into pots with a little of the butter. Beat the rest of the butter in a mortar, with some of the spawn, mix the coloured butter with as much as will be sufficient to cover the pots, and strain it. Cayenne may be added, if approved.--Another way. Take out the meat as whole as possible, split the tail, and remove the gut; and if the inside be not watery, it may be added. Season with mace, nutmeg, white pepper, salt, and a clove or two, in the finest powder. Lay a little fine butter at the bottom of the pan, and the lobster smooth over it, with bay leaves between; cover it with butter, and bake it gently. When done, pour the whole on the bottom of a sieve; and with a fork lay the pieces into potting pots, some of each sort, with the seasoning about it. When cold, pour clarified butter over, but not hot. It will be good the next day; but if highly seasoned, and well covered with butter, it will keep some time. Potted lobster may be used cold, or as a fricassee, with a cream sauce. It then looks very nicely, and eats well, especially if there is spawn. Mackarel, herrings, and trout, are good potted in the same way. POTTED MACKEREL. Clean, season, and bake them in a pan with spice, bay leaves, and some butter. When cold, lay them in a pot for potting, and cover them over with butter. POTTED MOOR GAME. Pick, singe, and wash the birds nicely. Dry and season them pretty high, inside and out, with pepper, mace, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Pack them in as small a pot as will hold them, cover them with butter, and bake in a very slow oven. When cold, take off the butter, dry them from the gravy, and put one bird into each pot, which should just fit. Add as much more butter as will cover them, but take care that it be not oiled. The best way to melt it is, by warming it in a bason placed in a bowl of hot water. POTTED PARTRIDGE. Clean them nicely, and season with mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt, all in fine powder. Rub every part well, then lay the breast downwards in a pan, and pack the birds as close as possible. Put a good deal of butter on them, cover the pan with a paste of coarse flour and a paper over, tie it close and bake it. When cold, put the birds into pots, and cover them with butter. The butter that has covered potted things will serve for basting, or for paste for meat pies. POTTED PIGEONS. Let them be quite fresh, clean them carefully, and season them with salt and pepper. Lay them close in a small deep pan; for the smaller the surface, and the closer they are packed, the less butter will be wanted. Cover them with butter, then with very thick paper tied down, and bake them. When cold, put them dry into pots that will hold two or three in each, and pour butter over them, using that which was baked in part. If they are to be kept, the butter should be laid pretty thick over them. If pigeons were boned, and then put in an oval form into the pot, they would lie closer, and require less butter. They may be stuffed with a fine forcemeat made with veal, bacon, and the other ingredients, and then they will eat very fine. If a high flavour is preferred, add mace, allspice, and a little cayenne, before baking. POTTED RABBITS. Cut up two or three young but full-grown rabbits, and take off the leg bones at the thigh. Pack them as closely as possible in a small pan, after seasoning them with pepper, salt, mace, allspice, and cayenne, all in very fine powder. Make the top as smooth as possible. Keep out the heads and the carcase bones, but take off the meat about the neck. Put in a good deal of butter, and bake the whole gently. Keep it two days in the pan, then shift it into small pots, with some additional butter. When a rabbit is to be blanched, set it on the fire with a small quantity of cold water, and let it boil. It is then to be taken out immediately, and put into cold water for a few minutes. POTTED SALMON. Scale and wipe a large piece of salmon, but do not wash it. Salt it, and let it lie till the salt is melted and drained from it; then season it with pounded mace, cloves, and whole pepper. Lay in a few bay leaves, put it close into a pan, cover it over with butter, and bake it. When well done, drain it from the gravy, put it into pots to keep, and when cold cover it with clarified butter. Any kind of firm fish may be potted in the same manner. POTTED SHRIMPS. When boiled, take them out of the skins, and season them with salt, white pepper, and a very little mace and cloves. Press them into a pot, set it in the oven ten minutes, and when cold lay on butter. POTTED TROUT. Scale and draw out the entrails of the fish without opening the belly, give them a wash, and let them drain from the water. Season the fish well with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and ginger. Lay them into a broad pan in two layers, cover them with butter, and then with paper. Lay some sticks across the pan to keep the paper up. Bake them moderately, then take them out and drain them. Put them into pots in two layers, and fill up the pots with clarified butter, as cool as it can be to run properly. Any other fish may be potted in the same way. POTTED VEAL. Cold fillet makes the finest potted veal, or it may be done as follows. Season a large slice of the fillet before it is dressed, with some mace, peppercorns, and two or three cloves. Lay it close into a potting pan that will but just hold it, fill the pan up with water, and bake it three hours. Then pound it in a mortar, and flavour it with salt. In pounding, put to it a little of the baked gravy, if the meat is to be eaten soon; otherwise only a little butter just melted. When done, cover it over with butter. To pot veal or chicken with ham, pound some cold veal or the white of a chicken, seasoned as above, and place layers of it with layers of ham pounded, or rather shred. Press down each, and cover the whole with clarified butter. POTTED VENISON. If the venison be stale, rub it with vinegar, dry it with a cloth, and rub it well with red wine. Season it with pepper, salt, and mace, and put it into a jar. Pour over it half a pint of red wine, lay in a pound of butter, and bake it tender. When it is done, clean it from the bones and skin, and beat it in a marble mortar with the fat and gravy. Press it hard into the pots, and pour clarified butter over it. POULTICES. Common poultice is best made of white bread, put into boiling water till it is of a proper thickness. Then let it boil, and add a bit of lard, or a little sweet oil. Water answers the purpose better than milk, as the poultice thus made will retain the moisture longer.--A poultice to ripen tumours or swellings, should consist of two ounces of white lily roots, half a pound of figs, and two ounces of meal or bean flour. These are to be boiled in water till it comes to a proper consistence; the poultice is then spread on a thick cloth, applied warm, and shifted as often as it grows dry.--Carrot poultice is made of clean grated carrots mixed with water, so as to form a soft pulp. This is an excellent poultice to ease pain arising from a sore; it not only cleanses it, but takes off the offensive smell which generally attends such complaints. It also affords great relief in cancers, and should be changed twice a day. POULTRY. Previously to their being dressed, every description of game and poultry requires to be carefully picked, and neatly trussed; every plug should be removed, and the hair nicely singed with white paper. In drawing poultry, care must be taken not to break the gall bag, for no washing will take off the bitter where it has touched. In dressing wild fowl, a brisk clear fire must be kept up, that they may be done of a fine yellow brown, but so as to leave the gravy in: the fine flavour is lost if done too much. Tame fowls require more roasting, and are longer in heating through than others. All sorts should be continually basted, that they may be served up with a froth, and appear of a fine colour. A large fowl will take three quarters of an hour, a middling one half an hour, and a small one, or a chicken, twenty minutes. The fire must be very quick and clear, before any fowls are put down. A capon will take from half an hour to thirty-five minutes, a goose an hour, wild ducks a quarter of an hour, pheasants twenty minutes, a small stuffed turkey an hour and a quarter, turkey poults twenty minutes, grouse a quarter of an hour, quails ten minutes, and partridges about twenty-five minutes. A hare will take nearly an hour, and the hind part requires most heat. Pigs and geese require a brisk fire, and quick turning. Hares and rabbits must be well attended to, and the extremities brought to the quick part of the fire, to be done equally with the backs. POULTRY YARD. In the rearing of poultry, care should be taken to choose a fine large breed, or the ends of good management may be defeated. The Dartford sort is generally approved, but it is difficult to say which is to be preferred, if they be but healthy and vigorous. The black sort are very juicy, but as their legs are so much discoloured, they are not well adapted for boiling. Those hens are usually preferred for setting, which have tufts of feathers on their head; those that crow are not considered so profitable. Some fine young fowls should be reared every year, to keep up a stock of good breeders, and bad layers and careless nurses should be excluded. The best age for a setting hen is from two to five years, and it is necessary to remark which among them are the best breeders. Hens set twenty days, and convenient places should be provided for their laying, which will also serve for setting and hatching. A hen house should be large and high, should be frequently cleaned out, and well secured from the approach of vermin, or the eggs will be sucked, and the fowls destroyed. Hens must not be disturbed while sitting, for if frightened, they are apt to forsake their nests. Wormwood and rue should be planted about their houses; some of the former should occasionally be boiled, and sprinkled about the floor, which should not be paved, but formed of smooth earth. The windows of the house should be open to the rising sun, and a hole left at the door to let in the smaller fowls; the larger may be let in and out by opening the door. There should be a small sliding board to shut down when the fowls are gone to roost, to prevent the ravages of vermin, and a strong door and lock should be added, to secure the poultry from thieves and robbers. Let the hens lay some time before they are allowed to set, the proper time for which will be from the end of February to the beginning of May. Broods of chickens are hatched all through the summer, but those that come out very late require care till they have gained sufficient strength. Feed the hens well during the time of laying, and give them oats occasionally. If the eggs of any other sort are put under a hen with some of her own, observe to add her own as many days after the others as there is a difference in the length of their setting. A turkey and duck set thirty days, the hen only twenty. Choose large clear eggs to put her upon, and such a number as she can properly cover; about ten or twelve are quite sufficient. If the eggs be very large, they sometimes contain a double yolk, and in that case neither will be productive. When some of the chickens are hatched, long before the others, it may be necessary to keep them in a basket of wool till the others come forth. The day after they are hatched, give them some crumbs of white bread or grots soaked in milk, which are very nourishing. As soon as they have gained a little strength, feed them with curd, cheese parings cut small, or any soft food, but nothing that is sour, and provide them with clean water twice a day. Keep the hen under a pen till the young have strength to follow her about, which will be in two or three weeks; and be sure to feed the hen well. Poultry in general should be fed as nearly as possible at the same hour of the day, and in the same place, as this will be the surest way of collecting them together. Potatoes boiled in a little water, so as to be dry and mealy, and then cut, and wetted with skim milk that is not sour, will form an agreeable food for poultry, and young turkies will thrive much on it. Grain should however be given occasionally, or the constant use of potatoe food will make their flesh soft and insipid. The food of fowls goes first into the crop, which softens it; it then passes into the gizzard, which by constant friction macerates it; this is facilitated by small stones which are generally found there, and which help to digest the food. If a setting hen be troubled with vermin, let her be well washed with a decoction of white lupins. The pip in fowls is occasioned by drinking dirty water, or taking filthy food. The general symptom is a white thin scale on the tongue, which should be pulled off with the finger; afterwards rub the tongue with a little salt, and the disorder will be removed.--GEESE require a somewhat different management. They generally breed once in a year; but if well kept, they will frequently hatch twice within that period. Three of these birds are usually allotted to a gander; if there were more, the eggs would be rendered abortive. The quantity of eggs to be placed under each goose while setting, is about a dozen or thirteen. While brooding, they should be well fed with corn and water, which must be placed near them, so that they may eat at pleasure. The ganders should never be excluded from their company, because they are then instinctively anxious to watch over and guard their own geese. The nests of geese should be made of straw, and so confined that the eggs may not roll out, as the geese turn them every day. When they are nearly hatched, it is proper to break the shell near the back of the young gosling, as well for the purpose of admitting the air, as to enable it to make its escape at the proper time. To fatten young geese, the best way is to coop them up in a dark narrow place, where they are to be fed with ground malt mixed with milk; or if milk be scarce, with barley meal mashed up with water. A less expensive way will be to give them boiled oats, with either duck's meat or boiled carrots; and as they are very fond of variety, these may be given them alternately. They will then become fat in a few weeks, and their flesh will acquire a fine flavour. In order to fatten stubble geese at Michaelmas time, the way is to turn them out on the wheat stubble, or those pastures that grow after wheat has been harvested. They are afterwards to be pent up, and fed with ground malt mixed with water. Boiled oats or wheat may occasionally be substituted.--DUCKS are fattened in the same manner, only they must be allowed a large pan of water to dabble in. Those kept for breeders, should have the convenience of a large pond; and such as have their bills a little turned up will generally be found the most prolific. In the spring of the year, an additional number of ducks may be reared by putting the eggs under the care of the hen, who will hatch them as her own brood.--TURKIES, early in the spring, will often wander to a distance in order to construct their nest, where the hen deposits from fourteen to seventeen eggs, but seldom produces more than one brood in a season. Great numbers are reared in the northern counties, and driven by hundreds to the London market by means of a shred of scarlet cloth fastened to the end of a pole, which from their antipathy to this colour serves as a whip. Turkies being extremely delicate fowls, are soon injured by the cold: hence it is necessary, soon after they are hatched, to force them to swallow one whole peppercorn each, and then restore them to the parent bird. They are also liable to a peculiar disorder, which often proves fatal in a little time. On inspecting the rump feathers, two or three of their quills will be found to contain blood; but on drawing them out, the chickens soon recover, and afterwards require no other care than common poultry. Young turkies should be fed with crumbs of bread and milk, eggs boiled hard and chopped, or with common dock leaves cut fine, and mixed with fresh butter-milk. They also require to be kept in the sunshine or a warm place, and guarded from the rain, or from running among the nettles. They are very fond of the common garden peppercress, or cut-leaved cress, and should be supplied with as much of it as they will eat, or allowed to pick it off the bed. In Norfolk they are fed with curds and chopped onions, also with buck wheat, and are literally crammed with boluses of barley meal till their crops are full, which perhaps may account for the superior excellence of the turkies in that part of the kingdom. POUNCE. This article, used in writing, is made of gum sandaric, powdered and sifted very fine; or an equal quantity of rosin, burnt alum, and cuttle fishbone well dried, and mixed together. This last is of a superior quality. POUND CAKE. Beat a pound of butter to a cream, and mix with it the whites and yolks of eight eggs beaten apart. Have ready warm by the fire, a pound of flour, and the same of sifted sugar. Mix them and a few cloves, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, in fine powder together; then by degrees work the dry ingredients into the butter and eggs. It must be well beaten for a full hour, adding a glass of wine, and some carraway seeds. Butter a pan, and bake it a full hour in a quick oven. The above proportions, leaving out four ounces of the butter, and the same of sugar, make a less luscious cake, but a very pleasant one. POUNDED CHEESE. Cut a pound of good mellow cheese into thin slices, add to it two or three ounces of fresh butter, rub them well together in a mortar till quite smooth. When cheese is dry, and for those whose digestion is feeble, this is the best way of eating it; and spread on bread, it makes an excellent supper. The flavour of this dish may be encreased by pounding it with curry powder, ground spice, black cayenne, and a little made mustard; or it may be moistened with a glass of sherry. If pressed down hard in a jar, and covered with clarified butter, it will keep for several days in cool weather. PRAWNS AND SHRIMPS. When fresh they have a sweet flavour, are firm and stiff, and of a bright colour. Shrimps are of the prawn kind, and may be judged by the same rules. PRAWN SOUP. Boil six whitings and a large eel, in as much water as will cover them, after being well cleaned. Skim them clean, and put in whole pepper, mace, ginger, parsley, or onion, a little thyme, and three cloves, and boil the whole to a mash. Pick fifty crawfish, or a hundred prawns; pound the shells, and a small roll. But first boil them with a little water, vinegar, salt, and herbs. Put this liquor over the shells in a sieve, and then pour the soup, clear from the sediment. Chop a lobster, and add this to it, with a quart of good beef gravy. Add also the tails of the crawfish, or the prawns, with some flour and butter. The seasoning may be heightened, if approved. PRESERVES. These can never be done to perfection, without plenty of good sugar. Fruits may be kept with small quantities of sugar, but then they must boil so long that there is as much waste in the boiling away, as some more sugar added at first would have cost, and the quality of the preserve will neither be so proper for use, nor of so good an appearance, as with a larger proportion of sugar, and moderate boiling. Fruits are often put up without any sugar at all, but if they do not ferment and spoil, which is very common, they must have a good deal of sugar added to them when used, and thus the risk of spoiling seems hardly compensated by any saving. The only real economy that can be exercised in this case is, not to make any preserves at all. The most perfect state in which fruits in general can be taken for preserving is, just when they are full ripe. Sooner than this they have not acquired their best qualities, and if they hang long after it they begin to lose them. Some persons will delay the doing them, under an idea that the longer they hang the less sugar they require. But it is a false economy that would lose the perfection of the fruit to save some of the sugar, and probably quite unfounded in fact, as all things will naturally keep the best that are taken at their highest perfection, and hence do with as little sugar then as at any time. PRESERVED CUCUMBERS. Choose such as are most free from seed; some should be small to preserve whole, and others large to cut in pieces. Put them into a jar, with strong salt and water, and a cabbage leaf to keep them down, and set them in a warm place till they turn yellow. Then wash and set them over the fire in fresh water, with a little salt, and a fresh cabbage leaf over them; cover the pan close, but they must not be boiled. If not of a fine green, change the water, cover them as before, and make them hot; when of a good green, take them off the fire, and let them stand till cold. Cut the large cucumbers in quarters, and take out the seeds and pulp; put them into cold water for two days, and change the water twice each day. Place on the fire a pound of refined sugar, with half a pint of water; skim it clean, put in the rind of a lemon, and an ounce of ginger with the outside scraped off. When the syrup is pretty thick take it off, and when cold wipe the cucumbers dry, and put them in. Boil the syrup every two or three days, continuing to do so for three weeks, and make it stronger if necessary. Be sure to put the syrup to the cucumbers quite cold, cover them close, and keep them in a dry place. PRESERVED OYSTERS. Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them, except in dividing the gristle which attaches the shells. Put them into a mortar, and add about two drams of salt to a dozen oysters. Pound and then rub them through the back of a hair sieve, and put them into the mortar again, with as much well-dried flour as will make them into a paste. Roll it out several times, and at last flour and roll it out the thickness of a half crown, and divide it into pieces about an inch square. Lay them in a Dutch oven, that they may dry gently without being burnt; turn them every half hour, and when they begin to dry, crumble them. They will take about four hours to dry, then pound them fine, sift and put them into bottles, and seal them down. To make half a pint of oyster sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan, with three drams of oyster powder, and six spoonfuls of milk. Set it on a slow fire, stir it till it boils, and season it with salt. This powder, if made of plump juicy natives, will abound with the flavour of the fish; and if closely corked, and kept in a dry place, will remain good for some time. It is also an agreeable substitute when oysters are out of season, and is a valuable addition to the list of fish sauces. It is equally good with boiled fowl, or rump steak; and sprinkled on bread and butter, it makes a very good sandwich. PRESERVED WALNUTS. Put the walnuts into cold water, let them boil five minutes, strain off the water, and change it three times. Dry the nuts in a cloth, and weigh them; to every pound of nuts allow a pound of sugar, and stick a clove in each. Put them into a jar with some rose vinegar; boil up a syrup, with a pint of water and half a pound of sugar, and pour over them. Let them stand three or four days, and boil up the syrup again. Repeat this three times, and at last give the walnuts a good scald, and let them remain in the syrup. PRESERVATION OF BUTTER. Butter, as it is generally cured, does not keep well for any length of time, without spoiling or becoming rancid. The following method of preserving butter, supposing it to have been previously well made, is recommended as the best at present known. Reduce separately to fine powder in a dry mortar, two pounds of the whitest common salt, one pound of saltpetre, and one pound of lump sugar. Sift these ingredients one above another, on two sheets of paper joined together, and then mix them well with the hands, or with a spatula. Preserve the whole in a covered jar, placed in a dry situation. When required to be used, one ounce of this composition is to be proportioned to every pound of butter, and the whole is to be well worked into the mass: the butter is then to be packed in casks in the usual way. Butter cured with this mixture will be of a rich marrowy consistence, and will never acquire that brittle hardness so common to salt butter. It has been known to keep for three years, as sweet as it was at first; but it must be observed, that butter thus cured requires to stand at least three weeks or a month before it is used. If it be opened sooner, the salts are not sufficiently blended with it, and sometimes the coolness of the nitre will then be perceived, which totally disappears afterwards. Cleanliness in this article is indispensable, but it is not generally suspected, that butter made or kept in vessels or troughs lined with lead, or put into glazed earthenware pans, is too apt to be contaminated with particles of that deleterious metal. If the butter is in the least degree rancid, this can hardly fail to take place; and it cannot be doubted, that during the decomposition of the salts, the glazing is acted upon. It is better therefore to use tinned vessels for mixing the preservative with the butter, and to pack it either in wooden vessels, or in stone jars which are vitrified throughout, and do not require any inside glazing. PRESSED BEEF. Salt a piece of the brisket, a thin part of the flank, or the tops of the ribs, with salt and saltpetre five days. Boil it gently till extremely tender, put it under a great weight, or in a cheesepress, and let it remain till perfectly cold. It is excellent for sandwiches, or a cold dish. PRIMROSE VINEGAR. Boil four pounds of moist sugar in ten quarts of water for about a quarter of an hour, and take off the scum. Then pour the liquor on six pints of primroses, add some fresh yeast before it is quite cold, and let it work all night in a warm place. When the fermentation is over, close up the barrel, and still keep it in a warm place. PRINCE OF WALES'S PUDDING. Put half a pound of loaf sugar, and half a pound of fresh butter, into a saucepan; set it over the fire till both are melted, stirring it well, as it is very liable to burn, but do not let it boil. Pour this into an earthen pan, grate the rind of a lemon into it, and leave it to cool. Have ready two sponge biscuits soaked in a quarter of a pint of cream, bruise them fine and stir them into the sugar and butter. Beat the yolks of ten, and the whites of five eggs well with a little salt; squeeze and strain the juice of the lemon into them, and mix these well in with the other ingredients. Lay a puff paste into the dish, strew it with pieces of candied lemon peel, put in the pudding, and bake it three quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. Sift fine sugar over it, before it is sent to the table. PROVISIONS. The first of all requisites for human sustenance is Bread, which with great propriety is denominated 'the staff of life.' The next to this is Meat, which though not alike essential, is of great importance in strengthening and invigorating the human frame. The former of these constituting the principal food of great numbers, and a part of the sustenance of all people, it is highly necessary to attend carefully to the ingredients of which it is composed, and to the manner in which it is prepared. A person's health must inevitably be injured by bad corn and flour, and even by what is good, when improperly prepared. The best flour is often made into bad bread by not suffering it to rise sufficiently; by not kneading it well, by not baking it enough, and by keeping it too long. Mixing other substances with the flour also injures the quality of the bread in a very high degree. These faults have a bad effect on those who generally eat such bread, but the injury is still more serious to children and weakly persons. Where the flour is corrupted, the use of it in every other article of food, will of course be as unwholesome as in that of bread. The mere exposure to the air will evaporate and deaden all flour, though the grain may never have passed through any fermentation or digestion; as in the instance of wheat flour, the strongest and the best of any other. For this reason, flour which has been ground five or six weeks, or longer, though it be kept close in sacks or barrels, will not make so sweet a loaf, nor one so moist and pleasant, as that which is newly ground. Hence all bread made in London eats drier and harsher than bread in the country, which is made within a few days after the grinding of the wheat. All grains which are ground, ought therefore to be used as soon afterwards as possible. But this is not the most profitable to the dealers in meal, as meal newly ground will not part so freely from the bran, nor consequently yield so much flour, as when it lies a certain time after the grinding; for this disposes the branny and floury parts to give way from each other, and thus they separate easier and more completely than when dressed immediately. The flour also then looks finer, but the bread made of such meal is not of so good a quality as that made of meal fresh ground. All sorts of grain kept entire, will remain sound and good for a long time: but flour will in a comparatively short time, corrupt, and generate worms. This therefore requires peculiar attention, or much loss and injury may be sustained. The health of mankind depends in great measure on the good or bad preparation of food, and on the purity of all sorts of provisions: and grain being the most essential article of sustenance, very much depends on the conduct of millers, bakers, and mealmen. Those who acquit themselves honestly in these vocations are entitled to a fair profit, and the goodwill of their fellow-men: but such as betray the confidence reposed in them, by corrupting or withholding it when needed, are undoubtedly amongst the worst enemies of mankind. So far as health is concerned, bread made with leaven is preferable to that made with yeast; the sour quality of leaven is more agreeable to the ferment of the stomach than yeast; it is also easier of digestion, and more cleansing. It opens the vessels, and gives a healthy appetite; and a little use will make it familiar and pleasant to the eater. This bread however seldom agrees with weak stomachs, especially such as are liable to acidity and heartburn. One of the best kinds of bread for sickly people, is made of wheaten flour, the coarse or husky bran being taken out, but not finely dressed; otherwise it would be dry, and obstructing to the stomach. The inner skin or branny parts of wheat contain a moisty quality, which is opening and cleansing, while the fine floury parts afford more nourishment. Bread therefore of a middling quality is the wholesomest, and the best. Mixing in much salt is injurious, from the change it occasions in bread of every description. Finding no matter liable to putrefaction to work on, it acts upon the best qualities of the flour, which it alters and corrupts. Hence, when bread is intended to be kept a considerable time, as biscuits for a long voyage, no salt is put into it. But bread for common use will admit of a moderate portion of salt. It may be remarked however, that bread, notwithstanding it is so excellent with meat, milk, and vegetables, is not so substantial and nourishing as flour, when prepared in porridges and other articles. To have good bread, it should not be baked in too close an oven, but a free passage should be left for the air. The best way is to make it into thin cakes, and bake them on a stone, which many in the northern counties use for that purpose, making a wood fire under it. This sort of bread is sweeter, of a more innocent taste, and far easier of digestion, than bread baked the common way in ovens. In the same manner cakes may be made of any kind of grain, such as rye, oats, or barley, and will be found more wholesome and nourishing, and more agreeable to nature, than bread made in the usual manner. Oat cakes are often preferred to those made of wheat flour, as they tend to open the body, and are rather warmer, to cold and weak stomachs. Barley is not so nourishing, and requires more preparation to render it digestible, than the other kinds of grain. Cakes, biscuits, muffins, buns, crumpets, and small bread, made with eggs, butter, or sugar, seldom agree with delicate persons. Biscuits made without leaven, yeast, butter, or sugar, are more difficult of digestion, than bread when it is fermented. Where bread is fixed to a standard weight and price, bakers are very apt to mix alum and pearlash with it, for the purpose of hastening its rising, and of encreasing its weight, by causing it to retain its moisture. If a piece of bread be soaked in water, and turns the juice of a red cabbage into a green colour, it is a proof that it contains an alkali or earthy substance, which is most probably pearlash. It is said that a compound salt is clandestinely sold in London, under the name of baker's salt, and is composed of the above ingredients. When there is reason to suspect that bread is adulterated with alum, it may be detected thus. Cut about a pound of bread into an earthen vessel, pour upon it a quart of boiling water, and let it stand till cold. Strain the liquor off gently through a piece of fine linen, boil it down to about a wine glass full, and set it by to cool. If there be a mixture of alum, it will form itself into crystals. The observance of the following rules may be considered as essential to the making of good bread. The corn must be sound and clean, and newly ground, and not contaminated with any extraneous mixtures. To make it easy of digestion it should be leavened, and moderately seasoned with salt. Let it rise for several hours, and be well wrought and kneaded with the hands. It must be well baked, but neither over nor under-done. If baked too little, the bread will be heavy, clammy, and unwholesome: if too much, its strength and goodness will be consumed. In general, bread should not be eaten hot; it is then more viscid, and harder of digestion. Bread is in its best state the first and second day after it is baked. Economical bread, or bread of an inferior quality, depraved by other mixtures, has frequently been recommended to poor people in times of scarcity; but except where absolute necessity exists, this is a kind of policy that cannot be too severely condemned. The labouring classes, whose dependence is almost entirely upon bread, ought to be provided with what is of the purest and most nutricious quality, and at a reasonable price. They might then live upon their labour, and in health and activity would feel that labour itself was sweet. If potatoes, rice, or any other ingredients are to be mixed with the bread, to lower its nutricious qualities, let it not be offered to the labourer; but if economy of this kind be required, let it be exercised by those whose eyes are standing out with fatness, and to whom a sparer diet might be beneficial.--MEAT in general, as well as all other kinds of food, is nourishing or otherwise, according to its quality, and the manner in which it is prepared. There are peculiar constitutions, or particular diseases and periods of life, when animal food is highly detrimental; and others again, when it is essentially necessary; but it is the general use of it, and not these exceptions, that will be the subject of the following observations. As a part of our habitual diet, the main points to be attended to are, the kinds of animal food, and the modes of dressing it, which are most to be recommended. A choice of meat is desirable, but if the animals subject to this choice be neither sound nor healthy, it is of little consequence which kind is preferred, for they, are alike unwholesome. It is proper therefore to avoid the flesh of all such as are fatted in confinement, or upon pernicious substances, which can never make wholesome food. Oil cakes and rank vegetables, with want of air and exercise, will produce such sort of meat as will shew immediately from its appearance, that it must be unwholesome. Animals may eat rancid fulsome food, and grow fat upon it, and yet the meat they produce may be highly offensive. Hunger and custom will induce the eating of revolting substances, both in the brute and human species; and growing fat is by no means a certain sign of health. On the contrary, it is frequently the symptom of a gross habit, and a tendency to disease. The distinct effects of various kinds of food upon animals, are very obvious in the instance of milch cows. Grass, hay, straw, grains, turnips, and oil cakes, produce milk of such different qualities as must be at once distinguished; and the preference to that where cows are fed upon grass or hay, and next to them straw, appears very decided. The inference would be fair, that it must be the same with respect to flesh, even if it were less obvious than it is. It is an unwise economy, in the management of cows, that withholds from them a sufficient quantity of the best and most nourishing food. If duly appreciated, the quality of milk is even of superior importance to that of flesh, from its general excellence and utility as an article of food. If milk was plentiful and good, the want of meat would in many instances not be felt, and in others, the consumption of it might be lessened with great advantage. To confine cows with a view to increase their supply of milk, is as injurious to the quality of it, as the confinement of animals is in other instances. The over feeding them also with a similar view, is an injurious practice. Cleanliness too is no less essential to keeping them in a wholesome state, than to animals intended to be slaughtered. It is no uncommon effect of confining and cramming animals, that they become diseased in the liver, besides acquiring a general tendency to putridity in their juices and muscular substances, from want of air and exercise, excess of feeding and bad food, and the dirt in which they live. A brute, no more than a human being, can digest above a certain quantity of food, to convert it into actual nourishment; and good chyle can only be produced from wholesome food, cleanliness, air, and exercise. To be well fleshed rather than fat, is the desirable state of animals destined for slaughter. There will always be with this a sufficient proportion of fat; and labouring by artificial means to produce more, is only encreasing that part of animal substance, which from its gross indigestible nature is not proper for human diet, unless in a very limited degree. Venison, which in its domestic state is never fatted like other animals; game, and every wild animal proper for food; possess superior qualities to the tame, from the total contrast in their habits, more than from the food they eat. They have an extensive range in the open air, take much exercise, and choose their own sustenance, the good effects of which are very evident in a short delicate texture of flesh found only in them. Their juices and flavour are more pure, and their fat is far more delicious than that of home-bred animals. The superiority of Welch mutton and Scotch beef is owing to a similar cause, and is still more in point than the former, as a contrast between animals of the same species under different management. The preferences just mentioned are not a mere matter of taste, which might readily be dispensed with, but are founded on more important considerations. A short delicate texture renders the meat more digestible, in a very high degree, than the coarse, heavy, stringy kind of substance produced by the misapplied art of man. A pure animal juice too, is something more than a luxury; for if what we use as food is not pure, neither can our blood nor our juices be so. If we would but be content with unadulterated luxuries, we have them at our command; and provided they are not indulged to excess, are of decided advantage to our health. Supposing all animal flesh to be good of its kind, there is still abundant room for selection and choice. Mutton, beef, venison, game, wild rabbits, fowls, turkies, and various small birds, are preferable to lamb, veal, pork, young pigs, ducks, geese, and tame rabbits. Beef and mutton are much easier of digestion and more nutricious than veal and lamb, especially if not slaughtered before they come to proper maturity. Nothing arrives at perfection under a stated period of growth, and till this is attained it will afford only inferior nutriment. If the flesh of mutton and lamb, beef and veal, are compared, they will be found of a different texture, and the two young meats of a more stringy indivisible nature than the others, which makes them harder of digestion. Neither are their juices so nourishing when digested; as any one at all in the habit of observing what is passing within and about them will readily perceive from their own experience. Lamb and veal leave a craving nausea in the stomach, not perceived after taking other kinds of animal food. Veal broth soon turns sour by standing, owing to the sugar of milk contained in the blood of a calf; and the same change takes place in a weak stomach. Persons in the habit of drinking strong liquors with their meals, cannot competently judge of such an effect; as these liquors harden all kinds of animal food, and therefore little distinction can be perceived amongst them. Pork and young pigs are liable to the same objections as lamb and veal, but in a greater degree; they are fat and luscious, but afford no nutriment. Ducks and geese are of a coarse oily nature, and only fit for very strong stomachs. Tame rabbits are of a closer heavier texture than wild ones, and hence of inferior quality. Pigeons are of a hot nature, and should therefore be used sparingly. Fowls and turkies are of a mild proper nature for food, but the fattening them in confinement is equally prejudicial, as to other animals already mentioned. If left at large, well fed with good barley, and with clean water to drink, they will be little inferior to game. Barley is preferable to barley meal, as retaining all the natural qualities of the grain in greater perfection than when ground; and as these birds are provided with grinders in the gizzard, the concocting their own food is more nourishing and wholesome for them. These, like other animals, should be suffered to attain their full growth, in order to have them in the best state for nutriment. Some parts of birds, and other animals, are hard and viscid, as the head, neck, feet, and tail; the parts about the wings, back, and breast of birds, are in general the most tender, and of the finest flavour. In four-footed animals, the upper part of the leg and shoulder, the back, breast, and long bones of the neck, are generally superior to the rest. The heart and other viscera are nutricious, but hard of digestion, and improper for weak stomachs. The larger an animal is of its kind, the flesh of it will be stronger, and more difficult to digest; the juices also will be more rank than those of smaller ones of the same species, supposing them to have arrived at the same maturity. Animals which abound with fat and oily substances are harder to digest, than those of a drier and more fleshy nature; and to persons who use but little exercise, or have weak stomachs, this kind of food is very improper. Its tendency is to weaken the tone and force of the stomach, the fat and oil being enclosed in little bladders, which are with difficulty broken and separated. Hence fat meat is not so digestible as that of well fed animals, which do not abound with fat. The flesh of very old animals is unwholesome, being hard, dry, sinewy, innutricious, and difficult to digest. Those which are the longest in coming to maturity have the coarsest juices, such as oxen, cows, and boars. These are less tender and digestible than sheep, venison, hares, rabbits, poultry, game, and other birds. In almost all cases, the strong and pungent in flavour are harder to digest than those of a milder nature. The flesh of birds is lighter, drier, and easier of digestion, than that of four-footed animals. A difference also arises from the place of pasturage, from food and exercise. Animals living in high places, refreshed with wholesome winds, and cherished with the warm beams of the sun, where there are no marshes, lakes, or standing waters, are preferable to those living in pools, as ducks and geese, and other kinds of fowl.--FISH is less nourishing than flesh, because it is gross, phlegmatic, cold, and full of watery superfluities: but under certain restrictions, it may be safely used as a part of our general diet. It is unsuitable to cold phlegmatic constitutions, but very well adapted to such as are hot and choleric. The white kinds of fish, which contain neither fat nor oil, are preferable to the rest; such as whitings, turbot, soles, skate, haddock, flounders, smelts, trout, and graylings. These are easier of digestion than salmon, mackarel, eels, lampreys, herrings, or sprats, and therefore more wholesome. Shell-fish, such as oysters, muscles, cockles, crabs, and lobsters, are very far from being easy of digestion, and are particularly improper for invalids, though too commonly imagined to be suitable in such cases. In general it may be observed, that those kinds of fish which are well grown, nourish better than the young and immature. Sea-fish are wholesomer than fresh-water fish: they are of a hotter nature, not so moist, and more approaching to flesh meat. Of all sea and river fish, those are the best which live in rocky places. Next to these, in gravelly or sandy places, in sweet, clear, running water, where there is nothing offensive. Those which live in pools, muddy lakes, marshes, or stagnant water, are bad. Whether sea or river fish, those are the best which are not too large, whose flesh is not hard and dry, but crisp and tender; which taste and smell well, and have many fins and scales. All fresh fish should be eaten hot, and less in quantity than fresh meat. Fish should not be eaten very often, and never after great labour and exercise, nor after eating other solid food. Fish and milk are not proper to be eaten at the same meal, nor should eggs be used with fish, except with salt fish, and that should be well soaked in water before it is dressed. It may be eaten with carrots or parsnips, instead of egg sauce. If salt fish be eaten too often, or without this precaution, it produces gross humours and bad juices in the body; occasions thirst, hoarseness, sharpness in the blood, and other unfavourable symptoms. It is therefore a kind of food which should be used very sparingly, and given only to persons of a strong constitution. All kinds of salted and dried fish are innutricious and unwholesome, and their injurious effects are often visible in the habits of seafaring people. Even prawns and shrimps, if eaten too freely, are known to produce surfeits, which end in St. Anthony's fire.--If proper attention be paid to health, every kind of sustenance intended for the use of man, must be provided in its SEASON; for to every thing there is both time and season, which the wisdom and goodness of providence have pointed out. Every production is the most pure in quality, and of course the most wholesome, when nature has perfected her work, and prepared it for human sustenance. To anticipate her seasons, or to prolong them, is a misapplication of labour, and a perversion of the bounties of providence into secret poisons, to indulge the wanton cravings of a depraved appetite. The properties of animal food in general seem not to restrict the use of it to any particular season, but rather to admit its common use at all times. The only period in which it is less seasonable than at any other, appears to be in hot weather, when animal substances of all kinds are very liable to taint. The profuse supply of vegetables too in the warmer months, seems to lessen the occasion for animal food. Attention should be paid however at all times to the proper season for using the different kinds of animal food, and to the various circumstances that may contribute to its being more or less wholesome. The killing of animals by the easiest means, and not previously abusing them by over-driving, or in any other way, materially affects their fitness for food, and ought therefore to be carefully attended to. The high flavour, or taint in meat, which so many English palates prefer, is in fact the commencement of putrefaction; and of course meat in this state is very improper for food, particularly for persons with any tendency to putrid disorders. At a time when bad fevers prevail, food of this description ought to be generally avoided, as it disposes the blood and juices to receive infection. With respect to grain, its adaptedness to keep the whole year round, evidently denotes that it was intended for constant use. But the recurrence of an annual supply seems to be the voice of nature, forbidding its being kept in ordinary cases to a longer period, especially as new corn is generally preferred to the old. All other vegetables, including fruits, seem designed only for a transient season. Roots, and a few late fruits, have indeed the property of keeping for some months, and may thus provide a store for the winter, when fresh vegetables are less plentiful. Other kinds will not keep without undergoing a culinary process, by which they are rendered less wholesome, however palatable they may be considered. Provisions of almost every description may be preserved from putrefaction by being partially dressed and then closely stopped down, as has been fully demonstrated by Messrs. Donkin and Gamble of Bermondsey, who by means of air-tight canisters are in the habit of preparing all kinds of meat, which will keep perfectly sweet and fresh for a considerable length of time in any climate, and are incomparably better than those preserved in the ordinary way by salting or drying. But however applicable these preserves may be to the purposes of a long voyage, or a foreign expedition, where no fresh supplies can be obtained, they are by no means to be recommended to private families, who enjoy the superior advantages of going to market for fresh provisions. Time, which devours all things, cannot fail to impair, though not immediately, the flavour and other properties of whatever is preserved, in defiance of every precaution against its influence. The appearance and flavour of such articles may not be revolting to us, but if compared with the same things when fresh and well dressed, their inferiority is sufficiently obvious. Pickled salmon is a familiar instance of this kind. It is very generally relished, and often preferred to fresh salmon; yet if brought into comparison, the substance of the one is heavy, that of the other light and elastic. The flavour of the pickled salmon is sophisticated and deadened, if not vapid; that of the other is natural, fresh, and delicate, the pure volatile spirit not being destroyed by improper cookery, or long keeping. Instances of violent surfeits often occur from eating pickled salmon, soused mackarel, and other rich preserves, not from their being in a state of decay, but from the unwholesomeness of their preparation. People acquire tastes indeed, that reconcile them to any thing; that even make them fond of corrupted flavours, such as decayed cheese, tainted meat, and other things of a similar description. Our taste therefore is very likely to betray us into error; and to guard against it, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between what is really wholesome and what is otherwise, for this is rather a matter of judgment than of taste.--A few brief remarks may very properly be added on the important article of MILK, which forms, or ought to form, an essential part of the food of every family, in one shape or another. As far as regards the general properties of milk, it is in season at all times; and by judicious management it might always be supplied in sufficient quantities to become a plentiful source of human sustenance. It is of the best quality however, five or six months after a cow has calved. When she becomes with calf again, her milk will of course fall off, both in quantity and in quality. The impatient greediness of cow-keepers would have calves and milk at the same time, and on this account they seldom allow their dairies a fair interval for keeping up a successive supply of the best milk. To keep cows in the healthiest condition, and their milk consequently in the purest state, they should not be confined in houses, nor in yards, but suffered to go at large in the open fields. They should also be well fed with wholesome provender, and have access to good water. If kept quite clean, by occasionally rubbing them down, and washing their bag, and legs and feet, their health would be promoted, and of course the nutricious quality of the milk. If the comfort and welfare of society were consulted, the higher classes would not slight their dairies for studs of horses, kept more for ostentation than for use. In reference to the same subject, the breaking up of small farms is deeply to be regretted, not only as ruinous to a numerous class of deserving persons, but as depriving the markets and the neighbourhoods of those articles of necessity which their industry produced. It was an object to a small farmer to make the most of his dairy and poultry yard, which to an occupier on a larger scale is regarded as a matter of indifference. The consequence is, there is neither so plentiful a supply of these things, nor are they so good in quality as formerly. The wife of a small farmer attended to her own business, her poultry was brought up at the barn door, and killed when it was sweet and wholesome, while the produce of her dairy redounded to her credit, and afforded ample satisfaction to her customers.--The most judicious choice of food however will avail but little, if the manner of preparing it is not equally judicious. The principal error in cooking lies in overdoing what is intended for the table; the qualities of the meat are then so entirely changed, that it ceases to be nourishing, and becomes hard of digestion. It is literally put into the stomach only to be pressed out of it again by some unnatural exertion, which at last throws the oppressive load into the rest of the system, from whence it will not pass off without leaving some injury behind it. This, frequently repeated, ends at last in acute or chronic diseases, no less certainly than constant friction upon a stone will at length wear it away, though it may be a long time before any impression upon it is perceived. Similar effects arise from drinking, but generally with a more rapid progress, from the extension and collapse of the vessels being more sudden and violent. Plain cookery, in the exact medium between under and over doing, is the point to be attained to render our food salutary. The mixture of a great variety of ingredients should be avoided, for if good in themselves separately, they are often rendered indigestible by being compounded one with another. As we must eat every day, there is opportunity enough for all things in turn, without attempting any unwholesome composition. Much seasoning with spices, contributes to make animal food indigestible. They are much safer when used just before serving up the dish, or by adding them at the time of eating it. Beef and pork long salted, and hams, bacon, tongues, and hung beef, are very indigestible, and particularly improper for weak stomachs, though they will often crave them. Boiled meat is generally preferable to roast meat, for nourishment and digestion. Boiling extracts more of the rank strong juices, and renders it lighter and more diluted. Roasting leaves it fuller of gravy, but it adds to the rigidity of the fibres. The flesh of young animals is best roasted. Fried and broiled meats are difficult to be digested, though they are very nourishing: weak stomachs had better avoid them. Meat pies and puddings cannot be recommended, but strong stomachs may sustain but little inconvenience from them. It is a confined mode of cookery, and the meat therefore is not at all purified of its grossness. When meat pies and puddings are used, they should be moderately seasoned. Baking meat, instead of roasting it, is a worse manner of dressing it, from the closeness of the oven, and the great variety of things often baking at the same time. Stewing is not a good way of dressing meat, unless it is done very carefully. If it is stewed till all the juices are drawn from the meat, the latter becomes quite unfit for food: and if the stewpan be kept close covered, there are the same objections to it as meat pies and puddings. Hashing is a very bad mode of cooking. It is doing over again what has already been done enough, and makes the meat vapid and hard. What would have been good nourishment in the cold meat, is thus totally lost, as the juices, which are all drawn into the gravy, are spoiled by this second cookery, which exposes them too long to the fire. PRUNE PUDDING. Mix four spoonfuls of flour in a quart of milk; add six eggs, two tea-spoonfuls of powdered ginger, a little salt, and a pound of prunes. Tie it in a cloth, and boil it an hour. PRUNE TART. Scald some prunes, take out the stones and break them. Put the kernels into a little cranberry juice, with the prunes and sugar; simmer them together, and when cold, make a tart of the sweetmeat. PRUNING. In pruning wall fruit, care should be taken to cut off all fresh shoots that will not readily bind to the wall; for if any be twisted or bruised in the binding, they will in time decay, and the sap will issue from the place. Vines should not be cut too close to please the eye, as by that means they have sometimes been rendered barren of fruit. Two knots should generally be left on new shoots, which will produce two bunches of grapes, and which are to be cut off at the next pruning. New branches are to be left every year, and some of the old ones must be removed, which will increase the quantity of fruit. PUDDINGS. The only puddings which can with propriety be recommended, as really wholesome diet, are those of the simplest kind, such as are seldom met with except in families in the middle ranks of life. The poor unfortunately cannot get them, and the rich prefer those of a more complex kind, of which the best that can be hoped is, that they will not do much harm. The principal ingredients of common puddings are so mild and salutary, that unless they are over-cooked, or too many of them mixed together, such puddings are generally wholesome. To make them of the best and most nutricious quality, the materials should all be fresh and good of their kind; such as, flour newly ground, new milk, fresh laid eggs, and fresh suet. Millet, sago, tapioca, whole rice, will all keep a considerable time, if put into a dry place. When rice, millet, or sago, are wanted to be used ground, they had better be ground at home for the sake of having them fresh, and the certainty of having them pure. Such a mill as is used for grinding coffee, will grind them extremely well. The whites of eggs should never be used in puddings for children, or persons of weak stomachs, or for those who are any way indisposed, on account of their being indigestible. Omitting them altogether would indeed be attended with no disadvantage. The yolk of an egg alone answers the same purpose, as when the white is used with it. To prove this, let two cups of batter pudding be made, one with the yolk of an egg only, the other with the yolk and white together, and the result will be, that the pudding with the yolk only is quite as light, if not lighter, than the one with the whole egg. In other instances also, of several kinds of puddings, where the whites of eggs have been totally omitted, without at all encreasing the number of eggs, the result has been the same. There is a species of economy practised by good housewives, of making compositions on purpose to use up the whites of eggs which have been left out of any preparation made with eggs. But this is a false economy; for surely it is far better to reject as food what is known to be injurious, and to find other uses for it, than to make the human stomach the receptacle for offal. Economy would be much more judiciously exerted in retrenching superfluities, than exercised in this manner. Two or three good dishes of their kind, and well cooked, are infinitely preferable to a whole course of indigestible compositions. A soup might as well be made of cabbage stalks and pea shells, as any preparation of food with whites of eggs, when there is no doubt of their being positively prejudicial. As cabbage stalks then go to the dunghill, and pea shells to the pigs, so let whites of eggs go to the book-binder, or find some other destination. There are also various kinds of fruit that require to be used with great caution. Currants, raisins, prunes, French plums, figs, and all kinds of preserves, are prepared either by the heat of the sun, or by cookery to the full extent that they will bear, and beyond which any application of heat gives them a tendency to putridity. They are therefore certainly prejudicial to weak stomachs when used in puddings, and cannot be good for any; though strong stomachs may not perceive an immediate ill effect from them. Eaten without any farther preparation, and especially with bread, these things may be used in moderation. For the reasons just given, spices are better not put into puddings, they are already in a sufficiently high state of preparation. The warm climates in which they grow, brings them to a state of far greater maturity than the general productions of our northern latitude. When they are used, it is better to add them ground, at the time of eating what is to be seasoned, or put in the last thing before serving up the dish. These are also better ground at home, both to have them fresh, and free from adulteration. Almonds used in puddings are liable to the same objection. The danger of using laurel leaves in cooking, cannot be too frequently repeated. Bay leaves, bitter almonds, and fruit kernels, if not equally dangerous, are pernicious enough to make it very advisable not to use them. Fresh fruits often become more unwholesome from being cooked in puddings and tarts, yet will in many cases agree then with stomachs that cannot take them raw; but unripe fruits are not good, either dressed or in any other state.--To prepare puddings in the best manner, they should boil briskly over a clear fire, with the pot lid partly if not entirely off, as the access of fresh air makes every thing dress sweeter. As butter is generally an expensive article, dripping, nicely prepared, may on many occasions be used as a substitute. It will answer the purpose of rubbing basins with, quite as well as butter, and never gives any unpleasant flavour to the pudding. It is also very proper to dredge a basin with flour, after it is rubbed with butter or dripping. Economy in eggs is both rational and useful, as puddings with a moderate number of eggs are more wholesome, than when used extravagantly or with profusion. Pudding cloths, and every utensil in making puddings, should be quite clean, or the food cannot be wholesome. The outside of a boiled pudding often tastes disagreeably, which arises from the cloth not being nicely washed, and kept in a dry place. It should be dipt in boiling water, squeezed dry, and floured, when to be used. A bread pudding should be loosely tied, and a batter pudding tight over. The water should boil quick when the pudding is put in, and it should be moved about for a minute, lest the ingredients should not mix. Batter pudding should be strained through a coarse sieve, when all is mixed: in others, the eggs should be strained separately. Pans and basins in which puddings are to be boiled, should always be buttered, or rubbed with clean dripping. A pan of cold water should be prepared, and the pudding dipped in as soon as it comes out of the pot, to prevent its adhering to the cloth. Good puddings may be made without eggs; but they must have as little milk as is sufficient to mix the batter, and must boil three or four hours. A few spoonfuls of fresh small beer, or one of yeast, will answer instead of eggs. Snow is also an excellent substitute for eggs, either in puddings or pancakes. Two large spoonfuls will supply the place of one egg, and the article it is used in will be equally good. This is a useful piece of information, especially as snow often falls when eggs are scarce and dear. Fresh small beer, or bottled malt liquors, will likewise serve instead of eggs. The yolks and whites beaten long and separately, make the article they are put into much lighter. PUDDING CAKES. Put four yolks and two whites of eggs to a pint of milk; mix with it half a pint of bread crumbs grated fine, half a nutmeg, six ounces of currants washed and dried, a quarter of a pound of beef suet chopped small, a little salt, and flour sufficient to make it of a moderate thickness. Fry these cakes in lard, of about the usual size of a fritter. PUDDING KETCHUP. Steep an ounce of thin-pared lemon peel, and half an ounce of mace, in half a pint of brandy, or a pint of sherry, for fourteen days. Then strain it, and add a quarter of a pint of capillaire. This will keep for years, and being mixed with melted butter, it is a delicious relish to puddings and sweet dishes. PUDDING WITH MEAT. Make a batter with flour, milk, and eggs. Pour a little into the bottom of a pudding-dish; then put seasoned meat of any kind into it, and a little shred onion. Pour the remainder of the batter over, and bake it in a slow oven. A loin of mutton baked in batter, being first cleared of most of the fat, makes a good dish. PUFFS. They should be made of light puff crust, rolled out and cut into shapes according to the fancy. Then bake them, and lay some sweetmeat in the middle. Or roll out the crust, cut it into pieces of any shape, lay sweetmeats over one half, and turn the other half of the crust over; press them together round the edge, and bake them. PUFF CRUST. Take a pound and a half of flour, put it upon a pie board with a little salt, and mix in gradually just water sufficient to make it into a paste, taking care that it be neither too thin nor too stiff. Mould it lightly together, and let it lie for two hours before it is finished. Roll out the paste, put a pound of butter into the middle of it, fold the two ends of the paste over it, and roll it out; then fold it together, and roll it out again. Repeat this six times in the winter, and five in the summer. It should be rolled rather less than half an inch in thickness, dusting a little flour lightly over and under it, to prevent its sticking to the rolling-pin. When finished, roll it out for use as occasion requires. This makes a very nice and delicate crust.--Another. To a pound and a half of flour, allow a pound of butter, and three quarters of an ounce of salt. Put the flour on a clean pie board, make a hole in the middle, and put in the salt with the butter cut into small pieces. Pour in the water carefully, as it is of great importance that the crust should not be made too thin; there should only be water enough just to make it hold well together, and to roll it out smooth. Work the butter and water up well together with the hand, and then by degrees mix in the flour. When the flour is all mixed in, mould the paste till it is quite smooth and free from lumps, and then let it lie two hours before it be used. This is a very nice crust for putting round the dish for baked puddings, tarts, or pies. PUFF PASTE. Puffs may be made of any sort of fruit, but it should be prepared first with sugar. To make a rich paste, weigh an equal quantity of butter with as much fine flour as is necessary. Mix a little of the former with the latter, and wet it with as little water as will make it into a stiff paste. Roll it out, and put all the butter over it in slices; turn in the ends, and roll it thin. Do this twice, and tough it no more than can be avoided. The butter may be added at two different times; and to those who are not accustomed to make paste, it may be better to do so. The oven must be rather quicker than for a short crust.--A less rich paste may be made of a pound of flour, and a quarter of a pound of butter, rubbed together. Mix it into a paste with a little water, and an egg well beaten; of the former as little as will suffice, or the paste will be tough. Roll it out, and fold it three or four times. Or rub extremely fine, six ounces of butter in one pound of dried flour, with a spoonful of white sugar. Work up the whole into a stiff paste, with as little hot water as possible. PUITS D' AMOUR. Cut a fine rich puff paste rolled thin, with tin shapes made on purpose, one size less than another, in a pyramidal form, and lay them so. Then bake in a moderate form, that the paste may be done sufficiently, but very pale. Lay different coloured sweetmeats on the edges. PULLED CHICKENS. Take off the skin, and pull the flesh off the bones of a cold fowl, in large pieces. Dredge it with flour, and fry it of a nice brown in butter. Drain the butter from it, simmer the flesh in a good well-seasoned gravy, thickened with a little butter and flour, adding the juice of half a lemon.--Another way. Cut off the legs, and the whole back, of an underdone chicken. Pull all the white part into little flakes free from skin, toss it up with a little cream thickened with a piece of butter rolled in flour, half a blade of powdered mace, some white pepper, salt, and the squeeze of a lemon. Cut off the neck end of the chicken, broil the back and sidesmen in one piece, and the two legs seasoned. Put the hash in the middle of the dish, with the back on it, and the two legs at the end. PULLED TURKEY. Divide the meat of the breast by pulling instead of cutting. Then warm in a spoonful or two of white gravy, and a little cream, grated nutmeg, salt, and a little flour and butter, but do not let it boil. The leg should be seasoned, scored, and broiled, and put into the dish with the above round it. Cold chicken may be treated in the same manner. PUNCH. In preparing this favourite liquor, it is impossible to take too much pains in the process of mixing, that all the different articles may be thoroughly incorporated together. Take then two large fresh lemons with rough skins, quite ripe, and some lumps of double-refined sugar. Rub the sugar over the lemons, till it has absorbed all the yellow part of the rinds. Put these lumps into a bowl, and as much more as the juice of the lemons may be supposed to require: no certain weight or quantity can be mentioned, as the acidity of a lemon cannot be known till tried, and therefore this must be determined by the taste. Then squeeze the lemon juice upon the sugar, and with a bruiser press the sugar and the juice particularly well together, for a great deal of the richness and fine flavour of the punch depends on this rubbing and mixing being thoroughly performed. Having well incorporated the juice and the sugar, mix it up with boiling soft water, and let it stand a little to cool. When this mixture, which is now called the sherbet, is made of a pleasant flavour, take equal quantities of rum and brandy and put into it, mixing the whole well together. The quantity of liquor must be according to taste: two good lemons are generally enough to make four quarts of punch, including a quart of liquor, with half a pound of sugar: but this depends much on taste, and on the strength of the spirit. As the pulp of the lemon is disagreeable to some persons, the sherbet may be strained before the liquor is put in. Some strain the lemon before they put it to the sugar, which is improper; as when the pulp and sugar are well mixed together, it adds much to the richness of the punch. When only rum is used, about half a pint of porter will soften the punch; and even when both rum and brandy are used, the porter gives a richness, and also a very pleasant flavour. A shorter way is to keep ready prepared a quarter of an ounce of citric or crystallized lemon acid, pounded with a few drops of the essence of lemon peel, gradually mixed with a pint of clarified syrup or capillaire. Brandy or rum flavoured with this mixture, will produce good punch in a minute. PUNCH ROYAL. Take thirty Seville oranges and thirty lemons quite sound, pare them very thin, and put the parings into an earthen pan, with as much rum or brandy as will cover them. Take ten gallons of water, and twelve pounds of lump sugar, and boil them. When nearly cold, put in the whites of thirty eggs well beaten, stir it and boil it a quarter of an hour, then strain it through a hair sieve into an earthen pan, and let it stand till the next day. Then put it into a cask, strain the spirit from the parings, and add as much more as will make it up five gallons. Put it into the cask with five quarts of Seville orange juice, and three quarts of lemon juice. Stir it all together with a cleft stick, and repeat the same once a day for three successive days; then stop it down close, and in six weeks it will be fit to drink. PURPLE GLOVES. To dye white gloves of a beautiful purple, boil four ounces of logwood, and two ounces of roche alum, in three pints of soft water, till half wasted. Strain off the liquid, and let it stand to be cold. Mend the gloves neatly, brush them over with the dye, and when dry repeat it. Twice is sufficient, unless the colour is to be very dark. When quite dry, rub off the loose dye with a coarse cloth. Beat up the white of an egg, and with a sponge rub it over the leather. The dye will stain the hands, but wetting them with vinegar will take it off before they are washed. Q. QUAILS. These are dressed in the same manner as snipes and woodcocks. They should be roasted without drawing, served on toast, and eaten with butter only. QUAKING PUDDING. Scald a quart of cream; when almost cold, put to it four eggs well beaten, a spoonful and a half of flour, with nutmeg and sugar. Tie it close in a buttered cloth, boil it an hour, and turn it out carefully, without cracking it. Serve it with melted butter, a little wine, and sugar. QUARTER OF LAMB. A fore-quarter may either be roasted whole, or in separate parts. If left to be cold, chopped parsley should be sprinkled over it. The neck and breast together are called a scoven. QUEEN CAKES. Mix a pound of dried flour, a pound of sifted sugar, and a pound of currants, picked and cleaned. Wash a pound of butter in rose water, beat it well, and mix with it eight eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Put in the dry ingredients by degrees, beat the whole an hour, butter little tins, teacups or saucers, fill them half full of batter, and bake them. Sift over them a little fine sugar, just before they are put into the oven.--Another way. Beat eight ounces of butter, and mix it with two eggs, well beaten and strained. Mix eight ounces of dried flour, the same of lump sugar, and the grated rind of a lemon. Put the whole together, and beat it full half an hour with a silver spoon. Butter small pattipans, half fill them, and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. QUEEN ANNE'S BISCUITS. A pound of flour well dried, half a pound of fine sugar powdered and sifted, a pound of currants well washed and picked, and half a pound of butter. Rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the sugar and currants; add ten spoonfuls of cream, the yolks of three eggs, three spoonfuls of sack, and a little mace finely pounded. When the paste is well worked up, set it in a dish before the fire till it be thoroughly warm. Make it up into cakes, place them on a tin well buttered, prick them full of holes on the top, and bake them in a quick oven. QUEEN ANNE'S KITCHEN. The economy of the royal kitchen a century ago, though not equal perhaps to the refinement of modern times, was sufficiently sumptuous; and what it wanted in delicacies, was abundantly compensated by a profusion of more substantial dishes of truly English fare. The following are only a few specimens of the stile of cooking approved by queen Anne, sufficient to show in what manner royalty was provided for in the days of our forefathers. Under the article of Roasting, a few particulars will occur. When a turkey, capon, or fowl was to be dressed, it was laid down to the fire, at a proper distance, till it became thoroughly hot. It was then basted all over with fresh butter, and afterwards dredged thinly with flour. The heat of the fire converted this into a thin crust, to keep in the gravy; and no more basting was allowed till the roasting was nearly done, when it was once more basted all over with butter. As the meat began to brown, it was sprinkled a little with large salt, and the outside finished with a fine brown. It was sometimes the custom to baste such meats with the yolks of fresh eggs beaten thin, which was continued during the time of roasting. The following directions were given for roast Veal. Chop some parsley and thyme very small. Beat up the yolks of five or six eggs with some cream, add the chopped herbs, some grated bread, a few cloves, a little mace and nutmeg, some currants and sugar. Mix these well together, raise the skin of the breast of veal, put the stuffing under it, and skewer it down close. Lay the veal before the fire, and baste it with butter. When sufficiently roasted, squeeze on the juice of a lemon, and serve it up. For roast Pig, chop up some sage, and sow it up in the belly of the pig. Roast and baste it with butter, sprinkled with a little salt. When roasted fine and crisp, serve it upon a sauce made of chopped sage and currants, well boiled in vinegar and water, the gravy and brains of the pig, a little grated bread, some barberries and sugar, all well mixed together, and heated over the fire. Another way. Fill the belly of the pig with a pudding made of grated bread, a little minced beef suet, the yolks of two or three raw eggs, three or four spoonfuls of good cream, and a little salt. Sow it up in the belly of the pig, lay it down to roast, and baste it with yolks of eggs beat thin. A few minutes before it is taken up, squeeze on the juice of a lemon, and strew it over with bread crumbs, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Make a sauce with vinegar, butter, and the yolks of eggs boiled hard and minced. Boil the whole together, with the gravy of the pig, and then serve it up in this sauce. When a Hare is to be dressed, wash it well, and dry it in a cloth. Sow up a pudding in the belly, truss the hare as if it were running, and roast it. Make a sauce of claret wine, grated bread, sugar, ginger, barberries, and butter, boiled all together, and serve it up with the hare.--Boiled dishes were prepared in the following manner. If a capon, pullet, or chicken, boil it in good mutton broth. Put in some mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little sage, spinage, marigold leaves and flowers, white or green endive, borage, bugloss, parsley, and sorrel. Serve it up on sippets of white bread. If to be dressed with cauliflower, cut the vegetable into small heads, with about an inch and a half of stalk to them. Boil them in milk with a little mace, till they are very tender, and beat up the yolks of two eggs with a quarter of a pint of sack. Melt some butter very thick, with a little vinegar and sliced lemon. Pour this and the eggs to and fro till they are well mixed, then take the cauliflower out of the milk, and put it into the sauce. Having boiled the chicken tender, serve it upon sippets of white bread, finely carved, and pour the sauce over it. Pigeons are to be put into a skillet with some strong broth, or spring water. Boil and skim them, put in some mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, some white endive, marigold flowers, and salt. When finely boiled, serve them upon sippets of white bread, and garnish the dish with mace and white endive. Small birds, such as woodcocks, snipes, blackbirds, thrushes, fieldfares, rails, quails, wheatears, larks, martins, and sparrows, are to be boiled in strong broth, or in salt and water. When boiled, take out the trails, and chop them and the livers small. Add some crumb of grated bread, a little of the liquor in which the birds were boiled, some mace, and stew them all together in some gravy. Beat up the yolks of two eggs, with a little white wine vinegar and grated nutmeg; and when ready to serve, stir these into the sauce with a small piece of butter. Dish up the birds upon sippets of white bread, and pour the sauce over them with some capers, lemon finely minced, and barberries, or pickled grapes, whole. Carrots and onions boiled together in broth, separately from the sauce, are sometimes added to it. When no onion is put in, rub the bottom of the dish with a clove or two of garlic. A Goose, before it is boiled, is to be salted for a day or two. Steep some oatmeal in warm milk, or some other liquor, and mix it with some shred beef suet, minced apples and onions, sweet herbs chopped, and a seasoning of cloves, mace, and pepper. Fill the belly of the goose with this stuffing, and tie it close at the neck and vent. Boil and serve it on slices of bread, dipped in any kind of broth, with cauliflowers, cabbage, turnips, and barberries. Pour melted butter over it. A Wild Duck, being first drawn and trussed, must be parboiled, and then half roasted. Having carved it, put the gravy into a pipkin with plenty of onion and parsley, sliced ginger, mace, some washed currants, barberries, and a quart of claret. Boil all together, skim it clean, add some butter and sugar, and serve up the duck with the sauce poured over it. A Rabbit is to be boiled in salt and water. Chop some parsley and thyme together, a handful of each, and boil it in a little of the liquor in which the rabbit is boiling. Then add to it three or four spoonfuls of verjuice, a piece of butter, and two or three eggs well beaten. Stir the whole together, thicken it over the fire, and serve up the rabbit with this sauce poured over it.--In the royal kitchen, a Florentine Pie was made of a leg of veal or mutton, cut into thin slices, and seasoned with sweet marjoram, thyme, savory, parsley, rosemary, an onion and a clove of garlic, all cut small. To these were added, nutmeg and pepper beaten fine, some grated manchet, a little salt, and the yolks of three or four raw eggs, to mix and make them adhere together. The meat is laid in a dish, with a crust under it, intermixed with some thin slices of streaked bacon. A few bay leaves and some oyster liquor are added, the dish covered with a crust, and baked. For a Veal Pie, cut a fillet into pieces, about the size of walnuts, and season them with cinnamon, ginger, sugar, and salt. Use a raised crust or dish, at pleasure, lay in the meat with roasted chesnuts peeled and quartered, dates sliced, and the marrow from two beef bones. Put on the top crust, bake the pie; and when done, serve it up with the following sauce poured into it. Beat up the yolk of an egg with some white wine, cinnamon, ginger, and sugar. Heat it over the fire till it thickens a little, taking care not to let the egg curdle. Sauce for a loin of veal was made of all kinds of sweet herbs, with the yolks of two or three hard eggs minced very fine. They were then boiled up with some currants, a little grated bread, pounded cinnamon, sugar, and two whole cloves. The sauce was poured into the dish intended for the veal, with two or three slices of an orange. A Cod's Head was directed to be dressed in the following manner. Cut the head large, and a good piece of the shoulder with it, and boil it in salt and water. Have prepared a quart of cockles, with the shelled meat of two or three crabs. Put these into a pipkin with nearly half a pint of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, a little mace, a little grated nutmeg, and some oyster liquor. Boil these till the liquor is wasted, then add three or four large spoonfuls of melted butter. Drain the cod's head well over a chafing-dish of coals, and serve it up with the above sauce, taking out the bunch of herbs, and adding more butter, if required. Serve up the liver and roe on the sides of the dish. QUICK HEDGES. A great variety of different sorts of plants is employed in forming and constructing these hedges, as those of the hawthorn, the black-thorn, the crab-tree, the hazel, the willow, the beech, the elder, the poplar, the alder, and several other kinds, according to particular circumstances and situations. Whatever sort of plants may be employed for this purpose, the work should constantly be well performed in the first instance, and the hedges and plants be afterwards kept in due order and regularity by suitable pruning, cutting in, and other proper management. Excellent hawthorn hedges are raised by planting one row only at six inches asunder, rather than two rows nine inches or a foot apart. Those planted six inches apart do not require to be cut down to thicken them at the bottom, and will form a complete protection against hogs, and in other respects form a beautiful and effectual fence. QUICKSILVER, when rubbed down and blended with unctuous matters, forms a sort of ointment, which is useful in the curing of different diseases of the skin, as well as in destroying lice and other vermin that infest animals of different kinds, which form the live stock of the farmer. It has also been found useful in its crude state in destroying insects on fruit trees. Take a small awl, and pierce sloping, through the rind, and into part of the wood of the branch, but not to the heart or pith of it; and pour in a small drop or two of the quicksilver, and stop it up with a small wooden plug made to fit the orifice, and the insects will drop off from that very branch the next day; and in a day or two more, from the other branches of the trees without any other puncture, and the tree will continue in full vigour and thrive well through the summer. Honeysuckles and other shrubs may be cleared of insects, by scraping away the top of the ground with a trowel, and running an awl in the same sloping manner, into the main stem just above the roots; but with the same caution as above, not quite to the inner pith, and then applying the quicksilver. The insects will drop off the day after the experiment. QUILLS. To harden and prepare them for use, dip them for a minute in some boiling water in which alum has been dissolved; or thrust them into hot ashes till they become soft, and afterwards press and scrape them with the back of a knife. When they are to be clarified, the barrels must be scraped and cut at the end, and then put into boiling water for a quarter of an hour, with a quantity of alum and salt. Afterwards they are dried in an oven, or in a pan of hot sand. QUIN'S FISH SAUCE. Half a pint of walnut pickle, the same of mushroom pickle, six anchovies pounded, six anchovies whole, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne. Shake it up well, when it is to be used. QUINCE. The fruit of the quince is astringent and stomachic; and its expressed juice, in small quantities, as a spoonful or two, is of considerable service in nausea, vomitings, eructations, &c. Quince trees are very apt to have rough bark, and to be bark-bound; in these cases it will be necessary to shave off the rough bark with a draw-knife, and to scarify them when bark-bound, brushing them over with the composition. It is also advised to plant quince trees at a proper distance from apple and pears, as bees and the wind may mix the farina, and occasion the apples and pears to degenerate. These trees may be raised from the kernels of the fruit sown in autumn; but there is no depending on having the same sort of good fruit from seedlings, nor will they soon become bearers. But the several varieties may be continued the same by cuttings and layers; also by suckers from such trees as grow upon their own roots, and likewise be increased by grafting and budding upon their own pear-stocks raised from the kernels in the same manner as for apples. Standard quinces, designed as fruit trees, may be stationed in the garden or orchard, and some by the sides of any water, pond, watery ditch, &c. as they delight in moisture. QUINCE JELLY. When quinces have been boiled for marmalade, take the first liquor and pass it through a jelly bag. To every pint allow a pound of fine loaf sugar, and boil it till it is quite clear and comes to a jelly. The quince seeds should be tied in a piece of muslin, and boiled in it. QUINCE MARMALADE. Pare and quarter some quinces, and weigh an equal quantity of sugar. To four pounds of the latter put a quart of water, boil and skim it well, by the time the quinces are prepared. Lay the fruit in a stone jar, with a teacupful of water at the bottom, and pack them with a little sugar strewed between. Cover the jar close, set it in a cool oven, or on a stove, and let the quinces soften till they become red. Then pour the syrup and a quart of quince juice into a preserving pan, and boil all together till the marmalade be completed, breaking the lumps of fruit with the ladle; otherwise the fruit is so hard, that it will require a great deal of time. Stewing quinces in a jar, and then squeezing them through a cheese cloth, is the best method of obtaining the juice; and in this case the cloth should first be dipped in boiling water, and then wrung out. QUINCE PUDDING. Scald six large quinces very tender, pare off the thin rind, and scrape them to a pulp. Add powdered sugar enough to make them very sweet, and a little pounded ginger and cinnamon. Beat up the yolks of four eggs with some salt, and stir in a pint of cream. Mix these with the quince, and bake it in a dish, with a puff crust round the edge. In a moderate oven, three quarters of an hour will be sufficient. Sift powdered sugar over the pudding before it is sent to table. QUINCE WINE. Gather the quinces in a dry day, when they are tolerably ripe; rub off the down with a linen cloth, and lay them in hay or straw for ten days to perspire. Cut them in quarters, take out the cores, and bruise them well in a mashing tub with a wooden pestle. Squeeze out the liquid part by degrees, by pressing them in a hair bag in a cider press. Strain the liquor through a fine sieve, then warm it gently over a fire, and skim it, but do not suffer it to boil. Now sprinkle into it some loaf sugar reduced to powder, and boil a dozen or fourteen quinces thinly sliced, in a gallon of water mixed with a quart of white wine. Add two pounds of fine sugar, strain off the liquor, and mingle it with the natural juice of the quinces. Put this into a cask, but do not fill it, and mix them well together. Let it stand to settle, put in two or three whites of eggs, and draw it off. If it be not sweet enough, add more sugar, and a quart of the best malmsey. To make it still better, boil a quarter of a pound of stone raisins, and half an ounce of cinnamon bark, in a quart of the liquor, till a third part is reduced. Then strain it, and put it into the cask when the wine is fermenting. QUINCES PRESERVED. Wipe clean a quantity of golden pippins, not pared but sliced, and put them into two quarts of boiling water. Boil them very quick, and closely covered, till the water is reduced to a thick jelly, and then scald the quinces, either whole or cut in halves. To every pint of pippin jelly add a pound of the finest sugar, boil and skim it clear. Put those quinces that are to be done whole into the syrup at once, and let it boil very fast; and those that are to be in halves by themselves. Skim it carefully, and when the fruit is clear, put some of the syrup into a glass, to try whether it jellies, before taking it off the fire. A pound of quinces is to be allowed to a pound of sugar, and a pound of jelly already boiled with the sugar. QUINSEY. For a quinsey, or inflammation of the throat, make a volatile liniment, by shaking together an ounce of Florence oil, and half an ounce of the spirit of hartshorn; or an equal quantity of each, if the patient be able to bear it. Moisten a piece of flannel with the liniment, and apply it to the throat every four or five hours. After bleeding, it will seldom fail to lessen or carry off the complaint. R. RABBITS. Wild ones have the finest flavour, and are by far the best. Tame rabbits are scarcely eatable, unless kept delicately clean. The doe brings forth every month, and must be allowed to go with the buck as soon as she has kindled. The sweetest hay, oats, beans, sow-thistle, parsley, carrot tops, cabbage leaves, and bran, should be given to the rabbits, fresh and fresh. If not carefully attended, their own stench will destroy them, and be very unwholesome to those who live near them. Constant care is requisite to prevent this inconvenience.--When rabbits are to be dressed, they may have gravy and stuffing like hare; or they may be larded, and roasted without stuffing. For the manner of trussing a rabbit, either for roasting or boiling, see the Plate. If boiled, it should be smothered with onion sauce, the butter to be melted with milk instead of water. If fried in joints, it must be dressed with dried or fried parsley, and liver sauce made for it, the same as for roasting. Chop up the liver with parsley, and put it into melted butter, with pepper and salt. If fricasseed, the same as for chickens. Young rabbits are good in a pie, with forcemeat as for chicken pie.--When rabbits are to be purchased for cooking, the following things must be observed. If the claws are blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, and the haunch thick, it is old. But if the claws are smooth and sharp, the ears easily tear, and the cleft in the lip is not much spread, it is young. If fresh and newly killed, the body will be stiff, and in hares the flesh is pale. They keep a good while by proper care, and are best when rather beginning to turn, if the inside is preserved from being musty. To distinguish a real leveret from a hare, a knob or small bone will be discovered near the foot on its fore leg.----_Tame rabbits_ may be bred with much success and ornamental effect in a small artificial warren, in a lawn in the garden, made in the following manner. Pare off the turf of a circle about forty feet diameter, and lay it on the outside; then dig a ditch within this circle, the outside perpendicular, the inner sloping, and throw earth sufficient into the middle to form a little hill, two or three feet higher than the level of the lawn; the rest must be carried away. Then lay down the turf on the hill, and beat it well to settle. The ditch at bottom should be about three feet wide, and three and a half deep, with two or three drains at the bottom, covered with an iron grate, or a stone with holes, to carry off the hasty rains, in order to keep the rabbits dry. In the outside bank should be six alcoves, the sides and top supported, either by boards or brick-work, to give the rabbits their dry food in; by their different situations some will always be dry; six boxes or old tea-chests, let into the bank will do very well. If the ground be very light, the outside circle should have a wall built round it, or some stakes driven into the ground, and boards or hurdles nailed to them, within a foot of the bottom, to prevent the bank from falling in. The entrance must either be by a board to turn occasionally across the ditch, or by a ladder. The turf being settled, and the grass beginning to grow, turn in the rabbits, and they will immediately go to work to make themselves burrows in the sides, and in the hill. By way of inducing them rather to build in the sides, to keep the turf the neater, make a score of holes about a foot deep, and they will finish them to their own mind; and if there be a brick wall round it, it should be built on pillars, with an arch from each, to leave a vacancy for a burrow. Lucern, parsley and carrots are very proper food for them; and they should also be fed upon some of the best upland pasture hay. Rabbits are subject to several diseases, as the _rot_, which is caused by giving them too large a quantity of green food, or the giving it fresh gathered, with the dew or rain hanging in fresh drops upon it, as it is over-moisture that always causes the disease; the green food should therefore always be given dry, and a sufficient quantity of hay, or other dry food, intermixed with it, to counteract the bad effects of it. And a sort of _madness_ often seizes them: this may be known by their tumbling about; their heels upwards, and hopping in an odd manner into the boxes. This distemper is supposed to be owing to the rankness of their feeding; and the general cure is the keeping them low and giving them the prickly herb called tare-thistle to eat as much as possible. They are also subject to a sort of scabby eruption, which is seldom removed. These should, however, be directly separated from the rest of the stock. RABBIT LIKE HARE. Choose a full-grown young rabbit, and hang it up three or four days. Then skin it, and without washing, lay it in a seasoning of black pepper and allspice, in very fine powder. Add a glass of port wine, and the same quantity of vinegar. Baste it occasionally for forty hours, then stuff and roast it as hare, and with the same sauce. Do not wash off the liquor that it was soaked in. RADISHES. These are raised from seed by different sowings from the end of October till April, or the following month. They should have a light fine mould, and the more early sowings be made on borders, under warm walls, or other similar places, and in frames covered by glasses. The common spindle-rooted, short-topped sorts are mostly made use of in these early sowings, the seed being sown broadcast over the beds after they have been prepared by digging over and raking the surface even, being covered in with a slight raking. Some sow carrots with the early crops of radishes. It is usual to protect the early sown crops in the borders, during frosty nights and bad weather, by mats or dry wheat straw, which should be carefully removed every mild day. By this means they are brought more forward, as well as form better roots. When mats are used, and supported by pegs or hoops, they are readily applied and removed. A second more general sowing should be made in January or February. When the crops have got their rough leaf; they should be thinned out, where they are too thick, to the distance of two inches, as there will be constantly more thinning by the daily drawing of the young radishes. When the weather is dry in March, or the following month, the crops should be occasionally well watered, which not only forwards the growth of the crops, but increases the size of the roots, and renders them more mild and crisp in eating. And the sowings should be continued at the distance of a fortnight, till the latter end of March, when they should be performed every ten days, until the end of April or beginning of the following month. In sowing these later crops, it is the practice of some gardeners to sow coss-lettuces and spinach with them, in order to have the two crops coming forward at the same time; but the practice is not to be much recommended, where there is sufficient room. But in sowing the main general crops in the open quarters, the market-gardeners generally put them in on the same ground where they plant out their main crops of cauliflowers and cabbages, mixing spinach with the radish-seed as above, sowing the seeds first, and raking them in, then planting the cauliflowers or cabbages; the radishes and spinach come in for use before the other plants begin to spread much, and as soon as those crops are all cleared off for use, hoe the ground all over to kill weeds and loosen the soil, drawing earth about the stems of the cauliflowers and cabbages. The turnip radish should not be sown till the beginning of March, the plants being allowed a greater distance than for the common spindle-rooted sort. The seeds of this sort are apt to degenerate, unless they are set at a distance from that kind. The white and black Spanish radishes are usually sown about the middle of July, or a little earlier, and are fit for the table by the end of August, or the beginning of September, continuing good till frost spoils them. These should be thinned to a greater distance than the common sort, as their roots grow as large as turnips, and should not be left nearer than six inches. To have these roots in winter, they should be drawn before hard frost comes on, and laid in dry sand, as practised for carrots, carefully guarding them from wet and frost; as in this way they may be kept till the spring. In regard to the culture of the general crops, they require very little, except occasional thinning, where they are too thick, when the plants are come into the rough leaf, either by hoeing or drawing them out by hand: though for large quantities, small hoeing is the most expeditious mode of thinning, as well as most beneficial to the crop by loosening the ground; in either method thinning the plants to about two or three inches distance, clearing out the weakest, and leaving the strongest to form the crop. In order to save the seed, about the beginning of May some ground should be prepared by digging and levelling; then drawing some of the straightest and best coloured radishes, plant them in rows three feet distant, and two feet asunder in the rows; observing, if the season be dry, to water them until they have taken root: after which they will only require to have the weeds hoed down between them, until they are advanced so high as to overspread the ground. When the seed begins to ripen, it should be carefully guarded against the birds. When it is ripe, the pods will turn brown: then it must be cut, and spread in the sun to dry; after which it must be thrashed, and laid up for use where no mice can come at it. In order to have the roots early, as in January or the following month, the method of raising them in hot-beds is sometimes practised. They should have eighteen inches depth of dung to bring them up, and six or seven inches depth of light rich mould. The seed should be sown moderately thick, covering it in half an inch thick, and putting on the lights: the plants usually come up in a week or less; and when they appear, the lights should be lifted or taken off occasionally, according to the weather; and in a fortnight thin the plants to the distance of an inch and half or two inches, when in six weeks they will be fit to draw. Where there are no frames to spare, the beds may be covered with mats over hoops, and the sides secured by boards and straw-bands. And when in want of dung, if the beds be covered with frames, and the lights put on at night and in bad weather, the plants may be raised for use a fortnight sooner than in the open borders.--To raise them in constant succession, steep the seed in rain water for twenty-four hours, tie it up in a linen bag, and hang it in the sun all day. The seed beginning to shoot, is then to be sown in fresh earth well exposed to the sun, and covered with a tub. In three days the radishes will be produced fit for salad, and much more delicate than those grown in the common way. In the winter the seeds should be steeped in warm water, and the bag put in a place sufficiently hot to make them sprout. Then fill a tub with rich mould, sow the seeds in it, and cover them over closely with another tub, taking care to sprinkle them now and then with warm water. The two tubs closely joined should be set in a warm place, and in about a fortnight some fine salad will be produced. Radishes may be raised in this manner all the year round, and by the quickness of their growth they will be rendered fine and delicate. RAGOUT OF EGGS. Boil eight eggs hard, then shell and cut them into quarters. Have ready a pint of good gravy, well seasoned, and thickened over the fire with two ounces of butter rolled in flour. When quite smooth and hot, pour it over the eggs, and serve them up. By using cream instead of gravy, this will make a fricassee. RAGOUT OF MORELS. Cut them in long slices, then wash and drain them well. Put them into a stewpan with a piece of butter, some chopped parsley, a bunch of herbs, and some gravy. Simmer them over a gentle fire, and when nearly done, add a little pepper, salt, and flour. Set them over the fire, till the sauce is properly thickened. Stewed with a little water and a blade of mace, and thickened with cream, and yolks of eggs, they make a white ragout. Serve them with sippets of bread toasted. RAGOUT OF TRUFFLES. Peel the truffles, cut them in slices, wash and drain them well. Put them into a saucepan with a little gravy, and stew them gently over a slow fire. When they are nearly done enough, thicken them with a little butter and flour. Stewed in a little water, and thickened with cream and yolk of egg, they make a nice white ragout. Truffles, mushrooms, and morels, are all of them very indigestible, and therefore not to be recommended to general use. RAISED CRUST. For meat pies or fowls, boil some water with a little fine lard, and an equal quantity of fresh dripping or butter, but not much of either. While hot, mix this with as much fine flour as is necessary, making the paste as stiff as possible, to be smooth. Good kneading will be required for this purpose, and beating it with a rolling-pin. When quite smooth, put a part of it into a cloth, or under a pan, to soak till nearly cold. Those who are not expert in raising a crust, may roll the paste of a proper thickness, and cut out the top and bottom of the pie, then a long piece for the sides. Cement the bottom to the sides with egg, bringing the former rather farther out, and pinching both together. Put egg between the edges of the paste, to make it adhere at the sides. Fill the pie, put on the cover, and pinch it and the side crust together. The same mode of uniting the paste is to be observed, if the sides are pressed into a tin form, in which the paste must be baked, after it is filled and covered; but in the latter case, the tin should be buttered, and carefully taken off when done enough; and as the form usually makes the sides of a lighter colour than is proper, the paste should be put into the oven again for a quarter of an hour. The crust should be egged over at first with a feather.--Another. Put four ounces of butter into a saucepan with water; and when it boils, pour it into a quantity of flour. Knead and beat it quite smooth, cover it with small bits of butter, and work it in. If for custard, put a paper within to keep out the sides till half done. Mix up an egg with a little warm milk, adding sugar, a little peach water, lemon peel, or nutmeg, and fill up the paste.--Another way. To four pounds of flour, allow a pound of butter, and an ounce of salt. Heap the flour on a pie board, and make a hole in the middle of it, and put in the butter and salt. Pour in water nearly boiling, but with caution, that the crust be not too flimsey. Work the butter with the hand till it is melted in the water, then mix in the flour, mould it for a few minutes as quick as possible, that it may be free from lumps, and the stiffer it is the better. Let it be three hours before it is used. RAISIN WINE. To every gallon of spring water, allow eight pounds of fresh Smyrnas, and put them together in a large tub. Stir it thoroughly every day for a month, then press the raisins in a horse-hair bag as dry as possible, and put the liquor into a cask. When it has done hissing, pour in a bottle of the best brandy, stop it close for twelve months, and then rack it off free from the dregs. Filter the dregs through a bag of flannel of three or four folds, add what is clear to the general quantity, and pour on a quart or two of brandy, according to the size of the vessel. Stop it up, and at the end of three years it may either be bottled, or drank from the cask. If raisin wine be made rich of the fruit, and well kept, the flavour will be much improved.--To make raisin wine with cider, put two hundred-weight of Malagas into a cask, and pour upon them a hogshead of good sound cider that is not rough; stir it well two or three days, stop it up, and let it stand six months. Then rack it into a cask that it will fill, and add a gallon of the best brandy. If raisin wine be much used, it would answer well to keep a cask always for it, and bottle off one year's wine just in time to make the next, which, allowing the six months of infusion, would make the wine to be eighteen months old. In cider counties this way is found to be economical; and if the wine is not thought strong enough, the addition of another stone or two of raisins would be sufficient, and the wine would still be very cheap. When the raisins are pressed through a horse-hair bag, they will either produce a good spirit by distillation, if sent to a chemist, or they will make excellent vinegar.--Raisin wine without cider. On four hundred-weight of Malagas pour a hogshead of spring water, stir it well every day for a fortnight, then squeeze the raisins in a horse-hair bag in a press, and tun the liquor. When it ceases to hiss, stop it close. In six months rack it off into another cask, or into a tub; and after clearing out the sediment, return it into the cask without washing it. Add a gallon of the best brandy, stop it close, and bottle it off in six months. The pressed fruit may be reserved for making vinegar. RAMAKINS. Scrape a quarter of a pound of Cheshire cheese, and the same of Gloucester cheese, and add them to a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Beat all in a mortar, with the yolks of four eggs, and the inside of a small French roll boiled soft in cream. Mix the paste with the whites of the eggs previously beaten, put it into small paper pans made rather long than square, and bake in a Dutch oven to a fine brown. They should be eaten quite hot. Some like the addition of a glass of white wine. The batter for ramakins is equally good over macaroni, when boiled tender; or on stewed brocoli, celery, or cauliflower, a little of the gravy they have been stewed in being put in the dish with them, but not enough to make the vegetable swim. RASPBERRY BRANDY. Pick some fine dry fruit, put them into a stone jar, and the jar into a kettle of water, or on a hot hearth, till the juice will run. After straining it, add to every pint of juice, half a pound of sugar; give it one boil, and skim it. When cold, put equal quantities of juice and brandy; shake it well, and bottle it. Some persons prefer it stronger of the brandy. RASPBERRY CAKES. Pick out some fine ripe raspberries, weigh and boil them. When mashed, and the liquor is wasted, add sugar equal to the first weight of the fruit. Take it off the fire, mix it well, until perfectly dissolved, and then put it on china plates to dry in the sun. As soon as the top part dries, cut the paste into small cakes with the cover of a canister; then turn them on fresh plates, and put them into boxes when dry, with layers of white paper. RASPBERRY CREAM. Mash the fruit gently, and let them drain; sprinkle some sugar over, and that will produce more juice. Then put the juice to some cream, and sweeten it. After this it may be lowered with milk; but if the milk be put in before the cream, it will curdle it. When fresh fruit cannot be obtained, it is best made of raspberry jelly, instead of jam.--Another way. Boil an ounce of isinglass shavings in three pints of cream and new milk mixed, for fifteen minutes, or till the shavings be melted. Strain it through a hair sieve into a bason; when cool, add about half a pint of raspberry juice or syrup, to the milk and cream. Stir it till it is well incorporated; sweeten, and add a glass of brandy. Whisk it about till three parts cold, and then put it into a mould till it is quite cold. In summer, use the fresh juice; in winter, syrup of raspberries. RASPBERRY JAM. Weigh equal quantities of fruit and sugar; put the former into a preserving-pan, boil and break it, stir it constantly, and let it boil very quickly. When most of the juice is wasted, add the sugar, and simmer it half an hour. By this mode of management the jam is greatly superior in colour and flavour, to that which is made by putting the sugar in at first.--Another way. Put the fruit in a jar, and the jar in a kettle of water on a hot hearth, and let it remain till the juice will run from it. Then take away a quarter of a pint from every pound of fruit, boil and bruise it half an hour. Put in the weight of the fruit in sugar, add the same quantity of currant juice, and boil it to a strong jelly. The raspberry juice will serve to put into brandy, or may be boiled with its weight in sugar, for making the jelly for raspberry ice or cream. RASPBERRY TARTS. Roll out some thin puff paste, and lay it in a pattipan. Put in the raspberries, strew some fine sugar over them, cover with a thin lid, and bake the tart. Mix a pint of cream with the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, and a little sugar. Cut open the tart, pour in the mixture, and return it to the oven for five or six minutes.--Another. Line the dish with puff paste, put in sugar and fruit, lay bars across, and bake them. Currant tarts are done in the same way. RASPBERRY VINEGAR. Put a pound of fine fruit into a china bowl, and pour upon it a quart of the best white wine vinegar. Next day strain the liquor on a pound of fresh raspberries, and the following day do the same; but do not squeeze the fruit, only drain the liquor as dry as possible from it. The last time pass it through a canvas, previously moistened with vinegar, to prevent waste. Put it into a stone jar, with a pound of sugar to every pint of juice, broken into large lumps. Stir it when melted, then put the jar into a saucepan of water, or on a hot hearth; let it simmer, and skim it clean. When cold, bottle it up. This is one of the most useful preparations that can be kept in a house, not only as affording the most refreshing beverage, but being of singular efficacy in complaints of the chest. A large spoonful or two in this case is to be taken in a tumbler of water. No glazed or metal vessel of any kind should be used in this preparation. The fruit, with an equal quantity of sugar, makes excellent Raspberry Cakes, without boiling. RASPBERRY WINE. To every quart of well-picked raspberries put a quart of water; bruise, and let them stand two days. Strain off the liquor; and to every gallon add three pounds of lump sugar. When dissolved, put the liquor in a barrel; and when fine, which will be in about two months, bottle it off. To each bottle put a spoonful of brandy, or a glass of wine. RATIFIA. Blanch two ounces of peach and apricot kernels, bruise and put them into a bottle, and fill it nearly up with brandy. Dissolve half a pound of white sugar-candy in a cup of cold water, and add it to the brandy after it has stood a month on the kernels, and they are strained off. Then filter through paper, and bottle it up for use. The leaves of peaches and nectarines, when the trees are cut in the spring, being distilled, are an excellent substitute for ratifia in puddings. RATIFIA CAKES. Blanch and beat fine in a mortar, four ounces of bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet almonds. Prepare a pound and a half of loaf sugar, pounded and sifted; beat up the whites of four eggs to a froth, and add the sugar to it a little at a time, till it becomes of the stiffness of dough. Stir and beat it well together, and put in the almonds. Drop the paste on paper or tins, and bake it in a slow oven. Try one of the cakes, and if it rises out of shape, the oven is too hot. The cakes must not be handled in making, but a spoon or a knife must be used. RATIFIA CREAM. Boil three or four laurel, peach, or nectarine leaves, in a full pint of cream, and strain it. When cold, add the yolks of three eggs beaten and strained, sugar, and a large spoonful of brandy stirred quick into it. Scald and stir it all the time, till it thickens. Or mix half a quarter of a pint of ratifia, the same quantity of mountain wine, the juice of two or three lemons, a pint of rich cream, and agreeably sweetened with sugar. Beat it with a whisk, and put it into glasses. The cream will keep eight or ten days.--Another. Blanch a quarter of an ounce of bitter almonds, and beat them with a tea-spoonful of water in a marble mortar. Rub with the paste two ounces of loaf sugar, simmer it ten minutes with a tea-cupful of cream, and then strain and ice it. RATIFIA DROPS. Blanch and beat in a mortar four ounces of bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet almonds, with a small part of a pound of fine sugar sifted. Add the remainder of the sugar, and the whites of two eggs, and make the whole into a paste. Divide the mass into little balls the size of a nutmeg, put them on wafer paper, and bake them gently on tin plates. RATS. The first step taken by rat-catchers, in order to clear a house, &c. of those vermin, is to allure them all together, to one proper place, before they attempt to destroy them; for there is such an instinctive caution in these animals, accompanied with a surprising sagacity in discovering any cause of danger, that if any of them be hurt, or pursued, in an unusual manner, the rest take the alarm, and become so shy and wary, that they elude all the devices and stratagems of their pursuers for some time after. The place where the rats are to be assembled, should be some closet, or small room, into which all the openings, but one or two, may be secured; and this place should be, as near as may be, in the middle of the house, or buildings. It is the practice, therefore, to attempt to bring them all together in some such place before any attempt be made to take them; and even then to avoid any violence, hurt, or fright to them, before the whole be in the power of the operator. In respect to the means used to allure them to one place, they are various; one of those most easily and efficaciously practised is the trailing some piece of their most favourite food, which should be of the kind that has the strongest scent, such as toasted cheese, or broiled red-herring, from the holes or entrances to their accesses in every part of the house, or contiguous buildings, whence it is intended to allure them. At the extremities, and in different parts of the course of this trailed tract, small quantities of meal, or any other kind of their food, should be laid, to bring the greater number into the tracks, and to encourage them to pursue it to the centre place, where they are intended to be taken; at that place, where time admits of it, a more plentiful repast is laid for them, and the trailing repeated for two or three nights. But besides this trailing, and way-baiting, some of the most expert of the rat-catchers have a shorter, and, perhaps, more effectual method of bringing them together, which is, the calling them, by making such a kind of whistling noise as resembles their own call, and by this means, with the assistance of the way-baits, they call them out of their holes, and lead them to the repast prepared for them at the place designed for taking them. But this is much more difficult to be practised than the art of trailing; for the learning the exact notes, or cries, of any kind of beasts or birds, so as to deceive them, is a peculiar talent, not easily attained to in other cases. And in practising either of these methods, great caution must be used by the operator to suppress, and prevent, the scent of his feet and body from being perceived; which is done by overpowering that scent by others of a stronger nature. In order to this the feet are to be covered with cloths rubbed over with assafoetida, or other strong smelling substances; and even oil of rhodium is sometimes used for this purpose, but sparingly, on account of its dearness, though it has a very alluring, as well as disguising effect. If this caution of avoiding the scent of the operator's feet, near the track, and in the place where the rats are proposed to be collected, be not properly observed, it will very much obstruct the success of the attempt to take them; for they are very shy of coming where the scent of human feet lies very fresh, and intimates, to their sagacious instinct, the presence of human creatures, whom they naturally dread. To the above-mentioned means of alluring by trailing, way-baiting, and calling, is added another of very material efficacy, which is the use of the oil of rhodium, which, like the marum syriacum in the case of cats, has a very extraordinary fascinating power on these animals. The oil is extremely dear, and therefore very sparingly used. It is exhaled in a small quantity in the place, and at the entrance of it, where the rats are intended to be taken, particularly at the time when they are to be last brought together in order to their destruction; and it is used also, by smearing it on the surface of some of the implements used in taking them, by the method before described, and the effect it has in taking off their caution and dread, by the delight they appear to have in it, is very extraordinary. It is usual, likewise, for the operator to disguise his figure as well as scent, which is done by putting on a sort of gown or cloak, of one colour, that hides the natural form, and makes him appear like a post, or such inanimate thing; which habit must likewise be scented as above, to overpower the smell of his person; and besides this he is to avoid all motion, till he has secured his point of having all the rats in his power. When the rats are thus enticed and collected, where time is afforded, and the whole in any house or outbuildings are intended to be cleared away, they are suffered to regale on what they most like, which is ready prepared for them; and then to go away quietly for two or three nights; by which means those which are not allured the first night are brought afterwards, either by their fellows, or the effects of the trailing, &c. and will not fail to come duly again, if they are not disturbed or molested. But many of the rat-catchers make shorter work, and content themselves with what can be brought together in one night or two; but this is never effectual, unless where the building is small and entire, and the rats but few in number. With respect to the means of taking them when they are brought together, they are various. Some entice them into a very large bag, the mouth of which is sufficiently capacious to cover nearly the whole floor of the place where they are collected; which is done by smearing some vessel, placed in the middle of the bag, with oil of rhodium, and laying in the bag baits of proper food. This bag, which before laid flat on the ground, with the mouth spread open, is to be suddenly closed when the rats are all in it. Others drive or frighten them, by slight noises or motions, into a bag of a long form, the mouth of which, after all the rats are come in, is drawn up to the opening of the place by which they entered, all other ways of retreat being secured. Others, again, intoxicate or poison them, by mixing with the repast prepared for them the cocculus indicus, or the nux vomica. A receipt for this purpose has appeared, which directs four ounces of cocculus indicus, with twelve ounces of oatmeal, and two ounces of treacle or honey, to be made up into a moist paste with strong beer; but if the nux vomica be used, a much less proportion will serve than is here given of the cocculus. Any similar composition of these drugs, with that kind of food the rats are most fond of, and which has a strong flavour, to hide that of the drugs, will equally well answer the end. If, indeed, the cocculus indicus be well powdered, and infused in strong beer for some time, at least half the quantity here directed will serve as well as the quantity before mentioned. When the rats appear to be thoroughly intoxicated with the cocculus, or sick with the nux vomica, they may be taken with the hand, and put into a bag or cage, the door of the place being first drawn to, lest those which have strength and sense remaining should escape. By these methods, when well conducted, a very considerable part of the rats in a farm, or other house, and the contiguous buildings, may be taken and destroyed. But various other methods have been practised.--The following compositions are advised for destroying these mischievous creatures, and which are stated to have been attended with great success. First, to a quart of oatmeal, add six drops of oil of rhodium, one grain of musk, and two or three of the nuts of nux vomica finely powdered; make them into pellets, and put them into the rat-holes. This, it is said, was at first greedily eaten, and did great execution; but the wise animals, after a time, ceased to eat it. Secondly; this consisted of three parts of oatmeal and one of stave's-acre, mixed well into a paste with honey. Pieces of this paste were laid in their holes, and again did great execution. Thirdly; this is a method of destroying them by laying a large box down on its front side, with the lid supported open by a string over a pulley; and by trailing toasted cheese and a red-herring from their holes to this box, and placing oatmeal and other food in it, which they are for a few nights to be permitted to eat unmolested; and finally to watch them by moon-light, the inside of the box being painted white; and, when many of them are seen, to let down the lid; by which contrivance sixty of them are stated to have been taken at one time.--But though the usual ways of destroying rats are by traps and poison, it is advised never to use arsenic, or corrosive sublimate, for that purpose, except under particular circumstances, as they are deadly poisons: nux vomica will generally answer the end as well, without the danger. It is a very good plan, to prevent accidents, to enclose the traps in cases, having holes in the ends of them large enough to admit rats, but small enough to exclude dogs, cats, &c. As a bait for rat-traps, the following composition may be made use of with advantage. Take a pound of good flour, three ounces of treacle, and six drops of the oil of carraways: put them all in a dish, and rub them well together till they are properly mixed: then add a pound of crumb of bread. The traps baited with this mixture should be set as near their haunts as possible; but, for two or three days, so as not to fall or strike on the rats going in, but letting them have free liberty to go in and out at pleasure, as this makes them fearless. Some of the bait should also be laid at the rat-holes, and a little of it scattered quite up to the traps, and so on to the bridge of each trap, where a handful may be placed. It may also be proper to scent the traps with the following mixture, for the purpose of enticing the rats into them. Take twenty drops of the oil of rhodium, six or seven grains of musk, and half an ounce of oil of aniseed; put them in a small phial, and shake it well before using; then dip a piece of twisted paper or rag in the mixture, and rub each end of the trap with it, if a box trap, and put two or three drops on the bridge, leaving the paper or rag in the trap. Of whatever kind the trap is, it should be scented; but once in a twelvemonth will be sufficient. Then throw some chaff mixed with a little wheat about the bottom of the trap, in order to deceive the rats; for they are very sagacious, and will not enter a suspicious place. This will be necessary to be done only at the first time of setting the traps; for, after some rats have been caught and have watered and dunged in them, rats will enter boldly when they find others have been there before them: do not, therefore, wash or clean out the trap, as some people do before they set it again, but let the dung and urine remain in it. Keep the places where the traps are set as private as possible; and when they are set for catching, mix no bread with the bait, as the rats will, in that case, be apt to carry it away. And it is useful, when the holes are found quiet, and that no rats use them, to stop them up with the following composition. Take a pint of common tar, half an ounce of pearl-ashes, an ounce of oil of vitriol, and a good handful of common salt, mix them all well together in an old pan or pot. Take some pieces of paper, and lay some of the above mixture very thick on them; then stop the holes well up with them, and build up the mouth of the holes with brick or stone, and mortar; if this be properly done, rats will no more approach these while either smell or taste remains in the composition. But with a view to destroy rats in places where traps cannot be set, it is recommended to take a quart of the above bait, then to rasp into it three nuts of nux vomica, and add a quarter of a pound of crumb of bread, if there was none before; mix them all well together, and lay it into the mouth of their holes, and in different places where they frequent; but first give them of the bait without nux vomica, for three or four succeeding nights; and when they find it agrees with them, they will eat that mixed with the nut with greediness. However, as it is frequently found that rats are very troublesome in sewers and drains, in such cases arsenic may be used with success in the following manner. Take some dead rats, and having put some white arsenic, finely powdered, into an old pepper-box, shake a quantity of it on the foreparts of the dead rats, and put them down the holes, or avenues, by the sides of the sewers at which they come in; this puts a stop to the live ones coming any further; for when they perceive the arsenic, they will retire immediately; whereas, if they were put down without the arsenic, the live ones would eat them. It is by means of arsenic, notwithstanding the above observations, that the most certain method of destroying these troublesome vermin, (provided they can be made to eat it,) takes place; which has been found to answer best when it is prepared by being finely levigated, and mixed up with very strong old cheese and oatmeal. But after all, it is probable that this highly destructive animal, and great pest to the farmer, might be most readily exterminated by parishes uniting for the purpose, and raising certain sums of money to be applied in this way, under the direction of a proper person who is fully acquainted with the business.--In many grain and other districts in the kingdom these animals prevail very much, especially the grey kind, particularly in all those where there are no regular raised staddles or stands for the grain stacks to rest upon, which is the case in a great number. The mischief, injury, and destruction of grain which is produced in this way, is scarcely to be calculated; and they are besides very mischievous, troublesome, and inconvenient in several others; so that they should be every where extirpated as much as possible. And in corn tracts, stands or staddles should every where be provided in order to prevent mischief being done by them. RAZOR STRAPS. Nothing makes a better razor strap than crocus martis with a little sweet oil, rubbed well on doe skin with a glass bottle; and to keep it in perfect order, it should not be left too long dry. RED CABBAGE. Slice a red cabbage crossways, put it in an earthen dish, and throw on it a handful of salt. Cover it over till the next day, drain it in a cullender, and put it into a jar. Boil some good vinegar, with cloves and allspice; pour it hot on the cabbage till the jar is full, and when cold tie it down close. RED HERRINGS. Choose those that are large and moist, cut them open, and pour over them some boiling small beer. Let them soak half an hour, then drain and dry them; make them just hot through before the fire, and rub them over with cold butter. Serve with egg sauce, or buttered eggs; mashed potatoes should also be sent up with them. RED INK. Infuse a quarter of a pound of Brazil wood, rasped, in two pints of vinegar, for three days. Then boil the liquid and the wood over a gentle fire, for an hour, and strain it off quite hot. Put it again over the fire, and dissolve in it, first, half an ounce of gum arabic, and afterwards, half an ounce of alum, and the same quantity of white sugar. When the alum is dissolved, remove it from the fire, and preserve it for use. RED MULLET. This sort of fish are in season in August; and to be good, they should be quite firm. Sea mullets are preferred to the river ones, and the red to the grey. This fish is sometimes called the sea woodcock. To dress mullets, clean them, but leave the inside. Fold them in oiled paper, and bake them gently in a small dish. Make a sauce of the liquor that comes from the fish, with a piece of butter, a little flour, a little essence of anchovy, and a glass of sherry. Give it a boil, serve in a boat, and the fish in the paper cases. REGIMEN. It may be difficult accurately to ascertain the predominant qualities of particular constitutions, or of the food that is best adapted in particular instances; yet it is certain, that health is dependent on regimen and diet, more than on any other cause. There are things so decidedly injurious, and so well known to be so, as to require no admonition; the instincts of nature will teach us to refrain; and generally speaking, the best rule for our practice is to observe by experience, what it is that hurts or does us good, and what our stomachs are best able to digest. We must at the same time keep our judgment unbiassed, and not suffer it to become a pander to the appetite; or the stomach and the health will be betrayed to the mere indulgence of sensuality. The gratification of our taste in the abundant supplies of nature, converted by art to the purposes of wholesome food, is perfectly compatible with the necessary maintenance of health; it is only the indiscriminate or inordinate indulgence of our appetites, regardless of the consequences, that is the proper object of censure. Many of the diseases to which we are subject might be traced to this source; yet we are generally so little aware of it, that we impute them to the state of the weather, to infection, or any other imaginary cause, rather than the true one. The weather has very little serious effect upon a person in health, unless exposed to it in some unusual manner that suddenly checks perspiration, or some of the ordinary evacuations. Infection, though of formidable import, is almost divested of its power over those whose temperance in food and diet keeps the blood and juices pure. The closest attendance upon an infected person has often been found perfectly consistent with personal safety under such circumstances. Even diseases, said to be hereditary, may with great probability be assigned to errors in domestic life, of which the children partake, and fall into the same disorders as their parents, and remote progenitors. But even if this be not exactly so, an originally indifferent constitution may certainly be much amended by proper management. Amongst a variety of causes producing ill health, there can be no doubt but bad air, want of cleanliness, want of exercise, excessive fatigue, and mental uneasiness, must have an unfavourable influence; yet none of these have so immediate an effect as the food we eat, which if not wholesome and nutricious, tends directly to contaminate the system. We derive the renewal of our blood and juices, which are constantly exhausting, from the substances converted into food. As our food therefore is proper or improper, too much or too little, so will our blood and juices be good or bad, overcharged or deficient, and our state of health accordingly good or diseased. It is not only necessary however, that our aliment should be plain and wholesome; it is requisite also that it should contain active principles; such as salts, oils, and spirits, which have the property of stimulating the solids, quickening the circulation, and make the fluids thinner; thus rendering them more suited to undergo the necessary secretions of the body. The art of preserving health, and of prolonging life, consists therefore in the use of a moderate quantity of such diet as shall neither encrease the salts and oils so as to produce disease, nor to diminish them so as to suffer the solids to become relaxed. Eating too little is hurtful, as well as eating too much. Neither excess nor hunger, nor any thing else that passes the bounds of nature, can be good for man. Temperance and moderation in eating and drinking, are nature's great preservatives. 'The throat has destroyed more than the sword.' Some people are apt to think, the more plentifully they eat and drink, the better they thrive, and the stronger they grow. But this is not the case: a little, well digested, will render the body more vigorous than when it is glutted with superfluity, most of which is turned to excrementitious, not alimentary, fluid, and must soon be evacuated, or sickness will follow. It is said of the highly celebrated Dr. Boerhaäve, that having long promised to a friend the secret of preserving health and long life, his friend became impatient to obtain the secret, when he perceived that the physician was dying. To his repeated solicitations, the doctor as frequently replied, 'Do not eat too much--do not eat too much;' and left this advice as his last legacy to his valued friend. By loading the stomach, digestion is impeded; for the natural juice of the stomach, which is the great medium of digestion, has not then room to exert itself. The stomach therefore nauseates its contents, and is troubled with eructations; the spirits are oppressed, obstructions ensue, and disease is the consequence. Besides, when thus overfilled, the stomach presses on the diaphragm, prevents the proper play of the lungs, and occasions difficulty and uneasiness in breathing. Hence arise various bad symptoms and effects, throughout the whole of the animal economy; prostrating the strength, impairing the senses, hastening old age, and shortening life. Though these unhappy consequences may not be immediately perceived, yet they are the certain attendants of intemperance; and it has been generally observed in great eaters, that though from custom, a state of youth, and a strong constitution, they suffer no present inconvenience, but have digested their food, and sustained the surfeit; yet if they have not been unexpectedly cut off, they have found the symptoms of old age come on early in life, attended with pains and innumerable disorders. If health is to be regarded, we must ever make it a rule not to eat to satiety or fulness, but desist while the stomach feels quite easy. Thus we shall be refreshed, light, and cheerful; not dull, heavy, or indisposed. Should we ever be tempted to eat too much at one time, we should eat the less at another: abstinence is the best remedy for repletion. If our dinner has been larger than usual, let our supper be less, or rather, quite omitted. With regard to the times of eating, they must to a certain degree be conformed to family convenience, but ought to be quite independent of the caprice of fashion, instead of being as they are, governed by it. This, and a want of punctuality to the dinner hour, are the cause of more real harm to the constitution than thoughtless people of fashion, and their more thoughtless imitators, are apt to imagine. When a dinner is dressed, nothing can prevent its being injured by standing. It may be kept hot, and this imposes on those who think no farther upon the subject; but the very means made use of for this purpose, only help to spoil it the more. If things boiled are kept in the water after they are done enough, they become sodden, vapid, and heavy. The invention of hot closets for keeping other things hot, dry away the juices, and make them strong and rancid. From such dinners, indigestions will ensue, frequent head-aches, nervousness, and many other uneasy sensations, which finally bring on maladies of a more serious nature. The great points to be guarded against, respecting the times of eating, are either eating too soon after a former meal, or fasting too long. The stomach should always have time to empty itself, before it is filled again. Some stomachs digest their contents sooner than others, and if long empty it may destroy the appetite, and greatly disturb both the head and animal spirits; because from the great profusion of nerves spread over the stomach, there is an immediate sympathy between that and the head. Hence the head is sure to be affected by whatever disorders the stomach, whether from any particular aliment that disagrees with it, or being over filled, or too long empty. Hence also, too frequently, arise apoplexy, or paralytic affections, especially in aged people. Such as feel a gnawing in the stomach, as it is called, should not wait till the stated time of the next meal, but take a small quantity of food, light, and easy of digestion, that the stomach may have something to work on. Children, with craving appetites, do and may eat often, allowing only a proper interval to empty the stomach. Young persons in health, who use much exercise, may eat three times a day. But such as are in years, such as are weak, as do no work, or lead a sedentary life, eating twice in the day is quite sufficient: or if in the present habits of society it is found to be difficult to arrange for two meals only, let them take three very moderate ones. Weak and aged persons may eat often, but then it should be very little at a time. The diseases to which we are liable often require substances of more active principles than what are found in common aliment, and hence the need of medicine, in order to, produce sudden alterations. But where such alterations are not immediately necessary, the same effect may be produced with much greater safety, by a proper attention to diet only. Abstinence is in short, one of the best remedies to which we can resort; and if employed in time, will entirely cure many disorders, and check the violence of such as cannot be entirely carried off by it. In all cases where there is any inflammation, and in stomach complaints, it is particularly necessary, and may be safely continued till the symptoms of disease disappear. Where the digestion is habitually weak, a day of abstinence once a week will always be beneficial. The quality of our food is a subject of greater difficulty than the quantity. Moderation is an invariably safe guide in the latter case; but though always favourable to prevent ill effects from any error in quality, it will not always be effectual. To a person in good health, with a strong stomach, and whose constant beverage is water, or some weak liquor, the niceties in food and cooking are less material, than to persons with naturally weak stomachs, or to those in sickness, or for children. But all persons who would to a certainty preserve their health and faculties, and live out the natural term of life, should use plain food, as all high seasonings and compound mixtures, have an injurious effect, sooner or later, on the strongest constitutions. If a few instances can be shewn to the contrary, these, like other anomalies in nature, cannot constitute an exception to a well established fact. A prevailing error in the diet of this country is a too great use of animal food. The disease called the sea scurvy, often occurs from this cause, in every large town in England; and it is probable that the frequency and fatality of putrid and scarlet fevers may justly be attributed to it also. The prejudices of this country are very strong in favour of animal food, but the evidence of facts is equally strong against its absolute necessity. Instances of this are seen in the natives of Hindostan, who live upon rice, and who by way of opprobrium call the inhabitants of this country 'flesh eaters;' in the poor of Ireland, who live upon potatoes, and in the poor of Scotland, who live upon oatmeal. After all, the medium is in all probability the best; neither animal nor vegetable diet exclusively, but a reasonable proportion of both. Persons of indifferent health should be particularly cautious in their diet, and those labouring under any particular malady should carefully conform to the regimen prescribed for them by their medical advisers.--Our beverage is another very important article, in reference to health. It is essential to moisten and convey more solid food into the stomach, and from thence to the respective parts of the system. Also to allay thirst, to dilute the blood, that it may circulate through the minutest vessels, and to dissolve and carry off by watery secretions the superfluous salts taken in with the food. No liquid is so effectual for this purpose as pure water; with the exception only of a few cases. No other liquid circulates so well, or mixes so immediately with our fluids. Other liquids are impregnated with particles which act strongly upon the solids or fluids, or both; but water being simple, operates only by diluting, moistening, and cooling, which are the great uses of drink pointed out to us by nature. Hence it is evident that water in general is the best and most wholesome drink; but as some constitutions require something to warm and stimulate the stomach, fermented liquors may be proper, if taken in moderation. It is necessary however, that beer, ale, cider, and wine, be taken in a sound state and of proper age, or they will be highly detrimental. Spirituous liquors, taken too freely, or in a raw state, are attended with direful effects, and are the destruction of thousands. From the degree of heat they have undergone in distillation, they acquire a corrosive and burning quality, which makes them dangerous to the constitution. They contract the fibres and smaller vessels, especially where they are tenderest, as in the brain, and thus destroy the intellectual faculties. They injure the coat of the stomach, and so expose the nerves and relax the fibres, till the whole stomach becomes at last soft and flabby. Hence ensues loss of appetite, indigestion, and diseases that generally terminate in premature death. Light wines of a moderate strength, and matured by age, are more wholesome than strong, rich, and heavy wines, and pass off the stomach with less difficulty. Red port is strong and astringent, but white port and Spanish wines are stimulating and attenuating. French wines are lighter, and not so strong as the Portuguese and Spanish wines, which renders them wholesomer for thin and dry constitutions. Rhenish and Moselle wines are the most wholesome of any, where acidity is not hurtful. Home made wines are prejudicial to all constitutions, being very windy and heady. The notion that liquors of any kind assist digestion, is quite erroneous, as wine and all other strong liquors are as hard to digest as strong solid food. Those who drink only water or small beer at their meals, are able to eat and digest almost double the quantity of what they could, if they drank strong liquors. When the stomach is uneasy from too much food, or such as is indigestible, strong liquors produce a deceitful glow in the stomach, which induces a belief of their having the beneficial effect of assisting digestion. The fallacy of this conclusion is sufficiently apparent from the state in which cherries are found, after they have been steeped in brandy: instead of becoming more tender, they are rendered as tough as leather. Similar effects are produced on food in the stomach, as well as out of it. Strong liquors are plainly improper at meals, as by their heat and activity they hurry the food undigested into the habit, and so lay the foundation for various distempers, such as the gout, rheumatism, apoplexy, and palsy. RENNET. This article, so necessary in making of cheese, is prepared as follows. Take out the stomach of a calf as soon as killed, and scour it inside and out with salt, after it is cleared of the curd always found in it. Let it drain a few hours, then sow it up with two good handfuls of salt in it, or stretch it on a stick well salted, and hang it up to dry.--Another way. Clean the maw as above, and let it drain a day. Then put into two quarts of fresh spring-water a handful of hawthorn tops, a handful of sweet briar, a handful of rose leaves, a stick of cinnamon, forty cloves, four blades of mace, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and two large spoonfuls of salt. Let them boil gently till the liquor is reduced to three pints, and strain it off; when only milk warm, pour it on the maw. Slice a lemon into it, let it stand two days, strain it again, and bottle it for use. It will keep good at least for twelve months, and has a very fine flavour. Sweet aromatic herbs may also be added. The liquor must be pretty salt, but not made into brine: a little of it will turn the milk. Salt the maw again for a week or two, and dry it stretched on cross sticks, and it will be nearly as strong as before. The rennet when dried must be kept in a cool place. RESENTMENT. This is a dangerous passion, and often fatal to health. Anger disorders the whole frame, hurries on the circulation of the blood, occasions fevers and other acute disorders, and sometimes ends in sudden death. Resentment also preys upon the mind, and occasions the most obstinate disorders, which gradually waste the constitution. Those who value health therefore, will guard against indulging this malignant propensity, and endeavour to preserve a happy degree of tranquillity. RHEUMATISM. In this complaint the diet should be nourishing, with a little generous wine; costiveness must be carefully avoided. The painful part should be kept warm with flannel, should be frequently rubbed, occasionally electrified, and supplied with the volatile liniment. Blisters, cataplasms of mustard or horseradish, may be applied with advantage. If these be not effectual, take a pint of the spirits of turpentine, and add half an ounce of camphor. Let it stand till the camphor is dissolved, then rub it on the part affected night and morning, and it will seldom fail to afford effectual relief. This mixture is also very proper for sprains and bruises, and should be kept for family use. But several of our own domestic plants as above may be used with advantage in the rheumatism. One of the best is the white _mustard_. A table-spoonful of the seed of this plant may be taken twice or thrice a day, in a glass of water or small wine. The water trefoil is likewise of great use in this complaint. It may be infused in wine or ale, or drunk in the form of tea. The ground-ivy, camomile, and several other bitters, are also beneficial, and may be used in the same manner. No benefit, however, is to be expected from these, unless they be taken for a considerable time. Cold bathing, especially in salt water, often cures the rheumatism. It is also advisable to take exercise, and wear flannel next the skin. Issues are likewise very proper, especially in chronic cases. If the pain affects the shoulders, an issue may be made in the arm; but if it affects the loins, it should be put into the leg or thigh. Such as are subject to frequent attacks of the rheumatism ought to make choice of a dry, warm situation, to avoid the night air, wet clothes, and wet feet, as much as possible. Their clothing should be warm, and they should wear flannel next their skin, and make frequent use of the flesh brush. One of the best articles of dress, not only for the prevention of rheumatism, but for powerful co-operation in its cure, is fleecy hosiery. In low marshy situations, the introduction of that manufacture has prevented more rheumatisms, colds, and agues, than all the medicines ever used there. Such of the inhabitants of marshy counties as are in easy circumstances, could not, perhaps, direct their charity and humanity to a better object than to the supplying their poor neighbours with so cheap and simple a preservative. RHUBARB. By proper attention in the growth and preparation of this root, it may be obtained here nearly in equal goodness to the foreign. The plants are all increased by seeds, which should be sown in autumn soon after they are ripe, where the plants are designed to remain, as their roots being large and fleshy when they are removed, they do not recover it soon; nor do the roots of such removed plants ever grow so large and fair as those which remain where they were sown. When the plants appear in the spring, the ground should be well hoed over, to cut up the weeds; and where they are too close, some should be cut up, leaving them at the first hoeing six or eight inches asunder; but at the second they may be separated to a foot and a half distance, and more. When any weeds appear, the ground should be scuffled over with a Dutch hoe in dry weather; but after the plants cover the ground with their broad leaves, they keep down the weeds without any farther trouble. The ground should be cleaned in autumn when the leaves decay, and in the spring, before the plants begin to put up their new leaves, be dug well between them. In the second year, many of the strongest plants will produce flowers and seeds, and in the third year most of them. It is advised, that the seeds be carefully gathered when ripe, and not permitted to scatter, lest they grow and injure the old plants. The roots continue many years without decaying, and the old roots of the true rhubarb are much preferable to the young ones. The roots may be generally taken up after four years, but if they remain longer it is so much the better. These plants delight in a rich soil, which is not too dry nor over moist: and where there is depth in such land for their roots to run down, they attain a great size, both in the leaves and roots. RHUBARB PIE. Peel the stalks of the plant, cut them about an inch long, put them into a dish with moist sugar, a little water and lemon peel. Put on the crust, and bake it in a moderate oven. RHUBARB PUDDING. Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon, a bit of cinnamon, two cloves, and as much moist sugar as will sweeten it. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a marmalade. Pass it through a hair sieve, then add the peel of a lemon, half a nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of good butter, the yolks of four eggs, and one white, and mix all well together. Line a pie dish with good puff paste, put in the mixture, and bake it half an hour. This will make a good spring pudding. RHUBARB SAUCE. To make a mock gooseberry-sauce for mackarel, reduce three dozen sticks of rhubarb to a marmalade, and sweeten it with moist sugar. Pass it through a hair sieve, and serve it up in a boat.--Mock gooseberry-fool is made of rhubarb marmalade, prepared as for a pudding. Add a pint of good thick cream, serve it up in glasses, or in a deep dish. If wanted in a shape, dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a little water, strain it through a tammis, and when nearly cold put it to the cream. Pour it into a jelly mould, and when set, turn it out into a dish, and serve it up plain. RHUBARB SHERBET. Boil six or eight sticks of clean rhubarb in a quart of water, ten minutes. Strain the liquor through a tammis into a jug, with the peel of a lemon cut very thin, and two table-spoonfuls of clarified sugar. Let it stand five or six hours, and it will be fit to drink. RHUBARB SOUP. There are various ways of dressing garden rhubarb, which serves as an excellent substitute for spring fruit. Peel and well wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, blanch it in water three or four minutes, drain it on a sieve, and put it into a stewpan with two sliced onions, a carrot, an ounce of lean ham, and a good bit of butter. Let it stew gently over a slow fire till tender, then put in two quarts of rich soup, to which add two or three ounces of bread crumbs, and boil it about fifteen minutes. Skim off all the fat, season with salt and cayenne, pass it through a tammis, and serve it up with fried bread. RHUBARB TART. Cut the stalks in lengths of four or five inches, and take off the thin skin. Lay them in a dish, pour on a thin syrup of sugar and water, cover them with another dish, and let it simmer very slowly for an hour on a hot hearth; or put the rhubarb into a block-tin saucepan, and simmer it over the fire. When cold, make it into a tart; the baking of the crust will be sufficient, if the rhubarb be quite tender. RIBS OF BEEF. The following is an excellent way of dressing this rich and valuable joint. Hang up three ribs three or four days, take out the bones from the whole length, sprinkle it with salt, roll the meat tight, and roast it. If done with spices, and baked as hunter's beef, it is excellent, and nothing can look nicer. RICE BROTH. Put a quarter of a pound of whole rice into a gallon of water. Let it simmer till it is quite soft, then put in a knuckle of veal, or the scrag end of a leg of mutton, with two or three pounds of gravy beef. Stew this very gently for two hours, then put in turnips, carrots, celery, leeks, or any other vegetables. Continue to stew slowly, and when the whole is sufficiently done, season it with salt, and serve it up. RICE CAKE. Mix ten ounces of ground rice, three ounces of flour, and eight ounces of pounded sugar. Sift the composition by degrees into eight yolks and six whites of eggs, and the peel of a lemon shred so fine that it is quite mashed. Mix the whole well in a tin stewpan with a whisk, over a very slow fire. Put it immediately into the oven in the same, and bake it forty minutes.--Another. Beat twelve yolks and six whites of eggs, with the peels of two lemons grated. Mix one pound of rice flour, eight ounces of fine flour, and a pound of sugar pounded and sifted. Beat it well with the eggs by degrees, for an hour, with a wooden spoon. Butter a pan well, and put it in at the oven mouth. A gentle oven will bake it in an hour and a half. RICE CAUDLE. When the water boils, pour into it some grated rice, with a little cold water. When of a proper consistence, add sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon, and a spoonful of brandy, and boil all smooth.--Another way. Soak in water some fine rice for an hour, strain it, and put two spoonfuls of the rice into a pint and a quarter of milk. Simmer till it will pulp through a sieve, then put the pulp and milk into the saucepan, with a bruised clove, and a bit of lump sugar. Simmer all together ten minutes; if too thick, add a spoonful or two of milk, and serve with thin toast. RICE CHEESECAKES. Boil four ounces of ground rice in milk, with a blade of cinnamon: put it into a pot, and let it stand till the next day. Mash it fine with half a pound of butter; add to it four eggs, half a pint of cream, a grated nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and a little sugar. Or the butter may be stirred and melted in the rice while it is hot, and left in the pot till the next day. RICE CUSTARD. Boil three pints of new milk with a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and sugar. Mix the yolks of two eggs well beaten, with a large spoonful of rice flour, smothered in a cup of cold milk. Take a basin of the boiling milk, mix it with the cold that has the rice in it, and add it to the remainder of the boiling milk, stirring it one way till it begins to thicken. Pour it into a pan, stir it till it is cool, and add a spoonful of brandy or orange water. This is a good imitation of cream custard, and considerably cheaper. RICE EDGING. After soaking and picking some fine Carolina rice, boil it in salt and water, until sufficiently tender, but not to mash. Drain, and put it round the inner edge of the dish, to the height of two inches. Smooth it with the back of a spoon, wash it over with the yolk of an egg, and put it into the oven for three or four minutes. This forms an agreeable edging for currie or fricassee, with the meat served in the middle. RICE FLUMMERY. Boil with a pint of new milk, a bit of lemon peel and cinnamon. Mix with a little cold milk as much rice flour as will make the whole of a good consistence, add a little sugar, and a spoonful of peach water, or a bitter almond beaten. Boil it, but do not let it burn; pour it into a shape or pint basin, taking out the spice. When cold, turn the flummery into a dish, and serve with cream, milk, or custard round. Or put a tea-cupful of cream into half a pint of new milk, a glass of white wine, half a lemon squeezed, and sugar. RICE MILK. Boil half a pound of rice in a quart of water, with a bit of cinnamon, till the water is wasted. Add three pints of milk, an egg beaten up with a spoonful of flour, and stir it till it boils. Then pour it out, sweeten it, and put in currants and nutmeg. RICE PANCAKES. Boil half a pound of rice to a jelly in a small quantity of water; when cold, mix it with a pint of cream, eight eggs, a little salt and nutmeg. Stir in eight ounces of butter just warmed, and add flour sufficient to thicken the batter. Fry in as little lard or dripping as possible. RICE PASTE. To make a rice paste for sweets, boil a quarter of a pound of ground rice in the smallest quantity of water. Strain from it all the moisture possible, beat it in a mortar with half an ounce of butter, and one egg well beaten. It will make an excellent paste for tarts, and other sweet dishes.--To make a rich paste for relishing things, clean some rice, and put it into a saucepan. Add a little milk and water, or milk only, and an onion, and simmer it over the fire till it swells. Put some seasoned chops into a dish, and cover it with the rice. The addition of an egg will make the rice bind the better. Rabbits fricasseed, and covered with rice paste, are very good. RICE PUDDING. If for family use, swell the rice with a very little milk over the fire. Then add more milk, an egg, some sugar, allspice, and lemon peel; and bake it in a deep dish. Or put into a deep pan half a pound of rice washed and picked, two ounces of butter, four ounces of sugar, a little pounded allspice, and two quarts of milk. Less butter will do, or some suet: bake the pudding in a slow oven. Another. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice in a quart of milk, with a stick of cinnamon, till it is thick; stir it often, that it does not burn; pour it into a pan, stir in a quarter of a pound of butter, and grate half a nutmeg; add sugar to your taste, and a small tea-cup of rose-water; stir all together till cold; beat up eight eggs, (leave out half the whites) stir all well together, lay a thin puff paste at the bottom of the dish, and nip the edge; then pour in the pudding and bake it.--Another. To make a plain rice pudding, put half a pound of rice well picked, into three quarts of milk; add half a pound of sugar, a small nutmeg grated, and half a pound of butter; butter the dish with part, and break the rest into the milk and rice; stir all well together, pour it into a dish, and bake it.--Another. To make a boiled rice pudding, take a quarter of a pound of rice well picked and washed, tie it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell; boil it for an hour; take it up and stir in a quarter of a pound of butter, some nutmeg and sugar; tie it up again very tight, and boil it an hour more. When you send it to table, pour butter and sugar over it.--Another. To make a ground rice pudding. To a pint of milk put four ounces of ground rice; boil it for some time, keeping it stirring, lest it should burn; pour it into a pan, and stir in a quarter of a pound of butter; then beat up six eggs, leaving out half the whites, a little lemon peel finely shred, a little nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a gill of cream, a little rose-water, and as much salt as you can take up between your thumb and finger; mix all well together, make a puff paste, lay it round the rim of the dish, and bake it.--Lay citron or orange cut very thin, on the top, and strew a few currants on.--Another. To make rice pudding with fruit. Swell half a pound of rice with a very little milk over the fire, and then mix with it any kind of fruit; such as currants, scalded gooseberries, pared and quartered apples, raisins, or black currants. Put an egg into the pudding to bind it, boil it well, and serve it up with sugar. RICE SAUCE. Steep a quarter of a pound of rice in a pint of milk, with an onion, a dozen pepper corns or allspice, and a little mace. When the rice is quite tender, take out the spice, and rub the rice through a sieve into a clean stewpan: if too thick, put a little milk or cream to it. This makes a very delicate white sauce; and at elegant tables, is frequently used instead of bread sauce. RICE SOUFFLE. Blanch some Carolina rice, strain and boil it in milk, with lemon peel and a bit of cinnamon. Let it boil till the rice is dry; then cool it, and raise a rim three inches high round the dish, having egged the dish where it is put, to make it stick. Then egg the rice all over. Fill the dish half way up with a marmalade of apples; have ready the whites of four eggs beaten to a fine froth, and put them over the marmalade. Sift fine sugar over, and set it in the oven, which should be warm enough to give it a beautiful colour. RICE SOUP. Boil a pound of rice with a little cinnamon, in two quarts of water. Take out the cinnamon, add a little sugar and nutmeg, and let it stand to cool. Then beat up the yolks of three eggs in a little white wine, and mix it with the rice. Set it on a slow fire, stir it well, and take it up as soon as it has boiled to a proper thickness. RICH GIBLET SOUP. Take four pounds of gravy beef, two pounds of scrag of mutton, two pounds of scrag of veal; stew them well down together in a sufficient quantity of water for a strong broth, let it stand till it is quite cold, then skim the fat clean off. Take two pair of giblets well scalded and cleaned, put them into your broth, and let them simmer till they are stewed tender; then take out your giblets, and run the soup through a fine sieve to catch the small bones; then take an ounce of butter and put it into a stew-pan, mixing a proper quantity of flour, which make of a fine light brown. Take a small handful of chives, the same of parsley, a very little penny-royal, and a very little sweet marjoram; chop all these herbs together excessive small, put your soup over a slow fire, put in your giblets, butter and flour, and small herbs; then take a pint of Madeira wine, some cayenne pepper, and salt to your palate. Let them all simmer together, till the herbs are tender, and the soup is finished. Send it to the table with the giblets in it. Let the livers be stewed in a saucepan by themselves, and put in when you dish. RICH GRAVY. Cut lean beef into small slices, according to the quantity wanted; slice some onions thin, and flour them both. Fry them of a light pale brown, but do not suffer them on any account to get black. Put them into a stewpan, pour boiling water on the browning in the fryingpan, boil it up, and pour it on the meat. Add a bunch of parsley, thyme, and savoury, a small piece of marjoram, the same of taragon, some mace, berries of allspice, whole black pepper, a clove or two, and a bit of ham, or gammon of bacon. Simmer till the juice of the meat is extracted, and skim it the moment it boils. If for a hare, or stewed fish, anchovy should be added. RICH GRAVY SOUP. Take a pound of lean beef, two pounds of veal, and a pound of mutton cut in pieces; put them into a pot, with six quarts of water, a large faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, a little mace, and the upper crust of bread toasted brown. Put in an ox palate well cleaned and blanched whole; set it over a slow fire, and let it stew till half is wasted; strain it off, and put it into a clean saucepan. Take off the ox palate, shred small, some cock's combs blanched, an ounce of morels cut in pieces, four large heads of celery well washed, and cut small, with the heart of four or five savoys, about as big as a turkey's egg, put in whole; cover it close, and let it stew softly for an hour and a half. If it want any more seasoning, add it; cut some French bread toasts thin, and crisp them before the fire. When your soup is ready, lay your bread in the dish, and put in your soup. RICH HOME-MADE WINE.--Take new cider from the press, mix it with as much honey as will support an egg, boil it gently fifteen minutes, but not in an iron, brass, or copper pot. Skim it well, and tun it when cool, but the cask must not be quite full. Bottle it in the following March, and it will be fit to drink in six weeks, but it will be less sweet if kept longer in the cask. This will make a rich and strong wine, suitable for culinary purposes, where milk or sweet wine is to be employed. Honey, besides its other valuable uses, is a fine ingredient to assist and render palatable, new or harsh cider. RICH PLUM PUDDING. To make a small, but very rich plum pudding, shred fine three quarters of a pound of suet, and half a pound of stoned raisins, chopped a little. Add three spoonfuls of flour, as much moist sugar, a little salt and nutmeg, the yolks of three, and the whites of two eggs. Let it boil four hours in a basin or tin mould, well buttered. When the pudding is served up, pour over it some melted butter, with white wine and sugar.--For a larger pudding of the same description, shred three pounds of suet; add a pound and a half of raisins stoned and chopped, a pound and a half of currants, three pounds of good flour, sixteen eggs, and a quart of milk. Boil it in a cloth seven hours. RICH RICE PUDDING. Boil half a pound of rice in water, till it is quite tender, adding a little salt. Drain it dry, mix it with four eggs, a quarter of a pint of cream, and two ounces of fresh butter melted in the cream. Add four ounces of beef suet or marrow, or veal suet taken from the fillet, finely shred; three quarters of a pound of currants, two spoonfuls of brandy, a spoonful of peach water or ratifia, nutmeg, and grated lemon peel. When well mixed, put a paste round the edge, fill the dish, and bake it in a moderate oven. Slices of candied orange, lemon, and citron, may be added. RICKETS. This disease generally attacks children between the age of nine months and two years; and as it is always attended with evident signs of weakness and relaxation, the chief aim in the cure must be to brace and strengthen the solids, and to promote digestion and the due preparation of the fluids. These important ends will be best answered by wholesome nourishing diet, suited to the age and strength of the patient, open dry air, and sufficient exercise. The limbs should be rubbed frequently with a warm hand, and the child kept as cheerful as possible. Biscuit is generally reckoned the best bread; and pigeons, pullet, veal, rabbits, or mutton roasted or minced, are the most proper meat. If the child be too young for animal food, he may have rice, millet, or pearl barley, boiled with raisins, to which may be added a little wine and spice. His drink may be good claret, mixed with an equal quantity of water. Those who cannot afford claret, may give the child now and then a wine glass of mild ale, or good porter. The disease may often be cured by the nurse, but seldom by the physician. In children of a gross habit, gentle vomits and repeated purges of rhubarb may sometimes be of use, but they will seldom carry off the disease; that must depend chiefly upon such things as brace and strengthen the system; for which purpose, besides the regimen mentioned above, the cold bath, especially in the warm season, is highly recommended. It must, however, be used with prudence, as some ricketty children cannot bear it. The best time for using the cold bath is in the morning, and the child should be well rubbed with a dry cloth immediately after he comes out of it. RING WORM. This eruption, which generally appears on the head, in a circular form, attended with painful itching, is sometimes removed by rubbing it with black ink, or mushroom ketchup. The following preparation is also recommended. Wash some roots of sorrel quite clean, bruise them in a mortar, and steep them in white wine vinegar for two or three days. Then rub the liquor on the ring worm three or four times a day, till it begin to disappear. ROASTING. The first requisite for roasting is to have a clear brisk fire, proportioned to the joint that is to be roasted; without this every attempt must prove abortive. Next to see that the spit is properly cleaned before it enters the meat, and the less it passes through it the better. Neck and loins require to be carefully jointed before they are put on the spit, that the carver may separate them easily and neatly. The joint should be balanced evenly on the spit, that its motion may be regular, and the fire operate equally on every part; for this purpose cook-holds and balancing skewers are necessary. All roasting should be done open to the air, to ventilate the meat from its own fumes, and by the radiant heat of a glowing fire; otherwise it is in fact baked, and rendered less wholesome. Hence what are called Rumford roasters, and the machines invented by economical gratemakers, are utterly to be rejected. If they save any thing in fuel, which is doubtful, they are highly injurious to the flavour and best qualities of the meat. For the same reason, when a joint is dressed, it is better to keep it hot by the fire, than to put it under a cover, that the exhalations may freely escape. In making up the fire for roasting, it should be three or four inches longer at each end than the article on the spit, or the ends of the meat cannot be done nice and brown. Half an hour at least before the roasting begins, prepare the fire, by putting on a few coals so as to be sufficiently lighted by the time the fire is wanted. Put some of them between the bars, and small coals or cinders wetted at the back of the fire; and never put down meat to a burnt up fire. In small families, not provided with a jack or spit, a bottle jack, sold by the ironmongers, is a valuable instrument for roasting; and where this cannot be had, a skewer and a string, or rather a quantity of coarse yarn loosely twisted, is as philosophical as any of them, and will answer the purpose as well. Do not put meat too near the fire at first. The larger the joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire: if once it gets scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a disagreeable taste. If the fire is prevented from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done, before it is little more than half ready, besides losing the pale brown colour which is the beauty of roast meat. From ten to fourteen inches is the usual distance at which it is put from the grate, when first laid down; and afterwards it should be brought nearer by degrees. If the joint is thicker at one end than the other, lay the spit slanting, with the thickest part nearest the fire. When the article is thin and tender, the fire should be small and brisk; but for a large joint the fire should be strong, and equally good in every part of the grate, or the meat cannot be equally roasted, nor possess that uniform colour which is the test of good cooking. Give the fire a good stirring before the meat is laid down, keep it clear at the bottom, and take care that there are no smoky coals in the front, to spoil the look and taste of the meat. If a jack be used, it should be carefully oiled and kept clean, and covered from the dust, or it will never go well. The dripping pan should be placed at such a distance from the fire as just to catch the drippings; if it be too near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings. If too far from the fire to catch them, the drippings will not only be lost, but the meat will be blackened, and spoiled by the fetid smoke, which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders. The meat must be well basted, to keep it moist. When it does not supply dripping enough for this purpose, add some that has been saved on former occasions, and nicely prepared, which answers as well or better than butter. Meat should not be sprinkled with salt till nearly done, as it tends to draw out the gravy. Basting with a little salt and water, when the meat is first laid down, is often done, but the practice is not good. Where the fat is very fine and delicate, it is best to cover it with writing paper to prevent its wasting; but in general it is as well to expose it to the action of the fire, and let it fall into the dripping pan. Half an hour before the meat is done, prepare some gravy if necessary; and just before it is taken up, put it nearer the fire to brown it. If it is to be frothed, baste and dredge it carefully with flour. The common fault is that of using too much flour; the meat should have a fine light varnish of froth, not the appearance of being covered with a paste; and those who are particular about the froth, use butter instead of dripping. When the roast is quite done, it is best to take it up directly, as every moment beyond doing it enough does it an injury. If it cannot be sent to table immediately, which is most desirable, it should be kept hot, but so as to suffer the fumes to escape. With respect to the time required for roasting, the general rule of a quarter of an hour to a pound of meat, is a pretty fair one, but it will not do for all kinds of joints. The use of a meat screen must also be considered, as it tends materially to assist the operation, by concentrating the heat, and excluding the cold drafts of air. Attention must be paid to the nature of the joint, whether thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the meat to it, and the frequency with which it is basted. The more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts upon it with greater force. Much will depend on the time the meat has been kept, and on the temperature of the weather. The same weight will be twenty minutes or half an hour longer in cold weather, than it will be in warm weather; and when the meat is fresh slain, than when it has been kept till it is tender. If meat get frozen, it should be thawed by lying some time in cold water; and then be well dried in a clean cloth, before it is laid down to the fire. A sirloin of BEEF, weighing from twenty-five to thirty pounds, will generally take four hours; a part of it, from twelve to fifteen pounds, two hours and three quarters, or three hours. A piece of ribs of the same weight, much the same time, and a rump four hours. A sheet of paper should be tied over the thin part, or it will burn before the thick part is done enough. A leg of MUTTON, weighing eight or nine pounds, will require two hours and a quarter; a shoulder of seven pounds, an hour and three quarters; a chine of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and a half; a loin, rather more than an hour and a half; a neck, the same; a breast, an hour. A haunch of mutton should be dressed like venison, only in proportion as it may be less, it must not roast quite so long. A fillet of VEAL, from twelve to fourteen pounds weight, requires three hours and twenty minutes. This is usually stuffed, either in the place of the bone, when that is taken out, or under the flap. A loin takes two hours and a half, a shoulder two hours and twenty minutes, a neck nearly two hours, and a breast an hour and a half. These directions suppose the joints to be of a common size. If they are very thick, a little more time must be allowed. When veal is quite small, the time must be reduced accordingly. A quarter of LAMB, of a moderate size, will require two hours; a leg, an hour and forty minutes; a shoulder, an hour and twenty minutes; a loin, the same; a neck, an hour and ten minutes; a breast, three quarters of an hour; and ribs, an hour and a half. A leg of PORK, weighing seven pounds, will require nearly two hours; a loin of five pounds, an hour and twenty minutes. Both these should be scored across in narrow stripes, before they are laid down to the fire. A sparerib of eight or nine pounds, will take an hour and three quarters; a griskin of six or seven pounds, an hour and a quarter; a chine, if parted down the back-bone so as to have but one side, two hours; if not parted, it will take four hours.--The BASTINGS proper for roast meat, are fresh butter, clarified suet, salt and water, yolks of eggs, grated biscuit, and orange juice. For mutton and lamb, minced sweet herbs, butter and claret; and for roast pig, melted butter and cream. The DREDGINGS, are flour mixed with grated bread; sweet herbs dried and powdered, and mixed with grated bread; lemon peel dried and pounded, or orange peel mixed with flour; sugar finely powdered, and mixed with pounded cinnamon, and flour, or grated bread; fennel seeds, corianders, cinnamon, sugar finely powdered, and mixed with grated bread or flour; sugar, bread, and salt mixed. For young pigs, grated bread or flour mixed with pounded nutmeg, ginger, pepper, sugar, and yolks of eggs. ROAST BEEF. Take care that your spit and dripping-pan be very clean; and to prepare your fire according to the size of the joint you have to dress. If it be a sirloin or chump, butter a piece of writing paper, and fasten it on to the back of your meat, with small skewers, and lay it down to a good clear fire, at a proper distance. As soon as your meat is warm, dust on some flour, and baste it with butter; then sprinkle some salt, and at times baste with what drips from it. About a quarter of an hour before you take it up, remove the paper, dust on a little flour, and baste with a piece of butter, that it may go to table with a good froth, but not look greasy. A piece of ten pounds requires about two hours and a half, and others in proportion. Salad and vegetables are eaten with it, also mustard and horseradish. ROAST CALF'S HEAD. Wash the head very clean, take out the brains, and dry it well with a cloth. Make a seasoning of pepper, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; add a slice of bacon finely minced, and some grated bread. Strew the seasoning over the head, roll it up, skewer and tie it close with tape. Roast and baste it with butter. Make veal gravy thickened with butter rolled in flour, and garnish the edge of the dish with fried brains. ROAST CALF'S LIVER. Cut a hole in the liver, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, mixed with chopped onions and herbs, salt, pepper, butter, and an egg. Sew up the liver, wrap it up in a veal caul, and roast it. Serve it up with brown gravy, and currant jelly. ROAST CHEESE. Grate three ounces of fat Cheshire cheese, mix it with the yolks of two eggs, four ounces of grated bread, and three ounces of butter. Beat the whole well in a mortar, with a dessert-spoonful of mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Toast some bread, cut it into proper pieces, lay the above paste thick upon them, and lay them into a Dutch oven covered with a dish till they are hot through. Remove the dish, to let the paste brown a little, and serve it up as hot as possible, immediately after dinner. ROAST CHICKENS. Being cleaned and trussed, put them down to a good fire. Singe them, dust them with flour, and baste them well with butter. Make gravy of their necks and gizzards, or of beef. Strain the gravy, and pour it into the dish, adding parsley and butter, or egg sauce. ROAST COLLARED BEEF. Take out the inside meat from a sirloin of beef, sprinkle it with vinegar, and let it hang till the next day. Prepare a stuffing as for a hare, put this at one end of the meat, roll the rest round it, bind it very close, and roast it gently for an hour and three quarters, or a little more or less, proportioned to the thickness. Serve it up with gravy the same as for hare, and with currant jelly. ROAST COLLARED MUTTON. If a loin of mutton has been collared, take off the fat from the upper side, and the meat from the under side. Bone the joint, season it with pepper and salt, and some shalot or sweet herbs, chopped very small. Let it be rolled up very tight, well tied round, and roasted gently. About an hour and a half will do it. While this is roasting, half boil the meat taken from the under side, then mince it small, put it into half a pint of gravy; and against the time that the mutton is ready, heat this and pour it into the dish when it is served up. ROAST COLLARED PORK. When a neck of pork has been collared, and is intended for roasting, the bones must be taken out. Strew the inside with bread crumbs, chopped sage, a very little pounded allspice, some pepper and salt, all mixed together. Roll it up very close, bind it tight, and roast it gently. An hour and a half or little more, according to the thickness, will roast it enough. A loin of pork with the fat and kidney taken out and boned, and a forehand of pork boned, are very nice dressed in the same way. ROAST DUCK. If two are dressed, let one of them be unseasoned, in order to suit the company. Stuff the other with sage and onion, a dessert-spoonful of crumbs, a bit of butter, with pepper and salt. Serve them up with a fine gravy. ROAST EEL. Take a good large silver eel, draw and skin it, and cut it in pieces of four inches long. Spit them crossways on a small spit, with bay leaves, or large sage leaves between each piece. When roasted, serve up the fish with butter beaten with orange or lemon juice, and some grated nutmeg. Or serve it with venison sauce, and dredge it with pounded carraway seeds, cinnamon, or grated bread. ROAST FOWL. A large barn-door fowl, well hung, should be stuffed in the crop with sausage meat. The head should be turned under the wing, as a turkey. Serve with gravy in the dish, and bread sauce. Roast fowl in general may be garnished with sausages, or scalded parsley. Egg sauce or bread sauce are equally proper. ROAST GOOSE. After the fowl is picked, the plugs of the feathers pulled out, and the hairs carefully singed, let it be well washed and dried. Put in a seasoning of shred onion and sage, pepper and salt. Fasten it tight at the neck and rump, and then roast it. Put it first at a distance from the fire, and by degrees draw it nearer, and baste it well. A slip of paper should be skewered on the breast-bone; when the breast is rising, take off the paper, and be careful to serve it before the breast falls, or it will be spoiled by coming flat to the table. Send up a good gravy in the dish, with apple and gravy sauce. For a green goose, gooseberry sauce. ROAST GRISKIN. Put a piece of pork griskin into a stewpan, with very little more water than will just cover it. Let it boil gradually, and when it has fairly boiled up, take it out. Rub it over with a piece of butter, strew it with a little chopped sage and a few bread crumbs, and roast it in a Dutch oven. It will require doing but a little while. ROAST HARE. After it is skinned, let it be extremely well washed, and then soaked an hour or two in water. If an old hare, lard it, which will make it tender, as also will letting it lie in vinegar. But if put into vinegar, it should be very carefully washed in water afterwards. Make a stuffing of the liver, with an anchovy, some fat bacon, a little suet, all finely minced; adding pepper, salt, nutmeg, a little onion, some sweet herbs, crumbs of bread, and an egg to bind it all. Then put the stuffing, a pretty large one, into the belly of the hare, and sew it up. Baste it well with milk till half done, and afterwards with butter. If the blood has settled in the neck, soaking the part in warm water, and putting it to the fire, will remove it, especially if the skin be nicked a little with a small knife to let it out. The hare should be kept at a distance from the fire at first. Serve it up with a fine froth, some melted butter, currant-jelly sauce, and a rich gravy in the dish. The ears being reckoned a dainty, should be nicely cleaned and singed. For the manner of trussing a hare or rabbit, see Plate. ROAST HEART. Take some suet, parsley, and sweet marjoram, chopped fine. Add some bread crumbs, grated lemon peel, pepper, salt, mustard, and an egg. Mix these into a paste, and stuff the heart with it. Whether baked or roasted, serve it up with gravy and melted butter. Baking is best, if it be done carefully, as it will be more regularly done than it can be by roasting. Calf's or bullock's heart are both dressed in the same way. ROAST LAMB. Lay the joint down to a good clear fire, that will want little stirring; then baste it with butter, and dust on a little flour; after that, baste it with what falls from it; and a little before you take it up baste it again with butter, and sprinkle on a little salt. ROAST LARKS. Put a dozen larks on a skewer, and tie both ends of the skewer to the spit. Dredge and baste them, and let them roast ten minutes. Take the crumb of a penny loaf, grate it, and put it into a fryingpan, with a little bit of butter. Shake it over a gentle fire till it becomes brown; lay it between the birds on a dish, and pour melted butter over it. ROAST LEG OF PORK. Choose a small leg of fine young pork, cut a slit in the knuckle with a sharp knife, fill the space with chopped sage and onion, mixed together with a little pepper and salt. When half roasted, score the skin in slices, but do not cut deeper than the outer rind. Eat it with potatoes and apple sauce. ROAST LOBSTER. When the lobster is half boiled, take it out of the water; and while hot, rub it with butter, and lay it before the fire. Continue basting it with butter till it has a fine froth. ROAST MUTTON AND LAMB. These require to be well roasted, before a quick clear fire. A small fore quarter of lamb will take an hour and a half. Baste the joint as soon as it is laid down, and sprinkle on a little salt. When nearly done, dredge it with flour. In dressing a loin or saddle of mutton, the skin must be loosened, and then skewered on; but it should be removed before the meat is done, and the joint basted and made to froth up. When a fore quarter is sent to table, the shoulder may be taken off, the ribs a little seasoned with pepper and salt, and a lemon squeezed over them. Serve up the joint with vegetables and mint sauce. For a breast of mutton, make a savoury forcemeat, if the bones are taken out, and wash it over with egg. Spread the forcemeat upon it, roll it up, bind it with packthread, and serve it up with gravy sauce. Or roast it with the bones in, without the forcemeat. ROAST ONIONS. They should be roasted with all the skins on. They eat well alone, with only salt and cold butter; or with beet root, or roast potatoes. ROAST PHEASANTS. Dust them with flour, baste them often with butter, and keep them at a good distance from the fire. Make the gravy of a scrag of mutton, a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle, a large spoonful of ketchup, and the same of browning. Strain it, and put a little of it into the dish. Serve them up with bread sauce in a basin, and fix one of the principal feathers of the pheasant in its tail. A good fire will roast them in half an hour. Guinea and pea fowls eat much like pheasants, and are to be dressed in the same way. ROAST PARTRIDGES. Partridges will take full twenty minutes. Before they are quite done, dredge them with flour, and baste them with fresh butter; let them go to table with a fine froth, and gravy sauce in the dish, and bread sauce in a tureen. The bread sauce should be made as follows. Take a good piece of stale bread, and put it into a pint of water, with some whole pepper, a blade of mace, and a bit of onion: let it boil till the bread is soft; then take out the spice and onion; pour out the water, and beat the bread with a spoon till it is like pap; put in a good piece of butter, and a little salt; set it over the fire for two or three minutes. ROAST PIG. A sucking pig for roasting, should be put into cold water for a few minutes, as soon as it is killed. Then rub it over with a little rosin finely powdered, and put it into a pail of scalding water half a minute. Take it out, lay it on a table, and pull off the hair as quickly as possible: if any part does not come off, put it in again. When quite clean from hair, wash it well in warm water, and then in two or three cold waters, that no flavour of the rosin may remain. Take off all the feet at the first joint, make a slit down the belly, and take out the entrails: put the liver, heart, and lights to the feet. Wash the pig well in cold water, dry it thoroughly, and fold it in a wet cloth to keep it from the air. When thus scalded and prepared for roasting, put into the belly a mixture of chopped sage, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and sow it up. Lay it down to a brisk fire till thoroughly dry; then have ready some butter in a dry cloth, and rub the pig with it in every part. Dredge over it as much flour as will lie on, and do not touch it again till it is ready for the table. Then scrape off the flour very carefully with a blunt knife, rub it well with the buttered cloth, and take off the head while it is at the fire. Take out the brains, and mix them with the gravy that comes from the pig. The legs should be skewered back before roasting, or the under part will not be crisp. Take it up when done, and without drawing the spit, cut it down the back and belly, lay it into the dish, mince the sage and bread very fine, and mix them with a large quantity of good melted butter that has very little flour. Pour the sauce into the dish after the pig has been split down the back, and garnish with the ears and the two jaws: take off the upper part of the head down to the snout. In Devonshire it is served up whole, if very small; the head only being cut off to garnish the dish.--Another way. Spit your pig, and lay it down to a clear fire, kept good at both ends: put into the belly a few sage leaves, a little pepper and salt, a little crust of bread, and a bit of butter, then sew up the belly; flour him all over very well, and do so till the eyes begin to start. When you find the skin is tight and crisp, and the eyes are dropped, put two plates into the dripping pan, to save what gravy comes from him: put a quarter of a pound of butter into a clean coarse cloth, and rub all over him, till the flour is clean taken off; then take it up into your dish, take the sage, &c. out of the belly, and chop it small; cut off the head, open it, and take out the brains, which chop, and put the sage and brains into half a pint of good gravy, with a piece of butter rolled in flour; then cut your pig down the back, and lay him flat in the dish: cut off the two ears, and lay one upon each shoulder; take off the under jaw, cut it in two, and lay one on each side; put the head between the shoulders, pour the gravy out of the plates into your sauce, and then into the dish. Send it to table garnished with a lemon. ROAST PIGEONS. Stuff them with parsley, either cut or whole, and put in a seasoning of pepper and salt. Serve with parsley and butter. Peas or asparagus should be dressed to eat with them. ROAST PIKE. Clean the fish well, and sew up in it the following stuffing. Grated bread crumbs, sweet herbs and parsley chopped, capers and anchovies, pepper, salt, a little fresh butter, and an egg. Turn it round with the tail in its mouth, and roast it gently till it is done of a fine brown. It may be baked, if preferred. Serve it up with a good gravy sauce. ROAST PLOVERS. Green plovers should be roasted like woodcocks, without drawing, and served on a toast. Grey plovers may either be roasted, or stewed with gravy, herbs, and spice. ROAST PORK. Pork requires more doing than any other meat; and it is best to sprinkle it with a little salt the night before you use it, and hang it up; by that means it will take off the faint, sickly taste. When you roast a chine of pork, lay it down to a good fire, and at a proper distance, that it may be well soaked, otherwise it eats greasy and disagreeable. A spare-rib is to be roasted with a fire that is not too strong, but clear; when you lay it down, dust on some flour and baste it with butter: a quarter of an hour before you take it up, shred some sage small; baste your pork; strew on the sage; dust on a little flour, and sprinkle a little salt just before you take it up. A loin must be cut on the skin in small streaks, and then basted; but put no flour on, which would make the skin blister; and see that it is jointed before you lay it down to the fire. A leg of pork is often roasted with sage and onion shred fine, with a little pepper and salt, and stuffed at the knuckle, with gravy in the dish; but a leg of pork done in this manner, parboil it first, and take off the skin; lay it down to a good clear fire; baste it with butter, then shred some sage fine, and mix it with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and bread crumbs; strew this over it the time it is roasting; baste it again with butter, just before you take it up, that it may be of a fine brown, and have a good froth; send up some good gravy in the dish; a griskin roasted in this manner eats finely. ROAST PORKER'S HEAD. Clean it well, put bread and sage into it as for a young pig, sew it up tight, and put it on a hanging jack. Roast it in the same manner as a pig, and serve it up the same. ROAST POTATOES. Half boil them first, then take off the thin peel, and roast them of a beautiful brown. ROAST PULLET. To roast a small hen turkey or a pullet with batter, the bird must first be boned, and filled with forcemeat or stuffing. Then paper it round, and lay it down to roast. When nearly half done, drop off the paper, and baste the bird with a very smooth light batter. When the first basting is dry, baste it again, and repeat this till the bird is nicely crusted over, and sufficiently done. It will require ten minutes or a quarter of an hour longer roasting than a bird of the same size in the common way, on account of its being stuffed with forcemeat. Serve it up with white gravy, or mushroom sauce. ROAST QUAILS. Quails may be dressed and served up like woodcocks; or dressed with the insides stuffed with sweet herbs and beef suet chopped fine, and mixed with a little spice. They must roast rather a shorter time than woodcocks. ROAST RUMP OF BEEF. Let it lie in salt for two days, then wash it, and soak it an hour in a quart of claret, and a pint of elder vinegar. Baste it well with the liquor while roasting. Make a gravy of two beef palates cut thin and boiled, and thickened with burnt butter. Add to it mushrooms and oysters, and serve it up hot. ROAST SIRLOIN. When a sirloin of beef is about three parts roasted, take out the meat from the under side, and mince it nicely. Season it with pepper and salt, and some shalot chopped very small. By the time the beef is roasted, heat this with gravy just sufficient to moisten it. Dish up the beef with the upper side downwards, put the mince in the inside, and strew it with bread crumbs ready prepared. Brown them of a fine colour on a hot salamander over the fire, and then serve up the beef with scraped horseradish laid round it. ROAST SNIPES. Snipes and land rails are dressed exactly in the same manner as woodcocks, but only require a shorter time in roasting. ROAST STURGEON. Put the fish on a lark spit, then tie it on a large spit, and baste it constantly with butter. Serve it with a good gravy, an anchovy, a squeeze of Seville orange or lemon, and a glass of sherry.--Another way is, to put into a stewpan a piece of butter rolled in flour, with four cloves, a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, pepper and salt, half a pint of water, and a glass of vinegar. Stir it over the fire till hot, then let it become lukewarm, and steep the fish in it an hour or two. Butter a paper well, tie it round, and roast it without letting the spit run through. Serve it with sorrel and anchovy sauce. ROAST SWEETBREADS. Parboil two large ones, and then roast them in a Dutch oven. Use gravy sauce, or plain butter, with mushroom ketchup. ROAST TONGUE. After well cleaning a neat's tongue, salt it for three days with common salt and saltpetre. This makes an excellent dish, with the addition of a young udder, having some fat to it, and boiled till tolerably tender. Then tie the thick part of one to the thin part of the other, and roast the tongue and udder together. A few cloves should be stuck in the udder. Serve them with good gravy, and currant-jelly sauce. Some people like neats' tongues cured with the root, in which case they look much larger; but otherwise the root must be cut off close to the gullet, next to the tongue, but without taking away the fat under the tongue. The root must be soaked in salt and water, and extremely well cleaned, before it is dressed; and the tongue should be laid in salt a day and a night before it is pickled. ROAST TURKEY. The sinews of the leg should be drawn, whichever way it is dressed. The head should be twisted under the wing; and in drawing it, take care not to tear the liver, nor let the gall touch it. Put a stuffing of sausage meat; or if sausages are to be served in the dish, a bread stuffing. As this makes a large addition to the size of the fowl, observe that the heat of the fire is constantly to that part, for the breast is often not done enough. A little strip of paper should be put on the bone, to prevent its being scorched while the other parts are roasting. Baste it well, and froth it up. Serve with gravy in the dish, and plenty of bread sauce in a sauce tureen. Add a few crumbs and a beaten egg to the stuffing of sausage meat. Another way. Bone your turkey very nicely, leaving on the pinions, rump, and legs; then take the flesh of a nice fowl, the same weight of bread grated, and half a pound of beef suet, nicely picked; beat these in a marble mortar, season with mace, one clove, pepper, nutmeg, salt beat fine, a little lemon peel shred very small, and the yolks of two eggs; mix all up together very well; then fill all the parts that the bones came out of, and raise the breast to the form it was before the bone was taken out; sew up the skin of the back, and skewer down the legs close as you do a chicken for roasting; spit it and let it be nicely roasted: send good gravy in the dish. ROAST VEAL. Veal must be well done before a good fire. Cover the fat of the loin and fillet with paper. Stuff the fillet and shoulder in the following manner. Take a quarter of a pound of suet, parsley, and sweet herbs, and chop them fine. Add grated bread, lemon peel, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and an egg. Mix all well together, and put the stuffing safely into the veal. Roast the breast with the caul on: when nearly done, take it off, and baste and dredge the meat. Lay it in the dish, pour a little melted butter over it, and serve it up with salad, boiled vegetables, or stewed celery. ROAST VENISON. After a haunch of venison is spitted, take a piece of butter and rub all over the fat, dust on a little flour, and sprinkle a little salt: then take a sheet of writing paper, butter it well, and lay over the fat part; put two sheets over that, and tie the paper on with small twine: keep it well basting, and let there be a good soaking fire. If a large haunch, it will take full three hours to do it. Five minutes before you send it to table take off the paper, dust it over with a little flour, and baste it with butter; let it go up with a good froth; put no gravy in the dish, but send it in one boat; and currant jelly melted, in another; or if you have no currant jelly, boil half a pint of red wine with a quarter of a pound of lump sugar, a stick of cinnamon, and a piece of lemon peel in it, to a syrup. The neck and shoulder are dressed the same way; and as to the time, it depends entirely on the weight, and the goodness of your fire: if you allow a quarter of an hour to each pound, and the fire be tolerably kept up, you cannot well err. A breast of venison is excellent dressed in the following way: flour it, and fry it brown on both sides in fresh butter: keep it hot in a dish, dust flour into the butter it was fried in, till it is thick and brown. Keep it stirring that it may not burn; pour in half a pint of red wine, and a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar: stir it and let it boil to a proper thickness. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon, take off the scum very clean, and pour it over your venison, then send it to table. ROAST WHEAT-EARS. These birds should be spitted sideways, with a vine leaf between each. Baste them with butter, and cover them with bread crumbs while roasting. Ten or twelve minutes will do them. Serve them up with fried bread crumbs in the dish, and gravy in a tureen. ROAST WILD DUCK. A wild duck or a widgeon will require twenty or twenty-five minutes roasting, according to the size. A teal, from fifteen to twenty minutes; and other birds of this kind, in proportion to their size, a longer or a shorter time. Serve them up with gravy, and lemons cut in quarters, to be used at pleasure. ROAST WOODCOCKS. Whether for woodcocks or snipes, put a toast of fine bread under the birds while at the fire; and as they are not to be drawn before they are spitted, let the tail drop on the toast while roasting, and baste them with butter. When done, lay the birds on the toast in a dish, and send it warm to the table. A woodcock takes twenty minutes roasting, and a snipe fifteen. ROBERT SAUCE. Put an ounce of butter into a pint stewpan, and when melted, add to it half an ounce of onion minced very fine. Turn it with a wooden spoon till it takes a light brown colour, and then stir into it a table-spoonful of flour, a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, the like quantity of port wine, half a pint of weak broth, and half a tea-spoonful of pepper and salt mixed together. Give them a boil, then add a tea-spoonful of mustard, the juice of half a lemon, and one or two tea-spoonfuls of vinegar, basil, taragon, or burnet vinegar. This sauce is in high repute, and is adapted for roast pork or roast goose. ROLLS. Warm an ounce of butter in half a pint of milk, put to it a spoonful or more of small beer yeast, and a little salt. Mix in two pounds of flour, let it rise an hour, and knead it well. Make the paste into seven rolls, and bake them in a quick oven. If a little saffron, boiled in half a tea-cupful of milk, be added, it will be a great improvement. ROLLED BEEF. Soak the inside of a large sirloin in a glass of port wine and a glass of vinegar mixed, for eight and forty hours: have ready a very fine stuffing, and bind it up tight. Roast it on a hanging spit, baste it with a glass of port wine, the same quantity of vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of pounded allspice. Larding it improves the flavour and appearance: serve it with a rich gravy in the dish, with currant jelly and melted butter in tureens. This article will be found very much to resemble a hare. ROLLED BREAST OF VEAL. Bone it, take off the thick skin and gristle, and beat the meat with a rolling-pin. Season it with herbs chopped very fine, mixed with salt, pepper, and mace. Roll the meat in some thick slices of fine ham, or in two or three calves' tongues of a fine red, first boiled an hour or two and peeled. Bind the meat up tight in a cloth, and tie it round with tape. Simmer it over the fire for some hours, in a small quantity of water, till it is quite tender. Lay it on the dresser with a board and weight upon it till quite cold. Then take off the tape, and pour over it the liquor, which must be boiled up twice a week, or it will not keep. Pigs' or calves' feet boiled and taken from the bones, may be put in or round the veal. The different colours placed in layers look well when cut. Boiled yolks of eggs, beet root, grated ham, and chopped parsley, may be laid in different parts to encrease the variety, and improve the general appearance. ROLLED LOIN OF MUTTON. Hang the joint up till tender, and then bone it. Lay on a seasoning of pepper, allspice, mace, nutmeg, and a few cloves, all in fine powder. Next day prepare a stuffing as for hare, beat the meat with a rolling-pin, cover it with the stuffing, roll it up tight and tie it. Half bake it in a slow oven, let it grow cold, take off the fat, and put the gravy into a stewpan. Flour the meat, and put it in likewise. Stew it till almost ready, and add a glass of port, an anchovy, some ketchup, and a little lemon pickle. Serve it in the gravy, and with jelly sauce. A few mushrooms are a great improvement; but if to eat like hare, these must not be added, nor the lemon pickle. ROLLED NECK OF PORK. Bone it first, then put over the inside a forcemeat of chopped sage, a very few crumbs of bread, salt, pepper, and two or three berries of allspice. Then roll the meat up very tight, place it at a good distance from the fire, and roast it slowly. ROLLED STEAKS. Cut a large steak from a round of beef, spread over it a forcemeat, such as is made for veal, roll it up like collared eel, and tie it up in a cloth. Boil it an hour and a half, and when done enough, cut it into slices. Prepare a rich gravy, a little thickened, and pour over the steaks. ROMAN CEMENT. To make a mortar for outside plastering, or brick-work, or to line reservoirs, so as no water can penetrate it, mix together eighty-four pounds of drifted sand, twelve pounds of unslaked lime, and four pounds of the poorest cheese grated through an iron grater. When well mixed, add enough hot water, not boiling, to make it into a proper consistence for plastering, such a quantity of the above as is wanted. It requires very good and quick working. One hod of this mortar will go a great way, as it is to be laid on in a thin smooth coat, without the least space being left uncovered. The wall or lath work should be first covered with common hair mortar well dried. Suffolk cheese will be found to make the best cement. ROOK PIE. Skin and draw some young rooks, cut out the backbones, and season with pepper and salt. Lay them in a dish with a little water, strew some bits of butter over them, cover the dish with a thick crust, and bake it well. ROSE WATER. When the roses are full blown, pick off the leaves carefully, and allow a peck of them to a quart of water. Put them in a cold still over a slow fire, and distil it very gradually. Bottle the water, and cork it up in two or three days. ROT IN SHEEP. When sheep are newly brought in, it will preserve their health to give them a table-spoonful of the juice of rue leaves, mixed with a little salt. If they are in danger of the rot, this mixture may be repeated every week or oftener, as the case requires. ROUND OF BEEF. Cut out the bone first, then skewer and tie up the beef to make it quite round. Salt it carefully, and moisten it with the pickle for eight or ten days. It may be stuffed with parsley, if approved; in which case the holes to admit the parsley must be made with a sharp-pointed knife, and the parsley coarsely cut and stuffed in tight. When dressed it should be carefully skimmed as soon as it boils, and afterwards kept boiling very gently. ROUT CAKES. To make rout drop-cakes, mix two pounds of flour with one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, and one pound of currants, cleaned and dried. Moisten it into a stiff paste with two eggs, a large spoonful of orange-flower water, as much rose water, sweet wine, and brandy. Drop the paste on a tin plate floured, and a short time will bake them. ROYAL CAKES. Put into a saucepan a quarter of a pint of water, a piece of butter half the size of an egg, two ounces of fine sugar, a little grated lemon peel, and a little salt. When it has boiled about half a minute, stir in by degrees four spoonfuls of flour, keeping it constantly stirring all the time, till it becomes a smooth paste, pretty stiff, and begins to adhere to the saucepan. Then take it off the fire, and add three eggs well beaten, putting them in by degrees, and stirring the paste all the time to prevent its being lumpy. Add a little orange-flower water, and a few almonds pounded fine. Make it into little cakes, and bake them upon a sheet of tin well buttered. Half an hour will bake them in a moderate oven. ROYAL PUNCH. Take thirty Seville oranges and thirty lemons, quite sound, and pare them very thin. Put the parings into an earthen pan, with as much rum or brandy as will cover them. Cover up the pan, and let them stand four days. Take ten gallons of water, and twelve pounds of lump sugar, and boil them. When nearly cold, put in the whites of thirty eggs well beaten, and stir it and boil it a quarter of an hour. Strain it through a hair sieve into an earthen pan, and let it stand till next day. Then put it into a cask, strain the spirit from the parings of the oranges and lemons, and add as much more to it as will make it up five gallons. Put it into the cask with five quarts of Seville orange juice and three quarts of lemon juice. Stir it all together with a cleft stick, and repeat the same once a day for three successive days: then stop it down close, and in six weeks it will be fit to drink. RUFFS AND REEVES. These are to be trussed and skewered the same as snipes and quails. Place bars of bacon over them, roast them in about ten minutes, and serve with a good gravy in the dish. RUMP OF BEEF. Take a rump of beef, or about eight pounds of the brisket, and stew it till it is quite tender, in as much water as will cover it. When sufficiently done, take out the bones, and skim off the fat very clean. To a pint of the liquor, add the third part of a pint of port wine, a little walnut or mushroom ketchup, and some salt. Tie up some whole white pepper and mace in a piece of muslin, and stew all together for a short time. Have ready some carrots and turnips boiled tender and cut into squares, strew them upon the beef, putting a few into the dish. Truffles and morels may be added, or artichoke bottoms. RUMP SOUP. Two or three rumps of beef will make a stronger soup, and of a far more nourishing quality, than a larger quantity of meat without them. It may be made like gravy soup, and thickened and flavoured in any way that is most approved. RUMP STEAKS. The best steaks are those cut from the middle of a rump of beef, that has been killed at least four days in moderate weather, and much longer in cold weather, when they can be cut about six inches long, four inches wide, and half an inch thick. Do not beat them, unless you suspect they will not be tender. Take care to have a very clear brisk fire, throw on it a little salt, make the gridiron hot, and set it slanting, to prevent the fat from dropping into the fire, and making a smoke. It requires more practice and care than is generally supposed to do steaks to a nicety; and for want of these little attentions, this very common dish, which every body is supposed capable of dressing, seldom comes to table in perfection. It may be underdone or thoroughly done, as happens to be preferred. It is usual to put a table-spoonful of ketchup into a dish before the fire, with a little minced shalot. In broiling, turn the steak with a pair of meat tongs, and it will be done in about ten or fifteen minutes. Rub a bit of butter over it, and send it up quite hot, garnished with pickles, and scraped horseradish.--If onion gravy is to be added, prepare it in the following manner. Peel and slice two large onions, put them into a stewpan with two table-spoonfuls of water, cover the stewpan close, and set it on a slow fire till the water has boiled away, and the onions have got a little browned. Then add half a pint of good broth, or water with a large spoonful of ketchup, and boil the onions till they are quite tender. Strain off the liquor, and chop them very fine. Thicken the broth with butter rolled in flour, and season it with mushroom ketchup, pepper and salt. Put the onion into it, let it boil gently for five minutes, and pour it over the broiled steak. Good beef gravy, instead of broth, will make the sauce superlative.--If a cold rump steak is to be warmed up, lay it in a stewpan, with a large onion cut in quarters, six berries of allspice, and six of black pepper. Cover the steak with boiling water, let it stew gently for an hour, thicken the liquor with butter rolled in flour, shake it well over the fire for five minutes, and it is ready. Lay the steaks and onion on a dish, and pour the gravy over them through a sieve. RUSKS. Beat seven eggs well, and mix them with half a pint of new milk, in which four ounces of butter have been previously melted. Add a quarter of a pint of yeast, and three ounces of sugar, and put them by degrees into as much flour as will make a very light paste, rather like a batter, and let it rise before the fire half an hour. Then add some more flour, to make it a little stiffer, but not much. Work it well, and divide it into small loaves, or cakes, about five or six inches wide, and flatten them. When baked and cold, slice them the thickness of rusks, and put them into the oven to brown a little. The cakes when first baked, eat deliciously buttered for tea; or made with carraways, they eat well cold. RUSSIAN SAUCE. To four spoonfuls of grated horseradish, put two tea-spoonfuls of patent mustard, a little salt, one tea-spoonful of sugar, and a sufficient quantity of vinegar to cover the ingredients. This sauce is used for cold meat, but makes a good fish sauce, with the addition of melted butter. RUST. To prevent iron and steel from rusting, mix with fat oil varnish, at least half, or at most four fifths of its quantity of highly rectified spirits of turpentine. This varnish must be lightly and evenly applied with a sponge; after which the article is left to dry in some situation not exposed to dust. Articles thus varnished retain their metallic lustre, and do not contract any spots of rust. This varnish may also be applied to copper, of which it preserves the polish and heightens the colour. S. SACK CREAM. Boil a pint of raw cream, the yolk of an egg well beaten, two or three spoonfuls of white wine, sugar, and lemon peel. Stir it over a gentle fire till it be as thick as rich cream, and afterwards till it becomes cold. Then serve it in glasses, with long pieces of dry toast. SACK DUMPLINS. Grate the crumb of two penny rolls, add three quarters of a pound of suet cut small, three quarters of a pound of currants washed clean, a grated nutmeg, a little sugar, the yolks of eight eggs, and two wine glasses of sack. Make the paste into dumplins of a moderate size, tie them in cloths, and boil them two hours. Melted butter for sauce, with white wine and sugar. SACK MEAD. To every gallon of water put four pounds of honey, and boil it three quarters of an hour, taking care to skim it. To every gallon add an ounce of hops; then boil it half an hour, and let it stand till the next day. Put it into a cask, and to thirteen gallons of the liquor add a quart of brandy. Stop it lightly till the fermentation is over, and then bung it up close. A large cask should be suffered to stand a year. SACKS OF CORN. Seeds, and various kinds of grain, are liable to damage when kept in sacks or bins, from the want of being sufficiently aired. Make a small wooden tube nearly the length of the sack, closed and pointed at one end, and perforated with holes about an inch asunder, nearly two thirds of its length from the point end. Then at the other end fasten a leather tube, and thrust it into the corn to the bottom of the sack. Put the pipe of a pair of bellows into the leather tube, and blow into it, so that the air may be diffused among the corn throughout the holes of the wooden tube. If corn be thus treated every other day after it is first put into sacks, it will prevent the damp sweats which would otherwise injure it, and it will afterwards keep sweet with very little airing. SADDLE OF MUTTON. When it has been well kept, raise the skin, and then skewer it on again. Take it off a quarter of an hour before serving, sprinkle on some salt, baste and dredge it well with flour. The rump should be split, and skewered back on each side. The joint may be cut large or small, according to the company: the latter is the most elegant. Being broad, it requires a high and strong fire. SAFFRON CAKE. Take a quarter of a peck of fine flour, a pound and a half of fresh butter, a quarter of an ounce of mace and cinnamon together, beat fine, and mix the spice in the flour. Set on a quart of milk to boil, break the butter in, and stir it till the milk boils; take off all the butter, and a little of the milk; mix with the flour a pound of sugar beat fine, a penny-worth of saffron made into a tincture; take a pint of yeast that is not bitter, and stir it well into the remainder of the milk; beat up six eggs very well, and put to the yeast and milk, strain it to the flour, with some rose-water, and the tincture of saffron; beat up all together with your hands lightly, and put it into a hoop or pan well buttered. It will take an hour and a half in a quick oven. You may make the tincture of saffron with the rose-water. SAGE is raised from seed, or from slips. To have it at hand for winter it is necessary to dry it; and it ought to be cut for this purpose before it comes out into bloom, as indeed is the case with all other herbs. SAGE CHEESE. To make this kind of cheese, bruise the tops of young red sage in a mortar, with some leaves of spinach, and squeeze out the juice. Mix it with the rennet in the milk, more or less, according as the taste and colour may be preferred. When the curd is come, break it gently, and put it in with the skimmer, till it is pressed two inches above one vat. Press it eight or ten hours, salt and turn it every day. SAGO. To prevent the earthy taste, soak it an hour in cold water; pour off the water, and wash it well. Then add more, and simmer it gently till the berries are clear, with lemon peel and spice, if approved. Add wine and sugar, and boil all up together.--If intended for the sick, or those whom disease has left very feeble, boil a teacupful of washed, sago in a quart of water, and a taste of lemon peel. When thickened, grate in some ginger, and add half a pint of raisin wine, some brown sugar, and two spoonfuls of Geneva: boil all up together. SAGO MILK. Cleanse the sago as in the former article, and boil it slowly in new milk. It swells so much, that a small quantity will be sufficient for a quart; and when done, it will be diminished to about a pint. It requires no sugar or flavouring. SAGO PUDDING. Boil a pint and a half of new milk, with four spoonfuls of sago nicely washed and picked; then add lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sweeten the pudding, mix in four eggs, put a paste round the dish, and bake it slowly. SAIL CLOTH. The old mode of painting canvas was to wet it, and prime it with Spanish brown. Then to give it a second coat of a chocolate colour, made by mixing Spanish brown and black paint; and lastly, to finish it with black. This was found to harden to such a degree as to crack, and eventually to break, the canvas, and so to render it unserviceable in a short time. The new method, which is greatly superior, is to grind ninety-six pounds of English ochre with boiled oil, and to add sixteen pounds of black paint, which mixture forms an indifferent black. A pound of yellow soap, dissolved in six pints of water over the fire, is mixed while hot, with the paint. This composition is then laid upon the canvas, without being wetted as formerly, and as stiff as can conveniently be done with a brush, so as to form a smooth surface. Two days afterwards, a second coat of ochre and black is laid on, with a very small portion of soap; and allowing this coat an intermediate day for drying, the canvas is then finished with black paint as usual. Three days being then allowed for it to dry and harden, it does not stick together when taken down, and folded in cloths of sixty or seventy yards each. SALAD MIXTURE. Salad herbs should be gathered in the morning, as fresh as possible, or they must be put into cold spring water for an hour. Carefully wash and pick them, trim off all the dry or cankered leaves, put them into a cullender to drain, and swing them dry in a coarse clean napkin. Then pound together the yolks of two hard eggs, an ounce of scraped horseradish, half an ounce of salt, a table-spoonful of made mustard, four drams of minced shalots, one dram of celery seed, one dram of cress seed, and half a dram of cayenne. Add by degrees a wine glass of salad oil, three glasses of burnet, and three of tarragon vinegar. When thoroughly incorporated, set it over a very gentle fire, and stir it with a wooden spoon till it has simmered to the consistence of cream. Then pass it through a tammis or fine sieve, and add it to the salad. SALAD SAUCE. Mix two yolks of eggs boiled hard, as much grated Parmesan cheese as will fill a dessert-spoon, a little patent mustard, a small spoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a large one of ketchup. Stir them well together, then put in four spoonfuls of salad oil, and one spoonful of elder vinegar, and beat them up very smooth. SALADS. Cold salads are proper to be eaten at all seasons of the year, but are particularly to be recommended from the beginning of February to the end of June. They are in greater perfection, and consequently more powerful, during this period, than at any other, in opening obstructions, sweetening and purifying the blood. The habit of eating salad herbs tends considerably to prevent that pernicious and almost general disease the scurvy, and all windy humours which offend the stomach. Also from the middle of September till December, and during the winter, if the weather be mild and open, all green herbs are wholesome, and highly beneficial. It is true that they have not so much vigour in the winter season, nor are they so medicinal as in the spring of the year; yet those which continue fresh and green, will retain a considerable portion of their natural qualities; and being eaten as salads, with proper seasoning, they will operate much in the same way as at other periods of the year. It is a necessary consequence of cold weather, that the heat of the body is driven more inward than in warm weather, as the cold of the atmosphere repels it from the surface. Hence arises an appetite for strong and solid food, and strong drinks, which for want of temperance and care, lays the foundation for diseases that commonly make their appearance in the summer following. Eating freely of salads and other vegetables in the winter, will prevent in a great treasure these ill effects; and if properly seasoned and prepared, they will warm the stomach, and be found exhilarating. The effect produced is in unison with all the operations of the human constitution, while the use of strong stimulants excites to unnatural action, which is soon succeeded by a cold and chilling languor. Green herbs in winter are much more beneficial than is generally imagined; they are particularly salutary to aged persons, and such as are subject to stoppages, or shortness of breath. In this case, instead of an onion, a clove of garlic may be put into the salad, which is a preferable way of eating it. This will open and warm the stomach, and give a general glow to the whole system.--The following are the principal herbs used as salads. Basil, balm, borage, burnet, celery, chervil, colewort, coriander, corn-salad, cresses, endive, French fennel, lettuce, mint, mustard, nasturtiums, nettle-tops, parsley, pennyroyal, radishes, rape, sage, sorrel, spinage, tarragon, and water-cresses. Onions, both young and full grown, shalots, garlic, and chives, are all used as seasoning to salads. Red beet-root, boiled and cold, is often sliced into them. Several of these herbs are very little in use as salads, but there are none of them that may not be recommended as good for the purpose. The usual salads are too much limited to what is specifically called small salading, lettuce, celery, and endive. These are all excellent in their kind, but to prefer them to the exclusion of every thing else, is a mere prejudice. With a wish therefore to counteract it, and to provide a larger assortment of wholesome salads, the following particulars are given, with directions for preparing several different dishes of this description. In general it may be proper to observe, that salads of all kinds should be very fresh; or if not immediately procured in this state, they may be refreshed by being put into cold spring water. They should be very carefully washed and picked, and drained quite dry in a clean cloth. In dressing lettuce, or small herbs, it is best to arrange them, properly picked and cut, in the salad dish; then to mix the sauce in something else, and pour it to the salad down the side of the dish, so as to let it run to the bottom, and not to stir it up till used at table. This preserves the crispness of the salad, which is one of its principal delicacies. With celery and endive the sauce should be poured upon them, and the whole well stirred together to mix it equally. Lettuce, endive, and celery, may be eaten with salt only; and if well chewed, as all salads ought to be, they often agree better than when mixed with seasonings. If mustard in salad sauces occasion sickness, or otherwise disagrees, cayenne pepper will often prove an excellent substitute.--The following salads are remarkably wholesome, and have a cooling and salutary effect upon the bowels. 1. Take spinage, parsley, sorrel, lettuce, and a few onions. Then add oil, vinegar, and salt, to give it a high taste and relish, but let the salt rather predominate above the other ingredients. The wholesomest way of eating salads is with bread only, in preference to bread and butter, bread and cheese, or meat and bread; though any of these may be eaten with it, when the salad is seasoned only with salt and vinegar. It is not advisable to eat butter, cheese, or meat with salads, or any thing in which there is a mixture of oil. All fat substances are heavy of digestion, and to mix such as disagree in their nature, is to encrease this evil to a degree that the stomach can hardly overcome. 2. Prepare some lettuce, spinage tops, pennyroyal, sorrel, a few onions, and some parsley. Then season them with oil, vinegar, and salt. 3. Another salad may be made of lettuce, sorrel, spinage, tops of mint, and onions, seasoned as before. 4. Take spinage, lettuce, tarragon, and parsley, with some leaves of balm. Or sorrel, tarragon, spinage, lettuce, onions, and parsley. Or tops of pennyroyal, mint, lettuce, spinage, sorrel, and parsley. Or lettuce, spinage, onions, pennyroyal, balm, and sorrel. Or sage, lettuce, spinage, sorrel, onions, and parsley; seasoned with salt, oil, and vinegar. 5. Make a salad of pennyroyal, sage, mint, balm, a little lettuce, and sorrel; seasoned with oil, vinegar, and salt. This is an excellent warming salad, though the above are all of an exhilarating tendency. 6. Mix some lettuce, sorrel, endive, celery, spinage, and onions, seasoned as above. 7. Take the fresh tender leaves of cole wort, or cabbage plants, with lettuce, sorrel, parsley, tarragon, nettle tops, mint, and pennyroyal; and season them with salt, oil, and vinegar. If highly seasoned, this is a very warm and relishing salad. 8. For winter salad, take some tender plants of colewort, sorrel, lettuce, endive, celery, parsley, and sliced onions; and season them as before. 9. Another winter salad may be made of lettuce, spinage, endive, celery, and half a clove of garlic. Season it well with oil, vinegar, and salt. This salad is very warming and wholesome. All these aromatic herbs are particularly proper for phlegmatic and weakly persons, as they have the property of warming the stomach, and improving the blood. To supply the want of oil in salads, make some thick melted butter, and use it in the same proportion as oil. Some sweet thick cream is a still better substitute, and will do as well as oil, especially as some persons have an aversion to oil. Cream also looks well in salads. A good salad sauce may be made of two yolks of eggs boiled hard, mixed with a spoonful of Parmesan cheese grated, a little patent mustard, a spoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a larger one of ketchup. When stirred well together, add four spoonfuls of salad oil, and one of elder vinegar, and beat them up very smooth. It is very common in France, amongst all classes of people, to dress cauliflowers and French beans to eat cold, as salads, with a sauce of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. In some parts of France, raw salads, composed entirely of herbs growing wild in the fields, are in frequent use; and for distinction sake, are called rural salads. The English, who are not so fond of pungent flavours, are in the habit of substituting sugar instead of pepper and salt, where oil is not used, in order to soften the asperity of the vinegar. SALMAGUNDY. This is a beautiful small dish, if in a nice shape, and the colours of the ingredients be properly varied. For this purpose chop separately the white part of cold chicken or veal, yolks of eggs boiled hard, the whites of eggs, beet root, parsley, half a dozen anchovies, red pickled cabbage, ham and grated tongue, or any thing well flavoured and of a good colour. Some people like a small proportion of onion, but it may be better omitted. A saucer, large teacup, or any other base, must be put into a small dish; then make rows round it wide at the bottom, and growing smaller towards the top, choosing such ingredients for each row as will most vary the colours. At the top, a little sprig of curled parsley may be stuck in; or without any thing on the dish, the salmagundy may be laid in rows, or put into the half-whites of eggs, which may be made to stand upright by cutting off a little bit at the round end. In the latter case, each half egg receives but one ingredient. Curled butter and parsley may be put as garnish between. SALMON. If fresh and good, the flesh will be of a fine red, the gills particularly; the scales very bright, and the whole fish stiff. When just killed there is a whiteness between the flakes, which gives great firmness; by keeping, this melts down, and the fish is more rich. The Thames salmon bears the highest price; that caught in the Severn is next in goodness, and by some it is preferred. Those with small heads, and thick in the neck, are best. SALMON AU COURT-BOUILLON. Scale and clean a fresh salmon very well, score the sides deep, to take the seasoning; take of mace and cloves, and white pepper, a quarter of an ounce each, a small nutmeg, and an ounce of salt; beat these very fine in a mortar; cut a little lemon peel fine, and shred some parsley, mix all together, and season the fish inside and out; then work up near a pound of butter in flour, and fill up the notches; the rest put into the belly of the fish; lay it in a clean cloth or napkin, roll it up, and bind it round with packthread, lay it into a fish-kettle, and put to it as much white wine vinegar, and water in an equal quantity, as will be sufficient to boil it in. Set it over a good charcoal fire, and when you think it is enough, draw it off your stove, so that it may but just simmer. Fold a clean napkin the length of your dish the fish is to go up in; take up the fish, unbind it, and lay it on the napkin. Garnish your dish with picked raw parsley, and horseradish. Send plain butter in a bason, and shalots chopped fine, and simmered in vinegar in a boat. SALMON A LA BRAISE. Clean a middling salmon, take the flesh of a tench, or a large eel, and chop it very fine, with two anchovies, a little lemon peel shred, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little thyme and parsley; mix all together with a good piece of butter, put into the belly of the fish, and sew it up; put it into an oval stew-pan that will just hold it; brown about half a pound of fresh butter, and put to it a pint of fish broth, and a pint and a half of white wine; pour this over your fish; if it does not cover it, add some more wine and broth; put in a bundle of sweet herbs, and an onion, a little mace, two or three cloves, and some whole pepper tied up in a piece of muslin: cover it close, and let it stew gently over a slow fire. Before it is quite done, take out your onion, herbs, and spice; then put in some mushrooms, truffles, and morels, cut in pieces; let them stew all together, till the salmon is enough; take it up carefully, take off all the scum, and pour your sauce over. Garnish with horseradish, barberries, and lemon. Either of these is a fine dish for a first course. SALMON PIE. Make puff paste, and lay over your dish; clean and scale a middling piece of salmon; cut it into three or four pieces, according to the size of your dish, and season it pretty high with mace, cloves, pepper, and salt; put some butter at the bottom, and lay in the salmon; take the meat of a lobster cut small, and bruise the body with an anchovy; melt as much butter as you think proper, stir the lobster into it, with a glass of white wine, and a little nutmeg; pour this over the salmon, lay on the top crust, and let it be well baked. SALOOP. Boil together a little water, wine, lemon peel, and sugar. Mix in a small quantity of saloop powder, previously rubbed smooth with a little cold water. Stir it all together, and boil it a few minutes. SALT. The properties of common salt are such as to render it an article of the greatest importance in the preparation of food, and in the preservation of health. If salt be withheld for any length of time, diseases of the stomach become general, and worms are gendered in the bowels, which are removed with great difficulty. In Ireland, salt is a well-known common remedy for bots in the horse; and among the poor people, a dose of common salt is esteemed a sufficient cure for the worms. It is supposed by some medical men, that salt furnishes soda to be mixed with the bile: without this necessary addition, the bile would be deprived of the qualities necessary to assist in the operation of digestion. One of the greatest grievances of which the poor man can complain is the want of salt. Many of the insurrections and commotions among the Hindoos, have been occasioned by the cruel and unjust monopolies of certain unworthy servants of the East India Company, who to aggrandize their own fortunes have oftentimes bought up, on speculation, all the salt in the different ports and markets, and thus have deprived the ingenious but wretched natives of their only remaining comfort, salt being the only addition they are usually enabled to make to their poor pittance of rice. Many of the poor in England, previously to the late reduction especially, have loudly lamented the high price of salt, which thousands are in the habit of using as the only seasoning to their meal of potatoes. Salt is also of the greatest use in agriculture. From one to two bushels makes fine manure for an acre of land, varied according to the quality of the soil. This answers better than almost any other compost. The Chinese have for ages been accustomed to manure their fields by sprinkling them with sea water. The Persians sprinkle the timber of their buildings with salt, to prevent them from rotting. It is used in Abyssinia instead of money, where it passes from hand to hand, under the shape of a brick, worth about eighteen pence. In feeding of cattle, it is also found to be highly beneficial. A nobleman who purchased two hundred Merino sheep in Spain, attributes the health of his flock principally to the constant use of salt. These sheep having been accustomed to that article in their native land, it was thought necessary to supply them with it, especially in this damp climate, and in the rich pastures of some parts of this country. A ton of salt is used annually for every thousand sheep: a handful is put in the morning on a flat stone or slate, ten of which, set a few yards apart, are sufficient for a hundred sheep. This quantity is given twice a week. Out of a flock of nearly a thousand, there were not ten old sheep that did not readily take it, and not a single lamb which did not consume it greedily. Salt is likewise a preventive of disorders in stock fed with rank green food, as clover or turnips, and it is deemed a specific for the rot. Horses and horned cattle are also very fond of salt: the cow gives more milk, and richer in quality, when salt is mixed with her food. The wild beasts of the American forests leave their haunts at certain seasons, and travel in company to various places where salt is to be found. There they lick the ground on which the salt lies, or which is strongly impregnated by it. Cattle fed on grass which grows on the sea shore, are always fatter and in better condition, than those which graze on in land-pastures. Considering its various uses in agriculture, as an article of food, and as a preservative from putrefaction, salt may be pronounced one of the most generally useful and necessary of all the minerals; and it is truly lamentable, that in almost all ages and countries, particularly in those where despotism prevails, this should be one of those necessaries of life, on which the most heavy taxes are imposed. Bay salt is a kind of brownish impure salt, obtained in France, Italy, and other countries, by evaporating sea water in pits. The principal part of bay salt sold in this country is however of home manufacture, being a coarse grained chrystalized salt, made dirty by powdered Turkey umber, or some such colouring material, to give it the appearance of a foreign article. The only utility which this salt appears to possess, beyond that of the common fine-grained salt usually found in the shops, is that it dissolves more slowly by moisture, and therefore is better calculated for salting of fish, and other animal substances, which cannot be wholly covered with brine. Basket salt is made from the water of the salt springs in Cheshire and other places. It differs from the common brine salt in the fineness of the grain, as well as on account of its whiteness and purity. It is principally used at table. SALT BEEF. Great attention is requisite in salting meat; and in the country, where large quantities are often cured, this is of particular importance. Beef and pork should be well sprinkled, and a few hours afterwards hung to drain, before it is rubbed with the salt. This method, by cleansing the meat from the blood, serves to keep it from tasting strong. It should be turned every day; and if wanted soon, it should be rubbed daily. A salting tub or lead may be used, and a cover to fit close. Those who use a good deal of salt meat will find it answer well to boil up the pickle, and skim it clean; and when cold, pour it over meat that has been sprinkled and drained.--To salt beef red, which is extremely good to eat fresh from the pickle, or to hang to dry, choose a piece of the flank, or any part that has but little bone. Sprinkle it, and let it drain a day. Then rub it with common salt, bay salt, and a small proportion of saltpetre, all in fine powder. A few grains of cochineal may be added. Rub the pickle into the meat every day for a week, and afterwards turning it only will be sufficient. It will be excellent in about eight days; and in sixteen days it may be drained from the pickle. Smoke it at the mouth of the oven, when heated with wood, or send it to the baker's; a few days will be sufficient to smoke it. A little of the coarsest sugar added to the salt, will be an improvement. Red beef boiled tender, eats well with greens or carrots. If it is to be grated as Dutch beef, then cut a lean bit, boil it extremely tender, and put it hot under a press. When cold fold it in a sheet of paper, and it will keep in a dry place two or three months, ready for serving on bread and butter.--If a piece of beef is to be prepared for eating immediately, it should not weigh more than five or six pounds. Salt it thoroughly before it is to be put into the pot, take a coarse cloth, flour it well, put the meat into it, and fold it up close. Put it into a pot of boiling water, and boil it as another piece of salt meat of the same size, and it will be as salt as if it had been in pickle four or five days. SALT COD. Soak and clean the piece intended to be dressed, and lay it all night in water, with a glass of vinegar. Boil it enough, then break it into flakes on the dish; pour over it parsnips boiled, beaten in a mortar, and boiled up with cream. Add to it a large piece of butter, rubbed in a little flour. Egg sauce may be sent up instead, or the parsnip root whole. The fish may also be boiled without flaking, and served with either of the sauces as above. SALT FISH. Backlio, old ling, and tusk, are reckoned the best salt fish. Old ling and backlio, must be laid in water for ten or twelve hours, then taken out, and scaled very clean; wash the fish, and let it lay out of water till you want to use it; if it is the next day, it will be the better. When you dress it, put it into cold water, and let it do as gently as possible; let it be boiled so tender, that you may put a fork into any part of it without sticking, then it is enough. Lay a clean napkin over your dish, take up the fish, lay it upon the napkin, and throw the corners over each other. Send it to table with egg sauce in a basin, parsnips sliced, and butter and mustard in a boat. SALT FISH WITH CREAM. Soak and boil some good barrel cod, till about three parts done. Divide it into flakes, put them into a saucepan with some cream, a little pepper, and a handful of parsley scalded and chopped. Stew it gently till tender, thicken the sauce with two or three yolks of eggs, and serve it up. SALT FISH PIE. Boil a side of salt fish as you would for eating; cut a square bit out of the middle, about the bigness of your hand; take the skin off the other, and take out all the bones; mince this very small with six eggs boiled hard; season it with pepper, nutmeg, and beaten mace, then slice the crumb of French rolls thin into a pan, pour over it a quart of boiling milk, and let it stand to soak; in the mean time, make a good puff paste, and sheet the dish all over; have in readiness the quantity of two spoonfuls of parsley shred very fine, beat the bread well together, then put in the fish and eggs, and chopped parsley; stir all well together; melt about three quarters of a pound of butter, and stir it into the ingredients, with a gill of Mountain; pour this into the dish, lay the square piece of fish in the middle; lay on the lid, and bake it an hour, or a little more.--You may make ling, or stock-fish pie in this manner; but you are to observe, that all the skin is to be taken off, and not to put a piece whole into the pie, according to this receipt; but mince all the fish with the yolks of hard eggs, leaving out the whites, and adding a large spoonful of made mustard when you stir the ingredients together, before you put them into the pie. SALT PORK. To a hundred weight of pork or beef, take ten pounds of common salt, and half a pound of saltpetre. Let the meat be well cleaned from those particles of blood which hang about it when cut into four pound pieces: this is best done by washing it in salt and water, or brine that has been used, provided it be sweet. Lay the meat in rows, and rub the upper side moderately with salt; then place another layer of meat, and repeat the operation as on the first layer. In this manner continue the same proportion of salt and saltpetre, till the whole quantity is heaped up in a tub, or some other vessel, not of lead, in order to preserve the pickle from issuing from it. In this state it must remain for three days, then turn it into another tub, sprinkling it with salt in the act of turning the meat. When all is turned and salted, let the pickle procured by the first salting, be slowly poured about the meat. In this state let it remain for a week, and it will be excellent for home use. If wanted for exportation, pack it in this state into casks. But as the greatest care is required for its preservation, when sent abroad, a layer of salt must first be put into the barrel, and then a layer of meat, till the cask is full, taking care to use the hand only in packing in the pieces. When the barrel is headed, the pickle must be filtered through a coarse cloth; and when perfectly fine, fill up the cask with the pickle to the bung hole. Let it remain in this state till the next day, in order to ascertain whether the cask be quite tight, and then bung it up. Beef or pork cured in this manner will not fail to keep any reasonable length of time. The too great rubbing of meat will not keep it the better, it frequently retards the operation of the salt by filling the outward pores of the meat only to the destruction of the middle of the piece, which frequently perishes. SALTING OF BUTTER. After the butter is well worked up and cleared from the milk, it is ready for salting. The tub in which it is to be preserved being perfectly clean, should be rubbed in the whole inside with common salt; and a little melted butter should be poured into the cavity between the bottom and the sides, before the butter is put in. Although common salt is generally employed on this occasion, yet the following composition not only preserves the butter more effectually from taint, but also makes it look better, taste sweeter, richer, and more marrowy, than if it had been cured with common salt only. Take of best common salt two parts, saltpetre one part, lump sugar one part, and beat them up together in a mortar, so that they may be completely blended. To every pound of butter, add one ounce of this composition: mix it well in the mass, and close it up for use. Butter prepared in this manner will keep good for three years, and cannot be distinguished from that which is recently salted; but it does not taste well till it has stood a fortnight or three weeks. To preserve butter for winter use, take some that is fresh and good in the month of August or September, and put it into an unglazed jar, in layers about two inches thick, till the jar is full, within three inches of the top. Make a strong brine of salt and water, boil and skim it; and when it is quite cold, pour a sufficient quantity over the butter, so that the brine may be an inch deep. Tie paper over it, and set it in a cool place. When wanted for use, cut it no deeper than the first layer till that is all used. Then cut the second in the same manner, and so on to the bottom of the tub or jar. By this means there will be no more than a part of one layer that is not covered with the brine. To make it eat like fresh butter, dip each piece into water when it is cut out of the jar; or work it over again in fresh buttermilk or milk, and make it into shapes like fresh butter. It will eat much better with toast, than most of the fresh butter that is made in winter. It is a false idea, that butter, to be preserved for winter use, requires a greater quantity of salt: experience has proved the contrary. Butter salted in the common way, and put in pots with brine over the top, retains its flavour, and is better preserved than by an additional quantity of salt. One more observation on the preservation of butter is necessary. It is universally allowed that cleanliness is indispensible, but it is not generally suspected, that butter from being made in vessels or troughs lined with lead, or in glazed earthenware pans, which glaze is principally composed of lead, is too apt to be contaminated by particles of that deleterious metal. If the butter is in the least degree rancid, this can hardly fail to take place, and it cannot be doubted, that during the decomposition of the salts, the glazing is acted on. It is better therefore to use tinned vessels for mixing the preservative with the butter, and to pack it either in wooden vessels, or in jars of the Vauxhall ware, which being vitrified throughout, do not require an inside glazing. SAMPHIRE. This should be boiled in plenty of water, with a good deal of salt in it. Put it in when the water boils, and let it boil till quite tender. Serve it up with melted butter. SANDWICHES. Properly prepared, these form an elegant and convenient luncheon; but they have got much out of fashion, from the bad manner in which they are commonly made. They have consisted of any offal or odd ends, that cannot be sent to table in any other form, merely laid between slices of bread and butter. Whatever kind of meat is used however, it must be carefully trimmed from every bit of skin and gristle, and nothing introduced but what is relishing and acceptable. Sandwiches may be made of any of the following materials. Cold meat, poultry, potted meat, potted shrimps or lobsters, potted cheese; grated ham, beef, or tongue; anchovy, sausages, cold pork; hard eggs, pounded with a little butter and cheese; forcemeats, and curry powder. Mustard, pepper, and salt, are to be added, as occasion requires. SAVOURY BEEF. The tongue side of a round of beef is best adapted for the purpose; and if it weighs about fifteen pounds, let it hang two or three days. Then take three ounces of saltpetre, one ounce of coarse sugar, a quarter of an ounce of black pepper, some minced herbs, and three quarters of a pound of salt. Incorporate these ingredients by pounding them together in a mortar; and if approved, add a quarter of an ounce of ginger. Take out the bone, and rub the meat well with the above mixture, turning it and rubbing it every day for a fortnight. When it is to be dressed, put it into a pan with a quart of water. Cover the meat with about three pounds of mutton suet chopped, and an onion or two minced small. Put the whole into a pan, cover it with a flour crust, and bake it in a moderate oven for six hours. Instead of baking it may be covered with water, and stewed very gently for about five hours; and when sent to table, cover the top of it with finely chopped parsley. The gravy will be excellent for sauce or soup, or making of soy, or browning; and being impregnated with salt, it will keep several days. That the suet may not be wasted, when the dish comes from the oven, take out the beef, and strain the contents of the pan through a sieve. Clarify the fat when cold, and it will do for frying. The meat should not be cut till it is cold, and then with a sharp knife to prevent waste, and keep it smooth and even. This is a most excellent way of preparing savoury beef for sandwiches, and for other elegant and economical purposes. SAVOURY JELLY. If to put over cold pies, make it of a small bare knuckle of veal, or of a scrag of mutton. If the pie be of fowl or rabbit, the carcases, necks, and heads, added to any piece of meat, will be sufficient, observing to give it a consistence by adding cow heel, or shanks of mutton. Put the meat into a stewpan that shuts very close, adding a slice of lean ham or bacon, a faggot of different herbs, two blades of mace, an onion or two, a small bit of lemon peel, a tea-spoonful of Jamaica pepper bruised, and the same of whole pepper, with three pints of water. As soon as it boils skim it well, let it simmer very slowly till it is quite strong, and then strain it. When cold take off the fat with a spoon first, and then, to remove every particle of grease, lay on it a clean piece of blotting paper. If not clear, after being cold, boil it a few minutes with the whites of two eggs, but do not add the sediment. Pour it through a clean sieve, with a napkin in it, which has been dipped in boiling water, to prevent waste. SAVOURY PIES. Few articles of cookery are more generally approved than relishing pies, if properly made; and there are various things adapted to this purpose. Some eat best cold, and in that case, no suet should be put into the forcemeat that is used with them. If the pie is either made of meat that will take more dressing, to make it quite tender, than the baking of the crust will allow; or if it is to be served in an earthen pie-form, the following preparation must be observed. For instance, take three pounds of a veiny piece of beef, that has fat and lean; wash it, and season it with salt, pepper, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, rubbing them in well. Set it by the side of a slow fire, in a stewpot that will just hold it. Add about two ounces of butter, cover it quite close, and let it just simmer in its own steam till it begins to shrink. When it is cold, add more seasoning, forcemeat, and eggs. If in a dish, put some gravy to it before baking: if in a crust only, the gravy must not be added till after it is cold, and in a jelly. Forcemeat may be put both under and over the meat, if preferred to balls. SAVOURY RICE. Wash and pick some rice quite clean, stew it very gently in a small quantity of veal or rich mutton broth, with an onion, a blade of mace, pepper and salt. When swelled, but not boiled to a mash, dry it on the shallow part of a sieve before the fire, and either serve it dry, or put it in the middle of a dish, and pour hot gravy round it. SAVOURY VEAL PIE. Make a good puff-paste, and sheet your dish; cut the veal into pieces, season it with pepper, mace, and nutmeg, finely beat, and a little salt; lay it into the crust, with lambstones, sweetbreads, the yolks of hard eggs, an artichoke bottom boiled, and cut in dice, and the tops of asparagus; put in about half a pint of water, lay pieces of butter over the top, put on the lid, and ornament it to your fancy. In a quick oven about an hour and an half will bake it. Make a caudle for it thus: take half a pint of strong veal broth, a gill of white wine, and the yolks of three eggs; set this over the stove, and keep it stirring; put in some grated nutmeg, and a little salt; when it boils, if there is any scum, take it off; pour in a gill of cream, keep it stirring till it simmers, then take the lid of your pie off carefully, and pour the caudle over it, shake it round, lay on the lid as exact as you can, and send it to table. You may do lamb this way. SAVOURY VEGETABLES. Wash a dish with the white of eggs. Make several divisions with mashed potatoes and yolks of eggs mixed together and put on the dish, and bake it of a nice colour. In the first division put stewed spinach, in the second mashed turnips, in the third slices of carrots, in the fourth some button onions stewed in gravy, or any other kind of vegetables to make a variety. SAVOY BISCUITS. Take six eggs, separate the yolks and whites, mix the yolks with six ounces of sugar finely powdered, and the rind of a grated lemon. Beat them together for a quarter of an hour, then whisk the whites up in a broad dish till they are well frothed, and mix them with the yolks, adding five ounces of flour well dried. Stir the whole well together; then, with a piece of flat ivory, take out the batter, and draw it along clean white paper to the proper size of the biscuit. Sift some sugar over them, and bake them in a very hot oven. They must however be carefully watched, for they are soon done, and a few seconds over the proper time will scorch and spoil them. SAVOY CAKE. Put four eggs into a scale, and then take their weight in fine sugar, powdered and sifted, with the weight of seven eggs in flour well dried. Break the eggs, putting the yolks into one basin, and the whites into another. Mix with the yolks the sugar that has been weighed, a little grated lemon peel, and a little orange-flower water. Beat them well together for half an hour, then add the whites whipped to a froth, and mix in the flour by degrees, continuing to beat them all the time. Then put the batter into a tin well buttered, and bake it an hour and a half. This is a very delicate light cake for serving at table, or in a dessert, and is pretty when baked in a melon mould, or any other kind of shape. It may be iced at pleasure. SAUCE FOR BOILED MEAT. The sauces usually sent to table with boiled meat, not poured over the dish, but put into boats, are the following. Gravy, parsley and butter, chervil, caper, oyster, liver and parsley, onion, celery, shalot, and curry. The ingredients for compound sauces should be so nicely proportioned, that no one may be predominant, but that there may be an equal union of the combined flavours. All sauces should be sent to table as hot as possible, for nothing is more unsightly than the surface of a sauce in a frozen state, or garnished with grease on the top. SAUCE FOR BRAWN. Take a peck of bran, seven gallons of water, a pound of salt, a sprig of bay and rosemary. Boil the whole half an hour, strain it off, let it stand till it is cold, and then put it in the brawn. SAUCE FOR CARP. Rub half a pound of butter with a tea-spoonful of flour, melt it in a little water, and add nearly a quarter of a pint of thick cream. Put in half an anchovy chopped fine, but not washed; set it over the fire, and as it boils up, add a large spoonful of real India soy. If that does not give it a fine colour, add a little more. Turn it into the sauce tureen, and put in some salt and half a lemon. Stir it well to keep it from curdling. SAUCE FOR CHICKENS. An anchovy or two boned and chopped, some parsley and onion chopped, adding pepper, oil, vinegar, mustard, and walnut or mushroom ketchup. These mixed together will make a good sauce for cold chicken, partridge, or veal. SAUCE FOR CHOPS. To make a relishing sauce for steaks or chops, pound an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice, with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of scraped horseradish, and the same of shalot peeled and quartered. Put these ingredients into a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle; let them steep for a fortnight, and then strain off the liquor. A tea-spoonful or two mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks, or added to thick melted butter, will be found an agreeable addition. SAUCE FOR FISH. Simmer very gently a quarter of a pint of vinegar, and half a pint of soft water, with an onion, a little horseradish, and the following spices lightly bruised: four cloves, two blades of mace, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. When the onion becomes tender, chop it small, with two anchovies, and boil it for a few minutes with a spoonful of ketchup. Beat the yolks of three eggs, strain them, and mix the liquor with them by degrees. When well mixed, set the saucepan over a gentle fire, keeping the basin in one hand, into which toss the sauce to and fro, and shake the saucepan over the fire that the eggs may not curdle. The sauce must not be boiled, but made hot enough to give it the thickness of melted butter.--The following sauces for fish will be found excellent.--Lobster sauce. Take a lobster, bruise the body and spawn, that is in the inside, very fine, with the back of a spoon, mince the meat of the tail and claws small, melt your butter of a good thickness, put in the bruised part, and shake it well together, then put in the minced meat with a very little nutmeg grated, and a spoonful of white wine; let it just boil up, and pour it into boats, or over your fish.--Shrimp sauce. Put half a pint of shrimps, clean picked, into a gill of good gravy; let it boil up with a lump of butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful of red wine.--Oyster sauce. Take a pint of oysters that are tolerably large; put them into a saucepan with their own liquor, a blade of mace, a little whole pepper, and a bit of lemon peel; let them stew over the fire till the oysters are plump; pour all into a clean pan, and wash them carefully, one by one, out of the liquor; strain about a gill of the liquor through a fine sieve, add the same quantity of good gravy, cut half a pound of fresh butter in pieces, roll up some in flour, and then put all to your oysters; set it over a clear fire, shake it round often till it boils, and add a spoonful of white wine: let it just boil, and pour it into your bason or boat.--Anchovy sauce. Strip an anchovy, bruise it very fine, put it into half a pint of gravy, a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in flour, a spoonful of red wine, and a tea-spoonful of ketchup; boil all together till it is properly thick, and serve it up.--Another. Half a pint of water, two anchovies split, a clove, a bit of mace, a little lemon peel, a few peppercorns, and a large spoonful of red wine; boil all together, till your anchovy is dissolved; then strain it off, and thicken it with butter rolled in flour. This is the best sauce for skate, maid, or thornback. SAUCE FOR FISH PIES. Take equal quantities of white wine, not sweet; of vinegar, oyster liquor, and mushroom ketchup. Boil them up with an anchovy, strain the liquor, and pour it through a funnel into the pie after it is baked. Or chop an anchovy small, and boil it up with three spoonfuls of gravy, a quarter of a pint of cream, and a little butter and flour. SAUCE FOR FOWLS. Cut up the livers, add slices of lemon in dice, scalded parsley, some hard eggs, and a little salt. Mix them with butter, boil them up, and pour the sauce over the fowls. This will be found an excellent sauce for rabbit or fowl, especially to hide the bad colour of fowls. Or boil some veal gravy, with pepper and salt, the juice of a Seville orange and a lemon, and a little port wine. Pour it into the dish, or send it up in a boat. SAUCE FOR GOOSE. Mix a table-spoonful of made mustard, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne, in a glass and a half of port wine. Heat and pour it hot into the inside of a roast goose when it is taken up, by a slit made in the apron. What is sauce for a goose will not make bad sauce for a duck. It must be understood that this is not adapted to green geese or ducklings. SAUCE FOR HASHES. Chop the bones and fragments of the joint, put them into a stewpan, and cover them with boiling water. Add six peppercorns, the same of allspice, a handful of parsley, half a head of celery cut in pieces, and a small sprig of savoury, lemon thyme, or sweet marjoram. Cover it up, and let it simmer gently for half an hour. Slice half an ounce of onion, put it into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, and fry it over a quick fire for two or three minutes, till it takes a little colour. Thicken it with flour, and mix with it by degrees the gravy made from the bones. Let it boil very gently for a quarter of an hour, till it acquires the consistence of cream, and strain it through a fine sieve into a basin. Return it to the stewpan, season it a little, and cut in a few pickled onions, walnuts, or gherkins. Add a table-spoonful of ketchup or walnut pickle, or some capers and caper liquor, or a table-spoonful of ale, a little shalot, or tarragon vinegar. Cover the bottom of the dish with sippets of bread, to retain the gravy, and garnish with fried sippets. To hash meat in perfection, it should be laid in this gravy only just long enough to get properly warmed through. SAUCE FOR LENT. Melt some butter in a saucepan, shake in a little flour, and brown it by degrees. Stir in half a pint of water, half a pint of ale, an onion, a piece of lemon peel, two cloves, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, a spoonful of ketchup, and an anchovy. Boil it all together a quarter of an hour, strain it, and it will make good sauce for various dishes. SAUCE FOR LOBSTER. Bruise the yolks of two hard boiled eggs with the back of a wooden spoon, or pound them in a marble mortar, with a tea-spoonful of water, and the soft inside and the spawn of the lobster. Rub them quite smooth with a tea-spoonful of made mustard, two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and five of vinegar. Season it with a very little cayenne, and some salt. Tarragon vinegar, or essence of anchovy, may be added occasionally. SAUCE FOR MINCED VEAL. Take the bones of cold roast or boiled veal, dredge them well with flour, and put them into a stewpan. Add a pint and a half of weak broth, a small onion, a little grated or finely minced lemon peel, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a blade of pounded mace. Thicken it with a table-spoonful of flour rubbed into half an ounce of butter, stir it into the broth, and let it boil gently for about half an hour. Strain it through a tammis or sieve, and it is ready to put to the veal to warm up, which is to be done by placing the stewpan by the side of the fire. Squeeze in half a lemon, cover the bottom of the dish with sippets of toasted bread cut into triangles, and garnish the dish with slices of ham or bacon. A little basil wine gives an agreeable vegetable relish to minced veal. SAUCE FOR PARTRIDGE. Rub down in a mortar the yolks of two eggs boiled hard, an anchovy, two dessert-spoonfuls of oil, three of vinegar, a shalot, cayenne if approved, and a tea-spoonful of mustard. All should be pounded before the oil is added, and strained when done. Shalot vinegar is preferable to the shalot. SAUCE FOR POULTRY. Wash and pick some chervil very carefully, put a tea-spoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water, boil the chervil about ten minutes, drain it on a sieve, mince it quite fine, and bruise it to a pulp. Mix it by degrees with some good melted butter, and send it up in a sauce boat. This makes a fine sauce for either fish or fowl. The flavour of chervil is a strong concentration of the combined taste of parsley and fennel, but is more aromatic and agreeable than either. SAUCE FOR QUAILS. Shred two or three shalots, and boil them a few minutes in a gill of water, and half a gill of vinegar. Add to this a quarter of a pint of good gravy, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Shake it over the fire till it thickens, and then serve it in the dish with roast quails, or any other small birds. SAUCE ROBART. This is a favourite sauce for rump steaks, and is made in the following manner. Put a piece of butter, the size of an egg, into a saucepan; and while browning over the fire, throw in a handful of sliced onions cut small. Fry them brown, but do not let them burn. Add half a spoonful of flour, shake the onions in it, and give it another fry. Then put four spoonfuls of gravy, some pepper and salt, and boil it gently ten minutes. Skim off the fat, add a tea-spoonful of made mustard, a spoonful of vinegar, and the juice of half a lemon. Boil it all together, and pour it round the steaks, which should be of a fine yellow brown, and garnished with fried parsley and lemon. SAUCE FOR STEAKS. When the steaks are taken out of the fryingpan, keep back a spoonful of the fat, or put in an ounce of butter. Add flour to thicken it, and rub it well over the fire till it is a little browned. Then add as much boiling water as will reduce it to the consistence of cream, and a table-spoonful of ketchup or walnut pickle. Let it boil a few minutes, and pour it through a sieve upon the steaks. To this may be added a sliced onion, or a minced shalot, with a glass of port wine. Broiled mushrooms are favourite relishes to beef steaks. Garnish with finely scraped horseradish, pickled walnuts, or gherkins. SAUCE FOR VEAL. Mince any kind of sweet herbs with the yolks of two or three hard eggs. Boil them together with some currants, a little grated bread, pounded cinnamon, sugar, and two whole cloves. Pour the sauce into the dish intended for the veal, with two or three slices of orange. SAUCE FOR WILD FOWL. Simmer a tea-cupful of port wine, the same quantity of good meat gravy, a little shalot, a little pepper and salt, a grate of nutmeg, and a bit of mace, for ten minutes. Put in a piece of butter, and flour; give it all one boil, and pour it through the birds. In general they are not stuffed as tame fowl, but may be done so if approved. SAUSAGES. Chop fat and lean pork together, season it with sage, pepper, salt, and two or three berries of allspice. Half fill some hog's guts that have been soaked and made extremely clean; or the meat may be kept in a very small pan closely covered, and so rolled and dusted with a very little flour before it is fried. The sausages must be pricked with a fork before they are dressed, or they will burst in the frying. Serve them on stewed red cabbage, or mashed potatoes put in a form, and browned with a salamander.--The following is the way of making excellent sausages to eat cold. Season some fat and lean pork with salt, saltpetre, black pepper, and allspice, all in fine powder. Rub the mixture into the meat, and let it lie in pickle for six days. Then cut it small, and mix with it some shred shalot or garlic, as fine as possible. Have ready an ox-gut that has been scoured, salted, and well soaked, and fill it with the above stuffing. Tie up the ends, and hang it to smoke as you would hams, but first wrap it in a fold or two of old muslin. It must be high dried. Some choose to boil it, but others eat it without boiling. The skin should be tied in different places, so as to make each link about eight or nine inches long. SAUSAGES WITH APPLES. Fry some sliced apples with the sausages, till they are of a light brown. Lay the sausages in the middle of the dish, and the apples round them. Or fry them without apples, and serve them up on fried bread, with mashed potatoes. Or put the sausages into boiling water, simmer them about five minutes, and serve them up with poached eggs, or roasted potatoes. SCALDS. When a burn or scald is trifling, and occasions no blister, it is sufficient to put a compress of several folds of soft linen upon it, dipped in cold water, and to renew it every quarter of an hour till the pain is entirely removed. When a burn or scald blisters, a compress of fine linen spread over with soft pomatum should be applied to it, and changed twice a day. If the skin is burnt through, and the flesh under it injured, the same pomatum may be applied; but instead of a compress of linen, it should be spread upon a piece of soft lint, applied directly over it, and this cover with a slip of simple adhesive plaster. For an extensive burn or scald, skilful advice should immediately be obtained, as it always endangers the life of the sufferer. A linen rag dipped in laudanum, or spread thick with honey, will be sufficient in ordinary cases. The pomatum proper, where any serious injury has been sustained, is made in the following manner. Take an ounce of the ointment called nutritum, the yolk of a small egg, or the half of a large one, and mix them well together. The nutritum may easily be made by rubbing two drains of cerus, or white lead, with half an ounce of vinegar, and three ounces of common oil, and mixing them well together. If the ingredients for making nutritum are not at hand, to make the pomatum, one part of wax should be melted with eight parts of oil, and the yolk of an egg added to two ounces of this mixture. A still more simple application, and sooner prepared, is to beat up a whole egg with two spoonfuls of sweet oil, free from any rankness. When the pain of the burn and all its other symptoms have nearly subsided, it will be sufficient to apply the following plaster. Boil together to a proper consistence, half a pound of oil of roses, a quarter of a pound of red lead, and two ounces of vinegar. Dissolve in the mixture three quarters of an ounce of yellow wax, and one dram of camphor, stirring the whole well together. Take it off the fire, and spread it upon sheets or slips of paper, of any size that may be most convenient. For an adhesive plaster, melt four ounces of white wax, and add one or two spoonfuls of oil. Dip into this mixture, slips of moderately thin linen, and let them dry; or spread it thin and evenly over them.--The following is a highly esteemed method of curing scalds or burns. Take half a pound of alum in powder, dissolve it in a quart of water; bathe the burn or scald with a linen rag wet in this mixture; then bind the wet rag thereon with a slip of linen, and moisten the bandage with the alum water frequently, without removing it, in the course of two or three days. A workman who fell into a copper of boiling liquor, where he remained three minutes before taken out, was immediately put into a tub containing a saturated solution of alum in water, where he was kept two hours; his sores were then dressed with cloths and bandages, wet in the above mixture, and kept constantly moistened for twenty-four hours, and in a few days he was able to return to business.--The application of vinegar to burns and scalds is to be strongly recommended. It possesses active powers, and is a great antiseptic and corrector of putrescence and mortification. The progressive tendency of burns of the unfavourable kind, or ill-treated, is to putrescence and mortification. Where the outward skin is not broken, it may be freely used every hour or two; where the skin is broken, and if it gives pain, it must be gently used. But equal parts of vinegar and water, in a tepid state, used freely every three or four hours, are generally the best application, and the best rule to be directed by.--House-leek, either applied by itself, or mixed with cream, gives present relief in burns, and other external inflammations. SCALD HEAD. This disorder is chiefly incident to children, and is seated in the roots of the hair. It is frequently cured by changing the nurse, weaning the child, and removing it to a dry and airy situation. If the itching of the head becomes very troublesome, it may be allayed by gently rubbing it with equal parts of the oil of sweet almonds, and the juice expressed from the leaves of the common burdock, simmered together till they form a soapy liniment, adding a few grains only of pearlash. If this treatment be not sufficient, cut off the hair, or apply an adhesive plaster made of bees' wax, pitch, and mutton suet. After it is removed, the head should be washed with warm soapy water, and the whole body cleansed in a lukewarm bath. SCALDED CODLINS. Wrap each in a vine leaf, and pack them close in a nice saucepan: when full, pour in as much water as will cover them. Set the saucepan over a gentle fire, and let them simmer slowly till done enough to take the thin skin off when cold. Place them in a dish, with or without milk, cream or custard: if the latter, there should be no ratafia. Dust some fine sugar over the apples. SCALDED CREAM. Let the milk stand twenty-four hours in winter, and twelve at least in summer. Place the milk pan on a hot hearth, or in a wide brass kettle of water, large enough to receive the pan. It must remain on the fire till quite hot, but on no account boil, or there will be a skim instead of cream upon the milk. When it is done enough, the undulations on the surface will begin to look thick, and a ring will appear round the pan, the size of the bottom. The time required to scald cream depends on the size of the pan, and the heat of the fire; but the slower it is done the better. When the cream is scalded, remove the pan into the dairy, and skim it the next day. In cold weather it may stand thirty-six hours, and never less than two meals. In the west of England, butter is usually made of cream thus prepared; and if made properly it is very firm. SCALDING FRUIT. The best way of scalding any kind of fruit, is to do it in a stone jar on a hot iron hearth; or by putting the vessel into a saucepan of water, called a water-bath. Vinegar also is best boiled in the same manner. SCALDING PUDDING. From a pint of new milk take out enough to mix three large spoonfuls of flour into a smooth batter. Set the remainder of the milk on the fire, and when it is scalding hot, pour in the batter, and keep it on the fire till it thickens. Stir it all the time to prevent its burning, but do not let it boil. When of a proper thickness, pour it into a basin, and let it stand to cool. Then put in, six eggs, a little sugar, and some nutmeg. Boil it an hour in a basin well buttered. SCALLOPED OYSTERS. Having opened the oysters, and washed them from the grit, put them into scallop shells or saucers, and bake them before the fire in a Dutch oven. Add to them some crumbs of bread, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a bit of butter, before they are set to the fire.--Another way. To fill four scallop shells, have a pint and a half of oysters, put them on the fire, in their own liquor, with a blade of mace, a little salt, and some whole pepper; (put a salamander in the fire to be red hot,) grate some crumbs of bread sufficient for your shells; butter the inside of the shells very well, and strew bread crumbs thereon; take your oysters off the fire, pour them into a pan, take off the beards, and fill the shells; grate a little nutmeg into every shell, put a spoonful or two of the liquor upon the oysters, and fill up the shells quite full with bread crumbs; set them before the fire, and baste them with butter all over the bread, then set them upon a gridiron over a clear fire, for about half an hour; hold your salamander over them, till they are of a fine brown, then send them to table for a side-dish. In the same manner do shrimps, muscles, or cockles. SCALLOPED POTATOES. When boiled, mash them with milk, pepper, salt, and butter. Fill some scallop shells, smooth the tops, set them in a Dutch oven to brown before the fire; or add the yolk of an egg, and mash them with cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Score the top with a knife, and put thin slices over, before they are put into the oven. SCALLOPED VEAL. Mince it fine, set it over the fire a few minutes, with pepper and salt, a little nutmeg and cream. Put it into scallop shells, and fill them up with grated bread; over which put a little butter, and brown them before the fire. SCARLET DYE. Wool may be dyed scarlet, the most splendid of all colours, by first boiling it in a solution of muris-sulphate of tin; then dying it a pale yellow with quercitron bark, and afterwards crimson with cochineal. SCORCHED LINEN. Boil to a good consistency, in half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of fuller's earth, an ounce of hen's dung, half an ounce of cake soap, and the juice of two onions. Spread this composition over the whole of the damaged part; and, if the scorching were not quite through, and the threads actually consumed, after suffering it to dry on, and letting it receive a subsequent good washing or two, the place will appear full as white and perfect as any other part of the linen. SCOTCH BARLEY BROTH. Cut a leg of beef into pieces, and boil it in three gallons of water, with a sliced carrot and crust of bread, till reduced to half the quantity. Strain it off, and put it again into the pot. Boil it an hour, with half a pound of Scotch barley, a few heads of celery cut small, a sprig of sweet herbs, an onion, a little minced parsley, and a few marigolds. Put in a large fowl, and boil it till the broth is good. Season it with salt, take out the onion and herbs, and serve it up with the fowl in the middle. Broth may be made with a sheep's head chopped in pieces, or six pounds of thick flank of beef, boiled in six quarts of water. Put the barley in with the meat, and boil it gently for an hour, keeping it clear from scum. The articles before-mentioned may then be added, with sliced turnips and carrots, and boiled together till the broth is good. Season it, take it up, pour the broth into a tureen, with the meat in the middle, and carrots and turnips round the dish. SCOTCH BURGOO. This is a sort of oatmeal hasty pudding without milk, much used by the Scotch peasantry; and as an example of economy, is worthy of being occasionally adopted by all who have large families and small incomes. It is made in the following easy and expeditious manner. To a quart of oatmeal, add gradually two quarts of water, so that the whole may mix smoothly. Stir it continually over the fire, and boil it for a quarter of an hour. Take it up, and stir in a little salt and butter, with or without pepper. This quantity will provide five or six persons with a tolerable meal. SCOTCH COLLOPS. Cut veal into thin round slices, about three inches over, and beat them with a rolling-pin. Grate a little nutmeg over, dip them into the yolk of an egg, and fry them in a little butter of a fine brown. Pour off the butter, and have ready warmed half a pint of gravy, with a little butter and flour in it, the yolk of an egg, two large spoonfuls of cream, and a dust of salt. Do not boil the sauce, but stir it till it comes to a fine thickness, and pour it over the collops.--Another way. Take what quantity of veal you want, cut into collops, and beat it with the back of a knife; season as above, and fry them in butter of a fine brown; pour off the butter, and put in half a pint of good gravy, and a small glass of white wine: you may add what other ingredients you please. Roll a piece of butter as big as a walnut in flour, toss it up, and when it boils, take off the scum very clean: let your sauce be thick enough to hang; dish it up, and garnish to your fancy.--Another way: dressed white. Take three or four pounds of a fillet of veal, cut in small thin slices; then take a clean stewpan, butter it on the inside; season your collops with beaten mace, nutmeg, and salt; dust them over with flour, and lay them into your stewpan, piece by piece, till all your meat is in: set it over the stove, and toss it up together, till all your meat be white. Put in half a pint of strong veal broth; let them boil, and take off all the scum clean; beat up the yolks of two eggs in a gill of cream, and put it to your collops, and keep it tossing all the while, till it just boils up; then squeeze in a little lemon, toss it round, and dish it up. Garnish your dish with sliced lemon. If you would make a fine dish of it, when you put in your veal broth, you must add morels, truffles, mushrooms, artichoke bottoms cut in small dice, force-meat balls boiled, not fried, and a few cock's combs; then garnish your dish with fried oysters, petit-pasties, lemon, and barberries. Remember when you make a made dish, and are obliged to use cream, that it should be the last thing; for it is apt to curdle if it boils at any time. SCOTCH EGGS. Boil five pullet's eggs, quite hard; and without removing the white, cover them completely with a fine relishing forcemeat, in which, let scraped ham, or chopped anchovy, bear a due proportion. Fry of a beautiful yellow brown, and serve with good gravy in the dish. SCOTCH LEEK SOUP. Prepare a sheep's head, either by cleaning the skin very nicely, or taking it off, as preferred. Split the head in two, take out the brains, and put it into a kettle with plenty of water. Add a large quantity of leeks cut small, with pepper and salt. Stew these very slowly for three hours. Mix as much oatmeal as will make the soup pretty thick, and make it very smooth with cold water. Pour it into the soup, continue stirring it till the whole is smooth and well done, and then serve it up. SCOTCH PANCAKES. To a pint of cream beat up eight eggs, leaving out two whites, a quarter of a pound of butter melted, one spoon-full of flour, a nutmeg grated, three spoonfuls of sack, and a little sugar. When the butter is cool, mix all together into a batter; have ready a stove with charcoal, and a small fryingpan no bigger than a plate, tie a piece of butter in a clean cloth; when the pan is hot rub this round it, and put in the batter with a spoon, run it round the pan very thin and fry them only on one side; put a saucer into the middle of the dish, and lay pancakes over it, till it is like a little pyramid; strew pounded sugar between every pancake, and garnish the dish with Seville oranges cut in small quarters. SCOURING BALLS. Portable balls for removing spots from clothes, may be thus prepared. Dry some fuller's-earth, so that it crumbles into a powder; then moisten it with the clear juice of lemons, and add a small quantity of pure pearl-ash. Knead the whole carefully together, till it acquires the consistence of a thick elastic paste: form it into convenient small balls, and dry them in the sun. To be used, first moisten the spot on the clothes with water, then rub it with the ball, and let the spot dry in the sun. After having washed it with pure water, the spot will entirely disappear. SCROPHULA. The principal difficulty in curing the scrophula, or king's evil, arises from the circumstance, that it may remain concealed for a long time, and thus become deeply rooted in the constitution before its effects are evident. The system requires to be strengthened by the free use of Peruvian bark, sea water and sea bathing, and moderate exercise in the open air. Hemlock plasters applied to the swellings, and drinking of milk whey, have also been found useful. But in the progress of the disorder, medical advice will be necessary. SCURVY. When the scurvy proceeds chiefly from the long-continued use of salt provisions, it will be necessary to take large portions of the juice of lemons, oranges, or tamarinds; to eat water cresses, scurvy grass, and fresh vegetables of every description. But where these cannot be procured, pickled cabbage, cucumber, onions, and other fruits, as well as horseradish and mustard, may be taken with considerable advantage. Take also a pound of water-dock roots, and boil them in six pints of water, adding an ounce or two of chrystals of tartar, till one third part of the liquor be evaporated; and drink half a pint or more of it every day. Raw carrots eaten are also very good for the scurvy; and during a voyage, they should be packed up in casks of sand and kept for use. If the limbs be swelled, or joints stiff, it will be proper to foment them with warm vinegar, or bathe them in lukewarm water. A valuable ointment may be made of a pound of fresh lard, and as much cliver or goose-grass as the lard will moisten. Boil them together over a slow fire, stir the mixture till it turns brown, and strain it through a cloth. Take the ointment from the water, and rub it on the parts affected. SCURVY GRASS ALE. Brew it as for other ale, omitting the hops; and when the liquor boils, put in half a bushel of fine wormwood, a bushel of scurvy grass, and twelve pounds of sugar. This quantity of ingredients is sufficient for a hogshead. SEA-KALE is a highly nutritious and palatable culinary vegetable. It is an early esculent plant, the young shoots of which are used somewhat in the manner of asparagus, and may, it is said, be grown by the method of cultivation which is given hereafter, to a size and of a delicacy of flavour greatly superior to that which is commonly brought to the table. In the cultivation of it in the garden, the improved method which has lately been advised, is that of preparing the ground for it by trenching it two feet and a half deep, about the close of the year or in the beginning of it: when not that depth naturally, and of a light quality, it is to be made so by artificial means, such as the applying of a suitable proportion of fine white sand, and very rotten vegetable mould: if the ground be wet in the winter season, it should be completely drained, that no water may stagnate in it near the bottom of the cultivated mould, as the strength of the plants depends upon the dryness and richness of the bottom soil. After which the ground is to be divided into beds, four feet in width, with alleys of eighteen inches between them; then, at the distance of every two feet each way, five or six seeds are to be sown, in a circle of about four inches diameter, to the depth of two inches. This business should be performed in a strictly regular and exact manner, as the plants are afterwards to be covered by means of pots for blanching them, and the health and beauty of the crops equally depend upon their standing at regular distances. If the seeds which were sown were sound and perfect, they will come up and shew themselves in the last spring or beginning summer months; which as soon as they have made three or four leaves, all but three of the strongest and best plants should be taken away from each circle; planting out those which are pulled up, which, when done by a careful hand, may be performed so as for them to have the whole of their tap-root in a spare bed for extra forcing, or the repairs of accidents. The turnip fly and wire worm are to be carefully guarded against, the latter by picking them by the hand from out of the ground, and the former by the use of lime laid round the young plants in a circle. When the summer months prove dry, the beds should be plentifully watered. As soon as the leaves decay in the autumn they should be cleared away, and the beds be covered with light fresh earth and sand to the thickness of an inch; the compost thus used having laid some time in a heap, and been turned several times, so as to be free from weeds, and the ova of insects as well as grubs. Upon the sandy loam dressing, about six inches in depth of light stable litter is to be applied, which completes the work of the first year. In the spring of the second, when the plants are beginning to push, the stable litter is to be raked off, a little of the most rotten being dug into the alleys, and another inch depth of loam and sand applied. Cutting this year is to be refrained from, notwithstanding some of the plants may rise strong, and the beds managed exactly as before during this winter season. In the third season, a little before the plants begin to stir, the covering laid on for the winter is to be raked off, and an inch in depth of pure dry sand or fine gravel now laid on. Then each circle of plants is to be covered with one of the blanching-pots already alluded to, pressing it firmly into the ground, so as to exclude all light and air, as the colour and flavour of the shoots are greatly injured by exposure to either of them. When the beds are twenty-six feet long, and four wide, they will hold twenty-four blanching-pots, with three plants under each, making seventy-two plants in a bed. They are to be examined from time to time, the young stems being cut, when about three inches above the ground, care being taken not to injure any of the remaining buds below, some of which will immediately begin to swell. In this way a succession of gatherings may be continued for the space of six weeks, after which period the plants are to be uncovered, and their leaves suffered to grow, that they may acquire and return nutriment to the root for the next year's buds. When seeds are not wanted, the flowers should be pinched off by the finger and thumb, as long as they appear. Where the expence of blanching-pots is objected to, the beds must be covered with a large portion of loose gravel and mats; but the saving is trifling, when the time and trouble of removing and replacing the gravel, for the cutting of the crop and securing the plant, are considered. By this mode of management, sea-kale is said to have been cut which measured ten, eleven, and even twelve inches in circumference, and that each blanching-pot on the average afforded a dish of it twice in the season. The blanching-pots for this use are somewhat of the same shape and size as the large bell-glasses commonly employed in market gardens for raising tender vegetable crops, but made of the same materials as the common earthenware, having a handle at the top. They may be about a foot and a half in diameter at the rim where they apply to the ground. _Forcing sea-kale._--It is supposed that no vegetable can be so easily and cheaply forced as this, or require so little trouble; as the dung is in the finest state possible for spring hot-beds, after the common crop has been cut and gathered. The principal circumstance necessary in this business, is that of being very attentive and particular in guarding against too great a heat. The temperature under the blanching-pots should constantly be kept as near fifty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's scale as possible, and on no account higher than sixty at any time. In this intention, in either of the two concluding months of the year, as the sea-kale may be wanted more early or late, a suitable quantity of fresh stable dung should be collected and prepared, to cover both the beds and the alleys from two to three feet in height; as in the quantity to be laid on, a great deal must always be left to the judgment of the gardener, as well as to the state of the season as to mildness or severity. It should invariably be well pressed down between the blanching-pots, heat-sticks being placed at proper intervals, by the occasional examination of which the heat below will be readily shewn. When the dung has remained in this situation four or five days, the pots should be examined to see the state of the shoots It not unfrequently happens that worms spring above the surface, and spoil the delicacy of flavour in the young shoots. In order to prevent this, it is best to cover it with dry sea-coal ashes, which have been sifted neither very small nor very large. Salt has also the power of destroying them in an effectual manner, without injuring the sea-kale. The crop, it is said, will be ready to cut and gather in three weeks or a month from the first application of the heat; but as much danger and mischief are the consequence when this is violent, it is advised to begin soon enough, and to force slowly, rather than in too quick a manner. It is likewise necessary to cut the leaves off a fortnight or three weeks before they decay, in those plants which are intended to be forced at a very early period. It is also suggested that the blanching-pots used in forcing should be made in two pieces, the uppermost of which should fit like a cap upon the lower; as the crop might then be examined at all times without disturbing the hot dung. Sea-kale is cooked, and sent to the table in the same manner as asparagus. SEA SICKNESS. This disorder may in a great measure be prevented, by taking a few drops of vitriolic æther on a bit of sugar dissolved in the mouth, or drinking a few drops of æther in water, with a little sugar. SEA WATER. To render salt water fit for washing linen at sea, a quantity of soda should be kept at hand, and used for that purpose, as often as occasion requires. As much soda should be put into sea water as will render it turbid, and completely precipitate the lime and magnesia which it contains. The water will then become sufficiently alkaline for the purpose of washing. SHAVING SOAP. Cut half a pound of fine white soap in thin slices, add half an ounce of salt of tartar, and mix them with full half a pint of spirits of wine. Put the ingredients into a quart bottle, tie it down with a bladder, digest it in a gentle heat till the soap is dissolved, and let the air escape through a pinhole in the bladder. Filter the mixture through paper, and scent it with a little bergamot, or essence of lemon. It will have the appearance of fine oil. A small quantity mixed with water will produce an excellent lather, and is much superior to any other composition in washing or shaving. SEALING OF LETTERS. To secure letters from being opened, beat up some fine bean flour with the white of an egg, and make it into a paste. Use a little of it in the form of a wafer, close the letters with it, and hold the sealed part to the spout of a tea-pot of boiling water. The steam will harden the cement so that the letter cannot be opened without tearing, and will render it more secure than either wax or wafer. SEASONING. Though general rules may be given for stuffings and seasoning, yet much must be left to common discretion. The different tastes of people require more or less of the flavour of spices, salt, garlic, butter, and other ingredients; and the proportions must of course be regulated accordingly, taking care that a variety of flavour be given to the different dishes served at the same time. The proper articles should be kept ready for use; but if suet or bacon be not at hand, butter must be used instead, and fish gravy instead of stock or meat gravy. More depends on judgment and care than on the ingredients merely, of which the dish is composed. SEASONING MAHOGANY. Having provided a steam-tight wooden box, capable of holding such pieces of mahogany as are wanted for chairs or other purposes, a pipe from a boiler must be adapted to it, by means of which the box is to be filled with steam, to a temperature about equal to that of boiling water. The time required for wood an inch and a half thick, is about two hours; and pieces of this thickness become sufficiently dry to work, after being placed in a warm room for twenty-four hours. By this treatment the wood is something improved in colour, and the blemishes of green veins are entirely removed. The eggs also of any insect contained in the wood, will be destroyed by the heat of the steam. By this process, two important advantages are gained. There is a saving of capital, vested in wood lying to season during several months; and the warping of small pieces of wood is entirely prevented. SEED CAKE. Mix a quarter of a peck of flour with half a pound of sugar, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, and a little ginger. Melt three quarters of a pound of butter, with half a pint of milk; when just warm, put to it a quarter of a pint of yeast, and work it up to a good dough. Add seeds or currants, let it stand before the fire a few minutes before it goes to the oven, and bake it an hour and a half.--Another way is to mix a pound and a half of flour, a pound of lump sugar, eight eggs beaten separately, an ounce of seeds, two spoonfuls of yeast, and the same of milk and water. Milk alone soon causes cake and bread to get dry.--Another. Break eighteen eggs into a large pan, and leave out eight of the whites; add to them two pounds of fresh butter, and with your hand work the butter and eggs till they are well mixed, and like thick barme; put in two or three spoonfuls of sack, two pounds of lump sugar sifted, two pounds of fine flour, and two ounces of carraway seeds, mix the sugar, flour, and seeds, well together, and set it before the fire for half an hour, covering it with a cloth, and remember to put the flour, &c. in by degrees. Tin pudding pans are the best things to bake it in, and take care it be not over-done; they will rise very high in the oven, and when they begin to sink again, they are baked enough.--A cheap seed cake. Take half a peck of flour, set a pint of milk on the fire, and break in a pound and a half of butter; when all the butter is melted, stir in half a pint of ale yeast that is not bitter. Take half an ounce of allspice beat fine, and a pound of sugar sifted; mix these with the flour first, then make a hole in the middle of the flour, and pour in the butter, milk, and yeast. While you are working it, strew in some carraway seeds, and set it before the fire to rise; bake it an hour and a half in a quick oven. It is best baked in two cakes; if you make it in two, put currants in one, and carraway seeds in the other.--Seed cake the nun's way. To four pounds of the finest flour, add three pounds of double-refined sugar beat and sifted; mix this with the flour, and set it before the fire to dry; beat up four pounds of nice fresh butter to a cream, break three dozen of eggs (leaving out sixteen whites) and beat them up very well, with a tea-cupful of orange-flower water, strain them into the butter, and beat them well therewith; take the flour and sugar, and mix in six ounces of carraway seeds; put these ingredients to the butter and eggs by degrees, and beating all continually for two hours: butter a hoop, and bake it three hours in a moderate oven. If you please, you may add two or three grains of ambergris. SEED WATER. Bruise a spoonful of coriander seeds, and half a spoonful of carraway. Boil them in a pint of water, strain them, beat up the yolk of an egg and mix with the water, add a little sweet wine and lump sugar. SEEDS. To discover when seeds of any kind are fully ripe and good, throw them into a basin of water. If not sufficiently ripe, they will swim on the surface; but when arrived at full maturity, they will be found uniformly to sink to the bottom; a fact that is said to hold equally true of all seeds, from the cocoa nut to the orchis.--Seeds of plants may be preserved, for many months at least, by causing them to be packed, either in husks, pods, &c. in absorbent paper, with raisins or brown moist sugar; or a good way, practised by gardeners, is to wrap the seed in brown paper or cartridge paper, pasted down, and then varnished over.--To preserve seeds, when sown, from vermin. Steep the grain or seed three or four hours, or a sufficient time for it to penetrate the skin, or husk, in a strong solution of liver of sulphur. SHADS. They must be scaled very clean, then gut and wash them, dry them in a cloth, score them on the sides, rub them with butter, sprinkle salt over them, and broil them of a fine brown; boil sorrel, chervil, onion and parsley, chop it fine; melt a piece of butter in cream sufficient for your sauce, then put in your herbs, season it with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg, toss it up together, and pour over your fish; or you may serve it with a ragout of mushrooms, or a brown sauce with capers, garnished with lemon. SEVILLE ORANGE POSSET. Squeeze Seville orange or lemon juice into a glass dish, or mix them together if preferred, and sweeten it well with fine sugar. Then warm some cream over the fire, but do not let it boil. Put it into a teapot and pour it into the juice, holding the teapot up very high, that it may froth and curdle the better. Instead of cream, milk thickened with one or two yolks of eggs may be used, if more convenient. SHALOT. As the habits of growth in roots of this nature differ greatly in the different sorts, some requiring to be nearly or quite on the surface of the ground, while others stand in need of being a considerable depth below it, which has not been well attended to in the garden culture of such roots; it may be readily supposed that these have considerable influence and effect on the growth of such root crops. In consequence of finding that crops of this root generally became mouldy and perished, and that they were usually planted, from the directions of garden cultivators, at the depth of two or three inches from the surface; the injury, failure, and destruction of such crops, were naturally ascribed to this cause. A few bulbs or bunches of this root were consequently divided, as far as possible, into single buds or bulbs, and planted upon or rather above the surface of the ground, some very rich soil being placed underneath them, and the mould on each side raised to support them, until they became firmly rooted. This mould was then removed by means of a hoe, and the use of the watering-pot, and the bulbs of course left wholly out of the ground. The growth of the plants had now so near a resemblance to that of the common onion, as not readily to be distinguished from it, until their irregularity of form, the consequence of the numerous germs within each bulb, became evident. The forms of the bulbs, however, continued constantly different from all those raised in the ordinary method, being much more broad, but of less length. The crop was a great deal better in quality, and at the same time much more abundant in quantity. It may consequently not be unworthy of the gardener's attention.--Garlic, rocambole, and shalot are chiefly used in ragouts and sauces which require to be highly flavoured, unless a separate sauce is made of them only; and indeed, the mixing of animal juices in preparations of vegetables is by no means to be recommended, where the health is to be consulted. The substitution of butter and flour, yolks of eggs and cream, mushroom or walnut ketchup, is greatly to be preferred to rich gravies, in dressing of vegetables. SHALOT SAUCE. Put a few chopped shalots into a little gravy boiled clear, and nearly half as much vinegar. Season with pepper and salt, and boil it half an hour. SHALOT VINEGAR. Split six or eight shalots; put them into a wide-mouthed quart bottle, and fill it up with vinegar. Stop it close; and in a month the vinegar will be fit for use. SHALOT WINE. Peel, mince, and pound in a mortar, three ounces of shalots, and infuse them in a pint of sherry for ten days. Pour off the clear liquor on three ounces more of shalots, and let the wine stand on them ten days longer. An ounce of scraped horseradish may be added to the above, and a little lemon peel cut thin. This is rather the most expensive, but by far the most elegant preparation of shalot. It imparts the onion flavour to soups and sauces, for chops, steaks, hashes, or boiled meats, more agreeably than any other, without leaving any unpleasant taste in the mouth. SHANK JELLY. Boil fifteen shanks of mutton in three quarts of water. Two cow heels, three calf's feet, or five sheep's feet, will answer the same purpose. Let them stew no longer than to extract a good jelly, and when cold take off the fat, and clear it from the settlement at the bottom. The jelly may be cleared with whites of eggs, and running it through a jelly bag. Orange or lemon juice, or wine, and sugar, may be added, as is suitable for the patient. Wine however should never be given to any invalid, without the express permission of the medical attendant, as it may do more harm than good, unless used with great discretion. Much less should any kind of spirits be allowed, as they are of a much more dangerous nature than wine in such cases. SHARP SAUCE. Put into a silver saucepan, or one that is very clean and well tinned, half a pint of the best white wine vinegar, and a quarter of a pound of pounded loaf sugar. Simmer it gently over the fire, skim it well, pour it through a tammis or fine sieve, and send it up in a basin. This sauce is adapted for venison, and is often preferred to the sweet wine sauces. SHEEP'S EARS. Take a dozen and a half of sheep's ears, scald and clean them very well; then make a forcemeat of veal, suet, crumbs of bread, a little nutmeg, pepper, salt, and beaten mace, parsley and thyme shred fine; mix these ingredients with the yolk of an egg; fill the ears, and lay one over the other, press them close, flour them, and fry them in clean beef dripping, of a fine brown; serve them up with gravy sauce in the dish, garnished with lemon. This is a pretty side dish. SHELFORD PUDDING. Mix three quarters of a pound of currants or raisins, one pound of suet, a pound of flour, six eggs, some good milk, lemon peel, and a little salt. Boil it in a melon shape six hours. SHERBET. This liquor is a species of negus without the wine. It consists of water, lemon, or orange juice, and sugar, in which are dissolved perfumed cakes, made of the best Damascus fruit, and containing also an infusion of some drops of rose-water: another kind is made of violets, honey, juice of raisins, &c. It is well calculated for assuaging thirst, as the acidity is agreeably blended with sweetness. It resembles, indeed, those fruits which we find so grateful when one is thirsty. SHIN OF BEEF. A shin or leg of beef, weighing full six pounds, will make a large tureen of excellent soup. Cut half a pound of bacon into slices about half an inch thick, lay it at the bottom of a soup kettle or deep stewpan, and place the meat on this, after having first chopped the bone in two or three places. Add two carrots, two turnips, a head of celery, two large onions with two or three cloves stuck in them, a dozen black peppercorns, the same of Jamaica pepper, and a bundle of lemon thyme, winter savoury, and parsley. Just cover the meat with cold water, boil it over a quick fire, skim it well, and then let it stew very gently by the side of the fire for four hours till it is quite tender. Take out all the meat, strain off the soup, and remove the fat from the surface when cold. Cut the meat into small pieces, and put them into the soup, when it is to be warmed up for the table. A knuckle of veal may be dressed in the same way. SHINGLES. This disorder, of the same nature as St. Anthony's fire, and requiring a similar mode of treatment, attacks various parts of the body, but chiefly the waist, around which it appears in numerous pimples of a livid hue, and seldom attended with fever. No attempt should be made to repel the eruption; the body should be kept gently open, and the part affected rubbed with a little warm wheaten flour. Then linen bags of oatmeal, camomile flowers, and a little bruised camphor may also be applied, which will effectually relieve the inflammation. SHOE BLACKING. In three pints of small beer, put two ounces of ivory black, and one pennyworth of brown sugar. As soon as they boil, put a dessert-spoonful of sweet oil, and then boil slowly till reduced to a quart. Stir it up with a stick every time it is used; and put it on the shoe with a brush when wanted.--Another. Two ounces of ivory black; one tea-spoonful of oil of vitriol, one table-spoonful of sweet oil; and two ounces of brown sugar; roll the same into a ball, and to dissolve it add half a pint of vinegar.--Another. Take ivory black and brown sugar candy, of each two ounces; of sweet oil a table-spoonful; add gradually thereto a pint of vinegar, cold, and stir the whole till gradually incorporated.--Another. To one pint of vinegar add half an ounce of vitriolic acid, half an ounce of copperas, two ounces of sugar candy, and two ounces and a half of ivory black: mix the whole well together.--Another. Sweet oil, half an ounce; ivory black and treacle, of each half a pound; gum arabic half an ounce; vinegar, three pints; boil the vinegar, and pour it hot on the other ingredients.--Another. Three ounces of ivory black, one ounce of sugar candy, one ounce of oil of vitriol, one ounce of spirits of salts, one lemon, one table-spoonful of sweet oil, and one pint of vinegar.--First mix the ivory black and sweet oil together, then the lemon and sugar candy, with a little vinegar to qualify the blacking, then add your spirits of salts and vitriol, and mix them all well together. N. B. The last ingredients prevent the vitriol and salts from injuring the leather, and add to the lustre of the blacking.--Another. Ivory black, two ounces; brown sugar, one ounce and a half; sweet oil, half a table-spoonful. Mix them well, and then gradually add half a pint of small beer.--Another. A quarter of a pound of ivory black, a quarter of a pound of moist sugar, a table-spoonful of flour, a piece of tallow about the size of a walnut, and a small piece of gum arabic.--Make a paste of the flour, and while hot put in the tallow, then the sugar, and afterwards mix the whole well together in a quart of water, and you will have a beautiful shining blacking. SHOES. The best way of cleaning shoes in the winter time is to scrape off the dirt with the back of a knife, or with a wooden knife made for that purpose, while the shoes are wet, and wipe off the remainder with a wet sponge, or piece of flannel. Set them to dry at a distance from the fire, and they will afterwards take a fine polish. This will save much of the trouble in cleaning, when the dirt is suffered to dry on; and by applying a little sweet oil occasionally, the leather will be prevented from growing hard. To secure the soles of shoes or boots from being penetrated with rain or snow, melt a little bees' wax and mutton suet, and rub it slightly over the edges of the sole where the stitches are; this will be sufficient to repel the wet. Occasionally rubbing the soles with hot tar, and dusting over it a small quantity of iron filings, will tend to fill up the pores of the leather, and preserve the feet dry and warm in winter. The practice of pouring brandy or spirits into shoes or boots, with a view to prevent the effects of wet or cold, is very pernicious, and often brings on inflammation of the bowels. The best remedy for damp feet is to bathe them in warm water; and if they become sore or blistered, rub them with a little mutton suet. As many evils and inconveniences arise from wearing improper shoes, it may be necessary to observe, that an easy shoe, adapted to the size and shape of the foot, is of considerable consequence. The soles should be thick, and their extremities round rather than pointed, in order to protect the toes from being injured by sharp stones, or other rough substances, that may occur in walking. Persons wearing narrow or fashionable shoes, merely for the sake of appearance, not only suffer immediate fatigue and languor when walking only a short distance, but are exposed to the pain and inconvenience of warts and corns, and numerous other maladies; while the want of dry easy shoes checks the necessary perspiration, which extends its influence to other parts of the body. For children, a kind of half boots, such as may be laced above the ancles, are superior to shoes, as they not only have the advantage of fitting the leg, but are likewise not easily trodden down at the heels, and children can walk more firmly in them than in shoes. SHORT BISCUITS. Beat half a pound of butter to a cream, then add half a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered and sifted, the yolks of two eggs, and a few carraways. Mix in a pound of flour well dried, and add as much cream as will make it a proper stiffness for rolling. Roll it out on a clean board, and cut the paste into cakes with the top of a glass or cup. Bake them on tins for about half an hour.--Another way. A quarter of a pound of butter beat to a cream, six ounces of fine sugar powdered and sifted, four yolks of eggs, three quarters of a pound of flour, a little mace, and a little grated lemon peel. Make them into a paste, roll it out, and cut it into cakes with the top of a wine glass. Currants or carraways may be added if agreeable. SHORT CAKES. Rub into a pound of dried flour, four ounces of butter, four ounces of powdered sugar, one egg, and a spoonful or two of thin cream to make it into a paste. When mixed, put currants into one half, and carraways into the rest. Cut them into little cakes with the top of a wine glass, or canister lid, and bake them a few minutes on floured tins. SHORT CRUST. Dry two ounces of white sugar; after it has been pounded and sifted. Mix it with a pound of flour well dried, and rub into it three ounces of butter, so fine as not to be seen. Put the yolks of two eggs well beaten into some cream, mix it with the above into a smooth paste, roll it out thin, and bake it in a moderate oven.--Another. Mix with a pound of fine flour dried, an ounce of sugar pounded and sifted. Crumble three ounces of butter into it, till it looks all like flour; and with a glass of boiling cream, work it up to a fine paste.--To make a richer crust, but not sweet, rub six ounces of butter into eight ounces of fine flour. Mix it into a stiffish paste, with as little water as possible; beat it well, and roll it thin. This, as well as the former, is proper for tarts of fresh or preserved fruit.--Another. To a pound of flour allow six ounces of butter, and a little salt. Rub the butter well into the flour with the hand, till the whole is well united, and then put in a small quantity of cold water, just enough to mix it to a paste. Mould it quite smooth with the hand, and roll it out for use. SHORT PASTE. Rub a quarter of a pound of butter into a pound of flour, mixed with water and two eggs. Work it up to a good stiffness, and roll it out. If for sweet tarts, two table-spoonfuls of sugar should be added. SHOULDER OF LAMB FORCED. Bone a shoulder of lamb, and fill it up with forcemeat; braise it two hours over a slow stove. Take it up and glaze it, or it may be glazed only, and not braised. Serve with sorrel sauce under the lamb. SHOULDER OF LAMB GRILLED. Roast a shoulder of lamb till about three parts done, score it both ways into squares about an inch large, rub it over with yolks of egg, season it with pepper and salt, and strew it over with bread crumbs and chopped parsley. Set it before the fire, brown it with a salamander, and serve it up with gravy, mushroom ketchup, lemon juice, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Heat it over the fire till it is well thickened. SHOULDER OF MUTTON. If intended to be boiled with oysters, hang it up some days, and then salt it well for two days. Bone it, sprinkle it with pepper, and a little pounded mace. Lay some oysters over it, and roll the meat up tight and tie it. Stew it in a small quantity of water, with an onion and a few peppercorns, till it is quite tender. Prepare a little good gravy, and some oysters stewed in it; thicken this with flour and butter, and pour it over the mutton when the tape is taken off. The stewpan should be kept close covered. If the shoulder is to be roasted, serve it up with onion sauce. The blade-bone may be broiled. SHOULDER OF PORK. A shoulder or a breast of pork is best put into pickle. Salt the shoulder as a leg; and when very nice it may be roasted, instead of being boiled. SHOULDER OF VEAL. Cut off the knuckle for a stew or gravy, and roast the other part with stuffing. It may be larded, and served with melted butter. The blade-bone, with a good deal of meat left on it, eats extremely well with mushroom or oyster sauce, or with mushroom ketchup in butter. SHOULDER OF VENISON. The neck and shoulder are roasted the same as the haunch, and served with the same sauce. But if the shoulder is to be stewed, take out the bone, and beat the meat with a rolling-pin. Lay amongst it some slices of mutton fat, that have lain a few hours in a little port wine; sprinkle a little pepper and allspice over it in fine powder, roll and tie it up tight. Set it in a stewpan that will just hold it, with mutton or beef gravy, half a pint of port wine, with pepper and allspice. Simmer it close covered, and very slowly, for three or four hours. When quite tender, take off the tape, set the meat on a dish, and strain the gravy over it. Serve with currant-jelly sauce. This is the best way of dressing a shoulder of venison, unless it be very fat, and then it should be roasted. The bone should be stewed with it. SHREWSBURY CAKES. Sift one pound of sugar, some pounded cinnamon, and nutmeg grated, into three pounds of fine flour. Add a little rose water to three eggs well beaten, and mix with the flour; then pour into it as much melted butter as will make it a good thickness to roll out. Mould it well, roll it thin, and cut it into any shape you please. SHRIMP PIE. Pick a quart of shrimps; if they be very salt, season them only with mace and a clove or two. Mince two or three anchovies, mix them with the spice, and then season the shrimps. Put some butter at the bottom of the dish, and over the shrimps, with a glass of sharp white wine. The pie will not take long in baking, and the paste must be light and thin. SHRIMP SAUCE. If the shrimps be not ready picked pour over a little water to wash them. Put them to butter melted thick and smooth, give them one boil, and add the juice of a lemon. SHRUB. To a gallon of rum, put a quart of the juice of Seville oranges, and two pounds and a half of loaf sugar beaten fine, and then barrel it. Steep the rinds of half a dozen oranges in a little rum, the next day strain it into the vessel, and make it up ten gallons with water that has been boiled. Stir the liquor twice a day for a fortnight, or the shrub will be spoiled. SICK ROOMS. To purify sick rooms from noxious vapours, exhalations, and all kinds of infected air, put half an ounce of finely pulverized black oxide of manganese into a saucer, and pour upon it nearly an ounce of muriatic acid. Place the saucer on the floor of the infected apartment, leave it and shut the door, and the contagion will be completely destroyed. Muriatic acid with red oxide of lead will have a similar effect. Sulphur burnt for the same purpose, has the power of overcoming the effects of noxious vapours. Shallow vessels filled with lime water are of great use in absorbing carbonic acid gas, especially in workshops where charcoal is burnt. Newly prepared charcoal will absorb various kinds of noxious effluvia, and might be used with considerable advantage for the purification of privies, if small pieces of it are strewed upon the floor. Never venture into a sick room if you are in a violent perspiration (if circumstances require your continuance there for any time,) for the moment your body becomes cold, it is in a state likely to absorb the infection, and give you the disease. Nor visit a sick person, (especially if the complaint be of a contagious nature) with an empty stomach; as this disposes the system more readily to receive the contagion. In attending a sick person, place yourself where the air passes from the door or window to the bed of the diseased, not betwixt the diseased person and any fire that is in the room, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapour in that direction, and you would run much danger from breathing in it. SILK DYES. Silk is usually dyed red with cochineal, or carthamus, and sometimes with Brazil wood. Archil is employed to give silk a bloom, but it is seldom used by itself, unless when the colour wanted is lilac. Silk may be dyed crimson, by steeping it in a solution of alum, and then dyeing it in the usual way in a cochineal bath. Poppy colour, cherry, rose, and flesh colour, are given to silk by means of carthamus. The process consists merely in keeping the silk as long as it extracts any colour, in an alkaline solution of carthamus, into which as much lemon juice has been poured, as is sufficient to give it a fine cherry red colour. Silk cannot be dyed a full scarlet; but a colour approaching to scarlet may be given to it, by first impregnating the stuff with murio-sulphate of tin, and afterwards dyeing it in equal parts of cochineal and quercitron bark. SILK STOCKINGS. To clean silk stockings properly, it is necessary first to wash them in a lukewarm liquor of white soap, then to rinse them in clean water, and wash them again as before. They are to be washed a third time in a stronger soap liquor, made hot and tinged with blueing, and rinsed in clean water. Before they are quite dry, they are to be stoved with brimstone, and afterwards polished with glass upon a wooden leg. Gauzes are whitened in the same manner, only a little gum is put in the soap liquor before they are stoved. SILKS CLEANED. The best method of cleaning silks, woollens, and cottons, without damage to their texture and colour, is to grate some raw potatoes to a fine pulp in clean water, and pass the liquid matter through a coarse sieve into another vessel of water. Let the mixture stand till the fine white particles of the potatoes are precipitated; then pour off the liquor, and preserve it for use. The article to be cleaned should then be laid upon a linen cloth on a table; and having provided a clean sponge, dip it into the potatoe liquor, and apply it to the article to be cleaned, till the dirt is made to disappear; then wash it in clean water several times. Two middle-sized potatoes will be sufficient for a pint of water. The coarse pulp, which does not pass through the sieve, is of great use in cleaning worsted curtains, tapestry, carpets, and other coarse articles. The mucilaginous liquor will clean all sorts of silk, cotton or woollen goods, without hurting or spoiling the colour. It may also be used in cleaning oil paintings, or furniture that is soiled. Dirtied painted wainscots may be cleaned by wetting a sponge in the liquor, then dipping it in a little fine clean sand, and afterwards rubbing the wainscot with it. SILVERING. For silvering glass globes, and such kind of articles, one part of mercury, and four of tin, are generally used. But if two parts of mercury, one of tin, one of lead, and one of bismuth, are melted together, the compound which they form will answer the purpose better. Either of them must be made in an iron ladle, over a clear fire, and be frequently stirred. The glass to be silvered must be very clean and dry. The alloy is poured in at the top, and shaken till the whole internal surface is covered. SILVERING OF IVORY. Prepare a diluted solution of nitrate of silver, and immerse in it an ivory paper knife. When the ivory has become yellow, in that part where it is in contact with the fluid, take it out and immerse it in an ale glass containing distilled water, placed in a window. In a short time, by exposure to the rays of the sun, it will become intensely black. Take it out of the water, wipe it dry, and rub it with a piece of leather. The silver will now appear on the ivory in a metallic state, and the knife will retain its silvery coat for a long time. SILVERING ON SILK. Paint flowers or figures of any kind on a white silk ribbon, with a camel hair pencil, dipped in a solution of nitrate of silver. Immerse this whilst wet in a jar of sulphurous acid gas, by burning sulphur under a jar of atmospheric air. The penciling will then assume a beautiful metallic brilliance. SINAPISMS. The sinapism is a poultice made of vinegar instead of milk, and rendered warm and stimulating by the addition of mustard, horseradish, or garlic. The common sinapism is made of equal quantities of bread crumbs and mustard, a sufficient quantity of strong vinegar, and mixing all together into a poultice. When a sinapism is required to be more stimulating, a little bruised garlic may be added. Sinapisms are employed to recal the blood and spirits to a weak part, as in the case of palsy; they are also of service in deep-seated pains, as in the case of sciatica. When the gout seizes the head or stomach, they are applied to the feet to bring the disorder down, and are likewise applied to the soles of the feet in a low state of fever. They should not be suffered to lie on till they have raised blisters, but till the parts become red, and will continue so when pressed with the finger. SIPPETS. When the stomach is too weak to receive meat, put on a very hot plate two or three sippets of bread, and pour over them some beef, mutton, or veal gravy. Flavour with a little salt. SIMPLE WATERS. The most expeditious method of distilling waters is to tie a piece of muslin or gauze, over a glazed earthen pot, whose mouth is just large enough to receive the bottom of a warming pan; on this lay your herb, clipped, whether mint, lavender, or whatever else you please; then place upon them the hot warming-pan, with live coals in it, to cause heat just enough to prevent burning, by which means, as the steam issuing out of the herb cannot mount upwards, by reason of the bottom of the pan just fitting the brim of the vessel below it, it must necessarily descend, and collect into water at the bottom of the receiver, and that strongly impregnated with the essential oil and salt of the vegetable thus distilled; which, if you want to make spirituous, or compound water of, is easily done, by simply adding some good spirits, or French brandy to it, which will keep good for a long time, and be much better than if the spirits had passed through a still, which must of necessity waste some of their strength. Care should be taken not to let the fire be too strong, lest it scorch the plants; and to be made of charcoal, for continuance and better regulation, which must be managed by lifting up and laying down the lid, as you want to increase or decrease the degrees of heat. The cooler the season, the deeper the earthen pan; and the less fire at first (afterwards to be gradually raised) in the greater perfection will the distilled water be obtained.--As the more moveable, or volatile parts of vegetables, are the aqueous, the oily, the gummy, the resinous, and the saline, these are to be expected in the waters of this process; the heat here employed being so great as to burst the vessels of the plants, some of which contain so large a quantity of oil, that it may be seen swimming on the surface of the water.--Medical waters thus procured will afford us nearly all the native virtues of vegetables, and give us a mixture of their several principles, whence they in a manner come up to the expressed juice, or extract gained therefrom: and if brandy be at the same time added to these distilled waters, so strong of oil and salt, a compound, or spirituous water, may be likewise procured, at a cheap and easy rate.--Although a small quantity only of distilled water can be obtained at a time by this confined operation, yet it compensates in strength what is deficient in quantity. Such liquors, if well corked up from the air, will keep good a long time, especially if about a twentieth part of any spirits be added, in order to preserve the same more effectually. SIZE FROM POTATOES. One of the beneficial uses of potatoes, not perhaps generally known, is, that the starch of them, quite fresh, and washed only once, may be employed to make size, which, mixed with chalk, and diluted in a little water, forms a very beautiful and good white for ceilings. This size has no smell, while animal size, which putrefies so readily, always exhales a very disagreeable odour. That of potatoes, as it is very little subject to putrefaction, appears, from experience, to be more durable in tenacity and whiteness; and, for white-washing, should be preferred to animal size, the decomposition of which is always accompanied with unhealthy exhalations. SKATE. In the purchase of this article, observe that it be very white and thick. It requires to be hung up one day at least before it is dressed; if too fresh, it eats tough. Skate may either be boiled, or fried in crumbs, being first dipped in egg. Crimp skate should be boiled and sent up in a napkin, or it may be fried as above. SKATE SOUP. This is made of the stock fish for soup, with an ounce of vermicelli boiled in it, a little before it is served. Then add half a pint of cream, beaten with the yolks of two eggs. Stir it by the side of the fire, but not on it. Serve it up with a small French roll warmed in a Dutch oven, and then soaked an hour in the soup. SKIRRETS. Hamburgh parsley, scorzonera, and skirrets, are much esteemed for their roots, the only part which is eaten. They should be boiled like young carrots, and they will eat very well with meat, or alone, or in soups. The shoots of salsify in the spring, from the roots of a year old, gathered green and tender, will eat very nice, if boiled in the same manner as asparagus. SLATE, a well-known, neat, convenient, and durable material, for the covering of the roofs of buildings. There are great varieties of this substance; and it likewise differs very greatly in its qualities and colours. In some places it is found in thick laminæ, or flakes; while in others it is thin and light. The colours are white, brown, and blue. It is so durable, in some cases, as to have been known to continue sound and good for centuries. However, unless it should be brought from a quarry of well reputed goodness, it is necessary to try its properties, which may be done by striking the slate sharply against a large stone, and if it produce a complete sound, it is a mark of goodness; but if in hewing it does not shatter before the edge of the _sect_, or instrument commonly used for that purpose, the criterion is decisive. The goodness of slate may be farther estimated by its colour: the deep black hue is apt to imbibe moisture, but the lighter is always the least penetrable: the touch also may be in some degree a guide, for a good firm stone feels somewhat hard and rough, whereas an open slate feels very smooth, and as it were, greasy. And another method of trying the goodness of slate, is to place the slate-stone lengthwise and perpendicularly in a tub of water, about half a foot deep, care being taken that the upper or unimmersed part of the slate be not accidentally wetted by the hand, or otherwise; let it remain in this state twenty-four hours; if good and firm stone, it will not draw water more than half an inch above the surface of the water, and that perhaps at the edges only, those parts having been a little loosened in the hewing; but a spongy defective stone will draw water to the very top. There is still another mode, held to be infallible. First, weigh two or three of the most suspected slates, noting the weight; then immerge them in a vessel of water twelve hours; take them out, and wipe them as clean as possible with a linen cloth; and if they weigh more than at first, it denotes that quality of slate which imbibes water: a drachm is allowable in a dozen pounds, and no more. It may be noticed, that in laying of this material, a bushel and a half of lime, and three bushels of fresh-water sand, will be sufficient for a square of work; but if it be pin plastered, it will take above as much more: but good slate, well laid and plastered to the pin, will lie an hundred years; and on good timber a much longer time. It has been common to lay the slates dry, or on moss only, but they are much better when laid with plaster. When they are to be plastered to the pin, then about the first quantity of lime and sand will be sufficient for the purpose, when well mixed and blended together, by properly working them. Slates differ very much in thickness as well as colour, which suits them for different situations and purposes. A great deal of good slate of various kinds is raised in different parts of Wales, and much excellent blue and other coloured sorts is procured from the northern parts of Lancashire, and other neighbouring places, as well as from different other counties throughout the kingdom. In some parts the slate is distributed into three kinds, as the best, the middling, and the waste or common sort. SLEEP. 'Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep,' is indispensible to the continuance of health and life; and the night is appropriated for the recovery of that strength which is expended on the various exercises of the day. But sleep, as well as diet and exercise, ought to be duly regulated; for too little of it, as well as too much, is alike injurious. A medium ought therefore to be observed, though the real proportion cannot be ascertained by any given time, as one person will be more refreshed by five or six hours sleep, than another by eight or ten. Children may be allowed to take as much as they please; but for adults, six hours is generally sufficient, and no one ought to exceed eight. To make sleep refreshing, it is necessary to take sufficient exercise in the open air. Too much exertion will prevent sleep, as well as too little; yet we seldom hear the active and laborious complain of restless nights, for they generally enjoy the luxury of undisturbed repose. Refreshing sleep is often prevented by the use of strong tea, or heavy suppers; and the stomach being loaded, occasions frightful dreams, and broken and interrupted rest. It is also necessary to guard against anxiety and corroding grief: many by indulging these, have banished sleep so long that they could never afterwards enjoy it. Sleep taken in the forepart of the night is most refreshing, and nothing more effectually undermines and ruins the constitution than night watching. How quickly the want of rest in due season will destroy the most blooming complexion, or best state of health, may be seen in the ghastly countenances of those who turn the day into night, and the night into day. SLICED CUCUMBERS. Cut some cucumbers into thick slices, drain them in a cullender, and add some sliced onions. Use some strong vinegar, and pickle them in the same manner as gherkins and French beans. SLICES OF BEEF. To prepare red beef for slices, cut off a piece of thin flank, and remove the skin. Rub the beef well with a mixture made of two pounds of common salt, two ounces of bay salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and half a pound of moist sugar, pounded together in a marble mortar. Put it into an earthen pan, and turn and rub it daily for a week. Then take it out of the brine and wipe it, strew over it pounded mace, cloves, pepper, a little allspice, plenty of chopped parsley, and a few shalots. Roll it up, bind it round with tape, boil it quite tender, and press it. When cold cut it into slices, and garnish it with pickled barberries, fresh parsley, or any other approved article. SLICES OF COD. To boil slices of codfish, put plenty of salt into some spring water. Boil it up quick, and then put in the fish. Keep it boiling, and skim it very clean. It will be done sufficiently in eight or ten minutes. Some small pieces may be fried and served round it. Oyster, shrimp, or anchovy sauce, should be served with it. SLICES OF HAM. Bacon or ham may be fried, broiled on a gridiron over a clear fire, or toasted with a fork. The slices should be of the same thickness in every part. To have it curled, the slices should be cut about two inches long, then rolled up, and a little wooden skewer passed through them. Put them into a cheese toaster or Dutch oven, for eight or ten minutes, turning the slices as they crisp. This is considered the handsomest way of dressing rashers of bacon, but it is best uncurled, because it is crisper, and more equally done. Slices of ham or bacon should not be more than half a quarter of an inch thick, and will eat much more mellow if soaked in hot water for a quarter of an hour, and then dried in a cloth, before they are toasted. SLICES OF SALMON. When washed, wipe the salmon quite dry. Rub the slices over with a soft brush dipped in sweet oil, season with pepper and salt, fold them neatly in clean white paper, and broil them over a clear fire. SLIGHT WOUNDS. When fresh wounds bleed much, lint dipped in vinegar or spirits of turpentine, may be pressed upon the surface for a few minutes, and retained by a moderately tight bandage; but if the blood spirts out violently, it shows that an artery is wounded, and it must be held very firmly till a surgeon arrives. But when the blood seems to flow equally from every part of the wound, and there is no reason therefore to suppose that any considerable vessel is wounded, it may be permitted to bleed while the dressings are preparing. The edges of the wound are then to be gently pressed together, and retained by straps of sticking plaster. These may remain on for three or four days, unless the sore becomes painful, or the matter smells offensive, in which case the straps of plaster must be taken off, the parts washed clean with warm water, and fresh slips of plaster applied, nicely adjusted to keep the wound closed. The slips must be laid over the wound crossways, and reach several inches beyond each side of it, in order to hold the parts firmly together. By keeping the limb or part very still, abstaining from strong liquors, taking only light mild food, and keeping the bowels open, all simple wounds may easily be healed in this manner. But poultices, greasy salves, or filling the wound with lint, will have an opposite effect. Even ragged or torn wounds may be drawn together and healed by sticking plaster, without any other salves or medicines. A broken shin, or slight ruffling of the skin, may be covered with lint dipped in equal parts of vinegar and brandy, and left to stick on, unless the place inflames; and then weak goulard is the best remedy. Common cuts may be kept together by sticking plaster, or with only a piece of fine linen rag, or thread bound round them. The rag applied next to a cut or wound of any kind, should always be of white linen; but calico, or coloured rags, will do quite as well for outward bandages. Important wounds should always be committed to the care of a skilful surgeon. SLUGS. These reptiles do great damage in fields and gardens, especially to crops of lettuces, cabbages, or turnips. Their track is perceived by the shining and slimy substance which they leave behind them. There are several kinds of these little animals. The white and brown leathery kind often even destroy the strong stems of young cabbage, and other similar plants. The destruction of them has been suggested to be effected by the use of tar-water, sprinkled over the ground; and also by having recourse to lime, in the preparation of the land for such crops. They conceal themselves in the holes and crevices, only making their appearance early in mornings and late in the evenings. The white slug or snail is likewise very destructive to young turnip crops, by rising out of the holes of the soils, on wet and dewy mornings and evenings. Rolling the ground with a heavy implement, before the sun rises, has been advised as a means of destroying them in these cases. Slugs of this sort are likewise very destructive, in some districts, to the roots of corn crops, during the day-time, in the early spring months, while they lie concealed in the ground, by eating and devouring them; and by coming out in the evenings, and during the night-time, to commit ravages on the blades, and other parts above the ground. Numbers of them are sometimes met with upon the same plant, and they may easily be extirpated and removed from the land by the above practice, while they are at work, especially in moon-light seasons, and any further injury to the crops be guarded against. Warm moist weather is always a great encouragement to their coming out of their hiding-places; and advantage should constantly be taken of it for their extermination, as they suddenly retire under ground during the time of cold. The strong lands of other places are occasionally much infested with them in the pea, bean, and rye crops and stubbles, as well as clover roots, when a wheat crop is put in upon them. The slugs, in some cases, are of about half an inch in length, having their backs of a blueish cast in the skin part, and their under parts wholly of a white appearance. A mixture of sulphur and lime, made so as to be conveniently applied, has been found to be highly destructive of them in general.--The use of lime-water has lately been advised as an excellent and cheap mode of destroying slugs in gardens, as well as fields, in the second volume of the Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. It is found to be far preferable, in this intention, to quicklime, which is liable to become too soon saturated with moisture, and rendered ineffectual. The manner of employing the water is after it has been newly made from stone lime, by means of hot water poured upon it, to pour it through the fine rose of a watering-pot over the slugs, which have been collected by means of pea-haulm, or some other similar substance, laid down on the ground in portions, at the distance of about a pole from each other. In proper weather, the slugs soon collect in this way, in great numbers, for shelter as well as to get food. When a boy takes up the substance, and by a gentle shake leaves the whole of the slugs on the ground, another person then pours a small quantity of lime-water on them, and the boy removes the haulmy material to some intermediate place, in order that the same practice may be repeated. By persevering in this method for a little while, the whole of the slugs may be destroyed, as the least drop of the water speedily kills them. This practice, it is supposed, will be found highly beneficial in the flower-garden, as by watering the edgings of box, thrift, or other kinds, the slugs will be killed with certainty, even when the weather is moist. The application is considered simple, the effect certain, and the expence trifling, whether in the garden or the field; a few pots only being required, in the latter case, to the acre, which can be made with a very small quantity of lime. And the labour is not of any material consequence, so that the whole charge will not, it is imagined, exceed five shillings the acre.--To prevent slugs from getting into fruit trees. If the trees are standards, tie a coarse horse-hair rope about them, two or three feet from the ground. If they are against the wall, nail a narrow slip of coarse horse-hair cloth against the wall, about half a foot from the ground, and they will never get over it, for if they attempt it, it will kill them, as their bellies are soft, and the horse-hair will wound them. SMALL COAL. There is generally a great waste in the article of coal, owing to the quantity of dust found amongst it; but this if wetted makes the strongest fire for the back of the grate, where it should remain untouched till it is formed into a cake. Cinders lightly wetted give a great degree of heat, and are better than coal for furnaces, ironing stoves, and ovens. They should be carefully preserved and sifted in a covered tin bucket, which prevents the dispersion of the dust. SMALL POX. Previous to the appearance of the eruption, the patient should be kept in a cool dry apartment, and abstain from all animal food, cheese, and pastry. The diet should consist of cooling vegetables, ripe fruit, pearl barley, and sago. The drink may be barley water, with a few drops of vinegar or cream of tartar, or lukewarm milk and water; but neither beer nor wine must be allowed. In case of an obstruction of the bowels, mild laxatives or clysters may be given; and if the throat be affected, it should be gargled with vinegar and water. Warm fomentations should be applied to the neck, and mustard poultices to the feet. After the eruption has made its appearance, the recovery of the patient may be chiefly entrusted to nature, while proper attention is paid to diet and regimen. But if the pustules begin to disappear, blisters ought to be immediately applied to the calves of the legs, and parsley-root boiled in milk should frequently be eaten, in order to encourage the eruption. When the pustules suddenly sink in, it denotes danger, and medical assistance should speedily be procured. In case of inoculation, which introduces the disease in a milder form, and has been the means of saving the lives of many thousands, a similar mode of treatment is required. For about a week or ten days previous to inoculation, the patient should adhere to a regular diet; avoiding all animal food, seasoned dishes, wine and spirits, and should live sparingly on fruit pies, puddings, and vegetables. The same regimen must be observed as in the former instance, during the progress of the disease, and then, but little medicine will be required. SMALL RICE PUDDINGS. Wash two large spoonfuls of rice, and simmer it with half a pint of milk till it is thick. Put in a piece of butter the size of an egg, and nearly half a pint of thick cream, and give it one boil. When cold, mix four yolks and two whites of eggs well beaten, sugar and nutmeg to taste. Add grated lemon, and a little cinnamon. Butter some small cups, and fill them three parts full, putting at bottom some orange or citron. Bake them three quarters of an hour in a slowish oven. Serve them up the moment they are to be eaten, with sweet sauce in the dish, or in a boat. SMELL OF PAINT. When a room is newly painted, place three or four tubs full of water near the wainscot, and renew the water daily. In two or three days it will absorb all the offensive effluvia arising from the paint, and render the room wholesome. The smell of paint may also be prevented, by dissolving some frankincense in spirits of turpentine over a slow fire, and mixing it with the paint before it be laid on. SMELLING BOTTLE. Reduce to powder an equal quantity of sal-ammoniac and quicklime separately, put two or three drops of the essence of bergamot into a small bottle, then add the other ingredients, and cork it close. A drop or two of æther will improve it. SMELTS. This delicate fish is caught in the Thames, and some other large rivers. When good and in season, they have a fine silvery hue, are very firm, and have a refreshing smell like cucumbers newly cut. They should not be washed more than is necessary merely to clean them. Dry them in a cloth, lightly flour them, and shake it off. Dip them in plenty of eggs, then into bread crumbs grated fine, and plunge them into a good pan of boiling lard. Let them continue gently boiling, and a few minutes will make them a bright yellow-brown. Take care not to take off the light roughness of the crumbs, or their beauty will be lost. SMOKED HERRINGS. Clean and lay them in salt one night, with saltpetre; then hang them on a stick, through the eyes, in a row. Have ready an old cask, in which put some saw-dust, and in the midst of it a heater red-hot. Fix the stick over the smoke, and let them remain twenty-four hours. SMOKY CHIMNIES. The plague of a smoking chimney is proverbial, and has engaged considerable attention from observers of various descriptions. Smoky chimnies in a new house, are such, frequently, for want of air. The workmanship of the rooms being all good and just out of the workman's hands, the joints of the flooring and of the pannels of the wainscoting are all true and tight; the more so as the walls, perhaps not yet thoroughly dry, preserve a dampness in the air of the room which keeps the woodwork swelled and close: the doors and the sashes too being worked with truth, shut with exactness, so that the room is perfectly tight, no passage being left open for the air to enter except the key-hole, and even that is frequently closed by a little dropping shutter. In this case it is evident that there can be no regular current through the flue of the chimney, as any air escaping from its aperture would cause an exhaustion in the air of the room similar to that in the receiver of an air-pump, and therefore an equal quantity of air would rush down the flue to restore the equilibrium; accordingly the smoke, if it ever ascended to the top, would be beat down again into the room. Those, therefore, who stop every crevice in a room to prevent the admission of fresh air, and yet would have their chimney carry up the smoke, require inconsistencies and expect impossibilities. The obvious remedy in this case is, to admit more air, and the question will be how and where this necessary quantity of air from without is to be admitted, so as to produce the least inconvenience; for if the door or window be left so much open, it causes a cold draft of air to the fire-place, to the great discomfort of those who sit there. Various have been the contrivances to avoid this, such as bringing in fresh air through pipes in the jambs of the chimney, which, pointing upwards, should blow the smoke up the funnel; opening passages in the funnel above to let in air for the same purpose; but these produce an effect contrary to that intended, for as it is the constant current of air passing from the room through the opening of the chimney into the flue, which prevents the smoke coming out into the room, if the funnel is supplied by other means with the air it wants, and especially if that air be cold, the force of that current is diminished, and the smoke in its efforts to enter the room finds less resistance. The wanted air must then indispensably be admitted into the room to supply what goes off through the opening of the chimney, and it is advisable to make the aperture for this purpose as near the ceiling as possible, because the heated air will naturally ascend and occupy the highest part of the room, thus causing a great difference of climate at different heights, a defect which will be in some measure obviated by the admission of cold air near the ceiling, which descending, will beat down and mingle the air more effectually. Another cause of smoky chimnies is too short a funnel, as, in this case, the ascending current will not always have sufficient power to direct the smoke up the flue. This defect is frequently found in low buildings, or the upper stories of high ones, and is unavoidable, for if the flue be raised high above the roof to strengthen its draft, it is then in danger of being blown down and crushing the roof in its fall. The remedy in this case is to contract the opening of the chimney so as to oblige all the entering air to pass through or very near the fire, by which means it will be considerably heated, and by its great rarefaction, cause a powerful draft, and compensate for the shortness of its column. The case of too short a funnel is more general than would be imagined, and often found where one would not expect it; for it is not uncommon in ill-contrived buildings, instead of having a separate funnel for each fire-place, to bend and turn the funnel of an upper room so as to make it enter the side of another flue that comes from below. By this means the funnel of the upper room is made short, of course, since its length can only be reckoned from the place where it enters the lower funnel, and that flue is also shortened by all the distance between the entrance of the second funnel and the top of the stack; for all that part being readily supplied with air through the second flue, adds no strength to the draft, especially as that air is cold when there is no fire in the second chimney. The only easy remedy here, is to keep the opening shut of that flue in which there is no fire. Another very common cause of the smoking of chimnies is, their overpowering one another. For instance, if there be two chimnies in one large room, and you make fires in both of them, you will find that the greater and stronger fire shall overpower the weaker, and draw air down its funnel to supply its own demand, which air descending in the weaker funnel will drive down its smoke, and force it into the room. If, instead of being in one room, the two chimnies are in two different rooms communicating by a door, the case is the same whenever that door is open. The remedy is, to take care that every room have the means of supplying itself from without, with the air its chimney may require, so that no one of them may be obliged to borrow from another, nor under the necessity of lending. Another cause of smoking is, when the tops of chimnies are commanded by higher buildings, or by a hill, so that the wind blowing over such eminences falls like water over a dam, sometimes almost perpendicularly on the tops of the chimnies that lie in its way, and beats down the smoke contained in them. The remedy commonly applied in this case is, a turn-cap, made of tin or plate-iron, covering the chimney above, and on three sides, open on one side, turning on a spindle, and which being guided or governed by a vane, always presents its back to the wind. This method will generally be found effectual, but if not, raising the flues, where practicable, so as their tops may be on a level with or higher than the commanding eminence, is more to be depended on. There is another case of command, the reverse of that last mentioned; it is where the commanding eminence is farther from the wind than the chimney commanded. For instance, suppose the chimney of a building to be so situated as that its top is below the level of the ridge of the roof, which, when the wind blows against it, forms a kind of dam against its progress. In this case, the wind being obstructed by this dam, will, like water, press and search for passages through it, and finding the top of the chimney below the top of the dam, it will force itself down that funnel in order to get through by some door or window open on the other side of the building, and if there be a fire in such chimney, its smoke is of course beat down and fills the room. The only remedy for this inconvenience is, to raise the funnel higher than the roof, supporting it, if necessary, by iron bars; for a turn-cap in this case has no effect, the dammed up air pressing down through it in whatever position the wind may have placed its opening. Chimnies otherwise drawing well are sometimes made to smoke by the improper and inconvenient situation of a door. When the door and chimney are placed on the same side of a room, if the door is made to open from the chimney, it follows, that when only partly opened, a current of air is admitted and directed across the opening of the chimney, which is apt to draw out some of the smoke. Chimnies which generally draw well, do, nevertheless, sometimes give smoke into the room, it being driven down by strong winds passing over the tops of their flues, though not descending from any commanding eminence. To understand this, it may be considered that the rising light air, to obtain a free issue from the funnel, must push out of its way, or oblige the air that is over it to rise. In a time of calm, or of little wind, this is done visibly; for we see the smoke that is brought up by that air rise in a column above the chimney. But when a violent current of wind passes over the top of a chimney, its particles have received so much force, which keeps them in a horizontal direction, and follow each other so rapidly, that the rising light air has not strength sufficient to oblige them to quit that direction, and move upwards to permit its issue. Add to this, that some of the air may impinge on that part of the inside of the funnel which is opposed to its progress, and be thence reflected downwards from side to side, driving the smoke before it into the room. The simplest and best remedy in this case is the application of a chimney-pot, which is a hollow truncated cone of earthenware placed upon the top of the flue. The intention of this contrivance is, that the wind and eddies which strike against the oblique surface of these covers may be reflected upwards instead of blowing down the chimney. The bad construction of _fire-places_ is another cause of smoking chimneys; and this case will lead us to the consideration of the methods of increasing the heat and diminishing the consumption of fuel; for it will be found that the improvements necessary to produce the last-mentioned end will also have a general tendency to cure smoky chimnies. On this subject the meritorious labours of Count Rumford are conspicuous, and we shall proceed to give an abridged account of his method. In investigating the best form of a fire-place, it will be necessary to consider, first, what are the objects which ought principally to be had in view in the construction of a fire-place; and, secondly, to consider how these objects can best be attained. Now the design of a chimney-fire being simply to warm a room, it is essential to contrive so that this end shall be actually attained, and with the least possible expence of fuel, and also that the air of the room be preserved perfectly pure and fit for respiration, and free from smoke and all disagreeable smells. To cause as many as possible of the rays, as they are sent off from the fire in straight lines, to come directly into the room, it will be necessary, in the first place, to bring the fire as far forward, and to leave the opening of the fire-place as wide and high as can be done without inconvenience; and secondly, to make the sides and back of the fire-place of such form, and of such materials, as to cause the direct rays from the fire which strike against them, to be sent into the room by reflection in the greatest abundance. Now, it will be found, upon examination, that the best form for the vertical sides of a fire-place, or the _covings_, as they are called, is that of an upright plane, making an angle with the plane of the back of the fire-place of about 135 degrees. According to the old construction of chimnies, this angle is 90 degrees, or forms a right angle; but, as in this case the two covings are parallel to each other, it is evident that they are very ill contrived for throwing into the room, by reflection, the rays from the fire which fall on them. The next improvement will be to reduce the throat of the chimney, the immoderate size of which is a most essential fault in their construction; for, however good the formation of a fire-place may be in other respects, if the opening left for the passage of the smoke is larger than is necessary for that purpose, nothing can prevent the warm air of the room from escaping through it; and whenever this happens, there is not only an unnecessary loss of heat, but the warm air, which leaves the room to go up the chimney, being replaced by cold air from without, produces those drafts of air so often complained of. But though these evils may be remedied, by reducing the throat of the chimney to a proper size, yet, in doing this, several considerations will be necessary to determine its proper situation. As the smoke and hot vapour which rise from a fire naturally tend upwards, it is evident that it will be proper to place the throat of the chimney perpendicularly over the fire; but to ascertain its most advantageous distance, or how far above the burning fuel it ought to be placed, is not so easy, and requires several advantages and disadvantages to be balanced. As the smoke and vapour rise in consequence of their being rarefied by heat, and made lighter than the air of the surrounding atmosphere, and as the degree of their rarefraction is in proportion to the intensity of their heat, and as this heat is greater near the fire than at a distance from it, it is clear, that the nearer the throat of a chimney is to the fire, the stronger will be what is commonly called its draught, and the less danger there will be of its smoking, or of dust coming into the room when the fire is stirred. But, on the other hand, when a very strong draught is occasioned by the throat of the chimney being very near the fire, it may happen that the influx of air into the fire may become so strong as to cause the fuel to be consumed too rapidly. This however will very seldom be found to be the case, for the throats of chimnies are in general too high. In regard to the materials which it will be most advantageous to employ in the construction of fire-places, little difficulty will attend the determination of that point. As the object in view is to bring radiant heat into the room, it is clear that that material is best for the construction of a fire-place which reflects the most, or which absorbs the least of it, for that heat which is absorbed cannot be reflected. Now, as bodies which absorb radiant heat are necessarily heated in consequence of that absorption; to discover which of the various materials that can be employed for constructing fire-places are best adapted for that purpose, we have only to find, by an experiment very easy to be made, what bodies acquire least heat, when exposed to the direct rays of a clear fire; for those which are least heated evidently absorb the least, and consequently reflect the most radiant heat. And hence it appears that iron, and in general metals of all kinds, which are well known to grow very hot when exposed to the rays projected by burning fuel, are to be reckoned among the very worst materials that it is possible to employ in the construction of fire-places. Perhaps the best materials are fire-stone and common bricks and mortar. These substances are fortunately very cheap, and it is not easy to say to which of the two the preference ought to be given. When bricks are used, they should be covered with a thin coating of plaster, which, when perfectly dry, should be white-washed. The fire-stone should likewise be white-washed, when that is used; and every part of the fire-place which does not come into actual contact with the burning fuel should be kept as white and clean as possible. The bringing forward of the fire into the room, or rather bringing it nearer to the front of the opening of the fire-place, and the diminishing of the throat of the chimney, being two objects principally had in view in the alterations of fire-places recommended, it is evident that both these may be attained merely by bringing forward the back of the chimney. It will then remain to be determined how far the back should be brought forward. This point will be limited by the necessity of leaving a proper passage for the smoke. Now, as this passage, which in its narrowest part is called the throat of the chimney, ought, for reasons before stated, to be immediately or perpendicularly over the fire, it is evident that the back of the chimney should be built perfectly upright. To determine therefore the place of the new back, nothing more is necessary than to ascertain how wide the throat of the chimney ought to be left. This width is determined by Count Rumford from numerous experiments, and comparing all circumstances, to be four inches. Therefore, supposing the breast of the chimney, or the wall above the mantle, to be nine inches thick, allowing four inches for the width of the throat, this will give thirteen inches for the depth of the fire-place. The next consideration will be the width which it will be proper to give to the back. This, in fire-places of the old construction, is the same with the width of the opening in front; but this construction is faulty, on two accounts; first, because the covings being parallel to each other, are ill contrived to throw out into the room the heat they receive from the fire in the form of rays; and, secondly, the large open corners occasion eddies of wind which frequently disturb the fire and embarrass the smoke in its ascent, in such a manner as to bring it into the room. Both these defects may be entirely remedied, by diminishing the width of the back of the fire-place. The width which in most cases it will be best to give it, is one-third of the width of the opening of the fire-place in front. But it is not absolutely necessary to conform rigorously to this decision, nor will it always be possible. Where a chimney is designed for warming a room of moderate size, the depth of the fire-place being determined by the thickness of the breast to thirteen inches, the same dimensions would be a good size for the width of the back, and three times thirteen inches, or three feet three inches, for the width of the opening in front, and the angles made by the back of the fire-place, and the sides of it, or covings, would be just 135 degrees, which is the best position they can have for throwing heat into the room. In determining the width of this opening in front, the chimney is supposed to be perfectly good, and well situated. If there is any reason to apprehend its ever smoking, it will be necessary to reduce the opening in front, placing the covings at a less angle than 135 degrees, and especially to diminish the height of the opening by lowering the mantle. If from any consideration, such as the wish to accommodate the fire-place to a grate or stove already on hand, it should be wished to make the back wider than the dimension recommended, as for instance, sixteen inches; it will be advisable not to exceed the width of three feet three inches for the opening in front, as in a very wide and shallow fire-place, any sudden motion of the air in front would be apt to bring out puffs of smoke into the room. The throat of the chimney being reduced to four inches, it will be necessary to make a provision for the passage of a chimney sweeper. This is to be done in the following manner. In building up the new back of the fire-place, when this wall is brought up so high that there remains no more than about ten or eleven inches between what is then the top of it and the underside of the mantle, an opening or door-way, eleven or twelve inches wide, must be begun in the middle of the back, and continued quite to the top of it, which according to the height that it will commonly be necessary to carry up the back, will make the opening twelve or fourteen inches high, which will be quite sufficient for the purpose. When the fire-place is finished, this door-way is to be closed by a few bricks laid without mortar, or a tile or piece of stone confined in its place by means of a rebate made for that purpose in the brick-work. As often as the chimney is swept, the chimney sweeper removes this temporary wall or stone, which is very easily done, and when he has finished his work, he again puts it in its place. The new back and covings may be built either of brick-work or of stone, and the space between them and the old back and covings, ought to be filled up to give greater solidity to the structure. This may be done with loose rubbish or pieces of broken bricks or stones, provided the work be strengthened by a few layers or courses of bricks laid in mortar; but it will be indispensably necessary to finish the work where these new walls end, that is to say, at the top of the throat of the chimney, where it ends abruptly in the open canal or flue, by a horizontal course of bricks well secured with mortar. It is of much importance that they should terminate in this manner; for were they to be sloped outward and raised in such a manner as to swell out the upper extremity of the throat of the chimney in the form of a trumpet, and increase it by degrees to the size of the flue of the chimney, this construction would tend to assist the winds which may attempt to blow down the chimney, in forcing their way through the throat, and throwing the smoke backward into the room. The internal form of the breast of the chimney is also a matter of great importance, and which ought to be particularly attended to. The worst form it can have is that of a vertical plane or upright flat, and next to this the worst form is an inclined plane. Both these forms cause the current of warm air from the room which will, in spite of every precaution, sometimes find its way into the chimney, to cross upon the current of smoke which rises from the fire in a manner most likely to embarrass it in its ascent and drive it back. The current of air which, passing under the mantle, gets into the chimney, should be made gradually to bend its course upwards, by which means it will unite quietly with the ascending current of smoke, and will be less likely to check and impede its progress. This is to be effected by rounding off the inside of the breast of the chimney, which may be done by a thick coating of plaster. When the breast or wall of the chimney in front is very thin, it may happen, that the depth of the fire-place determined according to the preceding rules may be too small. Thus supposing the breast to be only four inches thick, which is sometimes the case, particularly in rooms situated near the top of a house, taking four inches for the width of the throat, will give only eight inches for the depth of the fire-place. In this case, it would be proper to increase the depth of the fire-place at the hearth to twelve or thirteen inches, and to build up the back perpendicularly to the height of the top of the grate, and then sloping the back by a gentle inclination forward, bring it to its proper place directly under the back part of the throat of the chimney. This slope, though it ought not to be too abrupt, yet should be quite finished at the height of eight or ten inches above the fire, otherwise it may perhaps cause the chimney to smoke; but when it is very near the fire, its heat will enable the current of rising smoke to overcome the obstacle which this slope will oppose to its ascent, which it could not so easily do, were the slope situated at a greater distance from the burning fuel. There is one important circumstance respecting chimney fire-places designed for burning coals which remains to be examined, and that is the grate. Although there are few grates that may not be used in chimnies, altered or constructed on the principles recommended by Count Rumford, yet they are not by any means all equally well adapted for that purpose. Those whose construction is most simple, and which of course are the cheapest, are beyond comparison the best on all accounts. Nothing being wanted but merely a grate to contain the coals, and all additional apparatus being not only useless but pernicious; all complicated and expensive grates should be laid aside, and such as are more simple substituted in their room. The proper width for grates in rooms of a middling size, will be from six to eight inches, and their length may be diminished more or less according to the difficulty of heating the room, or the severity of the weather. But where the width of a grate is not more than five inches, it will be very difficult to prevent the fire from going out. It has been before observed that the use of metals is as much as possible to be avoided in the construction of fire-places, it will therefore be proper always to line the back and sides of a grate with fire stone, which will cause the fire to burn better and give more heat into the room. SNAILS. These are a species of slugs covered with shell, and which are very destructive to wall fruit. To prevent their ascending the standard trees, tie a coarse horse-hair rope about them, two or three feet from the ground; and to secure the wall trees, nail a narrow slip of horse-hair cloth against the wall, about half an inch from the ground, underneath the branches of the tree. In the winter time the snails may be found in the holes of walls, under thorns, behind old trees or close hedges, and might be taken and destroyed. When they attack vegetables, a few sliced turnips laid on the borders will attract them in the evening, when they may easily be gathered up. Lime and ashes strewed on the ground, will also prevent their depredations. SNIPES. These birds will keep several days, and should be roasted without drawing, and then served on toast. Butter only should be eaten with them, as gravy takes off from the fine flavour. The thigh and back are most esteemed. SNIPES IN RAGOUT. Slit them down the backs, but do not take out the insides; toss them up with a little melted bacon fat, seasoned with pepper and salt, and a little mushroom ketchup; when they are enough, squeeze in a little juice of lemon, and serve them up. SNIPES IN SURTOUT. Half roast your snipes, and save the trail; then make a forcemeat with veal, and as much beef suet chopped, and beat in a mortar; add an equal quantity of bread crumbs: season it with beaten mace, pepper, salt, parsley, and sweet herbs shred fine; mix all together, and moisten it with the yolks of eggs: lay a rim of this forcemeat round the dish, then put in your snipes. Take strong gravy, according to your dish, with morels and truffles, a few mushrooms, a sweetbread cut in pieces, and an artichoke bottom cut small: let all stew together, then beat up the yolks of two or three eggs with a little white wine; pour this into your gravy, and keep it stirring till it is of a proper thickness, then let it stand to cool; work up the remainder of your forcemeat, and roll it out as you do paste; pour your sauce over the birds, and lay on your forcemeat; close the edges, and wash it over with the yolks of eggs, and strew bread crumbs over that; send it to the oven about half an hour, and then to table as hot as you can. SNOW BALLS. Swell some rice in milk, and strain it off. Having pared and cored some apples, put the rice round them, and tie up each in a cloth. Add to each a bit of lemon peel, a clove, or cinnamon, and boil them well. SNOW CREAM. Put to a quart of cream the whites of three eggs well beaten, four spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to sweeten, and a bit of lemon peel. Whip it to a froth, remove the peel, and serve the cream in a dish. SOLDERING. Put into a crucible two ounces of lead, and when it is melted, throw in an ounce of tin. This alloy is that generally known by the name of solder. When heated by a hot iron, and applied to tinned iron, with powdered rosin, it acts as a cement or solder. It is also used to join leaden pipes, and other articles. SOLES. A fine thick sole is almost as good eating as turbot, and may be boiled in the same way. Wash the fish and clean it nicely, put it into a fish-kettle with a handful of salt, and as much cold water as will cover it. Set it on the side of the fire, take off the scum as it rises, and let it boil gently about five minutes, or longer if it be very large. Send it up on a fish-drainer, garnished with slices of lemon and sprigs of curled parsley, or nicely fried smelts, or oysters. Slices of lemon for garnish are universally approved, either with fried or boiled fish. Parsley and butter, or fennel and butter, make an excellent sauce; chervil sauce, or anchovies, are also approved. Boiled soles are very good warmed up like eels, or covered with white wine sauce. When soles are very large, the best way is to take off the fillets, trim them neatly, and press them dry in a soft cloth. Egg them over, strew on fine bread crumbs, and fry them. Or skin and wash a pair of large soles very clean, dry them in a cloth, wash them with the yolk of an egg on both sides, and strew over them a little flour, and a few bread crumbs; fry them of a fine gold colour, in Florence oil, enough to cover them; when done, drain them, and lay them into an earthen dish that will hold them at length, and set them by to cool; then make the marinate with a pint of the best vinegar, half a pint of sherry, some salt, pepper, nutmeg, two cloves, and a blade of mace; boil all together for about ten minutes, then pour it over the fish hot, the next day they will be fit for use. When you dish them up, put some of the liquor over them; garnish the dish with fennel, sliced lemon, barberries, and horseradish. If you have any fried fish cold, you may put it into this marinate.--To fricassee soles white. Clean your soles very well, bone them nicely, and if large, cut them in eight pieces, if small, only in four; take off the heads; put the heads and bones, an anchovy, a faggot of sweet herbs, a blade or two of mace, some whole pepper, salt, an onion, and a crust of bread, all into a clean saucepan, with a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till a third is wasted; strain it through a fine sieve into a stew-pan; put in your soles with a gill of white wine, a little parsley chopped fine, a few mushrooms cut in two, a piece of butter rolled in flour, enough to thicken your sauce; set it over your stove, shake your pan frequently, till they are enough, and of a good thickness; take the scum off very clean, dish them up, and garnish with lemon and barberries.--Another way. Strip off the black skin of the fish, but not the white; then take out the bones, and cut the flesh into slices about two inches long; dip the slices in the yolks of eggs, and strew over them raspings of bread; then fry them in clarified butter, and when they are fried enough, take them out on a plate, and set them by the fire till you have made the following sauce. Take the bones of the fish, boil them up with water, and put in some anchovy and sweet herbs, such as thyme and parsley, and add a little pepper, cloves and mace. When these have boiled together some time, take the butter in which the fish was fried, put it into a pan over the fire, shake flour into it, and keep it stirring while the flour is shaking in; then strain the liquor into it, in which the fish bones, herbs, and spice were boiled, and boil it together, till it is very thick, adding lemon juice to your taste. Put your fish into a dish, and pour the sauce over it; serve it up, garnished with slices of lemon and fried parsley. This dish may take place on any part of the table, either in the first or second course.--Another way. Take a pair of large soles, skin and clean them well, pour a little vinegar, and strew some salt over them; let them lay in this till they are to be used. When you want to boil them, take a clean stew-pan, put in a pint of white wine, and a little water, a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with three or four cloves, a blade of mace, a little whole pepper, and a little salt. When your soles are enough, take them up, and lay them into a dish, strain off the liquor, put it into the stew-pan, with a good piece of butter rolled in flour, and half a pint of white shrimps clean picked; toss all up together, till it is of a proper thickness; take care to skim it very clean, pour it over the fish. Garnish the dish with scraped horseradish, and sliced lemon; or you may send them to table plain, and for sauce, chop the meat of a lobster, bruise the body very smooth with a spoon, mix it with your liquor, and send it to table in a boat or bason. This is much the best way to dress a small turbot. SOLE PIE. Split some soles from the bone, and cut the fins close. Season with a mixture of salt, pepper, a little nutmeg and pounded mace, and put them in layers, with oysters. A pair of middling-sized soles will be sufficient, and half a hundred oysters. Put in the dish the oyster liquor, two or three spoonfuls of broth, and some butter. When the pie comes from the oven, pour in a cupful of thick cream, and it will eat excellently.--Another way. Clean and bone a pair of large soles; boil about two pounds of eels tender; take off all the meat, put the bones into the water they were boiled in, with the bones of the soles, a blade of mace, whole pepper, and a little salt; let this boil till you have about half a pint of strong broth. Take the flesh off the eels, and chop it very fine, with a little lemon peel, an anchovy, parsley, and bread crumbs: season with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and beaten mace; melt a quarter of a pound of butter, and work all up to a paste. Sheet the dish with a good puff-paste; lay the forcemeat on the paste, and then lay in the soles; strain off the broth, scum it clean, pour over the fish a sufficient quantity, and lay on the lid. When it comes from the oven, if you have any of the broth left, you may warm it, and pour it into the pie. SOLID SYLLABUBS. Mix a quart of thick raw cream, one pound of refined sugar, a pint and a half of fine raisin wine, in a deep pan; and add the grated peel and the juice of three lemons. Beat or whisk it one way, half an hour; then put it on a sieve, with a piece of thin muslin laid smooth in the shallow end, till the next day. Put it in glasses: it will keep good in a cool place ten days. SOMERSETSHIRE SYLLABUB. Put into a large china bowl a pint of port, a pint of sherry, or other white wine, and sugar to taste. Milk the bowl full. In twenty minutes' time, cover it pretty high with clouted cream. Grate nutmeg over it, add pounded cinnamon, and nonpareil comfits. SORE BREASTS. Sore breasts in females, during the time of suckling, are often occasioned by the improper practice of drawing the breasts, which is both painful and dangerous. If they get too full and hard before the infant can be applied, it is better to let them remain a few hours in that state, than to use any unnatural means, or else to present the breast to a child that is a few months old. It is the application of too great force in drawing them, placing a child to suck at improper times, the use of stimulating liquors and heated rooms, which frequently occasion milk fevers and abscesses in the breast. The nipple is sometimes so sore, that the mother is sometimes obliged to refuse the breast, and a stagnation takes place, which is accompanied with ulcerations and fever. To prevent these dangerous affections, the young mother should carefully protrude the nipple between her fingers to make it more prominent, and cover it with a hollow nutmeg several weeks previous to her delivery. But if the parts be already in a diseased state, it will be proper to bathe them with lime water, or diluted port wine. After this the breast should be dressed with a little spermaceti ointment, or a composition of white wax and olive oil, which is mild and gentle. If this do not answer the purpose, take four ounces of diachylon, two ounces of olive oil, and one ounce of vinegar. Boil them together over a gentle fire, keep stirring them till reduced to an ointment, and apply a little of it to the nipple on a fine linen rag. If accompanied with fever, take the bark in electuary three or four times a day, the size of a nutmeg, and persevere in it two or three weeks if necessary. SORE EYES. Pound together in a mortar, an ounce of bole-ammoniac, and a quarter of an ounce of white copperas. Shred fine an ounce of camphor, and mix the ingredients well together. Pour on them a quart of boiling water, stir the mixture till it is cold, and apply a drop or two to the eye, to remove humours or inflammation. A cooling eye-water may be made of a dram of lapis calaminaris finely powdered, mixed with half a pint of white wine, and the same of plantain water. SORE THROAT. An easy remedy for this disorder is to dip a piece of broad black ribband into hartshorn, and wear it round the throat two or three days. If this be not sufficient, make a gargle in the following manner. Boil a little green sage in water, strain it, and mix it with vinegar and honey. Or pour a pint of boiling verjuice on a handful of rosemary tops in a basin, put a tin funnel over it with the pipe upwards, and let the fume go to the throat as hot as it can be borne. A common drink for a sore throat may be made of two ounces of Turkey figs, the same quantity of sun raisins cut small, and two ounces of pearl barley, boiled in three pints of water till reduced to a quart. Boil it gently, then strain it, and take it warm. Sometimes a handful of salt heated in an earthen pan, then put into a flannel bag, and applied as hot as possible round the throat, will answer the purpose. A fumigation for a sore throat may be made in the following manner. Boil together a pint of vinegar, and an ounce of myrrh, for half an hour, and pour the liquor into a basin. Place over it the large part of a funnel that fits the basin, and let the patient inhale the vapour by putting the pipe of the funnel into his mouth. The fumigation must be applied as hot as possible, and renewed every quarter of an hour, till the patient is relieved. For an inflammation or putrid sore throat, or a quinsey, this will be found of singular use if persisted in. SORREL SAUCE. Wash and clean a quantity of sorrel, put it into a stewpan that will just hold it, with a piece of butter, and cover it close. Set it over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour, pass the sorrel with the back of a wooden spoon through a hair sieve, season it with pepper and salt, and a dust of powdered sugar. Make it hot, and serve it up under lamb, veal, or sweetbreads. Cayenne, nutmeg, and lemon juice, are sometimes added. SORREL SOUP. Make a good gravy with part of a knuckle of veal, and the scrag end of a neck or a chump end of a loin of mutton. Season it with a bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, and salt, and two or three cloves. When the meat is quite stewed down, strain it off, and let it stand till cold. Clear it well from the fat, put it into a stewpan with a young fowl nicely trussed, and set it over a slow fire. Wash three or four large handfuls of sorrel, chop it a little, fry it in butter, put it into the soup, and let the whole stew till the fowl is well done. Skim it very clean, and serve it up with the fowl in the soup. SOUPS. It has generally been considered as good economy to use the cheapest and most inferior kind of meat for broths and soups, and to boil it down till it is entirely destroyed, and hardly worth giving to the pigs. But this is a false frugality; and it is far better to buy good pieces of meat, and only stew them till they are tender enough to be eaten. Lean juicy beef, mutton, or veal, form the basis of good broth; and it is therefore advisable to procure those pieces which afford the richest succulence, and such as is fresh slain. Stale meat will make the broth grouty and bad tasted, and fat is not so well adapted to the purpose. The following herbs, roots, and seasonings, are proper for making and giving a relish to broths and soups, according as the taste may suit. Scotch barley, pearl barley, wheat flour, oatmeal, bread, raspings, peas, beans, rice, vermicelli, maccaroni, isinglass, potatoe mucilage, mushroom, or mushroom ketchup, champignons, parsnips, carrots, beet root, turnips, garlic, shalots, and onions. Sliced onions fried with butter and flour till they are browned, and then rubbed through a sieve, are excellent to heighten the colour and flavour of brown soups and sauces, and form the basis of most of the fine relishes furnished by the cook. The older and drier the onion, the stronger will be its flavour, and the quantity must be regulated accordingly. Leeks, cucumber, or burnet vinegar; celery, or celery seed pounded. The latter, though equally strong, does not impart the delicate sweetness of the fresh vegetable; and when used as a substitute, its flavour should be corrected by the addition of a bit of sugar. Cress seed, parsley, common thyme, lemon thyme, orange thyme, knotted marjoram, sage, mint, winter savoury, and basil. As fresh green basil is seldom to be procured, and its fine flavour is soon lost, the best way of preserving the extract is by pouring wine on the fresh leaves. Bay leaves, tomata, tarragon, chervil, burnet, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, mace, black pepper, white pepper, essence of anchovy, lemon peel, lemon juice, and Seville orange juice. The latter imparts a finer flavour than the lemon, and the acid is much milder. The above materials, with wine and mushroom ketchup, combined in various proportions, will make an endless variety of excellent broths and soups. The general fault of English soups seems to be the employment of an excess of spice, and too small a proportion of roots and herbs. This is especially the case with tavern soups, where cayenne and garlic are often used instead of black pepper and onion, for the purpose of obtaining a higher relish. Soups, which are intended to constitute the principal part of a meal, certainly ought not to be flavoured like sauces, which are only designed to give a relish to some particular dish. The principal art in composing a good rich soup, is so to proportion the several ingredients one to another, that no particular taste be stronger than the rest; but to produce such a fine harmonious relish, that the whole becomes delightful. In order to this, care must be taken that the roots and herbs be perfectly well cleaned, and that the water be proportioned to the quantity of meat, and other ingredients. In general a quart of water may be allowed to a pound of meat for soups; and half the quantity for gravies. If they stew gently, little more water need be put in at first, than is expected at the end; for when the pot is covered quite close, and the fire gentle, very little is wasted. Gentle stewing is incomparably the best; the meat is more tender, and the soup better flavoured. The cover of a soup kettle should fit very close, or the most essential parts of the broth will soon evaporate, as will also be the case with quick boiling. It is not merely the fibres of the meat that afford nourishment, but chiefly the juices they contain; and these are not only extracted but exhaled, if it be boiled fast in an open vessel. A succulent soup can never be made but in a well closed vessel, which preserves the nutritive parts by preventing their dissipation, yet the flavour is perhaps more wholesome by an exposure to the air. Place the soup kettle over a moderate fire, sufficient to make the water hot, without causing it to boil; for if the water boils immediately, it will not penetrate the meat, and cleanse it from the clotted blood and other matters, which ought to go off in scum. The meat will be hardened all over by violent heat, will shrink up as if it were scorched, and afford very little gravy. On the contrary, by keeping the water heating about half an hour without boiling, the meat swells, becomes tender, and its fibres are dilated. By this process, it yields a quantity of scum, which must be taken off as soon as it appears. After the meat has had a good infusion for half an hour, the fire may be improved to make the pot boil, and the vegetables be put in with a little salt. These will cause more scum to rise, which must be taken off immediately. Then cover the boiler very closely, and place it at a proper distance from the fire, where it is to boil very gently and equally, but not fast. Soups will generally take from three to six hours doing. The better way is to prepare them the evening before, as that will give more time to attend to the dinner the next day. When the soup is cold, the fat may much more easily and completely be removed; and when it is decanted, take care not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the vessel, which are so fine that they will escape through a sieve. A tammis is the best strainer, the soup appears smoother and finer, and the cloth is easier cleaned than any sieve. If you strain it while it is hot, let the tammis or napkin be previously soaked in cold water; the coldness of the strainer will tend to coagulate the fat, and only suffer the pure broth to pass through. The full flavour of the ingredients can only be extracted by long and slow simmering, during which the boiler must be kept close covered, to prevent evaporation. Clear soups must be perfectly transparent, thickened soups about the consistence of cream; the latter will require nearly double the quantity of seasoning, but too much spice makes it unwholesome. To thicken and give body to soups and sauces, the following materials are used. Bread raspings, potatoe mucilage, isinglass, flour and butter, barley, rice, or oatmeal and water rubbed well together. Any of these are to be mixed gradually with the soup, till thoroughly incorporated, and it should afterwards have at least half an hour's gentle simmering. If it appears lumpy, it must be passed through a tammis or fine sieve. A piece of boiled beef pounded to a pulp, with a bit of butter and flour, and rubbed through a sieve, and gradually incorporated with the soup, will be found an excellent addition. If the soup is too thin or too weak, take off the cover of the boiler, and let it boil till some of the watery part of it has evaporated; or add some of the thickening materials before mentioned. When soups and gravies are kept from day to day, in hot weather, they should be warmed up every day, and put into fresh scalded pans or tureens, and placed in a cool cellar. In temperate weather, every other day may be sufficient.--It has been imagined that soups tend to relax the stomach; but so far from being prejudicial in this way, the moderate use of such kind of liquid food may rather be considered as salutary, and affording a good degree of nourishment. Soup of a good quality, if not eaten too hot, or in too great a quantity, is attended with great advantages, especially to those who drink but little. Warm fluids in the form of soup, unite with our juices much sooner and better, than those which are cold and raw. On this account, what is called Restorative Soup is the best food for those who are enfeebled by disease or dissipation, and for old people, whose teeth and digestive organs are impaired. After taking cold, or in nervous headachs, cholics, indigestions, and different kinds of cramps and spasms in the stomach, warm broth or soup is of excellent service. After intemperate eating, to give the stomach a holiday for a day or two, by a diet on mutton broth, is the best way to restore its tone. The stretching of any power to its utmost extent, weakens it; and if the stomach be obliged every day to do as much as it can, it will every day be able to do less. It is therefore a point of wisdom to be temperate in all things, frequently to indulge in soup diet, and occasionally in almost total abstinence, in order to preserve the stomach in its full tone and vigour.--Cheap soups for charitable purposes are best made of fat meat, well boiled with vegetables. Much unreasonable prejudice has prevailed on this subject, as if fat was unsuitable for such a purpose, when it is well known that the nutritious parts of animal and vegetable diet depend on the oil, jelly, mucilage, and sweetness which they contain. The farina of grain, and the seeds of vegetables, contain more of the nutritious and essential parts of the plant than any other, as is evident from the use of celery seed, the eighth part of an ounce of which will give more relish to a gallon of soup, than a large quantity of the root or stalk. On the same principle, the fat is the essence of meat, nearly so as the seeds of plants are of their respective species. To establish this fact, a simple experiment will be sufficient. Boil from two to four ounces of the lean part of butcher's meat in six quarts of water, till reduced to a gallon. Thicken it with oatmeal, and the result of the decoction will be found to be water gruel, or something like it. But dissolve the same quantity of the fat of meat in a gallon of water, thicken it over the fire with oatmeal, and the result will be a very pleasant broth, possessing the identical taste of the meat in a considerable degree, whether of beef or mutton. If some of the gelatinous parts of meat be added, the broth is then of a rich and nutritious quality, and can be made very cheap. For example: take from four to six ounces of barley, oatmeal two ounces, onions or leeks a small quantity; beef fat, suet, or drippings, from two to four ounces; celery seed half a spoonful, pepper and salt to give the soup a relish, and water sufficient to make a gallon. Boil the barley, previously washed, in six quarts of water, which when boiled sufficiently soft will be reduced to a gallon. It will be necessary to skim it clean in the course of the boiling, and to stir it well from the bottom of the boiler. The celery seed should be bruised, and added with the leeks and onions, towards the end of the process. The oatmeal is to be mixed in a little cold water, and put in about an hour before the soup is done. In the last place add the fat, melted before the fire, if not in a state of drippings, and season with pepper and salt. A few grains of cayenne would give the soup a higher relish. Wheat flour may be used instead of oatmeal, but in a smaller proportion. The addition of turnips, carrots, and cabbages, will be a considerable improvement. The intention of the oatmeal or flour is, by the mucilage they contain, assisted with barley broth, to unite the fat with the liquid, so as to form one uniform mass. Where the fat is suspended in the soup, and not seen floating on the top, by which it is rendered easier of digestion, and more readily convertible into good chyle, it is evident that it must be more palatable, as well as abundantly more nutritious. Some may think this kind of soup unwholesome, from the quantity of fat it contains; but a little reflection will shew the contrary. Suet puddings and dumplins are not unwholesome, neither are mutton drippings with potatoes or other vegetables. In short, fat is eaten daily by all ranks of people, in some way or other, in much larger quantities than is prescribed for soup. A labouring man would find no difficulty in eating as much suet at one meal, in a flour pudding, or as much drippings as is necessary for a gallon of soup, in a mass of potatoes or cabbages; while at the same time a quart of soup with a slice of bread, would be a very hearty meal. In no other way could meat drippings be applied to so good a purpose, as in the manufacture of a gallon of soup, sufficient to give a dinner to a whole family. The quantity of fat or drippings necessary for the soup is so small, that it may easily be spared from a joint of roast meat, while enough will remain for other purposes. When mutton dripping is made into soup, wheat flour is better than oatmeal; but the mucilage of potatoe is better still, requiring only one ounce to the gallon. When pork is roasted, peas should be used in preference to boiled barley, and the soup will be very superior in flavour to any that is made with the bones of meat, or combined with bacon. Fat pork is eaten daily in large quantities, in most of the counties of England; and in some parts, hog's lard is spread on bread instead of butter, besides the abundance of lard that is used by all ranks of people, in puddings, cakes, and pasties. Fat enters so much into the composition of our diet, that we could scarcely subsist without it; and the application of it to soups is only a different mode of using it, and certainly more frugal and economical than any other. It may readily be perceived how soups made from lean meat might be improved by the addition of a little fat, mixed up and incorporated with a mucilage of potatoes, of wheat flour, oatmeal, peas, and barley. But where a quantity of fat swims on the surface of the broth, made from a fat joint of meat, and it cannot from its superabundance be united with the liquid, by means of any mucilage, it had better be skimmed off, and preserved for future use; otherwise the soup will not be agreeable, for it is the due proportion of animal and vegetable substance that makes soup pleasant and wholesome. To make good soup of a leg of beef or an ox cheek, which is generally called stew, a pretty large quantity of the vegetable class ought to be added; and none seems better adapted than Scotch barley, by which double and treble the quantity of soup may be made from the same given weight of meat. One pint of well prepared leg of beef, or ox cheek soup, together with the fat, will make a gallon of good soup at the trifling expense of four-pence. In the same way soups may be made from the stew of beef, mutton, veal, or pork, choosing those parts where mucilage, jelly, and fat abound. Bacon is allowed to be a considerable improvement to the taste of veal, whether roasted or boiled; and it is the same in soup. When therefore veal broth is made for family use, two ounces of fat bacon should be added to every gallon, melted before the fire or in a fryingpan. The soup should then be thickened with flour, potatoe starch, and barley. The last article should seldom be omitted in any soup, it being so very cheap and pleasant, as well as wholesome and nutritious. Soup made of tripe is another cheap article. Boil a pound of well cleaned tripe in a gallon of barley broth, with onions and parsley, adding two ounces of bacon fat, with salt and pepper. This produces an extremely nutritious soup, from the gelatinous principle with which the tripe abounds. Cow heels, calves and sheep's feet, are also well adapted to the purpose. Excellent soups may be made from fried meat, where the fat and gravy are added to the boiled barley; and for that purpose, fat beef steaks, pork and mutton chops, should be preferred, as containing more of the nutritious principle. Towards the latter end of frying the steaks, add a little water to produce a gravy, which is to be put to the barley broth. A little flour should also be dredged in, which will take up all the fat left in the fryingpan. A quantity of onions should previously be shred, and fried with the fat, which gives the soup a fine flavour, with the addition of pepper, salt, and other seasoning. There would be no end to the variety of soups that might be made from a number of cheap articles differently combined; but perhaps the distribution of soup gratis does not answer so well as teaching people how to make it, and to improve their comforts at home. The time lost in waiting for the boon, and fetching it home, might by an industrious occupation, however poorly paid for labour, be turned to a better account than the mere obtaining of a quart of soup. But it unfortunately happens, that the best and cheapest method of making a nourishing soup, is least known to those who have most need of it. The labouring classes seldom purchase what are called the coarser pieces of meat, because they do not know how to dress them, but lay out their money in pieces for roasting, which are far less profitable, and more expensive in the purchase. To save time, trouble, and firing, these are generally sent to the oven to be baked, the nourishing parts are evaporated and dried up, the weight is diminished nearly one third, and what is purchased with a week's earnings is only sufficient for a day or two's consumption. If instead of this improvident proceeding, a cheap and wholesome soup were at least occasionally substituted, it would banish the still more pernicious custom of drinking tea two or three times a day, for want of something more supporting and substantial. In addition then to the directions already given, the following may be considered as one of the cheapest and easiest methods of making a wholesome soup, suited to a numerous family among the labouring classes. Put four ounces of Scotch barley washed clean, and four ounces of sliced onions, into five quarts of water. Boil it gently for one hour, and pour it into a pan. Put into a saucepan nearly two ounces of beef or mutton drippings, or melted suet, or two or three ounces of minced bacon; and when melted, stir into it four ounces of oatmeal. Rub these together into a paste, and if properly managed, the whole of the fat will combine with the barley broth, and not a particle, appear on the surface to offend the most delicate stomach. Now add the barley broth, at first a spoonful at a time, then the rest by degrees, stirring it well together till it boils. Put into a teacup a dram of finely pounded cress or celery seed, and a quarter of a dram of finely pounded cayenne, or a dram and a half of ground black pepper or allspice, and mix it up with a little of the soup. Put this seasoning into the whole quantity, stir up the soup thoroughly, let it simmer gently a quarter of an hour, and add a little salt. The flavour may be varied by doubling the portion of onions, or adding a clove of garlic or shalot, and leaving out the celery seed. Change of food is absolutely necessary, not only as a matter of pleasure and comfort, but also of health. It may likewise be much improved, if instead of water, it be made of the liquor that meat has been boiled in. This soup has the advantage of being very soon made, with no more fuel than is necessary to warm a room. Those who have not tasted it, cannot imagine what a savoury and satisfying meal is produced by the combination of these cheap and homely ingredients. SOUP WITH CUCUMBERS. Pare and cut the cucumbers, then stew them with some good broth, and veal gravy to cover them. When done enough, heat the soup with the liquor they were stewed in, and season it with salt. Serve up the soup garnished with the cucumbers. These will be a proper garnish for almost any kind of soup. SOUP A L' EAU. Put into a saucepan holding about three pints, a quarter of a cabbage, four carrots, two parsnips, six onions, and three or four turnips. Add a root of celery, a small root of parsley, some sorrel, a bunch of white beet leaves and chervil, and half a pint of peas tied in a piece of linen. Add water in proportion to the vegetables, and stew the whole for three hours. Strain off the broth, add some salt, heat it and serve it up, garnished with the vegetables. SOUP GRAVY. Take some good juicy lean beef, free from sinews or other offal substance; or take the lean of a neck, or loin, or the fleshy part of a leg of mutton, or well-grown fowl, in the proportion of a pound of meat to a quart of water to beef, and rather less to mutton or fowl. Cut the meat in pieces, and let it stew very gently till the pure gravy is fairly drawn from the meat, without extracting the dregs. The time required for this will vary according to the quantity, the proper degree of heat being of course longer in penetrating the larger portion. From an hour and a half to three hours, at discretion, will allow sufficient time for any quantity that is likely to be wanted at once for soup, at least in private families. When done, strain the gravy through a hair sieve into an earthen pot, and let it stand till cold. Take off the fat, and pour the gravy clear from the sediment at the bottom. SOUP MAIGRE. Melt half a pound of butter into a stewpan, shake it round, and throw in half a dozen sliced onions. Shake the pan well for two or three minutes, then put in five heads of celery, two handfuls of spinach, two cabbage lettuces cut small, and some parsley. Shake the pan well for ten minutes, put in two quarts of water, some crusts of bread, a tea-spoonful of beaten pepper, and three or four blades of mace. A handful of white beet leaves, cut small, may be added. Boil it gently an hour. Just before serving, beat in two yolks of eggs, and a large spoonful of vinegar.--Another. Flour and fry a quart of green peas, four sliced onions, the coarse stalks of celery, a carrot, a turnip, and a parsnip. Pour on three quarts of water, let it simmer till the whole will pulp through a sieve, and boil in it the best of the celery cut thin.--Another way. Take a bunch of celery washed clean and cut in pieces, a large handful of spinage, two cabbage lettuces, and some parsley; wash all very clean, and shred them small; then take a large clean stewpan, put in about half a pound of butter, and when it is quite hot, slice four large onions very thin, and put into your butter; stir them well about for two or three minutes; then put in the rest of your herbs; shake all well together for near twenty minutes, dust in some flour, and stir them together; pour in two quarts of boiling water; season with pepper, salt, and beaten mace: chip a handful of crust of bread, and put in; boil it half an hour, then beat up the yolks of three eggs in a spoonful of vinegar; pour it in, and stir it for two or three minutes; then send it to table. SOUP WITH ONIONS. Blanch some small white onions in scalding water, peel off the first skin, and stew them in a little broth. When ready, lay them in a row round the edge of the dish intended for the soup. To keep them in their place, put a thin slip of bread rubbed with white of egg round the rim of the dish, and set the dish for a moment over a stove to fasten the bread. Slips of bread may be used in this manner to keep all kinds of garnishing to soups in their proper place. SOUP A LA REINE. Blanch and beat very fine in a marble mortar, three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, with the white part of a cold roasted fowl. Slice to these the crumb of four small rolls, and then strain to it three quarts of good veal gravy, boiled with a blade of mace. Simmer these all together for a quarter of an hour, then rub them through a tammis, season it with salt, give it a boil, and serve it up with a small tea-cupful of cream stirred into it, and the slices of crust cut off the rolls laid on the top.--Another way. Have ready a strong veal broth that is white, and clean scummed from all fat; blanch a pound of almonds, beat them in a mortar, with a little water, to prevent their oiling, and the yolks of four poached eggs, the lean part of the legs, and all the white part of a roasted fowl; pound all together, as fine as possible; then take three quarts of the veal broth, put it into a clean stew-pot, put your ingredients in, and mix them well together; chip in the crust of two French rolls well rasped; boil all together over a stove, or a clear fire. Take a French roll, cut a piece out of the top, and take out all the crumb: mince the white part of a roasted fowl very fine, season it with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little beaten mace; put in about an ounce of butter, and moisten it with two spoonfuls of your soup strained to it; set it over the stove to be thoroughly hot: cut some French roll in thin slices, and set them before the fire to crisp; then strain off your soup through a tammis or a lawn strainer, into another clean stew-pot; let it stew till it is as thick as cream; then have your dish ready; put in some of your crisp bread; fill your roll with your mince, and lay on the top as close as possible; put it into the middle of your dish, and pour a ladleful of your soup over it; put in your bread first, then pour in your soup, till your dish is full. Garnish with petty patties; or make a rim for your dish, and garnish with lemon raced. If you please, you may send a chicken boned in the middle, instead of your roll; or you may send it to table with only crisp bread. SOUP A-LA SAP. Boil half a pound of grated potatoes, a pound of beef sliced thin, a pint of grey peas, an onion, and three ounces of rice, in six pints of water till reduced to five. Strain it through a cullender, pulp the peas into it, and return it into the saucepan with two heads of sliced celery. Stew it tender, add pepper and salt, and serve it with fried bread. SOUR BEER. If beer be brewed ever so well, much will depend on the management afterwards, to prevent its becoming sour or vapid. Different conveniences of cellarage will materially affect beer. If the cellar is bad, there should not be more than six weeks between brewing and brewing. Where beer is kept too long in a bad cellar, so as to be affected by the heat of the weather, it will putrefy, though ever so well bunged. Hops may prevent its turning sour, but will not keep it from becoming vapid. It should be well understood, that there is no certainty in keeping beer, if not brewed at the proper season. In winter there is a danger of wort getting too cold, so as to prevent the process of fermentation; and in the summer, of its not being cool enough, unless brewed in the dead of night. In temperate weather, at the spring or autumn, the spirit of the beer is retained, and it is thereby enabled to work the liquor clear; whereas in hot weather, the spirit quickly evaporates, leaving the wort vapid and flat, unable to work itself clear, but keeping continually on the fret, till totally spoiled. This is the obvious reason for the use of sugar, prepared for colour, because sugar will bear the heat better than malt; and when thoroughly prepared, possesses such a strong principle of heat in itself, as to bid defiance to the hottest temperature of the air, and to render its turning sour almost impossible. Clean casks are also essential to the preservation of good beer. To keep the casks sweet and in order, never allow them to remain open; but whenever the beer is drawn off, bung them up tight with the lees within them. In a good cellar they will never spoil. Should the casks get musty, the following method will remedy the evil. Soak them well for three or four days in cold water, then fill them full of boiling hot water; put in a lump or two of lime, shake it thoroughly till quite dissolved, let the casks stand about half an hour, then wash them out with cold water, and they will be clean and sweet. If still apprehensive of the beer getting flat or sour, put into a cask containing eighteen gallons, a pint of ground malt suspended in a bag, and close the bung perfectly. This will prevent the mischief, and the beer will improve during the whole time of drawing it. When beer has actually turned sour, put in some oyster shells, calcined to whiteness, or a little powdered chalk. Either of these will correct the acidity, and make it brisk and sparkling. Salt of tartar, or soda powder, put into the beer at the time of drinking it, will also destroy the acidity, and make it palatable. SOUR KROUT. Take some full-grown hard cabbages of the closest texture, and cut them into slices about an inch thick, opening them a little, that they may receive the salt more effectually. Rub a good deal of salt amongst them, lay them into a large pan, and sprinkle more salt over them. Let them remain twenty-four hours, turning them over four or five times, that every part may be alike saturated. Next day put the cabbage into a tub or large jar, pressing it down well, and then pour over it a pickle made of a pint of salt to a quart of water. This pickle must be poured on boiling hot, and the cabbage entirely covered with it. Let it stand thus twenty-four hours longer, when it will have shrunk nearly a third. Then take the cabbage out, and put it into a fresh tub or jar, pressing it down well as before, and pour over it a pickle made as follows. To one quart of the salt and water pickle which had been used the day before, put three quarts of vinegar, four ounces of allspice, and two ounces of carraway seeds. This must be poured on cold, so as to cover the cabbage completely. Let it stand one day loosely covered, and then stop it down quite close. SOUR SAUCE FOR FISH. Boil two blades of mace in a wine glass of water, and half as much sharp vinegar, for a quarter of an hour. Then take out the mace, and put in a quarter of a pound of butter, and the yolk of an egg well beaten. Shake these over the fire one way till the sauce is properly thickened, without suffering it to boil. SOUSE FOR BRAWN. Boil a quarter of a pint of wheat bran, a sprig of bay, and a sprig of rosemary, in two gallons of water for half an hour, adding four ounces of salt. Strain it, and let it cool. This will do for pig's feet and ears, as well as brawn. SOUSED STURGEONS. Draw and divide the fish down the back, and then into pieces. Put the fish into salt and water, clean it well, bind it with tape, and boil it very carefully in vinegar, salt, and water. When done lay it to cool, and pack it up close in the liquor it was boiled in. SOUSED TRIPE. Boil the tripe, but not quite tender; then put it into salt and water, which must be changed every day till it is all used. When the tripe is to be dressed, dip it into a batter of eggs and flour, and fry it of a good brown. SOY. To make English soy, pound some walnuts when fit for pickling, in a marble mortar, very small. Squeeze them through a strainer, let the liquor stand to settle, and then pour off the fine. To every quart of liquor put a pound of anchovies, and two cloves of shalot. Boil it enough to make the scum rise, and clear it well. Add two ounces of Jamaica pepper, a quarter of an ounce of mace, and half a pint of vinegar. Boil it again, until the anchovies are dissolved and the shalot tender, and let it stand till the next day. Then pour off the fine, and bottle it for use. Strain the thick through a sieve, and put it by separately. When used for fish, put some of the soy to the usual anchovies and butter, or to plain butter. SPANISH CARDOONS. Cut them three inches long, leaving out any that are hollow and green. Boil them in water half an hour, and then put them into warm water to pick them. Stew them with some broth, with a spoonful of flour mixed in it. Add salt, onions, roots, a bunch of sweet herbs, a dash of verjuice, and a little butter. When they are well done take them out, and put them into a good cullis, with a little broth. Boil them half an hour in this sauce to give them a flavour, and then serve them up. Let the sauce be neither too clear nor too thick, and of a fine light colour. SPANISH FLUMMERY. Scald a quart of cream, with a little cinnamon or mace. Mix this gradually into half a pound of rice flour, and then stir it over a gentle fire till it acquires the thickness of jelly. Sweeten it to the taste, and pour it into cups or shapes. Turn it out when cold, and serve it up. Cream, wine, or preserves eat well with it, or it may be eaten alone as preferred. Oatmeal may be used instead of rice. SPANISH FRITTERS. Cut the crumb of a French roll into square lengths, of the thickness of one's finger, nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an egg. When well soaked, fry the fritters of a nice brown; and serve with butter, wine, and sweet sauce. SPANISH PUFFS. Boil a stick of cinnamon, a piece of lemon peel, and a little sugar, in three quarters of a pint of water for ten minutes. Let it cool, then add three eggs well beaten, and shake in three large spoonfuls of flour. Beat these well together, add three more eggs, and simmer the whole over the fire, till it thickens almost to a paste. Drop this with a tea-spoon into boiling lard, and fry these little puffs of a delicate light brown. SPANISH SAUCE. Put some gravy into a saucepan with a glass of white wine, and the same of good broth. Add a bunch of parsley and chives, two cloves of garlic, half a bay leaf, a pinch of coriander seed, two cloves, a sliced onion, a carrot, half a parsnip, and two spoonfuls of salad oil. Stew these for two hours over a very slow fire. Skim off the fat, pass the sauce through a tammis, season it with pepper and salt, and use it with any thing as approved. SPARERIB. Baste it with a very little butter and flour; and when done, sprinkle it with dried sage crumbled. Serve it with potatoes and apple sauce. SPARROW. A mischievous destructive bird in corn-fields, and which should mostly be destroyed. It is observed, that were all the farmers in a neighbourhood to agree to their destruction, by offering rewards for their heads, their numbers might be lessened; and that were the practice general, surely the whole race might be extirpated. It is supposed that six-pence a dozen the first year, nine-pence the second, and a shilling the third year, would nearly reach their complete extirpation. To enforce which it should be considered how soon twelve sparrows destroy twelve penny-worth of wheat. In Kent, they use a species of trap, which is very effectual in taking them. It consists of a small wicker basket, resembling a fruit-sieve of the London markets, with a cover of the same material fitted to it, and formed on the principle of the fish-pot, and the vermin trap, into which the entrance is easy, but the return difficult. These traps, which are an ordinary article of sale in the markets of the district, are constituted of brown unpeeled oziers. The diameter about two feet; the depth nine inches; the cover is somewhat dishing, with a tunnel or inverted cone, in the centre, reaching to within an inch of the bottom of the basket; the aperture or entrance, formed by the points of the twigs, of which the tunnel is constructed, being about an inch and a half in diameter. And the usual bait is wheat scattered in the basket. The number caught at once, is frequently more than theory would suggest; the contentions of a few that have entered, seldom failing to bring others to the combat. These mischievous birds, however, soon grow too cunning to be taken in any sort of trap to any extent, which has a chance of extirpating and destroying the race; consequently some more effectual and certain plan, such as that suggested above, or some other, which is better and more fully adapted to the purpose, must be had recourse to in order to completely exterminate them, and prevent the injury they do annually to the farmer, in the destruction of his wheat and other crops. Though these are only small birds, they destroy vast quantities of grain, much more than has indeed been commonly supposed. It is stated to have been calculated to have amounted to a hundred sacks of wheat besides the oats and barley, in the course of only one season, in a township of no very great extent in the north-western part of the kingdom. Where rewards or sums of money are paid for the taking or destroying them, no advantages are gained, except where there are sufficiently ample and proper regulations entered into and enforced, the whole district, parish, or township, becomes partakers in the business. No languid or half measures will do any thing useful, or to the purpose, in this sort of undertaking. It is not improbable, but that these destructive birds might be greatly extirpated and thinned down in their numbers, by the use of some tasteless infusion of a strongly poisonous nature, either to the ears of the grain at the time of harvest, or to the naked grain in the winter season, when they are extremely eager for food, as they are constantly found to remain hovering about houses or other buildings, where the effects of such trials might easily be ascertained. If such a method should succeed, the whole race might readily, and with great facility and certainty, be exterminated. SPASMS. An involuntary and painful contraction of the muscles may arise from various causes, and require different modes of treatment. But if no medical assistance be at hand, the application of volatile liniments to the part affected, a clyster with a little laudanum in it, or the warm bath, may be tried with advantage. SPERMACETI OINTMENT. This is made of a quarter of a pint of fine salad oil, a quarter of a pound of white wax, and half an ounce of spermaceti, melted over a gentle fire, and kept stirring till the ointment is cold. SPICES. As it regards health, spices are generally improper; but black pepper, ginger, and cayenne, may be esteemed the best. Nutmegs, cloves, mace, cinnamon, and allspice, are generally productive of indigestion and headach, in persons of a weakly habit. SPIDERS. These industrious insects are generally loathed and destroyed, though they are extremely useful in reducing the quantity of flies, and serve as a very accurate barometer for the weather. When they are totally inactive, it is a certain sign that rain will shortly follow; but if they continue to spin during a shower, it indicates that the rain will soon be over, and that calm and fine weather will succeed. If the weather be about to change, and become wet or windy, the spider will make the supporters of his web very short; but if the threads be extended to an unusual length, the weather will continue serene for ten or twelve days, or more, according to the length of the threads which support the web. The red spider however is very injurious and destructive to different sorts of plants and fruit-trees, especially in forcing houses. It is found particularly so to those of the forced French bean, melon; peach, vine, cherry, currant, and some other kinds. The generation and production of this insect are greatly caused and promoted by the dry warm heat that is constantly kept up in the houses which contain these sorts of plants and trees, and there are many other circumstances which combine in bringing it forth. It is an insect which has no wings, and the female is oviparous. Several different methods have been attempted in order to the removal and destruction of it. Constant daily watering, or washing the trees, are said to have the power of subduing it, but in the execution of the work, care is always to be taken that every part of the leaves be wetted, otherwise the insects shelter and save themselves in the dry parts, and are preserved from the effects of the water. Moisture conveyed in some way or other is certainly found to be the most destructive, of any thing yet discovered, of these pernicious insects, as well as many others that infest hot-houses. Throwing weak lime-water in a plentiful manner on the under sides of the leaves, where these insects are commonly found, will, for the most part, soon destroy them. The following directions have been given for the destruction of this sort of spider, when it becomes injurious to melon plants; and the same may probably be found useful for those of the forced French bean, and some other similar kinds. In cases of dry weather, and with a dry heat, melon plants are very subject to be infested with the red spider; and the appearances of it may constantly be long noticed before the insects can be seen with the naked eye, by the leaves beginning to curl and crack in their middle parts. Whenever they are discovered to be in this state or condition, and there is fine warm sunny weather, the watering of them all over the leaves, both on the under and upper sides, is advised; a watering-pot, with a rose finely perforated with holes, or a garden-engine, which disperses the water in a fine dew-like manner, being employed for the purpose. The work should be performed about six o'clock in the morning, and the plants be shaded with mats about eight, if the sun shine with much power, shutting the frames down closely until about eleven; and then admitting a small quantity of fresh air, letting the mats remain until about three in the afternoon, when they should be wholly taken away. The shade which is thus afforded by the mats prevents the leaves of the plants from being scorched or otherwise injured by the action of the heat of the sun while they are in a wet cooled down state. Where a southerly breeze prevails, watering them again about three in the afternoon is recommended, shutting them up close as before, to keep the heat in, which causes a strong exhalation of the moisture, and is greatly destructive of the spiders. In all these waterings, the water is to be thrown as much and as finely as possible on the under sides of the leaves, where the insects mostly lodge; the vines or stems of the plants being gently turned in that intention, taking great care not to injure them, by which means the water is capable of being easily thrown over the whole of the under sides of the leaves, it being done in a gentle manner, in the modes already suggested, so as not to wash up the mouldy matters unto the plants: the lights and sides of the frames which contain the plants, should also, at the same time, have water plentifully thrown on and against them. When these waterings are finished, the vines or stems of the plants are to be carefully laid down again in their former positions. And if the day be sunny, the mats may be let remain, as already directed, until the leaves of the plants become perfectly dry, air being admitted according to the heat that may be present at the time. It is likewise further advised as a precautionary measure, that, before the frames and lights, which are to contain plants of this sort, are employed, they should be well washed, both inside and out, first with clean water, and then with a mixture of soap-suds and urine; a brush or woollen rag being made use of in the operation; as by this method the ova or eggs of the spiders or other insects that may have been deposited and lodged in or on them, in the preceding season, may be cleared away and destroyed. The exhalations of the water which has been thrown upon the plants, and the frames or boxes that contain them, may also be useful in killing these insects, in other cases by keeping them in a close state. These washings should never, however, be performed in cold frosty seasons; and the water made use of in such cases should always be of the rain or soft kind. SPINACH. This vegetable requires to be carefully washed and picked. When that is done, throw it into a saucepan that will just hold it, sprinkle it with a little salt, and cover it close. Set the pan on the fire, and shake it well. When sufficiently done, beat up the spinach with some butter, but it must be sent to table pretty dry. It would look well, if pressed into a tin mould in the form of a large leaf, which is sold at the tin shops. A spoonful of cream is an improvement. SPINACH CREAM. Beat the yolks of eight eggs with a whisk or a wooden spoon, sweeten it well, and add a stick of cinnamon, a pint of rich cream, and three quarters of a pint of new milk. Stir it well, and then add a quarter of a pint of spinach juice. Set it over a gentle stove, and stir it constantly one way, till it is as thick as a hasty pudding. Put into a custard dish some Naples biscuits, or preserved orange, in long slices, and pour the mixture over them. It is to be eaten cold, and is a dish either for supper, or for a second course. SPINACH AND EGGS. The spinach must be well washed, then throw a small handful of salt into a saucepan of boiling water, before the spinach is put in, and press it down as it boils. When it becomes tender, press it well in a sieve or cullender. Break the eggs into cups, and put them into a stewpan of boiling water. When done, take them out with a slice, and lay them on the spinach. Send them to table with melted butter. SPINACH PUDDING. Scald and chop some spinach very fine, four ounces of biscuit soaked in cream, the yolks of eight eggs beat up, a quarter of a pound of melted butter, a little salt and nutmeg, and sugar to your taste; beat up all together, and set it over the fire till it is stiff, but do not let it boil; cool it, and bake it in puff-paste; or you may butter a bason, and boil it.--Another. Boil a pint of cream, with some lemon-peel, a blade of mace, half a nutmeg cut in pieces; strain it off, and stir it till it is cold, then boil a good handful of young spinach tender; chop it very fine; beat up eight eggs, leave out four whites, add some fine sugar pounded, and a glass of sack; mix all well together, put it into the dish, with a puff-paste at the bottom, and lay on the top candied orange and lemon cut in thin slices. Half an hour, or a little better, will bake it. SPINACH SOUP. Shred two handfuls of spinach, a turnip, two onions, a head of celery, two carrots, and a little parsley and thyme. Put all into a stewpot, with a bit of butter the size of a walnut, and a pint of good broth, or the liquor in which meat has been boiled. Stew till the vegetables are quite tender, and work them with a spoon through a coarse cloth or sieve. To the vegetable pulp and liquor, add a quart of fresh water, salt and pepper, and boil all together. Have ready some suet dumplins the size of a walnut, and put them into a tureen, before the soup is poured over. The suet must be quite fresh, and not shred too fine. SPIRITS. Good pure spirits ought to be perfectly clear, pleasant, and strong, though not of a pungent odour, and somewhat of a vinous taste. To try the purity of spirits, or whether they have been diluted with water, see whether the liquor will burn away without leaving any mixture behind, by dipping in a piece of writing paper, and lighting it at the candle. As pure spirit is much lighter than water, put a hollow ivory ball into it: the deeper the ball sinks, the lighter the liquor, and consequently the more spirituous. SPIRITS OF CLARY. Distil a peck of clary flowers in a cold still, and then another peck of flowers, adding to them the distilled liquor. Put to this a bottle of sack or sweet wine, and another peck of flowers, and put all together into a glass still. Let it distil on white sugar candy, with the addition of a little ambergris. SPIRITS OF LAVENDER. Take fourteen pounds of lavender flowers, ten gallons and a half of rectified spirits of wine, and one gallon of water. Draw off ten gallons by a gentle fire, or which is much better, by a sand-bath heat. To convert this into the red liquid known by the name of compound lavender spirits, take of the above lavender spirits two gallons, of Hungary water one gallon, cinnamon and nutmegs three ounces each, and of red saunders one ounce. Digest the whole for three days in a gentle heat, and then filtre it for use. Some add saffron, musk, and ambergris, of each half a scruple; but these are now generally omitted. SPIRITS OF SAFFRON. Pick eight ounces of English saffron very clean, cut it fine, and steep it twenty-four hours in a gallon of the best white wine. Put it into an alembic with three gallons of water, draw it off gently so long as the saffron tastes, and sweeten it with white sugar candy. Dissolve the candy in some of the weaker extract, after the stronger part is drawn off, by setting it on the fire, and then mix the whole together. SPITS. Roasting spits require to be kept bright and clean, and should be scoured with nothing but sand and water. If they are wiped clean, as soon as the meat is drawn from them, and while they are hot, a very little cleaning will be necessary. A very useful kind of spit is sold at the ironmongers, which sustains the meat without the necessity of passing it through, which is much to be preferred. SPITCHCOCK EELS. Take one or two large eels, leave the skin on, cut them into pieces of three inches long, open them on the belly side, and clean them nicely. Wipe them dry, smear them over with egg, and strew on both sides chopped parsley, pepper and salt; a very little sage, and a bit of mace pounded fine and mixed with the seasoning. Rub the gridiron with a bit of suet, broil the fish of a fine colour, and serve with anchovy and butter sauce. SPLINTERS. To run splinters, prickles or thorns, such as those of roses, thistles, or chesnuts, into the hands, feet, or legs, is a very common accident; and provided any such substance is immediately extracted, it is seldom attended with any bad consequences. But the more certainly to prevent any ill effects, a compress of linen dipped in warm water, may be applied to the part, or it may be bathed a little while in warm water. If the thorn or splinter cannot be extracted directly, or if any part of it be left in, it causes an inflammation, and nothing but timely precaution will prevent its coming to an abscess. A plaster of shoemaker's wax spread upon leather, draws these wounds remarkably well. When it is known that any part of it remains, an expert surgeon would open the place and take it out; but if it be unobserved, as will sometimes happen, when the thorn or splinter is very small, till the inflammation begins, and no advice can be at once procured, the steam of water should be applied to it at first, and then a poultice of bread and milk, with a few drops of peruvian balsam. It is absolutely necessary that the injured part should be kept in the easiest posture, and as still as possible. If this does not soon succeed, good advice must be obtained without delay, as an accident of this kind neglected, or improperly treated, may be the occasion of losing a limb. In this and all cases of inflammation, a forbearance from animal food, and fermented liquors, is always advisable. SPONGE CAKE. Weigh ten eggs, add their weight in very fine sugar, and of flour the weight of six eggs. Beat the yolks with the flour, and the whites alone, to a very stiff froth. Mix by degrees the whites and the flour with the other ingredients, beat them well half an hour, and bake the cake an hour in a quick oven.--Another, without butter. Dry a pound of flour, and a pound and a quarter of sugar. Grate a lemon, add a spoonful of brandy, and beat the whole together with the hand for an hour. Bake the cake in a buttered pan, in a quick oven. Sweetmeats may be added if approved. SPOONMEATS FOR INFANTS. It is something more than a human axiom, that milk is for babes; and as this forms the basis of nearly all the food from which their nourishment is derived, it is necessary to observe, that the best way of using it is without either skimming or boiling it. The cream is the most nutritious balsamic part of milk, and to deprive it of this is to render it less nourishing, and less easy of digestion, than in its pure state. In some particular cases skimmed milk may be preferable, but it may be adopted as a general rule, that new milk is the wholesomest and the best. If it stands any time before it is used, instead of taking off the cream, it should be mixed in with the milk. Boiling the milk, if it be only a little, fixes it, and entirely alters its qualities. As a proof of this, it will not afterwards afford any cream, but merely a thin skin. In this state it is hard of digestion, and therefore apt to occasion obstructions. It is most proper for food in its natural state, or when only scalded.--One of the first and simplest preparations for infants is Bread Pap, made by pouring scalding water on thin slices of good white bread, and letting it stand uncovered till it cools. The water is then drained off, the bread bruised fine, and mixed with as much new milk as will make it of a tolerable consistence. It is then warm enough for use, without setting it upon the fire. Sugar is very commonly put into this pap, but it is much better without it. The palate of the child will not require sugar in any kind of food, till habit makes it familiar.--Egg Pap is another suitable article for young children. Set a quart of spring water on a clear brisk fire. Mix two spoonfuls of fresh fine flour with the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, adding a little cold water. When the water is ready to boil, stir in the batter before it boils, till of a sufficient thickness. Then take it off the fire, add a little salt, pour it into a basin, and let it cool of itself till it become about as warm as milk from the cow. If eggs cannot be procured, a small piece of butter may be added with the salt, and stirred in gently till well mixed, to prevent its oiling. Eggs however are to be preferred. This food is extremely wholesome, affords real nourishment, opens all the passages, breeds good blood and lively spirits, is pleasant to the palate, and grateful to the stomach. The frequent use of it purifies the blood and all the humours, prevents windy distempers and griping pain, both of the stomach and bowels. From all the ingredients bearing a resemblance to each other, no predominant quality prevails, so that it may justly claim the first place amongst all spoonmeats or paps, and as food for infants it is next to the milk of the breast. In some cases it is much better, on account of the various diseases to which suckling women are subject, and the improper food in which they too frequently indulge. No other ingredients should however be added to this kind of food, such as sugar, spices, or fruits, which tend only to vitiate the diet, and to render it less nutritious. This and other sorts of spoonmeat should be made rather thin than otherwise, and abounding with liquid, whether milk or water. All porridges and spoonmeats that are made thin, and quickly prepared, are sweeter, brisker on the palate, and easier of digestion, than those which are thick, and long in preparing. Food should never be given to children more than milk warm, and the proper way to cool it is by letting it stand uncovered to cool itself; for much stirring alters the composition, and takes off the sweetness. Covering it down too, keeps in the fumes that ought to go off, and by excluding the air, renders it less pure.--Flour Pap. To two thirds of new milk, after it has stood five or six hours from the time of milking, add one third of spring water, and set it on a quick clear fire. Make a batter of milk and fine flour, and just as the milk and water is ready to boil, pour in the batter, and stir it a few minutes. When it is ready to boil again, take it off, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. A good spoonful of flour is sufficient to thicken a pint of milk, or milk and water. This will make it about the thickness of common milk porridge, which is what will eat the sweetest, and be the easiest of digestion. This kind of food affords substantial nourishment, it neither binds nor loosens the body, but keeps it in proper order, nourishes the blood, and tends to produce a lively disposition. Pap prepared in this way is far more friendly to nature than in the common way of boiling, and may be constantly eaten with much better effect, and without ever tiring or cloying the stomach.--Oatmeal Pap. Mix a pint of milk and water, in the proportion of two thirds milk and one third water, with a good spoonful of oatmeal, but it is best not to be too thick. Set it in a saucepan upon a quick clear fire, and when it is near boiling take it off. Pour it from one basin into another, backwards and forwards seven or eight times, which will bring out the fine flour of the oatmeal, and incorporate it with the milk. Then return it into the saucepan, set it upon the fire, and when it is again ready to boil take it off, and let it stand in the saucepan a little to fine, for the husky part of the oatmeal will sink to the bottom. When settled, pour it off into a basin, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. This is an excellent pap, very congenial to a weak constitution, affording good nourishment, and easy of digestion.--Water Gruel. Take a spoonful and a half of fresh ground oatmeal, mix with it gradually a quart of spring water, and set it on a clear fire. When ready to boil take it off, pour it from one basin into another, backwards and forwards five or six times, and set it on the fire again. Take it off again just before it boils, and let it stand a little time in the saucepan, that the coarse husks of the oatmeal may sink to the bottom. Then pour it out, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. When water gruel is made with grots, it must boil gently for some time. The longer it boils the more it will jelly; but moderation must be observed in this respect, for if it be very long boiled and becomes very thick, it will be flat and heavy. A mistaken idea very generally prevails, that water gruel is not nourishing; on the contrary, it is a light, cleansing, nourishing food, good either in sickness or in health, both for old and young.--Milk Porridge. Make some water gruel, and when it has stood awhile to cool, add to it about one third part of new milk without boiling. It may be eaten with or without salt. Milk porridge is exceedingly cleansing and easy of digestion, and is agreeable to the weakest stomach. There is also another way of making it, which some prefer. Stir a pint of water gradually into three large spoonfuls of fresh oatmeal, let it stand till clear, and then pour off the water. Put a pint of fresh water to the oatmeal, stir it up well, and leave it till the next day. Strain off the liquor through a fine sieve, and set it in a saucepan over a clear brisk fire. Add about half the quantity of milk gradually while it is warming, and when it is just ready to boil take it off, pour it into a basin, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. This as well as the former porridge is very light, and proper for weak stomachs.--Indian Arrow Root is another excellent preparation for children. Put a dessert-spoonful of the powdered root into a basin, and mix with it as much cold new milk as will make it into a paste. Pour upon this half a pint of milk scalding-hot, stirring it briskly to keep it smooth. Set it on the fire till it is ready to boil, then take it off, pour it into a basin, and let it cool. This may be made with water instead of milk, and some cold milk mixed with it afterwards; or if the stomach be very weak, it will be best without any milk at all. Great care must be taken to procure the genuine arrow root, which makes a very strengthening and excellent food for infants or invalids.--Sago Jelly. Soak a large spoonful of sago for an hour in cold water, then pour off the water, add a pint of fresh water to the sago, and stew it gently till it is reduced to about half the quantity. When done, pour it into a basin, and let it cool.--Sago with Milk. Prepare a large spoonful of sago by soaking it for an hour in cold water, but instead of adding water afterwards, put in a pint and a half of new milk. Boil it gently till reduced to about half the quantity, then pour it into a basin, and let it cool.--Tapioca Jelly. Wash two good spoonfuls of the large sort of tapioca in cold water, and then soak it in a pint and a half of water for four hours. Stew it gently in the same water till it is quite clear. Let it stand to cool after it is poured out of the saucepan, and use it either with or without the addition of a little new milk.--Pearl Barley Gruel. Put two ounces of pearl barley, after it has been well washed, into a quart of water. Simmer it gently till reduced to a pint, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool.--Rice Gruel. Soak two large spoonfuls of rice in cold water for an hour. Pour off the water, and put a pint and a quarter of new milk to the rice. Stew it gently till the rice is sufficiently tender to pulp it through a sieve, and then mix the pulp into the milk that the rice was stewed in. Simmer it over the fire for ten minutes, and if it appear too thick, gradually add a little more milk, so as not to damp it from simmering. When done, pour it into a basin to cool.--Rice Milk. To four large spoonfuls of whole rice, washed very clean in cold water, add a quart of new milk, and stew them together very gently for three hours. Let it stand in a basin to cool before it is used. Another way of making rice milk is boiling the rice first in water, then pouring off the water, and boiling the rice with milk. A better way perhaps is, after washing the rice well, setting it over the fire for half an hour with a little water to break it. Add a little at a time some warm milk, till it is sufficiently done, and of a proper thickness. Let it simmer slowly, and season it with salt and sugar; but for children the sugar had better be omitted.--Ground Rice Milk. Mix a large spoonful of ground rice into a batter, with two or three spoonfuls of new milk. Set a pint of new milk on the fire, and when it is scalding hot, stir in the batter, and keep it on the fire till it thickens, but it must not boil. It should be carefully stirred to prevent its burning, and cooled by standing by in a basin.--Millet Milk. Wash three spoonfuls of millet seed in cold water, and put it into a quart of new milk. Simmer it gently till it becomes moderately thick, and cool it in a basin till wanted for use. All those preparations which require some time in doing, also require the precaution of being carefully stirred, to prevent their burning.--Drinks for young children, in addition to their diet, are best made of milk and water, whey, barley water, pearl barley water, apple water, and toast and water. For Milk and Water, put one third of new milk to two thirds of spring water. This is best drunk cold; but if it must be warmed, it should be by putting warm water to cold milk. It ought not to be made more than milk warm. For Whey, take a quart of new milk before it is cold, and put in as much rennet as will turn it to a clear whey. Let it stand till it is properly turned, and pour it off through a cheesecloth without pressing the curd, that the whey may be the purer. It may be drunk cold, or just warmed by setting it before the fire for a little while. If new milk cannot be had, other milk must be warmed to the degree of new milk.--Barley Water is made of a handful of common barley well washed, and simmered in three pints of water, till of a proper thickness for use; but the longer the barley boils, the thinner the liquor will become. Pearl Barley Water is made of an ounce of pearl barley, heated in half a pint of water over the fire in order to clean it. The water is then poured off, and a quart of fresh water added to the pearl barley. Simmer it half an hour, and if it appears too thick, add more water, but let it be kept warm, as any quantity of cold water would damp it too suddenly, and thus tend to spoil it. Both this and barley water may be used cold, or milk warm.--Apple Water. Slice into a jug two or three sound ripe apples, and pour on them a quart of scalding hot water. Let it stand to cool, and it will be fit for use. The apples should not be pared, as it takes off their spirit.--Toast and Water is made of a slice of white bread toasted quite dry, and of a dark brown colour. It is then put into a jug, and spring water poured upon it. After an hour it is fit for use. As all these preparations, both of drinks and spoonmeats, become flat and good for little by long standing, it is better to make only such quantities of them at a time as will soon be used. When they are warmed up, no more should be done at once than is just sufficient for the occasion, as repeated warming injures the nutritious quality of every thing. When it can be avoided it is better not to set things on the fire to warm them up, but to place them before or on the side of the fire. Care however must be taken not to let them dry and scorch, as it makes them very strong and unwholesome. Some earthenware vessel should be used for this purpose, as less liable to produce an injurious effect. A very good method of warming things is by setting them in a basin over boiling water, or by placing them in it. SPRAINS. These generally proceed from some external injury, attended with pain, swelling, and inflammation. A fomentation of vinegar, or camphorated spirits of wine, if applied immediately, will generally be sufficient: if not, a few drops of laudanum should be added. The fomentation should be frequently renewed, and the sprained part kept in a state of rest and relaxation. SPRATS. When quite good and fresh, their gills are of a fine red, their eyes and whole body beautifully bright. After being scaled and cleaned, they should be fastened in rows by a skewer run through the heads; then broiled, and served up hot and hot. SPRATS LIKE ANCHOVIES. Salt them well, and let the salt drain from them. In twenty-four hours wipe them dry, but do not wash them. Mix four ounces of common salt, an ounce of bay salt, an ounce of saltpetre, a quarter of an ounce of sal-prunella, and half a tea-spoonful of cochineal, all in the finest powder. Sprinkle it amongst three quarts of the fish, and pack them in two stone jars. Keep them in a cool place, fastened down with a bladder. These artificial anchovies are pleasant on bread and butter, but the genuine should be used for sauce. SPRING FRUIT PUDDING. Peel and wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, put them into the stewpan with a lemon, a little cinnamon, and sweeten the whole with moist sugar. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a marmalade. Pass it through a hair sieve, add the yolks of four eggs and one white, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, half a nutmeg, and the peel of a lemon grated. Beat all well together, line the inside of a pie dish with good puff paste, put in the pudding, and bake it half an hour. SPRING SOUP. Put a pint of peas into a saucepan with some chervil, purslain, lettuce, sorrel, parsley, three or four onions, and a piece of butter. Shake them over the fire a few minutes, add warm water in proportion to the vegetables, and stew them till they are well done. Strain off the soup, and pulp the vegetables through a tammis or sieve. Heat the pulp with three parts of the soup, mix six yolks of eggs with the remainder of it, and thicken it over the fire. When ready to serve, add this to the soup, and season the whole with salt. SPROUTS. Before the sprouts of greens are boiled, trim and wash them very nicely, and drain them in a cullender. Then put them into boiling water, with some salt thrown in, and sprinkle a little more upon the sprouts. Boil them very fast, and clear off any scum that may arise. When the stalks are quite tender, drain the sprouts off directly into a cullender, or they will lose both their flavour and colour. Serve them up laid neatly in the dish with a fork, as that will not break them like a spoon. Borecole and Brussel sprouts, like all the cabbage species, should be boiled in plenty of water, changing it when about half done, and boiling them well. SPRUCE BEER. Pour sixteen gallons of warm water into a barrel, with twelve pounds of molasses, and half a pound of the essence of spruce. When cool, add a pint of yeast, stir it well for two or three days, and put it into stone bottles. Wire down the corks, pack the bottles in saw dust, and the liquor will ripen in about a fortnight. SQUAB PIE. Prepare apples as for other pies, and lay them in rows with mutton chops. Shred some onion, and sprinkle it among them, and also some sugar.--Another. Make a good crust, and sheet your dish all over; lay a layer of pippins, and strew sugar over them; cut a loin of mutton into steaks, season them with pepper and salt; lay a layer of steaks, then pippins; then lay some onions sliced thin on the apples, then the rest of your mutton, and apples and onions over all; pour in a pint of water, and lid your pye; let it be well baked. STAFFORDSHIRE BEEF STEAKS. Beat them a little with a rollingpin, then flour and season, and fry them of a fine light brown, with sliced onions. Lay the steaks into a stewpan, and pour over them as much boiling water as will serve for sauce. Stew them very gently for half an hour, and add a spoonful of ketchup or walnut liquor, before they are served up. STAFFORDSHIRE SYLLABUB. Put into a bowl a pint of cider, and a glass of brandy, with sugar and nutmeg. Pour into it some warm milk, from a large tea-pot, held up high, and moved over it. STAINS BY ACIDS. Wet the injured part, and lay on some salt of wormwood; then rub it, without diluting it with more water. Or let the cloth imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted match at a due distance. The spots will be removed by the sulphureous gas. Another way is to tie up some pearl ash in the stained part, then scrape some soap into cold soft water to make a lather, and boil the linen till the stain disappears. STAINS IN MAHOGANY. If any kind of furniture get stained with ink, dilute half a tea-spoonful of oil of vitriol with a large spoonful of water, and touch the stained part with a feather dipped in the liquid. It must be watched, and not suffered to remain too long, or it will leave a white mark. It is better to rub it quick, and to moisten it again, if the stain be not entirely removed. STAINING OF BONE. This article must first be prepared, by being steeped for several days in a mixture of roche alum, vitriol, verdigris, and copper filings, infused in white wine vinegar. When the ingredients are dissolved, the mixture may be boiled with the bone in it, and it will take a fine green colour. By infusing brazil wood, French berries, or indigo in the vinegar, with a little roche alum, either red, yellow, or blue may be produced. Either bone, ivory, or wood, may be coloured in this manner. STAINING OF PARCHMENT. Paper or parchment may be stained of a green colour, by gradually dissolving some copper filings in aqua-fortis, or the spirits of salt, putting in the filings till the ebullition ceases. A solution of verdigris in vinegar, or the crystals of verdigris in water, will answer the same purpose. A fine crimson stain may be produced by a tincture of the Indian lake, made by infusing the lake several days in spirits of wine, and pouring off the tincture from the dregs. A beautiful yellow may be formed from the tincture of turmeric, made in the same way. If the colours be wanted of a deeper cast, arnatto or dragon's blood may be added to the tincture. STAINING OF WOOD. To stain wood of a mahogany colour, put it into a mixture of oil of turpentine and pounded dragon's blood, and let it stand an hour over a slow fire. When taken off the fire, the wood may remain in the liquor all night. The dye may be made stronger or weaker, by using more or less of dragon's blood, and by a greater or less degree of digestion and boiling. The best wood for this purpose is plane tree, because it may easily be sawn and polished, and is beautifully veined and spotted. To stain wood a fine black, drop a little oil of vitriol into a small quantity of water, rub it on the wood, and hold it to the fire. It will then become a fine black, and receive a beautiful polish. STALKS OF BEET LEAVES. Trim and well wash the stalks of green and white beet leaves, and boil them in water, moving them frequently, to prevent the upper ones from turning black. When done enough, drain them in a cullender. Make a white sauce with a little flour and water, a piece of butter, some pepper and salt, and a taste of vinegar. Thicken this over the fire, and put in the stalks to stew gently for a few minutes, to give them a flavour. If the butter oils, it is a sign that the sauce is too thick. In this case add another spoonful or two of water, and shake the stewpan till the sauce recovers it appearance. STARCH is a substance which is extracted from wheaten flour, by washing it in water. All farinaceous seeds, and the roots of most vegetables, afford this substance in a greater or less degree; but it is most easily obtained from the flour of wheat, by moistening any quantity thereof with a little water, and kneading it with the hand into a tough paste: this being washed with water, by letting fall upon it a very slender stream, the water will be rendered turbid as it runs off, in consequence of the fecula or starch which it extracts from the flour, and which will subside when the water is allowed to stand at rest. The starch so obtained, when dried in the sun, or by a stove, is usually concreted into small masses of a long figure and columnar shape, which have a fine white colour, scarcely any smell, and very little taste. If kept dry, starch in this state continues a long time uninjured, although exposed to the air. It is not soluble in cold water; but forms a thick paste with boiling-hot water, and when this paste is allowed to cool, it becomes semi-transparent and gelatinous, and being dried, becomes brittle, and somewhat resembles gum. Starch, although found in all nutritive grains, is only perfect when they have attained maturity, for before this it is in a state approaching to mucilage, and so mixed with saccharine matter and essential oils, that it cannot be extracted in sufficient purity to concrete into masses. Wheat, or such parts of it as are not used for human food, are usually employed for manufacturing starch, such as the refuse wheat and bran; but when the finest starch is required, good grain must be used. This, being well cleaned, and sometimes coarsely bruised, is put into wooden vessels full of water to ferment: to assist the fermentation, the vessels are exposed to the greatest heat of the sun, and the water is changed twice a day, during eight or twelve days, according to the season. When the grain bursts easily under the finger, and gives out a milky white liquor when squeezed, it is judged to be sufficiently softened and fermented. In this state, the grains are taken out of the water by a sieve, and put into a canvas sack, and the husks are separated and rubbed off, by beating and rubbing the sack upon a plank: the sack is then put into a tub filled with cold water, and trodden or beaten till the water becomes milky and turbid, from the starch which it takes up from the grain. A scum sometimes swims upon the surface of the water, which must be carefully removed; the water is then run off through a fine sieve into a settling-vessel, and fresh water is poured upon the grains, two or three times, till it will not extract any more starch, or become coloured by the grain. The water in the settling-vessels being left at rest, precipitates the starch which it held suspended; and to get rid of the saccharine matter, which was also dissolved by the water, the vessels are exposed to the sun, which soon produces the acetous fermentation, and takes up such matter as renders the starch more pure and white. During this process, the starch for sale in the shops receives its colour, which consists of smalt mixed with water and a small quantity of alum, and is thoroughly incorporated with the starch; but this starch is unfit for medicinal purposes. When the water becomes completely sour, it is poured gently off from the starch, which is washed several times afterwards with clean water, and at last is placed to drain upon linen cloths supported by hurdles, and the water drips through, leaving the starch upon the cloths, in which it is pressed or wrung, to extract as much as possible of the water; and the remainder is evaporated, by cutting the starch into pieces, which are laid up in airy places, upon a floor of plaster or of slightly burnt bricks, until it becomes completely dried from all moisture, partly by the access of warm air, and partly by the floor imbibing the moisture. In winter time, the heat of a stove must be employed to effect the drying. Lastly, the pieces of dried starch are scraped, to remove the outside crust, which makes inferior starch, and these pieces are broken into smaller pieces for sale. The grain which remains in the sack after the starch is extracted, contains the husks and the glutinous part of the wheat, which are found very nutritious food for cattle. The French manufacturers, according to "Les Arts et Metiers," pursue a more economical method, as they are enabled, by employing an acid water for the fermentation in the first instance, to use the most inferior wheat, and the bran or husks of wheat. This water they prepare, by putting a pailful of warm water into a tub, with about two pounds of leaven, such as some bakers use to make their dough rise or ferment. The water stands two days, and is then stirred up, and half a pailful of warm water added to it; then being left to settle till it is clear, it is poured off for use. To use this water in the fermentation of the materials, a quantity of it is poured into a tub, and about as much fair water is poured upon it as will fill the tub half full: the remainder of the tub is then filled up with the materials, which are one half refuse wheat, and the other half bran. In this tub it continues to steep and ferment during ten days, or less, according to the strength of the leaven-water, and according to the disposition of the weather for fermentation. When the materials have been sufficiently steeped, or fermented, an unctuous matter, which is the oil of the grain, will be seen swimming on the surface, having been thrown up by the fermentation. This must be scummed off; and the fermented grain, being taken out of the tub, is put into a fine hair sieve, placed over a settling-tub, when fair water is poured upon it, and washed through the sieve into the tub; by which means the starch is carried through the sieve with the water, of which about six times the quantity of the grain are used. The water stands in the settling tub for a day, and becomes clear at top; when it is carefully laded out of the tub, leaving at the bottom a white sediment, which is the starch. The water which is taken off is sour, and is called _sure_ water: this is the proper leaven for the first steeping of the materials. The starch now obtained must be rendered marketable; for which purpose, as much water is poured upon it as will enable it to be pounded and broken up with a shovel, and then the tub is filled up with fair water. Two days after this, the water is laded out from the tub, and the starch appears in the bottom, but covered over with a dark-coloured and inferior kind of starch, which is taken off, and employed for fattening hogs. The remainder of the sediment, which is good starch, is washed several times, to remove all the inferior starch; and when this is done, about four inches of thick starch should be found at the bottom of each tub: but the quantity varies, according to the goodness of the meal or bran which has been used. It is evident that the refuse wheat, when employed for making starch, ought to afford more, the whole being used, than the bran or husks; but the starch so extracted is always of an inferior quality to that which is extracted from the bran of good wheat, particularly in the whiteness of its colour. The starch in the different tubs is brought together into one, and there worked up with as much water as will dissolve it into a thin paste, which is put into a silk sieve, and strained through with fresh water. This water is settled in a tub, and afterwards poured off, but before it is so completely settled as to lose all its white colour: this renders the starch which is deposited, still finer and whiter; and the starch which is deposited by the water so poured off, is of a more common quality. The starch, thus purified, is taken out of the bottom of the tubs, and put into wicker-baskets, about eighteen inches long and ten deep, rounded at the corners, and lined with linen cloths, which are not fastened to the baskets. The water drips from the starch through the cloths for a day, and the baskets are then carried up to apartments at the top of the house, where the floor is made of very clean white plaster; and the windows are thrown open, to admit a current of air. Here the baskets are turned downwards upon the plaster-floor, and the linen cloths, not being fastened to the baskets, follow the starch, and when taken off, leave loaves, or cakes of starch, which are left to dry a little, and are then broken into smaller pieces, and left on the plaster-floor, till very dry. But if the weather is at all humid, the starch is removed from the plaster-floor and spread out upon shelves, in an apartment which is warmed by a stove, and there it remains till perfectly dry. The pieces are afterwards scraped, to remove the outside crust, which makes common starch; and the scraped pieces being again broken small, the starch is carried to the stove, and spread out to a depth of three inches, on hurdles covered with cloths. The starch must be turned over every morning and evening, to prevent it from turning to a greenish colour, which it would otherwise do. Those manufacturers who are not provided with a stove, make use of the top of a baker's oven to spread the starch upon; and after being thoroughly dried here, it is ready for sale. Starch may be made from potatoes, by soaking them about an hour in water, and taking off their roots and fibres, then rubbing them quite clean by a strong brush: after this they are reduced to a pulp, by grating them in water. This pulp is to be collected in a tub, and mixed up with a large quantity of clear water: at the same time, another clean tub must be provided; and a hair sieve, not too fine, must be supported over it by two wooden rails extended across the tub. The pulp and water are thrown into the sieve, and the flour of starch is carried through with the water; fresh water must then be poured on, till it runs through quite clear. The refuse pulp which remains in the sieve, being boiled in water, makes an excellent food for animals; and the quantity of this pulp is near seven-eighths of all the potatoes employed. The liquor which has passed through the sieve is turbid, and of a darkish colour, from the extractive matter which is dissolved in it. When it is suffered to rest for five or six hours, all this matter deposits or settles to the bottom, and the liquor which remains is to be poured off as useless; and a large quantity of fresh water is thrown upon the flour, and stirred up: it is then settled for a day, and the water being poured off, the flour will be found to have again settled in a whiter state. But to improve it, another quantity of water is poured on, and mixed up with it; in which state it is passed through a fine silk sieve, to arrest any small quantity of the pulp which may have escaped the first hair sieve. The whole must afterwards be suffered to stand quiet, till the flour is entirely settled, and the water above become perfectly clear; but if the water has any sensible colour or taste, the flour must be washed again with fresh water, for it is absolutely necessary that none of the extractive matter be suffered to remain with it. The flour, when thus obtained pure, and drained from the water, may be taken out of the tub with a wooden shovel, and placed upon wicker-frames covered with paper, to be dried in some situation properly defended from dust. When the manufacture of starch from potatoes is attempted in a large way, some kind of mill must be used to reduce them to a pulp, as the grating of them by hand is too tedious an operation. A mill invented by M. Baumé is very complete for this purpose. In its general structure it resembles a large coffee-mill: the grater consists of a cone of iron plate, about seven inches in diameter, and eight inches in height, the exterior surface of which is made toothed, like a rasp, by piercing holes through the plate from the inside. This cone is fixed upon a verticle axle, with a handle at the top to turn it by; and is mounted on the pivots of the axle, within a hollow cylinder of plate-iron, toothed withinside like the outside of the cone; the smallest end of the interior cone being uppermost, and the lower or larger end being as large as the interior diameter of the hollow cylinder. A conical hopper is fixed to the hollow cylinder, round the top of it, into which the potatoes are thrown; and falling down into the space between the outside of the cone and the inside of the hollow cylinder, they are ground, and reduced to a pulp, when the interior cone is turned round by its handle; and as the lower part of the cone is fitted close to the interior diameter of the cylinder, the potatoes must be ground to a fine pulp before they can pass through between the two. The machine, when at work, is placed in a tub filled with water; and as fast as the grinding proceeds, the pulp mixes regularly with the water, ready for the process before described. Poland starch is reckoned the best: its quality may be judged of by the fineness of the grain, its being very brittle, and of a good colour. The price of starch depends upon that of flour; and when bread is cheap, starch may be bought to advantage. If it be of good quality it will keep for some years, covered close, and laid up in a dry warm room. In the year 1796, lord William Murray obtained a patent for manufacturing starch from horse-chesnuts. The method was to take the horse-chesnuts out of the outward green prickly husk, and either by hand, with a knife or tool, or else with a mill adapted for the purpose, the brown rind was carefully removed, leaving the chesnuts perfectly white, and without the smallest speck. In this state the nuts were rasped or ground to a pulp with water, and the pulp washed with water through a coarse horse-hair sieve, and twice afterwards through finer sieves, with a constant addition of clear cold water, till all the starch was washed clean from the pulp which remained in the sieve; and the water being settled, deposited the starch, which was afterwards repeatedly washed, purified, and dried, in the same manner as the potatoe-starch before described. We are not informed if this manufacture has been carried into effect. The sour, nauseous, milky liquor obtained in the process of starch-making, appears, upon analysis, to contain acetous acid, ammonia, alcohol, gluten, and phosphate of lime. The office of the acid is to dissolve the gluten and phosphate of lime, and thus to separate them from the starch. Starch is used along with smalt, or stone-blue, to stiffen and clear linen. The powder of it is also used to whiten and powder the hair. It is also used by the dyers, to dispose their stuffs to take colours the better. Starch is sometimes used instead of sugar-candy for mixing with the colours that are used in strong gum-water, to make them work more freely, and to prevent their cracking. It is also used medicinally for the same intentions with the viscous substance which the flour of wheat forms with milk, in fluxes and catarrhs, under various forms of powders, mixtures, &c. A drachm of starch, with three ounces of any agreeable simple water, and a little sugar, compose an elegant jelly, of which a spoonful may be taken every hour or two. These gelatinous mixtures are likewise an useful injection in some diarrhoeas, particularly where the lower intestines have their natural mucus rubbed off by the flux, or are constantly irritated by the acrimony of the matter. STEAKS FRIED. Moisten the pan with butter, put in some beef steaks, and when done, lay them on a dish. Put to the gravy that comes out of them, a glass of port wine, half an anchovy, a sliced shalot with nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Give it a boil in the pan, pour it over the steaks, and send them hot to table. In a plainer way, put a little flour and water into the pan with the gravy when the steaks are taken out, adding a spoonful of ketchup, an onion or shalot. The wine and anchovy may be omitted. Garnish with scraped horse-radish round the dish. STEAK PIE. Raise a crust pretty deep and thick. Divide a breast or neck of mutton into steaks, beat and season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Add some sweet herbs cut very fine, two onions sliced, the yolks of three or four hard eggs minced, and two spoonfuls of capers. Scatter these among the steaks as they are laid into the pie. Put on the top crust, and let the pie soak in a moderately hot oven for two hours or longer, according to its size. Have some gravy ready to put into it through a funnel, when it is to be served up. STEAK PUDDING. Make a paste of suet or dripping and flour, roll it out, and line a basin with it. Season the meat, and put it in. Cover it with the paste, pinch it close round the edge, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it two hours, but be careful not to break it.--Another way. Make a good paste, with suet shred very fine, and flour; mix it up with cold water, and a little salt, and make your crust pretty stiff; about two pounds of suet to a quarter of a peck of flour. Let the steaks be either beef or mutton, well seasoned with pepper and salt; make it up like an apple-pudding, tie it in a cloth tight, and put it into the water boiling. If it be a large pudding, it will take four or five hours; if a middling one, three hours. STEAKS ROLLED. After beating them to make them tender, spread them over with any quantity of high seasoned forcemeat. Then roll them up, and skewer them tight. Fry the steaks in nice dripping, till they become of a delicate brown. Then take them out of the fat in which they were fried, and put them into a stewpan with some good gravy, a spoonful of port wine, and some ketchup. When sufficiently stewed, serve them up with the gravy, and a few pickled mushrooms. STEAM. Steam is employed to great advantage for culinary purposes. It is made to communicate with vessels in the form of boilers, as a substitute for having fires under them, which is a great advantage, both in the economy of fuel, and in avoiding at the same time the nuisance of ashes and smoke. The most convenient application of steam for culinary purposes is, when it directly acts upon the substance to be heated. This has been generally effected by placing the substance, whether meat or vegetables, in a vessel without water, and allowing the steam to enter and condense upon it. The most convenient apparatus of this kind we have yet heard of, consists of a cast-iron plate about thirty inches or three feet square, standing horizontally in a recess in the wall, like a table. Round the edge of this plate is a groove, about half an inch wide and two inches deep. Into this groove fits an inverted tin vessel, like a dish-cover. This is capable of being elevated and depressed by a pulley and chain, having a counterpoise, in order to expose the table at any time. The steam comes under the table and enters in the centre. The dishes to receive the heat are placed on any part within the groove, the steam being common to all. The water resulting from the condensation runs into the groove, and at a point short of the top runs off. The water which remains forms a complete water-lute, to prevent the escape of steam. The table being placed in a recess, like a common stone hearth, a small flue is placed over it to take away any steam that may escape when the cover is lifted up. The great quantity of hot water required in a scullery should be perpetually kept up by a supply of steam. For this purpose a large cylindrical vessel of cast-iron should be elevated in a corner of the scullery, in order that water may be drawn from it by a cock. This vessel should be connected from the bottom with a cold-water cistern, the bottom of which is level with the top of the cylinder, by which the latter is kept constantly full. The hot-water cylinder is closed firmly at the top, and therefore, when the air is allowed to escape, the water rises to the top. If now a pipe be connected with the top, coming down to where it is to be drawn off, if any portion is drawn out here, as much will come in at the bottom of the cylinder from the reservoir above. So far we have described this cylinder without its steam-vessel. Within this cylinder, and about the middle, is a distinct vessel, nearly of the width of the cylinder; but having a free space round the inner vessel about an inch wide. The depth of the inner vessel must be about one-sixth that of the outer one. This inner vessel must have no connection with the outer one, and must be so water-tight, that although it is surrounded with the water of the outer one, none should get in. The inner vessel is on one side connected by a pipe with a steam-boiler, having another pipe to allow the condensed water to run off, which may be preserved as distilled water, and is valuable for many purposes. The heat arising from the condensation is communicated to the water in the outer vessel, the hottest being at the top, where the mouth of the exit-pipe is placed. When, therefore, a portion of hot water is drawn from the cock, the pipe of which comes from the top of the vessel immediately under the cover, an equal quantity comes in at the bottom from the reservoir. This useful apparatus is the invention of an ingenious economist of Derby, and is at present in use in his kitchen. The art of boiling vegetables of all kinds in steam instead of water, might probably be managed to advantage, as a greater degree of heat might be thus given them, by contriving to increase the heat of the steam after it has left the water; and thus the vegetable mucilage in roots and seeds, as in potatoes and flour puddings, as well as in their leaves, stems, and flower-cups, might be rendered probably more nutritive, and perhaps more palatable; but that many of the leaves of vegetables, as the summits of cabbage-sprouts, lose their green colour by being boiled in steam, and look like blanched vegetables. Steam has likewise lately been applied in gardening to the purpose of forcing plants of different kinds in the winter season, in order to have their produce at an early period, as to the cucumber, and some other vegetables of a somewhat similar nature; but the exact manner of its application in this intention, so far as we know, has not yet been communicated to the public; it is, however, by some mode of flues, pipes, and other contrivances for conveying and containing it, so as that its heat may be uninterruptedly, equally, and regularly afforded to the roots of the plants which it is designed to push forward into the fruiting state. It is said to have been used in some instances in different parts of Lancashire with great success. But how far the expense and advantage of such a method may admit of and encourage its being introduced into general practice, have not, probably, yet been well or fully ascertained. If it should be found capable of perfectly succeeding in this use, on more full and correct experience, it will, however, constitute not only a neat and clean, but an elegant mode of forcing plants into fruit at early seasons. STEAMED POTATOES. The potatoes must be well washed, but not pared, and put into the steamer when the water boils. Moderate sized potatoes will require three quarters of an hour to do them properly. They should be taken up as soon as they are done enough, or they will become watery. STEEL. To transform iron into steel, put four ounces of cast iron into a crucible, with a considerable degree of heat. While in a state of fusion, immerse in it a polished iron wire of some thickness, and keep it there for some time, but not so long as to fuse it. When cold, the wire will be so hard as to resist the action of a common file, being converted into steel. STEEL RUST. The prevention of rust, on such articles of furniture as are made of polished steel, is an object of great importance in domestic economy. The cutlers in Sheffield, when they have given a knife or razor blade the requisite degree of polish, rub them with powdered quick-lime, in order to prevent them from tarnishing; and it seems that articles made of polished steel are dipped in lime water, before they are sent into the retail market. But when steel has contracted rust, the method of cleaning and polishing it is to oil the rusty parts, and let it remain in that state two or three days. Then wipe it dry with clean rags, and polish with emery or pumice stone, or hard wood. After the oil is cleared off, a little fresh lime finely powdered will often be found sufficient; but where a higher polish is required, it will be necessary to use a paste composed of finely levigated bloodstone and spirits of wine. STEEL STOVES. To preserve them effectually from rust, beat into three pounds of unsalted lard, two drams of camphor sliced thin, till the whole is absorbed. Then take as much black lead as will make it of the colour of broken steel; dip a rag into it, rub it thick on the stove, and the steel will never rust, even if wetted. When the stove is to be used, the grease must be washed off with hot water, and the steel be dried before polishing. STEWED ARTICHOKES. Wash and pare some Jerusalem artichokes, and part them in two. Boil them in a small quantity of gravy till almost done, and the liquor nearly consumed. Then add some cream, a piece of butter rolled in flour and a little salt, all in proportion to the number of artichokes. Stew them gently for ten minutes, and serve them up with sippets of white bread fried. STEWED ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS. Boil some artichokes till about half done, and then take off the leaves and the choke. Trim the bottoms nicely, and stew them gently in some gravy, with a little lemon-juice or vinegar, and some salt, till they are quite tender. Before serving them up, wipe them dry, then lay them in a dish with sippets of toasted or fried bread laid round it, and pour some strong clear gravy over them. Dried artichoke bottoms may also be used for stewing, but should first be soaked a little while in warm water. STEWED BREAST OF VEAL. Take a nice breast of veal, cut off the thin end, and boil it down for your sauce, with a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with three cloves, two blades of mace, some whole pepper and salt; put to it a quart of water, and let it stew gently till half is wasted, then raise the skin off your breast of veal, and make a forcemeat of the sweetbread first parboiled, a few crumbs of bread, a little beef suet, and some parsley shred very fine; season it with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; moisten it with a spoonful of cream, and an egg; mix all well together, and force your veal; skewer it down close, dredge it over with flour, tie it up in a clean cloth, and let it boil an hour and a half. If your gravy is done, strain it off, and take off the fat very clean; blanch and beard half a pint of oysters, a gill of pickled mushrooms, a little lemon-peel shred very fine: put this to your gravy, and thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour; fry six or eight large oysters, dipped in batter for garnish. When your veal is enough, dish it up, and pour your sauce over. Garnish your dish with lemon, oysters, and barberries. STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF. Stew nine pounds of brisket of beef, in two gallons of water, for two or three hours over night. When made sufficiently tender, take out the bones, and carefully skim off the fat. Boil in some of the liquor a few carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and white cabbage, till they become quite tender. Add some salt, and the remainder of the broth to the beef, and stew all together till sufficiently done. STEWED CALF'S LIVER LARDED. Take a calf's liver, and lard it, and put it into a stewpan, with some water, a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, and a little salt; cover it close, and let it stew till it is enough; then take up your liver, and put it into the dish you intend; cover it over, and take out your herbs and spice; skim off all the fat very clean; put in a piece of butter rolled in flour; boil it till it is of a proper thickness; pour it over your liver, and send it to table garnished with lemon. STEWED CARDOONS. Cut them into pieces, not more than five or six inches long. Take off the outward skin, and wash and scald them. Put them into a stewpan, with gravy enough to cover them, and let them stew gently till almost done, and the liquor nearly exhausted. Add a small quantity of fresh gravy, and continue stewing them gently till quite tender. Serve them up with sippets of toasted bread round the edge of the dish. If the gravy is not sufficiently seasoned, add a little salt and cayenne. STEWED CARP. Scale and clean the fish, and preserve the roe. Lay the carp in a stewpan, with a rich beef-gravy, an onion, eight cloves, a dessert-spoonful of Jamaica pepper, the same of black pepper, and a glass of port or cider. Simmer it closely covered; when nearly done, add two anchovies chopped fine, a dessert-spoonful of made mustard, a little fine walnut ketchup, and a bit of butter rolled in flour. Shake it, and let the gravy boil a few minutes. Serve with sippets of fried bread, the roe fried, and a good deal of horseradish and lemon.--Another way. Scale your carp, then gut and wash them very clean, and dry them in a cloth; put a piece of butter into a stewpan, when it is hot, fry them as quick as you can, till they are of a fine brown; boil the roes, then fry them of a fine gold colour; take them up, and keep them hot before the fire: then put to your carp half port wine and half water, as much as will cover them a little more than half way; put in some thyme, parsley, a piece of lemon-peel, whole pepper, a few cloves, a blade or two of mace, an onion, some horse-radish sliced, and two spoonfuls of ketchup; put on your cover, and let it stew very gently, till your fish is enough; do not turn them in the pan, but with a ladle take some of the liquor, and pour over your fish every now and then, while they are stewing, then cover them close again: When they are done enough, take them out of the pan with a slice, and take care not to break them; put them into the dish you intend to send them to table in, then strain the liquor, and thicken it up with a piece of butter rolled in flour; let it boil till it is pretty thick, pour the sauce over the fish, and garnish your dish with the roes, lemon, and horseradish, and send it to table. You may squeeze a little lemon into the sauce, if you like it, and add oysters fried in butter; or you may stew them in cider, instead of wine, and it is very little inferior. Tench may be done the same way.--To stew carp white. Scale and gut your fish very clean, save the roes and melts, then stove them in some good white broth; season them with mace, salt, whole pepper, an onion stuck with cloves, a faggot of sweet herbs, and about half a pint of white wine; cover them close, and let them stew gently over a charcoal fire. Dip the roes and melts in the yolk of an egg; flour them, and fry them of a fine brown, and have fried parsley and sippets ready. When the fish is near done, take out the onion and faggot, beat up the yolks of four or five eggs, take up the fish carefully, and put it into the dish you serve it in; pour off the sauce, then strain it into a stewpan, and put in your eggs; keep it stirring till it is as fine as cream, then pour it over the dish. Garnish with the roes, fried parsley, sippets, horseradish scraped, and lemon: send it as hot as possible to table.--A plain way to stew carp. Clean your carp very well, cut them in two, put them into a stewpan, with a little onion shred fine, pepper, salt, a little beaten mace, a few capers chopped small, and some crusts of bread chipped in. Then pour in a gill of white, and a gill of red wine, and as much water as will just cover them; cover the pan close, and let them stew till they are enough, and the sauce grown thick. Serve it up with lemon and horseradish for garnish. STEWED CARROTS. Half boil, scrape them nicely, and slice them into a stewpan. Add half a tea-cupful of weak broth, the same quantity of cream, with pepper and salt. Simmer till the carrots are quite tender, but not broken. Before serving, warm them up with a bit of butter rubbed in flour. Chopped parsley may be added, if approved, ten minutes before serving. STEWED CELERY. Wash six heads, and strip off the outer leaves. Either divide or leave them whole, according to their size, and cut them into lengths of four inches. Put them into a stewpan with a cup of broth, or weak gravy, and stew them tender. Add two spoonfuls of cream, and a little flour and butter seasoned with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and simmer them all together. STEWED CHICKENS. Cut two chickens into quarters; wash them clean, and put them into a stewpan, with half a pint of red wine, and a gill of water, an onion, a faggot of sweet herbs, seasoned with mace, pepper, and salt; cover them close, and let them stew half an hour, then take the quantity of an egg of butter rolled in flour; take out the onion and sweet herbs; shake it round till it is of a good thickness, and take off all the scum very clean: dish it up garnished with lemon.--To stew chickens for a tender stomach. Take two nice chickens, and half boil them; then take them up into a small soup-dish; separate all the joints, and add three or four spoonfuls of the liquor they are boiled in, with a little beaten mace, and salt; then cover them close with another dish, and keep in all the steam; set it over a clear stove, and let it stew till the chickens are enough, and send them hot to table in the same dish they were stewed in. STEWED COD. Cut a cod in slices, as you would for crimping, lay it in a clean stewpan; season it with nutmeg, a little mace finely beaten, pepper, and salt, and a bundle of sweet herbs; then pour in white wine and water an equal quantity, just to cover it: put on the cover, and let it simmer for six or eight minutes; skim it very clean, put in half a pint of shrimps clean picked, a good piece of butter rolled in flour, and the juice of a lemon; cover it, and shake your pan round gently: as soon as it begins to boil, take off all the scum as it rises: if your sauce is of a proper thickness, your fish will be enough; wipe the rim of the pan very clean, and slide the fish into your dish, taking care not to break it. Garnish with lemon and scraped horse-radish.--Another way. Lay the slices into a large stewpan, so that they need not be laid one upon another. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, a bundle of sweet herbs, and an onion. Add half a pint of white wine, and a quarter of a pint of water. Simmer it gently a few minutes, squeeze in a lemon, add a few oysters, the liquor strained, a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a little mace. Cover it close, and let it stew gently, shaking the pan often. When done take out the herbs and onions, and serve it up with the sauce poured over it. STEWED CUCUMBERS. Slice them thick, or halve and divide them into two lengths. Strew over them some salt and pepper, and sliced onions: add a little broth, or a bit of butter. Simmer very slowly, and put in a little flour and butter before serving.--Another way. Slice the onions, and cut the cucumbers large. Flour and fry them in butter, then stew them in good broth or gravy, and skim off the fat. STEWED DUCK. Half roast a duck, put it into a stewpan with a pint of beef gravy, a few leaves of sage and mint cut small, pepper and salt, and a small bit of onion shred as fine as possible. Simmer them a quarter of an hour, skim it clean, and add nearly a quart of green peas. Cover the stewpan close, and simmer near half an hour longer. Put in a piece of butter and a little flour, give it one boil, and serve all together in a dish. STEWED EELS. Melt an ounce of butter in a stewpan, add a handful of sorrel cut in large pieces, a dozen sage leaves finely minced, five pounds of eels cut in pieces, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Then put in two anchovies boned and minced, half a nutmeg, and half a pint of water. Stew them gently together for half an hour, take out the onion, squeeze in a lemon, and lay toasted bread round the dish. Half this quantity will be sufficient for a small dish.--Another way. Take what quantity of eels you please; after they are cleaned, fry them in butter, then pour the butter clear off; put into your pan a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with two or three cloves, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, and a little salt; then add a pint of red wine and water, and let them stew till they are tender: put the eels into a dish, strain off the sauce, and thicken it up with a piece of butter rolled in flour, or a piece of thickened burnt butter. Garnish your dish with horse-radish and lemon.--Another way. Having cleaned your eels very well, cut them in pieces, put them into a stewpan, with a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, mace, whole pepper, and a little salt; put to them a gill of white wine, half a pint of red, and a gill of water; cover them close, and let them stew till tender; strain off the gravy, thicken it up, and send it to table.--To stew an eel whole. Take a fine large eel, clean it well, force the inside with crumbs of bread, an anchovy cut fine, salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and two or three oysters bruised, with some parsley shred fine; fill the inside as full as you can, sew it up with fine thread, turn it round, and run a small skewer through it, to keep it in its folds; put it into a small stewpan, with an onion stuck with cloves, and a faggot of herbs; put over it red wine; cover the pan down very close, and let it stew gently till tender; take out the onion, &c. put the eel into a dish, and a plate over it; thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour, and squeeze a little lemon into the plate. If you have any forcemeat left, make them into small balls, and fry them; put them into the sauce, give them a toss, and pour it over the eel. Garnish the dish with fried oysters, horseradish, and lemon. STEWED ENDIVE. Trim off all the green parts of the endive, wash and cut into pieces, and scald it till about half done. Drain it well, chop it a little, put it into a stewpan with a little strong gravy, and stew it gently till quite tender. Season it with some pepper and salt, and serve it up as a sauce to any kind of roast meat; or it eats well with potatoes. STEWED FOWL WITH CELERY. Take a fowl or turkey trussed short as for boiling, press down the breast-bone, put it into a clean stewpan, with good veal broth, as much as will cover it; season it with beaten mace, pepper and salt, a faggot of sweet herbs, and an onion; cover it close, and let it boil; in the mean time, take a large bunch of celery, cut all the white part small, and wash it very clean; if your turkey or fowl boils, take out the onion and herbs; scum it very clean, and put in your celery; cover it down close, and let it stew till your celery is very tender, and your fowl likewise; take a clean stewpan, and set it over your stove; take up your fowl or turkey, and keep it hot; pour your celery and sauce into your stewpan; beat up the yolks of two or three eggs in half a pint of cream, and a large spoonful of white wine; stir it till it is of a good thickness, and just at boiling squeeze in a little juice of lemon, or a little mushroom pickle; shake it round, and pour it over your fowl. Garnish your dish with lemon. STEWED FRENCH BEANS. Prepare some young beans as for boiling, and boil them in plenty of water, with salt in it, till they are rather more than half done. Drain them in a cullender, beat up the yolks of three eggs with a quarter of a pint of cream, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter, and set it over a slow fire. When hot, put in the beans, with a spoonful of vinegar, and simmer them quite tender, stirring the mixture to keep it from curdling or burning. To stew French beans with gravy, pursue the same method, only instead of the eggs and cream, put half a pint of gravy. Use only half the quantity of butter, and add that rolled in flour, to thicken up the whole after the beans are put in. The vinegar should be omitted, and cayenne and salt added if required. STEWED GIBLETS. After very nicely cleaning goose or duck giblets, and removing the thick membrane from the gizzards, stew them, in a little water. Season them with salt and pepper, and a very small piece of mace. Before serving, give them one boil with a cup of cream, and a piece of butter rubbed in a tea-spoonful of flour. STEWED GREEN PEAS. To a quart of peas add a quart of gravy, two or three lumps of sugar, with pepper and salt. Stew them gently till the peas are quite tender, and if the gravy is not sufficiently thick, add a piece of butter rolled in flour. If the peas are old, half boil them first in hard water, before they are stewed. Whether for young or old peas, the gravy must be strong. To stew them in a mild way, put a pint of young peas into a stewpan, with very little water, and two young lettuces cut small. Stew them gently till the peas are tender, then add four spoonfuls of cream, a lump of sugar, and the yolks of two eggs. Stir the whole together over the fire for a short time, but do not allow it to boil. A little salt should be added before serving up the stew. Another way is to take a quart of young peas, a small onion sliced, two lettuces cut small, and a sprig or two of mint. Put them into a stewpan, adding some salt, a little pepper and mace, and half a pint of hard water. Stew these gently for twenty minutes, then put in a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Keep the stewpan over the fire till the peas are quite tender, shaking it frequently, and never suffering them to boil. Receipts for stewing peas might be multiplied to almost any extent, for there is no one preparation in cookery perhaps more varied than this, though without any very material difference. STEWED HARE. Take off the legs and shoulders, cut out the backbone, cut into pieces the meat which comes off the sides, and put all into a stewpan. Add three quarters of a pint of small beer, the same of water, a large onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, a slice of lemon, and a little salt. Stew it gently for an hour, close covered, and put to it a quart of gravy. Stew it gradually two hours longer, or till it is quite tender. Take out the hare, rub smooth half a spoonful of flour in a little gravy, add it to the sauce, and boil it up. Then add a little salt and cayenne, and put in the hare again. When heated through, serve it up in a tureen or deep dish, adding port wine if approved. STEWED KNUCKLE OF VEAL. Take a knuckle of veal of about five pounds; wash it clean, and put it into a clean stewpan, with two quarts of water, a faggot of sweet herbs, two blades of mace, an onion stuck with three or four cloves, some whole pepper, and a little salt; put in a crust of the upper part of a loaf, cover it down close, and make it boil, then scum it very clean, and let it just simmer for full two hours. When you take it up, put your veal into the dish first, and strain your broth through a fine sieve over it, then take off all the fat very clean, and put some thin slices of French roll in your dish, and toasted bread cut in dice, in a plate. Serve it up hot. You may boil a quarter of a pound of rice in fair water, till it is very tender; then strain it off; and when you send your veal to table, lay your rice all over it.--Rice is better boiled by itself, for when you boil it with the meat, the scum is apt to discolour it, and make it eat greasy. STEWED LOBSTER. Pick the meat out of the shell, put it into a dish that has a lamp, and rub it down with a bit of butter. Add two spoonfuls of any sort of gravy, one of soy or walnut ketchup, a little salt and cayenne, and a spoonful of port. A lobster thus stewed will have a very fine relish. STEWED MUSCLES. Wash your muscles very clean, then put them into a large stewpan over a good fire; put over them a coarse wet cloth doubled: when they begin to boil, take up the cloth; if the shells are open, take them off the fire, and pick out the fish, beard them, and cut off the tongue: when you have picked about a quart, strain half a pint of the liquor to them, roll two ounces of butter in flour, add a glass of white wine, a little beaten mace, and squeeze in a little lemon juice; let them stew till of a proper thickness, put toasted sippets in the dish, pour in the muscles, and send them to table. Cockles may be done the same way. STEWED MUSHROOMS. The large buttons are best, and the small flaps while the fur is still red. Rub the large buttons with salt and a piece of flannel, cut out the fur, and take off the skin from the others. Sprinkle them with salt, put them into a stewpan, and add some peppercorns. Let it simmer slowly till it is done, then put in a small bit of butter and flour, and two spoonfuls of cream. Give it one boil, and serve up the dish with sippets of bread. STEWED MUTTON CHOPS. Take some chops of the best end of a loin of mutton, or some slices out of the middle part of a leg. Season them with pepper and salt, lay them into a stewpan with some sliced onion, and cover them with water and a little gravy. When done on one side, turn the steaks on the other, and thicken the gravy at the same time with some butter and flour. A little shalot or ketchup, or both, may be added at pleasure. Twenty or twenty-five minutes will stew them, but long stewing will make them hard. STEWED ONIONS. Peel six large onions, fry them gently of a fine brown, but do not blacken them. Then put them into a small stewpan, with a little weak gravy, pepper and salt. Cover and stew them gently two hours, and let them be lightly floured at first. STEWED OX CHEEK. Soak and cleanse a fine cheek the day before it is to be eaten. Put it into a stewpan that will cover close, with three quarts of water; simmer it after it has first boiled up, and been well skimmed. In two hours put in plenty of carrots, leeks, two or three turnips, a bunch of sweet herbs, some whole pepper, and four ounces of allspice. Skim it often, and when the meat is tender, take it out. Let the soup get cold, take off the cake of fat, and serve the soup separately, or with the meat. It should be of a fine brown, which may be done by adding a little burnt sugar, or by frying some onions quite brown with flour, and simmering them with it. This last method improves the flavour of all soups and gravies of the brown sort. If vegetables are not approved, they may be taken out of the soup, and a small roll be toasted, or bread fried and added. Celery is a great addition, and should always be served. When out of season, the seed of it gives quite as good a flavour, boiled in, and strained off.--Another way. Soak an ox cheek three hours, and clean it with plenty of water. Take the meat off the bones, and put it into a stewpan with a large onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, some bruised allspice, pepper and salt. Lay the bones on the top, pour on two or three quarts of water, and cover the pan close with stout paper, or a dish that will fit close. Let it stand eight or ten hours in a slow oven, or simmer it by the side of the fire, or on a hot hearth. When done tender, put the meat into a clean pan, and let it get cold. Take off the cake of fat, and warm the head in pieces in the soup. Serve with any sort of vegetables. STEWED OYSTERS. Open the shells, separate the liquor from the oysters, and wash them from the grit. Strain the liquor, add to the oysters a bit of mace, lemon peel, and a few white peppers. Simmer them very gently, put in some cream, a little flour and butter, and serve them up with sippets. Boiled oysters should be served in the shell, and eaten with cold butter. STEWED PARSNIPS. Boil the parsnips in milk and water, or milk alone, till fully half done. Slice and divide them into two, down the middle and across. Stew them gently with some good gravy, seasoned with pepper and salt; and five minutes before they are taken up, add a piece of butter rolled in flour. If parsnips are to be stewed white, put in broth and cream in equal quantities, instead of gravy. STEWED PEARS. Pare and quarter some large pears; throw them into water as soon as pared, and before they are divided, to prevent their turning black. Pack them round a block-tin stewpan, and sprinkle as much sugar over as will make them pretty sweet. Add lemon peel, a clove or two, and some bruised allspice; just cover them with water, and add a little red liquor. Cover them close, and stew three or four hours: when tender, take them out, and pour the liquor upon them. STEWED PEAS. Steep some old peas in water all night, if not fine boilers; otherwise only half an hour. Put them into a stewpan of water, just enough to cover them, with a good bit of butter, or a piece of beef or pork. Stew them very gently till the peas are soft, and the meat is tender. If it be not salt meat, add salt and a little pepper, and serve the peas round the meat. STEWED PHEASANTS. Stew your pheasants in a strong veal gravy. While they are simmering, prepare artichoke bottoms cut in dice, and some chesnuts roasted, blanched, and cut in four: let your pheasants stew till your gravy is half wasted, then scum it very clean, and put in your chesnuts and artichoke bottoms; season with a little beaten mace, pepper, and salt, a small glass of white wine, and a little juice of lemon. If your sauce is not thick enough, roll a piece of butter in flour, and let it boil up: in case any scum arises, take it clean off; dish your pheasants, and pour the sauce over them; garnish with lemon. STEWED PIGEONS. See that they are quite fresh, carefully cropped, drawn, and washed; then soak them half an hour. In the mean time cut a hard white cabbage in slices, as if for pickling, and put it in water. Then drain and boil it in milk and water; drain it again, and lay some of it at the bottom of a stewpan. Put the pigeons upon it, but first season them well with salt and pepper, and cover them with the remainder of the cabbage. Add a little broth, and stew gently till the pigeons are tender; then put among them two or three spoonfuls of cream, and a piece of butter and flour for thickening. After a boil or two, serve up the birds in the middle of the dish, with the cabbage placed round them.--Another way is to stew the birds in a good brown gravy, either stuffed or not; and seasoned high with spice and fresh mushrooms, or a little ketchup.--Another way. Take your pigeons trussed as for baking; bruise the livers, and mix them up with a few bread crumbs, parsley, and a little lemon peel chopped small; season it with mace, nutmeg, pepper, and salt; work all up with a piece of butter, and stuff the bellies of your pigeons; tie up the necks and vents; then stew them with some butter, till they are brown all over; put them into another pan that will just hold them, with as much strong gravy as will cover them; let them stew till they are tender, then bruise an anchovy, a shalot shred fine, a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful of white wine; let all boil together to a proper thickness; scum very clean; dish up, and garnish with crisp bacon and lemon. STEWED PIPPINS. Scoop out the core of some golden pippins, pare them very thin, and throw them into water. For every pound of fruit, make half a pound of refined sugar into a syrup, with a pint of water. When skimmed, put in the pippins, and stew them quite clear. Grate some lemon over, be careful not to break them, and serve them up in the syrup. They make an elegant corner dish, or a dessert.--Another way. Pare your pippins nicely, cut them in halves, and take out the cores; to a quart of spring water, put a pound of double refined sugar, and a piece of lemon-peel; boil it almost to a syrup; take out the peel, and put in the pippins; boil them till they are pretty tender, then draw them to one side of the fire, and let them stew till clear; take them out carefully one at a time, and lay them in a china or earthen dish for use. If golden pippins are done this way, they are very little inferior to apricots. STEWED PORK STEAKS. Cut some steaks from the best end of a loin or neck of pork. Take off the skin, and nearly all the fat, and fry them of a nice brown. Put the steaks into a stewpan, with good gravy enough to make a proper sauce to them, adding pepper and salt. Ten minutes before they are done, thicken the gravy with a piece of butter rolled in flour. A little shalot, or ketchup, or both may be added. STEWED POTATOES. Half boil some potatoes, drain and peel them nicely, and cut them into neat pieces. Put them into a stewpan with some cream, fresh butter, and salt, each proportioned to the quantity of potatoes; or stew them in good gravy, with pepper and salt. Simmer them gently till they are well done and be careful not to let them break. STEWED PRUNES. Stew some prunes gently in a little water, till the stones will slip out easily, but they must not be boiled too much. These are useful in fevers, or in any complaint where fruit is proper; and when fruit more acid would not agree. STEWED RABBIT. Divide them into quarters, flour and fry them in butter; then put them into a stewpan, with some good gravy, and a glass of white wine. Season with salt, pepper, and a sprig of sweet herbs. Cover them close, and let them stew till they become tender. Strain off the sauce, thicken it with flour and butter, and pour it over them. STEWED RED CABBAGE. Slice a small red cabbage, or half a large one, and wash it clean. Put it into a saucepan with pepper, salt, and butter, but no water except what hangs about the cabbage. Stew it tender, and when ready to serve, add two or three spoonfuls of vinegar, and give it one boil over the fire. It may be eaten with cold meat, or with sausages laid upon it.--Another way. Shred the cabbage, and wash it. Put it into a saucepan with pepper, salt, some slices of onion; and a little plain gravy. When it is boiled quite tender, add a bit of butter rubbed with flour, a few minutes before serving, with two or three spoonfuls of vinegar, and boil it up.--Another. Cut the cabbage very thin, put it into a stewpan with a small slice of ham, and half an ounce of butter at the bottom. Put in half a pint of broth, and a gill of vinegar, and let it stew three hours covered down. When it is very tender, add a little more broth, salt, pepper, and a table-spoonful of pounded sugar. Mix these well, and boil it till the liquor is wasted. Then put it into the dish, and lay fried sausages upon it. STEWED RUMP OF BEEF. Wash it well, and season it high with pepper, cayenne, salt, allspice, three cloves, and a blade of mace, all in fine powder. Bind it up tight, and lay it into a pot that will just hold it. Fry three large onions sliced, and put them to it, with three carrots, two turnips, one shalot, four cloves, a blade of mace, and some celery. Cover the meat with good beef broth, or weak gravy. Simmer it as gently as possible for several hours, till quite tender. Clear off the fat, and add to the gravy half a pint of port wine, a glass of vinegar, and a large spoonful of ketchup; half a pint of beer may be added. Simmer for half an hour, and serve in a deep dish. The herbs to be used should be burnet, tarragon, parsley, thyme, basil, savoury, marjoram, pennyroyal, knotted marjoram, and some chives; a good handful all together. But observe to proportion the quantities to the pungency of the several sorts. Garnish with carrots, turnips, or truffles and morels, or pickles of different colours, cut small, and laid in little heaps separate. Chopped parsley, chives, and beet root may be added. If there is too much gravy for the dish, take only a part to season for serving, the less the better; and to increase the richness, add a few beef bones and shanks of mutton in stewing. A spoonful or two of made mustard is a great improvement to the gravy.--Another way. Half roast the rump, then put it into a large pot with three pints of water, one of small beer, one of port vine, some salt, three or four spoonfuls of vinegar, and two of ketchup. Add a bunch of sweet herbs, consisting of burnet, tarragon, parsley, thyme, basil, savoury, pennyroyal, marjoram, knotted marjoram, and a leaf or two of sage; also some onions, cloves, and cayenne. Cover it close, and simmer it for two or three hours, till quite tender. When done lay it into a deep dish, set it over some hot water, and cover it close. Skim the gravy, put in a few pickled mushrooms, truffles, morels, and oysters if agreeable, but it is very good without. Thicken the gravy with flour and butter, heat it with the above, and pour it over the beef. Forcemeat balls of veal, anchovies, bacon, suet, herbs, spice, bread, and eggs to bind, are a great improvement. A rump of beef is excellent roasted; but in the country it is generally sold whole with the edge-bone, or cut across instead of lengthways as in London, where one piece is for boiling, and the rump for stewing or roasting. This must be attended to, the whole being too large to dress together.--Another way. Raise the lean next the chump-end; cut that bone off, but leave the chine-bone, then with two skewers fasten the meat as if the bone was not taken away: Put it into a pot with a little more water than will cover it: Add parsley, thyme, two or three large onions, a handful of salt, whole pepper half an ounce, half a quarter of an ounce of cloves, the same quantity of mace; cover it close down, and stew it over a slow fire for three hours, till your beef is very tender. To make your sauce, take two pounds of gravy beef, cut it in pretty thick slices, and flour them well; put a piece of butter into your stewpan, over a stove, or a quick fire. When that is brown, put in the slices of beef, and fry them brown, as quick as you can; then add water as much as you think will be sufficient to make a very strong gravy; cut an onion cross with parsley, thyme, pepper, and salt, two or three cloves, and a blade of mace; let this stew till your gravy is very rich, then strain it off, and thicken it up with a piece of butter rolled in flour. STEWED SAVOYS. These may be done in the same manner as red cabbage; but the better way is to boil the savoy in water till about half done, and then stew it. This takes off the strong flavour, and makes it much more agreeable. STEWED SCALLOPS. Boil them very well in salt and water; take out the fish, stew them in some of their liquor, with a little white wine, two or three blades of mace, a little nutmeg, and a good piece of butter rolled in flour; let them be thoroughly stewed, then pour in a little cream, shake your pan round, and squeeze in the juice of a Seville orange. Send them to table garnished with baked sippets and orange. STEWED SOLES. Half fry them in butter, take out the fish, and put a quart of water or gravy into the pan, two anchovies, and a sliced onion. When they have boiled slowly for a quarter of an hour, put the fish in again, and stew them gently about twenty minutes. Take them out, thicken the liquor with butter and flour, boil it gently, strain it over the fish, and serve it with oyster, cockle, or shrimp sauce. STEWED SORREL. Wash it clean, and put it into a silver vessel, or stone jar, with no more water than hangs to the leaves. Simmer it as slowly as possible; and when done enough, beat it up with a piece of butter. This is very fine with a fricandeau, with roast meat, mackarel, or any thing usually eaten with an acid sauce. The same thickening may be added, as for spinach and sorrel. It is as well prepared in a stone jar set before the fire, only it requires a longer time. STEWED SPINACH WITH CREAM. Boil the spinach till nearly done enough, then squeeze all the water from it, and put it into a stewpan, with a piece of butter and some salt. Stir it over the fire till the butter is well mixed in with it, and add as much cream as will make it of a moderate thickness. Shake it for a minute or two over the fire, and serve it up with sippets of bread, either fried or toasted. STEWED SPINACH WITH GRAVY. Pick the spinach nicely, then wash it well, and put it into a stewpan, with a few spoonfuls of water, and a little salt. Stew this till quite tender, shaking the pan very often to prevent its burning. When done enough, put it into a sieve to drain, and give it a slight squeeze. Beat the spinach well, then return it to the stewpan with some gravy, pepper, salt, and a piece of butter. Let it stew about a quarter of an hour, stirring it frequently. Serve it up either in a dish by itself, or with poached eggs upon it, according to the occasion for which it is wanted. STEWED SPINACH WITH SORREL. Take spinach and sorrel, in the proportion of three fourths of spinach to one of sorrel. Pick and wash these very nicely; cut them a little, and put them into a stewpan, with two or three spoonfuls of water. Keep them stirring over the fire, till they begin to soften and to liquify. Then leave it to stew at a distance over the fire for an hour or more, stirring it every now and then. Thicken it with a little flour, and when quite done, add some pepper and salt, and serve it up. This will form an excellent sauce to all kinds of meat, or to eat with potatoes. Almost any kind of cold vegetables may be added to this stew. They should be put in just long enough to heat, and mixed in properly with the spinach before it is served up. STEWED TONGUE. Prepare a tongue with saltpetre and common salt for a week, and turn it every day. Boil it tender enough to peel, and afterwards stew it in a moderately strong gravy. Season it with soy, mushroom ketchup, cayenne, pounded cloves, and salt if necessary. Serve with truffles, morels, and mushrooms. The roots of the tongue must be removed before it is salted, but some fat should be left. STEWED TURKEY. Have a nice hen turkey trussed close, and the breast-bone broken; put it into a stewpan with a good piece of butter; let the breast and pinions be glazed of a fine brown; then put it into a stewpan that is very clean; and a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with three cloves, two blades of mace, some whole pepper, and a little salt; then put in as much strong broth or gravy as will just cover it; cover it very close, and let it stew over a moderate fire, till you think it is tender; in the mean time make some forcemeat balls of veal, &c. and let them be fried of a fine brown, in readiness. When your turkey is done, take it up, put it into your dish, and keep it hot; strain off your liquor into a clean stewpan, and scum it very clean: if it is not thick enough, roll apiece of butter in flour; put in half a glass of white wine, and your forcemeat balls; toss up all together, till your sauce is of a good thickness; squeeze in a little lemon; pour your sauce over the turkey, and garnish your dish with lemon. In the same manner you may do a large fowl; and you may add morels, truffles, artichoke bottoms, &c.--Another. Put turkey or fowl into a stewpan, with a sufficient quantity of gravy or good broth, a head of celery cut small, whole pepper, and a sprig of thyme tied up in a muslin bag. When these are stewed enough, take them up, thicken the liquor with flour and butter, lay the meat in a dish, and pour the sauce over it. STEWED VEAL. Cut off the neck end of a breast of veal, and stew it for gravy. Make a forcemeat of the sweetbread boiled, a few crumbs of bread, a little beef suet, an egg, pepper and salt, a spoonful or two of cream, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix them all together, raise the thin part of the breast, and put in the stuffing. Skewer the skin close down, dredge it over with flour, tie it up in a cloth, and stew it in milk and water rather more than an hour: if a large one, an hour and a half. The proper sauce for this dish is made of a little gravy, a few oysters, a few mushrooms chopped fine, and a little lemon juice, thickened with flour and butter. If preferred, the veal may be stewed in broth, or weak gravy. Then thicken the gravy it was stewed in, pour it over the veal, and garnish with forcemeat balls. STEWED VENISON. Let the meat hang as long as it will keep sweet. Take out the bone, beat the meat with a rolling-pin, lay on some slices of mutton fat, sprinkle over it a little pepper and salt, roll it up light and tie it. Stew it in mutton or beef gravy, with a quarter of a pint of port wine, some pepper and allspice. Cover it close, and simmer it as slowly as possible for three or four hours. When quite tender take off the tape, lay the meat on a dish, strain the gravy over it, and serve it up with currant jelly. STEWED WATER CRESSES. Pick and wash a quantity of water cresses, and boil them for a few minutes. Drain and press them dry, chop them slightly, and put them into a stewpan, either with good gravy or cream, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Add a thickening of butter rolled in flour, if necessary. Stew them gently for ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, and serve them up with a garnish of sippets, of fried or toasted bread. STICKING PLASTER. Melt three ounces of diachylon with half an ounce of rosin, and when cooled to about the thickness of treacle, spread it upon a piece of smooth soft linen. STILTON CHEESE. This rich and relishing article is made in the following manner. The night's cream is put into the morning's milk, with the rennet. When the curd is come, it is not broken, as is usually done with other cheese, but taken out whole, and put into a sieve to drain. Here it is pressed till it becomes firm and dry, when it is placed in a wooden hoop made to fit it, in order to prevent its breaking. After being taken out of the hoop, the cheese is bound with cloths, which are changed every day, till it is sufficiently firm to support itself. The cloths are then removed, and the cheese is rubbed with a brush and turned every day. The rennet bag should be kept perfectly sweet and fresh: if it be in the least degree tainted, the cheese will never have a good flavour. STINGS. The stings of bees are often more virulent than those of wasps, and attended with more painful effects. The sting being barbed, it is always left in the wound. When therefore a person is stung by a bee, the sting should be instantly extracted, or it will communicate more of its poison, according to the time it is permitted to remain. It should be carefully pulled out with a steady hand, for if any of it break in, remedies will in a great measure be ineffectual. When the sting is completely extracted, the wounded part should be sucked, and very little inflammation will ensue. If a few drops of the spirits of hartshorn be immediately rubbed on the part affected, the cure will be more speedily accomplished. Another simple remedy is, a solution of indigo in water, or of potash, a little oil of tartar, or common sweet oil, rubbed upon the part. Honey and olive oil, or some bruised mallows, may occasionally be substituted with advantage; but their application should be repeated till the pain ceases. Rubbing on a little common salt, after it has been moistened, is also said to be an effectual cure. If a wasp or bee has been incautiously swallowed in a glass of liquor, take a spoonful of common salt, or repeated doses of salt and water. This will immediately kill the insect, and prevent the injurious effects of the sting. To remove the disagreeable itching which arises from the sting of gnats, wash the part directly with cold water; or at night, rub on fuller's earth mixed with water. STOCK. To make a clear brown stock, for gravy or gravy soup, put into a stewpan with two quarts of water, a pound of lean beef, a pound of the lean of a gammon of bacon, all sliced. Add two or three scraped carrots, two onions, two turnips, and two heads of sliced celery. Stew the meat quite tender, but do not let it brown. When thus prepared, it will serve either for soup, or brown or white gravy. If for brown, put in some soup colouring, and boil it a few minutes. STOCK-FISH. Put it into water, and let it remain there two days, shifting the water often; then take it out, and clean the skin and inner part with a hard brush, and hang it up for one night in the air. In the morning put it again into water, and let it remain till the next morning, shifting the water often; take it out, and hang it up for another day, when it will be fit for dressing. Roll up the fish round, and tie it close with a tape; put it into a fish-kettle, the water of which simmers when you put it on: let it remain simmering for three quarters of an hour, then let it boil for five minutes, and the fish is enough. STOMACHIC TINCTURE. In low nervous affections arising from a languid circulation, and when the stomach is in a state of debility, the following tincture will be found to be strengthening and beneficial. An ounce and a half of peruvian bark bruised, and an ounce of orange peel, steeped in a pint of the best brandy, for ten days. Shake the bottle every day, then let it settle for two days, and decant off the clear liquor. Take a tea-spoonful of the tincture in a wine glass of water, twice a day, when the stomach feels empty and uneasy, an hour before dinner, and also in the evening. This agreeable aromatic tonic will procure an appetite, and aid digestion. Tea made with dried Seville orange peel, in the same way as common tea, and drunk with milk and sugar, has been taken by nervous persons with great benefit. Sucking a bit of dried orange peel about an hour before dinner, when the stomach is empty, is very grateful and strengthening. STONE STAIRS AND HALLS. In order to clean these properly, boil a pound of pipe-maker's clay with a quart of water, a quart of small beer, and a bit of stone blue. Wash the stairs or the floor with this mixture, and when dry, rub it with flannel and a brush. STOPPLES. When a glass stopple is set fast, in a bottle or decanter, rub a drop or two of olive oil round it, close to the mouth of the decanter, and place it near the fire. The oil will soon insinuate itself downwards, and the stopple may then be loosened by the hand, or by striking it lightly with a piece of soft wood. Sometimes the rubbing of the neck of the bottle with a small key, and striking the head of the stopper, will be sufficient to loosen it, without the application of any oil. STORING. The storing of fruits, vegetables, and roots, has been performed in various ways, which are well known already; but lately some better modes have been suggested for this purpose. For apples and pears, after they have been carefully gathered from the trees, and laid in heaps covered with clean cloths or mats for sweating, which is effected in three or four days, they remaining for that length of time afterwards, they are to be wiped separately with clean cloths; when some glazed earthen jars are to be provided with tops and covers, and likewise a quantity of pure pit-sand, which is quite free from any mixture. This is to be thoroughly dried upon a flue. Then put a layer of this sand an inch thick on the bottoms of the jars; above this layer of fruit, a quarter of an inch free of each other; covering the whole with sand to the depth of an inch; then a second course of fruit is to be laid in, and again covered with an inch of the sand, proceeding in the same way until the whole be finished and completed. An inch and a half in depth of sand may be laid over the last or uppermost layer of fruit; when the jars are to be closed and placed in some dry situation, as cool as possible, but entirely out of the way of frost. The usual time at which each kind of such fruits should be ready for the table being known, the jars containing such fruit may, it is said, be examined, by turning out the sand and fruit together cautiously into a sieve. The ripe fruit may then be laid upon the shelves of the fruit-room for use, and the unripe be carefully replaced in the jars as before, but with fresh dry sand. Some kinds of apples managed in this way, will, it is said, keep a great while, as till July; and pears until April, and in some sorts till June. It is not improbable but that many other sorts of fruit might be stored and preserved in somewhat the same way. Vegetables of the cauliflower kind have been stored and kept well through a great part of the winter, by putting them, when in full head, on a dry day, into pits about eighteen inches in depth, and much the same breadth, in a perfectly dry soil, with the stalks and leaves to them, the latter being carefully doubled over and lapped round the heads, instead of hanging them up in sheds or other places, as is the usual practice in preserving them. In performing the work, it is begun at one end of the pits, laying the heads in with the root-stalks uppermost, so as that the former may incline downwards, the roots of the one layer covering the tops or heads of the other, until the whole is completed. The pits are then to be closely covered up with the earth into a sort of ridge, and beaten quite smooth with the back of the spade, in order that the rain-water may be fully thrown off. Fine cauliflowers have been thus stored and kept for the occasional supply of the table until the middle of the following January. For storing and preserving different kinds of roots for common summer use, until the coming in or return of the natural crops, the following method has likewise been proposed. As the ice in ice-houses has commonly subsided some feet, as four, five, or more, by the beginning of the spring, it is proposed to deposit in the rooms or vacancies so left empty, the roots that are to be preserved. As soon as any openings in the places have been well stuffed with straw, and the surfaces of the ice covered with the sort of material, case-boxes, dry ware, casks, baskets, or any other such vessels, are to be placed upon it, which are then to be filled with the roots, such as turnips, carrots, beets, celery, potatoes in particular, and some others. In cases where there are not ice-houses, vegetation may be greatly retarded, and the roots preserved by storing them in deep vaulted cellars, caves, coal-pits, mines, or in any place seated deep in the earth. Potatoes have also been well stored and preserved, it is said, by earthing them in small parcels, as about two bolls each, heaped up, and covered in the usual way with straw and earth; which are turned over into other pits in the early spring, first rubbing off all the sprouts or shoots, and having the roots well watered in small quantities as they are put into the other pits, the whole earthy covering being also well watered and beaten together at the time with the back part of the spade. This covering is to be made to the thickness of about two feet. The same practice or process is to be repeated every time the potatoes are turned over, which should be about once in three weeks, as the state of the weather may be. And where the pits or heaps are not in the shade, it is sometimes proper, when the season is very hot, to cover them with mats supported on sticks, so as to permit a free current of air between the mats and the heaps. In this way it is stated that these roots have been preserved quite plump and entire in the taste until the end of September, or till the succeeding crop becomes perfectly ripe, so as to be used without loss, as that must always be the case where the roots are largely employed before they are in a state of mature growth. It is asserted, too, that in this manner potatoes are even capable of recovering in plumpness and taste, where they have been suffered, by improper exposure to air or heat, to become deficient in these qualities. STOVE BLACKING, for backs of grates, hearths, and the fronts of stoves, is made in the following manner. Boil a quarter of a pound of the best black lead, with a pint of small beer, and a bit of soap the size of a walnut. When that is melted, dip in a painter's brush, and wet the grate, having first cleared off all the soot and dust. Then take a hard brush, and rub it till it is quite bright. A mixture of black lead and whites of eggs well beaten together, will answer the same purpose. STRAMONIUM. This celebrated plant, commonly called the Thorn Apple, often grows on dunghills, and flowers in the month of July. Having lately been discovered as possessing very powerful medical properties, and as affording the most effectual remedy for the asthma, it is now frequently transplanted into gardens, though its odour is extremely offensive. A kind of herb tobacco is made of the dried leaves, mixed with a little rosemary to prevent nausea, and a pipeful is smoked in the evening before going to bed. The practice should be continued for some time, or as often as asthma returns, and it will afford very sensible relief. The plant may easily be raised from seed; but an elegant preparation of the stramonium, or the asthmatic tobacco, may be had of several medicine vendors in the kingdom. STRAWBERRIES. Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the experience of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry plants, when the fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the sun, the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning fruit kept from damage, by resting on the ground, particularly in wet weather, and much labour in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long straw are sufficient for 1800 feet of plants. On the management of strawberries in June and July, the future prosperity of them greatly depends; and if each plant has not been kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they will be in a state of confusion, and you will find three different sorts of plants. 1. Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and woody. 2. Young plants, not strong enough to flower. 3. Flowering plants, which ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them. Before the time of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up every old plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted to flower you may depend upon it they will never produce any after, being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave two or three, set a stick to them, and observe them next year. If the young plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some of them away, and do not leave them nearer than a foot of the scarlet, alpines, and wood, and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the larger sorts; and in the first rainy weather in July or August, take them all up, and make a fresh plantation with them, and they will be very strong plants for flowering next year. Old beds, even if the plants be kept single at their proper distance, examine, and pull all the old plants which have not flowered. When the fruit is nearly all gathered examine them again, and cut off the runners; but if you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of the two first, and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a trowel, or three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to transplant. If you have omitted in July do not fail in August, that the runners may make good roots to be transplanted in September, for, if later, the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost afterwards will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of which is, their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year. STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY FOOL. Bruise a pint of scarlet strawberries, and a pint of raspberries, pass them through a sieve, and sweeten them with half a pound of fine sugar pounded, add a spoonful of orange-flower water, then boil it over the fire, for two or three minutes; take it off, and set on a pint and a half of cream, boil it and stir it till it is cold; when the pulp is cold, put them together, and stir them till they are well mixed; put the fool into glasses, or basins, as you think proper. STRAWBERRY JAM. Dissolve four pounds of lump sugar in a quart of currant juice, then boil and scum it quite clean. Mash four quarts of raspberries, and mix with it. Let it boil quick, over a clear fire, for nearly an hour, or till the sugar and raspberries are quite mixed. This may be known by putting a little on a plate; if the juice drains from the fruit, it must be boiled longer. When done enough, put it into pots, and the next day put brandy papers over them. Tie them down with another paper, and set the jars in a dry place. STRAWBERRIES PRESERVED. To keep whole strawberries, take equal weights of the fruit and double refined sugar. Lay the strawberries in a large dish, and sprinkle over them half the sugar in fine powder. Shake the dish gently, that the sugar may touch the under side of the fruit. Next day make a thin syrup with the remainder of the sugar, and instead of water, allow to every pound of strawberries a pint of red currant juice. Simmer the fruit in this, until sufficiently jellied. Choose the largest scarlet strawberries, before they are dead ripe. They will eat well in thin cream, served up in glasses. STRAWBERRIES IN WINE. Put a quantity of the finest strawberries into a gooseberry bottle, and strew in three spoonfuls of fine sugar. Fill up the bottle with madeira, or fine sherry. STRENGTHENING DRAUGHT. For weakly persons, any of the following preparations will be highly beneficial. Put two calves' feet in two pints of water, and the same quantity of new milk; bake them in a jar closely covered, three hours and a half. When cold remove the fat, and take a large teacupful of the mucilage, morning and evening. It may be flavoured by baking in it lemon peel, cinnamon, or mace: sugar is to be added afterwards.--Or simmer six sheeps' trotters, with two blades of mace, a bit of cinnamon, lemon peel, a few hartshorn shavings, and a little isinglass, in two quarts of water till reduced to one. When cold, remove the fat, and take nearly half a pint twice a day, warming it with a little new milk.--Another way. Boil an ounce of isinglass shavings, forty peppercorns, and a bit of brown crust of bread, in a quart of water, till reduced to a pint, and strain it. This makes a pleasant jelly to keep in case of sickness, and a large spoonful may be taken in wine and water, in milk, tea, soup, or any other way.--Or boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass shavings with a pint of new milk, till reduced one half. Add a little sugar, and for a change a bitter almond. Take this at bed-time, but not too warm. Dutch flummery, jellies, or blamange, if not too rich, are also very strengthening. STRENGTHENING JELLY. Put an ounce of isinglass shavings, with a few Jamaica peppercorns, and a toast of bread. Boil it to a pint, and strain it off. A large spoonful of the jelly may be taken in wine and water, milk, tea, or any other agreeable liquor. Or boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass shavings in a pint of new milk, till it is reduced to half a pint, adding a bitter almond, or a little sugar, by way of change. STRONG GRAVY. Take a stewpan that will hold four quarts, lay at the bottom of it a slice or two of undressed ham or bacon, about a quarter of an inch thick, and two pounds of beef or veal. Add a carrot, a large onion with four cloves stuck in it, one head of celery, a bundle of parsley, lemon thyme, and savoury; a few leaves of sweet basil, a bay leaf, a shalot, a piece of lemon peel, and a dozen corns of allspice. Pour on half a pint of water, cover it close, and let it simmer gently on a slow fire for half an hour, in which time it will be almost dry. Watch it very carefully, and let it take a nice brown colour. Turn the meat and herbs, to brown on all sides; then put in a pint of water to a pound of meat, and let it boil for two hours. It will now be formed into a rich strong gravy, easily converted into cullis, or thickened gravy. STUCCO. A stucco for walls, &c. may be formed of the grout or putty, made of good stone-lime, or the lime of cockle-shells, which is better, properly tempered and sufficiently beat, mixed with sharp grit-sand, in a proportion which depends on the strength of the lime: drift-sand is best for this purpose, and it will derive advantage from being dried on an iron plate or kiln, so as not to burn; for thus the mortar would be discoloured. When this is properly compounded, it should be put up in small parcels against walls, or otherwise, to mellow, as the workmen term it; reduced again to a soft putty, or paste, and spread thin on the walls without any undercoat, and well trowelled. A succeeding coat should be laid on, before the first is quite dry, which will prevent joints of brick-work appearing through it. Much depends upon the workmen giving it sufficient labour, and trowelling it down. If this stucco, when dry, is laid over with boiling linseed oil, it will last a long time, and not be liable, when once hardened, to the accidents to which common stucco is liable. Liardet's, or, as it is commonly called, _Adams oil-cement_, or stucco, is prepared in the following manner: for the first coat, take twenty-one pounds of fine whiting, or oyster-shells, or any other sea-shells calcined, or plaster of Paris, or any calcareous material calcined and pounded, or any absorbent material whatever, proper for the purpose; add white or red lead at pleasure, deducting from the other absorbent materials in proportion to the white or red lead added; to which put four quarts, beer measure, of oil; and mix them together with a grinding-mill, or any levigating machine: and afterwards mix and beat up the same well with twenty-eight quarts, beer measure, of any sand or gravel, or of both, mixed and sifted, or of marble or stone pounded, or of brick-dust, or of any kind of metallic or mineral powders, or of any solid material whatever, fit for the purpose. For the second coat, take sixteen pounds and a half of super-fine whiting, or oyster-shells, or any sea-shells calcined, &c. as for the first coat; add sixteen pounds and a half of white or red lead, to which put six quarts and a half of oil, wine measure, and mix them together as before: afterwards mix and beat up the same well with thirty quarts, wine measure, of fine sand or gravel sifted, or stone or marble pounded, or pyrites, or any kind of metallic or mineral powder, &c. This composition requires a greater proportion of sand, gravel, or other solids, according to the nature of the work, or the uses to which it is to be applied. If it be required to have the composition coloured, add to the above ingredients such a proportion of painter's colours, as will be necessary to give the tint or colour required. In making the composition, the best linseed or hempseed, or other oils proper for the purpose, are to be used, boiled or raw, with drying ingredients, as the nature of the work, the season, or the climate requires; and in some cases, bees' wax may be substituted in place of oil: all the absorbent and solid materials must be kiln-dried. If the composition is to be of any other colour than white, the lead may be omitted, by taking the full proportion of the other absorbents; and also white or red lead may be substituted alone, instead of any other absorbent material. The first coat of this composition is to be laid on with a trowel, and floated to an even surface with a rule or darby, (i. e. a handle-float.) The second coat, after it is laid on with a trowel, when the other is nearly dry, should be worked down and smoothed with floats edged with horn, or any hard smooth substance that does not stain. It may be proper, previously to laying on the composition, to moisten the surface on which it is to be laid by a brush with the same sort of oil and ingredients which pass through the levigating machine, reduced to a more liquid state, in order to make the composition adhere the better. This composition admits of being modelled or cast in moulds, in the same manner as plasterers or statuaries model or cast their stucco work. It also admits of being painted upon, and adorned with landscape, or ornamental, or figure-painting, as well as plain painting.--To make an excellent stucco, which will adhere to wood work, take a bushel of the best stone lime, a pound of yellow ochre, and a quarter of a pound of brown umber, all in fine powder. Mix them to a proper thickness, with a sufficient quantity of hot water, but not boiling, and lay it on with a new white-washer's brush. If the wall be quite smooth, one or two coats will do; but each must be dry before the next is put on. The month of March is the best season for doing this. STUCCO WASHES. The most beautiful white-wash is made of clean good lime mixed with skim milk instead of water. For Blue wash, put four pounds of blue vitriol into an iron or brass pot, with a pound of the best whiting, and a gallon of water. Let it boil an hour, stirring it all the time. Then pour it into an earthen pan, and set it by for a day or two till the colour is settled. Pour off the water, and mix the colour with the white-washer's size. Wash the walls over three or four times, according as it may be necessary. To make Yellow wash, dissolve in soft water over the fire equal quantities of umber, bright ochre, and blue black. Add as much white-wash as is necessary for the work, and stir it all together. If either cast predominates, put in more of the others, till the proper tint is obtained. STUFFINGS. Forcemeat or stuffing is generally considered as a necessary accompaniment to most of the made dishes, and when composed with good taste, it gives to them additional spirit and relish. It is often employed in making of patties, for stuffing of veal, game, and poultry. The ingredients should be so proportioned, that no one flavour predominates; and instead of using the same stuffing for veal, hare, and other things, it is easy to make a suitable variety. The poignancy of forcemeat should be regulated by the savouriness of the viands, to which it is intended to give an additional zest. Some dishes require a very delicately flavoured stuffing, while for others it should be full and high seasoned. The consistence of forcemeats is attended with some difficulty; they are almost always either too heavy or too light. They should be mixed perfectly smooth, and the ingredients thoroughly incorporated. Forcemeat balls must not be larger than a small nutmeg. If for brown sauce, flour and fry them: if for white sauce, put them into boiling water, and boil them for three minutes: the latter are by far the most delicate. Parboiled sweetbreads and tongues are the principal ingredients for stuffing or forcemeat. Besides these, yolks of hard eggs, flour, bread crumbs, boiled onion, mashed potatoe, mutton, beef, veal suet, marrow, calf's udder or brains, veal minced and pounded, and potted meats. Also of garden herbs and roots, parsley, thyme, spinach, marjoram, savoury, tarragon, sage, chervil, basil, burnet, bay leaf, truffles, morels, mushrooms, leeks, shalot, onions, and garlic. Of fish, shrimps, prawns, crabs, oysters, lobsters, and anchovies. Of spices, pepper, mace, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, and cloves. These, with bacon and ham, form the principal ingredients for various kinds of stuffing. The liquids in general consist of meat gravy, lemon juice, syrup of lemons, essence of anchovy, mushroom ketchup, vegetable essences, and the essence of spices. STUFFING FOR GOOSE. Chop very fine one or two onions, and a little green sage. Add a large teacupful of bread crumbs, a very little pepper and salt, half the liver parboiled, and the yolks of two eggs. Incorporate the whole well together, put it into the goose, but leave a little room for the stuffing to swell. STUFFING FOR HARE. Two ounces of beef suet chopped fine, three ounces of fine bread crumbs, a little parsley, marjoram, lemon thyme, or winter savory; a dram of grated lemon peel, half a dram of nutmeg, of shalot, and the same of pepper and salt. Mix these with an egg, so as to make them cohesive; but if the stuffing be not of a sufficient consistence, it will be good for nothing. If the liver be quite sound, it may be parboiled, minced very fine, and added to the above. Put the stuffing into the hare, and sow it up. STUFFING FOR PIG. Rub some of the crumb of a stale loaf through a cullender, mince fine a handful of sage, and a large onion. Mix these together with an egg, some pepper and salt, and a piece of butter. Fill the belly of the pig with the stuffing, and sow it up. Lay the pig to the fire, and baste it with salad oil, without leaving it for a moment. STUFFING FOR PIKE. Take equal parts of fat bacon, beef suet, and fresh butter; some parsley, thyme, and savoury; a small onion, and a few leaves of scented marjoram shred fine; an anchovy or two, a little salt and nutmeg, and some pepper. Oysters will be an improvement, with or without anchovies; add some crumbs, and an egg to bind. STUFFING FOR POULTRY. Mince a quarter of a pound of beef suet, (marrow is better,) the same weight of bread crumbs, two drams of parsley leaves, nearly as much of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and the same of grated lemon peel. Add an onion or shalot, chopped as fine as possible, a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt. Pound all together thoroughly, with the yolk and white of two eggs. This is about the quantity for a turkey poult; a very large turkey will take nearly twice as much. To the above may be added an ounce of dressed ham. STUFFING FOR VEAL. Take an equal quantity of grated bread and beef suet, shred very fine. Add parsley and sweet herbs chopped small, a minced anchovy, some nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a little grated lemon peel. Mix these well together with raw egg or milk. This stuffing will do for roast turkey or hare. STURGEON. Fresh sturgeon should be cut in slices, rubbed over with egg, and sprinkled with grated bread, parsley, salt and pepper. Then fold the slices in white paper, and broil them gently. For sauce, send up butter, anchovy, and soy.--Another way. Clean the sturgeon, and prepare as much liquor as will cover it, thus: take a pint of vinegar, about two quarts of water, a stick of horseradish cut in slips, some lemon peel, two or three bay leaves, and a small handful of salt, boil it in this pickle, till you think it is enough, and serve it with the following sauce: melt a pound of butter, with an anchovy bruised, a blade or two of mace, the body of a crab, or lobster bruised, a little ketchup, a small glass of white wine, half a pint of white shrimps, boil all together, till it is of a proper thickness, squeeze in some lemon, and scraped horseradish; pour a little sauce over your fish, the rest send in boats. STURTIUMS. Gather them young and dry, and put them into a jar of old vinegar, which has been taken from green pickles and onions. The vinegar must be boiled afresh, or boil some fresh vinegar with salt and spice, and when cold, put in the sturtiums. SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM. As milk or cream is difficult to procure in some situations, particularly during a long voyage, a very good substitute may be found in beating up a fresh egg, and gradually pouring on boiling water to prevent its curdling. The taste of this composition in tea will scarcely be distinguished from the richest cream, and eggs may easily be preserved for a considerable length of time. SUBSTITUTE FOR GRAVY. Mix a gill of water, a gill of table beer, a spoonful of ketchup, an onion sliced thin, a clove or two, three or four peppercorns, and a little salt, all together. Melt a piece of butter, the size of an egg in a small saucepan, and when hot dredge in some flour, stirring it till the froth subsides, by which time it will be browned. Add to it the mixture already prepared, give it a boil, and flavour it with a very small quantity of the essence of anchovy. SUCCORY. Wild white succory is only good to eat in salads. The green is used to put into cooling broths, and to make decoctions in medicine. Common white succory is eaten in salads, and used for ragouts. First pick and wash it, then scald it half an hour in water, put it afterwards into fresh water, in order to press it well with the hands. Stew it with some broth, a little butter, and some cullis, if any at hand. If not, brown a little flour to thicken the sauce. When done enough, take off the fat, season it nicely, and add a little shalot. Serve it under a shoulder, a leg, or neck of mutton, roasted. SUCKERS. The season for taking up or transplanting suckers of trees and shrubs, is almost any time, in open weather, from October till March, being careful to dig them up from the mother-plant with as much and many root-fibres as possible, and trimming them ready for planting, by shortening the long straggling fibres, and cutting off any thick-nobbed part of the old root that may adhere to the bottom, leaving only the fibres arising from the young wood; though it is probable some will appear with hardly any fibres; but as the bottom part, having been under ground, and contiguous to the root of the main plant, is naturally disposed to send forth fibres for rooting; preparatory to planting them out, the stems of the shrub and tree-suckers should likewise be trimmed occasionally, by cutting off all lower laterals; and any having long, slender, and weak tops, or such as are intended to assume a more dwarfish or bushy growth, may be shortened at top in proportion, to form about half a foot to one or two feet in length, according to their nature or strength; and others that are more strong, or that are designed to run up with taller stems, may have their tops left entire, or shortened but little: when thus taken up and trimmed, they should be planted out in rows in the nursery; the weak suckers separately in close rows; and also the shortened and stronger plants, each separately in wider rows; so that the rows may be from one to two feet asunder, in proportion to the size and strength of the suckers: and after being thus planted out, they should have the common nursery-culture of cleaning from weeds in summer, and digging the ground between the rows in winter, &c. and in from one to two or three years they will be of a proper size for planting out where they are to remain: and some kinds of trees, large shrubs, &c. produce suckers strong enough in one season to be fit for planting where they are to remain; as well as some sorts of roses, and numerous other flowering shrubs; also some plants of the strong shooting gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and others of similar kinds. It may generally be observed of such trees and shrubs as are naturally disposed to send up many suckers, that by whatsoever method they are propagated, whether by seeds, suckers, layers, cuttings, &c. they commonly still continue their natural tendency in this respect. When it is, therefore, required to have any sorts to produce as few suckers as possible, not to over-run the ground, or disfigure the plants, it is proper, both at the time of separating the suckers, or planting them off from the main plants, and at the time of their final removal from the nursery, to observe if at the bottom part they shew any tendency to emit suckers, by the appearance of prominent buds, which, if the case, should all be rubbed off as close as possible: as, however, many sorts of trees and shrubs are liable to throw out considerably more than may be wanted, they should always be cleared away annually at least, and in such as are not wanted for increase, it is proper to eradicate them constantly, as they are produced in the spring and summer seasons. Also numerous herbaceous and succulent plants are productive of bottom offset suckers from the roots, by which they may be increased. In slipping and planting these sorts of offset suckers, the smaller ones should be planted in nursery beds, pots, &c. according to the nature of growth and temperature of the different sorts, to have the advantage of one summer's advanced growth; and the larger ones be set at once, where they are to remain, in beds, borders, pots, &c. according to the different sorts or descriptions of them. The suckers of many of the finer kinds of flower-plants, as in the auricula and others, may be separated or taken off from the parent plants any time between the month of February and that of August, as they may become of a proper size, or be wanted for increase; but if they be not wanted for this use, they should never be suffered to remain. They can often be slipped off by the fingers, or a sharp piece of wood, without removing much earth, or the plants from the pots; but when they are large, and cannot be thus separated with a sufficient number of fibres to their bottom parts, they may be taken out of the pots, and be removed by the knife without danger, which is perhaps the best way, as affording most fibres. The suckers of such old flower-plants, when they are wanted to blow strong, should always be taken off without disturbing the plants in the pots, especially when they are few. The suckers, in all cases of this sort, should constantly be planted as soon as possible after they are slipped, in proper small upright pots, giving a slight watering at the time, with suitable temporary shade. They should be placed in proper situations out of the droppings of trees. They thus soon become rooted. The suckers of such flower-plants must, however, never be removed after the latter of the above periods, as they have then done shooting, and are become inactive, and as the winter immediately succeeds, seldom do well, especially without great care and trouble. SUCKING PIG. When the pig has been killed and well cleaned, cut off the feet at the first joint, and put them with the heart, liver, and lights, to boil for gravy. Before the pig is spitted, chop a little sage very fine, mix it with a handful of bread crumb, a little pepper and salt, and sow it up in the belly. Lay it down to a brisk fire, rub it with butter tied up in a piece of thin rag, during the whole time of roasting. Take off the head while at the fire, take out the brains and chop them, mix them with the gravy that comes from the pig, and add a little melted butter. Before the spit is drawn, cut the pig down the back and belly, and lay it in the dish. Put a little of the sauce over it, take the bottom jaws and ears to garnish with, and send brown gravy sauce to table, mixed with the bread and sage that comes out of the pig. Currant sauce is frequently eaten with it. A moderate sized pig will require about an hour and a half roasting. SUET. The proper way of treating suet, is to choose the firmest part as soon as it comes in, and pick it free from skin and veins. Set it in a nice saucepan at some distance from the fire, that it may melt without frying, or it will taste. When melted, pour it into a pan of cold water. When it comes to a hard cake, wipe it very dry, fold it in fine paper, and then in a linen bag. Keep it in a dry cool place. Suet prepared in this way, will keep a twelvemonth. When used, scrape it fine, and it will make a good crust, either with or without butter. SUET DUMPLINS. Take a pound of suet, or the outward fat of loins or necks of mutton, and shred it very fine. Mix it well with a pound and a quarter of flour, two eggs, a sufficient quantity of milk to make it, and a little salt. Drop the batter into boiling water, or boil the dumplins in a cloth. SUET DUMPLINS WITH CURRANTS. Take a pint of milk, four eggs, a pound of suet shred fine, and a pound of currants well cleaned, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and three of beaten ginger; first take half the milk and mix it like a thick batter, then put in the eggs, the salt, and ginger, then the rest of the milk by degrees, with the suet and currants, and flour enough to make it like a light paste. Make them up about the bigness of a large turkey's egg, flat them a little, and put them into boiling water; move them softly that they do not stick together, keep the water boiling, and a little more than half an hour will do them. SUET DUMPLINS WITH EGGS. Mix up a pint of milk, two eggs, three quarters of a pound of beef suet chopped fine, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger, and flour enough to make it into a moderately stiff paste. Make the paste into dumplins, roll them in a little flour, and put them into boiling water. Move them gently for a little while to prevent their sticking together. If the dumplins are small, three quarters of an hour will boil them; if large, the time must be proportioned to their size. They will boil equally well in cloths, which is often preferred for keeping the outside drier. SUET PUDDING. Shred a pound of suet; mix with it a pound and a quarter of flour, two eggs beaten separately, some salt, and as little milk as will make it. Boil the pudding four hours. It eats well the next day, cut in slices and broiled. The outward fat of a loin or neck of mutton finely shred, makes a more delicate pudding than suet. SUET PUDDING WITH EGGS. To a pound of beef suet chopped very fine, add six large spoonfuls of flour, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Gradually mix with these ingredients a quart of milk, and four eggs well beaten. Boil it three hours in a buttered basin, or two hours and a half in a cloth well floured. SUFFOCATION. Immediately on discovering a person in this unfortunate situation, whatever be the cause, the windows and doors ought to be opened; the body undressed, covered with blankets, removed to the open air, and supported in a leaning posture on a chair. The patient's face should be sprinkled with vinegar, the pit of the stomach with water, and the legs plunged into a cold bath; at the same time rubbing the skin with flannel, or a soft brush. Clysters of vinegar and water will also be useful, and an attempt should be made to promote sickness, by tickling the throat with a feather dipped in oil. When the patient is able to swallow, the most proper drink is vinegar and water, or infusions of mint and balm. SUFFOLK CHEESE. The curd is broken up in the whey, which is poured off as soon as the former has subsided. The remainder, with the curd, is put into a coarse strainer, left to cool, and is then pressed as tightly as possible. After this it is put into the vat, and set in a press to discharge the remaining whey. The curd is then taken out, broken again as finely as possible, salted, and returned to the press. SUFFOLK DUMPLINS. Make a very light dough with yeast, as for bread; add a little salt, and use milk instead of water. Let it rise an hour before the fire. Round the dough into balls, the size of a middling apple; throw them into boiling water, and let them boil twenty minutes. To ascertain when they are done enough, stick a clean fork into one; and if it come out clear, they are ready to take up. Do not cut, but tear them apart on the top with two forks, for they become heavy by their own steam. They should be eaten immediately, with gravy or cold butter, or with meat. SUGARS. These being an article of considerable expense in all families, the purchase demands particular attention. The cheapest does not go so far as the more refined, and there is a difference even in the degree of sweetness. Of white sugar that should be preferred which is close, heavy, and shining. The best sort of brown sugar has a bright gravelly appearance, and it is often to be bought pure as imported. East India sugars are finer for the price, but not so strong, consequently unfit for wines and sweetmeats, but do well for common purposes, if good of their kind. To prepare white sugar pounded, rolling it with a bottle and sifting it, wastes less than pounding it in a mortar. SUGAR CAKES. Make into a paste a pound of flour, twelve ounces of fine sugar sifted, the yolks of two eggs, a little nutmeg, and orange-flower water. Roll it out thin, cut out the cakes with a tin or glass, sift sugar over them, and bake them in a quick oven. SUGAR PASTE. To a pound of flour put two ounces of loaf sugar rolled and sifted, and rub in half a pound of butter. Mix it up with one egg well beaten, and cold water sufficient to make it into a paste. Mould it with the hand till it is quite smooth, and roll it out for use. SUGAR VINEGAR. To every gallon of water, add two pounds of the coarsest sugar; then boil and skim it thoroughly, and add one quart of cold water for every gallon of hot. When cool, put in a toast spread with yeast. Stir it nine days, then barrel it off, and set it in the sun, with a piece of slate on the bung hole. Make the vinegar in March, and it will be ready in six months. When sufficiently sour it may be bottled, or may be used from the cask with a wooden spigot and faucet. SUN FLOWER. The valuable properties of the sun flower are too much neglected, and might be rendered of general advantage. The leaves furnish abundance of agreeable fodder for cattle, the flower is enriched with honey for the bees, the dry stalks burn well, affording a considerable quantity of alkali from the ashes, and the seed is highly valuable in feeding pigs and poultry. The cultivation of this plant cannot be too much recommended, and requires but little management. SUPPER DISH. To make a pretty supper dish, wash a tea-cupful of rice in milk, and boil it tender. Strain off the milk, lay the rice in small heaps on a dish, strew over them some finely-powdered sugar and cinnamon, and put warm wine and a little butter into the dish. SUPPERS. Hot suppers are not much in use where people dine late, nor indeed in ordinary cases. When required, the top and bottom of the table may be furnished with game, fowls, rabbit; boiled fish, such as soles, mackarel, oysters, stewed or scalloped; French beans, cauliflower, or Jerusalem artichokes, in white sauce; brocoli with eggs, stewed spinach with eggs, sweetbreads, small birds, mushrooms, scalloped potatoes; cutlets, roast onions, salmagundi, buttered eggs on toast, cold neat's tongue, ham, collared things, sliced hunter's beef, buttered rusks with anchovies, grated hung beef with butter, with or without rusks; grated cheese round, and butter dressed in the middle of a plate; radishes the same, custards in glasses with sippets, oysters cold or pickled; potted meats, fish, birds, cheese; good plain cake sliced, pies of birds or fruit; lobsters, prawns, cray fish, any sweet things, and fruits. A sandwich set with any of the above articles, placed on the table at a little distance from each other, will look well. The lighter the things, the better they appear, and glass intermixed has the best effect. Jellies, different coloured things, and flowers, add to the beauty of the table. An elegant supper may be served at a small expense, by those who know how to make trifles that are in the house form the greatest part of the entertainment. SUSAN PUDDING. Boil some Windsor beans, just as they begin to be black-eyed, till they are quite tender. Then peel them, and beat up half a pound of them very smooth in a marble mortar. Add four spoonfuls of thick cream, sugar to taste, half a pound of clarified butter, and eight eggs, leaving out half the whites. Beat up the eggs well with a little salt, and white wine sufficient to give it an agreeable flavour. Line a dish with puff paste, add a pretty good layer of candied citron cut in long pieces, pour in the other ingredients, and bake it in a moderate oven three quarters of an hour. SWEEPING OF CHIMNIES. The common practice of employing poor children to sweep narrow chimnies, is most inhuman and unwise: many lives are lost by this means, and much injury is done to the building. The children being obliged to work themselves up by pressing with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other, often force out the bricks which divide the chimnies, and thereby encrease the danger, in case a foul chimney should take fire, as the flames frequently communicate by those apertures to other apartments, which were not suspected to be in any danger. To avoid these consequences, a rope twice the length of the chimney should be provided, to the middle of which a bunch of furze or broom is to be tied, sufficient to fill the cavity of the chimney. Put one end of the rope down the chimney, with a stone fastened to it, and draw the brush after it, which will clear the sides of the chimney, and bring down the soot. If necessary, a person at top may draw the brush up again to the top of the chimney, keeping hold of the rope, and thus clean the chimney thoroughly without difficulty or danger. SWEET HERBS. It is of some importance to know when the various seasons commence for procuring sweet and savoury herbs, fit for culinary purposes. All vegetables are in the highest state of perfection, and fullest of juice and flavour, just before they begin to flower. The first and last crop have neither the fine flavour nor the perfume of those which are gathered in the height of the season; that is, when the greater part of the crop of each species is ripe. Let them be gathered on a dry day, and they will have a better colour after being preserved. Cleanse them well from dust and dirt, cut off the roots, separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the heat of a stove, or in a Dutch oven before the fire. Take them in small quantities, that the process may be speedily finished, and thus their flavour will be preserved. Drying them in the sun exhausts some of their best qualities. In the application of artificial heat, the only caution requisite is to avoid burning; and of this, a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of the colour. The common custom is, when they are perfectly dried, to put them in bags, and lay them in a dry place. But the best way to preserve the flavour of aromatic plants, is to pick off the leaves as soon as they are dried; then to pound and pass them through a hair sieve, and keep them in well-stopped bottles.--Basil is in the best state for drying, from the middle of August, and three weeks afterwards. Knotted marjoram, from the beginning of July to the end of the month. Winter savoury, the latter end of July, and throughout August. Thyme, lemon thyme, and orange thyme, during June and July. Mint, the latter end of June, and throughout July. Sage, August and September. Tarragon, June, July, and August. Chervil, May, June, and July. Burnet, June, July, and August. Parsley, May, June, and July. Fennel, the same. Elder flowers, and orange flowers, May, June, and July. Herbs carefully dried, are a very agreeable substitute; but when fresh ones can be had, their flavour and fragrance are much finer, and therefore to be preferred. SWEET LAMB PIE. Make a good puff paste; then cut a loin of lamb into chops, and season with salt and nutmeg; lay a paste over the bottom of your dish; put in your chops, with a handful of currants washed and picked very clean; lay on your lid, and bake it. When it comes from the oven, take off the lid nicely, and pour over a caudle made of white wine, the yolks of eggs, a little nutmeg, and sugar pounded: lay the lid on again, and send it to table as hot as you can. SWEET MACARONI. To make a very nice dish of macaroni, boil two ounces of it in a pint of milk, with a bit of cinnamon and lemon peel, till the pipes are swelled to their utmost size without breaking. Lay them on a custard dish, pour a custard over them, and serve them up cold. SWEET PATTIES. Chop the meat of a boiled calf's foot, the liquor of which is intended for jelly; two apples, one ounce of orange and lemon peel candied, and some fresh peel and juice. Mix with them half a nutmeg grated, the yolk of an egg, a spoonful of brandy, and four ounces of currants washed and dried. Fill some small pattipans lined with paste, and bake them.--To make patties resembling mince pies, chop the kidney and fat of cold veal, apple, orange and lemon peel candied; adding some fresh currants, a little wine, two or three cloves, a little brandy and sugar. SWEET POT. Take three handfuls of orange flowers, three of clove gilliflowers, three of damask roses, one of knotted marjoram, one of lemon thyme, six bay leaves, a handful of rosemary, one of myrtle, one of lavender, half one of mint, the rind of a lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves. Chop all together, and put them in layers, with pounded bay-salt between, up to the top of the jar. If all the ingredients cannot be got at once, put them in when obtained, always throwing in salt with every fresh article. This will be found a quick and easy way of making a sweet-scented pot. SWEET SAUCE. Put some currant jelly into a stewpan, and when melted, pour it into a sauce boat. This is a more salubrious relish for venison or hare, than either spice or salt, and is an agreeable accompaniment to roast or hashed meats. SWEETBREADS FRICASSEE. Cut the sweetbreads in pretty thick slices, boil them till about half done, with a little more water than just to cover them. Add a little salt, white pepper, and mace. Then some butter, the yolks of four eggs beaten with a little white wine, and some verjuice. Keep this over the fire, shaking it well, till the sauce is properly thickened. Serve it up with the juice of a Seville orange squeezed over it. If it is to be a brown fricassee, fry the sweetbreads first in butter till the outside is browned. Then pour away the butter, put water to the sweetbreads, and boil and finish them as before. An onion or a clove of garlic may be added to the water; or if broth be used instead of water, it will make the fricassee more savoury. SWEETBREADS FRIED. Cut them into long slices, rub them over with egg, season with pepper, salt, and grated bread, and fry them in butter. Serve them up with melted butter and ketchup, garnished with crisped parsley, and thin slices of toasted bacon. SWEETBREADS RAGOUT. Cut them about the size of a walnut, wash and dry them, then fry them of a fine brown. Pour on them a good gravy, seasoned with salt, pepper, allspice, and either mushrooms or mushroom ketchup, adding truffles and morels, if approved. Strain, and thicken with butter and a little flour. SWEETBREADS ROASTED. Parboil two large ones; when cold, lard them with bacon, and roast them in a Dutch oven. For sauce, plain butter and mushroom ketchup. SWEETMEATS. Preserves or sweetmeats should be carefully kept from the air, and set in a very dry place. If they have only a small proportion of sugar, a warm situation would not injure them; but if they have not been sufficiently boiled, the heat will make them ferment, and the damp will cause them to grow mouldy. They should be inspected two or three times in the first two months that they may be gently boiled again, if not likely to keep. It is necessary to observe, that the boiling of sugar more or less, constitutes the chief art of the confectioner; and those who are not practically acquainted with the subject, and only preserve fruit in a plain way for family use, are not aware that in two or three minutes, a syrup over the fire will pass from one gradation to another, called by the confectioners, degrees of boiling, of which there are six, and those sub-divided. Without entering, however, into the minutiæ of the business, it is only necessary to make the observation in order to guard against under boiling, which prevents sweetmeats from keeping; and quick and long boiling, which reduces them to candy. Attention, without much practice, will enable a person to do any of the following sorts of sweetmeats and preserves, which are quite sufficient for a private family. The higher articles of preserved fruits may be bought at less expense than made. Jellies of fruit are made with an equal quantity of sugar, that is, a pound to a pint, and require no very long boiling. A pan should be kept for the purpose of preserving, of double block tin, with a bow handle for safety, opposite the straight one: and if when done with, it be carefully cleaned and set by in a dry place, it will last for several years. Pans of copper or brass are extremely improper, as the tinning wears out by the scraping of the ladle. Sieves and spoons should likewise be kept on purpose for sweetmeats. Sweetmeats keep best in drawers that are not connected with a wall. If there be the least damp, cover them only with paper dipped in brandy, and laid on quite close; and to prevent the mouldiness occasioned by insects, cover them with fresh paper in the spring. When any sweetmeats are to be dried in the sun, or in a stove, it will be best in private families, where there is not a regular stove for the purpose, to place them in the sun on flag stones, which reflect the heat, and to cover them with a garden glass to keep off the insects. If put into an oven, take care that it be not too warm, and watch to see them done properly and slowly. When green fruits are to be preserved, take pippins, apricots, pears, plums, or peaches, and put them into a block tin preserving pan, with vine leaves under and over them, and cover them with spring water. Put on the tin cover to exclude the air, and set the pan on the side of the fire. When the fruit begins to simmer, remove the pan from the fire, pour off the water, and if not green, put fresh leaves when cold, and repeat the same. Take them out carefully with a slice, peel and do them as directed for the different kinds of preserves. When fruit is plentiful, and sweetmeats are wanted for tarts, divide two pounds of apricots just ripe, and take out and break the stones. Put the kernels without their skins to the fruit; add three pounds of greengages, and two pounds and a half of lump sugar. The sugar should be broken in large pieces, and just dipped in water, and added to the fruit over a slow fire. Simmer it till reduced to a clear jam, but observe that it does not boil, and skim it well. If the sugar be clarified, it will make the jam the better. Put it into small pots, which art the best for preserving sweetmeats. SWEETMEAT PIES. Sweetmeats made with syrups are made into pies the same as raw fruit, and the same crusts may be used for them. Tarts made of any kind of jam are commonly made with a crust round the bottom of the dish, the sweetmeat then put in, and only little ornaments of crust cut with a jagging iron, and laid over the top. Sugar paste may be used if preferred. Little tartlets are made in the same way, only baked in tins and turned out. SWOONS. In a swooning fit, the patient should immediately be exposed to the open air, and the face and neck sprinkled with cold water. Pungent odours, or volatile spirits, should be held to the nostrils, and the feet rubbed with hot flannels, or put into warm water. SYLLABUB. Put a pint of cider and a bottle of strong beer into a large punch bowl, grate in a nutmeg, and sweeten it. Put in as much new milk from the cow as will make a strong froth, and let it stand an hour. Clean and wash some currants, and make them plump before the fire: then strew them over the syllabub, and it will be fit for use. A good imitation of this may be made by those who do not keep cows, by pouring new milk out of a tea-pot into the cider and beer, or wine.--A fine syllabub from the cow. Make your syllabub either of wine or cyder, (if cyder, put a spoonful of brandy in) sweeten it, and grate in some nutmeg; then milk into the liquor till you have a fine light curd; pour over it half a pint, or a pint of good cream, according to the quantity of syllabub you make: you may send it in the basin it was made in, or put it into custard-cups, and tea-spoons with it on a salver.--To make very fine syllabubs. Take a quart and half a pint of cream, a pint of Rhenish, and half a pint of sack; grate the rind of three lemons into the cream; with near a pound of double-refined sugar; squeeze the juice of three lemons into the wine, and put it to the cream; then beat all together with a whisk half an hour, take it up together with a spoon, and fill the glasses. It is best at three or four days old, and will keep good nine or ten days. These are called the everlasting syllabubs. SYMPATHETIC INK. Write on paper with a solution of nitrate of bismuth, and smear the writing over with a feather, moistened with an infusion of galls. The letters which were before invisible, will now appear of a brown colour. Or write with a solution of muriate of antimony, and smear the writing over with a feather dipped in a solution of galls. The writing before invisible, will now turn yellow. Or write with a transparent infusion of gall nuts, and smear it over with a solution of metallic salt; and on a slight exposure to the air, the writing will turn quite black. If written with a solution of sulphate of iron, and rubbed over with a solution of prussiate of potass, it will appear of a beautiful blue colour. SYRUP OF CREAM. Scald a pint of perfectly fresh cream, add to it a pound and a quarter of powdered lump sugar. Keep it in a cool place for two or three hours, then put it into small phials, holding one or two ounces each, and cork it close. It will keep good thus for several weeks, and will be found very useful in voyages. SYRUP OF DIACODIUM. Steep two pounds and a quarter of poppy heads in a gallon of water, and let it infuse twenty-four hours. Boil the infusion till reduced to three pints, and add to it a pound and a half of sugar. SYRUP OF MULBERRIES. Put the mulberries into a jar, and the jar into a kettle of water over the fire, till the juice runs from them. Then squeeze the fruit, and add to the juice twice its weight in sugar. Set it over a slow fire, skim it clean, and keep it simmering till the sugar is all dissolved. T. TABLE BEER. If the quantity to be brewed is taken as a barrel, or six and thirty gallons, two bushels and a half of malt will be sufficient. The dimensions of the vessels may be supposed to correspond with those used in a moderate family, and the copper holding about thirty gallons. A quantity of boiling water being poured into the mash tub, is suffered to remain there till the steam is nearly all evaporated. The malt previously ground, is then thrown into the water, and thoroughly stirred and mixed with it. This agitation of the malt and water, commonly called mashing, is kept up for a quarter of an hour, by which the malt is more effectually brought into contact with the water, and a greater proportion of its soluble matter extracted. After this the mash tub is covered over in order to retain as much heat as possible, and the whole is suffered to remain undisturbed for an hour and a half or two hours. At the end of that time, the water thus impregnated with the malt, in which state it is commonly called sweet wort, is slowly drawn off into another vessel. The quantity of water used in the first mashing is about twenty-five gallons; of which, not above fifteen are afterwards obtained, the rest being absorbed by the malt, with the exception of a small quantity carried off by evaporation. This first wort being drawn off from the malt, a fresh portion of hot water is thrown into the mash tub, and the process of mashing is repeated for ten minutes. The tub being again covered, the whole is suffered to remain for about an hour, when a second wort is drawn off. The quantity of water used in this second mashing is about fifteen gallons; and the malt having already retained as much water as is sufficient to saturate it, the whole amount of the fifteen gallons is afterwards recovered from the mash tub. About twelve gallons of hot water is now added to the malt, and the mixture being mashed for a few minutes, is suffered to remain another hour, in order to form a third wort. In the meantime a part of the two first worts is poured into the copper, with a pound and a half or two pounds of hops, and boiled for an hour, or an hour and a half; after which it is strained through a sieve into another vessel. The third wort is now drawn off from the mash tub, and being mixed with the remaining part of the first and second wort, it is boiled for an hour or more, with the hops used in the former instance. The three worts are then distributed into shallow vessels or coolers, and suffered to remain there till the liquor is reduced to a lukewarm state. It is then collected into the tun tub, and fermented with about a quart of yeast, which converts it into beer. But as table beer is sometimes brewed in considerable quantities for the use of large families, and in a still more economical manner, an estimate will be given, in order to show the saving that is made in private brewing. The following is a preparation for ten barrels. £ _s._ _d._ Malt, one quarter 2 10 0 Hops, eight pounds 0 10 0 Colouring, ditto 0 4 0 Spanish liquorice, 8oz. 0 0 8 Treacle, ten pounds 0 3 4 --------- 3 8 0 --------- Ten barrels bought at the brewery at 16_s._ 8 0 0 Ten barrels brewed at home 3 8 0 --------- Clear gain 4 12 0 --------- Liquorice root and other flavouring substances may be added: what are here inserted are only the general requisites.--Another way of making a cheap and wholesome table beer, is to dissolve four pounds of coarse sugar in ten gallons of water. Then put in three ounces of hops, boil the whole for three quarters of an hour, and let it work as usual. It should be kept a week or ten days before it is tapped, and it will improve daily afterwards, if not kept too long. Or for a still smaller quantity, put a pound of treacle to eight quarts of boiling water: add two bay leaves, and a quarter of an ounce of powdered ginger. Boil the whole for fifteen minutes, then let it cool, and work it with yeast. TAINTED MEAT. When the weather is so hot that meat will scarcely keep from day to day, wrapping it in a thin cloth dipped in vinegar, and not wrung very dry, will help to keep it from being tainted. Or rubbing the meat with black pepper will preserve it, and let it be hung up as usual. It is much better however, that meat should not be kept so long as to risk its being tainted. TAN GLOVES. To dye gloves to look like York tan or Limerick, put some saffron into a pint of water boiling hot, and let it infuse all night. Next morning wet the leather over with a brush, but take care that the tops of the gloves be sewn close, to prevent the colour from getting in. TANSEY. To make a tansey, beat up seven eggs, yolks and whites separately. Add a pint of cream, nearly the same of spinach juice, and a little tansey juice, gained by pounding it in a stone mortar; a quarter of a pound of Naples biscuit, a glass of white wine, and a little sugar and nutmeg. Set all in a saucepan, just to thicken, over the fire; then put it into a dish, lined with paste to turn out, and bake it.--Another. Beat ten eggs very well with a little salt, half a pound of loaf sugar pounded, half a pint of spinach juice, and a spoonful of the juice of tansey; mix them well together, and strain it to a quart of cream; grate in half a pound of Naples biscuits, and a nutmeg; add a quarter of a pound of Jordan almonds blanched and beat fine, with a little rose water, and mix all well together; put it into a stewpan, with a piece of butter the bigness of a golden pippin. Set it over a slow charcoal fire; keep it stirring till it is hardened; then butter a dish very well, that will just hold it: put in the tansey, bake it in a moderate oven, taking care that it is not scorched. When it comes home, turn it upon a pie plate, cut Seville oranges in small quarters, and lay round it, and on the tansey, citron, and orange peel cut thin, with double refined sugar laid in little heaps between. If you have not Naples biscuits, grate seven ounces of the finest stale bread you have.--_A boiled tansey._ Cut the crumb of a stale penny loaf thin, pour over as much hot cream as will wet it, and cover it over till cold; then beat and strain six eggs to it, a little lemon peel shred fine, a little grated nutmeg, and salt; green it as you did the baked tansey, and sweeten it to your taste; stir all very well together, butter a bason, that will hold it, butter also a cloth to lay over the top, tie it tight, and boil it an hour and quarter; turn it into a dish, and garnish with Seville orange; stick candied orange cut thin on the top. TANSEY PUDDING. Grate four ounces of bread, blanch two ounces of sweet almonds, and beat them fine in a marble mortar, with orange-flower water. Mix these, and four ounces of fine powdered sugar with the bread. Add five eggs, a little salt, a pint of cream, a grated nutmeg, half a pint of spinach juice expressed from the leaves, beaten in a marble mortar, and strained through a cloth, and two or three spoonfuls of tansey juice beaten out and strained in the same manner. Stir the whole together, and put it into a saucepan with a small piece of butter. Set it over the fire till it thickens, stirring it all the time, but do not let it boil. When done, cool it in a basin, then pour it into a dish well buttered, and bake it half an hour. Turn it out of the dish before it is sent to table, sift some fine sugar over it, and lay a Seville orange round it cut in pieces, and squeeze the juice upon it. TAPIOCA JELLY. Choose the largest sort, pour on cold water to wash in two or three times, and then soak it in fresh water five or six times. Simmer it in the same until it become quite clear, with a bit of lemon peel. Then add lemon juice, wine, and sugar. TAPIOCA PUDDING. Wash six spoonfuls of the large kind of tapioca, and stew it gently in a quart of milk till it is pretty thick. Let it stand uncovered to cool. Add two eggs well beaten with some salt, and sugar to the taste. Bake it with a crust round the edge of a dish, in a moderate oven, for an hour. TAR WATER. Pour a gallon of cold water on a quart of tar, and stir and mix them thoroughly with a ladle or flat stick, for the space of three or four minutes; after which the vessel must stand forty-eight hours, that the tar may have time to subside; when the clear water is to be poured off, and kept for use, no more being made from the same tar, which may still serve for common purposes. The general rule for taking it is, about half a pint night and morning, on an empty stomach, which quantity may be varied according to the case and age of the patient; provided it be always taken on an empty stomach, and about two hours before or after a meal. Tar water cures indigestion, and gives a good appetite. It is an excellent medicine in an asthma; it imparts a kindly warmth, and quick circulation to the juices, without heating, and is therefore useful, not only as a pectoral and balsamic, but also as a powerful and a safe deobstruent in cachectic and hysteric cases. As it is both healing and diuretic, it is very good for the gravel. It is believed to be of great use in a dropsy, having been known to cure a very bad anasarca in a person whose thirst, though very extraordinary, was in a short time removed by the drinking of tar water. It is also believed to be the best and safest medicine, either for preventing the gout, or for so strengthening nature against the fit, as to drive it from the vitals. It may likewise be safely used in inflammatory cases; and, in fact, hath been found an admirable febrifuge, at once the safest cooler and cordial. The salts and more active spirits of tar are got by infusion in cold water; but the resinous part is not to be dissolved thereby. Hence the prejudice which some, perhaps, may entertain against tar water, the use of which might inflame the blood by its sulphur and resin, as a medicine, appears not to be well grounded. It is observed by chemists, that all sorts of balsamic wood afford an acid spirit, which is the volatile oily salt of the vegetable. Herein is chiefly contained their medicinal virtues; and it appears that the acid spirit in tar water possesses the virtues, in an eminent degree, of that of guaiacum, and other medicinal woods. It is certain tar water warms, and therefore some may perhaps still think it cannot cool. The more effectually to remove this prejudice, let it be farther considered, that, as on one hand, opposite causes do sometimes produce the same effect; for instance, heat by rarefaction, and cold by condensation, do both increase the air's elasticity; so, on the other hand, the same cause shall sometimes produce opposite effects. Heat, for instance, in one degree thins, in another coagulates, the blood. It is not therefore strange, that tar water should warm one habit and cool another; have one good effect on a cold constitution, and another good effect on an inflamed one; nor, if this be so, that it should cure opposite disorders. A medicine of so great virtue in so many different disorders, and especially in that grand enemy the fever, must needs be a benefit to mankind in general. There are nevertheless three sorts of people to whom it may be peculiarly recommended; seafaring persons, ladies, and men of studious and sedentary lives. If it be asked, what precise quantity, or degree of strength is required in tar water? It is answered, that the palate, the stomach, the particular case and constitution of the patient, the very season of the year, will dispose and require him to drink more or less in quantity, stronger or weaker in degree. Precisely to measure its strength by a scrupulous exactness, is by no means necessary. It is to be observed, that tar water should not be made in unglazed earthen vessels, these being apt to communicate a nauseous sweetness to the water. Tar water is also recommended in the plague, and for the distemper among horned cattle; with what success must be left to experience. TARRAGON VINEGAR. Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with tarragon leaves, gathered on a dry day, just before the plant begins to flower. Dry the leaves a little before the fire, steep them a fortnight in the best vinegar, and strain it fine through a flannel jelly bag. Pour it into half-pint bottles, cork them up carefully, and keep them in a dry place. This forms an agreeable addition to soups and salad sauce, and to mix with mustard. TARTAR WINE. Add to a quantity of mare's milk a sixth part of water, and pour the mixture into a wooden vessel. Use as a ferment an eighth part of sour cow's milk; but at any future preparation, a small portion of old koumiss will answer better. Cover the vessel with a thick cloth, and set it in a place of moderate warmth, leaving it at rest for twenty four hours. At the end of this time the milk will become sour, and a thick substance will be gathered on its surface. Now with a churn-staff, beat it till the thick substance just mentioned, be intimately blended with the subjacent fluid. In this situation leave it at rest for twenty four hours more. Afterwards pour it into a higher and narrower vessel, resembling a churn, where the agitation must be repeated as before, till the liquor appear to be perfectly combined. In this state it is called koumiss, the taste of which ought to be a pleasant mixture of sweet and sour. Agitation must be employed every time before it is used. This wine, prepared by the Tartars, is cooling and antiseptic. Sometimes aromatic herbs, as angelica, are infused in the liquor during fermentation. TARTS. Sweetmeats made with syrups are formed into pies and tarts the same as raw fruits, and the same crusts may be used for them. Tarts made of any kind of jam are usually formed with a crust round the bottom of the dish, the sweetmeat is then put in, and little ornaments of crust placed over the top, made with a jagging iron. Sugar paste is suitable for these. Little tartlets are made in the same way, only baked in tins and turned out.----Take apples, or pears, cut them in small quarters, and set them over the fire, with a piece of lemon peel, and some cinnamon; let them simmer in as much water as will cover them, till tender; and if you bake them in tin pattipans, butter them first, and lay over a thin paste; lay in some sugar, then the fruit, with three or four tea-spoonfuls of the liquor they were simmered in; put in a little more sugar, and lid them over. If your tarts are made of apricots, green almonds, nectarines, or green plums, they must be scalded before you use them, and observe to put nothing to them but sugar, and as little water as possible; make use of the syrup they were scalded in, as you did for your apples, &c. Cherries, currants, raspberries, and all ripe fruits need not be scalded; and if you make your tarts in china, or glass patties, lay the sugar at bottom, then the fruit, with a little more sugar on the top; put no paste at the bottom, only lid them over, and bake them in a slack oven. You have receipts how to make crust for tarts; mince pies must be baked in tin patties, that you may slip them out into a dish, and a puff paste is the best for them. When you make sweetmeat tarts, or a crocant tart, lay in the sweetmeats, or preserved fruit either in glass or china patties that are small, for that purpose; lay a very thin crust on the top, and let them be baked no more than till your crust is nicely coloured, and that in a slow oven. If you would have a crocant tart for the middle of the table, or a side-dish, have a glass, or china dish, of what size you please, and lay in the preserved fruit of different sorts, (you must have a round cover just the size of the inside of your dish) roll out a sugar crust, the thickness of an half crown, and lay over the cover; mark it with marking irons made on purpose for that use, of what shapes you please; then put the crust, with the cover, into a very slack oven, not to discolour it, only to have it crisp. When you take it out of the oven, loosen it from the cover very gently, and when quite cold, take it carefully off, and lay over your sweetmeats, and it being hollow, you will see the fruit through it. If the tart is not eaten, only take off the lid, and your sweetmeats may be put into the pots again. TEA. The habit of drinking tea frequently, and in large quantities, cannot fail to be injurious, as it greatly weakens and relaxes the tone of the stomach. This produces indigestion, nervous trembling and weakness, attended with a pale, wan complexion. When tea is taken only at intervals, and after solid food, it is salutary and refreshing; but when used as a substitute for plain nourishing diet, as is too commonly the case amongst the lower classes, it is highly pernicious, especially as large quantities of a spurious description are too frequently imposed upon the public. The policy which compels a very numerous class to purchase this foreign article, for procuring which immense sums are sent out of the country, while the produce of our own soil is comparatively withheld by an exorbitant system of taxation, cannot be too severely condemned, as alike injurious to health, to the interests of agriculture, and to the comfort and industry of the people. The duty on foreign tea has indeed been greatly encreased, but at the same time, so has the duty on malt and beer; no encouragement therefore is given to the home consumption, but the money which ought to be paid for the production of barley and malt is given to the foreigner, while by the enormous price of the article, a powerful stimulus is furnished for attempting an illicit importation, and for the pernicious adulteration of what is now esteemed almost a common necessary of life. It is desirable to lessen the injurious effects of tea as much as possible by mixing it with milk, which will render it softer and more nutritious. With the addition of sugar it may be made to form a wholesome breakfast for those who are strong and live freely, operating as a diluent for cleansing the bladder and kidnies, and the alimentary passages. Persons of weak nerves ought however to abstain from tea, as they would from drains and cordials, as it causes the same kind of irritation on the delicate fibres of the stomach, which ends in lowness, trembling, and vapours. Tea should never be drunk hot at any time, as it tends still more to produce that relaxation which ought to be carefully avoided. Green tea is less wholesome than black or bohea. TEA CAKES. Rub four ounces of butter into eight ounces of flour, mix with it eight ounces of currants, and six of fine Lisbon sugar. Add two yolks and one white of eggs, and a spoonful of brandy. Roll the paste about the thickness of a biscuit, and cut it out with a wine glass into little cakes. The white of the other egg beaten up, may be washed over them, and then they may be dusted with fine sugar. TEA-KETTLES. Hard water used for tea is apt to form an offensive crust inside the tea-kettle, which may be prevented by frequent cleaning, or putting a flat oyster shell at the bottom. This will attract the stony particles that are in the water, and the concretion will be formed upon it. TEA-POTS. An infusion of tea is always more perfect in a metal tea-pot, than in one of stone or earthenware. If boiling water be poured into two tea-pots, one of bright silver or polished tin, and the other of black stoneware, and they be left in a room of moderate temperature, it will be found that the former will retain its heat nearly twice as long as the other. Tea-pots of polished metal are therefore to be preferred. TEATS. Sore teats, in Neat Cattle, is an affection in those of the cow kind, to which some are much more subject than others; especially such as have newly or lately calved. When the teats of these animals are affected during the summer months, they often become ulcerated, and by the teazing of the flies, the cattle are rendered difficult to be milked; they also become a very great nuisance at the periods of milking, as the discharges from them are apt, without much attention, to pass between the fingers of the operator into the milk-pail, and spoil the milk. The affection is caused by inflammation, irritation, and too much distention of the parts by the milk. In order to the removal of it, the milk should be first frequently drawn, and the parts well washed with soft soap and warm water; after which, a substance composed of elder ointment and wax melted together, to which is then added a little alum and sugar of lead, in fine powder, may be used to the parts after milking at night and in the morning; or a weak solution of white vitriol and a little sugar of lead, in soft water may be made use of in the same way, in some cases, with more advantage. The addition of a little assafoetida, and such like substances, in powder, is, it is said, beneficial in the summer season in driving away the flies. Great care is to be taken to keep the teats as clean as possible during the time of cure. TEETH AND GUMS. In order to preserve the teeth and gums, they require to be cleaned very carefully; for if the enamel of the teeth be worn off by an improper mode of cleaning, they will suffer more injury than by a total neglect. A common skewer of soft wood, bruised and bitten at the end, will make the best brush for this purpose. Once a week dip the skewer brush into a few grains of gunpowder, after they have been bruised, and it will remove every spot and blemish till the teeth appear beautifully white. The mouth should be well washed after the operation, to prevent any ill effects of the gunpowder. Teeth, if not regularly cleaned, are apt to contract a false kind of enamel which is injurious to the gums, leaving the fangs of the teeth bare, so that they are soon destroyed, by being exposed to the air, and for want of being protected by the gums. This tartarous enamel must therefore be scaled off, that the gums may grow up to their proper place. Raspberries or strawberries eaten plentifully have been found to dissolve these concretions, and contribute to the preservation of the teeth and gums. Tooth powders and tinctures also have their use. A very convenient powder may be made of charcoal pounded in a mortar, and sifted fine. Apply a little of it to the teeth twice a week, and it will not only render them beautifully white, but also make the breath sweet, and the gums firm and comfortable. The charcoal may be ground in water, and so preserved for use. A tincture for the gums may be made of three ounces of the tincture of bark, and half an ounce of sal ammoniac, mixed together. Dip the finger into a tea-spoonful of the tincture, and rub the gums and teeth with it, which are afterwards to be washed with warm water. This tincture not only cures the toothache, but preserves the teeth and gums, and causes them to adhere to each other. TENANT AT SUFFERANCE. When a lease is expired, and the tenant keeps possession without any new contract, he is deemed a tenant at sufferance. But on the landlord's acceptance of any rent after the expiration of the lease, the tenant may hold the premises from year to year, till half a year's notice is given. TENANT AT WILL. A tenant at will is one who holds an estate or tenement at the will of the landlord, and may at any time be ejected. Meanwhile he is at liberty to leave when he chooses, on giving proper notice, and cannot be compelled to occupy. TENCH. These are a fine flavoured fresh-water fish, and should be killed and dressed as soon as caught. They abound very much in the dykes of Lincolnshire. When they are to be bought, examine whether the gills are red and hard to open, the eyes bright, and the body stiff. The tench has a slimy matter about it, the clearness and brightness of which indicate freshness. The season for this delicate fish is July, August, and September. When to be dressed, put them into cold water, boil them carefully, and serve with melted butter and soy. They are also very fine stewed, or fricasseed, as follows. To fricassee tench white. Having cleaned your tench very well, cut off their heads, slit them in two, and if large, cut each half in three pieces, if small, in two: melt some butter in a stewpan, and put in your tench; dust in some flour, and pour in some boiling water, and a few mushrooms, and season it with salt, pepper, a bundle of sweet herbs, and an onion stuck with cloves: when this boils, pour in a pint of white wine boiling hot; let it stew till sufficiently wasted; take out the fish, and strain the liquor, saving the mushrooms; bind your fricassee with the yolk of three or four eggs beaten up with a little verjuice, some parsley chopped fine, and a little nutmeg grated; stir it all the time it boils, scum it very clean, pour your sauce over the fish, and send it to table.--To fricassee tench brown. Prepare your tench as in the other receipt; put some butter and flour into a stewpan, and brown it; then put in the tench with the same seasoning you did your white fricassee; when you have tossed them up, moisten them with a little fish broth; boil a pint of white wine, and put to your fricassee, stew it till enough, and properly wasted; then take the fish up, and strain the liquor, bind it with a brown cullis, and serve it up. If asparagus or artichokes are in season, you may boil these, and add them to your fricassee. TENCH BROTH. Clean the fish, and set them on the fire with three pints of water; add some parsley, a slice of onion, and a few peppercorns. Simmer till the fish is broken, the broth become good, and reduced one half. Add some salt, and strain it off. Tench broth is very nutricious, and light of digestion. THICK MILK. Beat up an egg, and add to it a tea spoonful of flour. Mix it smooth with a tea-spoonful of cold milk, and put to it a pint of boiling milk. Stir it over a slow fire till it boils, then pour it out, and add a little sugar and nutmeg. The saucepan should have a little cold water put into it first, to prevent the milk from burning at the bottom, or marbles boiled in it will answer the same purpose. THICKENED GRAVY. To a quart of gravy allow a table-spoonful of thickening, or from one to two table-spoonfuls of flour, according to the thickness required. Put a ladleful of the gravy into a basin with the thickening, stir it up quick, add the rest by degrees, till it is all well mixed. Then pour it back into a stewpan, and leave it by the side of the fire to simmer for half an hour longer, that the thickening may be thoroughly incorporated with the gravy. Let it neither be too pale nor too dark a colour. If not thick enough, let it stew longer, or add to it a little glaze or portable soup. If too thick, it may be diluted with a spoonful or too of warm broth or water. THICKENED SOUP. Put into a small stewpan three table-spoonfuls of the fat taken off the soup, and mix it with four table-spoonfuls of flour. Pour in a ladleful of the soup, mix it with the rest by degrees, and boil it up till it is smooth. This may be rendered more savoury by adding a little ketchup. The soup should be strained through a tammis. THICKENING. Clarified butter is best for this purpose, or put some fresh butter into a stewpan over a slow clear fire. When it is melted, add fine flour sufficient to make it the thickness of paste. Stir it well together with a wooden spoon for fifteen or twenty minutes, till it is quite smooth, and the colour of a guinea. This must be done very gradually and patiently, or it will be spoiled. Pour it into an earthen pan, and it will keep good a fortnight in summer, and longer in winter. Particular attention must be paid in making it; if it gets any burnt smell or taste, it will spoil every thing it is put into. When cold, it should be thick enough to cut out with a knife, like a solid paste. This is a very essential article in the kitchen, and the basis of consistency in most made dishes, soups, sauces, and ragouts. In making this thickening, the less butter and the more flour is used the better. They must be thoroughly worked together, and the broth or soup added by degrees. Unless well incorporated, the sauce will taste floury, and have a greasy disagreeable appearance. To prevent this, it must be finished and cleansed, after it is thickened, by adding a little broth or warm water, and setting it by the side of the fire to raise any fat that is not thoroughly incorporated with the gravy, that it may be carefully removed as it comes to the top. Some cooks merely thicken their soups and sauces with flour, or the farina of potatoe; and others use the fat skimmings off the top of broth, as a substitute for butter. THORNS AND SPLINTERS. To run prickles or thorns, such as those of roses, thistles, and chesnuts, or little splinters of wood or bone, into the hands, feet, or legs, is a very common accident, and provided any such substance be immediately extracted, it is seldom attended with any bad consequences. But the more certain prevention is a compress of linen dipped in warm water, and applied to the part, or to bathe it a little while in warm water. If the thorn or splinter cannot be extracted directly, or if any part of it be left in, it causes an inflammation, and nothing but timely precaution will prevent its coming to an abscess. A plaster of shoemaker's wax spread upon leather, draws these wounds remarkably well. When it is known that any part of the splinter remains, an expert surgeon would open the place and take it out; but if it be unobserved, as will sometimes happen when the substance is very small, till the inflammation begins, and no advice can at once be procured, the steam of water should be applied to it first, and then a poultice of bread crumb and milk, with a few drops of peruvian balsam. It is quite necessary that the injured part should be kept in the easiest posture, and as still as possible. If this does not soon succeed, good advice must be procured without delay, as an accident of this kind neglected, or improperly treated, may be the occasion of losing a limb. In this and all other cases of inflammation, a forbearance from animal food and fermented liquors, is always advisable. THRUSH. This disorder in children affects the mouth and throat, and sometimes the stomach. In the former case it will be sufficient to cleanse the mouth with a little sage tea, sweetened with the honey of roses, and mixed with a dram of borax. In the latter, great benefit may be derived from a decoction of carrots in water, or an ounce of linseed boiled in a pint of water till reduced to a consistence, and sweetened with two ounces of honey, a table-spoonful of which may be given occasionally. This complaint may generally be prevented by a due attention to cleanliness, daily washing and bathing the child in lukewarm water, washing its mouth after it has been applied to the breast, giving it pure air, and removing any obstruction in the bowels by the use of manna or tamarinds. THYME. These plants may be easily raised from seed, by slipping the roots and branches, and by cuttings; but the seed method is seldom practised, except with the second sort, or garden thyme. The seed should be sown in the early spring on light, rich, dry ground, which should be properly dug over, and the surface be made moderately smooth with the spade. As the seed is small, it should not be sown too thick, or be covered too deep: the seed is best sown while the ground is fresh stirred, either broad-cast on the surface, raking it in lightly, or in flat shallow drills, earthed over thinly: the plants appear in two or three weeks. It is necessary to be careful to keep them well weeded, giving occasional light waterings in dry weather; and by June they will require thinning, especially if the plants are to grow stocky, and with bushy full heads; in which case they should be set out to six or eight inches distance; when those thinned out may be planted in another place, in rows six or eight inches asunder, giving water till fresh rooted, keeping the whole clean from weeds by occasional hoeing between them in dry days, which will also stir the surface of the earth, and much improve the growth of the plants: they will be in perfection for use in summer, or early in autumn. Some think the common thyme best cultivated for kitchen use in beds or borders, in rows at least half a foot apart, employing for the purpose either the young seedling plants, which are fit to set out, or the root slips of old plants, each of which soon increase into plants of bushy growths proper for being cropped for the above use. It may also often be well cultivated as an edging to herbary and other compartments; in both of which methods the plants multiply exceedingly fast by offsets, and are abiding, furnishing the means of great future increase. Some should, however, always be annually raised from seed in the above manner, as such plants possess a stronger aromatic quality than those from old ones. When it is intended to increase any particular varieties, and continue them the same with certainty, it can only be effected by slips and cuttings. In respect to the offsets and slips, all the sorts multiply by offsets of the root and slips of the branches: the rooted slips are the most expeditious method, as the old plants increase into many offset stems rising from the root, each furnished with fibres; and by taking up the old plants in the spring, &c. and slipping or dividing them into separate parts, not too small, with roots to each, and planting them in beds of good earth, in rows half a foot asunder, giving water directly, and repeating it occasionally in dry weather till they have taken root, and begin to shoot at top; they soon grow freely, and form good bushy plants in two or three months. The strong slips of the branches without roots, succeed when planted any time in the early spring season in a shady border, in rows four or five inches distant, giving due waterings; and become good plants by autumn, when they may be planted out where they are to remain. The cuttings of the young branches grow readily, the same as the slips, when planted at the same season in a shady place, and well watered. The common thyme is in universal use as a pot-herb for various culinary purposes; it may also be employed in assemblage with other small plants, to embellish the fronts of flower-borders, shrubbery clumps, small and sloping banks, &c. placing the plants detached or singly, to form little bushy tufts, and in which the variegated sorts, and the silver thyme and lemon thyme particularly, form a very agreeable variety. The lemon thyme is also in much estimation for its peculiar odoriferous smell. Some of each of these sorts may also be potted, in order to be moved occasionally to any particular places as may be required, and under occasional shelter in severe winters, to preserve the plants more effectually in a lively state; likewise some of the mastick thyme. Spanish and Portugal thymes are also sometimes potted for the same purpose, and to place under the protection of a garden frame or greenhouse in winter, to continue them in a more fresh and lively growth; and sometimes some of the smaller thymes are sown or planted for edgings to particular beds or borders for variety, such as the lemon thyme, silver-leaved and variegated sorts; also occasionally the common thyme; and all kept low, close and regular, by clipping them at the sides and tops annually in the summer season. All the several sorts and varieties possess an aromatic quality, which principally resides in the leaves, whence it is imparted and affords a line agreeable fragrance. But the first three kinds are much the most noted and valued in kitchen gardens, and more especially the common thyme, which is so very useful as a culinary herb. TIN COVERS. Properly to clean tin covers and pewter pots, get the finest whiting, which is only sold in large cakes, the small being mixed with sand. Powder and mix a little of it with a drop of sweet oil, rub the pots and covers well with it, and wipe them clean. Then dust over some dry whiting in a muslin bag, and rub the articles bright with dry leather. The last is to prevent rust, which must be carefully guarded against by wiping thoroughly dry, and setting them by the fire when they come from table. If covers are once hung up without wiping, the steam will be sure to rust the inside. TINCTURE OF ALLSPICE. Bruise three ounces of allspice, and steep it in a quart of brandy. Shake it up occasionally and after a fortnight pour off the clear liquor. It makes a most grateful addition in all cases where allspice is used, in gravies, or to flavour and preserve potted meats. TINCTURE OF BARK. To make the compound tincture, take two ounces of Peruvian bark powdered, half an ounce of Seville orange peel, and half an ounce of bruised cinnamon. Infuse the whole in a pint and a half of brandy, let it stand five or six days in a close vessel, and then strain off the tincture. Take one or two tea-spoonfuls twice a day in any suitable liquor, sharpened with a few drops of the spirits of vitriol. This tincture is highly beneficial in intermitting fevers, and in slow, nervous, or putrid fevers, especially towards their decline. TINCTURE OF CINNAMON. This exhilirating cordial is made by pouring a bottle of the best brandy on three ounces of bruised cinnamon. A tea-spoonful of it, and a lump of sugar, in a glass of good sherry or madeira, with the yolk of an egg beaten up in it, was formerly considered as the balsam of life. Two tea-spoonfuls of it in a wine glass of water, are at present a very pleasant remedy in nervous languors, and in relaxations of the bowels. In the latter case, five drops of laudanum may be added to each dose. TINCTURE OF CLOVES. Bruise three ounces of cloves, steep them for ten days in a quart of brandy, and strain off the tincture through a flannel sieve. It imparts an excellent flavour to mulled wine. In all cases tinctures are to be preferred to essences, as affording a much finer flavour. TINCTURE OF LEMON PEEL. A very easy and economical way of obtaining and preserving the flavour of lemon peel, is to fill a wide-mouthed pint bottle half full of brandy or rum; and when a lemon is used, pare off the rind very thin, and put it into the spirits. In the course of a fortnight the liquor will be strongly flavoured with the lemon. TINCTURE OF NUTMEG. Steep three ounces of nutmeg in a quart of brandy, and let it stand a fortnight. Shake it up occasionally, and then pour off the clear liquor. TINCTURE OF RHUBARB. Take two ounces and a half of rhubarb, and half an ounce of lesser cardamon seeds; steep them for a week in a quart of brandy, and strain off the tincture. To make the bitter tincture of rhubarb, add an ounce of gentian root, and a dram of snake root. The tincture is of great use in case of indigestion, pain or weakness of the stomach; and from one to three or four spoonfuls may be taken every day. TINGEING OF GLASS. The art of tingeing glass of various colours is by mixing with it, while in a state of fusion, some of the metallic oxides; and on this process, well conducted, depends the formation of pastes. Blue glass is formed by means of oxide of cobalt; green, by the oxide of iron or copper; violet, by oxide of manganese; red, by a mixture of the oxides of copper and iron; purple, by the purple oxide of gold; white, by the oxides of arsenic and of zinc; yellow, by the oxide of silver, and by combustible bodies. TOAST AND WATER. Take a slice of fine and stale loaf-bread, cut very thin, (as thin as toast is ever cut) and let it be carefully toasted on both sides, until it be completely browned all over, but no wise blackened or burned in any way. Put this into a common deep stone or china jug, and pour over it, from the tea kettle, as much clean boiling water as you wish to make into drink. Much depends on the water being actually in a boiling state. Cover the jug with a saucer or plate, and let the drink stand until it be quite cold; it is then fit to be used; the fresher it is made the better, and of course the more agreeable. The above will be found a pleasant, light, and highly diuretic drink. It is peculiarly grateful to the stomach, and excellent for carrying off the effects of any excess in drinking. It is also a most excellent drink at meals, and may be used in the summer time, if more agreeable to the drinker. TOASTED CHEESE. Mix some fine butter, made mustard, and salt, into a mass. Spread it on fresh made thin toasts, and grate some Gloucester cheese upon them. TOMATOES. These are chiefly used in soups and sauces, and serve as little dishes at table at any part of a dinner. When they are to be baked, cut the tomatoes lengthways in the middle, with the part where there is a rind downwards. Strew upon each a seasoning of pepper, salt, and sweet herbs chopped small. Set them in the oven till they are soft, and serve them up, without any other sauce. The fruit of the purple egg plant is eaten, prepared in the same manner. TOMATA SAUCE. For hot or cold meats put tomatas, when perfectly ripe, into an earthen jar. Set it in an oven when the bread is drawn, till they are quite soft; then separate the skins from the pulp, and mix this with capsicum vinegar, and a few cloves of pounded garlic, which must both be proportioned to the quantity of fruit. Add powdered ginger and salt to taste. Some white wine vinegar and cayenne may be used instead of capsicum vinegar. Keep the mixture in small wide-mouthed bottles, well corked, and in a cool dry place. TONGUES. When a tongue is intended to be eaten cold, season it with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar, a little bay salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, and let it lie a fortnight. Then take away the pickle, put the tongue into a small pan, and lay some butter on it. Cover it with brown crust, and bake it slowly till it becomes so tender that a straw would go through it. The thin part of tongues, when hung up to dry, grates like hung beef, and also makes a fine addition to the flavour of omlets.--To boil a tongue. If it is a dried tongue, soak it over night; the next day put it into cold water, and let it have a good deal of room; it will take at least four hours. If it is a green tongue out of the pickle, you need not soak it, but it will require near the same time. About an hour before you send it to table, take it out and blanch it, then put it into the pot again till you want it, by this means it will eat the tenderer. TONGUE AND UDDER. Clean the tongue nicely, rub it with salt, a very little saltpetre, and a little coarse sugar, and let it lie for two or three days. When to be dressed, have a fresh tender udder with some fat to it, and boil that and the tongue gently till half done. Take them very clean out of the water, then tie the thick end of the one to the thin end of the other, and roast them with a few cloves stuck into the udder. Serve them up with gravy in the dish, and currant jelly in a tureen. A dried tongue to be boiled, requires to be previously soaked for ten or twelve hours. A tongue out of pickle is only to be washed, and boiled in the same way. It will take four hours to do it well, and for the first two hours it should only simmer. About an hour before it is done it should be taken up and peeled, and then put into the boiler again to finish it. Serve it up with turnips nicely mashed, and laid round it. TOOTH ACH. The best possible preventive of this disorder is to keep the teeth clean, as directed for the Teeth and Gums. If the gums be inflamed, recourse should be had to bleeding by leeches, and blisters behind the ears. A few drops of laudanum in cotton, laid on the tooth, will sometimes afford relief. In some cases, vitriolic æther dropped on the cheek, and the hand held to the part till the liquid is evaporated, is found to answer the purpose. But it is much easier to prescribe the means of preventing the disorder, than to point out a specific remedy; and the nostrums generally given on this subject are either ineffectual or injurious. TOURTE CRUST. To make a crust for French pies called tourtes, take a pound and a half of fine flour, a pound of butter, and three quarters of an ounce of salt. Put the flour upon a clean pie board, make a hole in the middle, and put in the salt, with the butter cut into small pieces. Pour in the water carefully, as it is of great importance that the crust be rather stiff; and for this purpose there should only be just water enough to make it hold together so as to roll it out smooth. Work up the butter and water well together with the hand, and mix it in the flour by degrees. When the flour is all mixed in, mould the paste till it is quite smooth and free from lumps, and let it lie two hours before it be used. This is a very nice crust for putting round the dish for baked puddings. TOURTES OF FISH. Prepare the crust and put it into the dish, as for meat tourtes. Then take almost any kind of fish, cut them from the backbone, and lay them in slices upon the crust, with a little bunch of sweet herbs in the middle, some salt and pounded spice, according to the taste. Lay butter all over the top crust, and bake it an hour and a half. Cut the crust round after it is baked, take out the herbs, skim off the remainder of the fat, pour on a sauce of fish gravy, and serve it up. Mushrooms are very nice in the sauce, and so are capers, but the flavour of the sauce must be regulated by the taste. Truffles and morels may also be put in, as in the meat tourtes. Eels, pike, salmon, tench, whiting, are proper for the purpose. Nothing makes a nicer tourte in this way than large soles, taking off the flesh from the backbone, without the side fins. Lobsters also make an excellent tourte, and oysters are very nice mixed with other fish. TOURTES OF MEAT. Prepare a crust of paste, roll it out, and line a dish with it not deeper than a common plate. Veal, chicken, pigeons, sweetbread, or game of any kind, may be prepared as follows. Cut in pieces whichever is preferred, just heat it in water, drain it, season it with pepper and salt, lay it upon the crust without piling it up high, and leave a border round the rim of the dish. Place some pieces of butter upon the meat to keep it moist, and add truffles, mushrooms, morels, artichoke bottoms, or forcemeat balls, at pleasure. Cover the whole with slices of fat bacon, and then lay a crust over it exactly corresponding with that underneath. Glaze over the upper crust with yolk of egg, and set the tourte into an oven. When it has been in a quarter of an hour, draw it to the mouth of the oven, and make a hole in the centre of the crust to let out the fumes. Let it stand nearly three hours longer in the oven, then take it out, cut the crust round with the rim, take it off, take out the bacon, and clear off any fat that may remain on the top. Have ready a rich ragout sauce to pour over it, then replace the crust, and serve it up. This dish is according to the French fashion. TRANSPARENT MARMALADE. Cut the palest Seville oranges in quarters, take out the pulp, and put it in a bason, picking out the seeds and skins. Let the outsides soak in water with a little salt all night, then boil them in a good quantity of spring water till tender; drain, and cut them in very thin slices, and put them to the pulp. To every pound, add a pound and a half of double-refined sugar beaten fine; boil them together twenty minutes, but be careful not to break the slices. It must be stirred all the time very gently, and put into glasses when cold. TRANSPARENT PAINTINGS. The paper must be fixed in a straining frame, in order to place it between the eye and the light, when required. After tracing the design, the colours must be laid on, in the usual method of stained drawings. When the tints are got in, place the picture against the window, on a pane of glass framed for the purpose, and begin to strengthen the shadows with Indian ink, or with colours, according as the effect requires; laying the colours sometimes on both sides of the paper, to give greater force and depth of colour. The last touches for giving final strength to shadows and forms, are to be done with ivory black or lamp black, prepared with gum water; as there is no pigment so opaque, and capable of giving strength and decision. When the drawing is finished, and every part has got its depth of colour and brilliancy, being perfectly dry, touch very carefully with spirits of turpentine, on both sides, those parts which are to be the brightest, such as the moon and fire; and those parts requiring less brightness, only on one side. Then lay on immediately with a pencil, a varnish made by dissolving one ounce of Canada balsam in an equal quantity of spirit of turpentine. Be cautious with the varnish, as it is apt to spread. When the varnish is dry, tinge the flame with red lead and gamboge, slightly touching the smoke next the flame. The moon must not be tinted with colour. Much depends on the choice of the subject, and none is so admirably adapted to this species of effect, as the gloomy Gothic ruin, whose antique towers and pointed turrets finely contrast their dark battlements with the pale yet brilliant moon. The effect of rays passing through the ruined windows, half choked with ivy; or of a fire among the clustering pillars and broken monuments of the choir, round which are figures of banditti, or others, whose haggard faces catch the reflecting light; afford a peculiarity of effect not to be equaled in any other species of painting. Internal views of cathedrals also, where windows of stained glass are introduced, have a beautiful effect. The great point to be attained is, a happy coincidence between the subject and the effect produced. The fine light should not be too near the moon, as its glare would tend to injure her pale silver light. Those parts which are not interesting, should be kept in an undistinguishing gloom; and where the principal light is, they should be marked with precision. Groups of figures should be well contrasted; those in shadow crossing those that are in light, by which means the opposition of light against shade is effected. TRANSPARENT PUDDING. Beat up eight eggs, put them into a stewpan, with half a pound of sugar finely pounded, the same quantity of butter, and some grated nutmeg. Set it on the fire, and keep it stirring till it thickens. Then set it into a basin to cool, put a rich puff paste round the dish, pour in the pudding, and bake it in a moderate oven. It will cut light and clear. Candied orange and citron may be added if approved. TRANSPLANTING OF FLOWERS. Annuals and perennials, sown in March or April, may be transplanted about the end of May. A showery season is preferable, or they must frequently be watered till they have taken root. In the summer time the evening is the proper season, and care should be taken not to break the fibres in digging up the root. Chinasters, columbines, marigolds, pinks, stocks, hollyhocks, mallows, sweetwilliams, wallflowers, and various others, may be sown and transplanted in this manner. TRAPS. Garden traps, such as are contrived for the purpose of destroying mice and other vermin; which are often conveyed into such places with the straw, litter, and other matters that are made use of in them; and which are extremely hurtful and troublesome in the spring season, in destroying peas and beans, as well as lettuces, melons, and cucumbers in frames. Traps for this purpose are contrived in a great many ways; but as field vermin are very shy, and will rarely enter traps which are close, the following simple cheap form has been advised, though it has nothing of novelty in it. These traps may be made by stringing garden beans on a piece of fine pack-thread, in the manner of beads, and then driving two small stake-like pieces of wood into the ground at the breadth of a brick from each other, and setting up a brick, flat stone, or board with a weight on it, inclining to an angle of about forty-five degrees; tying the string, with the beans on it, round the brick or other substances and stakes, to support them in their inclining position, being careful to place all the beans on the under sides of the bricks or other matters. The mice in eating the beans, in such cases, will also destroy the pack-thread, and by such means disengage the brick or other weighty body, which by falling on them readily destroys them. Mice are always best got rid of by some sort of simple open traps of this nature. TREACLE BEER. Pour two quarts of boiling water on a pound of treacle, and stir them together. Add six quarts of cold water, and a tea-cupful of yeast. Tun it into a cask, cover it close down, and it will be fit to drink in two or three days. If made in large quantities, or intended to keep, put in a handful of malt and hops, and when the fermentation is over, stop it up close. TREACLE POSSET. Add two table-spoonfuls of treacle to a pint of milk, and when ready to boil, stir it briskly over the fire till it curdles. Strain it off after standing covered a few minutes. This whey promotes perspiration, is suitable for a cold, and children will take it very freely. TREATMENT OF CHILDREN. It ought to be an invariable rule with all who have the care of children, to give them food only when it is needful. Instead of observing this simple and obvious rule, it is too common, throughout every period of childhood, to pervert the use of food by giving it when it is not wanted, and consequently when it does mischief, not only in a physical but in a moral point of view. To give food as an indulgence, or in a way of reward, or to withhold it as a matter of punishment, are alike injurious. A proper quantity of food is necessary in all cases, to sustain their health and growth; and their faults ought to be corrected by more rational means. The idea of making them suffer in their health and growth on account of their behaviour, is sufficient to fill every considerate mind with horror. It is the project only of extreme weakness, to attempt to correct the disposition by creating bodily sufferings, which are so prone to hurt the temper, even at an age when reason has gained a more powerful ascendancy. Eatables usually given to children by well-meaning but injudicious persons, in order to pacify or conciliate, are still worse than the privations inflicted by way of punishment. Sugar plums, sugar candy, barley sugar, sweetmeats, and most kinds of cakes, are unwholesome, and cloying to the appetite. Till children begin to run about, the uniformity of their lives makes it probable that the quantity of food they require in the day is nearly the same, and that it may be given to them statedly at the same time. By establishing a judicious regularity with regard to both, much benefit will accrue to their health and comfort. The same rule should be applied to infants at the breast, as well as after they are weaned. By allowing proper intervals between the times of giving children suck, the breast of the mother becomes duly replenished with milk, and the stomach of the infant properly emptied to receive a fresh supply. The supposition that an infant wants food every time it cries, is highly fanciful; and it is perfectly ridiculous to see the poor squalling thing thrown on its back, and nearly suffocated with food to prevent its crying, when it is more likely that the previous uneasiness arises from an overloaded stomach. Even the mother's milk, the lightest of all food, will disagree with the child, if the administration of it is improperly repeated. A very injurious practice is sometimes adopted, in suckling a child beyond the proper period, which ought by all means to be discountenanced, as evidently unnatural, and tending to produce weakness both in body and mind. Suckling should not be continued after the cutting of the first teeth, when the clearest indication is given, that the food which was adapted to the earliest stage of infancy ceases to be proper. Attention should also be paid to the quantity as well as to quality of the food given, for though a child will sleep with an overloaded stomach, it will not be the refreshing sleep of health. When the stomach is filled beyond the proper medium, it induces a similar kind of heaviness to that arising from opiates and intoxicating liquors; and instead of awakening refreshed and lively, the child will be heavy and fretful. By the time that children begin to run about, the increase of their exercise will require an increase of nourishment: but those who overload them with food at any time, in hopes of strengthening them, are very much deceived. No prejudice is equally fatal to such numbers of children. Whatever unnecessary food a child receives, weakens instead of strengthening it: for when the stomach is overfilled, its power of digestion is impaired, and food undigested is so far from yielding nourishment, that it only serves to debilitate the whole system, and to occasion a variety of diseases. Amongst these are obstructions, distention of the body, rickets, scrophula, slow fevers, consumptions, and convulsion fits. Another pernicious custom prevails with regard to the diet of children, when they begin to take other nourishment besides their mother's milk, and that is by giving them such as their stomachs are unable to digest, and indulging them also in a mixture of such things at their meals as are hurtful to every body, and more especially to children, considering the feeble and delicate state of their organs. This injudicious indulgence is sometimes defended on the plea of its being necessary to accustom them to all kinds of food; but this idea is highly erroneous. Their stomachs must have time to acquire strength sufficient to enable them to digest varieties of food; and the filling them with indigestible things is not the way to give them strength. Children can only acquire strength gradually with their proper growth, which will always be impeded if the stomach is disordered. Food for infants should be very simple, and easy of digestion. When they require something more solid than spoonmeats alone, they should have bread with them. Plain puddings, mild vegetables, and wholesome ripe fruits, eaten with bread, are also good for them. Animal food is better deferred till their increased capacity for exercise will permit it with greater safety, and then care must be taken that the exercise be proportioned to this kind of food. The first use of it should be gradual, not exceeding two or three times in a week. An exception should be made to these rules in the instances of scrophulous and rickety children, as much bread is always hurtful in these cases, and fruits are particularly pernicious. Plain animal food is found to be the most suitable to their state. The utmost care should be taken under all circumstances to procure genuine unadulterated bread for children, as the great support of life. If the perverted habits of the present generation give them an indifference as to what bread they eat, or a vitiated taste for adulterated bread, they still owe it to their children as a sacred duty, not to undermine their constitution by this injurious composition. The poor, and many also of the middling ranks of society are unhappily compelled to this species of infanticide, as it may almost be called, by being driven into large towns to gain a subsistence, and thus, from the difficulty of doing otherwise, being obliged to take their bread of bakers, instead of making wholesome bread at home, as in former times, in more favourable situations. While these are to be pitied, what shall be said of those whose fortunes place them above this painful necessity. Let them at at least rear their children on wholesome food, and with unsophisticated habits, as the most unequivocal testimony of parental affection performing its duty towards its offspring. It is proper also to observe, that children ought not to be hurried in their eating, as it is of great importance that they should acquire a habit of chewing their food well. They will derive from it the various advantages of being less likely to eat their food hot, of thus preparing what they eat properly for the stomach, instead of imposing upon it what is the real office of the teeth; and also that of checking them from eating too much. When food is not properly masticated, the stomach is longer before it feels satisfied; which is perhaps the most frequent, and certainly the most excusable cause of eating more than is fairly sufficient. Thoughtless people will often, for their own amusement, give children morsels of high dishes, and sips of spirituous or fermented liquors, to see whether they will relish them, or make faces at them. But trifling as this may seem, it would be better that it were never practised, for the sake of preserving the natural purity of their tastes as long as possible. TREATMENT OF THE SICK. Though an unskilful dabbling in cases of illness, which require the attention of the most medical practitioners, is both dangerous and presumptuous; yet it is quite necessary that those who have the care of a family should be able to afford some relief in case of need, as well as those whose duty it is more immediately to attend upon the sick. Uneasy symptoms are experienced at times by all persons, not amounting to a decided state of disease, which if neglected may nevertheless issue in some serious disorder that might have been prevented, not only without risk, but even with greater advantage to the individual than by an application to a positive course of medicine. Attention to the state of the bowels, and the relief that may frequently be afforded by a change of diet, come therefore very properly within the sphere of domestic management, in connection with a few simple medicines in common use. The sensations of lassitude or weariness, stiffness or numbness, less activity than usual, less appetite, a load or heaviness at the stomach, some uneasiness in the head, a more profound degree of sleep, yet less composed and refreshing than usual; less gaiety and liveliness, a slight oppression of the breast, a less regular pulse, a propensity to be cold, or to perspire, or sometimes a suppression of a former disposition to perspire, are any of them symptomatic of a diseased state, though not to any very serious or alarming degree. Yet under such circumstances persons are generally restless, and scarcely know what to do with themselves; and often for the sake of change, or on the supposition that their sensations proceed from lowness, they unhappily adopt the certain means of making them terminate in dangerous if not fatal diseases. They increase their usual quantity of animal food, leave off vegetables and fruit, drink freely of wine or other strong liquors, under an idea of strengthening the stomach, and expelling wind; all of which strengthen nothing but the disposition to disease, and expel only the degree of health yet remaining. The consequence of this mistaken management is, that all the evacuations are restrained, the humours causing and nourishing the disease are not at all attempered and diluted, nor rendered proper for evacuation. On the contrary they become sharper, and more difficult to be discharged. By judicious management it is practicable, if not entirely to prevent a variety of disorders, yet at least to abate their severity, and so to avert the ultimate danger. As soon as any of the symptoms begin to appear, the proper way is to avoid all violent or laborious exercise, and to indulge in such only as is gentle and easy. To take very little or no solid food, and particularly to abstain from meat, or flesh broth, eggs, and wine, or other strong liquors. To drink plentifully of weak diluting liquor, by small glasses at a time, at intervals of about half an hour. If these diluents are not found to answer the purpose of keeping the bowels open, stronger cathartics must be taken, or injections for the bowels, called lavements. By pursuing these precautions, the early symptoms of disease will often be removed, without coming to any serious issue: and even where this is not the case, the disorder will be so lessened as to obviate any kind of danger from it. When confirmed diseases occur, the only safe course is to resort to the most skilful medical assistance that can be obtained. Good advice and few medicines will much sooner effect a cure, than all the drugs of the apothecary's shop unskilfully administered. But the success of the best advice may be defeated, if the patient and his attendants will not concur to render it effectual. If the patient is to indulge longings for improper diet, and his friends are to gratify them, the advantage of the best advice may be defeated by one such imprudent measure. Patients labouring under accidents which require surgical assistance, must be required strictly to attend to the same directions. General regulations are all that a physician or surgeon can make respecting diet, many other circumstances will therefore require the consideration of those who attend upon the sick, and it is of consequence that they be well prepared to undertake their charge, for many fatal mistakes have arisen from ignorance and prejudice in these cases. A few rules that may be referred to in the absence of a medical adviser, are all that are necessary in the present instance, more especially when the patient is so far recovered as to be released from medicines, and put under a proper regimen, with the use of a gentle exercise, and such other regulations as a convalescent state requires.--When for example, persons are labouring under acute disorders, or accidents, they are frequently known to suffer from the injudiciousness of those about them, in covering them up in bed with a load of clothes that heat and debilitate them exceedingly, or in keeping them in bed when the occasion does not require it, without even suffering them to get up and have it new made, and by never allowing a breath of fresh air to be admitted into the room. The keeping patients quiet is undoubtedly of essential importance; they should not be talked to, nor should more persons be admitted into the room than are absolutely necessary. Every thing that might prove offensive should immediately be removed. Sprinkling the room sometimes with vinegar, will contribute to keep it in a better state. The windows should be opened occasionally for a longer or shorter time, according to the weather and season of the year, without suffering the air to come immediately upon the patient. Waving the chamber door backward and forward for a few minutes, two or three times in a day, ventilates the room, without exposing the sick person to chilness. Occasionally burning pastils in the room, or a roll of paper, is also useful. The bed linen, and that of the patient, should be changed every day, or in two or three days, as circumstances may require. A strict forbearance from giving sick persons any nourishment beyond what is prescribed by their medical attendant, should invariably be observed. Some persons think they do well in this respect to cheat the doctor, while in fact they cheat the patient out of the benefit of his advice, and endanger his life under a pretence of facilitating his recovery. In all cases it is important to wait with patience the slow progress of recovery, rather than by injudicious means to attempt to hasten it; otherwise the desired event will only be retarded. What has long been undermining the stamina of health, which is commonly the case with diseases, or what has violently shocked it by accident, can only be removed by slow degrees. Medicines will not operate like a charm; and even when they are most efficacious, time is required to recover from the languid state to which persons are always reduced, both by accident and by disease. When the period is arrived at which sick persons may be said to be out of danger, a great deal of patience and care will still be necessary to prevent a relapse. Much of this will depend on the convalescent party being content for some time with only a moderate portion of food, for we are not nourished in proportion to what we swallow, but to what we are well able to digest. Persons on their recovery, who eat moderately, digest their food, and grow strong from it. Those in a weak state, who eat much, do not digest it; instead therefore of being nourished and strengthened by it, they insensibly wither away. The principal rules to be observed in this case are, that persons in sickness, or those who are slowly recovering, should take very little nourishment at a time, and take it often. Let them have only one sort of food at each meal, and not change their food too often; and be careful that they chew their food well, to make it easy of digestion. Let them diminish their quantity of drink. The best drink for them in general is water, with a third or fourth part of white wine. Too great a quantity of liquids at such a time prevents the stomach from recovering its tone and strength, impairs digestion, promotes debility, increases the tendency to a swelling of the legs; sometimes it even occasions a slow fever, and throws back the patient into a languid state. Persons recovering from sickness should take as much exercise in the open air as they are able to bear, either on foot, in a carriage, or on horseback: the latter is by far the best. The airing should be taken in the middle of the day, when the weather is temperate, or before the principal meal. Exercise taken before a meal strengthens the organs of digestion, and therefore tends to health; but when taken after a meal, it is injurious. As persons in this state are seldom quite so well towards night, they should take very little food in the evening, in order that their sleep may be less disturbed and more refreshing. It would be better not to remain in bed above seven or eight hours; and if they feel fatigued by sitting up, let them lie down for half an hour to rest. The swelling of the legs and ancles, which happens to most persons in a state of weakness and debility, is attended with no danger, and will generally disappear of itself, if they live soberly and regularly, and take moderate exercise. The most solicitous attention must be paid to the state of the bowels; and if they are not regular, they must be kept open every day by artificial means, or it will produce heat and restlessness, and pains in the head. Care should be taken not to return to hard labour too soon after recovering from illness; some persons have never recovered their usual strength for want of this precaution.--Common colds, though lightly regarded, are often of serious consequence. A cold is an inflammatory disease, though in no greater degree than to affect the lungs or throat, or the thin membrane which lines the nostrils, and the inside of certain cavities in the bones of the cheeks and forehead. These cavities communicate with the nose in such a manner, that when one part of this membrane is affected with inflammation, it is easily communicated to the rest. When the disorder is of this slight kind, it may easily be cured without medicine, by only abstaining from meat, eggs, broth, and wine; from all food that is sharp, fat, and heavy. Little or no supper should be eaten, but the person should drink freely of an infusion of barley, or of elder flowers, with the addition of a third or fourth part of milk. Bathing the feet in warm water before going to bed, will dispose the patient to sleep. In colds of the head, the steam of warm water alone, or of water in which elder flowers or some mild aromatic herbs have been boiled, will generally afford speedy relief. These also are serviceable in colds which affect the breast. Hot and close rooms are very hurtful in colds, as they tend to impede respiration; and sitting much over the fire increases the disorder. Spermaceti is often taken in colds and coughs, which must from its greasy nature impair the digestive faculty, and cannot operate against the cause of a cold; though the cure of it, which is effected in due time by the economy of nature, is often ascribed to such medicines as may rather have retarded it. Whenever a cold does not yield to the simple treatment already described, good advice should be procured, as a neglected cold is often the origin of very serious disorders.--A few observations on the nature of the diet and drink proper for sickly persons, will be necessary at the close of this article, for the information of those who occasionally undertake the care of the afflicted. As the digestion of sick persons is weak, and very similar to that of children, the diet suited to the latter is generally proper for the former, excepting in the two great classes of diseases called putrid and intermittent fevers. In case of putrid fever no other food should be allowed, during the first weeks of recovery, than the mildest vegetable substances. When recovering from agues and intermittent fevers, animal jellies, and plain animal food, with as little vegetable as possible, is the proper diet. Meat and meat broth, generally speaking, are not so well adapted for the re-establishment of health and strength, as more simple diets. Flesh being the food most used by old and young at all other times, is consequently that from which their distempers chiefly proceed, or at least it nourishes those disorders which other causes may have contributed to introduce. It is of a gross, phlegmatic nature and oily quality, and therefore harder of digestion than many other sorts of food, tending to generate gross humours and thick blood, which are very unfavourable to the recovery of health. The yolk of an egg lightly boiled or beaten up raw with a little wine may be taken, when animal food is not forbidden, and the party cannot chew or swallow more solid food. The spoonmeats and drinks directed for children, and simple puddings made as for them, may all be used for invalids, subject only to the restrictions imposed by their medical attendant. Puddings and panadoes made of bread are better for weak stomachs than those made of flour.--Diet drinks may be made of an infusion of herbs, grains, or seeds. For this purpose the herbs should be gathered in their proper season, then dried in the shade, and put into close paper bags. When wanted for use, take out the proper quantity, put it into a linen bag, suspend it in the beer or ale, while it is fermenting, from two to six or eight hours, and then take it out. Wormwood ought not to be infused so long; three or four hours will be sufficient, or it will become nauseous, and soon turn to putrefaction. The same is to be understood in infusing any sort of well-prepared herbs, and great care is required in all preparations of this kind that the pure properties are neither evaporated, nor overpowered by the bad ones. Beer, ale, or any other liquor in which herbs are infused, must be unadulterated, or the benefit of these infusions will be destroyed by its pernicious qualities. Nothing is more prejudicial to health than adulterated liquors, or liquors that are debased by any corrupting vegetable substance. Those things which in their purest state are of a doubtful character, and never to be trusted without caution, are by this means converted into decided poisons.--Herb Tea of any kind should always be made with a moderate proportion of the herb. When the tea is of a proper strength, the herb should be taken out, or it will become nauseous by long infusion. These kinds of tea are best used quite fresh.--Herb Porridge may be made of elder buds, nettle tops, clivers, and water cresses. Mix up a proper quantity of oatmeal and water, and set it on the fire. When just ready to boil, put in the herbs, cut or uncut; and when ready again to boil, lade it to and fro to prevent its boiling. Continue this operation six or eight minutes, then take it off the fire, and let it stand awhile. It may either be eaten with the herbs, or strained, and should not be eaten warmer than new milk. A little butter, salt, and bread, may be added. Another way is, to set some oatmeal and water on a quick fire; and when it is scalding hot, put in a good quantity of spinage, corn salad, tops of pennyroyal, and mint cut small. Let it stand on the fire till ready to boil, then pour it up and down six or seven minutes, and let it stand off the fire that the oatmeal may sink to the bottom. Strain it, and add butter, salt, and bread. When it is about milk-warm it will be fit to eat. This is an excellent porridge, pleasant to the palate and stomach, cleansing the passages by opening obstructions. It also breeds good blood, thus enlivens the spirits, and makes the whole body active and easy.--A Cooling Drink may be made of two ounces of whole barley, washed and cleansed in hot water, and afterwards boiled in five pints of water till the barley opens. Add a quarter of an ounce of cream of tartar, and strain off the liquor. Or bruise three ounces of the freshest sweet almonds, and an ounce of gourd melon seeds in a marble mortar, adding a pint of water, a little at a time, and then strain it through a piece of linen. Bruise the remainder of the almonds and seeds again, with another pint of water added as before; then strain it, and repeat this process a third time. After this, pour all the liquor upon the bruised mass, stir it well, and finally strain it off. Half an ounce of sugar may safely be bruised with the almonds and seeds at first; or if it be thought too heating, a little orange-flower water may be used instead.--Currant Drink. Put a pound of the best red currants, fully ripe and clean picked, into a stone bottle. Mix three spoonfuls of good new yeast with six pints of hot water, and pour it upon the currants. Stop the bottle close till the liquor ferments, then give it as much vent as is necessary, keep it warm, and let it ferment for about three days. Taste it in the mean time to try whether it is become pleasant; and as soon as it is so, run it through a strainer, and bottle it off. It will be ready to drink in five or six days.--Boniclapper is another article suited to the state of sickly and weakly persons. Boniclapper is milk which has stood till it has acquired a pleasant sourish taste, and a thick slippery substance. In very hot weather this will be in about twenty-four hours from the time of its being milked, but longer in proportion as the weather is colder. If put into vessels which have been used for milk to be soured in, it will change the sooner. New milk must always be used for this purpose. Boniclapper is an excellent food at all times, particularly for those who are troubled with any kind of stoppages; it powerfully opens the breast and passages, is itself easy of digestion, and helps to digest all hard or sweeter foods. It also cools and cleanses the whole body, renders it brisk and lively, and is very efficacious in quenching thirst. No other sort of milkmeat or spoonmeat is so proper and beneficial for consumptive persons, or such as labour under great weakness and debility. It should be eaten with bread only, and it will be light and easy on the stomach, even when new milk is found to disagree. If this soured milk should become unpleasant at first, a little custom and use will not only render it familiar, but agreeable to the stomach and palate; and those who have neither wisdom nor patience to submit to a transient inconvenience, will never have an opportunity of knowing the intrinsic value of any thing. To these may be added a variety of other articles adapted to a state of sickness and disease, which will be found under their respective heads; such as Beef Tea, Flummery, Jellies of various kinds, Lemon Whey, Vinegar Whey, Cream of Tartar Whey, Mustard Whey, Treacle Posset, Buttermilk, Onion Porridge, Water Gruel, and Wormwood Ale. TREES. Several different methods have been proposed of preventing the bark being eaten off by hares and rabbits in the winter season; such as twisting straw-ropes round the trees; driving in small flat stakes all about them; and the use of strong-scented oils. But better and neater modes have lately been suggested; as with hog's lard, and as much whale-oil as will work it up into a thin paste or paint, with which the stems of the trees are to be gently rubbed upwards, at the time of the fall of the leaf. It may be done once in two years, and will, it is said, effectually prevent such animals from touching them. Another and still neater method, is to take three pints of melted tallow to one pint of tar, mixing them well together over a gentle fire. Then, in the month of November, to take a small brush and go over the rind or bark of the trees with the composition in a milk-warm state, as thin as it can be laid on with the brush. It is found that such a coating does not hinder the juices or sap from expanding in the smallest degree; and the efficacy of the plan is proved, in preventing the attacks of the animals, by applying the liquid composition to one tree and missing another, when it was found that the former was left, while the latter was attacked. Its efficacy has been shewn by the experience of five years. The trees that were gone over the first two years have not been touched since; and none of them have been injured by the hares.--The Mossing of trees is their becoming much affected and covered with the moss-plant or mossy substance. It is found to prevail in fruit-grounds of the apple kind, and in other situations, when they are in low, close, confined places, where the damp or moisture of the trees is not readily removed. It is thought to be an indication of weakness in the growth, or of a diseased state of the trees, and to require nice attention in preventing or eradicating it. The modes of removing it have usually been those of scraping, rubbing, and washing, but they are obviously calculated for trees only on a small scale. How far the use of powdery matters, such as lime, chalk, and others, which are capable of readily absorbing and taking up the wetness that may hang about the branches, and other parts of the trees, by being well dusted over them, may be beneficial, is not known, but they would seem to promise success by the taking away the nourishment and support of the moss, when employed at proper seasons. And they are known to answer in destroying moss in some other cases, when laid about the stems of the plants, as in thorn-hedges, &c. The mossing in all sorts of trees is injurious to their growth by depriving them of a portion of their nourishment, but more particularly hurtful to those of the fruit-tree kind, as preventing them from bearing full good crops of fruit by rendering them in a weak and unhealthy state.----The following are substances destructive of insects infesting fruit shrubs and trees in gardening, or of preventing their injurious ravages and effects on trees. Many different kinds of substances have been recommended for the purpose, at different times; but nothing perhaps has yet been found fully effectual in this intention, in all cases. The substances and modes directed below have lately been advised as useful in this way. As preventives against gooseberry caterpillars, which so greatly infest and injure shrubs of that kind, the substances mentioned below have been found very simple and efficacious. In the autumnal season, let a quantity of cow-urine be provided, and let a little be poured around the stem of each bush or shrub, just as much as merely suffices to moisten the ground about them. This simple expedient is stated to have succeeded in an admirable manner, and that its preventive virtues have appeared to extend to two successive seasons or years. The bushes which were treated in this manner remained free from caterpillars, while those which were neglected, or intentionally passed by, in the same compartment, were wholly destroyed by the depredations of the insects. Another mode of prevention is proposed, which, it is said, is equally simple and effectual; but the good effects of which only extend to the season immediately succeeding to that of the application. This is, in situations near the sea, to collect as much drift or sea-weed from the beach, when occasion serves, as will be sufficient to cover the whole of the gooseberry compartment to the depth of four or five inches. It should be laid on in the autumn, and the whole covering remain untouched during the winter and early spring months; but as the fruiting season advances, be dug in. This method, it is said, has answered the most sanguine expectations; no caterpillars ever infesting the compartments which are treated in this manner. Another method, which is said to have been found successful, in preventing or destroying caterpillars on the above sort of fruit shrubs, is this: as the black currant and elder bushes, growing quite close to those of the gooseberry kind, were not attacked by this sort of vermin, it was conceived that an infusion of their leaves might be serviceable, especially when prepared with a little quick-lime, in the manner directed below. Six pounds each of the two first sorts of leaves are to be boiled in twelve gallons of soft water; then fourteen pounds of hot lime are to be put into twelve gallons of water, and, after being well incorporated with it, they are both to be mixed well together. With this mixture the infested gooseberry bushes by fruit trees are to be well washed or the hand garden-engine; after which a little hot lime is to be taken and laid about the root of each bush or tree so washed, which completes the work. Thus the caterpillars will be completely destroyed, without hurting the foliage of the bushes or trees in any way. A dull day is to be preferred for performing the work of washing, &c. As soon as all the foliage is dropped off from the bushes or trees, they are to be again washed over with the hand-engine, in order to clean them of all decayed leaves, and other matters; for which purpose any sort of water will answer. The surface of the earth, all about the roots of the bushes and trees, is then to be well stirred, and a little hot lime again laid about them, to destroy the ova or eggs of the insects. This mode of management has never failed of success, in the course of six years' practice. It is noticed, that the above quantity of prepared liquid will be sufficient for about two acres of ground in this sort of plantation, and cost but little in providing. The use of about a gallon of a mixture of equal proportions of lime-water, chamber-ley, and soap-suds, with as much soot as will give it the colour and consistence of dunghill drainings, to each bush in the rows, applied by means of the rose of a watering-pot, immediately as the ground between them is dug over, and left as rough as possible, the whole being gone over in this way without treading or poaching the land, has also been found highly successful by others. The whole is then left in the above state until the winter frosts are fairly past, when the ground between the rows and bushes are levelled, and raked over in an even manner. By this means of practice, the bushes have been constantly kept healthy, fruitful, and free from the annoyance of insects. The bushes are to be first pruned, and dung used where necessary. A solution of soft soap, mixed with an infusion of tobacco, has likewise been applied with great use in destroying caterpillars, by squirting it by the hand-syringe upon the bushes, while a little warm, twice in the day. But some think that the only safety is in picking them off the bushes, as they first appear, together with the lower leaves which are eaten into holes: also, the paring, digging over, and clearing the foul ground between the bushes, and treading and forcing such foul surface parts into the bottoms of the trenches. Watering cherry-trees with water prepared from quick-lime new burnt, and common soda used in washing, in the proportion of a peck of the former and half a pound of the latter to a hogshead of water, has been found successful in destroying the green fly and the black vermin which infest such trees. The water should stand upon the lime for twenty-four hours, and be then drawn off by a cock placed in the cask, ten or twelve inches from the bottom, when the soda is to be put to it, being careful not to exceed the above proportion, as, from its acridity, it would otherwise be liable to destroy the foliage. Two or three times watering with this liquor, by means of a garden engine, will destroy and remove the vermin. The application of clay-paint, too, has been found of great utility in destroying the different insects, such as the coccus, thrips, and fly, which infest peach, nectarine, and other fine fruit trees, on walls, and in hot-houses. This paint is prepared by taking a quantity of the most tenacious brown clay, and diffusing it in as much soft water as will bring it to the consistence of a thick cream or paint, passing it through a fine sieve or hair-searce, so as that it may be rendered perfectly smooth, unctuous, and free from gritty particles. As soon as the trees are pruned and nailed in, they are all to be carefully gone over with a painter's brush dipped in the above paint, especially the stems and large branches, as well as the young shoots, which leaves a coat or layer, that, when it becomes dry, forms a hard crust over the whole tree, which, by closely enveloping the insects, completely destroys them, without doing any injury to either the bark or buds. And by covering the trees with mats or canvas in wet seasons, it may be preserved on them as long as necessary. Where one dressing is not effectual, it may be repeated; and the second coating will mostly be sufficient. Where peach and nectarine trees are managed with this paint, they are very rarely either hide-bound or attacked by insects. This sort of paint is also useful in removing the mildew, with which these kinds of trees are often affected; as well as, with the use of the dew-syringe, in promoting the equal breaking of the eyes of vines, trained on the rafters of pine stoves. Watering the peach tree borders with the urine of cattle, in the beginning of winter, and again in the early spring, has likewise been thought beneficial in destroying the insects which produce the above disease. Careful and proper cleaning and washing these trees, walls, and other places in contact with them, has, too, been found of great utility in preventing insects from accumulating on them. TRIFLE. To make an excellent trifle, lay macaroons and ratifia drops over the bottom of a dish, and pour in as much raisin wine as they will imbibe. Then pour on them a cold rich custard, made with plenty of eggs, and some rice flour. It must stand two or three inches thick: on that put a layer of raspberry jam, and cover the whole with a very high whip made the day before, of rich cream, the whites of two well-beaten eggs, sugar, lemon peel, and raisin wine, well beat with a whisk, kept only to whip syllabubs and creams. If made the day before it is used, the trifle has quite a different taste, and is solid and far better. TRIPE. After being well washed and cleaned, tripe should be stewed with milk and onion till quite tender. Serve it in a tureen, with melted butter for sauce. Or fry it in small pieces, dipped in batter. Or cut the thin part into bits, and stew them in gravy. Thicken the stew with butter and flour, and add a little ketchup. Tripe may also be fricasseed with white sauce. TROUGHS. Water troughs of various kinds, which require to be rendered impervious to the wet, may be lined with a strong cement of gypsum and quicklime, mixed up with water. Four fifths of pulverised coal or charcoal, and one fifth of quicklime, well mixed together, and infused in boiling pitch or tar, will also form a useful cement for this purpose. It requires to be of the consistence of thin mortar, and applied hot with a trowel. TROUT. Open them along the belly, wash them clean, dry them in a cloth, and season them with pepper and salt. Set the gridiron over the fire, and when it is hot rub the bars with a piece of fresh suet. Lay on the fish, and broil them gently over a very clear fire, at such a distance as not to burn them. When they are done on one side, turn them carefully on the other, and serve them up the moment they are ready. This is one of the best methods of dressing this delicate fish; but they are sometimes broiled whole, in order to preserve the juices of the fish, when they are fresh caught. Another way is, after they are washed clean and well dried in a napkin, to bind them about with packthread, and sprinkle them with melted butter and salt; then to broil them over a gentle fire, and keep them turning. Make a sauce of butter rolled in flour, with an anchovy, some pepper, nutmeg, and capers. Add a very little vinegar and water, and shake it together over a moderate fire, till it is of a proper thickness. Put the trout into a dish, and pour this sauce over them. Trout of a middle size are best for broiling. The gurnet or piper is very nice broiled in the same manner, and served with the same kind of sauce. Mullets also admit of the same treatment. Trout are very commonly stewed, as well as broiled; and in this case they should be put into a stewpan with equal quantities of Champaigne, Rhenish, or Sherry wine. Season the stew with pepper and salt, an onion, a few cloves, and a small bunch of parsley and thyme. Put into it a crust of French bread, and set it on a quick fire. When the fish is done, take out the bread, bruise it, and then thicken the sauce. Add a little flour and butter, and let it boil up. Lay the trout on a dish, and pour the thickened sauce over it. Serve it with sliced lemon, and fried bread. This is called Trout á la Genevoise. A plainer way is to dry the fish, after it has been washed and cleaned, and lay it on a board before the fire, dusted with flour. Then fry it of a fine colour with fresh dripping; serve it with crimp parsley and plain butter. TROUT PIE. Scale and wash the fish, lard them with pieces of silver eel, rolled up in spice and sweet herbs, with bay leaves finely powdered. Slice the bottoms of artichokes, lay them on or between the fish, with mushrooms, oysters, capers, and sliced lemon or Seville orange. Use a dish or raised crust, close the pie, and bake it gently.--Another way. Clean and scale your trouts, and cut off the heads and fins; boil an eel for forcemeat; when you have cut off the meat of the eel, put the bones and the heads of the trout into the water it was boiled in, with an onion, mace, whole pepper, a little salt, and a faggot of sweet herbs; let it boil down till there is but enough for the pie. Chop the meat of the eel very fine, add grated bread, an anchovy chopped small, sweet herbs, and a gill of oysters blanched and bearded, the yolks of two hard eggs chopped very fine, and as much melted butter as will make it into a stiff forcemeat; season the trout with mace, pepper and salt; fill the belly with the forcemeat, and make the remainder into balls; sheet your dish with a good paste, lay some butter on that, then the trout and forcemeat; strain off the fish broth, and scum it very clean, and add a little white wine, and a piece of butter rolled in flour; when it is all melted, pour it into the pie, and lid it over; bake it in a gentle oven, and let it be thoroughly done. TRUFFLES. The largest are the most esteemed; those which are brought from Perigord are the best. They are usually eaten dressed in wine, and broth seasoned with salt, pepper, a bunch of sweet herbs, some roots and onions. Before being dressed they must be soaked in warm water, and well rubbed with a brush, that no earth may adhere to them. When dressed, serve them in a plate as an entremet. The truffle is also very excellent in all sorts of ragouts, either chopped or out into slices, after they are peeled. It is one of the best seasonings that can be used in a kitchen. Truffles are also used dried, but their flavour is then much diminished. TRUFFLES RAGOUT. Peel the truffles, cut them in slices, wash and drain them well. Put them into a saucepan with a little gravy, and stew them gently over a slow fire. When they are almost done enough, thicken them with a little butter and flour. Stewed in a little water, and thickened with cream and yolk of egg, they make a nice white ragout. Truffles, mushrooms, and morels are all of them very indigestible. TUNBRIDGE CAKES. Rub six ounces of butter quite fine into a pound of flour; then mix six ounces of sugar, beat and strain two eggs, and make the whole into a paste. Roll it very thin, and cut it with the top of a glass. Prick the cakes with a fork, and cover them with carraways; or wash them with the white of an egg, and dust a little white sugar over. TURBOT. This excellent fish is in season the greatest part of the summer. When fresh and good, it is at once firm and tender, and abounds with rich gelatinous nutriment. Being drawn and washed clean, it may be lightly rubbed with salt, and put in a cold place, and it will keep two or three days. An hour or two before dressing it, let it soak in spring water with some salt in it. To prevent the fish from swelling and cracking on the breast, score the skin across the thickest part of the back. Put a large handful of salt into a fish kettle with cold water, lay the turbot on a fish strainer and put it in. When it is beginning to boil, skim it well; then set the kettle on the side of the fire to boil as gently as possible for about fifteen or twenty minutes; if it boil fast, the fish will break to pieces. Rub a little of the inside coral spawn of the lobster through a hair sieve, without butter; and when the turbot is dished, sprinkle the spawn over it. Garnish the dish with sprigs of curled parsley, sliced lemon, and finely scraped horseradish. Send up plenty of lobster sauce. The thickest part of the fish is generally preferred. The spine bone should be cut across to make it easier for carving. TURBOT PIE. Take a middling turbot, clean it very well, cut off the head, tail, and fins. Make a forcemeat thus; take a large eel, boil it tender, then take off the flesh; put the bones of the turbot and eel into the water the eel was boiled in, with a faggot of herbs, whole pepper, an onion, and an anchovy; let this boil till it becomes a strong broth. In the mean time, cut the eel very fine; add the same quantity of grated bread, a little lemon-peel, an anchovy, parsley, and the yolks of two or three hard eggs, and half a pint of oysters blanched and bearded; chop all these as fine as possible; mix all together with a quarter of a pound of melted butter; and with this forcemeat lay a rim in the inside of the dish; put in the turbot, and fill up the vacancies with forcemeat; strain off the broth, scum it very clean, and add a lump of butter rolled in flour, and a glass of white wine; pour this over the fish. Make a good puff paste, cover the pie with it, and let it be thoroughly baked. When it comes from the oven, warm the remainder of the liquor; pour it in, and send it to table. TURKEYS. When young they are very tender, and require great attention. As soon as hatched, put three peppercorns down their throat. They must be carefully watched, or they will soon perish. The hen turkey is so careless, that she will stalk about with one chicken, and leave the remainder, or even tread upon and kill them. Turkeys are violent eaters, and must therefore be left to take charge of themselves in general, except one good feed a day. The hen sets twenty-five or thirty days, and the young ones must be kept warm, as the least cold or damp kills them. They must be fed often, and at a distance from the hen, or she will pick every thing from them. They should have curds, green cheese parings cut small, and bread and milk with chopped wormwood in it. Their drink milk and water, but must not be left to turn sour. All young fowls are a prey for vermin, therefore they should be kept in a safe place where none can come. Weasels, stoats, and ferrets will creep in at a very small crevice. The hen should be under a coop, in a warm place exposed to the sun, for the first three or four weeks; and the young ones should not be suffered to wander about in the dew, at morning or evening. Twelve eggs are enough to put under a turkey; and when she is about to lay, lock her up till she has laid every morning. They usually begin to lay in March, and set in April. Feed them near the hen-house, and give them a little meat in the evening, to accustom them to roosting there. Fatten them with sodden oats or barley for the first fortnight; and the last fortnight give them as above, and rice swelled with warm milk over the fire twice a day. The flesh will be beautifully white and fine flavoured. The common way in Norfolk is to cram them, but they are so ravenous that it seems unnecessary, if they are not suffered to wander far from home, which keeps them lean and poor.--When fat turkeys are to be purchased in the market, in order to judge of their quality it is necessary to observe, that the cock bird when young has a smooth black leg, and a short spur. If fresh and sweet, the eyes are full and bright, and the feet moist and supple. If stale, the eyes will be sunk, and the feet stiff and dry. The hen turkey is known by the same rules; but if old, the legs will be red and rough. TURKEY PATTIES. Mince some of the white part, and season it with grated lemon, nutmeg, salt, a dust of white pepper, a spoonful of cream, and a very small piece of butter warmed. Fill the patties, and bake them. TURKEY PIE. Break the bones, and beat the turkey flat on the breast. Lard it with bacon, lay it into a raised crust with some slices of bacon under it, and well seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, whole cloves, and bay leaves. Lay a slice of bacon over it, cover it with a crust, and bake it. When baked, put a clove of garlic or shalot into the whole in the middle of the crust, and let it stand till cold. The turkey may be boned if preferred. Duck or goose pie may be made in the same manner. TURKEY SAUCE. Open some oysters into a bason, and pour the liquor into a saucepan as soon as it is settled. Add a little white gravy, and a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle. Thicken it with flour and butter, boil it a few minutes, add a spoonful of cream, and then the oysters. Shake them over the fire, but do not let them boil. Or boil some slices or fine bread with a little salt, an onion, and a few peppercorns. Beat it well, put in a bit of butter, and a spoonful of cream. This sauce eats well with roast turkey or veal. TURKISH YOGURT. Let a small quantity of milk stand till it be sour, then put a sufficient quantity of it to new milk, to turn it to a soft curd. This may be eaten with sugar only, or both this and the fresh cheese are good eaten with strawberries and raspberries, as cream, or with sweetmeats of any kind. TURNIPS. To dress this valuable root, pare off all the outside coat, cut them in two, and boil them with beef, mutton, or lamb. When they become tender take them up, press away the liquor, and mash them with butter and salt, or send them to table whole, with melted butter in a boat. Young turnips look and eat well with a little of the top left on them. To preserve turnips for the winter, cut off the tops and tails, and leave the roots a few days to dry. They should then be stacked up with layers of straw between, so as to keep them from the rain and frost, and let the stack be pointed at the top. TURNIPS MASHED. Pare and boil them quite tender, squeeze them as dry as possible between two trenchers, put them into a stewpan, and mash them with a wooden spoon. Then rub them through a cullender, add a little bit of butter, keep stirring them till the butter is melted and well mixed with them, and they are ready for the table. TURNIP BUTTER. In the fall of the year, butter is apt to acquire a strong and disagreeable flavour, from the cattle feeding on turnips, cabbages, leaves of trees, and other vegetable substances. To correct the offensive taste which this produces, boil two ounces of saltpetre in a quart of water, and put two or more spoonfuls of it into a pail before milking, according to the quantity of milk. If this be done constantly, the evil will be effectually cured: if not, it will be owing to the neglect of the dairy maid. TURNIP FLY. To prevent the black fly from injuring the turnip crop, mix an ounce of sulphur daily with three pounds of turnip seed for three days successively, and keep it closely covered in an earthen pan. Stir it well each time, that the seed may be duly impregnated with the sulphur. Sow it as usual on an acre of ground, and the fly will not attack it till after the third or fourth leaf be formed, when the plant will be entirely out of danger. If garden vegetables be attacked by the fly, water them freely with a decoction of elder leaves. TURNIP PIE. Season some mutton chops with salt and pepper, reserving the ends of the neck bones to lay over the turnips, which must be cut into small dice, and put on the steaks. Add two or three spoonfuls of milk, also a sliced onion if approved, and cover with a crust. TURNIP SAUCE. Pare half a dozen turnips, boil them in a little water, keep them shaking till they are done, and the liquor quite exhausted, and then rub them through a tammis. Take a little white gravy and cut more turnips, as if intended for harrico. Shake them as before, and add a little more white gravy. TURNIP SOUP. Take from a knuckle of veal all the meat that can be made into cutlets, and stew the remainder in five pints of water, with an onion, a bundle of herbs, and a blade of mace. Cover it close, and let it do on a slow fire, four or five hours at least. Strain it, and set it by till the next day. Then take the fat and sediment from it, and simmer it with turnips cut into small dice till tender, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Before serving, rub down half a spoonful of flour with half a pint of good cream, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Let a small roll simmer in the soup till fully moistened, and serve this with it. The soup should be as thick as middling cream. TURNIP TOPS. These are the shoots which come out in the spring from the old turnip roots, and are to be dressed in the same way as cabbage sprouts. They make very nice sweet greens, and are esteemed great purifiers of the blood and juices. TURNPIKES. Mix together a quarter of a pound each of flour, butter, currants, and lump sugar powdered. Beat up four eggs with two of the whites, make the whole into a stiff paste, with the addition of a little lemon peel. Roll the paste out thin, and cut it into shapes with a wine glass. The addition of a few carraway seeds will be an improvement. TURTLE. The morning that you intend to dress the turtle, fill a boiler or kettle with a quantity of water sufficient to scald the callapach and callapee, the fins, &c. and about nine o'clock hang up your turtle by the hind fins, cut off its head, and save the blood; then with a sharp pointed knife separate the callapach from the callapee (or the back from the belly part) down to the shoulders, so as to come at the entrails, which take out, and clean them, as you would those of any other animal, and throw them into a tub of clean water, taking great care not to break the gall, but cut it off the liver, and throw it away. Then separate each distinctly, and take the guts into another vessel, open them with a small penknife, from end to end, wash them clean, and draw them through a woollen cloth in warm water, to clear away the slime, and then put them into clean cold water till they are used, with the other part of the entrails, which must all be cut up small to be mixed in the baking dishes with the meat. This done, separate the back and belly pieces entirely, cutting away the four fins by the upper joint, which scald, peel off the loose skin, and cut them into small pieces, laying them by themselves, either in another vessel, or on the table, ready to be seasoned. Then cut off the meat from the belly part, and clean the back from the lungs, kidneys, &c. and that meat cut into pieces as small as a walnut, laying it likewise by itself. After this you are to scald the back and belly pieces, pulling off the shell from the back and the yellow skin from the belly; when all will be white and clean, and with the kitchen cleaver cut those up likewise into pieces about the bigness or breadth of a card. Put those pieces into clean cold water, wash them out, and place them in a heap on the table, so that each part may lie by itself. The meat, being thus prepared and laid separately for seasoning, mix two third parts of salt, or rather more, and one third part of Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a spoonful of nutmeg and mace pounded fine, and mixed together; the quantity to be proportioned to the size of the turtle, so that in each dish there may be about three spoonfuls of seasoning to every twelve pounds of meat. Your meat being thus seasoned, get some sweet herbs, such as thyme, savoury, &c. let them be dried and rubbed fine, and having provided some deep dishes to bake it in, (which should be of the common brown ware) put in the coarsest parts of the meat at the bottom, with about a quarter of a pound of butter in each dish, and then some of each of the several parcels of meat, so that the dishes may be all alike, and have equal portions of the different parts of the turtle; and between each laying of the meat, strew a little of this mixture of sweet herbs. Fill your dishes within an inch and an half, or two inches of the top; boil the blood of the turtle, and put into it; then lay on forcemeat balls made of veal, or fowl, highly seasoned with the same seasoning as the turtle; put into each dish a gill of good Madeira wine, and as much water as it will conveniently hold; then break over it five or six eggs, to keep the meat from scorching at the top, and over that shake a small handful of shred parsley, to make it look green; which done, put your dishes into an oven made hot enough to bake bread, and in an hour and half, or two hours, (according to the size of the dishes) it will be sufficiently done. Send it to the table in the dishes in which it is baked, in order to keep it warm while it is eating. TURTLE FINS. Put into a stewpan five large spoonfuls of brown sauce, with a bottle of port wine, and a quart of mushrooms. When the sauce boils, put in four fins; and after taking away all the small bones that are seen breaking through the skin, add a few sprigs of parsley, a bit of thyme, one bay leaf, and four cloves, and let it simmer one hour. Ten minutes before it is done, put in five dozen of button onions ready peeled, and see that it is properly salted. TURTLE SOUP. The best sized turtle is one from sixty to eighty pounds weight, which will make six or eight tureens of fine soup. Kill the turtle the evening before; tie a cord to the hind fins, and hang it up with the head downwards. Tie the fore fins by way of pinioning them, otherwise it would beat itself, and be troublesome to the executioner. Hold the head in the left hand, and with a sharp knife cut off the neck as near the head as possible. Lay the turtle on a block on the back shell, slip the knife between the breast and the edge of the back shell; and when the knife has been round, and the breast is detached from the back, pass the fingers underneath, and detach the breast from the fins, always keeping the edge of the knife on the side of the breast; otherwise if the gall be broken, the turtle will be spoiled. Cut the breast into four pieces, remove the entrails, beginning by the liver, and cut away the gall, to be out of danger at once. When the turtle is emptied, throw the heart, liver, kidneys, and lights, into a large tub of water. Cut away the fins to the root, as near to the back shell as possible; then cut the fins in the second joint, that the white meat may be separated from the green. Scrape the fat from the back shell by skimming it, and put it aside. Cut the back shell into four pieces. Set a large turbot pan on the fire, and when it boils dip a fin into it for a minute, then take it out and peel it very clean. When that is done, take another, and so on till all are done; then the head, next the shell and breast, piece by piece. Be careful to have the peel and shell entirely cleaned off, then put in the same pan some clean water, with the breast and back, the four fins, and the head. Let it boil till the bones will leave the meat, adding a large bundle of turtle herbs, four bay leaves, and some thyme. If two dishes are to be made of the fins, they must be removed when they have boiled one hour. Put into a small stewpan the liver, lights, heart, and kidneys, and the fat that was laid aside. Take some of the liquor that the other part was boiled in, cover the stewpan close, and let it boil gently for three hours. Clean the bones, breast, and back from the green fat, and cut it into pieces an inch long, and half an inch wide, but suffer none of it to be wasted. Put all these pieces on a dish, and set it by till the broth is ready. To prepare the broth, put on a large stockpot, and line the bottom of it with a pound and a half of lean ham, cut into slices. Cut into pieces a large leg of veal, except a pound of the fillet to be reserved for forcemeat; put the rest upon the ham, with all the white meat of the turtle, and a couple of old fowls. Put it on a smart fire, with two ladlefuls of rich broth, and reduce it to a glaze. When it begins to stick to the bottom, pour the liquor in which the turtle was boiled into the pot where the other part of the turtle has been boiled. Add to it a little more sweet herbs, twenty-four grains of allspice, six blades of mace, two large onions, four carrots, half an ounce of whole pepper, and some salt. Let it simmer for four hours, and then strain the broth through a cloth sieve. Put into it the green part of the turtle that has been cut in pieces and nicely cleaned, with two bottles of Madeira. When it has boiled a few minutes with the turtle, add the broth to it. Melt half a pound of butter in a stewpan, add four large spoonfuls of flour, stir it on the fire till of a fine brown colour, and pour some of the broth to it. Mix it well, and strain it through a hair sieve into the soup. Cut the liver, lights, heart, kidneys, and fat into small square pieces, and put them into the soup with half a tea-spoonful of cayenne, two of curry powder, and four table-spoonfuls of the essence of anchovies. Let it boil an hour and a half, carefully skimming off the fat. Pound the reserved veal in a marble mortar for the forcemeat, and rub it through a hair sieve, with as much of the udder as there is of meat from the leg of veal. Put some bread crumbs into a stewpan with milk enough to moisten it, adding a little chopped parsley and shalot. Dry it on the fire, rub it through a wire sieve, and when cold mix it all together, that every part may be equally blended. Boil six eggs hard, take the yolks and pound them with the other ingredients; season it with salt, cayenne, and a little curry powder. Add three raw eggs, mix all well together, and make the forcemeat into small balls the size of a pigeon's egg. Ten minutes before the soup is ready put in the forcemeat balls, and continue to skim the soup till it is taken off the fire. If the turtle weighs eighty pounds, it will require nearly three bottles of Madeira for the soup. When the turtle is dished, squeeze two lemons into each tureen. It is also very good with eggs boiled hard, and a dozen of the yolks put in each tureen. This is a highly fashionable soup, and such as is made in the royal kitchen; but it is difficult of digestion, and fit only for those who 'live to eat.' Foreigners in general are extremely fond of it; and at the Spanish dinner in 1808, eight hundred guests attended, and two thousand five hundred pounds weight of turtle were consumed. TUSK. Lay the tusk in water the first thing in the morning; after it has lain three or four hours, scale and clean it very well; then shift the water, and let it lie till you want to dress it. If it is large, cut it down the back, and then across; if small, only down the back; put it into cold water, and let it boil gently for about twenty minutes. Send it to table in a napkin, with egg sauce, butter and mustard, and parsnips cut in slices, in a plate. TWOPENNY. The malt beverage thus denominated, is not formed to keep, and therefore not likely to be brewed by any persons for their own consumption. The following proportions for one barrel, are inserted merely to add to general information in the art of brewing. £ _s._ _d._ Malt, a bushel and a half 0 9 0 Hops, one pound 0 1 6 Liquorice root, a pound and a half 0 1 6 Capsicum, a quarter of an ounce 0 0 1 Spanish liquorice, 2 ounces 0 0 2 Treacle, five pounds 0 1 8 ---------- 0 13 11 ---------- £ _s._ _d._ One barrel of twopenny, paid for at the publican's, 128 quarts, at _4d._ per quart 2 2 8 Brewed at home, coals included 0 15 0 ---------- Clear gain, 1 7 8 ---------- It is sufficient to observe respecting this liquor, that it requires no storing, being frequently brewed one week, and consumed the next. The quantity of capsicum in one barrel of twopenny, is as much as is commonly contained in two barrels of porter: this readily accounts for the preference given to it by the working classes, in cold winter mornings. Twopenny works remarkably quick, and must be carefully attended to, in the barrels. V. VACCINE INOCULATION. One of the most important discoveries in the history of animal nature is that of the Cow Pox, which was publicly announced by Dr. Jenner in the year 1798, though it had for ages been known by some of the dairymen in the west of England. This malady appears on the nipples of cows in the form of irregular pustules, and it is now ascertained that persons inoculated with the matter taken from them are thereby rendered incapable of the small pox infection. Innumerable experiments have been made in different countries, in Asia and America, with nearly the same success; and by a series of facts duly authenticated, in many thousands of instances, it is fully proved that the vaccine inoculation is a milder and safer disease than the inoculated small pox; and while the one has saved its tens of thousands, the other is going on to save its millions. With a view of extending the beneficial effects of the new inoculation to the poor, a new dispensary, called the Vaccine Institution, has been established in London, where the operation is performed gratis, and the vaccine matter may be had by those who wish to promote this superior method of inoculation. The practice itself is very simple. Nothing more is necessary than making a small puncture in the skin of the arm, and applying the matter. But as it is of great consequence that the matter be good, and not too old, it is recommended to apply for the assistance of those who make it a part of their business, as the expense is very trifling. VARNISH FOR BOOTS. To render boots and shoes impervious to the wet, take a pint of linseed oil, half a pound of mutton suet, six or eight ounces of bees' wax, and a small piece of rosin. Boil all together in a pipkin, and let it cool to milk warm. Then with a hair brush lay it on new boots or shoes; but it is better still to lay it on the leather before the articles are made. The shoes or boots should also be brushed over with it, after they come from the maker. If old boots or shoes are to be varnished, the mixture is to be laid on when the leather is perfectly dry. VARNISH FOR BRASS. Put into a pint of alcohol, an ounce of turmeric powder, two drams of arnatto, and two drams of saffron. Agitate the mixture during seven days, and filter it into a clean bottle. Now add three ounces of clean seed-lac, and agitate the bottle every day for fourteen days. When the lacquer is used, the pieces of brass if large are to be first warmed, so as to heat the hand, and the varnish is to be applied with a brush. Smaller pieces may be dipped in the varnish, and then drained by holding them for a minute over the bottle. This varnish, when applied to rails for desks, has a most beautiful appearance, like that of burnished gold. VARNISH FOR DRAWINGS. Mix together two ounces of spirits of turpentine, and one ounce of Canada balsam. The print is first to be sized with a solution of isinglass water, and dried; the varnish is then to be applied with a camel-hair brush. But for oil paintings, a different composition is prepared. A small piece of white sugar candy is dissolved and mixed with a spoonful of brandy; the whites of eggs are then beaten to a froth, and the clear part is poured off and incorporated with the mixture. The paintings are then brushed over with the varnish, which is easily washed off when they are required to be cleaned again, and on this account it will be far superior to any other kind of varnish for this purpose. VARNISH FOR FANS. To make a varnish for fans and cases, dissolve two ounces of gum-mastic, eight ounces of gum-sandaric, in a quart of alcohol, and then add four ounces of Venice turpentine. VARNISH FOR FIGURES. Fuse in a crucible half an ounce of tin, with the same quantity of bismuth. When melted, add half an ounce of mercury; and when perfectly combined, take the mixture from the fire and cool it. This substance, mixed with the white of an egg, forms a very beautiful varnish for plaster figures. VARNISH FOR FURNITURE. This is made of white wax melted in the oil of petrolium. A light coat of this mixture is laid on the wood with a badger's brush, while a little warm, and the oil will speedily evaporate. A coat of wax will be left behind, which should afterwards be polished with a woollen cloth. VARNISH FOR HATS. The shell of the hat having been prepared, dyed, and formed in the usual manner, is to be stiffened, when perfectly dry, with the following composition, worked upon the inner surface. One pound of gum kino, eight ounces of gum elemi, three pounds of gum olibanum, three pounds of gum copal, two pounds of gum juniper, one pound of gum ladanum, one pound of gum mastic, ten pounds of shell lac, and eight ounces of frankincense. These are pounded small and mixed together; three gallons of alcohol are then placed in an earthen vessel to receive the pounded gums, and the vessel is then to be frequently agitated. When the gums are sufficiently dissolved by this process, a pint of liquid ammonia is added to the mixture, with an ounce of oil of lavender, and a pound of gum myrrh and gum opoponax, dissolved in three pints of spirit of wine. The whole of the ingredients being perfectly incorporated and free from lumps, constitute the patent water-proof mixture with which the shell of the hat is stiffened. When the shell has been dyed, shaped, and rendered perfectly dry, its inner surface and the under side of the brim are varnished with this composition by means of a brush. The hat is then placed in a warm drying-room until it becomes hard. This process is repeated several times, taking care that the varnish does not penetrate through the shell, so as to appear on the outside. To allow the perspiration of the head to evaporate, small holes are to be pierced through the crown of the hat from the inside outward; and the nap of silk, beaver, or other fur, is to be laid on by the finisher in the usual way. That on the under side of the brim, which has been prepared as above, is to be attached with copal varnish. VARNISH FOR PAINTINGS. Mix six ounces of pure mastic gum with the same quantity of pounded glass, and introduce the compound into a bottle containing a pint of oil of turpentine. Now add half an ounce of camphor bruised in a mortar. When the mastic is dissolved, put in an ounce of Venice turpentine, and agitate the whole till the turpentine is perfectly dissolved. When the varnish is to be applied to oil paintings, it must be gently poured from the glass sediment, or filtered through a muslin. VARNISH FOR PALING. A varnish for any kind of coarse wood work is made of tar ground up with Spanish brown, to the consistence of common paint, and then spread on the wood with a large brush as soon as made, to prevent its growing too stiff and hard. The colour may be changed by mixing a little white lead, whiting, or ivory black, with the Spanish brown. For pales and weather boards this varnish is superior to paint, and much cheaper than what is commonly used for that purpose. It is an excellent preventive against wet and weather, and if laid on smooth wood it will have a good gloss. VARNISH FOR SILKS. To one quart of cold-drawn linseed oil, add half an ounce of litharge. Boil them for half an hour, and then add half an ounce of copal varnish. While the ingredients are heating in a copper vessel, put in one ounce of rosin, and a few drops of neatsfoot oil, stirring the whole together with a knife. When cool, it is ready for use. This varnish will set, or keep its place on the silk in four hours, the silk may then be turned and varnished on the other side. VARNISH FOR STRAW HATS. For straw or chip hats, put half an ounce of black sealing-wax powdered into two ounces of spirits of wine or turpentine, and place it near the fire till the wax is dissolved. If the hat has lost its colour or turned brown, it may first be brushed over with writing ink, and well dried. The varnish is then to be laid on warm with a soft brush, in the sun or before the fire, and it will give it a new gloss which will resist the wet. VARNISH FOR TINWARE. Put three ounces of seed-lac, two drams of dragon's blood, and one ounce of turmeric powder, into a pint of well-rectified spirits. Let the whole remain for fourteen days, but during that time, agitate the bottle once a day at least. When properly combined, strain the liquid through a piece of muslin. This varnish is called lacquer; it is brushed over tinware to give it a resemblance to brass. VARNISH FOR WOOD. The composition which is the best adapted to preserve wood from the decay occasioned both by the wet and the dry rot, is as follows. Melt twelve ounces of rosin in an iron kettle, and when melted, add eight ounces of roll brimstone. When both are in a liquid state, pour in three gallons of train oil. Heat the whole slowly, gradually adding four ounces of bees' wax in small pieces, and keep the mixture stirring. As soon as the solid ingredients are dissolved, add as much Spanish brown, red or yellow ochre, ground fine with some of the oil, as will give the whole a deep shade. Lay on this varnish as hot and thin as possible; and some days after the first coat becomes dry, give a second. This will preserve planks and other wood for ages. VEAL. In purchasing this article, the following things should be observed. The flesh of a bull calf is the firmest, but not so white. The fillet of the cow calf is generally preferred for the udder. The whitest meat is not the most juicy, having been made so by frequent bleeding, and giving the calf some whiting to lick. Choose that meat which has the kidney well covered with fat, thick and white. If the bloody vein in the shoulder look blue, or of a bright red, it is newly killed; but any other colour shows it stale. The other parts should be dry and white: if clammy or spotted, the meat is stale and bad. The kidney turns first in the loin, and the suet will not then be firm. This should carefully be attended to, if the joint is to be kept a little time. The first part that turns bad in a leg of veal, is where the udder is skewered back: of course the skewer should be taken out, and both that and the part under it wiped every day. It will then keep good three or four days in hot weather. Take care also to cut out the pipe that runs along the chine of a loin of veal, the same as in beef, to hinder it from tainting. The skirt of the breast of veal is likewise to be taken off, and the inside of the breast wiped and scraped, and sprinkled with a little salt. VEAL BLANQUETS. Cut thin slices off a fillet of veal roasted. Put some butter into a stewpan, with an onion chopped small; fry them till they begin to brown, then dust in some flour, and add some gravy, and a faggot of sweet herbs, seasoned with pepper, salt, and mace; let this simmer till you have the flavour of the herbs, then put in your veal; beat up the yolks of two eggs in a little cream, and grated nutmeg, some chopped parsley, and a little lemon peel shred fine. Keep it stirring one way till it is smooth, and of a good thickness: squeeze in a little juice of orange, and dish it up. Garnish with orange and barberries. VEAL BROTH. To make a very nourishing veal broth, take off the knuckle of a leg or shoulder of veal, with very little meat to it, and put it into a stewpot, with three quarts of water. Add an old fowl, four shank-bones of mutton extremely well soaked and bruised, three blades of mace, ten peppercorns, an onion, and a large slice of bread. Cover it close, boil it up once, and skim it carefully. Simmer it four hours as slowly as possible, strain and take off the fat, and flavour it with a little salt.--Another way. Take a scrag of veal, of about three pounds; put it into a clean saucepan, with a tea-spoonful of salt; when it boils, scum it clean; put in a spoonful of ground rice, some mace, a faggot of herbs, and let it boil gently for near two hours, or till you have about two quarts: send it to table with your veal in the middle, toasted bread, and parsley and butter in a boat. VEAL A LA CREME. Take the best end of a loin of veal, joint it, and cut a little of the suet from the kidney. Make it lie flat, then cut a place in the middle of the upper part about three inches deep and six inches long, take the piece out and chop it, add a little beef suet or beef marrow, parsley, thyme, green truffles, mushrooms, shalots, lemon peel chopped fine, and season it with pepper, salt, and a little beaten allspice. Put all together into a marble mortar, add the yolks of two eggs, and a little French bread soaked in cream. Pound the ingredients well, fill the cavity with the forcemeat, and cover it with a piece of veal caul. Then tie it down close, cover the whole with a large piece of caul, and roast it gently. When to be served up, take off the large caul, let it colour a little, glaze it lightly, and put under it a white sauce. A fillet of veal may be done in the same way, instead of using plain stuffing for it. VEAL CAKE. Boil six or eight eggs hard; cut the yolks in two, and lay some of the pieces in the bottom of the pot. Shake in a little chopped parsley, some slices of veal and ham, and then eggs again; shaking in after each, some chopped parsley, with pepper and salt, till the pot is full. Then put in water enough to cover it, and lay on it about an ounce of butter: tie it over with a double paper, and bake it about an hour. Then press it close together with a spoon, and let it stand till cold. The cake may be put into a small mould, and then it will turn out beautifully for a supper or side dish. VEAL COLLOPS. Cut long thin collops, beat them well, and lay on them a bit of thin bacon of the same size. Spread forcemeat over, seasoned high, and also a little garlic and cayenne. Roll them up tight, about the size of two fingers, but not more than two or three inches long. Fasten each firmly with a small skewer, smear them over with egg, fry them of a fine brown, and pour a rich brown gravy over.--To dress collops quickly in another way, cut them as thin as paper, and in small bits, with a very sharp knife. Throw the skin and any odd bits of veal into a little water, with a dust of pepper and salt. Set them on the fire while the collops are preparing and beating, and dip them into a seasoning of herbs, bread, pepper, salt, and a scrape of nutmeg, having first wetted them with egg. Then put a bit of butter into a fryingpan, and give the collops a very quick fry; for as they are so thin, two minutes will do them on both sides. Put them into a hot dish before the fire, strain and thicken the gravy, give it a boil in the fryingpan, and pour it over the collops. The addition of a little ketchup will be an improvement.--Another way is to fry the collops in butter, seasoned only with salt and pepper. Then simmer them in gravy, either white or brown, with bits of bacon served with them. If white, add lemon peel and mace, and a little cream. VEAL CUTLETS. Cut the veal into thin slices, dip them in the yolks of egg, strew them over with grated bread and nutmeg, sweet herbs and parsley, and lemon peel minced fine, and fry them with butter. When the meat is done, lay it on a dish before the fire. Put a little water into the pan, stir it round and let it boil; add a little butter rolled in flour, and a little lemon juice, and pour it over the cutlets. Or fry them without the bread and herbs, boil a little flour and water in the pan with a sprig of thyme, and pour it on the cutlets, but take out the thyme before the dish is sent to table. VEAL GRAVY. Make it as for cullis; but leave out the spices, herbs, and flour. It should be drawn very slowly; and if for white dishes, the meat should not be browned. VEAL LARDED. Take off the under bone of a neck of veal, and leave only a part of the long bones on. Trim it neatly, lard and roast it gently with a veal caul over it. Ten minutes before it is done, take off the caul, and let the veal be of a very light colour. When it is to be served up, put under it some sorrel sauce, celery heads, or asparagus tops, or serve it with mushroom sauce. VEAL OLIVES. Cut some long thin collops, beat them, lay them on thin slices of fat bacon, and over these a layer of forcemeat highly seasoned, with some shred shalot and cayenne. Roll them tight, about the size of two fingers, but not more than two or three inches long. Fasten them round with a small skewer, rub egg over them, and fry them of a light brown. Serve with brown gravy, in which boil some mushrooms pickled or fresh, and garnish with fried balls. VEAL OLIVE PIE. Having prepared the veal olives, lay them round and round the dish, making them highest in the middle. Fill it nearly up with water, and cover it with paste. When baked, mix some gravy, cream, and flour, and pour it hot into the pie. VEAL PATTIES. Mince some veal that is not quite done, with a little parsley, lemon peel, a dust of salt and nutmeg. Add a spoonful of cream, gravy sufficient to moisten the meat, and a little scraped ham. This mixture is not to be warmed till the patties are baked. VEAL PIE. Take some of the middle or scrag of a small neck, and season it, adding or not a few slices of lean bacon or ham. If wanted of a high relish, add mace, cayenne, and nutmeg, to the salt and pepper; also forcemeat, and eggs. To these likewise may be added, truffles, morels, mushrooms, sweetbreads cut into small bits, and cocks' combs blanched, if approved. It will be very good without any of the latter additions, but a rich gravy must be prepared, and poured in after baking.--To make a rich veal pie, cut steaks from a neck or breast of veal, season them with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a very little clove in powder. Slice two sweetbreads, and season them in the same manner. Lay a puff paste on the ledge of the dish, put in the meat, yolks of hard eggs, the sweetbreads, and some oysters, up to the top of the dish. Lay over the whole some very thin slices of ham, and fill up the dish with water. Cover it with a crust, and when taken out of the oven, pour in at the top, through a funnel, a few spoonfuls of good veal gravy, and fill it up with cream; but first boil and thicken it with a tea-spoonful of flour. VEAL AND PARSLEY PIE. Cut some slices from a leg or neck of veal; if the leg, from about the knuckle. Season them with salt, scald some pickled parsley, and squeeze it dry. Cut the parsley a little, and lay it at the bottom of the dish; then put in the meat, and so on, in layers. Fill up the dish with new milk, but not so high as to touch the crust. When baked, pour out a little of the milk, and put in half a pint of good scalded cream. Chicken may be cut up, skinned, and dressed in the same way. VEAL PORCUPINE. Bone a fine large breast of veal, and rub it over with the yolks of two eggs. Spread it out, and lay on it a few slices of bacon, cut as thin as possible. Add a handful of parsley shred fine, the yolks of five eggs, boiled hard and chopped, and a little lemon peel finely shred. Steep the crumb of a penny loaf in cream, and add to it, seasoning the whole together with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Roll the veal close, and skewer it up. Cut some fat bacon, the lean of boiled ham, and pickled cucumbers, about two inches long. Place these in rows upon the veal, first the ham, then the bacon, and last the cucumbers, till the whole is larded. Put the meat into a deep earthen pan with a pint of water, cover it close, and set it in a slow oven for two hours. Skim off the fat afterwards, and strain the gravy through a sieve into a stewpan. Add a glass of white wine, a little lemon pickle and caper liquor, and a spoonful of mushroom ketchup, and thicken the gravy with a bit of butter rolled in flour. Lay the porcupine on a dish, and pour the sauce over it. Have ready prepared a thin forcemeat, made of the crumb of a penny loaf, half a pound of beef suet shred fine, the yolks of four eggs, and a few oysters chopped. Mix these together, season the forcemeat with cayenne, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and spread it on the veal caul. Having rolled the whole up tight, like collared eel, bind it in a cloth, and boil it an hour. When done enough, cut it into four slices, laying one at each end, and the others on the sides of the dish. Have the sweetbreads ready prepared, cut in slices and fried, and lay them round the dish, with a few mushrooms pickled. This is allowed to make a fine bottom dish, when game is not to be had. VEAL ROLLS. Cut thin slices of either fresh or cold veal, spread on them a fine seasoning of a very few crumbs, a little chopped bacon or scraped ham, and a little suet, parsley, and shalot. Or instead of the parsley and shalot, some fresh mushrooms stewed and minced. Then add pepper and salt, and a small piece of pounded mace. This stuffing may either fill up the roll like a sausage, or be rolled with the meat. In either case tie it up very tight, and stew very slowly in good gravy, and a glass of sherry. Skim it very carefully, and serve it up quite tender.--Another way. Take slices of veal, enough to make a side dish; lay them on your dresser, and lay forcemeat upon each slice; roll them up, and tie them round with coarse thread. Rub them over with the yolk of an egg, spit them on a bird spit, and roast them of a fine brown. For sauce, have good gravy, with morels, truffles, and mushrooms, tossed up to a proper thickness. Lay your rolls in your dish, and pour your sauce over. Garnish with lemon. VEAL SAUSAGES. Chop equal quantities of lean veal and fat bacon, a handful of sage, a little salt and pepper, and a few anchovies. Beat all in a mortar; and when used, roll and fry it. Serve it with fried sippets, or on stewed vegetables, or on white collops. VEAL SCALLOPS. Mince some cold veal very small, and set it over the fire with a scrape of nutmeg, a little pepper and salt, and a little cream. Heat it for a few minutes, then put it into the scallop shells, and fill them with crumbs of bread. Lay on some pieces of butter, and brown the scallops before the fire. Either veal or chicken looks and eats well, prepared in this way, and lightly covered with crumbs of fried bread; or these may be laid on in little heaps. VEAL-SUET PUDDING. Cut the crumb of a threepenny loaf into slices, boil and sweeten two quarts of new milk, and pour over it. When soaked, pour out a little of the milk; mix it with six eggs well beaten, and half a nutmeg. Lay the slices of bread into a dish, with layers of currants and veal suet shred, a pound of each. Butter the dish well, and bake it; or if preferred, boil the pudding in a bason. VEAL SWEETBREAD. Parboil a fine fresh sweetbread for five minutes, and throw it into a basin of water. When the sweetbread is cold, dry it thoroughly in a cloth, and roast it plain. Or beat up the yolk of an egg, and prepare some fine bread crumbs. Run a lark spit or a skewer through it, and tie it on the ordinary spit. Egg it over with a paste brush, powder it well with bread crumbs, and roast it. Serve it up with fried bread crumbs round it, and melted butter, with a little mushroom ketchup and lemon juice. Or serve the sweetbread on toasted bread, garnished with egg sauce or gravy. Instead of spitting the sweetbread, it may be done in a Dutch oven, or fried. VEGETABLES. There is nothing in which the difference between an elegant and an ordinary table is more visible, than in the dressing of vegetables, especially greens. They may be equally as fine at first, at one place as at another, but their look and taste afterwards are very different, owing entirely to the careless manner in which they have been prepared. Their appearance at table however is not all that should be considered; for though it is certainly desirable that they should be pleasing to the eye, it is of still greater consequence that their best qualities should be carefully preserved. Vegetables are generally a wholesome diet, but become very prejudicial if not properly dressed. Cauliflowers, and others of the same species, are often boiled only crisp, to preserve their beauty. For the look alone, they had better not be boiled at all, and almost as well for the purpose of food, as in such a crude state they are scarcely digestible by the strongest stomach. On the other hand, when overboiled they become vapid, and in a state similar to decay, in which they afford no sweet purifying juices to the stomach, but load it with a mass of mere feculent matter. The same may be said of many other vegetables, their utility being too often sacrificed to appearance, and sent to table in a state not fit to be eaten. A contrary error often prevails respecting potatoes, as if they could never be done too much. Hence they are popped into the saucepan or steamer, just when it happens to suit, and are left doing, not for the time they require, but till it is convenient to take them up; when perhaps their nutricious qualities are all boiled away, and they taste of nothing but water. Ideas of nicety and beauty in this case ought all to be subservient to utility; for what is beauty in vegetables growing in the garden is not so at table, from the change of circumstances. They are brought to be eaten, and if not adapted properly to the occasion, they are deformities on the dish instead of ornaments. The true criterion of beauty is their suitableness to the purposes intended. Let them be carefully adapted to this, by being neither under nor over done, and they will not fail to please both a correct eye and taste, while they constitute a wholesome species of diet. A most pernicious method of dressing vegetables is often adopted, by putting copper into the saucepan with them in the form of halfpence. This is a dangerous experiment, as the green colour imparted by the copperas, renders them in the highest degree unwholesome, and even poisonous. Besides, it is perfectly unnecessary, for if put into boiling water with a little salt, and boiled up directly, they will be as beautifully green as the most fastidious person can require. A little pearlash might safely be used on such an occasion, and with equal effect, its alkaline properties tending to correct the acidity. Many vegetables are more wholesome, and more agreeable to the taste, when stewed a good while, only care must be taken that they stew merely, without being suffered to boil. Boiling produces a sudden effect, stewing a slower effect, and both have their appropriate advantages. But if preparations which ought only to stew, are permitted to boil, the process is destroyed, and a premature effect produced, that cannot be corrected by any future stewing. In order to have vegetables in the best state for the table, they should be gathered in their proper season, when they are in the greatest perfection, and that is when they are most plentiful. Forced vegetables seldom attain their true flavour, as is evident from very early asparagus, which is altogether inferior to that which is matured by nature and common culture, or the mere operation of the sun and climate. Peas and Potatoes are seldom worth eating before midsummer; unripe vegetables being as insipid and unwholesome as unripe fruit, and are liable to the same objections as when they are destroyed by bad cooking. Vegetables are too commonly treated with a sort of cold distrust, as if they were natural enemies. They are seldom admitted freely at our tables, and are often tolerated only upon a sideboard in small quantities, as if of very inferior consideration. The effect of this is like that of all indiscriminate reserve, that we may negatively be said to lose friends, because we have not the confidence to make them. From the same distrust or prejudice, there are many vegetables never used at all, which are nevertheless both wholesome and palatable, particularly amongst those best known under the denomination of herbs. The freer use of vegetable diet would be attended with a double advantage, that of improving our health, and lessening the expense of the table. Attention should however be paid to their size and quality, in order to enjoy them in their highest degree of perfection. The middle size are generally to be preferred to the largest or the smallest; they are more tender, and full of flavour, just before they are quite full grown. Freshness is their chief value and excellence, and the eye easily discovers whether they have been kept too long, as in that case they lose all their verdure and beauty. Roots, greens, salads, and the various productions of the garden, when first gathered, are plump and firm, and have a fragrant freshness which no art can restore, when they have lost it by long keeping, though it will impart a little freshness to put them into cold spring water for some time before they are dressed. They should neither be so young as not to have acquired their good qualities, nor so old as to be on the point of losing them. To boil them in soft water will best preserve the colour of such as are green; or if only hard water be at hand, a tea-spoonful of potash should be added. Great care should be taken to pick and cleanse them thoroughly from dust, dirt, and insects, and nicely to trim off the outside leaves. If allowed to soak awhile in water a little salted, it will materially assist in cleansing them from insects. All the utensils employed in dressing vegetables should be extremely clean and nice; and if any copper vessel is ever used for the purpose, the greatest attention must be paid to its being well tinned. The scum which arises from vegetables as they boil should be carefully removed, as cleanliness is essential both to their looking and eating well. The lid of the saucepan should always be taken off when they boil, to give access to the air, even if it is not otherwise thought necessary. Put in the vegetables when the water boils, with a little salt, and let them boil quickly; when they sink to the bottom, they are generally done enough. Take them up immediately, or they will lose their colour and goodness. Drain the water from them thoroughly, before they are sent to table. When greens are quite fresh gathered, they will not require so much boiling by at least a third of the time, as when they have been gathered a day or two and brought to the public market. The following table shows when the various kinds of vegetables are in season, or the time of their earliest natural growth, and when they are most plentiful, or in their highest perfection. Artichokes, July, September, ---- Jerusalem ditto, Sept. November, Angelica stalks, May, June, Asparagus, April, June, Beet roots, Dec. January, Boricole, November, January Cabbage, May, July, ---- Red ditto, July, August, ---- White ditto, October, Cardoons, Nov. December, Carrots, May, August, Cauliflowers, June, August, Celery, Sept. November, Chervil, March, May, Corn Salad, May, June, Cucumbers, July, September, Endive, June, October, Kidney Beans, July, August, Leeks, Sept. December, Lettuce, April, July, Onions, August, November, Parsley, February, March, Parsnips, July, October, Peas, June, August, Potatoes, June, November, Radishes, March, June, ---- Spanish ditto, August, September, Scarlet Beans, July, August, Small Salad, May, June, Salsify, July, August, Scorzonera, July, August, Sea Kale, April, May, Shalots, August, October, Savory Cabbage, Sept. November, Sorrel, June, July, Spinage, March, July, ---- Winter ditto, Oct. November, Turnips, May, July, Turnip tops, April, May, Windsor Beans, June, August. VEGETABLES AND FISH. Pick, wash, and chop some sorrel, spinage, small onions or chives, and parsley. Put them into a stewpan with fresh butter, a good spoonful of lemon or Seville orange juice, or vinegar and water, some essence of anchovy, and cayenne pepper. Do these gently over the fire till the vegetables are tender, then put in the fish, and stew them till well done. VEGETABLE ESSENCES. The flavour of the various sweet and savoury herbs may be obtained, by combining their essential oils with rectified spirit of wine, in the proportion of one dram of the former to two ounces of the latter; by picking the leaves, and laying them in a warm place to dry, and then filling a wide-mouth bottle with them, and pouring on them wine, brandy, or vinegar, and letting them steep for fourteen days. VEGETABLE MARROW. Take off all the skin of six or eight gourds, put them into a stewpan with water, salt, lemon juice, and a bit of butter, or fat bacon. Let them stew gently till quite tender, and serve them up with rich Dutch sauce, or any other sauce highly flavoured. VEGETABLE PIE. Scald and blanch some broad beans, and cut in some young carrots, turnips, artichoke bottoms, mushrooms, peas, onions, parsley, celery, or any of these. Make the whole into a nice stew, with some good veal gravy. Bake a crust over a dish, with a little lining round the edge, and a cup turned up to keep it from sinking. When baked, open the lid, and pour in the stew. VEGETABLE SOUP. Pare and slice five or six cucumbers, add the inside of as many cos-lettuces, a sprig or two of mint, two or three onions, some pepper and salt, a pint and a half of young peas, and a little parsley. Put these into a saucepan with half a pound of fresh butter, to stew in their own liquor half an hour, near a gentle fire. Pour on the vegetables two quarts of boiling water, and stew them two hours. Rub a little flour in a tea-cupful of water, boil it with the rest nearly twenty minutes, and serve it.--Another way. Peel and slice six large onions, six potatoes, six carrots, and four turnips; fry them in half a pound of butter, and pour on them four quarts of boiling water. Toast a crust of bread quite brown and hard, but do not burn it; add it to the above, with some celery, sweet herbs, white pepper, and salt. Stew it all together gently four hours, and strain it through a coarse cloth. Put in a sliced carrot, some celery, and a small turnip, and stew them in the soup. An anchovy, and a spoonful of ketchup, may be added if approved. VEGETABLE SYRUP. To a pint of white wine vinegar, put two pounds of the best brown sugar. Boil them to a syrup; and when quite cold, add two table-spoonfuls of paregoric elixir, which is made in the following manner. Steep in a pint of brandy a dram of purified opium, a dram of flowers of benjamin, and two scruples of camphor, adding a dram of the oil of anniseed. Let it stand ten days, occasionally shaking it up, and then strain it off. This added to the above composition, forms the celebrated Godbold's Vegetable Syrup. The paregoric elixir taken by itself, a tea-spoonful in half a pint of white wine whey or gruel at bed time, is an agreeable and effectual medicine for coughs and colds. It is also excellent for children who have the hooping cough, in doses of from five to twenty drops in a little water, or on a small piece of sugar. The vegetable syrup is chiefly intended for consumptive cases. VELVETS. When the pile of velvet requires to be raised, it is only necessary to warm a smoothing iron, to cover it with a wet cloth, and hold it under the velvet. The vapour arising from the wet cloth will raise the pile of the velvet, with the assistance of a whisk gently passed over it. To remove spots and stains in velvet, bruise some of the plant called soapwort, strain out the juice, and add to it a small quantity of black soap. Wash the stain with this liquor, and repeat it several times after it has been allowed to dry. To take wax out of velvet, rub it frequently with hot toasted bread. VENISON. If it be young and good, the fat of the venison will be clear, bright, and thick, and the cleft part smooth and close: but if the cleft is wide and tough, it is old. To judge of its sweetness, run a very sharp narrow knife into the shoulder or haunch, and the meat will be known by the scent. Few people like it when it is very high. VENISON PASTY. To prepare venison for pasty, take out all the bones, beat and season the meat, and lay it into a stone jar in large pieces. Pour over it some plain drawn beef gravy, not very strong; lay the bones on the top, and set the jar in a water bath, or saucepan of water over the fire, and let it simmer three or four hours. The next day, when quite cold, remove the cake of fat, and lay the meat in handsome pieces on the dish. If not sufficiently seasoned, add more pepper, salt, or pimento. Put in some of the gravy, and keep the remainder for the time of serving. When the venison is thus prepared, it will not require so much time to bake, or such a very thick crust as usual, and by which the under part is seldom done through. A shoulder of venison makes a good pasty, and if there be a deficiency of fat, it must be supplied from a good loin of mutton, steeped twenty-four hours in equal parts of rape, vinegar, and port. The shoulder being sinewy, it will be of advantage to rub it well with sugar for two or three days; and when to be used, clear it perfectly from the sugar and the wine with a dry cloth. A mistake used to prevail, that venison could not be baked too much; but three or four hours in a slow oven will be sufficient to make it tender, and the flavour will be preserved. Whether it be a shoulder or a side of venison, the meat must be cut in pieces, and laid with fat between, that it may be proportioned to each person, without breaking up the pasty to find it. Lay some pepper and salt at the bottom of the dish, and some butter; then the meat nicely packed, that it may be sufficiently done, but not lie hollow to harden at the edges. In order to provide gravy for the pasty, boil the venison bones with some fine old mutton, and put half a pint of the gravy cold into the dish. Then lay butter on the venison and cover as well as line the sides with a thick crust, but none must be put under the meat. Keep the remainder of the gravy till the pasty comes from the oven; pour it quite hot into the middle by means of a funnel, and mix it well in the dish by shaking. It should be seasoned with pepper and salt.--Another way. Take a side of venison, bone it, and season it with pepper and salt, cloves, and mace finely beaten; cut your venison in large pieces, and season it very well with your spices then lay it into an earthen pan; make a good gravy of two pound of beef, and pour this gravy over the venison; take three quarters of a pound of beef suet, well picked from the skins, wet a coarse cloth, lay your suet on it, and cover it over, and beat it with a rolling-pin, till it is as fine as butter; as your cloth dries, wet it, and shift your suet, and put it over the top of the venison; make a paste of flour and water, and cover the pan, and send it to the oven to bake; it is best baked with a batch of bread; when it comes from the oven, and is quite cold, make a puff-paste; lay a paste all over your dish, and a roll round the inside, then put in your venison with the fat, and all the gravy, if the dish will hold it; put on the lid, and ornament it as your fancy leads. It will take two hours and a half in a quick oven. A sheet of paper laid on the top, will prevent it from catching, and the crust will be of a fine colour. By baking your venison in this manner, it will keep four or five days before you use it, if you do not take off the crust. VENISON SAUCE. Boil an ounce of dried currants in half a pint of water, and some crumbs of bread, a few cloves or grated nutmeg, a glass of port wine, and a piece of butter. Sweeten it to your taste, and send it to table in a boat. VERJUICE. Lay some ripe crabs together in a heap to sweat, then take out the stalks and decayed ones, and mash up the rest. Press the juice through a hair cloth into a clean vessel, and it will be fit to use in a month. It is proper for sauces where lemon is wanted. VERMICELLI PUDDING. Boil a pint of milk with lemon peel and cinnamon, and sweeten it with loaf sugar. Strain it through a sieve, add a quarter of a pound of vermicelli, and boil it ten minutes. Then put in the yolks of five and the whites of three eggs, mix them well together, and steam the pudding an hour and a quarter, or bake it half an hour. VERMICELLI SOUP. Boil two ounces of vermicelli in three quarts of veal gravy, then rub it through a tammis, season it with salt, give it a boil, and skim it well. Beat up the yolks of four eggs, mix with them half a pint of cream, stir them gradually into the soup, simmer it for a few minutes, and serve it up. A little of the vermicelli may be reserved to serve in the soup, if approved.--Another way. Take two quarts of strong veal broth, put into a clean saucepan a piece of bacon stuck with cloves, and half an ounce of butter worked up in flour; then take a small fowl trussed to boil, break the breastbone, and put it into your soup; stove it close, and let it stew three quarters of an hour; take about two ounces of vermicelli, and put to it some of the broth; set it over the fire till it is quite tender. When your soup is ready, take out the fowl, and put it into your dish; take out your bacon, skim your soup as clean as possible; then pour it on the fowl, and lay your vermicelli all over it; cut some French bread thin, put it into your soup, and send it to table. If you chuse it, you may make your soup with a knuckle of veal, and send a handsome piece of it in the middle of your dish, instead of the fowl. VICARAGE CAKE. Mix a pound and a half of fine flour, half a pound of moist sugar, a little grated nutmeg and ginger, two eggs well beaten, a table-spoonful of yeast, and the same of brandy. Make it into a light paste, with a quarter of a pound of butter melted in half a pint of milk. Let it stand half an hour before the fire to rise, then add three quarters of a pound of currants, well washed and cleaned, and bake the cake in a brisk oven. Butter the tin before the cake is put into it. VINEGAR. Allow a pound of lump sugar to a gallon of water. While it is boiling, skim it carefully, and pour it into a tub to cool. When it is no more than milk warm, rub some yeast upon a piece of bread and put into it, and let it ferment about twenty-four hours. Then tun the liquor into a cask with iron hoops, lay a piece of tile over the bung-hole, and set it in the kitchen, which is better than placing it in the sun. It will be fit to bottle in about six months. March is the best time of the year for making vinegar, though if kept in the kitchen, this is of less consequence. A cheap sort of vinegar may be made of the refuse of the bee hives, after the honey is extracted. Put the broken combs into a vessel, and add two parts of water: expose it to the sun, or keep it in a warm place. Fermentation will succeed in a few days, when it must be well stirred and pressed down to make it soak; and when the fermentation is over, the matter is to be laid upon sieves to drain. The yellow liquor which forms at the bottom of the vessel must be removed, the vessel well cleaned, and the liquor which has been strained is to be returned to the vessel. It will immediately begin to turn sour; it should therefore be covered with a cloth, and kept moderately warm. A pellicle will be formed on the surface, beneath which the vinegar acquires strength: it must be kept standing for a month or two, and then put into a cask. The bunghole should be left open, and the vinegar will soon be fit for use. The prunings of the vine, being bruised and put into a vat or mash tub, and boiling water poured on them, will produce a liquor of a fine vinous quality, which may be used as vinegar.--Another method. To every pound of coarse sugar add a gallon of water; boil the mixture, and take off the scum as long as any rises. Then pour it into proper vessels, and when sufficiently cooled put into it a warm toast covered with yeast. Let it work about twenty-four hours, and then put it into an iron-bound cask, fixed either near a constant fire, or where the summer sun shines the greater part of the day. In this situation it should not be closely stopped up, but a tile or something similar should be laid on the bunghole, to keep out the dust and insects. At the end of three months or less it will be clear, and fit for use, and may be bottled off. The longer it is kept after it is bottled, the better it will be. If the vessel containing the liquor is to be exposed to the sun's heat, the best time to begin making it is in the month of April. VINEGAR FOR SALADS. Take three ounces each of tarragon, savory, chives, and shalots, and a handful of the tops of mint and balm, all dry and pounded. Put the mixture into a wide-mouthed bottle, with a gallon of the best vinegar. Cork it down close, set it in the sun, and in a fortnight strain off and squeeze the herbs. Let it stand a day to settle, and filter it through a tammis bag. VINEGAR WHEY. Set upon the fire as much milk as is wanted for the occasion, and when it is ready to boil, put in vinegar sufficient to turn it to a clear whey. Let it stand some minutes, and then pour it off. If too acid, a little warm water may be added. This whey is well adapted to promote perspiration. Lemon or Seville orange juice may be used instead of vinegar. VINGARET. Chop some mint, parsley, and shalot; and mix them up with oil and vinegar. Serve the sauce in a boat, for cold fowl or meat. VIPERS. The bites of such reptiles should constantly be guarded against as much as possible, as they are not unfrequently attended with dangerous consequences. Animals of the neat-cattle kind are more liable to be bitten and stung by these reptiles, than those of any other sort of live stock. Instances have been known where the tongues of such cattle have been even bitten or stung while grazing or feeding, which have proved fatal. Such stock are, however, seldom attacked by reptiles of the adder kind, except in cases where these are disturbed by the animals in pasturing or feeding; which is the main reason why so many of them are bitten and stung about the head, and occasionally the feet. There are mostly much pain, inflammation, and swelling produced by these bites and stings; the progress of which may commonly be checked or stopped, and the complaint removed, by the use of such means as are directed below. A sort of soft liquid of the liniment kind may be prepared by mixing strong spirit of hartshorn, saponaceous liniment, spirit of turpentine, and tincture of opium, with olive oil; the former in the proportion of about two ounces each to three of the last, incorporating them well together by shaking them in a phial, which will be found very useful in many cases. A proper quantity of it should be well rubbed upon the affected part, two or three times in the course of the day, until the inflammation and swelling begin to disappear, after the bottle has been well shaken. In the more dangerous cases, it may often be advantageous to use fomentations to the affected parts, especially when about the head, with the above application; such as those made by boiling white poppy-heads with the roots of the marshmallow, the leaves of the large plantain, and the tops of wormwood, in the quantities of a few ounces of the first, and a handful of each of the latter, when cut small, and bruised in five or six quarts of the stale grounds of malt liquor. They may be applied frequently to the diseased parts, rubbing them afterwards each time well with the above soft liquid liniment. Where there are feverish appearances, as is often the case in the summer season, a proper quantity of blood may sometimes be taken away with great benefit, and a strong purge be afterwards given of the cooling kind with much use. In slight cases of this kind, some think the continued free use of spirit of hartshorn, given internally, and applied externally to the affected parts, is the best remedy of any that is yet known. As they are so dangerous, these reptiles should always be destroyed as much as possible in all pastures and grazing grounds. U. UDDER SWEET PIE. Either parboil or roast a tongue and udder, slice them into tolerably thin slices, and season them with pepper and salt. Stone half a pound of sun raisins, raise a crust, or put a puff crust round the edge of a dish, place a layer of tongue and udder at the bottom, and then some raisins, and so on till the dish is full. Cover the top with a crust, and when the pie is baked, pour in the following sauce. Beat up some yolks of eggs, with vinegar, white wine, sugar, and butter. Shake them over the fire till ready to boil, and add it to the pie immediately before it is sent to table. ULCERS. Ulcers should not be healed precipitately, for it may be attended with considerable danger. The first object is to cleanse the wound with emollient poultices, and soften it with yellow basilicon ointment, to which may be added a little turpentine or red precipitate. They may also be washed with lime water, dressed with lint dipped in tincture of myrrh, with spermaceti, or any other cooling ointment. UMBRELLA VARNISH. Make for umbrellas the following varnish, which will render them proof against wind and rain. Boil together two pounds of turpentine, one pound of litharge in powder, and two or three pints of linseed oil. The umbrella is then to be brushed over with the varnish, and dried in the sun. UNIVERSAL CEMENT. To an ounce of gum mastic add as much highly rectified spirits of wine as will dissolve it. Soak an ounce of isinglass in water until quite soft, then dissolve it in pure rum or brandy, until it forms a strong glue, to which add about a quarter of an ounce of gum ammoniac well rubbed and mixed. Put the two mixtures in an earthen vessel over a gentle heat; when well united, the mixture may be put into a phial, and kept well stopped. When wanted for use, the bottle must be set in warm water, and the china or glass articles having been also warmed, the cement must be applied. It will be proper that the broken surfaces, when carefully fitted, should be kept in close contact for twelve hours at least, until the cement is fully set, after which the fracture will be found as secure as any other part of the vessel, and scarcely perceptible. W. WAFERS. Dry some flour well, mix with it a little pounded sugar, and finely pounded mace. Make these ingredients into a thick batter with cream. Butter the wafer irons, and make them hot; put a tea-spoonful of the batter into them, bake them carefully, and roll them off the iron with a stick. WAINSCOTS. Dirty painted wainscots may be cleaned with a sponge wetted in potato water, and dipped in a little fine sand. For this purpose grate some raw potatoes into water, run the pulp through a sieve, and let it stand to settle; the clear liquor will then be fit for use. If applied in a pure state, without the sand, it will be serviceable in cleaning oil paintings, and similar articles of furniture. When an oak wainscot becomes greasy, and has not been painted, it should be washed with warm beer. Then boil two quarts of ale, and put into it a piece of bees' wax the size of a walnut, with a large spoonful of sugar. Wet the wainscot all over with a brush dipped in the mixture, and when dry, rub it bright: this will give it a fine gloss. WALNUT KETCHUP. To make the finest sort of walnut ketchup, boil or simmer a gallon of the expressed juice of walnuts when they are tender, and skim it well. Then put in two pounds of anchovies, bones and liquor; two pounds of shalot, one ounce of mace, one ounce of cloves, one of whole pepper, and one of garlic. Let all simmer together till the shalots sink; then put the liquor into a pan till cold; bottle it up, and make an equal distribution of the spice. Cork it well, and tie a bladder over. It will keep twenty years, but is not good at first. Be careful to express the juice at home, for what is sold as walnut ketchup is generally adulterated. Some people make liquor of the outside shell when the nut is ripe, but neither the colour nor the flavour is then so fine.--Another way. Take four quarts of walnut juice, two quarts of white wine vinegar, three ounces of ginger sliced, two ounces of black pepper bruised, two ounces of white pepper bruised, half a pound of anchovies; let these simmer gently, till half the quantity is evaporated; then add to it a quart of red wine, two heads of garlic, the yellow rind of eight Seville oranges, or half a pound of dried orange peel cut very small, and forty bay leaves: give it one boil together, then cover it close in an earthen vessel, and let it stand till it is cold. When it is cold put it into wide-mouthed quart bottles; and into each of the bottles put one ounce of shalots skinned and sliced: cork the bottles close, and put them by for two months, when it will be fit for use. The shalots will likewise eat very fine when taken out, though they will look of a bad colour.--Another way, for fish sauce. Take walnuts, when they are fit for pickling, bruise them well in a marble mortar, and strain off the liquor from them through a cloth, let it stand to settle, pour off the clear, and to every pint of it add one pound of anchovies, half a quarter of an ounce of mace, half a quarter of an ounce of cloves, half a quarter of an ounce of Jamaica pepper, bruised fine; boil them together till the anchovies are dissolved; then strain it off, and to the strained liquor add half a pint of the best vinegar, and eight shalots; just boil it up again, pour it into a stone pan or china bowl, and let it stand till cold, when it is fit to put up in bottles for use. It will keep for years, and is excellent with fish sauce. WARTS AND CORNS. Warts may safely be destroyed by tying them closely round the bottom with a silk thread, or a strong flaxen thread well waxed. Or they may be dried away by some moderately corroding application, such as the milky juice of fig leaves, of swallow wort, or of spurge. Warts may also be destroyed by rubbing them with the inside of bean shells. But these corrosives can only be procured in summer; and persons who have very delicate thin skins should not use them, as they may occasion a painful swelling. Instead therefore of these applications, it may be proper to use a little vinegar impregnated with as much salt as it will dissolve. A plaster may also be made of sal ammoniac and some galbanum, which well kneaded together and applied, seldom fails of destroying them. The general and principal cause of corns is, shoes too hard and stiff, or else too small. The cure consists in softening the corns by repeated washing, and soaking the feet in warm or hot water; then cutting the corn very carefully when softened, with a sharp penknife without wounding the quick, and afterwards applying a leaf of houseleek, ground ivy, or purslain, dipped in vinegar. Or instead of these leaves, they may be dressed every day with a plaster of simple diachylon, or of gum ammoniacum softened in vinegar. The bark of the willow tree burnt to ashes, and mixed with strong vinegar, forms a lixivium which by repeated applications eradicates, warts, corns, and other cutaneous excrescences. It is however the wisest way to obviate the cause which produces them. WASH. An infusion of horseradish in milk, makes one of the safest and best washes for the skin; or the fresh juice of houseleek, mixed with an equal quantity of new milk or cream. Honey water made rather thick, so as to form a kind of varnish on the skin, is a useful application in frosty weather, when the skin is liable to be chipped; and if it occasions any irritation or uneasiness, a little fine flour or pure hair powder should be dusted on the hands or face. A more elegant wash may be made of four ounces of potash, four ounces of rose water, and two of lemon juice, mixed in two quarts of water. A spoonful or two of this mixture put into the basin, will scent and soften the water intended to be used. WASH BALLS. Shave thin two pounds of new white soap, into about a teacupful of rose water, and pour on as much boiling water as will soften it. Put into a brass pan a pint of sweet oil, four pennyworth of oil of almonds, half a pound of spermaceti, and dissolve the whole over the fire. Then add the soap, and half an ounce of camphor that has first been reduced to powder by rubbing it in a mortar with a few drops of spirits of wine, or lavender water, or any other scent. Boil it ten minutes, then pour it into a basin, and stir till it is quite thick enough to roll up into hard balls, which must then be done as soon as possible. If essence is used, stir it in quick after it is taken off the fire, that the scent may not fly off. WASHING. Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be melted in a large jug of water, and some of it poured into the tubs and boiler; and when the lather becomes weak, more is to be added. The new improvement in soft soap is, if properly used, a saving of nearly half in quantity; and though something dearer than the hard, it reduces the expence of washing considerably. Many good laundresses advise soaping linen in warm water the night previous to washing, as facilitating the operation with less friction. WASPS. These insects are not only destructive to grapes, peaches, and the more delicate kinds of fruit, but also to bees; the hives of which they attack and plunder, frequently compelling those industrious inmates to forsake their habitation. About the time when the wasps begin to appear, several phials should be filled three parts full of a mixture consisting of the lees of beer or wine, and the sweepings of sugar, or the dregs of molasses, and suspended by yellow packthread on nails in the garden wall. When the bottles are filled with insects, the liquor must be poured into another vial, and the wasps crushed on the ground. If they settle on wall fruit, they may be destroyed by touching them with a feather dipped in oil; or may be taken with birdlime put on the end of a stick or lath, and touched while sitting on the fruit. The number of these noxious insects might be greatly reduced by searching for their nests in the spring of the year. The places to find them are at new posts, pales, melon frames, or any solid timber; for as they make their combs of the shavings of sound wood, which they rasp off with their fangs, and moisten up with a mucus from their bodies, they may often be found near such materials. WATER. As it is difficult in some places to obtain a sufficient quantity of fresh spring water for constant use, especially in large towns and cities, it is important to know that river water or such as becomes turbid, may be rendered fit for use by the following easy experiment. Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stir it about in a puncheon of water taken from the river; the impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become as clear as the finest spring water. To purify any kind of water that has become foul by being stagnant, place a piece of wicker work in the middle of a vessel; spread on this a layer of charcoal four or five inches thick, and above the charcoal a quantity of sand. The surface of the sand is to be covered with paper pierced full of holes, to prevent the water from making channels in the sand. The water to be purified is to be poured on, to filter through the sand and charcoal, and the filter is to be removed occasionally. By this simple process, any person may procure good limpid water at a very trifling expense, and preserve what would otherwise become useless and offensive. WATER FOR BREWING. The most proper water for brewing is soft river water, which has had the rays of the sun, and the influence of the air upon it, which have a tendency to permit it easily to penetrate the malt, and extract its virtues. On the contrary, hard waters astringe and bind the power of the malt, so that its virtues are not freely communicated to the liquor. Some people hold it as a maxim, that all water that will mix with soap is fit for brewing, which is the case with the generality of river water; and it has frequently been found from experience, that when an equal quantity of malt has been used to a barrel of river water, as to a barrel of spring water, the brewing from the former has exceeded the other in strength above five degrees in the course of twelve months keeping. It has also been observed, that the malt was not only the same in quantity for one barrel as for the other, but was the same in quality, having all been measured from the same heap. The hops were also the same, both in quality and in quantity, and the time of boiling equal in each. They were worked in the same manner, and tunned and kept in the same cellar; a proof that the water only could be the cause of the difference. Dorchester beer, which is generally in much esteem, is chiefly brewed with chalky water, which is plentiful in almost every part of that county; and as the soil is mostly chalk, the cellars, being dug in that dry soil, contribute much to the good keeping of their drink, it being of a close texture, and of a dry quality, so as to dissipate damps; for it has been found by experience, that damp cellars are equally injurious to the casks and the good keeping of the liquor. Where water is naturally of a hard quality, it may in some measure be softened by an exposure to the sun and air, and by infusing in it some pieces of soft chalk; or when the water is set on to boil, in order to be poured on the malt, put into it a quantity of bran, and it will have a very good effect. WATER CAKES. Dry three pounds of fine flour, and rub into it a pound of sifted sugar, a pound of butter, and an ounce of carraway seeds. Make it into a paste with three quarters of a pint of boiling new milk; roll the paste very thin, and cut it into any form or size. Punch the cakes full of holes, and bake on tin plates in a cool oven. WATER GRUEL. Mix by degrees a large spoonful of oatmeal with a pint of water in a saucepan, and when smooth, boil it. Or rub the oatmeal smooth in a little water, and put it into a pint of water boiling on the fire. Stir it well, and boil it quick, but do not suffer it to boil over. In a quarter of an hour strain it off, add salt and a bit of butter when eaten, and stir it together till the whole is incorporated. To make it however in the quickest manner, mix a spoonful of ground oatmeal very smooth, with as much hot water as will just liquify it. Then gradually pour upon it a pint of boiling water, stirring it all the time to keep it smooth. It may be cooled by pouring it from one basin to another till it is fit to drink. Water gruel made in this way is very smooth and good, and being prepared in a few minutes, it is particularly useful when wanted in haste, to assist the operation of medicine. WATER PIPES. To prevent their freezing when full of water, preserve a little circulation by leaving the cock dripping; or by tying up the ball cock during the winter's frost, the water may be preserved for use. Care should be taken however to lay the pipe which supplies the cistern in such a position as not to retain the water, and of course it will not be liable to freeze. WATER SOUCHY. Stew two or three flounders, some parsley leaves and roots, thirty peppercorns, and a quart of water, till the fish are boiled to pieces, and then pulp them through a sieve. Set over the fire the pulped fish, the liquor that boiled them, some perch, tench, and flounders, and some fresh leaves or roots of parsley. Simmer them together till done enough, and serve in a deep dish. Slices of bread and butter are to be sent to table, to eat with the souchy. WAX. Bees' wax is obtained from the combs, after the sweet and liquid parts are extracted, by heating and pressing them between iron plates. The best sort is firm and hard, of a clear yellow colour and an agreeable odour, similar to that of honey. New wax is tough, yet easily broken; by long keeping it becomes harder and more brittle, loses its colour, and partly also its fragrance. With a view to bleach the wax, it is cut into small pieces, melted, and poured into cold water. In this state it is exposed to the sun, afterwards melted again, poured into water, and exposed to the air, two or three times over, till it is perfectly blanched. It is then dissolved for the last time, cast into flat moulds, and again exposed to the air for a day or two, in order to render it more transparent. WAX PLASTER. This is made of a pound of yellow wax, half a pound of white rosin, and three quarters of mutton suet, melted together. This forms a proper plaster for blisters, and in other cases where a gentle digestive is necessary. WEAK EYES. Dimness of sight, arising from weakness or inflammation, is best relieved by frequent washing of the eyes with cold water. If this do not succeed, the following solution may be applied. Dissolve four grains each of the sugar of lead and crude sal-ammoniac, in eight ounces of water, to which a few drops of laudanum may occasionally be added, and bathe the eyes with it night and morning. A tea-spoonful of brandy in a cup of water will also make good eye-water, or a little simple rose water may supply the place. WEDDING CAKE. Take two pounds of butter, beat it to a cream with the hand, and put in two pounds of fine sugar sifted. Mix well together two pounds of fine dried flour, half a pound of almonds blanched and pounded with orange-flower water, and an ounce of beaten mace. Beat up sixteen eggs, leaving out three whites, and put to them half a glass of sack, and the same of brandy. Put a handful of the flour and almonds to the sugar and butter, then a spoonful of the eggs, and so on till they are all mixed together. Beat it an hour with the hand, add two pounds of currants, half a pound of citron, half a pound of orange peel, and two spoonfuls of orange-flower water. Butter the tin, and bake it three hours and a half. An iceing should be put over the cake after it is baked. WEEDS. Weeds are in their most succulent state in the month of June, and there is scarcely a hedge border but might be rendered useful by mowing them at this season, but which afterwards would become a nuisance. After the weeds have lain a few hours to wither, hungry cattle will eat them with great freedom, and it would display the appearance of good management to embrace the transient opportunity. WELCH ALE. To brew very fine Welch ale, pour forty-two gallons of hot but not boiling water, on eight bushels of malt; cover it up, and let it stand three hours. Mean while infuse four pounds of hops in a little hot water, and put the water and hops into a tub; run the wort upon them, and boil them together three hours. Strain off the hops, and reserve them for the small beer. Let the wort stand in a high tub till cool enough to receive the yeast, of which put in two quarts of the best quality: mix it thoroughly and often. When the wort has done working, the second or third day, the yeast will sink rather than rise in the middle: remove it then, and tun the ale as it works out. Pour in a quart at a time gently, to prevent the fermentation from continuing too long, which weakens the liquor. Put paper over the bung-hole two or three days before it is closed up. WELCH BEEF. Rub three ounces of saltpetre into a good piece of the round or buttock. After four hours apply a handful of common salt, a quarter of an ounce of Jamaica pepper, and the same of black pepper, mixed together. Continue it in the pickle a fortnight, then stuff it with herbs, cover it with a thick paste, and bake it. Take off the paste, pour the liquor from it, and pour over it some melted beef suet. WELCH PUDDING. Melt half a pound of fine butter gently, beat with it the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs. Mix in six ounces of loaf sugar, and the rind of a lemon grated. Put a paste into a dish for turning out, pour in the batter, and bake it nicely. WELCH RABBIT. Toast a slice of bread on both sides, and butter it. Toast a slice of Gloucester cheese on one side, and lay that on the bread; then toast the other side with a salamander, rub mustard over, and serve it up hot under a cover. WENS. These are prevalent chiefly among the inhabitants of marshy countries, bordering on rivers and standing waters, especially among females, and persons of a delicate habit; but they very often arise from scrophula. Camphor mixed with sweet oil, or a solution of sal ammoniac, have often been applied to these tumours with success. In Derbyshire, where this disorder greatly prevails, they use the following preparation. Fifteen grains of burnt sponge are beaten up with a similar quantity of millipede, and from eight to ten grains of cinnabar antimony. The whole is to be mixed with honey, and taken every morning before breakfast. WESTPHALIA HAM. Rub the ham with half a pound of coarse sugar, let it lie twelve hours, then rub it with an ounce of saltpetre pounded, and a pound of common salt. Let it lie three weeks, turning it every day. Dry it over a wood fire, and put a pint of oak sawdust into the water when it is boiled.--Another way. Take spring water that is not hard, add saltpetre and bay salt to it till it will bear an egg, the broad way, then add a pound and a half of coarse sugar; mix all together, and let the ham lay in this pickle a fortnight or three weeks; then lay it in the chimney to dry. When you boil it, put some hay into the copper with it. You may keep the pickle as long as you please by often boiling it up. WET CLOTHES. When a person has the misfortune to get wet, care should be taken not to get too near the fire, or into a warm room, so as to occasion a sudden heat. The safest way is to keep in constant motion, until some dry clothes can be procured, and to exchange them as soon as possible. WHEAT BREAD. To make it in the most economical way, the coarsest of the bran only is to be taken from the flour, and the second coat, or what is called pollard, is to be left in the meal. Five pounds of the bran are to be boiled in somewhat more than four gallons of water, in order that, when perfectly smooth, three gallons and three quarts of clear bran water may be poured into and kneaded up with forty-six pounds of the meal; adding salt as well as yeast, in the same way as for other bread. When the dough is ready to bake, the loaves are to be made up, and baked two hours and a half in a tolerably hot oven. As flour when thus made up will imbibe three quarts more of this bran liquor than of common water, it evidently produces not only a more nutricious and substantial food, but increases one fifth above the usual quantity; consequently it makes a saving of at least one day's consumption in every week. If this meal bread were in general use, it would be a saving to the nation of nearly ten millions a year. Besides, this bread has the following peculiar property: if put into the oven and baked for twenty minutes, after it is ten days old, it will appear again like new bread. WHEAT EARS. To roast wheat ears and ortolans, they should be spitted sideways, with a vine leaf between each. Baste them with butter, and strew them with bread crumbs while roasting. Ten or twelve minutes will do them. Serve them up with fried bread crumbs in the dish, and gravy in a tureen. WHEY. Cheese whey is a very wholesome drink for weakly persons, especially when the cows are in fresh pasture. Tending to quench thirst, and to promote sleep, it is well adapted to feverish constitutions. It is the most relaxing and diluting of all drinks, dissolving and carrying off the salts, and is a powerful remedy in the hot scurvy. WHEY BUTTER. The whey is first set in mugs, to acquire a sufficient degree of consistence and sourness for churning, either by the warmth of the season, or by a fire, as in the making of milk butter. Sometimes the green and white whey are boiled together, and turned by a little sour ale. When the green whey is boiled alone, it is necessary to keep it over the fire about half an hour, till it begins to break and separate, but it must be allowed to simmer only. The process is much the same as in milk butter, but it will keep only a few days, and does not cut so firm as the butter which is made of cream. WHIGS. Mix with two pounds of fine flour, half a pound of sugar pounded and sifted, and an ounce of carraway seeds. Melt half a pound of butter in a pint of milk; when as warm as new milk, put to it three eggs, leaving out one white, and a spoonful of yeast. Mix them well together, and let the paste stand four hours to rise. Make them into whigs, and bake them on buttered tins.--Another way. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound and a half of flour, add a quarter of a pound of sugar, a very little salt, and three spoonfuls of new yeast. Make it into a light paste with warm milk, let it stand an hour to rise, and then form it into whigs. Bake them upon sheets of tin in a quick oven. Carraway seeds may be added if preferred.--Another way. Take two pounds and a half of flour, dry it before the fire, and when cold rub in a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and six ounces of sugar; mix half a pint of yeast that is not bitter, with warm milk, put this to the flour with some carraway seeds; mix all together to a light dough, set it before the fire to rise, then make it into what shape you please; bake them in a slack oven. You may add allspice beat fine, instead of carraways, if you please.--Another way. Take a pound and a half of flour, add a quarter of a pint of ale yeast to half a pint of warm milk, mix these together, and let it lie by the fire half an hour; then work in half a pound of sugar and half a pound of fresh butter to a paste; make them up, and let them be put into a quick oven. WHIPT CREAM. Take a quart of thick cream, the whites of eight eggs well beaten, with half a pint of sack; mix all together, and sweeten it to your taste, with double-refined sugar; (you may perfume it if you please, with a little musk, or ambergris, tied in a piece of muslin, and steeped a little while in the cream) pare a lemon, and tie some of the peel in the middle of the whisk, then whip up the cream, take off the froth with a spoon, and lay it in the glasses, or basons. This does well over a fine tart. WHIPT SYLLABUBS. Put some rich cream into an earthen pot, add some white wine, lemon juice, and sugar to the taste. Mill them well together with a chocolate mill, and as the froth keeps rising take it off with a spoon, and put it into syllabub glasses. They should be made the day before they are to be used. Syllabubs are very pretty in the summer time made with red currant juice, instead of lemon juice.--Another way. Take a quart of cream, boil it, and let it stand till cold; then take a pint of white wine, pare a lemon thin, and steep the peel in the wine two hours before you use it; to this add the juice of a lemon, and as much sugar as will make it very sweet; put all together into a bowl, and whisk it one way till it is pretty thick, fill the glasses, and keep it a day before you use it. It will keep good for three or four days. Let the cream be full measure, and the wine rather less; if you like it perfumed, put in a grain or two of ambergris.--Another way. To a quart of thick cream put half a pint of sack, the juice of two Seville oranges, or lemons, grate the peel of two lemons, and add half a pound of double-refined sugar well pounded; mix a little sack with sugar, and put it into some of the glasses, and red wine and sugar into others, the rest fill with syllabub only. Then whisk your cream up very well, take off the froth with a spoon, and fill the glasses carefully, as full as they will hold. Observe, that this sort must not be made long before they are used. WHITE BREAD. This is made the same as household bread, except that it consists of fine flour unmixed. The water to be used should be lukewarm in summer, and in very cold weather it must be hot, but not so as to scald the yeast. Bricks are made by moulding the loaves long instead of round, and cutting the sides in several places before they are put into the oven. WHITE CAKES. Dry half a pound of flour, rub into it a very little pounded sugar, one ounce of butter, an egg, a few carraways, and as much milk and water as will make it into a paste. Roll it thin, cut it into little cakes with a wine glass, or the top of a canister, and bake them fifteen minutes on tin plates. WHITE CAUDLE. Boil four spoonfuls of oatmeal in two quarts of water, with a blade or two of mace, and a piece of lemon peel; stir it often, and let it boil a full quarter of an hour, then strain it through a sieve for use; when you use it, grate in some nutmeg, sweeten it to your palate, and add what white wine you think proper: if it is not for a sick person, you may squeeze in a little lemon juice. WHITE CERATE. Take four ounces of olive oil, half an ounce of spermaceti, and four ounces of white wax. Put them into an earthen pipkin, and stir the mixture with a stick till it is quite cold. WHITE GRAVY. Boil in a quart of water a pound and a half of veal, from the knuckle or scrag end of the neck. Add a small onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, a blade of mace, a little whole pepper and salt. After an hour's simmering over the fire, strain off the gravy, and it is ready for use. WHITE GRAVY FOR SOUPS. To a few slices of lean ham, add a knuckle of veal cut in pieces, some turnips, parsnips, leeks, onions, and celery. Put them all into a stewpan with two quarts of water, and let it simmer till the meat is nearly tender, without allowing it to colour. Add to this half as much clear beef gravy, and boil it an hour, skimming off the fat very clean. Strain it, and set it by for use. WHITE HERRINGS. If good, their gills are of a fine red, and the eyes bright; as is likewise the whole fish, which must be stiff and firm. Having scaled, drawn, and cleaned them, dust them with flour, and fry them of a light brown. Plain or melted butter for sauce. WHITE LEAD. White oxide of lead is often adulterated by the carbonate of lime. To detect this pour four drams of pure acetous acid, over a dram of the suspected oxide. This will dissolve both oxide and chalk; but if a few drops of a solution of oxalic acid be now poured in, a very abundant white precipitate of oxalate of lime will take place. WHITE PAINT. An excellent substitute for white oil paint may be made of fresh curds bruised fine, and kneaded with an equal quantity of slacked lime. The mixture is to be well stirred, without any water, and it will produce an excellent white paint for inside work. As it dries very quickly, it should be used as soon as made; and if two coats be laid on, it may afterwards be polished with a woollen cloth till it becomes as bright as varnish. If applied to places exposed to moisture, the painting should be rubbed over with the yolk of an egg, which will render it as durable as the best of oil painting. No kind of painting can be so cheap; and as it dries speedily, two coats of it may be laid on in a day and polished, and no offensive smell will arise from it. WHITE POT. The antient way of making a white pot is to put the yolks of four or five eggs well beaten to a pint of cream, adding some pulps of apples, sugar, spices, and sippets of white bread. It may be baked either in a dish, or in a crust.--Another way. Beat eight eggs, leaving out four whites, with a little rose water; strain them to two quarts of new milk, and a small nutmeg grated, and sugar to your taste; cut a French roll in thin slices, and lay in the bottom of a soup dish (after buttering it) then pour over your milk and eggs, and bake it in a slow oven. WHITE PUDDINGS. Pour two pints and a half of scalding hot milk upon half a pound of Naples biscuits, or bread; let it stand uncovered, and when well soaked, bruise the bread very fine. Add half a pound of almonds well beaten with orange-flower water, three quarters of a pound of sugar, a pound of beef suet or marrow shred fine, a quarter of an ounce of salt, ten yolks of eggs and five whites. Mix the whole thoroughly together, and put it into the skins well prepared, filling them but half full, and tying them at proper distances like sausages. The skins must be carefully cleaned, and laid in rose water some hours before they are used. Currants may be used instead of almonds, if preferred. WHITE HOG'S PUDDINGS. When the skins have been well soaked and cleaned, rinse and soak them all night in rose water, and put into them the following preparation. Mix half a pound of blanched almonds cut into seven or eight parts, with a pound of grated bread, two pounds of marrow or rich suet, a pound of currants, some beaten cinnamon, cloves, mace, and nutmeg; a quart of cream, the yolks of six and whites of two eggs, a little orange-flower water, a little fine Lisbon sugar, and some lemon peel and citron sliced, and half fill the skins. To know whether it be sweet enough, warm a little in a panikin. Much care must be taken in boiling, to prevent the puddings from bursting. Prick them with a small fork as they rise, and boil them in milk and water. Lay them in a table cloth till cold. WHITE ONION SAUCE. Peel half a dozen white Spanish onions, cut them in half, and lay them in a pan of spring water for a quarter of an hour. Boil them an hour, or till quite tender, drain them well on a hair sieve, and then chop and bruise them fine. Put them into a clean saucepan with flour and butter, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and some cream or good milk. Stir it till it boils, rub the whole through a sieve, adding milk or cream to make it of a proper thickness. This is the usual sauce for boiled rabbits, mutton, or tripe; but there requires plenty of it. WHITE SAUCE. This favourite sauce is equally adapted to fowls, fricassee, rabbits, white meat, fish, and vegetables; and it is seldom necessary to purchase any fresh meat to make it, as the proportion of that flavour is but small. The liquor in which fowls, veal, or rabbit have been boiled, will answer the purpose; or the broth of whatever meat happens to be in the house, such as necks of chickens, raw or dressed veal. Stew with a little water any of these, with a bit of lemon peel, some sliced onion, some white peppercorns, a little pounded mace or nutmeg, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Keep it on the fire till the flavour is good; then strain it, and add a little good cream, a piece of butter, a very little flour, and salt to your taste. A squeeze of lemon may be added after the sauce is taken off the fire, shaking it well. Yolk of egg is often used in fricassee, cream is better, as the former is apt to curdle. WHITE SOUP. Take a scrag of mutton, a knuckle of veal, after cutting off as much meat as will make collops, two or three shank bones of mutton nicely cleaned, and a quarter of very fine undressed lean gammon of bacon. Add a bunch of sweet herbs, a piece of fresh lemon peel, two or three onions, three blades of mace, and a dessert-spoonful of white pepper. Boil all in three quarts of water, till the meat falls quite to pieces. Next day take off the fat, clear the jelly from the sediment, and put it into a nice tin saucepan. If maccaroni be used, it should be added soon enough to get perfectly tender, after soaking in cold water. Vermicelli may be added after the thickening, as it requires less time to do. Prepare the thickening beforehand thus: blanch a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, and beat them to a paste in a marble mortar, with a spoonful of water to prevent their oiling. Then mince a large slice of cold veal or chicken, and beat it with a piece of stale white bread; add all this to a pint of thick cream, a bit of fresh lemon peel, and a blade of pounded mace. Boil it a few minutes, add to it a pint of soup, and strain and pulp it through a coarse sieve. This thickening is then fit for putting to the rest, which should boil for half an hour afterwards.--To make a plainer white soup, boil a small knuckle of veal, till the liquor is reduced to three pints. Add seasoning as above, and a quarter of a pint of good milk. Two spoonfuls of cream, and a little ground rice, will give it a proper thickness. The meat and the soup may both be served together.--Another. Take a scrag or knuckle of veal, slices of undressed gammon of bacon, onions, mace, and simmer them in a small quantity of water, till it is very strong. Lower it with a good beef broth made the day before, and stew it till the meat is done to rags. Add cream, vermicelli, a roll, and almonds. WHITE WINE WHEY. Set on the fire half a pint of new milk; the moment it boils up, pour in as much sound raisin wine as will completely turn it, and until it looks clear. Let it boil up, then set the saucepan aside till the curd subsides, and do not stir it. Pour the whey off, add to it half a pint of boiling water, and a little lump sugar. The whey will thus be cleared of milky particles, and may be made to any degree of weakness. WHITINGS. These may be had almost at any time, but are chiefly in season during the first three months of the year. In choosing them, the firmness of the body and fins is chiefly to be looked to; and in places where there is no regular supply of fish, it will be found an accommodation to dry them for keeping. The largest are best for this purpose. Take out the gills, the eyes, and the entrails, and remove the blood from the backbone. Wipe them dry, salt the inside, and lay them on a board for the night. Hang them up in a dry place, and after three or four days they will be fit to eat. When to be dressed, skin and rub them over with egg, and cover them with bread crumbs. Lay them before the fire, baste with butter till sufficiently browned, and serve them with egg sauce. WHITLOWS. As soon as the disorder is apparent, the finger affected is to be plunged into warm water, or the steam of boiling water may be applied to it. The application must be very frequently repeated the first day, and the complaint will soon be dispersed. Unfortunately however it is too generally supposed, that such slight attacks can have only slight consequences, and hence they are too apt to be neglected till the complaint has considerably increased. But in this state no time should be lost in resorting to skilful advice, as the danger attending these small tumours is much greater than is usually imagined. WHOLE RICE PANCAKES. Stew half a pound of whole rice in water till it is very tender, and let it stand in a basin to cool. Break it small, put to it half a pint of scalded cream, half a pound of clarified butter, a handful of flour, a little nutmeg and salt, and five eggs well beaten. Stir these well together, and fry them in butter or lard. Serve them up with sugar sifted over them, and a Seville orange or lemon cut and laid round the dish. This preparation may be made into a pudding, either baked or boiled, and with currants added or not, as approved. Three quarters of an hour will bake it, and an hour will boil it. WHOLE RICE PUDDING. Stew very gently a quarter of a pound of whole rice, in a pint and a half of new milk. When the rice is tender, pour it into a basin, stir in a piece of butter, and let it stand till quite cool. Then put in four eggs, a little salt, some nutmeg and sugar. Boil it an hour in a basin well buttered. WILD DUCKS. A wild duck, or a widgeon, will require twenty or twenty-five minutes roasting, according to the size. A teal, from fifteen to twenty minutes; and other birds of this kind, in proportion to their size, a longer or a shorter time. Baste them with butter, and take them up with the gravy in, sprinkling a little over them before they are quite done. Serve them up with shalot sauce in a boat, or with good gravy, and lemons cut in quarters. WILD FOWL. Season with salt and pepper, and put a piece of butter into each; but the flavour is best preserved without stuffing. To take off the fishy taste which wild fowl sometimes have, put an onion, salt, and hot water, into the dripping pan, and baste them with this for the first ten minutes: then take away the pan, and baste constantly with butter. Wild fowl require much less dressing than tame: they should be served of a fine colour, and well frothed up. A rich brown gravy should be sent in the dish; and when the breast is cut into slices, before taking off the bone, a squeeze of lemon, with pepper and salt, is a great improvement to the flavour. WILTSHIRE BACON. The way to cure Wiltshire bacon is to sprinkle the flitch with salt, and let the blood drain off for twenty-four hours. Then mix a pound and a half of coarse sugar, the same quantity of bay salt, not quite so much as half a pound of saltpetre, and a pound of common salt. Rub this mixture well on the bacon, turning it every day for a month: then hang it to dry, and afterwards smoke it ten days. The quantity of salts above mentioned is sufficient for the whole hog. WILTSHIRE CHEESE. This is made of new milk, a little lowered with water and skim milk. The curd is first broken with the hand and dish, care being taken to let the whey run off gradually, to prevent its carrying away with it the fat of the cowl. For thin cheese the curd is not broken so fine as in Gloucestershire; for thick cheese it is crushed finer still. The whey is poured off as it rises, and the curd pressed down. The mass is then pared down three or four times over, in slices about an inch thick, in order to extract all the whey from it, and then it is pressed and scalded as before. After separating the whey, the curd is sometimes broken again, and salted in the cowl; and at others it is taken warm out of the liquor, and salted in the vat. Thin cheeses are placed in one layer, with a small handful of salt; and thick ones in two layers, with two handfuls of salt; the salt being spread and rubbed uniformly among the curd. WINDSOR BEANS. These should be boiled in plenty of water, with a little salt, and be put in when the water boils. Serve them up with boiled bacon, and parsley and butter in a boat. WINDSOR BEANS FRICASSEED. When grown large, but not mealy, boil, blanch, and lay them in a white sauce previously heated up. Warm them through in the sauce, and serve them up. No beans but what are of a fine green should be used for this dish. WINDSOR PUDDING. Shred half a pound of suet very fine, grate into it half a pound of French roll, a little nutmeg, and the rind of a lemon. Add to these half a pound of chopped apple, half a pound of currants clean washed and fried, half a pound of jar raisins stoned and chopped, a glass of rich sweet wine, and five eggs well beaten, with a little salt. Mix all thoroughly together, and boil it in a basin or mould for three hours. Sift fine sugar over it when sent to table, and pour white wine sauce into the dish. WINDSOR SOAP. Cut the best white soap into thin slices, melt it over a slow fire, and scent it with oil of carraway, or any other agreeable perfume. Shaving boxes may then be filled with the melted soap, or it may be poured into a small drawer or any other mould; and after it has stood a few days to dry, it may be cut into square pieces ready for use. WINE. The moderate use of wine is highly conducive to health, especially in weak and languid habits, and in convalescents who are recovering from the attacks of malignant fevers. Hence it forms an extensive article of commerce, and immense quantities are consumed in this country. But nothing is more capable of being adulterated, or of producing more pernicious effects on the human constitution, and therefore it requires the strictest attention. A few simple means only will be sufficient to detect such adulterations, and to prevent their fatal consequences. If new white wine, for example, be of a sweetish flavour, and leave a certain astringency on the tongue; if it has an unusually high colour, disproportionate to its nominal age and real strength; or if it has a strong pungent taste, resembling that of brandy or other ardent spirits, such liquor may be considered as adulterated. When old wine presents either a very pale or a very deep colour, or possesses a very tart and astringent taste, and deposits a thick crust on the sides or bottom of glass vessels, it has then probably been coloured with some foreign substance. This may easily be detected by passing the liquor through filtering paper, when the colouring ingredients will remain on the surface. The fraud may also be discovered by filling a small vial with the suspected wine, and closing its mouth with the finger: the bottle is then to be inverted, and immersed in a basin of clear water. The finger being withdrawn, the tinging or adulterating matter will pass into the water, so that the former may be observed sinking to the bottom by its own weight. Wines becoming tart or sour, are frequently mixed with the juice of carrots and turnips; and if this do not recover the sweetness to a sufficient degree, alum or the sugar of lead is sometimes added; but which cannot fail to be productive of the worst effects, and will certainly operate as slow poison. To detect the alum, let the suspected liquor be mixed with a little lime water. At the end of ten or twelve hours the composition must be filtered, and if crystals be formed, it contains no alum. But if it be adulterated, the sediment will split into small segments, which will adhere to the filtering paper on which it is spread. In order to detect the litharge or sugar of lead, a few drops of the solution of yellow orpiment and quicklime should be poured into a glass of wine. If the colour of the liquor change, and become successively dark red, black or brown, it is an evident proof of its being adulterated with lead. As orpiment is poisonous, it would be better to use a few drops of vitriolic acid for this purpose, which should be introduced into a small quantity of the suspected liquor. This will cause the lead to sink to the bottom of the glass, in the form of a white powder. A solution of hepatic gas in distilled water, if added to wine sophisticated with lead, will produce a black sediment, and thus discover the smallest quantity of that poisonous metal; but in pure wine, no precipitation will take place. The following preparation has been proved to be a sufficient test for adulterated wine or cider. Let one dram of the dry liver of sulphur, and two drams of the cream of tartar, be shaken in two ounces of distilled water, till the whole become saturated with hepatic gas: the mixture is then to be filtered through blotting paper, and kept in a vial closely corked. In order to try the purity of wine, about twenty drops of this test are to be poured into a small glass: if the wine only become turbid with white clouds, and a similar sediment be deposited, it is then not impregnated with any metallic ingredients. But if it turn black or muddy, its colour approach to a deep red, and its taste be at first sweet, and then astringent, the liquor certainly contains the sugar, or other pernicious preparation of lead. The presence of iron is indicated by the wine acquiring a dark blue coat, after the test is put in, similar to that of pale ink; and if there be any particles of copper or verdigris, a blackish grey sediment will be formed. A small portion of sulphur is always mixed with white wines, in order to preserve them; but if too large a quantity be employed, the wine thus impregnated becomes injurious. Sulphur however may easily be detected, for if a piece of an egg shell, or of silver, be immersed in the wine, it instantly acquires a black hue. Quicklime is also mixed with wine, for imparting a beautiful red colour. Its presence may easily be ascertained by suffering a little wine to stand in a glass for two or three days; when the lime, held in solution, will appear on the surface in the form of a thin pellicle or crust. The least hurtful but most common adulteration of wine, is that of mixing it with water, which may be detected by throwing into it a small piece of quicklime. If it slack or dissolve the lime, the wine must have been diluted; but if the contrary, which will seldom be the case, the liquor may be considered as genuine. WINE COOLED. The best way of cooling wine or other liquors in hot weather, is to dip a cloth in cold water, and wrap it round the bottle two or three times, then place it in the sun. The process should be renewed once or twice. WINE POSSET. Boil some slices of white bread in a quart of milk. When quite soft, take it off the fire, grate in half a nutmeg, and a little sugar. Pour it out, and add by degrees a pint of sweet wine, and serve it with toasted bread. WINE REFINED. In order to refine either wine or cider, beat up the whites and shells of twenty eggs. Mix a quart of the liquor with them, and put it into the cask. Stir it well to the bottom, let it stand half an hour, and stop it up close. In a few days it may be bottled off. WINE ROLL. Soak a penny French roll in raisin wine till it will hold no more: put it in a dish, and pour round it a custard, or cream, sugar, and lemon juice. Just before it is served, sprinkle over it some nonpareil comfits, or stick into it a few blanched almonds slit. Sponge biscuits may be used instead of the roll. WINE SAUCE. For venison or hare, mix together a quarter of a pint of claret or port, the same quantity of plain mutton gravy, and a table-spoonful of currant jelly. Let it just boil up, and send it to table in a sauce boat. WINE VINEGAR. After making raisin wine, when the fruit has been strained, lay it on a heap to heat; then to every hundred weight, put fifteen gallons of water. Set the cask in the sun, and put in a toast of yeast. As vinegar is so necessary an article in a family, and one on which so great a profit is made, a barrel or two might always be kept preparing, according to what suited. If the raisins of wine were ready, that kind might be made; if gooseberries be cheap and plentiful, then gooseberry vinegar may be preferred; or if neither, then the sugar vinegar; so that the cask need not be left empty, or be liable to grow musty. WINE WHEY. Put on the fire a pint of milk and water, and the moment it begins to boil, pour in as much sweet wine as will turn it into whey, and make it look clear. Boil it up, and let it stand off the fire till the curd all sinks to the bottom. Do not stir it, but pour off the whey for use. Or put a pint of skimmed milk and half a pint of white wine into a basin, let it stand a few minutes, and pour over it a pint of boiling water. When the curd has settled to the bottom, pour off the whey, and put in a piece of lump sugar, a sprig of balm, or a slice of lemon. WINTER VEGETABLES. To preserve several vegetables to eat in the winter, observe the following rules. French beans should be gathered young, and put into a little wooden keg, a layer of them about three inches deep. Then sprinkle them with salt, put another layer of beans, and so on till the keg is full, but be careful not to sprinkle too much salt. Lay over them a plate, or a cover of wood that will go into the keg, and put a heavy stone upon it. A pickle will rise from the beans and salt; and if they are too salt, the soaking and boiling will not be sufficient to make them palatable. When they are to be eaten, they must be cut, soaked, and boiled as fresh beans. Carrots, parsnips, and beet root, should be kept in layers of dry sand, and neither they nor potatoes should be cleared from the earth. Store onions keep best hung up in a dry cold room. Parsley should be cut close to the stalks, and dried in a warm room, or on tins in a very cool oven. Its flavour and colour may thus be preserved, and will be found useful in winter. Artichoke bottoms, slowly dried, should be kept in paper bags. Truffles, morels, and lemon peel, should be hung in a dry place, and ticketed. Small close cabbages, laid on a stone floor before the frost sets in, will blanch and be very fine, after many weeks' keeping. WOOD. An excellent glue, superior to the common sort, and suitable for joining broken furniture or any kind of wood, may be made of an ounce of isinglass dissolved in a pint of brandy. The isinglass should be pounded, dissolved by gentle heat, strained through a piece of muslin, and kept in a glass closely stopped. When required for use, it should be dissolved with moderate heat, and applied the same as common glue. Its effect is so powerful as to join the parts of wood stronger than the wood itself, but should not be exposed to damp or moisture. WOODCOCKS. These will keep good for several days. Roast them without drawing, and serve them on toast. The thigh and back are esteemed the best. Butter only should be eaten with them, as gravy diminishes the fineness of the flavour. To roast woodcocks and snipes in the French method, take out the trails and chop them, except the stomachs, with some minced bacon, or a piece of butter. Add some parsley and chives, and a little salt. Put this stuffing into the birds, sow up the opening, and roast them with bacon covered with paper. Serve them up with Spanish sauce. WOOLLENS. To preserve articles of this sort from the moths, let them be well brushed and shaken, and laid up cool and dry. Then mix among them bitter apples from the druggists', in small muslin bags, carefully sewn up in several folds of linen, and turned in at the edges. WORMS. A strong decoction of walnut tree leaves thrown upon the ground where there are worm casts, will cause them to rise up. They may then be given to the poultry, or thrown into the fish pond. Salt and water, or a ley of wood ashes, poured into worm-holes on a gravel walk, will effectually destroy them. Sea water, the brine of salted meat, or soot, will be found to answer the same purpose. WORMS. Worms in children are denoted by paleness of the face, itching of the nose, grinding of the teeth during sleep, offensive breath, and nausea. The belly is hard and painful, and in the morning there is a copious flow of saliva, and an uncommon craving for dry food. Amongst a variety of other medicines for destroying worms in the human body, the following will be found effectual. Make a solution of tartarised antimony, two grains in four ounces of water, and take two or three tea-spoonfuls three times a day, for four days; and on the following day a purging powder of calomel and jalap, from three to six grains each. Or take half a pound of senna leaves well bruised, and twelve ounces of olive oil, and digest them together in a sand heat for four or five days. Strain off the liquor, take a spoonful in the morning fasting, persevere in it, and it will be found effectual in the most obstinate cases. A more simple remedy is to pour some port wine into a pewter dish, and let it stand for twenty-four hours. Half a common wine-glassful is a sufficient dose for an infant, and a whole one for an adult. WORMWOOD ALE. The proper way to make all sorts of herb drinks, is to gather the herbs in the right season. Then dry them in the shade, and put them into closed paper bags. When they are wanted for use, take out the proper quantity, put it into a linen bag, and suspend it in the beer or ale, while it is working or fermenting, from two to six or eight hours, and then take it out. Wormwood ought not to lie so long, three or four hours will be quite sufficient. If the herbs are properly gathered and prepared, all their pure and balsamic virtues will readily infuse themselves into the liquor, whether wine or beer, as the pure sweet quality in malt does into the warm liquor in brewing, which is done effectually in about an hour. But if malt is suffered to remain more than six hours, before the liquor is drawn off, all the nauseous properties will be extracted, and overpower the good ones. It is the same in infusing any sort of well-prepared herbs, and great care therefore is requisite in all preparations, that the pure qualities are neither evaporated or overpowered. Otherwise, whatever it be, it will soon tend to putrefaction, and become injurious and loathsome. Beer, ale, or other liquor, into which herbs are infused, must be unadulterated, or the infusion will be destroyed by its pernicious qualities. Nothing is more prejudicial to the health, or the intellectual faculties of mankind, than adulterated liquors. Articles which in their purest state are of an equivocal character, and never to be trusted without caution, are thus converted into decided poisons.--Another way of making wormwood ale. Take a quantity of the herb, according to the intended strength of the liquor, and infuse it for half an hour in the boiling wort. Then strain it off, and set the wort to cool. Wormwood beer prepared either ways, is a fine wholesome liquor. It is gentle, warming, assisting digestion, and refining to the blood, without sending any gross fumes to the head. The same method should be observed in making all sorts of drinks, in which any strong bitter herbs are infused. It renders them pleasant and grateful, both to the stomach and palate, and preserves all the medicinal virtues. Most bitter herbs have a powerful tendency to open obstructions, if judiciously managed; but in the way in which they are too commonly made, they are not only rendered extremely unpleasant, but their medicinal properties are destroyed. WOUNDS. If occasioned by a cut, it will be proper immediately to close the wounded part, so as to exclude the air and prevent its bleeding, and then any common sticking plaister may be applied. When the wound is deep and difficult to close, a bandage should be applied; and if the skin be lacerated, or the edges of the wound begin to be rough, lay on some lint dipped in sweet oil, and cover the whole with a piece of fine oil cloth. New honey spread on folded linen affords an excellent remedy for fresh and bleeding wounds, as it will prevent inflammation and the growth of proud flesh. In wounds which cannot readily be healed, on account of external inflammation and feverish heat, emollient poultices, composed of the crumb of bread boiled in milk, must be applied, and renewed several times in a day, without disturbing or touching the wounded part with the fingers. Wounds of the joints will heal most expeditiously by the simple application of cold water, provided the orifice of such wounds be immediately closed by means of adhesive plaster. WOW WOW. For stewed beef, chop some parsley leaves very fine, quarter two or three pickled cucumbers or walnuts, and divide them into small squares, and set them by ready. Put into a saucepan a good bit of butter, stir up with it a table-spoonful of fine flour, and about half a pint of the broth in which the beef was boiled. Add a table-spoonful of vinegar, as much ketchup or port wine, or both, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard. Let it simmer gently till it is sufficiently thickened, put in the parsley and pickles ready prepared, and pour it over the beef, or send it up in a sauce tureen. WRIT OF EJECTMENT. When a tenant has either received or given a proper notice to quit at a certain time, and fails to deliver up possession, it is at the option of the landlord to give notice of double rent, or issue a writ to dispossess the tenant. In the latter case he recovers the payment of the rent, or the surrender of the premises. In all cases between landlord and tenant, when half a year's rent is due, such landlord may serve a declaration or ejectment for the recovery of the premises, without any formal demand or re-entry. If the premises be unoccupied, though not surrendered, he may affix the declaration to the door, or any other conspicuous part of the dwelling, which will be deemed legal, and stand instead of a deed of re-entry. Y. YEAST. This is the barm or froth which rises in beer, and other malt liquors, during a state of fermentation. When thrown up by one quantity of malt or vinous liquid, it may be preserved to be put into another, at a future period; on which it will exert a similar fermentative action. Yeast is likewise used in the making of bread, without which it would be heavy and unwholesome. It has a vinous sour odour, a bitter taste arising from the hops in the malt liquor, and it reddens the vegetable blues. When it is filtered, a matter remains which possesses properties similar to vegetable gluten; by this separation the yeast loses the property of exciting fermentation, but recovers it again when the gluten is added. The addition of yeast to any vegetable substance, containing saccharine matter, excites fermentation by generating a quantity of carbonic acid gas. This very useful substance cannot always be procured conveniently from malt liquor for baking and brewing: the following method will be found useful for its extemporaneous preparation. Mix two quarts of soft water with wheat flour, to the consistence of thick gruel; boil it gently for half an hour, and when almost cold, stir into it half a pound of sugar and four spoonfuls of good yeast. Put the whole into a large jug, or earthen vessel, with a narrow top, and place it before the fire, that by a moderate heat it may ferment. The fermentation will throw up a thin liquor, which pour off and throw away; keep the remainder in a bottle, or jug tied over, and set it in a cool place. The same quantity of this as of common yeast will suffice to bake or brew with. Four spoonfuls of this yeast will make a fresh quantity as before, and the stock may always be kept up, by fermenting the new with the remainder of the former quantity.--Another method. Take six quarts of soft water, and two handfuls of wheaten meal or barley. Stir the latter in the water before the mixture is placed over the fire, where it must boil till two thirds are evaporated. When this decoction becomes cool, incorporate with it, by means of a whisk, two drams of salt of tartar, and one dram of cream of tartar, previously mixed. The whole should now be kept in a warm place. Thus a very strong yeast for brewing, distilling, and baking, may be obtained. For the last-mentioned purpose, however, it ought to be diluted with pure water, and passed through a sieve, before it is kneaded with the dough, in order to deprive it of its alkaline taste.--In countries where yeast is scarce, it is a common practice to twist hazel twigs so as to be full of chinks, and then to steep them in ale yeast during fermentation. The twigs are then hung up to dry, and at the next brewing they are put into the wort instead of yeast. In Italy the chips are frequently put into turbid wine for the purpose of clearing it, which is effected in about twenty-four hours.--A good article for baking bread may be made in the following manner. Boil a pound of fine flour, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, in two gallons of water, for one hour. Let it stand till it is milk warm, then bottle and cork it close, and it will be fit for use in twenty-four hours. A pint of this yeast will make eighteen pounds of bread. Or mash a pound of mealy potatoes, and pulp them through a cullender; add two ounces of brown sugar, and two spoonfuls of common yeast. Keep it moderately warm while fermenting, and it will produce a quart of good yeast.--The best method of preserving common yeast, produced from beer or ale, is to set a quantity of it to settle, closely covered, that the spirit may not evaporate. Provide in the mean time as many small hair sieves as will hold the thick barm: small sieves are mentioned, because dividing the yeast into small quantities conduces to its preservation. Lay over each sieve a piece of coarse flannel that may reach the bottom, and leave at least eight inches over the rim. Pour off the thin liquor, and set it by to subside, as the grounds will do for immediate baking or brewing, if covered up for a few hours. Fill the sieves with the thick barm, and cover them up for two hours: then gather the flannel edges as a bag, and tie them firmly with twine. Lay each bag upon several folds of coarse linen, changing these folds every half hour, till they imbibe no more moisture. Then cover each bag with another piece of flannel, changing it if it becomes damp, and hang them in a cool airy place. The yeast should be strained before it is set to settle, and while the flannel bags are laid upon the folds of linen, they must be covered with a thick cloth. When the yeast is wanted for use, prepare a strong infusion of malt; to a gallon of which add a piece of dried barm, about the size of a goose's egg. The proportion indeed must depend upon its quality, which experience only can ascertain. The malt infusion must be nearly milk warm when the yeast is crumbled into it: for two hours it will froth high, and bake two bushels of flour into well-fermented bread. A decoction of green peas, or of ripened dry peas, with as much sugar as will sweeten it, makes fairer bread than the malt infusion; but it will take a larger quantity of dried yeast to produce fermentation. It was usual some years ago to reduce porter yeast to dryness, and in that state it was carried to the West Indies, where it was brought by means of water to its original state, and then employed as a ferment.--Another method of preserving yeast. Take a quantity of yeast, and work it well with a whisk till it becomes thin; then have a broad wooden platter, or tub, that is very clean and dry, and, with a soft brush, lay a layer of yeast all over the bottom, and turn the mouth downwards that no dust can fall in, but so that the air may come to it, to dry it. When that coat is very dry, lay on another; do so till you have as much as you intend to keep, taking care that one coat is dry before you lay on another. When you have occasion to make use of this yeast, cut a piece off, and lay it in warm water; stir it till it is dissolved, and it is fit for use. If it is for brewing, take a whisk, or a large handful of birch tied together, and dip it into the yeast, and hang it up to dry; when it is dry wrap it up in paper, and keep it in a dry place; thus you may do as many as you please. When your beer is fit to work, throw in one of your whisks, and cover it over; it will set it a working as well as fresh yeast. When you find you have a head sufficient, take out your whisk and hang it up. If the yeast is not all off, it will do for your next brewing. YEAST CAKES. The inhabitants of Long Island in America are in the habit of making yeast cakes once a year. These are dissolved and mixed with the dough, which it raises in such a manner as to form it into very excellent bread. The following is the method in which these cakes are made. Rub three ounces of hops so as to separate them, and then put them into a gallon of boiling water, where they are to boil for half an hour. Now strain the liquor through a fine sieve into an earthen vessel, and while it is hot, put in three pounds and a half of rye flour, stirring the liquid well and quickly as the flour is put in. When it has become milk warm, add half a pint of good yeast. On the following day, while the mixture is fermenting, stir well into it seven pounds of Indian corn meal, and it will render the whole mass stiff like dough. This dough is to be well kneaded and rolled out into cakes about a third of an inch in thickness. These cakes are to be cut out into large disks or lozenges, or any other shape, by an inverted glass tumbler or any other instrument; and being placed on a sheet of tinned iron, or on a piece of board, are to be dried by the heat of the sun. If care be taken to turn them frequently, and to see that they take no wet or moisture, they will become as hard as ship biscuit, and may be kept in a bag or box, which is to be hung up or kept in an airy and perfectly dry situation. When bread is to be made, two cakes of the above-mentioned thickness, and about three inches in diameter, are to be broken and put into hot water, where they are to remain all night, the vessel standing near the fire. In the morning they will be entirely dissolved, and then the mixture is to be employed in setting the sponge, in the same way as beer yeast is used. In making a farther supply for the next year, beer or ale yeast may be used as before; but this is not necessary where a cake of the old stock remains, for this will act on the new mixture precisely in the same way. If the dry cakes were reduced to powder in a mortar, the same results would take place, with perhaps more convenience, and in less time. Indian meal is used because it is of a less adhesive nature than wheat flour, but where Indian meal cannot easily be procured, white pea-meal, or even barley-meal, will answer the purpose equally well. The principal art or requisite in making yeast cakes, consists in drying them quickly and thoroughly, and in preventing them from coming in contact with the least particle of moisture till they are used. YEAST DUMPLINS. Make a very light dough as for bread, only in a smaller quantity. When it has been worked up, and risen a sufficient time before the fire, mould it into good sized dumplins, put them into boiling water, and let them boil twenty minutes. The dough may be made up with milk and water if preferred. These dumplins are very nice when done in a potatoe steamer, and require about thirty-five minutes, if of a good size. The steamer must not be opened till they are taken up, or it will make the dumplins heavy. Dough from the baker's will answer the purpose very well, if it cannot conveniently be made at home. The dough made for rolls is the most delicate for dumplins. If not eaten as soon as they are taken up, either out of the water or the steamer, they are apt to fall and become heavy. Eaten with cold butter they are much better than with any kind of sauce, except meat dripping directly from the pan. The addition of a few currants will make good currant dumplins. YELLOW BLAMANGE. Pour a pint of boiling water to an ounce of isinglass, and add the peel of one lemon. When cold, put in two ounces of sifted sugar, a quarter of a pint of white wine, the yolks of four eggs, and the juice of a lemon. Stir all well together, let it boil five minutes, strain it through a bag, and put it into cups. YELLOW DYE. There is a new stain for wood, and a yellow dye for cloth, which consists of a decoction of walnut or hickory bark, with a small quantity of alum dissolved in it, in order to give permanency to the colour. Wood of a white colour receives from the application of this liquid a beautiful yellow tinge, which is not liable to fade. It is particularly for furniture made of maple, especially that kind of it which is called bird's eye, and which is commonly prepared by scorching its surface over a quick fire. The application of the walnut dye gives a lustre even to the darkest shades, while to the paler and fainter ones it adds somewhat of a greenish hue, and to the whiter parts various tints of yellow. After applying this stain to cherry and apple wood, the wood should be slightly reddened with a tincture of some red dye, whose colour is not liable to fade. A handsome dye is thus given to it which does not hide the grain, and which becomes still more beautiful as the wood grows darker by age. Walnut bark makes the most permanent yellow dye for dyeing cloth of any of the vegetable substances used in this country. Care should be taken that the dye be not too much concentrated: when this happens, the colour is far less bright and delicate, and approaches nearer to orange. It is hardly necessary to add, that the dye should be boiled and kept in a brass vessel, or in some other which has no iron in its composition. A lively yellow colour for dyeing cloth, may be produced from potato tops. Gather them when ready to flower, press out the juice, mix it with a little water, and suffer the cloth to remain in it for twenty-four hours. The cloth, whether of wool, cotton, or flax, is then to be dipped in spring water. By plunging the cloth thus tinged with yellow, into a vessel of blue dye, a brilliant and lasting green is obtained. YELLOW LEMON CREAM. Pare four lemons very thin into twelve large spoonfuls of water, and squeeze the juice on seven ounces of finely powdered sugar. Beat well the yolks of nine eggs; then add the peels and juice of the lemons, and work them together for some time. Strain the whole through a flannel, into a silver saucepan, or one of very nice block-tin, and set it over a gentle fire. Stir it one way till it is pretty thick, and scalding hot, but not boiling, or it will curdle. Pour it into jelly glasses. A few lumps of sugar should be rubbed hard on the lemons before they are pared, to attract the essence, and give a better colour and flavour to the cream. YORKSHIRE CAKES. Mix two pounds of flour with four ounces of butter melted in a pint of good milk, three spoonfuls of yeast, and two eggs. Beat all well together, and let it rise; then knead it, and make it into cakes. Let them first rise on tins, and then bake in a slow oven.--Another sort is made as above, leaving out the butter. The first sort is shorter; the last lighter. YORKSHIRE KNEAD CAKES. Rub six ounces of butter into a pound of flour till it is very fine, and mix it into a stiff paste with milk. Knead it well, and roll it out several times. Make it at last about an inch thick, and cut it into cakes, in shapes according to the fancy. Bake them on an iron girdle, and when done on one side turn them on the other. Cut them open and butter them hot. They also eat well cold or toasted. Half a pound of currants well washed and dried may be added at pleasure. YORKSHIRE HAMS. Mix half a pound of salt, three ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of sal prunella, and five pounds of coarse sugar. Rub the hams with this mixture, after it has been well incorporated, and lay the remainder of it upon the top. Then put some water to the pickle, adding salt till it will bear an egg. Boil and strain it, cover the hams with it, and let them lie a fortnight. Rub them well with bran, and dry them. The above ingredients are sufficient for three good hams. YORKSHIRE PUDDING. Mix five spoonfuls of flour with a quart of milk, and three eggs well beaten. Butter the pan. When the pudding is brown by baking under the meat, turn the other side upwards, and brown that. Set it over a chafing-dish at first, and stir it some minutes. It should be made in a square pan, and cut into pieces before it comes to table. YOUNG FOWLS. The following will be found to be a nice way of dressing up a small dish. Bone, singe, and wash a young fowl. Make a forcemeat of four ounces of veal, two ounces of lean ham scraped, two ounces of fat bacon, two hard yolks of eggs, a few sweet herbs chopped, two ounces of beef suet, a tea-spoonful of lemon peel minced fine, an anchovy, salt, pepper, and a very little cayenne. Beat all in a mortar, with a tea-cupful of crumbs, and the yolks and whites of three eggs. Stuff the inside of the fowl, draw the legs and wings inwards, tie up the neck and rump close. Stew the fowl in a white gravy; when it is done through and tender, add a large cupful of cream, with a bit of butter and flour. Give it one boil, add the squeeze of a lemon, and serve it up. YOUNG ONION SAUCE. Peel a pint of button onions, and lay them in water. Put them into a stewpan with a quart of cold water, and let them boil for half an hour or more, till they are quite tender. They may then be put to half a pint of mushroom sauce. FINIS. J. AND R. CHILDS, PRINTERS, BUNGAY. * * * * * Transcriber's Notes: Obvious punctuation errors repaired with the exception of emdashes and long dashes which seem to have been chosen on a whim. This was retained as no clear usage could be determined. Varied hyphenation was retained. Archaic spelling was retained, this includes words such as "controul" and "bason." Decisions on what to correct were mainly made on the spelling occurring more than once in the text. The dictionary portion of the text places the letter V before the letter U. Page viii, "coudescend" changed to "condescend" (who condescend to examine) Page xiv, "sometims" changed to "sometimes" (and sometimes never is) Page 10, extra word "a". Original reads: (pint add a a pound) Page 23, "fricasee" changed to "fricassee" (fricassee sauce; adding cream) Page 29, "salsafy" changed to "salsify" (rape, salsify, herbs) Page 37, "composion" changed to "composition" (sifted. This composition) Page 40, "perper" changed to "pepper" (parsely, salt, pepper) Page 41, "artle" changed to "article" (a much better article) Page 46, "or" changed to "of" (of as much wort) Page 53, "Housleek" changed to "Houseleek" (Houseleek used by) Page 55, "Boorhaave" changed to "Boorhaäve" (Boerhaäve recommended the) Page 55, "runnet" changed to "rennet" (rennet as is sufficient) Page 57, "of" changed to "off" (take off the fat) Page 59, "trufflles" changed to "truffles" (cayenne, a few truffles) Page 63, "thorougly" changed to "thoroughly" (thoroughly blended, so as) Page 63, "boi" changed to "boil" (days; then boil) Page 64, "wisk" changed to "whisk" (swept with a whisk) Page 65, "seady" changed to "ready" (ready cut up) Page 65, "prerides" changed to "presides" (a lady presides) Page 81, "CLARIFED" changed to "CLARIFIED" (CLARIFIED SUGAR. Break) Page 82, "degress" changed to "degrees" (be added by degrees, keeping) Page 87, "them" changed to "then" (then be oval) Page 91, "accomodation" changed to "accommodation" (accommodation of mercenary) Page 98, "acacording" changed to "according" (buttermilk strained, according) Page 98, "gizards" changed to "gizzards" (line the gizzards of turkeys) Page 102, "marjarom" changed to "marjoram" (marjoram, pepper, salt) Page 103, "scissars" changed to "scissors" (scissors in the other) Page 106, "rhubard" changed to "rhubarb" (two of rhubarb, four) Page 108, "tkem" changed to "them" (liberty to rescue them) Page 117, "but' changed to "put" (and put in six) Page 122, "peefectly" changed to "perfectly" (after being perfectly soaked) Page 122, "soakd" changed to "soaked" (after being perfectly soaked) Page 140, " e" changed to "lie" (let it lie closely) Page 144, "i" changed to "in" (saving in the article) Page 149, "candid" changed to "candied" (sweetmeats, add some candied) Page 167, "ot" changed to "of" (of coarse sugar. Let) Page 174, "vingear" changed to "vinegar" (vinegar, to change his) Page 198, "coppera" changed to "copperas" (mixture of alum and copperas) Page 204, "und" changed to "and" (and take a small) Page 231, word "do" added to text (In order to do this) Page 237, "trough" changed to "through" (passed through a riddle) Page 239, "penicious" changed to "pernicious" (of course pernicious) Page 244, "dey" changed to "dry" (three weeks, then dry) Page 249, "crums" changed to "crumbs" (with crumbs of bread) Page 251, "smootly" changed to "smoothly" (on a tin foil, smoothly) Page 263, "surperfluous" changed to "superfluous" (burning; the superflous) Page 266, "than" changed to "then" (the pan, then shift) Page 267, "d wn" changed to "down" (Press down each, and) Page 267, word "be" added to text (flour. These are to be) Page 279, "infeority" changed to "inferiority" (dressed, their inferiority) Page 288, "chaffing" changed to "chafing" (over a chafing-dish) Page 294, "Out" changed to "Cut" (OF MORELS. Cut) Page 309, "stir it is till it cool" changed to "stir it till it is cool" (stir it till it is cool) Page 316, repeated word "it" removed from text. Original read (it it in pieces of four) Page 324, "o" changed to "of" (one pound of currants) Page 326, "binns" changed to "bins" (kept in sacks or bins) Page 336, "ofe th" changed to "of the" (strain the contents of the) Page 364, "rgeat" changed to "great" (great rarefaction, causes) Page 391, "injuririous" changed to "injurious" (to produce an injurious) Page 414, "celebated" changed to "celebrated" (STRAMONIUM. This celebrated) Page 432, "cherries" changed to "Cherries" (apples, &c. Cherries,) Page 434, "regulary" changed to "regularly" (regularly cleaned, are apt) Page 436, "chessnut" changed to "chesnut" (thistles, and chesnuts,) Page 442, "brililant" changed to "brilliant" (the pale yet brilliant) Page 442, "TRASPLANTING" changed to "TRANSPLANTING" (TRANSPLANTING OF FLOWERS) Page 447, "romoved" changed to "removed" (removed by slow degrees) Page 456, "YOURT" changed to "YOGURT" (TURKISH YOGURT. Let a small) Page 485, the entry for "WILD DUCKS" was moved to before "WILD FOWL." Page 489, "close" changed to "closed" (closed paper bags)